Linea Abierta Programming: WEEK OF JULY 8, 2024

MONDAY, JULY 8
PROGRAM #10430 12:00 PM PT

Wildfire Season: Early Start. As California experiences a dangerous heat wave, firefighters are battling massive wildfires in a farming Northern area. Thousands are under mandatory evacuation orders. This early surge of wildfires is causing concern about what to expect for the hotter months. How are the wildfires impacting rural communities? Who is being most impacted? How can farm workers protect themselves from toxic wildfire smoke?

Guests: Ricardo Coronado, Spokesperson, Cal Fire, Sacramento, CA; Amalia Rodas, Coordinator, Community Adaptation Program, Disaster Cycle Services, American Red Cross National Headquarters, Butte County, CA.

First Worker Protections from Extreme Heat. OSHA released a proposed rule on preventing heat injury and illness amongst the U.S. workers, the nation’s first-ever federal regulation on heat stress in the workplace. The administration accelerated the announcement as the summer has already seen record-breaking heat, and days after OSHA announced proposed penalties for a case involving a 41-year-old farmworker who died of heatstroke while working in Florida last year.

Guest: Julie Su, Acting Labor Secretary, US Department of Labor, Washington, DC.

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TUESDAY, JULY 9
PROGRAM #10431 11:00 AM PT

Extra Edition: Mexico’s Migrant Legislators. In recent elections, Mexicans residing in the United States have been able to vote and elect legislative representatives for the first time in history under the guise of the migrant or binational congressmember, after they won the constitutional right to vote from abroad two decades ago. A delegation of Mexican emigre legislators visits California’s Central Valley to hear from rural people and clarify their legislative agenda. They join this program to talk with the listeners.

Guests (all at Radio Bilingüe studios in Fresno, CA): Karina Ruiz, Mexico’s Migrant Senator-Elect, Phoenix, AZ; Mario Torres, Outgoing Migrant Congressmember, Los Angeles, CA; Octavia Hernández Ferrer, Mexico’s Migrant Substitute Senator, Los Angeles, CA; Olga Leticia Chavez Rojas, Mexico’s Congress Member, Reelected, Los Angeles, CA. Also: Jose Ireta, Pro Immigrant Activist, California’s Central Valley; Eliseo Gamiño, Local Political Leader, California’s Central Valley; Arturo Garcia, Activist, California’s Central Valley.

PROGRAM #10432 12:00 PM PT

Mexico’s Binational Lawmakers: Making History. In last month’s election, Karina Ruiz made history after being elected as the first migrant living abroad to serve in Mexico’s Senate. A resident of Phoenix, she is an activist grandmother and a DACA recipient. She and a group of elected migrant congress members, including undocumented US residents, visit our studios in Fresno, CA, and join this program to discuss their legislative plans, their perspective on current binational issues, Mexico’s affirmative action policies for emigres, the figure of migrant or binational legislator, the right to be nominated as candidate, and their vision for the future of Mexican consular services.

Guests (all at Radio Bilingüe studios in Fresno, CA): Karina Ruiz, Mexico’s Migrant Senator-Elect, Phoenix, AZ; Mario Torres, Outgoing Migrant Congressmember, Los Angeles, CA; Octavia Hernández Ferrer, Mexico’s Migrant Substitute Senator, Los Angeles, CA; Olga Leticia Chavez Rojas, Mexico’s Congress Member, Reelected, Los Angeles, CA. Also: ​​Lupe Cervantes, Pro Immigrant Activist, California’s Central Valley.

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 10
PROGRAM #10433 12:00 PM PT

Biden Vows to Stay in Presidential Race. After President Biden took a bruising in the recent presidential debate, some Democratic lawmakers and donors are calling on Biden to step aside. In this program, a news reporter discusses the scenarios in the road ahead for the Democratic presidential campaign and a top Biden campaign spokesperson defends Biden’s decision to stay in the race.

Guests: Maca Casado, Director of Hispanic Media, Biden-Harris Campaign, Wilmington, DE; José López Zamorano, Contributing Reporter, Washington, DC.

Big Oil Retreats from Ballot Fight. In California, the oil industry withdrew its referendum campaign to kill a historic law to protect neighborhoods from oil and gas wells in the November ballot, allowing the law to go into effect. The oil industry might now challenge the law in court.

Guest: Dulce Altamirano, Community Leader and Member, Communities for a Better Environment-CBE, Wilmington, CA.

Rolling Back Criminal Justice Reforms. A “tough-on-crime” initiative advanced by law enforcement activists and backed by retail giants qualified for California’s November ballot. The measure would revise Proposition 47, passed by voters in 2014 to ease mass incarceration. What are the stakes for communities of color?

Guest: Norma Palacios, Policy Coordinator, Drug Policy Alliance, Los Angeles, CA.

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THURSDAY, JULY 11
PROGRAM #10434 11:00 AM PT

Extra Edition: A Baseball Legend. (Program Repeat). Baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda passed away at age 86. On the occasion of his death, we replay an archival interview originally aired on February 17, 1999, when Cepeda was inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In this program, Cepeda discussed his new autobiographical book: “Baby Bull: From Hardball to Hard Time and Back.” Mr. Cepeda recalled his early days as a child in Puerto Rico; his arrival to the United States and encounter with racist attitudes, and his eventual success in gaining access to professional baseball. Mr. Cepeda also discussed the role of Latin American players in contemporary U.S. baseball.

Guest: Orlando Cepeda, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball Star, Oakland, CA.

PROGRAM #10435 12:00 PM PT

Working While Pregnant? New Protections. New regulations of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), a recent federal civil rights law that requires accommodations to workers who need them due to pregnancy, childbirth, or any related medical condition, went into effect in the nation last month. Accommodations include being able to sit or drink water. What must workers do to receive the accommodations contemplated in the PWFA Act? A federal official explains the new regulations. These and other news topics are discussed in this edition.

Guest: Sarah DeCosse, Assistant General Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission-EEOC, United States Office of General Counsel-OLC, Washington, DC.

Current Dengue Cases Higher Than Expected. The global incidence of dengue in 2024 has been the highest on record for this time of year and many countries are reporting higher than usual numbers of dengue cases. In the United States, public health authorities have declared a dengue outbreak in Puerto Rico. Although only one in four people infected with dengue will become ill, severe dengue can be life-threatening within hours, often requiring hospital care, and can cause death. This program offers tips on how to be alert to this threat and details about the vaccine.

Guest:Dr. Gabriela Paz-Bailey, Director, Oficina de Dengue de los Centros para el Control de Enfermedades de EEUU-CDC, San Juan, PR.

Houston Plunged Into Crisis After Beryl. Beryl was not a particularly strong storm when it made landfall early Monday. But the hurricane struck the heart of Houston with a ferocity that brought down trees on power lines and other havoc, knocking out power to more than two million customers across the state, mostly in and around Houston. Later in the week, parts of the nation’s fourth largest city were still without power and without the possibility of restoring power to one million customers. A journalist and a community organizer who went through the devastating experience report on recent details of the situation.

Guests: Erandi Treviño, Co-director and Founder, Raices Houston, TX; Mariana Pineda, Reporter, Houston, TX.

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FRIDAY, JULY 12
PROGRAM #10436 12:00 PM PT

Mexico Edition. As Big Ag from Canada and the US are pushing Mexico over the Mexican government’s recent ban on GM corn imports, Mexico insists in their position to safeguard native corn varieties. This is a report on the latest developments on this trade dispute.

Guests: Francisco Zamudio Muñoz, Former Miner, Section 271 and President, APS PODEMOS, Morelia, Michoacan, MX; Carlos Ventura, Deputy Spokesperson for the Class Action Lawsuit Against GM Corn, on behalf of the “No Corn, No Country” campaign, Mexico City, MX; excerpts from recent statements by Mexico’s President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum, and Lázaro Cárdenas Batel, Mexican politician.