Latino Candidate Makes History in Los Angeles Sheriff’s Race – L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell is facing a historic challenge in his re-election bid. Campaigning with a reform agenda including a rejection of collaboration with federal immigration agencies, retired Lieutenant Alex Villanueva won a third of the vote in the primary, forcing an unusual second round. Villanueva managed to draw support from Los Angeles’s large Latino sectors, as well as the sheriff’s own L.A. county deputies association. For his part, McDonnell, who rectified his opposition to the sanctuary law, enjoys a greater campaign war chest and the support of influential politicians. Mariana Pineda reports.
New Institution in Poor Communities is Born in Southern California – After almost a decade of working together, a network of advocacy organizations for poor communities has formed a permanent alliance, thanks to the support of an important philanthropic foundation. This report tells the story of a mother who symbolizes the cause of the new alliance. A resident of Coachella Valley, she went from being a housewife to a social activist and promoter of transportation services, schools and parks. Jorge Ramírez has the story.
With No Drinking Water, Voters Make Themselves Heard at the Polls – The lack of clean water continues to affect more than one million residents in impoverished rural and urban areas in California, most of them Latino and African-American families. A bill that would have created a fund to remedy the water problem in these communities was put on hold until after the November elections. Fed-up residents of the San Joaquin Valley are now attempting to use those same elections to make themselves heard in what they call a civil rights crisis. Ruben Tapia reports from Kern County in California’s Central Valley.
