Farmers Asked to Report Slavery in the Fields – A Democratic legislator from Seattle is proposing to require farmers to report any incidents of slavery, peonage, or human trafficking. The bill applies only to fruit and dairy producers, sectors that have been the subject of numerous complaints by workers’ unions. Agribusiness leaders are opposed, warning that highlighting cases of slavery would put a black mark on their sector. State Senator Rebecca Saldaña discussed the new bill with Samuel Orozco on Radio Bilingüe’s program Línea Abierta.
Investments Proposed in Asthma Prevention Services – California’s Central Valley is known as ground zero in the nation’s asthma epidemic, and Latinos suffer the most from asthma attacks, often landing them in clinics and emergency rooms. These costly treatments drive up public spending. To remedy this problem, a newly elected Latino legislator has presented an initiative to extend services to help prevent those emergencies. From Delano, California, Lucia Orozco tells us about the hardships and hopes of a young asthmatic.
Guatemala Debates Legislation to Pardon Members of the Military Implicated in Atrocities -This week, Guatemala’s Congress took one of the last steps in approving a controversial amnesty law for military officers. If approved, the law would free or suspend the trials of members of the military accused of acts of genocide, torture, and disappearance committed mainly against indigenous Mayans during the bloody civil war of the 1960s. The proposed legislation has caused national and international public outcry. Maria Martin reports from Antigua, Guatemala.
