VERDICT IN TRAYVON MARTIN CASE SPARKS ANGER – The not-guilty verdict of self-appointed neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, who killed the African-American teenager Trayvon Martin after following him and confronting him because he seemed suspicious, has sparked indignation and protests in cities all over the country. The 17-year-old Martin had left his father’s house to buy candy at a corner store and he was unarmed at the time of his death. On Radio Bilingüe’s national talk show Línea Abierta, we spoke with Arturo Carmona of the organization Presente.org about the verdict.
HEALTH REFORM NAVIGATORS TRAINED IN A HURRY – Training has begun for hundreds of workers in California who will be in charge of informing consumers about the ways to buy health insurance under the new health law. Their work will be crucial to inform and motivate the Latino community to obtain health coverage. Our correspondent Rubén Tapia attended one of the most recent workshops in Los Angeles, where he spoke with trainers and participants.
THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS ON HUNGER STRIKE IN CALIFORNIA – Tens of thousands of prisoners throughout California are refusing to eat in what could become the largest hunger strike in the history of the state’s prisons. The prisoners are protesting aggressive practices of solitary confinement, which include cases of decades-long confinement without leaving the cell or the right to make phone calls. How much does California spend on sustaining the budget of this prison system and practices such as the “hole” or the “shoe”? On the national talk show Línea Abierta, we spoke with a young relative of two of the prisoners on strike, Julissa Muñiz, and with Manuel La Fontaine, defender of prisoners and a member of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children.
