La Prensa SAN DIEGO
IN MEMORIAM
www.LaPrensaSanDiego.com | FEBRUARY 2 2018 PEACE | PAGE 1 PATRICIA
BROWNING
SAN DIEGO’S ONLY BILINGUAL LATINO NEWSPAPER | www.LaPrensaSanDiego.com | Vol. 42 | No. 5 | FEBRUARY 2, 2018
COVER STORY
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‘Dreamers’ Present Response to Trump’s State of the Union
‘Fronterizo’
History now on Display
ENG: PAGE 2 ESP: PAGINA 5
Llega a SD Festival de Ciencias
BY MARIO A. CORTEZ
Visitors to the Chula Vista Civic Center Library can learn about the cultural heritage of the South Bay region through a new exhibit which narrates eight generations of crossborder histories. Fronterizos: A History of the Spanish-Speaking People of the South Bay, an exhibit hosted at the library’s Chula Vista Heritage Museum, focuses on the settlers and migrants who have made the southwest edge of San Diego County, and the old ranchos of Tijuana, their home. Local historian and South Bay resident Barbara Zaragoza, who curated the exhibition along with the South Bay Historical Society, explained to La Prensa San Diego that while many communities have recorded their history, the South Bay region doesn’t have a much of a historical record despite having notable settlements and neighborhoods. “This is the first time someone has told the history of farmers in the Otay Valley, Old Town National City, and CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
POR ANDREA LÓPEZ-VILLAFAÑA
O
BY ANDREA LOPEZ-VILLAFAÑA
ne by one, recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program also known as “Dreamers” shared how President Donald Trump’s proposed immigration framework will affect immigrant communities in the border city. The group of Dreamers
ESPAÑOL P.4 PROFILE
presented their response to President Trump’s State of the Union speech on Wednesday, Jan. 31, in front of the USCIS Enforcement and Removal Operations Field Office in Downtown, San Diego. The “Border Dreamers’ State of the Union” was held one day after Trump’s first State of the Union, in which he mentioned that Congress
should accept the immigration framework the White House presented last week. A framework, which addresses exchanging the legal status and path to citizenship for 1.8 million young immigrants for $25 billion in funding for border security. “Securing the Southern and Northern border of the United States takes a
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MTS Mejora Red de Autobuses
combination of physical infrastructure, technology, personnel, resources, authorities, and the ability to close legal loopholes that are exploited by smugglers, traffickers, cartels, criminals, and terrorists,” the tentative framework released on Thursday, Jan. 25, reads. Each speaker shared why CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
El décimo festival anual de ciencia e ingeniería de San Diego llega al condado y traerá interesantes eventos de ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería y matemáticas (STEM) a las comunidades de South Bay y Barrio Logan. El festival comienza el sábado, 3 de marzo, de 10 a.m. a 5 p.m., con Expo Day en el Petco Park, que ofrecerá actividades interactivas STEM para niños de K-12 de forma gratuita. Según un comunicado de prensa del evento, más de 26 mil niños y padres asistieron al Expo Day 2017 y se espera que más de 65 mil personas asistan al festival de este año. Luego del evento inaugural de Expo Day, Festival Week comenzará por una duración de ocho días de oportunidades interactivas para niños, adultos y familias en todo San Diego. "A lo largo de los años, el Condado de San Diego se ha ganado la reputación de ser CONTINUA EN LA PAGINA 5
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SWC Cuts Ribbon on Facility
POR ANA GÓMEZ SALCIDO
Alex Padilla
DEFENDING AND EXPANDING VOTING RIGHTS BY ANDREA LOPEZ-VILLAFAÑA Responsible for leading an agency that oversees programs that affect voters, business owners, and residents in the state, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla is adamant about defending and expanding voting rights. Three years since he was sworn into the Secretary of State’s office, Padilla has worked on improving several programs within the agency and most importantly increased the number of registered voters as California's Chief Elections Officer, which has been accomplished by allowing California voters to register online, and according to Padilla, increased the number of registered voters by 2 million. Although he did not originally plan to enter the world of politics, for Padilla it seemed like he had no choice but to become involved. Originally from Pacoima, California, Padilla graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from his dream school, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. However, he made the change to public service during the time of California Proposition 187, which sought to establish a state-run screening system to prohibit undocumented immigrants from benefiting or using services in California like non-emergency health care and public education. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Los usuarios del Sistema Metropolitano de Transporte (MTS, por sus siglas en inglés) ya pueden viajar más rápido por ciertas áreas de San Diego debido a una nueva red de autobuses de alta frecuencia. En total, se realizaron cambios en ocho rutas desde el pasado 28 de enero, incluyendo en la ruta 3, 5, 11, 13, 906/907, 950, 955 y Rapid 235. Marcial Gutierrez , vocero de MTS, explicó a La Prensa San Diego que entre las mejoras de las rutas se incluye un aumento en la frecuencia que pasan los autobuses y hasta la restauración del servicio en horas que no pasaba antes los camiones del MTS. Estos esfuerzos son parte del Plan de Optimización de Transporte (TOP, por sus siglas en inglés), el cual incluirá más de 30 rutas con una frecuencia de servicio de 15 minutos o menos, una vez implementado en su totalidad. MTS asignará $2 millones de dólares adicionales en fondos para estos servicios. “Sabemos que la frecuencia y rapidez en el servicio son cualidades importantes para nuestros usuarios y claves para atraer a nuevos clientes”, dijo Paul Jablonski, director ejecutivo de MTS. “Estamos invirtiendo en nuestro sistema para hacerlo tan eficiente como sea posible. Cientos de miles de personas eligen tomar transporte público todos los días. Estamos trabajando de forma enérgica para hacer de nuestro sistema una mejor opción para personas en la región de San Diego”. TOP es una actualización del Análisis Operacional Comprensivo (COA) 2004-2006 que dio como resultado cambios a los servicios de autobús y Trolley. En los 10 años desde la adopción del COA, MTS experimentó un alto índice de pasajeros, eficiencia de ingresos de tarifa y mejoras operacionales durante nueve años consecutivos. Sin embargo, después de niveles récord en el número de usuarios durante el año fiscal 2015, el uso de servicios disminuyó en el año fiscal 2016 y de nuevo en el 2017, a la par con la tendencia nacional de menor uso de transporte público. TOP está diseñado para atraer a un mayor número de usuarios. “Hacer que las personas cambien sus vehículos por modos alternos de transporte es imperativo si habremos de alcanzar las metas regionales del Plan de Acción Ambiental”, agregó Jablonski. “MTS hará todo lo posible por mejorar sus servicios y hacer del transporte público una opción fácil de usar. El TOP es sólo una de las diversas formas en las que trabajamos para cumplir este objetivo”. MTS opera 95 rutas de autobús y tres líneas de Trolley en 53 millas de vía doble. Cada día de la semana, más de 300,000 pasajeros viajan en autobuses y en el sistema del Trolley de MTS en el Condado de San Diego. Durante el año fiscal 2017, MTS brindó sus servicios a más de 88 millones de pasajeros. MTS hará más cambios en junio, y en septiembre. En total, más de 60 rutas serán ajustadas para servir de mejor forma a las demandas del mercado. Todos los cambios pueden ser vistos en el portal de Internet de www.sdmts.com.
BY MARIO A. CORTEZ
Community members and local leaders gathered at Southwestern College to celebrate the grand opening of the campus’ new Aquatics and Wellness Center. Located on the corner of East H Street and Otay Lakes Road, the long-awaited complex is the latest addition to Southwestern College’s newly-built facilities. The $52-million center features a gymnasium, fitness center, classrooms, fitness labs, two Olympic-sized swimming pools, and a 25-meter therapy pool. Using the new pool area as a backdrop, Southwestern administrators spoke to the audience about the new facility and the opportunities that it presents for the South Bay Area. “This represents so much more than an athletics facility,” said Jim Spillers, dean of Southwestern College’s School of Wellness, Exercise Science, and Athletics. “As the dean who has watched this building’s progress, I can only be proud of the opportunities that it will provide.” “Who knows, we may be training future olympians in these very pools,” Spillers added. The initial building process for the Aquatics and Wellness Center began back in February of 2016, when over 36,000 cubic feet of dirt were trucked in to lay down the foundation for this facility. The two-week process saw 140 dump trucks travel from a construction
site in downtown San Diego to the eastern Chula Vista facility every day. After the structure’s level and grade was set, construction on the 75,000-square-foot center began and went on for about 18 months. Although there is still work being done on specific parts of the building, as well as the landscaping around it, the Center’s gymnasium has been in use already by Southwestern College’s athletics programs. The Southwestern Jaguars men’s basketball team has played six games at their new home and went undefeated in their first five matchups. Southwestern College Superintendent and President Kindred Murillo thanked the community for its ongoing support and being part of the project. “These kinds of things happen because we are a community college and because you as a community trusted us with your dollars when you voted for the project bonds,” Murillo stated. Funding from the project comes from Proposition R, a $389 million general obligation bond which was approved by voters in 2008 to provide for modernization of facilities at Southwestern College’s main and satellite campuses. The Wellness and Aquatics Center will replace the now-closed pool and gymnasium buildings. On the site of these old structures, work on a new math, science and engineering building and a new performing arts center is being done.