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Coming Together for Our Schools
The message of "A Community Concern" airing on Channel 22 Thursday, August 9th at 8 p.m. is that when a group of parents, youth and educators come together to create the best environment and programs for student success, it happens. With the start of school just around the corner, now is a good time to think about our responsibility as local citizens to ensure all students succeed. On Tuesday, August 21st at 11:30 p.m. another program speaks to the role of community members in shaping the moral fabric of their town: Not In Our Town: Class Actions. Learn about successful anti-bullying programs in a California elementary school, a mid-western college and a college campus in the heart of the South. KRCB encourages everyone to take time out for something that matters: the future of our country.
Cultural Identity and Politics
Some Mexican-American voters tend to be conservative, while others lean liberal. But what determines their preference? It could be the way they view their cultural heritage, attitudes that are examined in some new psychological research.
Laura NaumannThe subject sample for this study by Laura Naumann, associate professor of Psychology at Sonoma State University, was comprised entirely of college students. Half were from the University of Texas, El Paso, which is located near the Mexican border, the others from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Within that population, she says, it's not surprising that the majority self-identified as being more liberal than conservative.
There was no significant difference in the responses from the students at the two campuses, Naumann says, nor between males and females overall.
Reverse Migration
Reverse migration—a wave of Hispanic immigrants who are returning from the United States to their homelands—is being driven by more than a lack of jobs here. Deportations, drug cartel brutality and new economic opportunities elsewhere are also factors.
Francisco GonzalezAlthough calls for immigration reform continue, and it remains a hot-button political issue, the actual numbers of people entering the United States illegally has dropped sharply in recent years, according to Francisco Gonzalez, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C He was a featured presenter at the annual Latino Health Forum in Santa Rosa Oct. 11.
Leading would-be immigrants through the hidden routes into the US is now a much more dangerous undertaking, explains Gonzalez, but for the travelers more than their guides.
Despite its large Hispanic population, California has not experienced reverse migration to the same extent as other, more urbanized states, explains Gonzalez, because they represent as much as three quarters of the agricultural workforce here.
Avoiding Food Waste
Wasted food accounts for more of our garbage than anything except paper, and costs consumers considerably more. Little wonder that the Frugal Goddess is out to help people avoid it.
Annabel AscherWhen hard times hit, Annabel Ascher found all sorts of ways to stretch her available resources. When she realized that others didn't know they tactics she used, but could benefit from them, her online alter ego was born.
Frugality, says Ascher, is a form of mindfulness, something distinctly different from being "cheap."
In order to make those long-term plans and dreams happen, Ascher advises, a key tool is detailed short-term planning, especially around food purchasing.
Annabel Ascher, the Frugal Goddess, will host a "Stop Food Waste now" workshop at the at the Share Exchange, 531 Fifth Street in downtown Santa Rosa, at 7 pm on Monday, October 15.