Tagging is a seasonal problem

Transcription

YOUR LATINO CONNECTION SINCE 1996
TÚ CONEXIÓN LATINA DESDE 1996
Periódico Bilingüe Kansas City www.kchispanicnews.com
VOLUME 14 NUMBER 49 / 18 DE AGOSTO DEL 2011
Kansas City
Mayor Sly James
and the City Council
are determined to
keep kids safe on
the Plaza-even if
it means enforcing
a curfew.
See Complete Story On Page 3.
Community Responds - Riggs Gets Handicap
Ramp Built
Responde la comunidad – Construyen
una rampa para discapacitados para Riggs
Tagging is a seasonal problem
El graffiti es un
problema estacional
INDEPTH REPORT
By Joe Arce and Joe Faus
It is a problem that plagues home owners and property owners across the city.
No sooner than one wall gets cleaned
then another gets tagged. Rarely are any
charged with the vandalism though the
city’s codes officers can issue a citation to
property owners if they do not remove
the offending script. The inconvenience
and cost of removal only contributes to
the frustration.
Kansas City’s Westside was recently
the target as a series of tags appeared
across many business fronts including
the brick façade of the vacated Central
Bank on Southwest Boulevard. Arturo
Romo, a prominent businessman in the
area, spoke with Hispanic News about
the mounting frustration of many property owners.
“We are tired with what is going on
in the Westside, with the question of
SEE:“PLEASE JUST DRAW IT ON PAPER” / PAGE 7
Traduce Rico Rogers
Es un problema que afecta a los dueños
de casas y dueños de propiedades en toda
la ciudad. No mucho después de limpiar
una pared, más graffiti aparecen en otra
pared. Rara vez personas están acusadas
por los actos de vandalismo aunque los
oficiales municipales de códigos pueden
emitir una citación a los propietarios si
no eliminan el guión ofensivo. Las molestias y el costo para eliminarlo sólo
contribuyen a la frustración.
Recientemente, el Westside de Kansas
City fue el objetivo cuando apareció mucho graffiti en la parte delantera de varios
negocios incluyendo la fachada de ladrillo
del edificio vacante del Banco Central en
Southwest Boulevard. Arturo Romo, un
prominente empresario de la zona, habló
con Hispanic News acerca de la creciente
frustración de muchos propietarios.
"Estamos cansados de lo que está
pasando en el Westside, el graffiti y los
MIRA:“POR FAVOR, SIMPLEMENTE DIBUEJLO / PÁGINA 7
For Mary Riggs having this ramp means having access to the world of family and friends. She is grateful to know that people
like Richard and Viviana Medellin and their friends helped build and pay for this ramp.
Esta rampa, para Mary Riggs, significa acceso al mundo de su familia y amigos. Ella está agradecida de saber que gente como
Richard y Viviana Medellín, y sus amigos, ayudaron a construir y pagar por esta rampa.
By Joe Arce and Debra DeCoster
Mary Riggs has had one leg amputated at the knee due to
health issues. Since her surgery, she has been confined to a
wheelchair but it has not dampened her determination to
get out and about her neighborhood or to visit family and
friends. There was one little hitch - her home was not handicap accessible.
Her wheelchair could not be maneuvered easily over the
porch steps. She needed a ramp installed to her front door
so she could get out of the house. Without the ramp, she
had to rely on someone carrying her out. She had no access
to her yard, doctor’s appointments or trips to the grocery
store. She sought to have a ramp installed at her home but
the calls to Kansas City’s 311 Call Center left her crying.
“They told me they did away with the ramp program and
they don’t send people out to build or install the ramps anymore. I panicked … I didn’t know what we were going to
do. I felt trapped in my home with no way for me to get out.
If I had a fire, I have a back door but we have a long staircase
to get down. I didn’t know how I would get out if I had an
emergency,” she said.
Her husband, Anthony, received plans from the American
Disability Act and planned to build the ramp at their home.
His plans were put on hold when he was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in Tennessee that left him with ten
cracked ribs and a collapsed lung.
The rehab center had released her with the understanding
that a ramp would be built at the home by August 11. If it
Massage Therapy is Beneficial to Health
Terapia de Masaje es beneficiosa para la Salud
Mucho
Corazón
Enrique Orfin believes being a massage therapist is his calling in life. Putting his
hands to work and knowing he can help people with a good massage is the career
path he has chosen.
Enrique Orfin cree que ser terapeuta de masaje es su vocación de la vida. Usar las
manos y saber que puede ayudar la gente con masajes buenos, son la razones por su
decisión ser terapeuta de masaje.
2918 Southwest Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64108
Joe Arce and Debra DeCoster
Traduce Rico Rogers
Healing people’s pain through massage
therapy has always been a dream job for
41-year-old Enrique Orfin. In his 20’s,
he had been interested in college but
life threw him a curve. He had to find a
job to help support his younger siblings
and his mother but he never let go of his
dream. Recently he saw an opportunity
when he learned about massage therapy
classes at WellSpring School of Allied
Health in Kansas City.
He told Hispanic News that if he was
going to have a career as a massage therapist, it was time to take the necessary
steps that would lead him into the job
that he always desired.
Orfin visited several schools before
deciding to enter WellSpring. “I believe in energy and as soon as I stepped
into the school I believe something
was flowing through me and I said,
‘this is it, this is the school for me.’ I
felt like it was home and everyone was
very welcoming.”
The 21 year old school, which recently changed its name from Massage
Therapy Training Institute, is committed to being the leader in wellness education in the Midwest. Each program
at the school is dedicated to excellence
in wellness education.
Don Farquharson, WellSpring president and CEO, recently met Orfin and
was impressed by his desire to serve the
Latino community and others. “It is
La curación de los dolores de la gente a
través de la terapia de masaje siempre ha
sido un trabajo de sueño para Enrique
Orfin, de 41 años de edad. Cuando
tenía veinti-tantos años de edad, le interesaba asistir a la universidad pero no
le resultó así. Tuvo que buscar un trabajo para ayudar a sus hermanos menores
y a su madre pero nunca abandonó su
sueño. Hace poco vio una oportunidad
cuando se enteró de las clases de terapia
de masaje en la Escuela Relacionada a la
Salud Wellspring en Kansas City (WellSpring School of Allied Health in Kansas City).
Él le dijo a Hispanic News que si él
iba a tener una carrera como terapeuta de masaje, que este era el momento
de tomar las medidas necesarias que
lo llevaría al trabajo que él siempre
ha deseado.
Orfin visitó varias escuelas antes de
decidirse a entrar en WellSpring. “Yo
creo en la energía y tan pronto como
entré en la escuela creo que algo estaba
fluyendo a través de mí y pensé, ‘esta
es, esta es la escuela para mí.’ Sentí
que estaba en casa y todo el mundo era
muy acogedor.”
La escuela que tiene una antigüedad
de 21 años, y que recientemente cambió
su nombre del Instituto de Capacitación
en la Terapia del Masaje, se compromete
a ser el líder en la educación de la salud
en el medio oeste. Cada programa en la
SEE: ORFIN IS EAGER TO LEARN / PAGE 8
MIRA:“ORFIN ESTA ANSIOSO PARA APRENDER / PÁGINA 8
NEWSROOM:(816)472.KCHN
FAX: (816) 931.NEWS SEE: I’M SURPRISED AT THE OUTPOURING / PAGE 2
Traduce Rico Rogers
A María Riggs le amputaron una pierna desde la rodilla hasta abajo debido
a problemas de salud. Desde la cirugía,
ella ha estado confinada a una silla de
ruedas pero no ha disminuido su determinación de salir a la comunidad
o para visitar a familiares y amigos.
Había una situación - su casa no era
accesible para discapacitados.
No se podía mover su silla de ruedas fácilmente por los escalones del
porche. Se necesitaba instalar una
rampa para que ella pudiera salir de
la casa. Sin la rampa, la única manera
que ella pudiera salir sería que alguien
pudiera llevarla. Ella no tenía acceso a
su patio, visitas al médico o viajes a la
tienda de comestibles. Ella buscaba la
forma de que instalaran una rampa en
su casa pero las llamadas al centro de
llamadas 311 de Kansas City la dejaron llorando.
"Me dijeron que acabaron con el
programa de rampas y que ya no envían a la gente a construir o instalar
las rampas. Me entró el pánico... Yo no
sabía lo que íbamos a hacer. Me sentía
atrapada en mi casa sin una manera
de salir. Si hubiera un incendio, tengo
una puerta posterior pero tenemos
que bajar una larga escalera. Yo no
sabía cómo iba a salir si hubiera una
emergencia ", dijo ella.
Su marido, Anthony, recibió los
planes de la Ley de Discapacidad de
América y planeaba construir la rampa en su casa. Sus planes quedaron
en suspenso por tiempo indefinido
cuando se vio involucrado en un grave
accidente de moto en Tennessee que lo
dejó con diez costillas rotas y un pulmón colapsado.
El centro de rehabilitación le había
liberado con el entendimiento de que
se construiría una rampa en su casa
el 11 de agosto. Si no la construyera, ella tendría que volver al centro
de rehabilitación. Al aproximarse la
fecha, ella desesperadamente empezó
a buscar ayuda y llamó al Centro de
Llamadas 311 de nuevo pero se le dio
la misma respuesta.
MIRA: ESTOY SORPRENDIDA POR LA EFUSION / PÁGINA 1
E-MAIL: [email protected]
2
kchispanicnews.com
18 DE AGOSTO DEL 2011
“I’m surprised at the outpouring of help”
CONT./PAGE 1
weren’t in place she would have
to return to rehab. As the date
approached, she desperately began to search for help and she
called the 311-call center again,
but was given the same answer.
“They told me they did away
with the program. I called City
Hall three or four times to make
sure that I was told the right
information. I said, ‘How am
I going to get out of my house?
What if there is a fire?’ They just
said, ‘madam, you are just going to have to figure that out.’ I
thought that was so cold to say
to me.”
Once Riggs told her friends,
Richard and Viviana Medellin,
about her situation they decided they would undertake the
ramp project and ensure that she
would be able to stay at home
and help care for her husband.
Both Mary and Anthony have
been involved in their community and have extended a helping
hand to people in need over the
years. The Medellins contacted
their friends and asked them to
help with the ramp.
“We called our friends and
shared with them the need for
this ramp to be built and with
no questions asked they said,
‘yes, we want to help and what
can we do to help?” said Viviana Medellin.
One of those that offered to
help is Paul Zaragoza, a carpenter. “This feels good to be able
to help someone. They need
this ramp and nowadays money
is tight, and so it is really nice
when people can help out when
someone is in need,” he said.
Yolanda Alejandre has been
amazed at all the telephone calls
and people in the neighborhood
coming to help her parents. It
gives her and her brother peace
of mind that others are willing
to step up and help them take
care of their parents as they
both recover.
“People have been calling to
check on them and see if they
need help. People have come and
have been willing to help clean
or help cook meals for them. It
has been really nice - it has been
overwhelming but it is really
nice to know that everyone in
the neighborhood cares about
her,” said Alejandre.
Mary has been surprised at
the outpouring of help. “We
appreciate from the bottom of
our hearts what they are doing
for us and if they ever need anything from us we will be there
for them.”
She told Hispanic News that
once she recovers from her surgery, she would be an advocate
for people who need handicap
ramps installed at their homes.
“I believe that they need to
bring that program back in
this area. I know that in the
Hispanic community we have
a lot of diabetes and people
suffering from the side effects
of the disease, and this is one
program that needs to be continued,” she stated.
Hispanic News spoke with
Dennis Gagnon, communication officer for the City of Kansas City. He said that at one time
it was his understanding that the
city had received grant money
that they used to assist people
who needed ramps installed at
their home.
“It would appear that that
program is no longer funded because the grant would have run
out. Sometimes these programs
Anthony and Mary Riggs have
enjoyed life to its fullest giving back
to the community along the way.
When they suffered some health
setbacks, it was the community
that gave back to them.
Anthony y Mary Riggs han
disfrutado de la vida a su máximo
dando apoyo a la comunidad
cuando pueden, pero cuando
ambos se encontraron con serias
problemas de salud la comunidad
salió a ayudarlos.
are given grants to jumpstart a
program in the city, but if there
is no funding with local dollars
to keep the program going, then
often times it ends up going
away. However, if an individual
is seeking help with a ramp, they
should call 211 for assistance,”
said Gagnon.
An individual calling the 311call center will be assisted with
city issues or services the city
provides.
Gagnon explained
that 311 could assist Riggs if she
needed a wheelchair ramp access
at a street corner.
When Hispanic News asked
why Riggs was not given the information to call 211, he said,
“it probably would have been a
good idea for them (call center
operators) to think it through
Mary Riggs believes the ramp gives her the strength and the ability to be free to go and come as she pleases.
Mary Riggs cree que la rampa le da la fuerza y la capacidad de salir y regresar a casa cuando le da la gana.
but sometimes a person doesn’t
think of everything on the spot.
That would be a logical place to
look for assistance with a ramp,”
he explained.
The 211 Call Center United Way Agency is not a direct
service provider but they are
aware of 12,000 different programs in the community that
provide a variety of services
and they may have been able to
connect Riggs with an agency
that could have provided help
with a wheelchair ramp.
“The best thing to do is call
211 and explain your situation
[such as] where you live and
what is your income situation?
… It would depend on what
programs are available. In some
areas, Christmas in October may
be a program that could come
out and help. The Day of Caring
usually held in June helps with
these types of issues. The call
specialists are the people who
are in the best position to know
what programs are out there and
are possibilities. We can’t make
any guarantees but we can point
them in the right direction,” said
Ron Howard, United Way public relations director.
One day before the deadline,
Mary Riggs tried out her new
ramp. To her surprise the width
of the ramp accommodates her
scooter. “This is just a blessing and I have Viviana and Richard and friends to thank for
it. I’m overwhelmed right now.
For the first time in my life I’m
speechless.”
“I’m going to spend my
evening out here. It’s like a front
porch that I always wanted and
it is just a ramp but I can sit out
here and have some ice tea. ...
If I really want to get out, I just
need to go down the ramp with
my husband and sit out there on
the driveway and visit with family and friends. … I just love it.
It’s beautiful.
Richard Medellin was overjoyed to see his friend on the
ramp. “I’m glad I was able to
help them out. She told me if she
didn’t have this ramp they were
going to put her back into the
hospital. I have been in the hospital and it’s no fun being there.
It’s better to be with your family.
It makes me feel good and that
is what friends are for - to help
each other out.”
“Estoy sorprendida por la efusión de ayuda”
CONT./PÁGINA 1
"Me dijeron que acabaron
con el programa. Llamé a la Alcaldía tres o cuatro veces para
asegurarme que me dijeron la
información correcta. Le dije:
'¿Cómo voy a salir de mi casa?
¿Qué pasa si hay un incendio?
"Solamente me dijeron, 'señora,
usted va a tener que determinar
eso." Pensé que fue tan frío que
me dijeran eso."
Cuando Riggs hablo a sus amigos, Richard y Viviana Medellín, sobre su situación, ellos decidieron llevar a cabo el proyecto
de la rampa para ella y su esposo
Anthony y asegurarse de que ella
pudiera quedarse en casa y ayudar a cuidar a su marido.
Tanto Mary como Anthony
han estado involucrados en su
comunidad y han extendido una
mano de ayuda a las personas
necesitadas sobre los años. Los
Medellín se contactaron con sus
amigos y les pidieron que los ayudaran con la rampa.
"Llamamos a nuestros amigos y les contamos acerca de la
necesidad de la construcción
de esta rampa. Y sin hacernos
preguntas ellos respondieron:"
Sí, queremos ayudar y ¿qué podemos hacer para ayudar?", dijo
Viviana Medellín.
Uno de los que se ofreció a
ayudar, es Paul Zaragoza, un
carpintero. "Se siente bien de
poder ayudar a alguien. Ellos
necesitan esta rampa y, en la actualidad, el dinero es escaso y,
por eso, es muy agradable cuando la gente puede ayudar cuando
alguien lo necesita ", dijo él.
Yolanda Alejandre ha estado
sorprendida por todas las llamadas telefónicas y la gente
del barrio que llega al hogar
para ayudar a sus padres. Le
da a ella y a su hermano la paz
de saber que otros están dispuestos a intensificar y ayudar
a cuidar a sus padres mientras
ambos se recuperen.
"La gente ha llamado para saber
de ellos y ver si necesitan ayuda.
La gente ha venido y han estado
dispuestos a ayudar a limpiar o
ayudar a preparar las comidas
para ellos. Ha sido muy agradable. Ha sido abrumador pero es
realmente bueno saber que todos
en el vecindario se preocupan por
ella", dijo Alejandre.
Le ha sorprendido a María la
efusión de la ayuda de la comunidad. "Agradecemos desde
el fondo de nuestro corazón
lo que están haciendo por nosotros y si alguna vez necesitan
algo de nosotros estaremos allí
para ayudarlos".
Ella le dijo a Hispanic News
que cuando se recupere de su
cirugía, ella será una defensora
de las personas discapacitadas
que necesitan rampas para que
las instalen en sus hogares.
"Yo creo que necesitan empezar ese programa de nuevo en
esta área. Yo sé que en la comunidad hispana tenemos una gran
cantidad de personas con diabetes y que sufren de los efectos
secundarios de la enfermedad y
esto es un programa que debe
continuar", afirmó ella.
Hispanic News siguió la historia de María y habló con Dennis
Gagnon, director de comunicación de la ciudad de Kansas
City, y él dijo que antes, a su entender, la ciudad había recibido
dinero de la subvención que se
utilizaba para ayudar a las personas que necesitaban instalar
rampas en sus casas.
"Parece que ese programa
ya no es financiado porque la
subvención terminó. A veces estos programas reciben subvenciones para poner en marcha un
programa en la ciudad pero si
no hay financiación con fondos
locales para mantener el programa, entonces, muchas veces terminan. Sin embargo, si un individuo está buscando la ayuda de
una rampa, deben llamar al 211
para asistencia ", dijo Gagnon.
Una persona que llama al
Centro de Llamadas 311 será
atendida con los problemas de
la ciudad o servicios que la ciudad ofrece. Gagnon explicó que
el número 311 podría ayudar a
Riggs si necesitaba una rampa
de acceso para sillas de ruedas en
una esquina de la calle.
Cuando Hispanic News le preguntó por qué no le dio a Riggs
la información de llamar al 211,
él dijo, "probablemente hubiera
sido una buena idea para ellos
(los operadores del centro de
llamadas) pensar en eso pero,
a veces, una persona no piensa
todo al momento. Eso sería un
lugar lógico para buscar ayuda
con una rampa", explicó él.
TU CONEXIÓN LATINA DESDE 1996
El Centro de Llamadas 211 del
United Way no es un proveedor
de servicios directos pero ellos están conscientes de unos
12.000 programas diferentes en
la comunidad que ofrecen una
variedad de servicios y ellos podrían haber ayudado conectar
a Riggs con una agencia que
podría haberle proporcionado
ayuda con una rampa para sillas
de ruedas
"Lo mejor que se puede hacer
es llamar al 211 y explicar su situación [como]¿donde vive y cual
es su situación de ingresos?...
Dependería de cuáles programas
están disponibles. En algunas
áreas, ‘la Navidad en Octubre’
puede ser un programa que podría ayudar. ‘El Día de Cuidado’ generalmente se celebra en
junio y ayuda con este tipo de
problemas. Los especialistas /
operadoras son las personas que
están en la mejor posición para
saber cuáles programas existen
y cuales son las posibilidades.
No podemos ofrecer ninguna garantía pero podemos guiarlos en
la dirección correcta ", dijo Ron
Howard, director de relaciones
públicas de United Way.
Un solo día antes del plazo,
Mary Riggs probó su nueva rampa. No sólo va a acomodar la silla
de ruedas pero también puede
acomodar su moto. “Esta es
una bendición y doy las gracias
a Viviana, Richard y sus amigos
por ello. Estoy abrumada ahora
mismo. Por primera vez en mi
vida estoy sin palabras."
"Yo voy a pasar mis noches
aquí. Es como si fuera un porche
que siempre he querido. Es sólo
una rampa pero puedo sentarme
aquí y tomar un poco de té con
hielo... y si realmente quiero salir sólo tengo que bajar la rampa
con mi marido y sentarnos allí
en el camino y hablar con mis
familiares y amigos. Me encanta.
Es hermosa.
Richard Medellín estaba muy
contento al ver a su amiga en
la rampa. "Estoy contento de
haber podido ayudarlos. Ella
me dijo que si ella no tuviera
la rampa que la iban a llevar al
hospital de nuevo. Yo he estado
en el hospital y no es divertido
estar allí. Es mejor estar con su
familia. Me hace sentir bien y
los amigos son para eso, se ayudan los unos a los otros."
Paul Zaragoza, and his team of carpenters, spent two days building this ADA ramp. Mary Riggs was
happy that the carpenters were able to meet her deadline.
Pasó dos días en que Paul Zaragoza y esto carpinteros construyeron esta rampa ADA. Mary Riggs era feliz
que los carpinteros pudiera terminar la construcción antes de la entrega.
kchispanicnews.com 18 DE AGOSTO DEL 2011
Plaza Shooting Leads to Call For Changes
Getting Children Ready for School
From new backpacks to sharp pencils, parents
across the country are doing their best to cross the
items off their children’s back-to-school checklists.
They want to be sure that when the first day of
school comes, their children will have everything
they need to be ready to start and ready to learn.
But as a country we’re failing to do the same thing
and in the current budget debate, some of our
leaders are threatening to do just the opposite. Instead of budgeting our limited resources wisely so
we’ll be able to stock up on the things we know
our children need, some shrill, ideologically driven
leaders are hijacking the political process and trying to grab money out of our children’s small piggybanks and spend it on more gift cards for big
corporations and billionaires. No new tax pledges
have been signed by 277 members of Congress
throwing the entire weight of debt reduction on
children, our poorest Americans, the homeless,
jobless, helpless, and a middle class treading water
and trying to stay afloat.
We know that between birth and age five, children learn social, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive skills that set the foundation for academic
success. Factors including poverty and the “lottery
of geography” create barriers to young children’s
healthy development. Cognitive gaps emerge between children from families with low and higher
incomes as early as nine months, and more often
than not, these children are unable to catch up
by the time they enter kindergarten. The resulting achievement gap increases over time and often
propels children into the cradle to prison pipeline
– especially if they are poor children of color.
Quality child care and early childhood educational experiences are crucial to giving children a
sound start in life – but they are still out of reach
for many families. Although child care is a necessity for many families with working parents, the
annual cost of center-based child care for a fouryear-old is more than the annual in-state tuition at
a public four-year college in 33 states and the District of Columbia. In 18 states, a family must have
an income below 175 percent of the poverty level
(below $32,043 for a family of four) to receive a
public child care subsidy. Only 13.8 percent of
three-year-olds and 38.9 percent of four-year-olds
were in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs,
Head Start, or early intervention/special education in 2008-2009 and only 10 states require all
schools districts to offer full day kindergarten to
get children ready for school.
Without positive early childhood experiences, it
is easy for children to fall behind in school and
American education, which used to be the envy of
the world, is in dire straits. Many public school students, kindergarten through 12th grade, are struggling; children of color and poor children struggle
most. More than 60 percent of all fourth, eighth,
and 12th grade public school students and nearly
80 percent or more of Black and Hispanic public
school students in the same grades are reading or
doing math below grade level. The U.S. ranks 24th
among 30 developed countries on overall educational achievement for 15-year-olds, and in a study
of education systems in 60 countries, we ranked
31st in math achievement and 23rd in science
achievement for 15-year-olds. Too often children
fall behind in school and drop out, increasing their
risk of entering the cradle to prison pipeline. Staying in school and receiving a quality education are
the best deterrents to juvenile delinquency and the
surest route towards responsible, productive adulthood. Yet almost half of our states spend on average more than three times as much per prisoner as
per public school pupil. I can’t think of a dumber
investment policy, one that hurts countless children and families every day.
It’s clear we’re not getting our children what they
need to be ready for and to succeed in school and
to learn all that we need them to know in order to
keep our workforce, military, and country strong
in the future. It’s time for every voter to tell those
shrill partisan and ideologically driven extremists
that America’s children are not to be sacrificial
lambs on the altar of their destructive agendas. If
we saw parents spending money to buy themselves
a private jet but sending their child to school unprepared, hungry, and empty-handed, we would be
shocked and furious at how misguided their priorities were. Why should any of our nation’s leaders
be allowed to make the same choice?
Marian Wright Edelman is President
of the Children's Defense Fund
Recent Budget Crisis Creating Economic Anxiety
By Jane Honeck, CPA
The recent budget crisis catapulted us into this week’s stock
market turmoil and reaffirms
the consequences of ignoring
Sir Francis Bacon’s 400 year
old words, "The only thing we
have to fear is fear itself.” Those
sage words were echoed during
FDR’s inaugural speech and still
ring true today. We clearly see
how the fear of future failures
and potential losses drives down
expectations so we operate from
a place of weakness instead of
strength. It’s the proverbial bogeyman in the closet. The more
we focus on him, the bigger,
more ferocious he gets!
So how can we as individuals
move beyond today’s economic
anxiety and fear and get on with
our lives? How do we keep our
own stability and help build this
economy instead of tear it down?
Like it or not, we’re all in this together and it’s clear what happens
when we tackle today’s problems
as a house divided. Frustration
and mistrust grow and the solution seems out of reach and certainly nothing we can influence.
But, our own grass roots efforts
can make a difference in moving
us and the country out of fear
back into possibility.
Following are simple steps
anyone can take to step out of financial paralysis and into building new money muscles:
1. Talk it up: Ignoring your
anxieties and keeping fear bottled up only makes them fester
and grow. Share your feelings
with someone and get their perspective. Without shared perspective, we magnify negative
speculation, mix it with past
failures, and the financial bogeyman grows. With sharing, things
become more balanced and, at
the very least, two of you will be
shouldering the load instead of
just you!
2. Stay in the moment: Affirm
your own financial reality now.
Did you make it through yesterday, last week, last month? Have
things changed that much? Do
you have enough today? None
of us know what’s really ahead—
but we can be certain about today. Staying in the moment and
not getting too far ahead of ourselves puts a stable foundation
back in place.
3. Choose your battle: Be honest about what’s underneath your
concern—is it mistrust, lack of
control, powerlessness? Today’s
financial fears keep us worrying
about things we can’t change. But,
we become empowered by transforming those we can. Can we
stop the stock market slide? Probably not, but we can make changes
in our own financial world.
4. Take the next step: Don’t
worry about all the steps from
here to your own financial stability—you only need worry about
the next step. Keep your eye on
your financial goals and begin
shifting from emotion to motion.
Pay a bill; start a savings account;
cut up a credit card—any next
step will start the momentum.
Ultimately, the culmination of
those next steps will build trust
in yourself and your ability to
meet your future goals.
5. Do it again: When the next
negative headline appears (and
it will) go back to #1. Fear is a
part of life, but it doesn’t have
to take over our life. It may feel
like a lot of effort the first time
you tackle these steps. But, use
them often and eventually you’ll
slip right through fear and into
empowered action with a blink
of an eye.
There you have it, a simple
plan responding to time-tested
sage advice. Five easy steps that
move us from emotion to motion, paralysis to possibility, fear
to trust. And, when we trust, all
things are possible.
Jane Honeck, CPA, PFS,
and author of The
Problem With Money!
It was the kind of attention
that Highwoods Properties was
looking to avoid when they
petitioned the mayor and city
council to roll back the 11 o’clock
curfew to 9 p.m. on weekends.
The call was in response to the
increasing crowds of young,
mostly African American kids
that gather in the popular
shopping district.
Mayor Sly James and Ad-Hoc
leader Alvin Brooks as well as
other community leaders came
to the Plaza this past Friday to
see the situation and talk with
kids. Before 11 p.m. shots rang
out no more than 50 yards from
where James and his group had
gathered. Before the police could
impose order, three young teens
were wounded, his bodyguards
threw James to the ground and
the reputation of the venerable
shopping district took another
hit.
Last year, the Plaza received
unwanted attention when a large
crowd of unsupervised teens,
estimated at around 900, swelled
the area. Police responded in
force after a series of complaints.
At one point the police were
forced to use pepper spray to
disperse the crowds.
In a statement issued by the
mayor’s office, James stated,
“While we may not be able
to stop shootings like the one
last night, understand that the
situation cannot stand. I have
been working today, and will
continue to work this week
ahead of City Council session
on Thursday with the police, the
council, the courts and the 14
school districts in Kansas City
to determine a path forward that
helps keeps kids safe not only on
the Plaza but throughout our
city.”
James asserted that the
problems in the Plaza are not
a police problem. “We have a
youth problem on the Plaza, but
more than that we have a parent
problem. Twelve, 13 and 14year-olds do not arrive on the
Plaza by themselves. We need
parents to pay attention and get
involved. As a city, we can pass
any number of ordinances, start
all kinds of programs, but if our
parents are not more involved in
parenting, we cannot solve this
issue.
“A curfew would have merit in
our view, but that is a decision
our capable mayor and his team
of municipal experts need to
weigh,” Highwoods said in a
statement issued Sunday.
Kansas City has a curfew on the
books of midnight on weekends
and 11 p.m. the rest of the week.
The fine is $1 dollar for the first
offense, $500 or probation for
repeat offenses.
Without committing to a
specific strategy James added,
“So I am reaching out to all
who will listen. We need your
help. Reducing the crime in
our neighborhoods and keeping
our children safe will require
a coordinated effort. It cannot
just be the city, or the police
department, or churches, or
schools; rather it must be all of
the above and more. Whatever
the solution is, I know it begins
and ends at home.”
Late
monday
afternoon
the mayor’s office issued the
following statement,
“It is a distinct possibility,
after extensive discussions,
the City of Kansas City will
implement a 9 p.m. city-wide
curfew beginning as soon as
Friday, Aug. 19.” The curfew if it
takes affect will have to take into
account some exemptions in the
currnet curfew such as making
allowances for work schedules,
school activities and running
errands for parents.
www.kchispanicnews.com
In my View
By Marian Wright Edelman
3
4
SPORTS
Chiefs first pre-season game
resembles scrimmage
If you are someone who believes the pre-season creates
momentum for teams to be
successful going into the regular season you better not be a Chiefs fan this year.
Otherwise, you are going to want to pull your
hair out.
After a short two-week off-season in St. Joseph,
the Chiefs utilized the pre-season opener at home
against Tampa Bay to evaluate players battling
for positions on the roster. While the Bucs’ key
players on offense and defense all got their feet
wet with more than a quarter’s worth of play, the
home side got a couple of possessions from their
starters and sat them for the rest of the game.
Even when each side had their A team on the
field, Tampa sought to have their playmakers
participate. As a result, Grandview’s Josh Freeman led his team to successful drives throughout
his time on the field and his offense looked effective. The Chiefs had a backup center start and on
KC’s second possession quarterback Matt Cassel
lost the center exchange and gave Tampa the ball
deep in Chiefs territory.
Cassel didn’t get to fire a pass at wide receiver Dwayne Bowe or anyone else in the offense.
Outside of the fumble, he handed off and none
of those efforts went to Pro Bowl running back
Jamaal Charles. Seventh-round draft pick Shane
Bannon started, in what everyone anticipates
will be Le’Ron McClain’s starting fullback spot,
in front of an offensive line without its starting center and missing released left guard Brian
Waters for the first time since the Gunther Cunningham era. Perhaps it is a good thing none of
the Chiefs offensive cornerstones got involved.
JOHN
SILVA
Defensively, there was no Tamba Hali and
there was no scheming from defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel’s unit. Tampa took advantage of the 3-4 alignment and moved the ball
efficiently.
That’s not to say there were no bright spots in
the 25-0 loss. First-round draft choice Jonathan
Baldwin looked physically the part of a starting
NFL receiver. He was targeted four times during the game and caught one pass on a slant
pattern. When Baldwin gets the playbook down
pat the offensive options for Cassel look to have
increased exponentially.
A rookie on the opposite side of the field
showed potential as well. Sixth-round nose tackle Jerrell Powe had a few stops, including one in
the backfield. Perhaps his most impressive play
occurred in the second quarter when Tampa
busted loose up the middle for a big gainer and
Powe pursued the play 25 yards down the field
before making a touchdown saving tackle.
The most concerning areas look to be on offense. Both quarterbacks Tyler Palko and rookie
Ricky Stanzi could not lead the team down the
field for as much as a field goal. Head coach
Todd Haley acknowledged both were “running
for their lives” during the game, but neither
showed Haley or GM Scott Pioli a reason not
to look for a veteran backup to Cassel. The other
area appeared to be offensive line depth. Perhaps
newly signed tackle Jared Gaither will allow Barry Richardson to be able to backup at both tackle
slots, but it was alarming how dominant Tampa
was against the pass protection.
Kansas City Chiefs vs, Baltimore Ravens
on KCTV5
(Fairway, Kansas) – KCTV5
and KSMO-62 will simulcast
the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens pre-season game
Friday, August 19 at 6:30 pm.
The KCTV5 broadcast tower
is experiencing a transmission problem that has affected
the broadcast signal in parts of
the Kansas City area for some
over-the-air viewers. KCTV5 is
FYI
August is
National
Immunization
Awareness
Month Topeka, KS –In its work to help
Kansans protect themselves
from serious diseases, the
Kansas Department of Health
and Environment (KDHE) is
proudly participating in National Immunization Awareness Month.
Immunizations can prevent
infectious diseases like chickenpox, whooping cough and meningitis. According to the CDC
currently working to repair the
transmission problems. The signal restoration timeframe is currently estimated to be late next
week. Updates will be posted
KCTV5.com.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused
for our viewers. We hope to
have full power restored quickly
so all of our viewers can watch
their favorite CBS shows, as well
as KCTV5 local news and programming, However, we wanted
to make sure that everyone could
watch the Chiefs game this Friday, so we will double up, ” stated Bobby Totsch in a KCTV5.
com web update.
(Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention), each year immunizations save thousands
of lives and billions of dollars
throughout the United States.
• 42,000 lives are saved
• 20 million cases of disease are
prevented
• 13.6 billion dollars in direct
costs are saved
• 68.9 billion dollars in direct
plus indirect (societal) costs
are saved
• For each dollar invested in these
vaccinations, $10.20 is saved
Immunizations work, but in
order to work correctly it’s important to know which immunizations or vaccinations you need
and when to get them.
“We all need a variety of immunizations to not only help
protect us throughout our lifetime, but to also help protect
those around us,” said Mike
Parsons, immunization outreach
coordinator with KDHE’s Bureau of Disease Control & Pre-
vention (BDCP). “August is a
busy time for immunizations as
children head back to school and
we enter into the influenza (flu)
season. Contact your health provider or local health department
to see what immunizations you
may need today.”
Everyone over age 6 months
needs to be vaccinated against
seasonal flu every year. Other vaccinations work best when they
are given at certain ages. Here are
some general guidelines:
• Children need a series of vaccinations from birth to age 6.
• Pre-teens need recommended
vaccinations at age 11 or 12, as
well as teenagers as they enter
into high school and college,
vaccinate before you graduate.
• All adults need a variety
of vaccinations to prevent
diseases such as whooping
cough, pneumonia, influenza
(flu), shingles and more.
For more information on immunizations, visit http://www.kdheks.gov/immunize/index.html
In Loving Memory
GUADALUPE ‘LUPE’ RODRIGUEZ
Guadalupe ‘Lupe’ Rodriguez, 90 of Kansas City,
MO passed way at the home
on, August 12, 2011. Family
and friends gather for a Visitation on August 15, 2011 at
the McGilley Midtown Chapel. Mass of Christian Burial
will be 9:00 a.m. Tuesday,
On August 16, 2011 a mass
was held at Redemptorist
Catholic Church and she
was laid to rest in St. Mary’s
Cemetery. In lieu of flowers,
the family request donations
be made of the Redemptorist Church Foundation on
Lupe’s name.
Lupe was born April 27,
1921 to Pablo and Antonina
Hernandez. She married
Guadalupe Rodriguez on
September 7, 1946. They
owned Acapulco Floral for
many years. They had five
beautiful children. Lupe was
preceded in death by her
husband Lupe Rodriguez,
daughter Victoria Rodriguez, brother Frank Hernandez, sisters Lilly Morales
and Augustina Ramirez and
son-in-law Salvador Cervantes. Lupe is survived by
two daughters, Rachel Avila
(Henry) of Lee’s Summit,
MO, and Gloria Cervantes
of Smithville, MO; two sons,
Edward Rodriguez (Susan)
of Overland Park, KS and
Fred Rodriguez of Kansas
City, KS; son-in-law Craig
Yamamoto of San Francisco,
CA; five sisters, Margaret
Armendariz, Jane Vasquez
(Tony), Angie Hernandez,
Mary Vera and Lila Casperson;
ten grandchildren,
Jenifer, Ryan, Sal, Joe,
Manuel, Robert, Lea-Suzanne, Freddy, Craig, Jr. and
Emilio; eight great grandchildren, Alijandra, Vance,
Antonio, Betsy, Samantha,
Salvador, Mallory and Lupe.
Lupe’s family would like to
offer their appreciation to
the staff and nurses of John
Knox Village Hospice who
helped care for Lupe. Please
visit www.mcgilleymidtownchapel.com to leave fond
memories or condolences.
kchispanicnews.com
Protect Your Kids from Identity Thieves
By Jason Alderman
You’re probably weary of being reminded to take precautions against
identity theft, but here’s a wrinkle you may not have considered:
Identity thieves have broadened
their reach by harvesting children’s
dormant Social Security numbers
(SSNs) and using them to illegally
obtain jobs, credit accounts, mortgages or car loans and much worse.
Many victims have no inkling
anything is amiss until they later
apply for a student loan, bank
account, job or apartment and
are turned down because of poor
credit history. Some families
have even been hounded by collection agencies or served with
arrest warrants because the debts
or criminal activities thieves executed were so extreme.
There’s no completely foolproof way to protect your child’s
identity, but here are some precautions you can take:
Although it’s tempting to simply not register your kids for
SSNs until they turn 18, that’s
not practical in today’s world.
For one thing, children need
one if you want to claim them as
dependents on your taxes. They
also may need one if you want
to obtain medical coverage or
government services for them or
open bank accounts or savings
bonds in their name.
Most parents register their
children for SSNs at the same
time they apply for birth certificates at the hospital. If you
wait until later to apply, you
must provide proof of your
child’s U.S. citizenship, age and
identity, as well as proof of your
own identity.
Because each person’s SSN is
unique, it’s not uncommon for
schools, healthcare providers, insurance companies and others to
require that parents provide one
as an identification tool. However, don’t be afraid to ask:
• Why do they need an SSN –
is there a legal requirement
and if so, what is it?
• Will they accept alternative identification?
• What will happen if you
don’t disclose it?
• What security precautions do they take with
personal information?
• Will they agree not to use
the SSN as your child’s personal identification number
on correspondence, account
statements or ID cards?
Warning signs your child’s
personal data might have been
compromised include:
• Preapproved credit account offers.
• Calls from collection agencies, creditors or government agencies.
• You’re denied opening a
bank account in their name
because one already exists
with the same SSN.
• They are denied credit, employment, a driver’s license or college enrollment for unknown
or credit-related reasons.
There may be legitimate reasons why your child is receiVing credit offers. For example,
if you opened a college fund or
they enrolled in a frequent flyer
program.
However, if you strongly suspect an identity theft has been
committed, you can:
• File a police report and keep a
copy as proof of the crime.
• Contact the fraud units
at the three major credit
bureaus for instructions:
Equifax (800-525-6285),
Experian (888-397-3742)
and TransUnion (800680-7289).
• Notify the Federal Trade
Commission
(877-4384338). Their Identity Theft
site at www.ftc.gov contains
information on fraud alerts,
credit freezes, working with
police and much more.
• Ask Social Security (800772-1213) whether anyone
has reported income using
your child’s SSN. Search
“Identity Theft” at www.ssa.
gov for information.
• Contact the IRS’ Identity Protection Unit (800-980-4490).
Bottom line: Use the same
precautions with your child’s
personal information as you do
with your own and make sure
you know the warning signs and
what to do if it’s compromised.
Jason Alderman directs Visa’s
financial education programs.
Proteja a sus niños de los
ladrones de identidad
Por Jason Alderman
Probablemente esté cansado
de que le recuerden tomar precauciones contra el robo de
identidad, pero hay un aspecto
que quizás hasta ahora no había
considerado: Los ladrones de
identidad han expandido su
alcance hasta los números inactivos del Seguro Social de los
niños (SSN) para utilizarlos ilegalmente para obtener empleos,
cuentas de crédito, hipotecas,
préstamos para automóviles y
cosas peores.
Muchas de las víctimas no
tienen siquiera idea de que algo
está mal hasta el momento de
solicitar un préstamo de estudio, una cuenta bancaria, un
empleo o un apartamento y son
rechazados a consecuencia de un
historial crediticio desfavorable.
Algunas familias incluso fueron
perseguidas por agencias de cobranzas o recibieron órdenes de
arresto a causa de las deudas o de
las actividades delictivas extremas de los delincuentes.
No hay manera de proteger
completamente la identidad de
sus niños, pero hay algunas precauciones que puede tomar:
Si bien es tentador no inscribir
a los niños en el SSN hasta que
cumplan los 18 años, no es lo
más conveniente en el mundo de
hoy. En primer lugar, los niños
necesitan un número de seguro
si usted desea declararlos como
dependientes en sus impuestos.
Además, también necesitarán
uno si desea obtener cobertura
médica o servicios del gobierno
para ellos o si desea abrir cuentas bancarias o bonos de ahorro
a nombre de ellos.
La mayoría de los padres inscriben a sus niños en el SSN al
momento de gestionar los certificados de nacimiento en el hospital. Si espera hasta más adelan-
te para hacerlo, deberá presentar
comprobante de ciudadanía de
los Estados Unidos de su hijo,
certificación de edad e identidad y además deberá certificar su
propia identidad.
Como el SSN es único para
cada persona, no es raro que las
escuelas, proveedores de atención médica, compañías de seguro y otros soliciten a los padres
que lo proporcionen a los efectos
de la identificación. No obstante,
no dude en preguntar:
• Por qué necesitan un SSN ¿existe algún requisito legal,
y si es así, cuál?
• ¿Aceptarían una identificación alternativa?
• ¿Qué sucede si no lo presenta?
• ¿Qué medidas de seguridad
implementan con respecto a
la información personal?
• ¿Estarán de acuerdo en
no utilizar en SSN como
número de identificación
personal de su hijo en la
correspondencia, en los
resúmenes de cuenta o en las
tarjetas de identificación?
Algunas señales de alerta de
que los datos personales de su
hijo podrían estar comprometidos son:
• Ofertas de cuentas de crédito preaprobadas.
• Llamadas de agencias de cobranza, acreedores o agencias del gobierno.
• Imposibilidad de abrir una
cuenta bancaria a nombre
de ellos porque ya existe una
con el mismo SSN.
• Rechazo de crédito, empleo,
licencia de conducir o inscripción en la universidad
por motivos desconocidos o
problemas crediticios.
Puede haber motivos legítimos por los cuales sus niños
reciben ofertas de crédito. Por
ejemplo, si abrió un fondo de
ahorros para la universidad o si
fueron inscritos en un programa
de viajero frecuente.
No obstante, si tiene fundamentos sólidos para sospechar
de un robo de identidad, puede:
• Presentar una denuncia policial y conservar una copia
como comprobante del delito.
• Comunicarse con las unidades de fraude de las
tres agencias de crédito
principales para solicitar instrucciones: Equifax
(800-525-6285), Experian
(888-397-3742) y TransUnion (800-680-7289).
• Informar a la Comisión
Federal de Comercio (877438-4338). Su sitio sobre el
robo de identidad en www.
ftc.gov contiene información sobre alertas de fraude,
congelación de crédito, cooperación con la policía y
mucho más.
• Consulte al Seguro Social
(800-772-1213) si alguien
ha informado ingresos utilizando el SSN de su niño.
Busque acerca del robo de
identidad (“Identity Theft”)
en www.ssa.gov para obtener más información.
• Póngase en contacto con la
Unidad de Protección de
la Identidad del IRS (800980-4490).
Para concluir: Tome las mismas precauciones con la información personal de su niño como lo
haría con su propia información
y conozca las señales de alerta y
qué hacer en caso de peligro.
Jason Alderman dirige los programas de educación financiera de Visa.
In Loving Memory
PRISCILLA KAYLA RAMOS
Priscilla Kayla Ramos, 22,
of Kansas City, MO died Saturday, August 6, 2011. Mass of
Christian Burial will be 9:30
a.m., Saturday, August 20,
2011 at Holy Cross Church,
St. John and Quincy Streets.
Burial will be in Mt. Olivet
Cemetery. Visitation will be
8:30-9:30 a.m. at the church.
Priscilla was born August
19, 1988 in Kansas City, MO
to Emmanuel and Bonnie
(Taylor) Ramos. She worked
at Starbucks Coffee shortly
while finishing her AA in Arts
at Penn Valley College, which
she had just completed. She
attended St. Mary’s High
School and Holy Cross Grade
School. Priscilla was preceded in death by her maternal
grandparents and paternal
grandfather. In addition to her
parents, Priscilla is survived
by her paternal grandmother,
Angela Ramos of Kansas City,
MO; and several aunts, uncles
and cousins and many friends.
Please visit www.mcgilleymidtownchapel.com to leave fond
memories and condolences.
CLASSIFIEDS & PUBLIC NOTICES / CLASIFICADOS & ANUNCIOS PÚBLICOS
5
WBE/MBE INVITATION TO BID:
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING
THE TERMINATION OF THE JAZZ DISTRICT
TAX INCREMENT FINANCING PLAN
Pursuant to RSMo 99.825, and in accordance with RSMo 99.830, notice is
hereby given by way of certified mail to inform you about a public hearing that
will be held by the Tax Increment Financing Commission of Kansas City, Missouri
(the “Commission”), commencing at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, September 14,
2011, at the Commission Offices, located at 1100 Walnut, Fourth Floor, Kansas
City, Missouri, regarding terminating the Jazz District Tax Increment Financing
Plan (the “Plan”), dissolving the special allocation fund established pursuant to
the Plan (the “Special Allocation Fund”) and terminating the redevelopment area
described by the Plan.
The purpose of this hearing is to terminate the Plan, dissolve the Special
Allocation Fund and terminate the designation of the redevelopment area
described by the Plan.
The Redevelopment Area is described by the Plan as an irregular area generally
bounded by The Paseo on the West, Woodland Avenue and the former Attucks
School property on the East, a line approximately 300-feet north of E. 17th Terrace
on the North, and E. 19th Street on the South, in Kansas City, Jackson County,
Missouri (the “Redevelopment Area”).
The document, as proposed, may be reviewed by any interested party on or
after September 7, 2011 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the
Commission Offices.
According to Section 99.830.2(3) all interested parties will be given an opportunity
to be heard at the public hearing.
According to Section 99.830.3, each taxing district located wholly are partially
within the Redevelopment Area may submit comments or objections to the
Commission concerning the subject matter of the public hearing prior to the date
of the public hearing.
Joseph P. Gonzales
Tax Increment Financing Commission
of Kansas City, Missouri
1100 Walnut, Suite 1700
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
Fogel-Anderson Construction Co. is soliciting subcontractor/supplier
bids from KCMO certified MBE/WBE firms for the Liberty Memorial Site
Improvements project. Proposals are due to Fogel-Anderson’s office not
later than Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 2:00 PM; via fax: (816) 842-0946
or email: [email protected]. Bid documents may be viewed at
our office, 1212 E. 8th Street, KCMO 64106, or on CD by contacting Lori
Leeka at (816) 842-6914 or [email protected]. For technical
questions regarding the project please contact Jim Belt at (816) 842-6914
or [email protected].
PUBLIC NOTICE POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL (PTC)
The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR) has been awarded federal funds
for the “Analog-Digital Communications Upgrade for Positive Train Control Project.” The analog to digital microwave communication project includes upgrades on three
of KCSR’s highest priority PTC deployment groups. Within these deployment groups,
48 existing analog microwave tower facilities will be upgraded to digital microwave
capabilities. The Company has established a goal of 2% Disadvantaged Business
Enterprise (DBE) contractor participation for the federally-funded improvements. The
project is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. The proposed goal and rationale are available for inspection during normal business
hours at our corporate office for 30 days following the date of this notice. KCSR and the
Department of Transportation (DOT) will accept comments on the goal for 45 days from
the date of this notice. Comments may be sent to the address noted below:
Kansas City Southern Railway
DBE Liaison Officer (DBELO)- E Scott
427 West 12th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
College Bookstore Manager
For more info: www.mcckcjobs.com
EOE/AA
Need help filling out Immigration papers
or renewing your Green Card?
I can help you with any kind of paperwork you may need. Insurance forms, letters, whatever.
I’ve been doing this for my family for a few years now. I can work by the hour or by the job.
Let me know what you need, and I can help. Call Leticia (Leti) Rodriguez Kelley, at 816-7970886.
¿Necesita ayuda para llenar papeles de
inmigración o renovar su recidencia?
Yo le puedo ayudar con cualquier papeleo que pueda necesitar, como por ejemplo
documentos de aseguranza, cartas y más. Yo he estado haciendolo para mi familia y
amigos por algunos años. Puedo trabajar por hora o por todo el trabajo. Dejenme saber
que es lo que necesitan y en que puedo ayudarles. Llamar a Leticia (Leti) Rodriguez
Kelley al número 816-797-0886.
MBE/WBE Bid Invitation
Konrath is seeking
qualified MBE and
WBE contractors and
suppliers to submit bids
to us on the KCMO
Liberty Memorial Site
Improvements project.
Please contact Jeffrey
Johnson at Konrath
816-283-3860
with
questions
or
for
assistance. Bids due
at noon on August 24,
2011. EOE/AA
Invitation to Bid
Haines & Associates
Const Co Inc is
soliciting M/WBE
firms for proposals
on KCMO SMR J-69
& J-86 for staking,
sod, concrete curb
& gutter, asphalt
patching, trucking,
erosion control.
Phone 816-792-3905
fax 816-792-9935
Invitation to Bid
Dean of Allied Health & Nursing
For more info: www.mcckcjobs.com
EOE/AA
FIREFIGHTER
The City of OPKS is accepting applications for
the position of Firefighter/EMT. To apply, go to
www.opkansas.org. EO/M/F/D/V
The KCMO Police
Dept. is accepting
sealed bids for
Police
Package
Motorcycles. Bid
#2012-1.
The
bid opening is
9-13-11 at 2 p.m.
Please
contact
Trina Canady @
816-234-5377
INVITATION TO BID
Garney Construction, Inc. is seriously soliciting MBE/
WBE subcontractor and supplier participation and all other
subcontractors and suppliers for the following project:
City of Topeka: Water System Improvement Project No.
28579-00-18 Inch water Main on Indian Hills 41st Street
to 33rd Street – Bid Date August 31, 2011 2:00 P.M. All
Bids Must Be Submitted To Garney Construction by:
August 31, 2011 9:00 A.M. For more information or to
send your bid on this project contact Tony Kempf, Garney
Construction (816) 741-4600 Ext 236
FAX: (816) 741-4488. Garney Companies is an Equal
Employment/Opportunity Employer.
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kchispanicnews.com
SEND STUDENTS TO COLLEGE WITH PLAN FOR MANAGING
DEBT AND BUILDING SOLID CREDIT HISTORY
NEW YORK, In today’s difficult
economy, many college students
are turning to credit cards to finance their education, using them
for everything from everyday necessities to books and tuition.
Unfortunately, this can result in
an excessive amount of debt that
can affect their credit score.
Students are using their credit
cards more frequently and racking up more debt than in years
past. According to a 2009 study
by Sallie Mae, a leading provider of student loans, the average undergraduate carried
$3,173 in credit card debt in
2008. College seniors graduated with an average of $4,138
in credit card debt, up 44 percent from 2004, the last time
the study was done. The study
found that nearly 30 percent
put tuition on their credit card,
an increase from 24 percent in
2004. In total, 92 percent of
undergraduate credit cardholders charged textbooks, school
supplies, or other direct education expenses, up from 85 percent in the previous study.
Eighty-four percent of all incoming freshman will have a
credit card when they arrive on
campus and most undergraduate
students will have four or more
cards by the time they graduate,
according to Sallie Mae. According to the College
Board’s Trends in Student Aid
Report 2010, 65 percent of private nonprofit bachelor’s degree
recipients had an average student
loan debt of $26,100 in 200809, an increase from 63 percent,
with an average debt of $22,300
(in 2009 dollars) in 1999-2000.
A person’s credit history begins with their first credit card.
And good credit can help savvy
college graduates save money in
the following situations:
• Applying for a Job. Potential employers now routinely check a person’s credit
history as part of the hiring
process. With many applicants vying for positions
in today’s tough economy,
a solid credit history may
provide a competitive advantage in the job market.
• Renting an Apartment.
Landlords often rent to the
applicant with the best credit
history. In many urban areas, available housing is at a
premium. Those with a good
credit history will more easily
find an apartment to rent and
may avoid a larger security
deposit and/or the need to
have the lease co-signed by a
guarantor, such as a parent or
an employer.
• Signing Up for Utilities.
Local phone, cable, electric
and gas companies will on
occasion waive cash deposits for customers with solid,
established credit histories.
• Securing Loans. Having a
better credit history makes
it easier to get a car loan or
mortgage, often at a more
competitive interest rate.
• Insuring Your Auto
or Home. Having good
credit can ultimately save
consumers money on auto
and homeowners or renters insurance, through a
stronger credit-based insurance score.
Insurance scores are different from credit scores and it is
important to understand the
distinction. Your credit score is
a number that represents your
overall credit worthiness; predicting the likelihood of delinquency or non-payment of credit obligations. It encompasses
everything you have ever done
credit-wise, from your very first
credit card to the regular bills
that you pay.
Your insurance score, on the
other hand, is based in part on
your credit score, but it involves
other factors pertaining to your
insurance history. For example,
with auto insurance, information about age, gender, income,
the number of car insurance
claims you have made, Department of Motor Vehicles points,
your timeliness with payments,
etc. all factor into the equation
that determines your score. Insurers use this score to determine whether you are a good
risk to insure. In order to develop a good
credit rating, parents and students need to work together on a
financial plan for college. Specific
educational expenses including
tuition, room and board, books
and fees can be viewed as “good
debt” and can be covered through
student loans, grants and the like.
Day-to-day college expenses, including personal needs, transportation costs, telephone and
other incidentals, are the types of
expenses that students should not
charge on credit cards.
When deciding on a credit
card, students should read the fine
print and shop around for the best
terms. Look for cards that:
• Have an annual percentage rate (APR) at or below
15 percent
• Offer a grace period of at
least 25 days
• Feature no annual fee
To develop good financial
habits, the I.I.I. suggests
that students:
• Plan and stick to a budget.
Living within a budget is an
important skill to master.
• Pay credit card bills on
time. Not only will paying
bills promptly start to build
a solid credit history, late
payments can also be costly
as they include stiff penalties and may result in an
increase in the annual percentage rate (APR).
• Use credit responsibly. Remember, credit is a loan—
one that will need to be repaid with interest.
• Keep in touch with creditors. If students change
residences and forget to
tell their creditors, a series
of lost bills can result in a
black mark on a credit report. Such black marks stay
on credit reports for seven
years and can significantly
lower a credit score. Most
students on campuses today
have computers, so they can
take advantage of electronic
billing and payment in order to avoid lost bills.
What Can You Do to Improve Your Credit Score If It
Has Been Damaged?
• Do not pay someone to “fix”
your credit history. Some
credit repair firms promise,
for a fee, to get accurate information taken out of your
credit report. Accurate information cannot be deleted
from your credit report. They
may also promise to fix your
credit report by challenging
information it contains, but
they charge you a fee to do
so. This is something you
can do for yourself without
paying the fee.
• Create a plan to improve
your credit over time. Pay
your bills on time. Pay at
least the minimum balance
due, on time, every month. If
you cannot make a payment,
talk to your creditor. Work to
reduce the amount you owe,
especially on revolving debt
like credit cards.
• Do not max-out your credit
limit. As a general rule, keep
limits on credit cards below
50 percent to avoid the risk
of hurting your FICO® score.
• Limit the number of new
credit accounts you apply for.
New applications for credit
in a short time will generally
lower your credit score. • Consider the APRs of your
credit cards. APRs are not
currently reported by credit
card companies to the credit
bureaus, and therefore they
cannot be explicitly considered when computing your
FICO score. However, you
should know the APR of all
your cards so you can add
debt to a low APR card and
pay it off from a high APR
card. Paying off cards with
higher APRs devotes less
money towards interest, and
leaves more money available
to pay down your balances.
• Keep at it. Your credit history will improve over time
if you make changes now.
If you manage your credit
obligations
effectively,
your credit-based insurance
score will improve as well.
• Consider credit counseling.
If you find yourself in a financial bind, consider credit
and money counseling. Information is available from
the National Foundation for
Credit Counseling or the
American Center for Credi
Education. Students should
also consider taking advantage of the financial literacy
programs that are offered by
many colleges and universities. Information on how to
improve your credit score
used by lenders is available
at MyFico.com. • Review your credit report
regularly. You have the right
to dispute any information
in your credit report. By law,
the credit reporting agency
must provide you with a free
copy of your credit report
and must correct inaccurate
or incomplete information
at no charge to you. The
three national credit reporting agencies are:
- Equifax ~
www.equifax.com
1-800-685-1111
- Experian ~
www.experian.com
1-888-397-3742
- TransUnion ~
www.transunion.com
1-800-888-4213
For more information about
credit-based insurance scores
and a free copy of your credit report, you can access information
from Fair Isaac® or the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC). THE I.I.I. IS A NONPROFIT, COMMUNICATIONS ORGANIZATION SUPPORTED
BY THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY.
Mande a sus estudiantes a la universidad con un plan para
construir un buen historial de crediticio
NEW YORK — En la actual difícil
situación económica es cada vez
más común que los estudiantes
recurran al crédito y las tarjetas
para sus gastos, desde las cosas
del día a día, gastos inesperados,
y libros hasta la matrícula universitaria. Tristemente, esta tendencia pudiera resultar en una deuda
excesiva para sus ingresos y si se
experimentan dificultades para el
cumplimiento de sus compromisos, podría afectar fuertemente
su historial y puntaje de crédito,
indica el Insurance Information
Institute (I.I.I.).
Los estudiantes usan cada vez
más y con más frecuencia las tarjetas de crédito y están acumulando
más deudas que el año pasado.
Según el estudio de 2009 de Sallie
Mae, uno de los proveedores líderes
de préstamos estudiantiles, indicó
que el monto promedio de deudas
que los estudiantes de pre grado
arrastraban en tarjetas de crédito
en 2008, era de $3.173. Hoy, los
graduados de pregrado terminan
la carrera con una deuda de tarjeta
de crédito promedio de $4.138, lo
que significa un aumento del 44%
de los montos promedios vistos en
2004. Un 92% de los estudiantes
de pre grado usan sus tarjetas de
crédito para pagar libros, accesorios necesarios para su escuela
(cuadernos, gastos de impresión,
etc.), y otros gastos similares relacionados directamente con sus
estudios. Este número muestra
un 85% de aumento comparado
con los resultados anteriores del
mismo estudio.
Un 80% de los estudiantes
del primer año de Universidad
ya tienen una tarjeta cuando
comienzan clases y, al momento
de graduarse, prácticamente todos tienen cuatro o más tarjetas,
según datos de Sallie Mae. Según el informe “Tendencias en los Recursos Financieros
Estudiantiles de 2010” (Trends
in Student Aid Report 2010)
del College Board, un 65% de
los graduados universitarios (de
2008-2009) terminaron sus estudios con una deuda promedio de
$26.100, un aumento del 63% si
se compara con la deuda que los
estudiantes venían acumulando
en 1999-2000 de $22.300 (calculados en dólares de 2009).
El historial crediticio de una
persona comienza con la primera tarjeta de crédito. Un buen
puntaje de crédito puede ayudar
al estudiante astuto a encarar estas situaciones financieras: • Al solicitar un trabajo. Los
empleadores potenciales hoy
día comúnmente revisan el
historial de crédito de un candidato potencial como parte
del proceso de selección de empleados. Cuando hay muchos
solicitantes para una misma
posición como suele suceder
en situaciones económicas
difíciles como las actuales,
poseer una sólida historia de
crédito puede significar el factor determinante para aventajar en el merado laboral.
• Al alquilar un apartamento. Por lo general los
caseros van a preferir alquilar
una vivienda a personas con
el mejor historial de crédito
posible. En muchas zonas
urbanas la disponibilidad de
una vivienda es limitada y
aquellas personas con buen
crédito pudieran encontrar
más fácilmente una vivienda
alquilada y evitar tener que
dejar un alto depósito de seguridad o tener que proveer de
un fiador (uno de los padres o
la empresa que lo emplea).
• Al solicitar los servicios
públicos como agua, luz
o teléfonos. Usualmente
las empresas de servicios públicos como la electricidad,
gas, teléfono o televisión por
cable, dispensan el requisito
de un depósito a las personas
que poseen un buen historial
de crédito establecido.
• Para obtener préstamos.
Un buen historial de crédito
hace más fácil obtener préstamos ya sea para un auto,
una vivienda o cualquier
otro objetivo y, a menudo,
ayuda a obtener mejores tasas de interés.
• Al adquirir seguro para su
auto o vivienda. Tener un
buen crédito puede a la larga
ahorrarle dinero en el seguro
de auto o de vivienda a los
consumidores pues les permite tener un mejor puntaje
crediticio de seguros.
El puntaje crediticio de seguros (credit-based insurance
score) es diferente del puntaje de
crédito regular o credit score.
El puntaje de crédito es una
representación numérica de su
calidad crediticia; éste evalúa las
probabilidades que hay que un
individuo pague o no sus obligaciones crediticias. Incluye todas las actividades relacionadas
a sus cuentas a crédito: desde la
primera tarjeta, el pago de sus
recibos de servicios públicos,
préstamos y otras deudas que se
paguen regularmente.
El puntaje crediticio de seguros es un número producido por
el análisis de la historia crediticia
de un individuo en el que se toman en cuenta los indicativos de
que la persona pueda incurrir en
un reclamo al seguro. Toma en
cuenta cosas que están directamente relacionadas con los seguros, por ejemplo, para el seguro
de auto serían la edad, sexo, ingresos, número de reclamaciones
al seguro que la persona haya realizado, los puntos que asigne al
conductor el Departamento de
Vehículos Motorizados estatal,
cómo paga sus primas, etc. Todos
estos factores se incluyen en el
cálculo del puntaje crediticio de
seguros. Este puntaje es usado por
las aseguradoras para determinar
qué tanto riesgo supone una persona para ofrecerle cobertura.
Para que los jóvenes desarrollen
un buen puntaje crediticio necesitan trabajar en conjunto con sus
padres en diseñar un plan para
financiar sus gastos estudiantiles.
Varios de los costos universitarios
como matricula, gastos de dormitorio, la pensión alimenticia o los
libros, pueden cubrirse con préstamos estudiantiles porque son
una “deuda buena”, y a menudo
hay préstamos estudiantiles, becas y otros recursos similares disponibles. Los gastos del día a día,
necesidades personales, transporte,
teléfono y otros gastos discrecionales no deberían financiarse con
las tarjetas de crédito.
Cuando busquen una tarjeta
de crédito, es esencial que se lean
las letras menudas y que se comparen las condiciones ofrecidas
para seleccionar las mejores ofertas. Busquen tarjetas de crédito
que ofrezcan lo siguiente:
• Tarjetas que cobren una tasa
de interés anual (annual percentage rate -APR) de 15%
o menor.
• Que ofrezcan un periodo de
gracia mínimo de 25 días.
Aquellas que no cobren
cargos anuales de servicio o
de membrecía.
• Para desarrollar buenos hábitos financieros, el I.I.I.
sugiere que:
• Tengan un presupuesto y se
use. Vivir dentro de un presupuesto de gastos e ingresos
es una de las principales
enseñanzas que deberían
aprenderse lo antes posible.
• Paguen las factures y las
cuentas de crédito a tiempo.
Pagar las cuentas a tiempo
ayuda a mantener y mejorar
un historial crediticio, pero
además, evita los recargos
y penalidades, que cuestan
dinero adicional; además,
evitará que le aumenten la
tasa de interés anual (APR).
• Usen el crédito responsablemente. Hay que recordar
que aquello que se carga a
una tarjeta es equivalente a
tomar un préstamo cualquiera; enseguida será necesario pagarlo y, junto al capital, posiblemente agreguen
altos intereses.
• Manténganse en contacto
con los acreedores. Si se mudan, cambien la dirección
de sus cuentas, y sobre todo
de las tarjetas de crédito, a la
nueva residencia. Los recibos
o facturas que no lleguen a
su destino pueden resultar
en pagos atrasados, y estos
atrasos, resultar en puntos
negativos a su historial de
crédito. Las notificaciones o
anotaciones negativas suelen
estar en su historial crediticio por largo tiempo. Lo más
recomendable es aprovechar
la nueva tecnología y el acceso
electrónico o por internet a las
cuentas, para evitar los retrasos y recargos por recibos perdidos o que nunca llegaron.
¿Qué hacer si su historial de
crédito ha desmejorado?
• No pague a nadie para que
le “arregle” su historial de
crédito. Hay ofertas de servicios que prometen que, por
un pago, sacarán de su historial información que esté
afectándolo negativamente
inclusive si ésta es correcta.
Resulta que la información
correcta en su historial de
crédito no puede borrarse.
Otras empresas ofrecen sacar
de su historial cosas que no
le pertenecen o información
incorrecta, de nuevo, por un
pago. Pero esto es algo que
usted mismo puede hacer
cuando lo desee, sin pagar
ningún cargo por servicio u
honorarios a nadie.
• Diseñe un plan para mejorar
su historial crediticio con el
tiempo. Pague todos sus recibos y facturas a tiempo. Al
menos pague el monto mínimo a tiempo cada mes. Si
se encuentra que no puede
hacer un pago a tiempo en
un mes particular, hable
con el acreedor, no lo ignore
porque la deuda no desaparecerá. Al contrario, siempre
trate de reducir el monto de
la deuda que tenga, especialmente cuando se trata de
tarjetas de crédito o lo que
se conoce como deudas cíclicas (revolving debt), que
arrastran los intereses y los
agregan al capital original.
• Evite ocupar toda su capacidad de crédito o usar hasta
el límite máximo de sus
créditos. Como regla general, mantenga el uso de sus
líneas de crédito o capacidad de endeudamiento por
debajo del 50% de las cuentas, esto ayudará a que no se
afecte su puntaje de crédito
o FICO® score.
• Limite la cantidad de
nuevas cuentas de crédito
que solicite. Cada nueva
solicitud genera una indagación a su historial de
crédito, y muchas en un
corto período de tiempo
reducirán el puntaje. • Esté atento y conozca cuáles
son los costos de sus tarjetas
de crédito, además de la tasa
de interés anual aplicable
(APR). Por los momentos
las tasas de interés anual no
se toman en cuenta en el archivo que se genera con el
historial crediticio de cada
quién, las tarjetas de crédito
no informan de este a las
agencias que manejan los
archivos crediticio o agencias de crédito, por lo tanto
no se usa explícitamente
para calcular el Puntaje de
Crédito FICO. Sin embargo,
conocer cuánto es su APR, le
permitirá pagar más rápidamente aquellas cuentas con
las tasas más altas y dedicar
menos recursos al pago de intereses de manera que pueda
pagar más rápido el capital de
sus otras tarjetas.
• No flaquee en sus pagos.
Con sólo manejar bien sus
obligaciones crediticias y
pagar siempre a tiempo, su
historial de crédito sí mejorará con el tiempo y su
puntaje también.
• Considere obtener ayuda de
un asesor o firma de consejería crediticia (credit counseling). Si observa que no
puede manejar su situación
financiera, considere obtener
consejería crediticia profesional. Encontrará abundante
información crediticia en: National Foundation for Credit
Counseling y en American
Cneter for Credit Education. Los estudiantes pueden
aprovechar los programas de
educación financiera de sus
colegios universitarios o universidades y, si desean conocer
formas adicionales de cómo
mejorar el puntaje crediticio
que usan los acreedores principalmente, pueden visitar
MyFico.com. • Revise su historial de crédito
con regularidad. Además de
tener el derecho a disputar
cualquier información errónea que está adjudicada
a su archivo personal de
crédito, por ley, las agencias
crediticias (credit reporting
agencies) deberán proveerle
de una copia de su informe
de crédito una vez al año,
gratuitamente. Las correcciones de información errónea en su cuenta tampoco
generarán costo alguno para
usted. Las tres principales
agencias nacionales administradoras de la información
crediticia son:
- Equifax ~
www.equifax.com
1-800-685-1111
- Experian ~
www.experian.com
1-888-397-3742
- TransUnion ~
www.transunion.com
1-800-888-4213
kchispanicnews.com
7
“Please just draw it on paper”
CONT./PAGE 1
the graffiti and lettering. We
have been battling this now for
a long time. The thing is we
cannot control it because they
do it at night when we can’t see
anything. We are thinking about
putting cameras out so that we
can see who they are.”
The indiscriminate nature of
the tagging frustrates Romo.
“We can paint it over but in the
case of the recent graffiti, they
put it on the brick. You can’t
paint that. We need to find out
who it is so that we can stop it.
We want the Westside to be free
and clear of all these things but
the people can’t control that.”
Romo said the tagging is often
a hardship on property owners
who have to foot the bill for the
cleanup or face city fines for leaving the tags on their walls. Romo
explained that often repainting
the offending tags is not enough.
In some cases the owners must
consider painting the whole wall
of a building and in the case of
the brick, footing additional expense for removing the paint.
Romo finds it hard to understand the motivation of those
that are defacing the property.
“Those that are doing this, please
just draw it on paper and make it
a nice artistic drawing and if you
have to use paint do a painting.
If you want to pursue something
artistic, I can help you get some
paint and materials - anything to
stop painting on the walls. We
don’t want to show that this is a
neighborhood full of gangs. We
want to get rid of this and have
people put their artistic talents
in some other forms.”
Matt Tomasic, police officer at
the Westside CAN center, told
Hispanic News that though there
has been an increase of tagging
in the Westside it is seasonal.
“This time of year, we always
get an up-tick of the amount
of graffiti that goes up on the
walls. It is an increase that happens to us every year. … I think
that far and away you are talking about young kids … 10 or
12 or maybe even 16 years old.
This is all about neighborhood
and they’re just vandalizing
their own neighborhood.”
According to Tomasic, the
main strategy in combating it
is to immediately contact the
business owner and ask that they
take it down. The CAN center
also has volunteers and paint
that they can immediately throw
at the tags.
“Graffiti is vandalism - it is
unsightly and ugly and it encourages other people to come
and maybe cross something off
and put their mark up there,”
said Tomasic.
Tomasic agrees with Romo
that it sends the wrong message
about the community when people come to the area and see the
tagging and leave with the impression that the neighborhood
is full of gangs.
“That is part of the reason why
we try to cover it up as soon as
we can,” explained Tomasic.
“We want to say that this isn’t a
gang neighborhood. This isn’t a
neighborhood where criminals
control things. There are good
people in this community. They
are trying to live a better life and
trying to raise their kids. That is
who runs thing here, not some
kid with a spray can.”
Chato Villalobos is an officer
at the Can center and grew up
in the Westside. For him it is a
personal thing.
“In the end, the people that
do it don’t have permission to do
it. It is against the law. … You’re
crapping in your own neighborhood. … You are taught to have
Westside pride but you are doing
something that drives a property
value down and could even cause
people to get hurt. I don’t know
what their motive is.”
“The whole point of it is if you
are going to be involved in gangs
be involved in gangs,” added Villalobos. “I can’t tell kids what to
do but what I do with kids is say,
‘if you are going to have pride in
where you come from and you
claim to love the Westside, then
I have a hard time with you doing that to your own community. You know where you live. You
don’t have to write Westside on
the wall. I know where I live. I
know what side I am proud of.”
Villalobos also shakes his head
when kids try to honor a friend
that has died by writing a memorial on a wall.
“We have had a lot of young
people that have been victims of
violent crime and people want
to remember them a certain way.
Well you know what, we have a
lot of walls where we could do
something creative with you,
if you want to do some kind of
remembrance wall - something
really nice. I have seen people
write those names on the floor
where people walk by and spit. I
have seen it written across walls
and it is not even neat when they
do it. So how are you honoring
someone’s name when you are
not even doing a good job of it?
… If you want to spray paint
someone’s name that you love on
the floor, on the ground or on a
wall that has other graffiti and
crossed out stuff on it, are you
really honoring that person?”
Merchants on the boulevard want shoppers and diners to enjoy themselves while being on the Westside.
Merchants are saying that graffiti and tagging are having a financial impact on them and the community.
Homeowners dislike the eyesore of the tagging and say it is sending the wrong message to people who
visit the area.
Los comerciantes del Westside quieren que los compradores y los comensales se gocen mientras están
al Westside. Ellos dicen que el graffiti causa um impacto financiero a la comunidad. Los propietarios de
viviendas no les gusta la monstruosidad de la graffiti y dicen que el graffiti está mostrando un mensaje de
crimen a las personas que visitan la zona.
Villalobos points out that not
all the stuff that passes as graffiti
or tagging is bad. “Anything you
do where you put up something
in a public space you are expressing your feelings but there are
legal ways to do this. Tagging
can be legal. There are some
business owners that like it and
they will want you to come and
tag their building and that is fine
… There is some beautiful work
throughout the city like over in
the Crossroads where they embrace it. … Tagging becomes
illegal when some of the taggers
go and do it on a building where
they don’t have the permission
to do so.”
Respect is still a big key for
Villalobos. He referenced the
murals along Cesar E. Chavez
Avenida to make a point.
“There are some murals down
on [Chavez Avenida] that started
to fade out. It is hard to restore
those because of the weathering
of the concrete. There have been
some initiatives from people in
the community that want to
restore those or figure out how
they can make those last. Eventually … a tagger came by and
decided they just wanted to tag
over this stuff. Those murals had
some meaning to this community. They had been there for a
long time and they were put up
by Westside artists a long time
ago and they had permission to
do it.”
Villalobos remembered that a
lot of people were upset by the
vandalism to the murals. He is
quick to note that what he is
about to say is hearsay.
“What I heard is that the tagger told someone that if you are
going to be disrespectful by leaving that art up there and deterio-
rated as it was, then you really
don’t care about the art, and I
disagree with that. You should
be involved in helping restore
it instead of making your mark
without permission on something that is community.”
Villalobos also is leery of the
attention that the media pays to
the tagging issue. His feeling is
that taggers want the attention
that goes with the tagging. “I
think it gives more publicity to
these people. Unfortunately not
just good people read your paper. There are a lot of criminals
that are copycats. … I really
strongly believe, from my years
in law enforcement experience,
that when you see something
on TV and you think it is fascinating, it could be coincidental,
but soon you start seeing it in
your area.”
“Por favor, simplemente dibújelo en el papel”
CONT./PÁGINA 1
signos. Hemos estado luchando contra esto durante mucho tiempo. La cosa es que no
podemos controlarlo porque lo
hacen por la noche cuando no
podemos ver nada. Estamos
pensando instalar cámaras para
poder ver quienes son."
El carácter indiscriminado
del graffiti frustra a Romo.
"Podemos pintar sobre ello
pero en el caso recientemente,
se la pintaron en el ladrillo. No
se puede cubrir eso. Tenemos
que saber quien está haciéndolo
para poder pararlo. Queremos
que el Westside esté libre de todas estas cosas pero la gente no
puede controlarla".
Romo dijo que, a menudo, el
graffiti es una privación para los
propietarios porque tienen que
pagar la factura de la limpieza
o se enfrentan a multas municipales por dejarlos en sus paredes.
Romo explicó que, a menudo,
vuelven a pintarlo encima el
graffiti ofensivo no es suficiente.
En algunos casos, los propietarios tienen que considerar pintar
toda la pared de un edificio, y
en el caso de los ladrillos, pagar
el gasto adicional para la eliminación de la pintura.
Romo encuentra difícil de entender la motivación de aquellos
que están desfigurando la propiedad. "Los que están haciendo
esto, por favor, simplemente
dibújalo en el papel y lo convierten en un dibujo artístico
agradable y si tienes que usar
la pintura pinte un cuadro. Si
ustedes quieren conseguir algo
artístico, yo puedo ayudarles a
conseguir un poco de pintura y
materiales - cualquier cosa para
que dejen de pintar en las paredes. No queremos demostrar que
este es un barrio lleno de pandillas. Queremos deshacernos de
esto y animar a la gente a mostrar su talento artístico en algunas otras formas."
Matt Tomasic, oficial de
policía en el centro de CAN en el
Westside, dijo a Hispanic News
que aunque ha habido un aumento de graffiti en el Westside,
sucede en épocas.
"En esta época del año, siempre tenemos un aumento de la
cantidad de graffiti que se acumula en las paredes. Es un aumento que nos sucede todos los
años. ... Yo creo que, más que
nada, son los niños... de 10 o 12
o, incluso, 16 años de edad. Se
trata del barrio y, simplemente,
están cometiendo actos vandálicos a su propio vecindario."
De acuerdo a Tomasic, la estrategia principal para luchar
contra él es, inmediatamente,
ponerse en contacto con el propietario de la empresa y pedir que
se lo saque. El centro de CAN
también tiene los voluntarios
y la pintura que, de inmediato,
puede enviar para batallar contra
el graffiti.
"El graffiti es vandalismo es feo y lo alienta a otras personas a venir y quizás rayarlo y
poner su propio graffiti allí",
dijo Tomasic.
Tomasic está de acuerdo con
Romo que se envía el mensaje
equivocado acerca de la comunidad cuando la gente llega a
la zona y ve el graffiti y sale con
la impresión que el barrio está
lleno de pandillas.
"Eso es parte de la razón
porque tratamos de cubrirlo lo
más pronto posible", explicó Tomasic. "Queremos decir que este
no es un barrio de pandilleros.
Este no es un barrio controlado
por los delincuentes. Hay gente
buena en esta comunidad. Ellos
están tratando de vivir una vida
mejor y tratando de criar a sus
hijos. Ellos dirigen aquí, no un
chico con una lata de aerosol."
Chato Villalobos es un oficial en el centro CAN y se crió
en el Westside. Para él es una
cosa personal.
"Al final, la gente que lo hace
no tiene permiso para hacerlo.
Es contra la ley. ... Usted está
echando a perder su propio
vecindario. ... Le han enseñado
a tener orgullo del Westside
pero ustedes están haciendo
algo que hace bajar el valor de
la propiedad, e incluso podría
causar daño a la gente. No sé
cuál es su motivo ".
"El punto es si ustedes van a
estar involucrados en las pandillas, estén involucran en pandillas", agregó Villalobos. "No
puedo decirles a los niños qué
hacer, pero lo que yo hago con
los niños es decirles," si ustedes van a tener el orgullo de
donde vienen y que dicen amar
el Westside, entonces yo tengo
problemas con lo que están haciendo a su propia comunidad.
Ustedes saben donde ustedes
viven. Ustedes no tienen que
escribir Westside en la pared.
Yo se donde vivo. Yo sé de qué
lado estoy orgulloso ".
Villalobos también mueve la
cabeza cuando los niños escriben
un mural en la pared en honor
de un amigo que ha muerto.
"Hemos tenido un montón de
jóvenes que han sido víctimas
de delitos violentos y la gente
quiere recordarlos de una determinada manera. Bueno, sabes
qué, tenemos una gran canti-
According to Westside CAN Center police
officers, tagging is a constant nuisance.
It has become a major issue on the
Westside as young adults are expressing
themselves illegally on buildings during
the dark hours of the night, making it
more difficult to apprehend them.
Según a la policía del Centro Can
en el Westside, el graffiti es
un incordio constante. Ha
hecho un asunto importante
al
Westside
porque
los
adolescentes
están
expresándose
ilegalmente
por pintando a los edificios
durante la noche. Esto hace
muy dificil detenerlos.
dad de muros en los que podía
hacer algo creativo con usted, si
usted quiere hacer una especie
de muro de recuerdo - algo muy
bonito. He visto a gente escribir
los nombres en el piso donde la
gente camina y escupe. Yo lo
he visto escrito en las paredes y
ni siquiera está bien cuando lo
hacen. Entonces, ¿cómo se honra
el nombre de alguien cuando ni
siquiera están haciendo un buen
trabajo de ello? ... Si desea escribir el nombre de un ser querido en el piso, en el suelo o en la
muralla con pintura aerosol que
tiene otro graffiti y cosas rayadas
en el , ¿están realmente honrando a esa persona?”
Villalobos señala que no todas
las cosas que pasan como el graffiti
o el etiquetado es malo. "Cualquier
cosa que coloques en un espacio
público, están expresando sus sentimientos pero hay maneras legales
para hacerlo. El graffiti puede ser
legal. Hay algunos dueños de negocios que les gusta y van a querer
que ustedes vayan y coloquen graffiti en su edificio y que está muy
bien ... No es un trabajo hermoso
en toda la ciudad como la otra vez
en la Crossroads a donde les gusta.
... El graffiti se convierte en ilegal
cuando algunos de los graffiteros
lo colocan en un edificio donde no
tienen el permiso para hacerlo. "
El respeto es todavía una gran
clave para Villalobos. Se refirió a
los murales a lo largo de la Avenida César E. Chávez para enfatizar su punto.
"Hay algunos murales por la
[Avenida Chávez ] que comenzaron a desteñirse. Es difícil restaurarlos debido a la erosión del
concreto. Ha habido algunas iniciativas de la gente en la comunidad que desea restaurarlos o
averiguar cómo pueden hacerlos
más duraderos. Con el tiempo
... un graffitero decidió que
sólo querían poner graffiti sobre
las murallas viejas. Los murales
tenía un significado a esta comunidad. Ellos habían estado allí
por mucho tiempo artistas del
Westside lo pusieron hace muchos años y que tenían permiso
para hacerlo. "
Villalobos recordó que muchas
personas se molestaron por el
vandalismo de los murales. Él se
apresura a señalar que lo que está
a punto de decir es un rumor.
"Lo que escuché es que el graffitero le dijo a alguien que si
usted va a ser irrespetuoso por
dejar ese arte ahí y deteriorado
como está, entonces realmente
usted no se preocupa por el arte,
y no estoy de acuerdo con eso.
Usted debe estar involucrado en
ayudar a restaurar en vez de dejar su marca sin autorización en
algo que es de la comunidad. "
Villalobos también es receloso
de la atención que los medios de
comunicación ponen al problema
de graffiti. Su opinión es que los
graffiteros quieren la atención
que va con el graffiti. "Creo que le
da más publicidad a estas personas. Lamentablemente no sólo la
gente buena lee su diario. Hay un
montón de criminales copiones.
... Realmente creo firmemente,
desde mis años de experiencia en
aplicación de la ley, que cuando
usted ve algo en la televisión y
creo que es fascinante, podría ser
una coincidencia, pero pronto
empieza a verlo en su área."
8
kchispanicnews.com
Orfin is eager to learn
CONT./PAGE 1
exciting to have him as a student.
He has impressed me with his
heart to want to help others learn
about health and wellness. The
staff also saw this quality in him
and the organization offered him a
scholarship for school,” he stated.
Recognizing that Orfin had
the talent and drive to become
a massage therapist, the staff at
WellSpring School encouraged
him to apply for the T. Oglesby
Founders Award. He was required to write a 500-word essay
on “Why I will make an excellent massage therapist”.
“There wasn’t another essay
that would stand up to his essay.
His was so powerful and moving. He has heart and his giving to others is pure. We want
people like that in our program
and we are happy to help them,”
said Farquharson. When Orfin learned that he
had won the $1,500 scholarship,
he felt, “it was like a light in the
sky, it motivated me and opened
doors for me to say this is what I
want to do.”
Walking back into school after
a 20-year hiatus was intimidating for Orfin but he likes challenges. He has been juggling
classes with his regular work
schedule at United Airlines and
taking care of his family.
“It hasn’t been easy but it has
not been impossible,” he said
when he compared his life chal-
WellSpring School of Allied Health instructor Mario Torres, who teaches a number of massage technique classes, told Hispanic News “It is
refreshing to see students from the Latino community because natural
healing is part of our roots. My parents used a lot of these techniques,
growing up.
More Latino Americans should pursue massage school – to get in
touch with their heritage and their natural abilities. I had a massage
from Enrique and it was amazing. He has a natural healing touch…
and it is so rare to have someone uniquely wanting to share with
his community.”
lenges to returning to school.
“Coming to this country was a
challenge, learning English was a
challenge, beginning to work for
United Airlines 20 years ago was
a challenge and keeping that job
for 20 years was a challenge, so I
am putting myself into another
challenge. I like to face challenges,” he said.
He is excited to attend classes
and eager to learn about the different massage techniques such
as Swedish massage, deep tissue
massage, reflexology, acupressure, sports massage and neuromuscular massage just to name
a few of the more than 80 different types of massage therapy.
He hopes that he can change
people’s ideas and misconception
of massage therapy. “When people hear the words massage therapy they think of a spa or it is a
luxury, they don’t think about the
medical benefits of a massage. I
hope to change their mind about
massage therapy and teach them
how it can heal the human body.”
“I have thought about why I
want to do this and I know there
is a lack of health care access for
the Latino community. We need
to encourage the Hispanic community to get active and live a
healthier life. Sometimes it is
a language barrier that keeps
people from getting the health
care they need. I am tri-lingual
because I can speak Portuguese
as well as Spanish and English.
I can help you through the language barrier and find out what
is hurting or where they have
pain and then I can explain to
them what will be happening
with the massage therapy,” explained Orfin.
Massage therapy is the practice of using touch to manipulate the soft tissue of the body. It
is performed for a variety of reasons, treating painful ailments,
decompressing tired and overworked muscles, reducing stress,
rehabilitating sports injuries and
promoting health in general.
“Many times we ignore our
aches and pains. We wake up
with a stiff neck and we say we
must have slept wrong. There
is something behind that - it is
Walking back into school after a 20-year hiatus was intimidating for Enrique Orfin but he likes
challenges. He has been juggling classes with his regular work schedule at United Airlines and
taking care of his family.
Fue intimidante para Enrique Orfín volver a la escuela después de un paréntesis de 20 años pero le gusta
los retos. Él ha estado equilibrando sus estudios con su horario regular de trabajo en United Airlines y el
cuidado de su familia.
true you slept wrong but what
is behind that. You are blocking
the blood flow and that is what
is causing the muscle to contract
there. I want to explain the situation to them, make suggestions
to them about [how they] are
sleeping or change their sleeping
position. We are all living with
stress every day and we need to
relieve the tension,” he stated.
Recently he spent ten hours
working with El Centro’s Promotoras Health Care program.
“He worked with the underserved and low income Latino
population providing them with
chair massages as well as advice
on how to keep a healthy body.
During his time working with
our program he has shown dedication and perseverance in his
commitment to the well-being
of others,” said Cielo FernandezOrtega, Promotoras Health Care
Project Manager.
He will graduate in the fall
and he is considering his options at this time as to the type
of massage therapy he will practice once he is licensed. “When
we are in class we discuss all
the types of massages, there is
sports massage, relaxation and
lymphatic massages. I am interested in sports massage but
Orfin esTÁ ansioso para aprender
Don Farquharson, WellSpring president and CEO, was impressed
by Enrique Orfin’s desire to serve as a massage therapist in the
Latino community. This played a major role in Farquharson’s
decision to honor Orfin with a scholarship. “It is exciting to have
him as a student. “
Don Farquharson, Presidente y CEO de WellSpring, quedó impresionado
por el deseo de Enrique Orfin de servir terapeuta de masaje en la
comunidad latina. Esto hizo un papel importante en la decision de
Farquharson para honrar a Orfin con una beca. “Es muy emocionante
contar con él como estudiante.”
CONT./PÁGINA 1
escuela se dedica a la excelencia
en la educación de la salud.
Don Farquharson, Presidente y
CEO de WellSpring, hace poco se
reunió con Orfin y quedó impresionado por su deseo de servir a
la comunidad latina y otros. “Es
muy emocionante contar con él
como estudiante. Él me ha impresionado con su gran deseo de ayudar a otros a aprender acerca de
la salud y el bienestar. El personal
también vio esta cualidad en él
y la organización le ofreció una
beca para estudiar”, afirmó él.
Al reconocer que Orfin tenía
el talento y el impulso para convertirse en un terapeuta de masaje, el personal de la Escuela
WellSpring lo animó a solicitar el Premio de Fundadores T.
Oglesby. Requería escribir un
ensayo de 500 palabras sobre el
tema “Por qué voy a hacer un excelente terapeuta de masaje.”
“No hubo otro ensayo que
podría competir con lo suyo.
Lo suyo fue tan poderoso y
conmovedor. Él tiene un buen
corazón y su entrega a los demás
es pura. Queremos gente así en
nuestro programa y nos alegra
ayudarlos”, dijo Farquharson.
Cuando Orfin se enteró de
que había ganado la beca de
$1,500, él sintió que, “fue como
si se hubiera prendido una luz en
el cielo. Me dio motivación y me
abrió las puertas para decir que
esto es lo que quiero hacer.”
Fue intimidante para Orfín
volver a la escuela después de
un paréntesis de 20 años pero
le gusta los retos. Él ha estado
equilibrando sus estudios con
su horario regular de trabajo en
United Airlines y el cuidado de
su familia.
“No ha sido fácil pero no ha
sido imposible”, dijo él cuando
comparó los desafíos en su vida
al regresar a la escuela. “Venir a
este país fue un reto, aprender el
inglés fue un reto, empezar a trabajar para United Airlines hace
20 años fue un reto y mantener
ese trabajo durante 20 años fue
un reto. Así que estoy respondiendo a un nuevo desafío. Me
gusta enfrentar los desafíos”,
dijo él.
Él está encantado de asistir a
clases y con ganas de aprender
sobre las diferentes técnicas de
masaje como el masaje sueco, el
masaje de tejido profundo, reflexología, acupuntura, el masaje
deportivo y el masaje neuro-muscular, por nombrar sólo algunos
de los más de 80 diferentes tipos
de terapia de masaje.
Espera que pueda cambiar las
ideas de la gente y la concepción
errónea de lo que es la terapia
de masaje. “Cuando la gente
escucha las palabras ‘terapia de
masaje’, piensa en un spa o piensa que es un lujo. Ellos no piensan en los beneficios médicos de
un masaje. Yo espero cambiar su
opinión sobre la terapia de masaje y enseñarles cómo se puede
curar el cuerpo humano.”
“Yo he pensado sobre por qué
yo quiero hacer esto y sé que hay
una falta de acceso al cuidado de
salud para la comunidad latina.
Tenemos que alentar a la comunidad hispana a estar activa y
llevar una vida más saludable.
A veces una barrera de lenguaje
obstaculiza que las personas reciban la atención médica que
necesitan. Soy trilingüe porque
puedo hablar en portugués como
en español e inglés. Te puedo ayudar a vencer la barrera del idioma y aprender lo que le duele o
donde le duele y entonces puedo
explicarles lo que va a ocurrir
con la terapia de masaje”, explicó Orfin.
La terapia de masaje es la
práctica de usar el tacto para
manipular los tejidos blandos
del cuerpo. Se lleva a cabo por
una variedad de razones, el
tratamiento de enfermedades
dolorosas, descomprimir los
músculos cansados y sobrecargados de trabajo, reducir el estrés, la rehabilitación de lesiones
deportivas y la promoción de la
salud en general.
“Muchas veces no hacemos
caso a nuestros dolores y molestias. Nos despertamos con una
rigidez en el cuello y decimos
que a lo mejor dormimos en mal
posición durante la noche anterior. Hay algo detrás de eso es cierto que durmió mal, pero
¿qué está detrás de eso? Usted
está bloqueando el flujo sanguíneo y eso es lo que está causando
la contracción del músculo allí.
Quiero explicar la situación a
ellos, hacerles sugerencias sobre
[cómo ellos] están durmiendo o
cambiar su posición durante el
sueño. Todos vivimos con el estrés todos los días y tenemos que
aliviar la tensión”, afirmó él.
Hace poco paso diez horas
trabajando con el programa de
Promotoras al Cuidado de Salud
de El Centro. “Él trabajó con la
población latina de ingresos bajos y marginadas dándoles masajes, así como consejos sobre
cómo mantener un cuerpo sano.
Durante su tiempo de trabajo
con nuestro programa él ha demostrado su dedicación y perseverancia en su compromiso con
el bienestar de los demás”, dijo
Cielo Fernández Ortega, directora del proyecto Promotoras al
Cuidado de la Salud.
Él se graduará en otoño y, en
este momento, él está considerando sus opciones en cuanto
al tipo de terapia de masaje que
practicará cuando reciba su licencia. “Cuando estamos en
clase se discuten todos los tipos
de masajes. Hay masajes deportivos, masajes de relajación y el
linfático. Estoy interesado en
masaje deportivo pero no quiero
concentrarme en eso solamente.
Me gustaría ayudar a otros también”, dijo él.
Uno de sus objetivos después
de recibir su licencia en el otoño
es educar a la comunidad latina
sobre los beneficios de un masaje. “Hay una ausencia mayor de
acceso a la atención médica en la
comunidad hispana. Al aprender
más sobre el masaje, es una manera de ayudar a aliviar el estrés y
algunas veces puede ser muy estresante vivir en otro país”.
El instructor Mario Torres de Escuela Relacionada a la
Salud Wellspring en Kansas City, quien enseña varias
técnicas de masaje en sus clases, dijo a Hispanic
News que “Es reconfortante ver estudiantes de la
comunidad latina ya que la sanación natural es parte
de sus raíces. Mis padres usaron muchas de estas
técnicas cuando crecían.
Los latinoamericanos deberían buscar la escuela de
masaje - para acercarse a su herencia y sus habilidades
naturales. Recibí un masaje de Enrique y fue increíble.
Tiene un toque sanador natural...y es raro el contar con
alguien que quiera compartir esto con su comunidad.”
I don’t want to concentrate on
that alone I would like to help
others as well,” he said.
One of his goals after receiving his license in the fall is to
educate the Latino community
about the health benefits of a
massage.
“There is a greater
absence of medical access in the
Hispanic community. As I’m
learning more about massage it’s
a way to help relieve stress and
sometimes it can be very stressful living in a different country.”
Search
Kansas City
Hispanic
News.
Busque
Kansas City
Hispanic News.

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