Madrigal named chief of staff for Bloomington mayor

Josefa Madrigal will become chief of staff for Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton. (Courtesy of City of Bloomington)

Josefa Madrigal, a former Bloomington police officer and current city employee, will become chief of staff Friday for Mayor John Hamilton.

Madrigal has lived in Bloomington for 20 years and is originally from northwest Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree and later worked as a police officer for the IU and Bloomington police departments. She has served as a domestic violence survivor’s advocate. For the last six years, Madrigal has served as the Latino Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Community and Family Resources.

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Support for Turkish and Syrian families after earthquake

Many in our community are so impacted by this devastating earthquake that has destroyed so many homes, with a horrible loss of innocent and precious life. 

I suspect many of you, are like me, we struggle with how to help,  what can we do. 

We have many Turkish and Syrian ancestry people in Bloomington, restaurant owners and others.   Many other residents, lived in Turkey after they fled violence in their home countries, and have great affection for this beautiful country.   We have families who live here, but earlier, came from Syria, this war-ravaged country, and are restarting their lives, working to raise their children in safety.  

So, how can we help.   Here are two suggestions.  Both refer to a gofund me site.   

1 –  from the IU faculty

Dear friends of CSME.      We are heartbroken by the tragedy in southern Turkey and northern Syria.  The extent of the devastation and suffering are difficult to comprehend.  It is hard to know how to help from here, but we’d like to urge you to contribute to a local fund-raising effort.      The Turkish student community here in Bloomington has created a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $50,000.  

The money raised will go to AHBAP, a well-known, trustworthy, and transparent Turkish non-profit organization that has been actively working in the distribution of earthquake relief.  Please click the link below to donate.        Any contribution makes a difference.  So please help if you can.

Fundraiser by Selahattin Akkas : Indiana Aid for Earthquake Relief in Turkey (gofundme.com)

2- From a local restaurant owner:   that refers to the same site. 

You might have heard of the recent devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Words fail to adequately describe the pain, suffering, and destruction this earthquake  caused. I just talked to a friend of mine here in Bloomington, he told me that two thirds of his relatives are dead, there are a few who they can not reach, and the survivors are left with nothing and out in the street in freezing temperatures. The rescue efforts and sources are inadequate.       The members of the Turkish Community in Bloomington  are working hard to raise funds for the victims and survivors of this earthquake.   

The name is Indiana Aid for Earthquake Relief in Turkey.      https://gofund.me/55956d8e

There are, of course, many international organizations that are mobilizing support for these desperate families. 

Red cross,  Red Crescent,  International Rescue Committee, Save the Children, etc. 

Please hold up these families in your prayers, and provide support if you can

Thanks and best wishes

Bipartisan bill allows undocumented Indiana students pay resident tuition for college

Students in Indiana without citizenship or permanent U.S. residency could finally pay the same tuition for state colleges and universities as classmates, instead of the much more expensive out-of-state or international rate.

Proposed bipartisan legislation would make it easier for undocumented students who complete their K-12 education in Indiana to access higher learning, said Sen. Blake Doriot (R-Goshen), one of three bill authors, instead of a future with scant opportunities.

“This problem has come to us, not from what the state of Indiana has done, but what the federal government has failed to do,” Doriot said Wednesday during the Senate Education and Career Development Committee. “We have not been able to get together and find a clear pathway to citizenship and we are addressing children, young adults who want to further themselves.”

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Latino students are rapidly increasing in this Tennessee county and it’s fueling a racist rhetoric

While the county’s more than 366,000 residents largely identify as White and about 7.4% identified as Hispanic or Latino in the 2020 Census, their presence has pushed a community with a dark racial history to face the inequalities that persist and adapt to a new normal that goes beyond the fractured Black-White paradigm that has characterized the South for a long time.

Although there are ongoing efforts by the city and school officials to better serve Latino families, the demographic shift has also come with reminders of how heavily divided this region is and the fact that many Latinos live afraid of authorities because of their current or past immigration status.

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Winter clothes donation for refugees

We are reaching out for help to gather gently used winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves (for adults and children) for a local agency that is helping refugee and asylum seekers in Bloomington. Many are arriving without proper winter wear and thus we are trying to help.

If you have any donations that you can give, please drop them off at Indiana University La Casa between now 11/3/22 and next Thursday 11/10/22 during La Casa’s hours of operation (M-R 9am-9pm andFriday 9am-5pm).

Thank you for your time,

Latinos Unidos (LUIU) Board

A North Carolina Farmer Was Accused of Abusing His Workers. Then Big Tobacco Backed His Election.

Cornell Watson for Mother Jones and TBIJ

Tobacco-picking is is often done by migrant Latino workers, both H-2A and undocumented. They can face abuse and exploitation from when they are recruited in Mexico, before they even set foot on US soil. But they are essential to the economic stability of North Carolina, providing a steady supply of labour for agricultural jobs that can’t be filled by Americans.

Tobacco is a labor-intensive crop. It begins life in a greenhouse before being transplanted into the soil. It grows to a few feet tall and you often start by only picking the leaves at the base of the stem, which has to be done by hand. The early-morning dew makes it give off a greasy chemical smell and the tar slowly turns your gloves black. The nicotine in tobacco keeps smokers hooked, but for workers in the fields who are exposed to nicotine day in, day out, it can cause “green tobacco sickness”—a condition that leads to headaches, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. A day off is a welcome respite.

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Is Indiana welcoming to immigrants?

As Gov. Eric Holcomb makes trips abroad to attract economic development, advocates at home criticize Indiana for not doing enough to be welcoming to immigrants. (Photo from Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Twitter)

“This kind of warm and fuzzy idea that the United States welcomes people from all over the world… that’s just a small part of a larger story and certainly glosses over the many variations,” Wu said.

Wu, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, recalled growing up in Indianapolis with a small group of second-generation Asian Americans, the vast majority of whom have left Indiana because they felt unwelcome or disagreed with the state’s conservative politics.

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Un tesoro de arquitectura escondido en Columbus, Indiana.

Si quieres aprovechar ver los colores del otoño en el area, no te pierdas pasar por Columbus, Indiana. Ademas del colorido follaje, puedes caminar por el pueblo y apreciar la arquitectura del pueblo tan solo caminando por sus calles. Aquí podrás encontrar un itenerario gratuito y darte un tour por 12 de los edificios más importantes de esta ciudad. Tour gratuito aquí >

En 1964, la revista Saturday Evening Post rebautizó Columbus, Indiana, una pequeña ciudad a 80 kilómetros de la capital del estado, Indianapolis, como “la Atenas de la llanura” por su valor como joya del diseño y la arquitectura modernos en mitad del medio oeste americano más profundo. mas>

Si prefieres ir en carro y ver un tour mas amplio de las edificaciones, puedes también utilizar éste mapa.

Why Latino people are on the front lines of climate change

“Latino communities from Texas to California to Puerto Rico are the hardest hit when these climate-induced disasters occur,” says Michael Méndez, who studies climate policy and environmental justice at the University of California Irvine. “They absolutely have a real world connection to our changing climate.”

Latinos in the U.S. are more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to experience heat waves, powerful hurricanes, sea level rise and floods, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Why we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

What began as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson, transformed into a 30-day period of celebrating Hispanic communities and achievements.

In 1987, California Rep. Esteban Torres proposed a bill to expand the week-long celebration to a whole month.

“We want the public to know that we share a legacy with the rest of the country, a legacy that includes artists, writers, Olympic champions, and leaders in business, government, cinema, and science,” Torres said in his remarks about the bill.

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