6:45 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Georgia| States| society · Comments Off
2 Dec 2005
This issue is very sad, and really points to how unliveable many American cities are for those without the means to own a car. I know that where I am from is one of these places. Sidewalks are scarce and buses come every 2 hours, if you are lucky.
Since many of the new Hispanic immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries have limited access to vehicles or public transportation, they walk where they need to go. At the same time, pedestrian infrastructure in the South is often lacking, officials say.
1:22 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Marketing| Texas| business · Comments Off
28 Nov 2005
Proof that a boom in an emerging market can spur the appearance of products or services that the mainstream has been needing or wanting but wasn’t provided:
The 14 calls Fiesta got on its first day of business have multiplied into nearly 500,000 dispatched calls annually. A half-million more customers are picked up by drivers at Hispanic supermarkets, Latino-aimed bus companies and through direct cell calls to cabbies.
A handful of Mexican-American drivers in 1985 has grown to a team of 220 cabbies who hail from throughout Latin America. Almost all of them own their cabs and operate small businesses on wheels.
6:00 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · California| Immigration| Los Angeles| Politics · 1 Comment
14 Oct 2005
California Latino activists are not happy with the Governator this month (neither are teachers, nurses or gays) after his October 7th veto of a bill that would allow drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants. Perhaps where the pang of such a denial is most deeply felt is in Los Angeles. To call L.A. a sprawling metropolis is an understatement. It is the definition of sprawl, and the painful reminder of the failure of American urban planning and the automotive industry’s death vice on this country since cars were invented.
To live in L.A., to survive, means to drive. Angelinos spend A LOT of time in their cars. You need a car to get to work, and to drive that car legally, you need a license. Immigrants are here to work, yet they are being denied that necessary piece of documentation. Activists are speaking out and saying just that:
“The people need driver’s licenses. They are workers, not terrorists, and deserve respect and dignity,” said Cedillo, who pledged to reintroduce the bill as many times as it takes to get it passed. “Broken promises” are unacceptable, he said. “On Nov. 8, we will vote no on Propositions 74, 75, 76 and 77!”
Props 74, 75, 76 and 77 refer to the various state propositions being made by the Governor which will be voted on next month. The anti-Arnold rally for immigrants’ rights is set for October 27th at 4:00 pm in Los Angeles’ Pershing Square.
Via / Indybay.org and Google News
VivirLatino is a daily publication published by 2 Mujeres Media, dedicated to featuring all the latest politics, culture, entertainment of interest to the diverse and influential Latino and Latina community in the U.S.
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