Treat symptoms of colds and flu with fernleaf biscuitroot

May 5, 2023

It is a medicinal herb used by Native Americans during the 1918 influenza epidemic

03/07/2023 – If you’re trying to avoid the adverse effects of over-the-counter medication for the common cold and the flu, consider using fernleaf biscuitroot (Lomatium dissectum)

This natural anti-viral herb can be used to help treat symptoms of colds and flu caused by viral infections. It is often administered in tincture form and is a powerful microbial.

Fernleaf biscuitroot (Lomatium dissectum), a natural antiviral

Fernleaf biscuitroot is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial used to address the symptoms of viral infections. It is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family.

The herb is also known by the common name fernleaf biscuitroot.

The plant is native to much of western North America and it grows in different habitats. The perennial herb can reach up to 1.4 meters tall and it grows from a thick taproot.

Fernleaf biscuitroot is a medicinal plant commonly used in Native American cultures. The potent antiviral plant was used by Native Americans during the 1918 influenza epidemic. According to a report from the University of California, the herb “may prove to be a strong modern-day cold and flu remedy.”

In an article about fernleaf biscuitroot, experts reported that the Native Americans called the medicinal root of this plant “the Dortza” or “heap powerful medicine.”

The natural medicine is extracted from the hard root and turned into a tincture.

The Washoe Indians collected fernleaf biscuitroot in the months of September and October, which was when the richest supply of oils was concentrated in the large underground root. According to data, the aromatic root contains at least five or six gums, oils and oleoresins.

After collecting the plant’s root, slice longitudinally to expose the volatile oils to the oxidizing (polymerization) effects of the air. This then converts the oils to a stabilized resin.

Here are some of the culinary uses of fernleaf biscuitroot:

– The root can be dried and ground into a powder. This powder is then mixed with cereal flour or added as a flavoring to soups or other dishes.

– The roots can be boiled to make a refreshing and nutritious drink.

– Young fernleaf biscuitroot seed sprouts can be consumed raw.

– Fernleaf biscuitroot is often eaten raw, baked, roasted and dried and turned into flour.

How does fernleaf biscuitroot work?

The plant’s antiviral action is derived from the volatile oils in the root. These oils can help clear respiratory issues that are present in viral infections because of inflammation like cough, sore throat and a stuffy and runny nose.

Fernleaf biscuitroot was used to address the secondary infections caused by many strains of influenza.

To use fernleaf biscuitroot as an antiviral treatment for cold or flu symptoms, take one-fourth teaspoon of the tincture every three to four hours for five days in one cup of hot water. Make sure you keep track of your usage on a dosing chart.

If you can’t grow fernleaf biscuitroot in your home garden or forage for it, you can also buy tinctures to treat cold or flu symptoms if you are sick.

Government agency to offer digital option for sending remittances

May 5, 2023

by the El Reportero‘s wire services

A new alliance between government agency Finance for Well-being (Finabien) and the banking app Broxel will make it easier for Mexicans in the United States to send remittances to relatives at home, including the ability to send money directly via cell phone.

The program will be run by the government agency Finance for Well-being (Finabien) – formerly Telecomm. It will allow Mexicans in the U.S. to open dollar accounts using only Mexican identification papers, such as a national identity card or driving license.

Migrant workers will then be able to get a Finabien Mexico card, allowing them to instantly transfer remittances to their families in Mexico via their cell phones.

“With this card, a digital bank account is opened for them in the United States,” explained Finabien director Rocío Mejía Flores, at President López Obrador’s Monday morning press conference.

“This is a great advance for many of our compatriots there, who suffer a lot of banking marginalization, as they don’t have sufficient [identity] documents.”

Users will also be able to open an account in Mexican pesos on the same card, making it easier for them to pay for services in Mexico.

The cards will initially be available at Mexican consulates in the U.S. and will later be made available for home order via an online application. Families in Mexico will be able to get the cards at any of the 1,700 Finabien branches across the country.

The commission for the service will be US $3.99 for a transfer of up to US $2,500, Mejía said, compared to an average of US $14 with other services.

Remittances accounted for US $58.5 billion in foreign exchange for the Mexican economy in 2022 alone. Finabien is already active in this market, capturing US $2.3 billion last year through its collaboration with the government’s Banco del Bienestar (Bank of Well-being), which announced in March that it would exit the remittance market.

However, the new program will differ from the Banco del Bienestar because it is entirely digital, allowing people to access money even in remote rural communities with no bank branches.

With reports from Reforma and El Financiero

photo: Since October 2022 to date, 92% of U.S. border authorities’ fentanyl seizures have occurred at official border crossings. (@CBP/Twitter)

DEA: 2 Mexican cartels pose ‘greatest criminal threat’ ever faced by the US

The Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) pose “the greatest criminal threat the United States has ever faced,” but the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is “laser-focused” on defeating them, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said Thursday.

Milgram, a former attorney general in New Jersey who has led the DEA since 2021, appeared before a subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations on Thursday.

In a written statement to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, the DEA chief said that her agency’s “top operational priority is to relentlessly pursue and defeat the two Mexican drug cartels … that are primarily responsible for driving the drug poisoning epidemic in the United States.”

During her address to lawmakers, she asserted that the United States is going through the “most devastating drug crisis in our nation’s history,” highlighting that fentanyl is killing close to 200 Americans per day.

“Just two milligrams, the equivalent of a few grains of salt, can kill a person. It is now the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. More than cancer, more than COVID, more than terrorism, more than heart disease,” Milgram said.

“… The drug cartels responsible for bringing fentanyl into this country are ruthless and extremely violent criminal organizations,” she said.

Milgram said that the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG “rely on a global supply chain to manufacture and traffic fentanyl” and “on a global illicit finance network to pocket billions of dollars from those drug sales.”

“At DEA, we have undertaken a transformation to meet this moment. We have transformed our vision. We are now laser-focused on fentanyl, the drug that is killing the most Americans. We are laser-focused on the two cartels, Sinaloa and Jalisco, that are responsible for the vast majority of fentanyl that is flooding our communities,” she said.

In her written statement, Milgram noted that the DEA has “launched two cross-agency counterthreat teams to execute a network-focused operational strategy to defeat the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels.”

“The two teams are mapping, analyzing, and targeting the cartels’ entire criminal networks. The teams are composed of special agents, intelligence analysts, targeters, program analysts, data scientists, and digital specialists. This network-focused strategy is critical to defeating the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels,” she wrote.

The “new strategy” is working, Milgram said, noting that the DEA on April 14 charged 28 members and associates of the Sinaloa Cartel, including three sons of convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who are collectively known as “Los Chapitos.”

The DEA administrator told lawmakers that El Chapo’s sons, Ovidio, Iván and Alfredo, “became the new leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel” after their father’s arrest and made the “global drug trafficking empire … more ruthless, more violent [and] more deadly, and used it to spread a new poison — fentanyl.”

“Let me be clear: the Chapitos pioneered the manufacture and trafficking of the deadly fentanyl that is flooding our country today and is responsible for countless American deaths,” she said.

“… They know that they are poisoning and killing Americans, and they don’t care because they are making billions of dollars,” Milgram said.

She noted that eight of the 28 members of the Sinaloa Cartel network who were recently indicted in the United States — including Ovidio Guzmán — are in custody, and she stressed that the DEA is requesting the extradition of the seven who are detained outside the U.S.

“Twenty remain at large in China and Mexico, and we are requesting their arrest,” Milgram said.

With regard to the CJNG, led by the notoriously elusive Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, the DEA administrator said in her written statement that the organization has “illicit drug distribution hubs in Los Angeles, Seattle, Charlotte, Chicago, and Atlanta.”

“Internationally, the Jalisco Cartel has a presence and influence through associates, facilitators, and brokers on every continent except Antarctica,” Milgram wrote, adding that the CJNG smuggles narcotics, including fentanyl, into the United States “by accessing various trafficking corridors along the southwest border that include Tijuana, Mexicali, Ciudad Juárez, Matamoros, and Nuevo Laredo.”

She said that the DEA’s “requested and anticipated funding” of US $3.7 billion in fiscal year 2024 would provide the agency “with the resources needed to build upon the work we have accomplished to defeat the cartels and emerging drug threats.”

During the subcommittee hearing, Republican Representative Jake Ellzey asked Milgram whether she would support a U.S. military deployment against Mexican cartels, as some of his congressional colleagues have proposed.

“Any authority that Congress gives us we will use to the fullest extent,” she responded.

“… And that’s what we’re doing right now. We’re trying to use every authority, every piece of information, every dollar to save American lives.”

Ellzey also asked Milgram whether Mexico is cooperating with the DEA’s mission to combat cartels and the fentanyl they traffic.

“Or are they hindering? Or are they so corrupt? What I’d like to know is, are they a failed narco-state?” the Texan lawmaker said.

“We all have to do more. We are working to do more and we want the Mexicans to work with us and we want them to do more,” Milgram said.

Questioned whether there are “players” in the Mexican government that the DEA doesn’t want to deal with because it knows they are corrupt, she responded:

“We follow the evidence wherever it goes. … We did an investigation, and an arrest and extradition of JOH, Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, and … we’ve also charged … Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela. And so DEA does not back down from doing that kind of work, and we will continue to follow the facts and evidence wherever it takes us.”

“As part of the Chapitos indictment,” Milgram added, “we talk about the corruption, we talk about the corruption that fuels narcotics trafficking in Mexico and globally — and so again, wherever the evidence and the facts take us, we will go.”

Former Mexican security minister Genaro García Luna was convicted in the United States earlier this year on charges he colluded with the Sinaloa Cartel to traffic narcotics, a verdict President López Obrador has used to support his claim that Mexico was a narco-state during the 2006–12 presidency of Felipe Calderón.

Milgram’s appearance before lawmakers came two weeks after Mexico and the United States committed at a bilateral security meeting in Washington to “continue joint work to dismantle the fentanyl supply chain and the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel on both sides of the border.”

In late March at the the U.S.-Mexico Synthetic Drug Conference in Mexico City, officials from both countries emphasized the importance of cooperating to combat the illicit fentanyl trade.

López Obrador and other federal officials have recently highlighted the Mexican government’s efforts to combat the trafficking of fentanyl as they sought to refute claims from some Republican Party lawmakers in the U.S. that Mexico is doing little to stop the drug flowing across the northern border. López Obrador even wrote to Chinese President Xi Jinping in an attempt to enlist his help in the fight against fentanyl, and earlier this month created a commission to combat arms and synthetic drug trafficking into the country.

In addition, the lower house of Congress this week approved an anti-fentanyl law that stipulates harsh punishments including lengthy jail sentences for anyone found using precursor chemicals to make synthetic drugs.

Mexico and the United States agree that fentanyl precursors are shipped to Mexico from Asia and in particular China, but a spokesperson for the Chinese government declared April 6 that “there is no such thing as illegal trafficking of fentanyl between China and Mexico.”

Biden administration approves sending 1,500 US troops to Mexico border as Title 42 deadline looms: sources

May 5, 2023

photo: Border Patrol agents encounter over 1,000 migrants in El Paso, Texas, March 29, 2023. (Customs and Border Protection)

When Title 42 ends May 11, tens of thousands of migrants expected to illegally cross the southern border into US

by El Reportero‘s wire services and Fox News

The Biden administration has approved sending 1,500 active duty U.S. troops to the southern border in the coming days amid concerns that tens of thousands of migrants will surge into the country once Title 42 is lifted, sources tell Fox News.

The U.S. soldiers will come from a variety of active duty Army units and will serve for 90 days in mostly administrative and transport roles to free up law enforcement and Border Patrol, according to two senior U.S. officials familiar with the deliberations.

The 90-day deployment is not inconsistent with support to the border going back to the George W. Bush administration, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. The Pentagon said the Department of Homeland Security requested the troops, which will arrive as early as May 10.

Officials said the troop deployment would be similar to deployments to the border ordered by former President Donald Trump. The troops would be armed for self-defense but would not assist with law enforcement.

“For 90 days, these 1,500 military personnel will fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support, until CBP can address these needs through contracted support,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement. “Military personnel will not directly participate in law enforcement activities. This deployment to the border is consistent with other forms of military support to DHS over many years.”

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has previously warned migrants that illegal entry into the U.S. “will result in removal.” The Biden administration is encouraging migrants to use the CBP One app to schedule appointments at points of entry where their asylum claims can be processed.

The reality of the government’s response to the migrant crisis doesn’t reflect the Biden administration’s official position. While many are returned currently due to the Title 42 order – which allows for the rapid removal of migrants at the border due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – not all who enter illegally have been returned via the order.

CBP statistics show that only about 46 percent of migrant encounters at the border resulted in a Title 42 expulsion. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified to Senate lawmakers last month that of the nearly 1.3 million migrants in FY 2022 who were processed via Title 8, only about 360,000 were deported.

The White House said Tuesday that troops to the border “would not be necessary if Congress would act.”

“As you know, on the first day of walking into the White House of his administration, the president put forth a comprehensive immigration legislation and so that we could have resources and so that we could be able to help the men and women of Border Patrol to do their jobs,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “And so if Congress would act and again, do their jobs and meet us halfway and do this in a bipartisan way, we would not have to do this.”

Those who aren’t deported are placed into immigration removal proceedings and released into the U.S. pending their hearings – which can take years. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data shows deportations have plummeted under President Biden.

In preparation for the end of Title 42, the Biden administration has developed a new asylum rule that will bar migrants from being eligible to claim asylum if they have crossed into the U.S. illegally, have not scheduled an appointment via the CBP One app, and have not claimed asylum in a country through which they previously passed.

While Mayorkas has stressed that the “presumption of ineligibility” will be rebuttable and there are exemptions made for some people, it has enraged some Democrats and immigration activists who claim it is similar to the Trump-era transit ban and that it encroaches on the right of anyone from anywhere in the world to claim asylum at the U.S. border.

Sending troops to the border is likely to anger the left and draw more comparisons of Biden to Trump.

The expected migrant surge has prompted the administration to work more closely with Mexican authorities and NGO partners and look for alternative removal authorities under Title 8.

Last month, Fox News Digital reported that the administration is preparing to hold “credible fear” screenings – the first step in claiming asylum – for migrants in CBP facilities. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the agency is working with legal service providers “to provide access to legal services for individuals who receive credible fear interviews in CBP custody.”

Thousands of Californians are missing out on federal student aid. Here’s why

May 5, 2023

photo: Barry Austin Photography | DigitalVision | Getty Images

by Adam Echelman

CalMatters

Many college students rely on federal student aid to cover expenses, but increasingly complicated laws and poor communication have made those dollars harder to come by for some adult students.

Thousands of adult Californians without a high school diploma want to take college classes. Unfortunately, those classes aren’t free, and the lack of a high school diploma cuts off access to most financial aid.

The good news is, there’s a fix. The bad news is most students don’t know about the fix, and most college officials don’t understand the laws surrounding it.

Federal law has a special clause that allows students lacking a high school diploma to access financial aid money they would otherwise miss. Known as the Ability to Benefit, the provision opens up federal financial aid to adults without high school degrees who enroll in GED and college classes simultaneously.

California community colleges also stand to benefit financially from the law because it could allow schools to boost enrollment and the number of students on federal aid, both of which are tied to the state’s new college funding formula.

More than 4 million Californians lack a high school degree and roughly 340,000 of those adults were taking some form of adult education in 2021, according to the California Community College Chancellor’s office.

At least that many adults could be eligible for this federal aid, but in 2016, just shy of 58,000 students in California actually received federal grants or loans associated with it. The numbers have dropped every year since, and in 2021, just more than 30,000 California students participated, according to the U.S. Department of Education. That means as many as 90% of eligible adult students weren’t taking advantage of this aid.

The decline is the result of a complicated balancing act. On the one hand, the federal government has noted a history of poor oversight and “abuse” of Ability to Benefit, especially by for-profit colleges. On the other hand, more regulation has left community colleges feeling confused and uninformed.

Still, Bradley Custer, a senior policy analyst for higher education at the Center for American Progress, said use of the aid has room to grow.

“There’s no compelling reason why we couldn’t at least get back to 2016 and prior enrollment,” he said.

Locked out of loans and grants

In California, community college tuition is free for qualifying low-income students who apply, but even for those who get the fee waiver, it’s just a fraction of the many costs related to attending college. Textbooks, transportation, and food add an average of roughly $12,000 a year.

That’s why the federal government offers flexible aid for college students — and through Ability to Benefit, adults without high school degrees can access that money, too. A federal Pell grant, for instance, currently provides as much as $6,895 a year for qualifying students, money that can be spent on things like childcare or rent.

Joe Villa, 67, needs that money. He has six children from two marriages, no high school diploma, and a criminal record that makes even a simple job interview challenging. But he won’t give up.

While serving a 10-year sentence at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, Villa attempted to get his GED, but the program closed before he could finish.

Then in 2019, Villa was standing beside a prison employee when another inmate charged at the two of them. Villa intervened, saving the employee’s life. Gov. Gavin Newsom commuted Villa’s sentence, and he was released in April 2020 — just weeks after the state locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There was no employment because of COVID, and I’m thinking, perhaps this is the best time to re-educate myself and get my degree,” he said. Through Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, Villa promptly enrolled in both a GED program and a number of college classes. CalMatters found Villa through a Saddleback administrator reference.

He tried to apply for federal student aid, but didn’t get far since he doesn’t have a high school diploma and didn’t know about the Ability to Benefit provision.

Qualifying for the Ability to Benefit exception is not easy. A student must first enroll in a program to obtain their high school degree or equivalent and take six credits of college courses. Alternatively, they can pass a special exam.

Finally, students who want the federal dollars must receive certain kinds of counseling support and can only take a certain set of courses, as interpreted by their college.

Villa checks nearly every box. He is currently enrolled in both a GED class and has already taken more than six credits worth of courses at Saddleback in the hope of getting his associates degree and then transferring to four-year university to study cinematography.

But as of 2020, Saddleback College no longer offers students aid through Ability to Benefit.

Fixing a ‘scam,’ facing consequences

It’s a trend, said Judy Mortrude, senior technical advisor at the National College Transition Network of World Education, Inc., a Boston-based nonprofit that helps community colleges.

In 1991, Congress put Ability to Benefit into the law and slowly added regulations that explained how students could qualify, like through an exam or by taking six credits. In 2012, Congress cut the funding, only to restore it fully in 2016. Then Congress required that colleges offer counseling and career training to these students and that they restrict them to a certain set of classes and majors that align with the local economy.

Whereas the original rule had only been about the student’s eligibility, the 2016 regulations asked colleges to perform certain services, and colleges didn’t know how to interpret it, Mortrude said.

“The chain of communication is poor,” said Naomi Castro, a senior director with the Career Ladders Projects, a nonprofit research group founded by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. She said that many financial aid directors at community colleges didn’t even know that Congress restarted the program in 2016.

Saddleback allowed students who enrolled prior to 2012 to get aid at any point, since they qualified through the old law, but the college never implemented the 2016 regulations, meaning students such as Villa have yet to benefit.

The challenge, said Karima Feldhus, an academic administrator at Saddleback, is that the college lacks “an eligible list of careers” according to the 2016 regulations. As to why the college waited years to adopt the regulations , she said she didn’t know and referred CalMatters to the director of the financial aid office and the dean of enrollment. Neither person responded to requests for comment.

Nor did San Jose City College implement Ability to Benefit when it restarted in 2016, according to Takeo Kubo, the financial aid director.

San Jose City College spokesperson Daniel Garza said the 2016 law required “significant curriculum development efforts,” which he noted can be “quite an undertaking” at any school. He said he was not aware of what efforts the college made to consider making the necessary curriculum changes when the new regulations came out.

Some community colleges, including the four Sacramento-area ones in the Los Rios Community College District, did adapt to the new regulations. Those colleges currently have 42 students who receive aid through Ability to Benefit out of a total of 780 students in the system without a high school diploma.

While community colleges have increasingly shied away from Ability to Benefit over the years, for-profit colleges have leaned in.

Nationally, participation at public and private nonprofit colleges has dropped by more than half since 2016 while usage at private for-profit schools has risen, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. The department did not respond to requests for recent statewide data.

For-profit and nonprofit use different processes, too. The department data shows public and private nonprofit colleges generally have students qualify for Ability to Benefit by taking six credits worth of classes. At for-profit colleges, nearly every student qualifies for it through an exam.

“It’s sort of a scam how they are getting bucket loads of people to hit a cut score on an exam who somehow couldn’t pass the GED test,” said Mortrude.

The department created many of the new regulations to clamp down on such “predatory behavior,” she said.

A third way

While students generally qualify for Ability to Benefit through the two national pathways, federal law also allows states to develop their own processes.

In 2019, Mortrude, Castro, and other college leaders sent a proposal to the Community College Chancellor’s Office on how California could set its own such process. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Washington and Wisconsin have already done it.

In Wisconsin, for example, adult students at some technical colleges can qualify for aid by participating in an orientation and by working with a tutor or academic counselor, among other criteria.

The individual community colleges are responsible for implementing the Ability to Benefit provision for students, said Paul Feist, a vice chancellor for the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, in a statement.

He said the office will explore creating a “state defined process” akin to what other states have done. The office did not provide a timeline for a new state process.

This month, a committee of Saddleback administrators came together to figure out the federal regulations with the goal of offering the Ability to Benefit aid this fall.

If they succeed, Villa has a list of expenses he hopes his aid can cover. First, he’s late on child support payments. He wants a new apartment and after putting on some weight during the COVID pandemic, he needs new clothes that fit.

Adam Echelman covers California’s community colleges in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education.

Tito Puente Jr. in concert in Oakland

April 21, 2023

by Magdy Zara

Prince Tito Puente Jr., heir to the talent and charisma of Tito Puente (El Rey del Timbal) R.I.P., will perform in concert in the city of San Francisco and will give a masterful exhibition of his best hits, as well as those of his father’s.

Puente Jr. has recorded several albums in Spanish, one of which has been dedicated to his father, to publicize his origins in Latin music.

Yoshi’s, Oakland, is the place where you can enjoy El Príncipe Tito Puente Jr, next Thursday, April 27, starting at 7:30 p.m.; tickets start at $29.

Enjoy live music with Danilo and the Universal Orchestra

Roger “Danilo” Páiz, is an integral artist known as an exceptional musician, composer, producer, percussionist and singer, he makes his own compositions, standing out for his romantic and thoughtful lyrics, he will be performing live with the Universal Orchestra.

The show Danilo and the Universal Orchestra will be next April 29, starting at 6 p.m., at the Del Cielo Brewing Co, at 701 Escobar St., Suite A Martínez, CA.

Photo contest to celebrate Earth Day

The City Council of the City of Palo Alto in the state of California, organized a photography contest to celebrate Earth Day this year 2023.

This contest seeks to know what actions citizens take to protect the environment.

To participate, submit photos inspired by the focus areas of the climate and sustainability action plan, climate action, energy, electric vehicles, mobility, water, climate adaptation and sea level rise, natural environment or zero waste.

The grand prize winner will receive a private tour of Green Waste with five of his friends and family to see exclusively where the waste goes in Palo Alto. The finalist will also receive a prize. In addition, winners will be selected for each category. All winners will be featured on social media and the City of Palo Alto website.

For the sending of photographs, they will only be accepted through Open Town Hall. Limit five entries per individual, photos must be taken within Palo Alto, contest open to Palo Alto residents only, filters and editing must be kept to a minimum.

Participants have until April 30 to submit their photos.

San Francisco Public Library celebrates Children’s Day

With an activity called “Children, Books and Literacy“, the San Francisco Public Library returns to the celebration of Children’s Day and Book Day, an event that they have been carrying out for 24 years.

For this occasion you can laugh with Big Top Bubbles, be inspired by the dance moves of Danza Azteca Xitlalli-Xolotl, listen to the sounds of DJ Pakípayá and La Familia Peña-Govea and take home free books and activities provided by the Library and our community partners.

On Saturday April 30 from 12 p.m. The whole family will be able to enjoy a different afternoon of laughter and joy, at Parque Niños Unidos, 3090 23rd St. and Folsom.

Once in Oaxaca: meet Australian artist and gallerist Jaime Levin

April 21, 2023

photo: Levin, an expat artist and architect, is making a name for himself in Oaxaca city with his gallery and café, Once in Oaxaca. (@Bucketlistbri/Instagram)

Jaime Levin is a 29-year-old expat artist and architect making a name for himself in Oaxaca city with his gallery and café, Once in Oaxaca. In this profile, Levin talks about why he swapped the Australian coast and an architecture career in Denmark for living the Mexican dream in Oaxaca

Shared from/by Gordon Cole-Schmidt

From murals adorning stone walls of several city hotspots, to hand-drawn city maps in bustling cafes and restaurants, Levin’s work is never far from the view of keen-eyed tourists and residents of the city.

In March, he celebrated one year since opening his own gallery, and he has exciting plans for expansion across Mexico.

On the table at his café where we meet to chat, there are two elegant carrot cupcakes from chef Miri Cole and an espresso from local coffee roasting company Nómada. Next to the coffee machine, I can see Levin’s famous city maps, his illustrated children’s book and custom-designed mezcal bottles.

We’re in Barrio de Jalatlaco — the second oldest, and arguably, the most trendy neighborhood in the city.

“When I first arrived in Oaxaca in 2019, I was delivering sandwiches for a coffee shop and had a rough plan to stay and learn Spanish. Then I discovered the architecture here, and it blew me away. The buildings, streets, ceramics, everything … I spent my free time drawing the city in my sketchbook,” Levin explains.

“I was meeting lots of different local people on my delivery runs and started speaking to them in broken Spanish about my drawings. I found the people of Oaxaca were really taken by my drawings of buildings they grew up with. I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but I felt there was a connection there.”

Running his own gallery and creating his artistic brand, which has garnered thousands of followers on Instagram, wasn’t a formal plan. It started when Levin decided to turn his sketches into postcards.

He stands up from our table to dash inside to bring me his first collection of pocket-sized drawings.

“I showed cafés these drawings of their buildings, and they were very happy to put them for sale next to the bread and pastries.”

Six months later, the onset of the pandemic caused Levin’s life — like most of ours — to take unexpected turns. With cafés and restaurants closing, the demand for his drawings fell and he needed to adapt quickly.

“For several long evenings, I talked for hours with friends who owned cafés — which were forced to close — about what we could do to keep their businesses alive,” he said. “The conversations all seemed to point to one avenue — growing a social media presence.”

This marked a turning point in Levin’s career in Mexico. Under the name “Once in Oaxaca,” he began uploading his illustrations on Instagram, growing a loyal following of local people, businesses and tourists. At the same time, he started an Etsy shop and began selling his art and accepting commissions for larger works.

“It was a crazy time, but it helped me realize [that] opening my own physical gallery had to be the project’s next step.”

During the summer of 2021, he found the ideal location for his first gallery.

“This space was a blank canvas. It was the first time I could design a commercial space in Oaxaca, and my architectural mind was going wild! I designed every detail in there, from the chairs [and] tables to individual shelves and wall hangings,” he said. “I loved meeting people who could help me realize the vision, and this really showed me the huge potential in collaborating with other creatives here.”

Almost an hour into our conversation, as he begins to tell me about his favorite collaboration — a children’s book illustrated and launched with speech therapist, Viri Pacheco to help young children overcome speech impediments — we’re interrupted by two friendly faces who congratulate Levin on his one-year anniversary.

A steady flow of locals and tourists have been arriving since the café opened an hour ago at 8 a.m. The place won’t close its doors for another 12 hours — a routine Levin keeps seven days per week, all year round.

“It’s hard work, but I love the process of growing, and my team is fantastic. I need to give my time to give it the best chance of success,” he said.

Following the rapid growth of Once in Oaxaca, Levin opened his second creative space — Micha — six months later in October 2022 with his girlfriend Ingrid Flores, a designer who is working on clothing and furniture design. He says that he hopes to expand nationally, into Mexico City and Mérida.

I ask what drives his obsessive work ethic and what motivates him.

“I’m not from here, but when Oaxacan people come by who know the buildings I’ve drawn and tell me they love the way I’ve captured it, in a way a photo can’t … to me, that’s the coolest thing ever,” he said.

“I don’t think the project would have been possible in Australia or in Denmark,” he added. “I feel so much more free to work creatively here, and the support and guidance has been fantastic.

“I feel like anything is possible!”

Once in Oaxaca is located at Curtidurias 121C, Barrio de Jalatlaco, 68080 Oaxaca de Juarez.

Gordon Cole-Schmidt is a public relations specialist and freelance journalist, advising and writing on companies and issues across multi-national communication programs.

USPS warns against using their blue mailboxes

April 21, 2023

Shared/by Dave Basner

When you have a stamped letter to send, you don’t always have to take it to the post office thanks to the thousands of blue mailboxes the United States Postal Service has installed on streets and corners across the country. However, even though the collection bins are incredibly convenient, it turns out they can also be a bit risky – so much so that the USPS has issued a warning to would-be mailers that the blue boxes might not be the best option.

The Postal Service explained in a press release that their blue bins have become hot spots for criminals looking to steal residents’ identities as well as their mailed checks. The crimes tend to happen at specific times and on specific days. The agency stated, “The biggest variable enticing these criminals to steal are customers depositing mail into blue collection boxes after the last collection of the day or during Sundays and federal holidays.”

So what should customers do? The USPS advises, “If customers simply used retail service or inside wall drop slots to send their U.S. Mail, instead of depositing it to sit outside overnight or through the weekend, blue collection boxes would not be as enticing after business hours to mail thieves for identity theft and check-washing schemes.”

In a list of tips, they also suggest, “The most secure way to send mail is through the local Post Office retail counter. If that is not feasible, the next safest way is to use the inside collection slots that deposit mail directly into the Post Office. If using the Postal Service’s outside blue collection boxes, never deposit mail after the last dispatch time. Each box has dispatch times printed on a label, and it will point you to the location for the latest pickup time in your area. Avoid depositing mail during the night, Sundays, and federal holidays.”

Since mail theft has become such a big issue, the Postal Service is hoping to incentivize customers to help put an end to it. They are offering rewards of up to $10,000 for anyone who submits a tip that helps them catch the bad guys. So stay alert and if you happen to see someone who doesn’t look like a postal employee rummaging through a collection bin, especially during non-postal work hours, report it to your local police or call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455.

Consumer Groups Question Bill to Regulate Car Sales, Repair

por Suzanne Potter

California News Service

Consumer groups are calling for changes to a proposed bill – needed to make sure drivers can continue to get free computer upgrades to repair serious car safety issues remotely. One of the provisions of Assembly Bill 473 would forbid car manufacturers from competing with car dealers regarding sales or service.

Rosemary Shahan, president, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said the measure could have unintended consequences.

“So it’s a concern that it could be construed to mean that consumers could no longer get over-the-air repairs from the manufacturer. They’d have to take their car into the dealership, ” she said.

Over-the-air fixes are software updates that can be done remotely by the manufacturer. Other sections of the bill prevent manufacturers from charging subscription fees for things such as heated seats that are built into the vehicle. The bill would not apply to entertainment subscriptions such as Sirius-XM radio service.

The bill was sponsored by the California New Car Dealers Association. The group’s president, Brian Maas, said he is open to amendments to make it clear that over-the-air safety fixes are allowed.

“If it has to do with safety, and the manufacturer is not charging the customer, no problem, update the software over the air. But if it’s a feature of the car, that isn’t related to safety and they want to charge for it, the consumer should pay for that upfront when they buy the car,” he said.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a manufacturers’ trade group, said in a statement that “By prohibiting manufacturers from offering consumers subscription services for vehicle features, this bill limits consumer choice, stifles innovation, increases costs to consumers, and negatively impacts used car buyers.”

Shahan noted that car dealers are sponsoring similar legislation in multiple states. The bill’s author, Assembly member Cecilia Aguiar Curry, did not respond to a request for comment.

California approved $300 million in state-backed home loans. Who got the money?

April 21, 2023

por Alejandro Lazo and Ben Christopher

April 11, 2023 – California Democrats carved out the Dream for All money to help first-time buyers. The funds ran out after just 11 days with the average loan hitting $112,000.

California lawmakers marketed its new loan program for first-time home buyers as a “Dream For All.”

But just 11 days after applications opened, the initial pot of money is tapped out, sucked dry by eager house hunters. It turns out the dream was only for a lucky couple thousand borrowers — a disproportionate number of them white, non-Latino and living in the Sacramento area.

The Dream for All program was paused on April 6, less than two weeks after the California Housing Finance Agency said it would make the program available to lenders. About $288 million in initial funding will be provided to 2,564 homebuyers, according to an internal document obtained by CalMatters.

The complicated program involves the state paying some or all of the upfront costs for buying a home — namely, the down payment — in exchange for a share in the home’s value when it is sold, refinanced or transferred. If the home appreciates in value, those gains to the state would then be used to fund the next borrowers.

The program was meant, in part, to help address California’s ethnic and racial wealth gap, with Black and Latino families having fewer net assets than the national average. Participation in the program was limited to households earning less than 150 percent of median earnings in their county. According to the initial characteristics shown in the agency document obtained by CalMatters, roughly two-thirds of the beneficiaries went to those making less than $125,000. The average loan was a little more than $112,000.

But those figures also show that the program was disproportionately used by white homebuyers. Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, of San Diego, said in a statement Monday that the program was intended to reach those historically shut out of the housing market.

“While this program has been immensely successful in getting new homebuyers into the market quickly and in places with low homeownership rates like the Central Valley, clearly more work needs to be done to make sure that there is statewide awareness, particularly in communities of color,” Atkins said.

The fact that the program ran out of cash in a two week spree speaks to just how voracious demand is for housing in California. It also suggests that some of the people who made use of the program were already well into the house hunting process.

That raises an important question: How many of the people who benefited from the loan program actually needed the help and how many would have purchased a home anyway?

“I would guess that 30 to 50 percent of the people who are using it could qualify or buy without it because I had plenty like that,” said Matt Gougé, a Sacramento loan officer, referring to his own clients.

California prohibits affirmative action, limiting the housing agency’s ability to direct the money to communities of color.

“We’d like to do something we’re not allowed to do in California, and this is not the fault of CalHFA or anybody else,” said Micah Weinberg, chief executive of California Forward, a nonprofit hired by the state treasurer to create an initial framework for the program. “When those of us outside of government talked about what the intention of the program is — it is to really, very specifically, target those demographic communities, African Americans and others — who have been locked out of the homebuyer marketplace for a variety of different reasons.”

“You actually can’t do that directly in California“

Who got California first-time homebuyer loans?

Demographic data in the document obtained by CalMatters showed that 65 percent of initial buyers identified as white, 18 percent as Asian, 4 percent as Black, 1 percent as Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and 1 percent American Indian or Alaska Native. Ethnically, 62 percent of homebuyers identified as not Hispanic or Latino while about 34 percent did. The document indicated that some of the data was preliminary and might change once all the transactions closed.

Eric Johnson, an agency spokesman, confirmed on Monday that the program would be paused until more funding could be allocated. He pointed to the fact that 25 percent of homeowners in California are of Hispanic or Latino origin, and said the fact that 34 percent of the loans were made to these groups meant the program was “outperforming in that category.” Asian families make up about 16 percent and Black families about 4 percent.

That means the program initially outperformed with white and Latino homebuyers and did a bit better than average with Asian families but only matched the average with Black buyers.

“The program is doing a pretty decent job of representing California,” Johnson said, though he agreed that there is “definitely a gigantic wealth and homeownership gap” and that the program is aimed at addressing that issue.

Sacramento leads the pack

Geographically, the funds weren’t spread out evenly across the state either.

Sacramento County, home to the state capital, received 11 percent of the program’s funds, despite making up just 4 percent of the state population. Los Angeles County, in contrast, received 9 percent of the money, despite being home to a quarter of all Californians. Johnson, of CalHFA, said Sacramento County consistently sees higher participation rates than other counties, and that the overrepresentation of loans from the county “tracks with our other loan programs.”

That geographic disparity is hard to explain. Ryan Lundquist, a Sacramento appraiser and real estate analyst, said the demographics and current price trends across the region make Sacramento County “a prime target for first time buyers” and therefore a natural beneficiary of the program.

Gougé, the local loan officer, said news of the program spread by word-of-mouth throughout the capital community in the days before the state officially launched the program on March 27. The regional rumor mill may have been churning especially quickly given how much more plugged-in locals are to matters of state bureaucracy.

“Sacramento and the surrounding area’s loan officers and Realtors probably got a jump start,” he said.

While the initial funding for the program might be tapped out, the size and scope of the Dream for All program will likely be a subject of negotiations between Gov. Gavin Newsom and the overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature. In January, Newsom proposed a significantly smaller version of the 10-year, $10 billion program originally envisioned by Sen. Atkins. The governor proposed spending an initial $300 million on the program, a cut from the $500 million compromise signed last year.

Atkins, in her statement, told CalMatters that she was seeking to get more funding for the program in upcoming budget negotiations. The governor is expected to offer a revised state spending plan and a new financial forecast in May. Lawmakers must pass a balanced budget by June 15 in order to get paid.

Alejandro joined CalMatters from The Wall Street Journal, where he covered the West Coast for eight years.

Ben covers housing policy and previously covered California politics and elections.

Number of Mexicans deported from US up 41 percent from 2022

April 21, 2023

photo: Migrants attempting to cross the Mexico-U.S. border in Ciudad Juárez. (Nacho Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)

by the El Reportero‘s wire services

The number of Mexicans deported from the U.S. increased by 41 percent during the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2022.

According to the Interior Ministry (Segob), 43,152 Mexicans were deported during January and February. Just over half of those deportations, or 23,860, occurred in February, up from 19,292 in January.

Segob data indicates that Chiapas was the top state of origin for people repatriated in the first two months of this year, at 5,110, followed by Guerrero, with 4,088; Oaxaca, with 3,665; Puebla, with 3,514; Veracruz, with 3,451; and Guanajuato, with 2,575.

Deported individuals are returned to Mexico’s northern border states. So far this year, the most common point of repatriation has been Baja California, where 17,216 were recorded. This is equal to nearly 40 percent of all repatriations.

Almost all of those Baja California repatriations, 14,882, occurred through the El Chaparral Tijuana-San Diego port of entry. Tamaulipas follows closely behind, with 13,036. The other border states of Sonora and Coahuila saw 7,336 and 4,003 repatriations respectively.

In total, there are 12 official repatriation points, with exceptions made if the deportee is a resident of certain border communities that are not an official point of return, in which case the return will occur there.

Over 85 percent of the individuals returned to Mexico were male, and nearly all (90 percent) were over 18 years of age.

Of the 4,298 repatriated minors, their ages broke down along the following lines:

– 3,656 were between the ages of 12 and 17. 423 of this group were not accompanied by an adult.

– 642 were children younger than 11, and 35 of them had traveled to the U.S. border alone.

The number of deported individuals under 18 increased 2.65 percent during the first two months of this year compared to the same period in 2022.

The repatriation of Mexicans from the United States has risen substantially in recent years, showing a 60.1 percent increase between 2021 and 2022.

With reports from El Economista and Infobae.

Nicaragua’s housing project with China: what it means for the country’s future

Share from/by Tico Times

April 17, 2023 – Nicaragua on Sunday began building thousands of subsidized housing units with Chinese aid in the first such major project since the countries established diplomatic relations in 2021.

The plan – launched with China’s International Development Cooperation Agency, whose director Luo Zhaohui arrived in Nicaragua Friday — calls for building just over 12,000 housing units around the country.

“This is a truly historic day. This is a program that is going to benefit thousands of Nicaraguan families,” Laureano Ortega Murillo, a presidential adviser on trade and investment and the son of Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega, said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Nicaragua and China established diplomatic relations in 2021 after Managua severed ties with Taiwan and switched its recognition to Beijing.

Since then the two sides have signed memoranda to promote Chinese investment in the impoverished Central American country.

In addition to the $60 million housing project, China has said it will also build power plants and has other plans in the areas of culture, health and education, among others.

Chinese diplomacy has made headway in Central America, most recently in March when Honduras switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

The move prompted Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to visit Guatemala and Belize, its only remaining allies in the region, two weeks ago.