August 2006 COHO meeting Agenda and Minutes

Hola!
August's COHO meeting will be held next Friday, August 4th at the Argentine Community Center, 2810 Metropolitan Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66101 at 8am. Our featured presenter is Tom Dugard, President & CEO, Heart of America United Way. He will discuss the volunteer opportunities that are available for Latinos with United Way, as well as the new 211 initiatives of HOA United Way.

Scheduled announcements / mini presentations, thusfar, are 1) Ruben Rodriguez, President, of the NE chapter of the National Latino Peace Officers Association; 2) John Fierro, Executive Director of the Mattie Rhodes Counseling & Arts Center; and 3) Issac Ruffin, Midwest Transplant Network.

Gabriela Flores, COHO Treasurer, will chair the meeting in my absence.

Hasta luego! -- Rita &:)

PS: To view the agenda, haz una click aqui ; to view and download minutes of June's meeting, haz otra click en la palabra Minutes

Family Fun Event for Immigration Reform 7/16

See the attached flyers for more information about a fun family event this Sunday from 5-8PM at Emerson Park in Kansas City, Kansas. El Centro, Inc. is partnering with our friends and allies with Sons & Daughters of Immigrants to sponsor this event. If you want to learn the latest news about the campaign for immigration reform, participate in actions designed to counteract the anti-immigrant activity directed at Congress, and/or enjoy a fun evening of music, food, and fellowship, please stop by! For Spanish version of flyer, haz una click aqui!

Announcements from Friday's COHO meeting

MOCSA, the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, exists to lessen the ill effects of sexual assault and abuse through prevention, education, intervention, treatment and advocacy. Services include: the 24-hour crisis line, individual and group counseling, hospital and police advocacy, and educational programs for residents of the Kansas City Metro Area. For more information please call the MOCSA Crisis Line at (816) 531-0233 or (913) 642-0233.

MOCSA, La Organización Metropolitana Contra el Abuso Sexual existe para disminuir los efectos adversos del asalto y el abuso sexual por la prevención, la educación, la intervención, el tratamiento, y el apoyo. Servicios incluyen: La Línea de Crisis 24 Horas, ayuda en el hospital, ayuda con la policía y corte, grupos de apoyo, citas con una consejera, y programas educativos. Para más información, por favor llame la Línea de Crisis 24 horas al (816) 531-0233 o (913) 642-0233.

July 2006 General COHO meeting

Hola!

The COHO general meeting in July will be held at the Tony Aguirre Community College, 2050 West Pennway, Kansas City, MO this Friday, July 7, 2006 at 8am. Featured is a panel of Missouri State Representatives to discuss legislation impacting our community that was voted on in the MO House of Representatives during the recent session that ended in May, 2006. Legislators who are confirmed are : State Representative Sharon Sanders Brooks, D - Kansas City, 37th District; State Representative Tim Flook, R - Liberty, 34th District’; State Representative Cathy Jolly, D - Kansas City, 45th District.

Also planning on attending is Ricardo Meza, MALDEF – Chicago office. Mr. Meza will arrive on Thursday and has offered to meet with COHO civil rights committee and executive members at the Irene Ruiz Bibilioteca de las Americas, located at 2017 West Pennway Blvd. KCMO on Thursday afternoon (tomorrow - 7/6/06) at 3pm. MALDEF has indicated that they are willing and interested in assisting us in addressing the voter id bill and in lobbying. COHO members are invited to attend as they are able.

Haz una click aqui for the minutes from the June meeting as well as a draft of Friday's agenda. A final version will be posted as reports from committee chairs are added. Hasta luego! y nos vemos el viernes! - Rita &:)

MO Special Committee on Immigration

Thursday last week, the MO Special Committee on Immigration heard public testimony at Penn Valley Community College. The morning session was packed and there was a lot of attention given to the morning speakers who included Gilbert Guerrero, Guadalupe Center, Inc; Luis Cordova, Mattie Rhodes Counseling & Arts Center; Steve Begshaw, Home Builders; James Corwin, Police Chief; and Kris Kobach, UMKC School of Law. By the time the afternoon speakers had their turn, the number in attendance had dropped somewhat, and when I spoke at the tail-end of the scheduled afternoon speakers (Judy Ancel - UMKC/Institute for Labor Studies; Peter Coyle - Carpenters Union; Jim Stoufer - President, UAW Local 249; Duane Kelly - retired teacher/KCMO Board of Education; Burton Taylor - UMKC Director; Manuel Perez - KCMO Health Department; Dr. Dan Doerhoff - Eastland Superintendent; and Brenda Mitchelson - LINC/Local Investment Commission) - only a faithful, few stalwarts remained.

I want to thank Lynda Callon, Westside CAN Center for handling the scheduling of my testimony and making sure that I got the slot, even if it was at the tail end. There was no pressure and I got a position that most newly arrived immigrants and people are afforded at the "back of the bus". This helped me to deal with , check out and clarify some of misstatements and misinformation that had been given earlier that day in my testimony.

Since only half of the committee members remained, and I did work hard on my comments, I have emailed my prepared testimony to the entire committee, posted on this blog for COHO members and others to read. I also sent the committee the following link to ABC News. Please send any comments regarding this to me at rita@gkccoho.com I also want to thank Melinda Lewis, El Centro, Inc. who helped in preparation of speakers and who worked very hard to be inclusive. Mil Gracias!

PS: COHO meeting this Friday, July 7th at Tony Aguirre Community Center. MALDEF Chicago office, Attorney Ricardo Meza will attend, as well as State Representatives Cathy Jolly, Sharon Sanders Brooks and Tim Flook. Their presentation begins at 8:30am. COHO meeting and other business will commence at 8am. Michael Duffy, Legal Aid Attorney will attend to discuss COHO's 501 (c) 3 efforts.