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Ex-con job

22 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus is the "yes" to all that God promises humanity, we learn in the reading from Second Corinthians this Sunday. Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit job-training program started by a Jesuit priest for ex-convicts in East Los Angeles, is the "yes" former prisoners need to hear as they try to rehabilitate their lives and find jobs in a down economy. For years Homeboy Industries put former felons to work at a bakery and cafe it runs in East Los Angeles. Last summer, Father Greg Boyle, S.J., who started Homeboy two decades ago, was approached by a supporter about the idea of preparing them for the green economy. Because job-placement for ex-convicts is especially difficult in a recession, "I leapt at the opportunity," said Boyle. Homeboy Industries now is training a group composed mostly of former gang members on parole to install solar panels so they can improve their skill set and market themselves for the new green economy. Homeboy has joined forces with the East Los Angeles Skills Center, a public vocational school that offers a hands-on program to teach the design, construction, and installation of solar panels. The course is one of only a few such programs in California and commands a months-long waiting list. The center created an intensive course for Homeboy. "I loved the idea of doing something for these guys," said Brian Hurd, the senior instructor who designed it. "My best student ever was a Homeboy referral" in a construction course "who needed a second chance." Source: An article by Miriam Jordan for the Wall Street Journal

homeboy industries ex-convicts east los angeles greg boyle gang members solar panels east los angeles skills center brian hurd

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Ex-con job

22 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus is the "yes" to all that God promises humanity, we learn in the reading from Second Corinthians this Sunday. Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit job-training program started by a Jesuit priest for ex-convicts in East Los Angeles, is the "yes" former prisoners need to hear as they try to rehabilitate their lives and find jobs in a down economy. For years Homeboy Industries put former felons to work at a bakery and cafe it runs in East Los Angeles. Last summer, Father Greg Boyle, S.J., who started Homeboy two decades ago, was approached by a supporter about the idea of preparing them for the green economy. Because job-placement for ex-convicts is especially difficult in a recession, "I leapt at the opportunity," said Boyle. Homeboy Industries now is training a group composed mostly of former gang members on parole to install solar panels so they can improve their skill set and market themselves for the new green economy. Homeboy has joined forces with the East Los Angeles Skills Center, a public vocational school that offers a hands-on program to teach the design, construction, and installation of solar panels. The course is one of only a few such programs in California and commands a months-long waiting list. The center created an intensive course for Homeboy. "I loved the idea of doing something for these guys," said Brian Hurd, the senior instructor who designed it. "My best student ever was a Homeboy referral" in a construction course "who needed a second chance." Source: An article by Miriam Jordan for the Wall Street Journal

homeboy industries ex-convicts east los angeles greg boyle gang members solar panels east los angeles skills center brian hurd

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Printless in Seattle, but Rocky Mountain high

22 Mar 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

If ever he forgets the Lord, the psalmist says this Sunday, "let my tongue be silenced." A longstanding voice in the world of print journalism fell silent this week with the final print edition Tuesday of the 146-year-old Seattle Post-Intelligencer (P-I). The Hearst Corporation, owner of the venerable daily, failed to find a buyer for the paper, which has been losing money. The P-I will shift entirely to the web. "It's a really sad day for Seattle," said P-I reporter Angela Galloway. "The P-I has its strengths and weaknesses but it always strove for a noble cause, which was to give voice to those without power and scrutiny of those with power." Seattle follows Denver in losing a daily newspaper this year. The Rocky Mountain News closed after its owner, E.W. Scripps Co., couldn't find a buyer. In Arizona, Gannett Co.'s Tucson Citizen is set to close Saturday, leaving one newspaper in that city. And last month Hearst said it would close or sell the San Francisco Chronicle if the newspaper couldn't slash expenses in coming weeks. Four newspaper companies, including the owners of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Philadelphia Inquirer, have sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in recent months. Still, the loss was palpable in the P-I newsroom. "A daily newspaper tells the stories of a community and lets the people of a city know who they are, who their neighbors are, and the life and issues they share," said Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist David Horsey. "When you lose any one newspaper, you lose a piece of that." On the hopeful side, with backing from three entrepreneurs, staffers of the recently shuttered Rocky Mountain News in Denver plan to start an online news publication if they can get 50,000 paying subscribers by April 23-what would have been the News' 150th anniversary. The local venture, InDenverTimes.com, will go live on May 4 if backers meet their subscription goal. Former news reporter Tillie Fong is among those who would be hired at In Denver Times if enough subscribers sign on. "I want to be a journalist. This is 'what I want to be when I grow up,' " she said. "When the Rocky closed, it was traumatic, shocking. It was a hard blow. It was a death. This is sort of like a phoenix." Source: Articles by the Associated Press

newspapers in denver times indenvertimescom david horsey philadelphia inquirer chicago tribune los angeles times san francisco chronicle tucson citizen gannett co ew scripps co the rocky mountain news denver angela galloway hearst corporation p-i seattle post-intelligencer tillie fong

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Things looking up in Baja, cooling down in L.A.

06 Sep 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from the Book of Isaiah this Sunday encourages those whose hearts are frightened to "be strong, fear not!" Residents and tourists in Baja California, Mexico as well as their neighbors to the north in Los Angeles, California breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday as threats posed by natural disasters receded. Los Cabos resorts cleaned up after an overnight pounding from the once-mighty Hurricane Jimena, which weakened Wednesday as it doused the southern end of Baja. Winds had fallen from Tuesday's roaring 150 m.p.h. to 100 m.p.h. by Wednesday morning, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said they were expected to weaken further as the hurricane heads up the Baja peninsula, home to about 3.5 million people, including more than 150,000 U.S. citizens. Authorities reported no injuries in Los Cabos, but several thousand people spent the night in shelters. The evacuees waited for dawn and a chance to look at what the hurricane did to their homes of plastic sheeting, wood, and tar paper. "Instead of giving out a few sheets of roofing every year, they should give us materials to build real houses--wood, or even bricks," said Paulino Hernandez, an out-of-work mason who sought haven at a school. "Every year it's the same thing: They [officials] give out a few sheets of roofing, and the next year it has to be replaced" when a hurricane comes. Farther north firefighters made progress Wednesday against a giant wildfire that has ravaged a national forest north of Los Angeles. Since erupting August 26 the blaze has destroyed more than five dozen homes, killed two firefighters, and forced thousands of people from their homes. Source: Articles by Mark Stevenson, Jacob Adelman, and Raquel Maria Dillion for Associated Press

california wildfires hurricane jimena los cabos los angeles baja evacuees

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Man who saved other lives fights for his own

10 Apr 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday the readings are filled with testimony of how God can restore life. A San Francisco Giants baseball fan who dedicated his life as a paramedic to saving those near death is in critical condition after being nearly beaten to death when he wore a Giants’ jersey to a Dodgers game in Los Angeles. Bryan Stow, 42, from Santa Cruz, California, has signs of brain damage and remains in a medically induced coma with half his skull removed to allow his injured brain to swell, his cousin John Stow told reporters. He was slammed to the ground while walking through the Dodger Stadium parking lot after the game and repeatedly kicked in the head. The father of two young children and a fervent Giants fan, Stow attended the team’s game against the Dodgers with two other friends, all proudly wearing their Giants jerseys. While exiting the game Stow became separated from his friends and then was attacked. When the other two men rushed to his aid, they were beaten as well. Police are sorting through dozens of leads in an effort to track down the attackers, including a tip that the duo accosted another group of fans before attacking Stow. "This is a top priority. We have been receiving a steady stream of leads," Los Angeles police Capt. Dave Lindsay said. The event has devastated Stow's close-knit company, which provides emergency service across the country. The fact that he has dedicated his life to saving others make this event even more heartbreaking, his cousin said. "I got a phone call from him the first time he had ever saved someone," he recalled. "The person was dead on arrival from a heart attack, and Bryan was able to work on him and save his life. That was a pinnacle for Bryan. All the work and everything he went through and he was able to bring someone back. It was the most gratifying feeling he ever had." Source: An article by Tori Richards for AOL News

san francisco giants los angeles dodgers beating bryan stow

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Ebooks en español? Excellente!

27 May 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Devout Jews from every land who were in Jerusalem for Pentecost were amazed that each of them heard the Galilean disciples preaching in his or her native tongue. Over 67,000 people attended a Spanish-language book fair in Los Angeles last week, eager to find literature in that tongue. Observers say explosive growth of eReader and tablet sales among Hispanics suggest that ebooks in Spanish will increasingly meet that demand.Attendance at this year’s fair was nearly double last year’s. The organizers of the event, the International Book Fair of Guadalajara and the University of Guadalajara Foundation, said that Los Angeles is actually the second largest “Mexican” city, behind Mexico City and ahead of Guadalajara and Monterrey.Several digital startups in attendance may be well positioned for the future direction of Spanish language publishing. BajaLibros.com (“download books”), launched one year ago in Argentina, now sells to readers across Latin America, and the U.S. LibrosBooks.com, based in El Paso, Texas, opened up shop this past January to sell Spanish-language books via the internet. In April, online bookselling giant Amazon.com announced the launch of its “eBooks Kindle en Español” store.A recent study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows that Hispanics’ adoption rate of both eReaders and tablets superseded that of the already explosive growth in that area of the general market. Latino adoption of eReaders more than tripled during the most recent holiday gift-giving season. “Hispanics like to be connected. We like technology in general and if it's on sale for a good price, we'll buy it,” said Ariel Coro, Univision’s host of Tu Tecnología, a feature that educates Hispanic families on the latest technologies. Source: An article by Joe Kutchera for Fox News Latino

Technology international book fair of guadalajara ereaders electronic publishing bajalibroscom librosbookscom ariel coro ebooks electronic readers los angeles hispanics latinos amazoncom Spanish university of guadalajara foundation

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