MONDAY, JULY 28, 2014 - AUGUST 3, 2014
riversideindependent.com
California approves bill to minimize concussion risk for youth footballers by jennifer schlueter
which will prohibit full-contact practices taking longer than 90 minutes a day in middle and high schools. Full-contact practices will be limited to twice a week, and completely banned during off-season. Furthermore, if a head injury is suspected, players cannot return to the game at all or before gaining approval from a medical professional. These regulations aim to prevent and reduce severe concus-
Operation Pedro Pan. It was one of the largest migrations of unaccompanied minors in North America -- that is until recent arrivals of at least 60,000 minors from Central America and Mexico since last October. Please see page 2
Please see page 4
sions in young football players. The rules, supported by the California Interscholastic Federation and sponsored by Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova), will be enforced starting January 1, 2015. California will then be one out of 20 states to prohibit off-seasonal full-contact practices. The CIF additionally voted Please see page 4
The kindness of strangers: Operation Pedro Pan film premiered in Riverside by Vickie Vértiz The Riverside International Film Festival offered many gems and stories among them, “Pedro Pan,” a short film that tells the story of Cuban children who fled to the United States in the 1950s. The director, Andrea Puente is not herself Cuban, but was equally de-
termined to accurately portray the journeys of children leaving their home countries from political turmoil and violence. The film documents how, from December 1960 to October 1962, thousands of young Cuban people arrived alone in the United States, by way of
City Council moves to activate mandatory water conservation measures for Public Utilities Customers In response to the call for increased conservation by the State Water Resources Control Board and the Governor’s office, Riverside’s City Council has voted to activate mandatory water conservation restrictions for Riverside Public Utilities’ (RPU) water customers starting August 1. “California is faced with continued, and increasingly serious, drought conditions,” said Riverside’s Mayor Rusty Bailey, “and we are all obligated to take steps now that will help conserve our valuable water supplies.” The council made changes to existing water supply planning and management documents in order to modify current municipal code on water conservation and meet the state’s emergency requests for mandatory water reduction measures, especially those limiting outdoor watering. Riverside’s multi-stage plan sets the guidelines RPU customers must meet to reduce water use citywide. “The mandatory steps we are asking our customers to take aren’t much different from what we’d ask them to do voluntarily,” said RPU General
La Salle quarterback gets tackled with an opponents head last season. Luckily no one was injured in this incident but it helps illustrate the need for legislation.- Photo by Terry Miller
With more and more football players suing the National Football League because of severe head injuries and the increasing awareness of the public about the tragic aftermath of such concussions, the NFL and college leagues reacted by limiting full-contact practices, which has already proven to reduce concussions. Last Monday, Governor Jerry Brown signed the AB2127 law,
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Judy Chu visits Southwest border in Texas Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), along with a delegation of Members of Congress, visited the Southwest border in Texas last week. The trip included visits to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection station in McAllen, Texas, and a Department of Health and Human Services facility where unaccompanied children are being transferred and housed in Lackland, Texas. The delegation also met with local advocates who are assisting in the minors’ crisis. “Today, I saw firsthand the humanitarian crisis at our Southwest border and heard directly from law enforcement on the front lines. Seeing the legal process on the ground and hearing the heart-wrenching stories of the children makes it clear – Congress must maintain the due process protections for unaccompanied children in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act,” said Rep. Chu. “I urge swift Congressional
action to approve the supplemental spending necessary to address the desperate situation at the border while leaving legal protections intact.” Since 2011, the number of unaccompanied minors attempting to cross the Southwest border has drastically increased. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) predicts that an estimated 90,000 unaccompanied children will attempt to enter the country by the end of this year. Many of the children attempting to cross into the U.S. are fleeing extremely violent environments in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – collectively known as the Northern Triangle of Central America. Drug cartel and gang-related activity are the main cause for most of the violence occurring in the region. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as many as 58 percent of the minors could qualify for international protection.
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Downtown Summer Street Jam Downtown Riverside Summer Street Jam will be held on Saturday, August 2nd on University Ave. between Orange and Lemon St. from 4 pm to 9:30 pm. D Dogs, Heroes Restaurant and Brewery, Lake Alice Trading Company, Mario’s Place, Mission Tobacco Lounge, Pixels, ProAbition, Mezcal Cantina Y Cocina, The Menagerie, and Worthing-
ton’s are sponsors of the entertainment, as is the City of Riverside. Performance schedule: 4 pm – One Hundred Proof, 6 pm – Shoppy, 8 pm - Alien Ant Farm For more information, please visit www.RiversideDowntown. org or Facebook: RiversideDowntownPartnership or contact Robbie Silver, rdprobbie@sbcglobal. net, 951-341-6550 Cost: Free
Operation Pedro Pan Continued from page 1
A panel discussion will be held on Sunday, July 27 at the Riverside International Film Festival. Puente and a young actor from the film, Lilimar Hernández will be part of a panel discussion at the Riverside International Film Festival. Puente is a graduate of Florida State University and directed the 15-minute film as her thesis project to earn a master degree in fine arts. The short film tells the story of two kids who were part of Pedro Pan, which relocated more than 14,000 Cuban children to the United States. According to the Press Enterprise, the operation was run by a Catholic church leader with the financial and political backing of the U.S. Government. The program helped families escape the Cuban Revolution and the sweeping class changes it was making across the country, including redistribution of resources and lands which the U.S. deemed threatening. The two protagonists, Elena and Leonel, are siblings who are sent to Miami by their parents by plane. In one early scene, their mother gives one piece of advice to Elena, the eldest child. At the airport, the mother tells her to “stay together no matter what,” providing a tension for the rest of the film. However, when the children arrive in the US, the boy, Leonel is sent to a boys-only camp. In an interview with Press
Enterprise, Puente said that those types of separations were common during Operation Pedro Pan. While the film is fictional, the plot was made up of stories that Puente was told by adults who had been part of Pedro Pan. Puente immigrated to the United States from Ecuador when she was 11 and says she can relate to their journey because of it. In her Press Enterprise interview she said, “I’ve always thought at that age [...] you’re just trying to figure out who you are, your identity. And trying to do all that in a new country, a new culture with a new language makes it even more difficult.” The film was shot in Tallahassee which served as the Cuban backdrop and all the other story locations. The Press Enterprise reported that Hernández, who plays Elena and is fourteen years old, said one of the hardest parts of making the movie, was bearing the northern Florida cold. “Pedro Pan” has already been screened at several festivals across California and Florida, winning several prizes along the way. Ultimately, Puente told the Press Enterprise, making the film and meeting the Pedro Pans taught her about the kindness of strangers: “They opened up their stories to me without even knowing me.”
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Largest US food distribution company sued for holding perishable food in unrefrigerated sheds The nation’s largest food distribution company, Sysco Corporation, will pay nearly $20 million dollars in a consumer protection settlement for illegally holding perishable foods, such as seafood, milk and raw meat, in unrefrigerated, unprotected storage sheds. This is the largest settlement of a food safety prosecution in California history. This case was investigated by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and prosecuted by The California Food, Drug and Medical Device task force, made up of the District Attorney’s Offices of Orange, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Alameda, Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Monterey and Shasta Counties. The case was filed in Santa Clara County. Deputy District Attorney Tracy Hughes of the Consumer Protection Unit prosecuted this case for the Orange County District Attorney. Circumstances of the Case: Sysco is the largest food distribution company in the nation and among the largest worldwide. California law requires food distribution companies to register all vehicles and sites used to transport or store food with CDPH, which regulates food distribution and storage of perishable items to protect consumers from unsanitary conditions and food-borne illness. Beginning in or after 2010, Sysco used unregistered storage facilities and vehicles to store and transport smaller food shipments to commercial restaurants, schools and hospitals. Sysco trucks routinely delivered food orders to unrefrigerated mini-storage units, the same type in which people store extra furniture and other household items. Most of these units had no refrigeration and some were unsanitary. The shipments included products such as seafood, pork, beef and dairy products, all of which are extremely perishable. These smaller orders were dropped secretly at these unreg-
istered locations for employees to transport later to commercial customers. Sales representatives transported these smaller shipments in personal, unrefrigerated vehicles, also in violation of California law. The practice was uncovered by a reporter in Northern California. State inspectors subsequently found that Sysco had used at least 22 unregistered storage sites throughout California. Food coming through these sites reached commercial customers, and ultimately consumers, throughout the state. Furthermore, Sysco engaged in misleading advertising, falsely claiming to use only “state of the art distribution warehouses,” and
go “above and beyond government regulations.” Sysco trucks also bear the slogan, “Quality Assured.” Sysco has agreed to strict injunctive terms to cease the unlawful and unsafe practices. As terms of the settlement, they will be required to pay $15 million in civil penalties, $3.3 million to fund a food inspection program administered by the CDPH, Food Safety Division, and to implement a company-wide food safety and food safety education program. Sysco will also provide $1 million worth of fresh food to California food banks to be distributed based on need. Approximately $55,000 of fresh food will go to Orange County food banks.
Long Beach Office 3780 Kilroy Airport Way Suite 360 Long Beach, CA 90806 Ph. (562) 472-0071 Fx. (562) 689-0071 Los Angeles Office 5701 South Eastern Avenue Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90040 Ph. (323) 727-1144 Fx. (323) 727-9198 www.heger-industrial.com Lic. #00814086
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Mandatory water conservation measures for RPU costumers Continued from page 1
Manager Girish Balachandran. “That includes identifying outdoor water waste and taking aggressive steps to eliminate it,” Balachandran said. “Together, our efforts can make a big difference both locally, and statewide.” By taking part in voluntary conservation programs over the past year, RPU customers were able to save more than 782.4 million gallons, enough water to meet the annual demands of about 4,800 households. However, RPU customers will now have to take on additional steps to ensure Riverside can meet the new state-mandated conservation goals. Those steps will include: no water waste through run off; no irrigation between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.; the application of water to
streets and sidewalks is prohibited; and washing of autos, trucks, boats, etc. during the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. only with a handheld bucket and a hose equipped with an automatic shutoff nozzle. To assist customers in cutting back, RPU will continue to fund all of its residential and commercial water conservation rebate and incentive programs, which help offset the costs of being water wise. Rebates are available to install high efficiency toilets and clothes washers inside, and Weather Based Irrigation Controllers and high-efficiency sprinkler nozzles outside. The utility will also continue to fund its popular Artificial Turf and Waterwise Landscaping programs, and have even increased the incentives and to-
tal rebate amounts to encourage more customers to participate in these popular outdoor water conservation programs that remove thirsty lawn areas. Changes to the utility’s Residential Waterwise Landscaping turf removal program include: incentive increases to $2.00 per square foot of turf removed or up to 100% of the projects cost, whichever is lower; and there is no minimum project size restriction. The Commercial program incentives have been increased to $3.00 per sq. ft. of turf removed or 100% of project cost, whichever is lower. All program changes are contingent upon continued funding by the Metropolitan Water District and may revert back to previ-
ous levels. Meanwhile, RPU’s residential Artificial Turf installation incentives have increased to $2.00 per square foot, up to 2,000 sq. ft. for a maximum rebate of $4,000 to replace lawn areas with artificial turf. Complete details on the mandatory water conservation restrictions for Riverside Public Utilities’ customers, as well as information on all available residential and commercial water reduction rebate programs, can be viewed at www.BlueRiverside. com or by contacting the city’s 311 call center. For additional information about Riverside Public Utilities follow us on Facebook or on Twitter using the handle @ RPUNews .
California approves bill to minimize concussion risk for youth footballers Continued from page 1
on limiting weekly practice hours to 18 per week. According to the LA Times, Cooley said: “AB 2127’s practice guidelines will reassure parents that their kids can learn football safely through three hours of fullcontact practice … to maximize conditioning and skill development while minimizing concussion risk.” A study by Dawn Levine, a clinical neuropsychologist and assistant director of the Youth Sports
Concussion Program for Kaiser Permanente, demonstrates that one-third of the average 600 hits to a high school player’s head occur during practice. Former New Orleans Saints executive Terry O’Neil estimates that per season, high schoolers endure 100,000 concussions - 60-75 percent of them during practice, The Sports Legacy Institute claims. Levine agrees with the bill, because less full-contact practices will reduce the number of injuries, and thus,
the “risk of any long-term damage,” the LA Times reports. According to the same LA Times article, Sen. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) and Sen. Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) voted against the bill. In Knight’s opinion, the law makes California high schoolers less competitive for college scholarships, whereas Anderson believes that legislature should not interfere with sports practices. LA Roosevelt High School football coach Javier Cid said in an interview with the Times that full-contact practices are necessary to determine starters. “Concussion can change a kid’s life,” Cooley told Reuters. “Viewed through that lens, this bill is not crazy. It’s good for kids and it’s good for parents.” For the assemblyman, the players’ health and the concerns of their families are more important than a possible impact on football practices: “I anticipate other states will follow our lead as they consider the interests of kids and families,” he said in a press release. “We have a multitude of evidence that this does not just affect professional athletes, but
that younger kids who are still developing are just as susceptible and the effects of impacts. Research has shown hits don’t have to produce a concussion to have long-lasting effects.” In 2006, Zackary Lystedt, a middle school football player, had suffered severe head injury from a game. After a three month coma, and despite several therapies, Lystedt “still walks with a cane and has limited speaking abilities,” said the Washington post. Together with his parents, he fights for stronger regulations of football practices and awareness of concussions and their consequences. According to the LA Times, Loyola High School in Los Angeles has already taken an exceptional step to detect concussions. Principal Frank Kozakowski demands every single one of his students at the all-boy Catholic school to participate in a baseline test to assess “the student’s balance and brain functions [with the help of memory and problem solving skills] so it can be used and compared with a similar exam if the student is suspected of having a concussion.”