PROMISE AND PERIL IN SOUTH L.A. -L.A. Times, August 24, 2009, by Scott Gold
'Tagging' or just hanging out -- busted either way?
L.A.'s city attorney wants to give police the ability to arrest graffiti 'taggers' simply for hanging out together, without having to catch them in the act. The proposal raises constitutional issues.
Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich wants to give police the ability to arrest "taggers" simply for hanging out together, without having to catch them in the act -- raising thorny constitutional issues as he lays the groundwork for a campaign to tackle the city's vexing graffiti problem.
In an interview, Trutanich said his staff has begun amassing street-level intelligence and reviewing legal strategies that would pave the way for a series of injunctions targeting graffiti and "tagging" crews. The measures would be lawsuits of sorts, brought on behalf of the public, treating much of the graffiti that mars buildings and overpasses as a criminal enterprise and arguing that it has become such a nuisance that it requires an extraordinary police response.
Los Angeles is the national leader in the use of civil injunctions to combat criminal gang behavior -- the model for Trutanich's proposal. The city has 43 injunctions targeting 71 gangs, including one rolled out earlier this year over a 13.7-square-mile area of South L.A., the largest in California. The tagging injunctions would focus on neighborhoods where graffiti is a particularly acute problem, such as the Harbor Gateway area, the San Fernando Valley and, especially, South L.A.
"I'm going to put together an end-of-days scenario for these guys," Trutanich said. "If you want to tag, be prepared to go to jail. And I don't have to catch you tagging. I can just catch you . . . with your homeboys."...link to complete LAT article
image: graffiti in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
photo by MT Hernandez
From the Los Angeles Times
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels opens its doors to mariachi camp
The L.A. cathedral plays host to young musicians learning the upbeat Mexican genre.
By Hector Becerra
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 6, 2008
Joacim Naranjo plays the trumpet pretty well. But the 16-year-old from East Los Angeles found himself flapping his sore lips like a horse as he and a half dozen other boys tried to master the rapidly cascading sounds of a mariachi song.
That's why he and about 80 boys and girls went to church this week. They were there for mariachi camp.
"It's about getting the notes down," Joacim said during a break. "Once you get the notes down, you just practice until you can play faster. This camp helps us a lot. Our [school] teacher doesn't know that much about mariachi music. He's more into classical music."
For three days this week, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels played host to the Mariachi USA Foundation's music camp. Most of the children already play in school bands, but many were relative novices when it came to playing music more familiar to their parents.
And the church setting wasn't as random as it may seem. More than 70% of the Los Angeles archdiocese's 5 million Catholics are Latino -- most of Mexican descent. And mariachi music has been embedded in many Catholic rituals, such as Masses for the Virgin of Guadalupe, weddings and funerals.
"This was the very first music that welcomed people here when we opened," said Deacon Manny Martinez of Our Lady of the Angels. "It wasn't sacred music. It was mariachi music."
The $350 cost per student to attend the camp was covered by donations. On Sept. 26, the students will perform at the cathedral. Daniel Guzman, 13, and his friend Christopher Hernandez, 11, said they had performed mariachi songs at a church in Boyle Heights.
"That was good," Daniel recalled as he munched on a sandwich during a break. "We played 'Cielito Lindo,' 'Guadalajara' and 'Mariachi Loco.' "
Christopher said he thought playing music could be spiritual.
"You talk to people with music," said Christopher, who wore a gold crucifix under his white polo shirt. "If they're depressed, you play something fast."
At school, the boys said, they sometimes get teased for being in the band. But at the camp, they were in their element.
In one conference room, Rhonda Garcia, 33, a mariachi instructor from San Antonio, Texas, peppered young intermediate violinists -- most of them relatively Americanized -- with questions about the different mariachi styles and the names of singers.
Their playing sounded a bit droopy for mariachi music and was clearly a work in progress. But they had picked up a lot on their own, and from their parents. Garcia was impressed when one girl mentioned the name of an old-time singer.
"You're giving me recent ones, but she just gave me an old one. Do you know Lola Beltran?" Garcia asked the rest of the class, before singing a snippet of one of her most famous songs.
Cucurrucucu, Paloma . . . Most of the children instantly recognized the song, even if they weren't familiar with the name of the singer.
Garcia and the other instructors were mariachi music school teachers in Texas. Although many L.A. area schools offer band, most do not offer mariachi instruction -- unlike in many parts of Texas.
"We have programs that have even outgrown the band," Garcia said. "One of the things I'm noticing is that a lot of the kids are getting training from their home and family."
Although many of the children said they wanted to pursue careers as professional musicians, others said they simply enjoyed playing music and the discipline they got from it.
"I want to be a doctor," said Luis Baza, 13, a guitar player from Boyle Heights. "People say playing music makes you more intelligent."
"It makes you think faster," Daniel added.
Some of the students said playing mariachi music was something ingrained.
"It's in our veins," Gustavo Zambrano, 9, explained. "It's because our parents used to play it, and our grandparents and our ancestors. They passed it on to us."
Zelanda Gudino, 10, said, "You get into it so much, you can never stop."
"It's in our veins," repeated Gustavo, just in case the message was not clear.
As part of the camp, the children got a tour on Friday of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The day before, they toured the cathedral.
"Here's my Virgencita of Guadalupe," cooed Carolina Gaytan, 58, the grandmother of two of the young musicians, as she looked upon a shrine. Again using the diminutive, affectionate term for "Virgin," she added, "How would I like them to come here and play for the Virgencita."
For the children, the highlight of the tour was when Martinez introduced them to the cathedral's organist, Sal Soria.
When it became apparent that Soria was not above taking requests, boys and girls quickly tossed out suggestions, mostly themes of television shows and movies -- "Star Wars," " The Simpsons," "Titanic." He complied with some requests before finally asking if the students knew Schubert's "Ave Maria."
Violinist Julieta Gonzalez, 14, of San Bernardino raised her hand. Soria started to play and she began singing in Latin -- Ave Maria, gratia plena -- her voice soaring.
Tourists stopped to watch. When the song ended, everyone in the cathedral burst into applause.
hector.becerra@latimes.com
Information on the mariachi benefit concert Sept. 26 can be found at www.mariachiusa.orglink to photo (by Ramiro from Rosy's Photography in L.A.)
L.A. mayor chides ICE for workplace immigration raids
Villaraigosa tells Homeland Security chief that agents should target criminal gang members and not legitimate businesses. Agency spokeswoman says the priorities are proper.Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has asked the federal government to review its immigration enforcement priorities, warning that work-site raids on "non-exploitative" businesses could have "severe and lasting effects" on the local economy.
"I am concerned that ICE enforcement actions are creating an impression that this region is somehow less hospitable to these critical businesses than other regions," Villaraigosa wrote in a March 27 letter to Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has cracked down on businesses that hire undocumented workers in California and around the nation in recent years, arresting scores of workers and their employers. In fiscal 2007, ICE made more than 4,900 work-site arrests, a 45-fold increase over the number in 2001, authorities said.
In February, more than 130 undocumented workers were arrested at a Van Nuys manufacturing company during an ongoing investigation. Last week, more than 60 workers were arrested on immigration violations during routine federal inspections at South Bay area import warehouses. Other Los Angeles companies, including giant clothing manufacturer American Apparel, have reported that ICE recently inquired about its hiring procedures.
In his letter, Villaraigosa said ICE has targeted "established, responsible employers" in industries that have a "significant reliance on workforces that include undocumented immigrants."
"In these industries, including most areas of manufacturing, even the most scrupulous and responsible employers have no choice but to rely on workers whose documentation, while facially valid, may raise questions about their lawful presence," he wrote. He said ICE should spend its limited resources targeting employers who exploit wage and hour laws.
"At a time when we are facing an economic downturn and gang violence at epidemic levels, the federal government should focus its resources on deporting criminal gang members rather than targeting legitimate businesses," said Matt Szabo, the mayor's spokesman.
Chertoff has not responded to the mayor's letter.
But Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said the department believes its priorities are correct. In its work-site investigations, she said, ICE's focus is on national security and public safety. The agency also investigates companies it believes may have committed visa fraud, money laundering, tax evasion or egregious violations of hiring laws.
"We believe that we are prioritizing appropriately," Keehner said. "This is not random. The types of arrests that are made are well thought out."
Szabo said the mayor and Los Angeles business leaders hope to discuss their concerns with Chertoff in person next week during an annual business trip to Washington, D.C...
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- image: http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-02/36194957.jpg
L.A. mayor chides ICE for workplace immigration raids
continued
Last year, Chertoff warned in an interview with The Times that a crackdown on employers would cause "unhappy consequences for the economy." But employers who knowingly hire illegal workers are breaking the law, he said.
Anti-illegal immigrant advocates praised ICE's actions in Los Angeles and elsewhere.
"Cutting off the magnet of jobs has to be the No. 1 priority if you want to get a handle on illegal immigration," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which supports stricter border controls.
Years of lax enforcement is what led to so many illegal workers in Southern California in the first place, Mehlman said. ICE should keep the pressure on undocumented workers and should focus even more attention on their employers, he said.
In Los Angeles, he said, "you take away 100 illegal aliens from these guys and they could have 100 more before lunch. But you take the head of personnel, that's another matter."
Immigrant rights proponents said raids at businesses break up families, make workers more vulnerable and give unscrupulous employers a competitive advantage. Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said the situation only underscores the need for comprehensive immigration reform.
"All of the Los Angeles economy [is paying] for the incompetence of our congressional representatives," she said. "They haven't done what they are supposed to do."
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce President Gary L. Toebben agreed on the need for reform legislation.
Toebben also sent a letter to Chertoff saying that workplace raids are "devastating" to businesses that are trying to follow the law.
Even when employers ask for proof that new employees are eligible to work in the U.S., there is no guarantee that the documents are valid, he said. Businesses can use the Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify system to match employee's names and Social Security numbers with federal databases, but critics have said that it often inaccurately flags foreign-born U.S. citizens.
Toebben said workplace raids can slow production or bring it to a standstill. He said future enforcement could also discourage some companies from hiring people who appear to be foreign-born for fear of hiring undocumented workers and being targeted by ICE.
Toebben said he worries that if the arrests continue, Los Angeles companies could have "a very difficult challenge in meeting their workforce needs."
anna.gorman@latimes.com
