Salinas vigil honors harassed farmworkers

Farmworker women held a vigil Friday morning in an east Salinas apartment to raise awareness about sexual harassment and assault in the fields. Theirs was one of several events in central and Southern California scheduled for April, Sexual Assault Awareness month.

Friday's event was organized by Paula Placencia, assistant coordinator for Lideres Campesinas in Salinas, King City, Watsonville and Napa and Sonoma counties. She runs two educational meetings monthly in Salinas at varying locations.

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[posted by Jeanette Pantoja]

Greenfield residents probe state Board of Education

Educators, parents, and city leaders asked state Board of Education president, Ted Mitchell, some tough questions at Thursday's community meeting. On the floor were three-year federal grants, ranging from $50,000 to $2 million, which require the district to adopt one of four reform models. Measures could include replacement of principals and staff, closing schools and sending students elsewhere or reopening schools as charter schools. Mitchell assured the assembly, "The state has no intention of this school district... What we hope to provide is a scaffold... that will go away at the appropriate time."

Several parents said speakers of indigenous Mexican dialects such as Triqui had been overlooked in some school processes. Tired of having time not spent working with existing staff, which is then sacked at the end of every year, residents said that the trustee "has to understand our culture."

The meeting was ongoing at the news deadline.

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[posted by Andrew Brown]