California state legislators recently approved three bills to boost the supply of local affordable housing. Senate Bills 2, 3, and 35 expect to raise billions to pay to build thousands of new homes for the state’s low-income residents. The bills also also aim to ease local regulations on home-building to help middle-class Californians who are now overwhelmed by costs. “The poverty rate in California, everyone talks about it,” said state Sen. Toni Atkins, author of Senate Bill 2 in an interview with The Los Angeles Times. “Look at everything we do. For child care, for education, for minimum wage, for health care. All those things are significant. And because of housing costs, it negates all those good things.”
Action for Affordable Housing
More than most states, ...
$11,000 is a lot of money. You can get a pretty decent car. You can buy a year's worth of groceries to feed a family of four. You could even get 11 of the new iPhone X. Or you can pay a year of childcare for one child. With the average cost of center-based daycare at $11,666 a year, many low-income Latino families struggle to afford childcare. Or it comes at the expense of healthy food or preventive medical care. That's why city leaders in San Francisco (15.3% Latino) are exploring how to provide affordable universal childcare to residents to ease parents' financial burdens. District 6 City Supervisor Jane Kim plans to introduce the measure on the November 2018 ballot. “If we truly believe that families are the backbone of our city, then we all have to do what we can to ...
Where you live has an impact on almost every aspect of your life. While the U.S. is a rich, diverse country that has attracted people to its cities for centuries, not all of these cities are equal. Some are simply more livable than others. For many Latinos, especially those from low-income families, they often have to live in areas that are high in poverty and crime and often lack access to safe physical activity spaces and healthy food options.
America's Most Livable Cities + Latinos
In an effort to determine the “best” of these cities, the financial web site 24/7 Wall St. has created an index of the 50 best cities for Americans to live in. What makes a city livable? Some of the factors considered by 24/7 Wall St. include crime rate, economy, and overall ...
Salud America! Guest Blogger
Ethan Goffman of Mobility Lab In rural areas, a car is a lifeline to groceries, community, and medical care—all the basics of life. Seniors who can no longer drive, Latinos who often live without easy access to grocery stores or farmer's markets, and other people without access to a car, must depend on neighbors and whatever public transit may be available. Enter Rabbit Transit, which is striving to connect otherwise isolated individuals. The agency serves York County (7.2% Latino) and nine other rural counties in Central Pennsylvania, providing some 2.5 million trips a year, explained Richard Farr, the agency’s executive director. “Part of our mission statement is really focusing on a high quality of life for our residents,” Farr said. ...
Research has long shown that Latino kids see a lot of unhealthy food and drink ads on TV. But now a new study shows that food companies heavily target Latino kids on the Internet, too, according to a new study from the University of Connecticut Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. What's worse, the Rudd Center also has confirmed a troubling "health halo effect." That is, when food manufactures promote good nutrition and physical activity in ads for unhealthy products, children can be misled and confuse their understanding of good health, according to researchers, via a separate study. The new findings have big implications for Latino kids, who suffer higher rates of obesity and worse health outcomes than their peers.
Targeted Online Marketing To Latino Kids
Previous ...
On Oct. 15, 2017, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that bans schools from marketing unhealthy foods that are not allowed to be sold or served in schools. This law, Assembly Bill 841, also forbids schools from partnering with companies for programs that reward students with foods or drinks that do not meet USDA Smart Snacks in School regulations and other standards. The idea is to help students make healthier food choices. "This law will help ensure that students receive consistent messages from their schools about the importance of proper nutrition as well as reinforce parents’ efforts to help their children choose healthy foods," according to a report by Changelab Solutions. This will lead to "healthier students who are better able to thrive academically."
Latino ...
Kids were fed up with the effect of sugary drinks on people's health in the small mountain town of Lafayette, Colorado (16% Latino). They pushed city leaders for change, and scored a big victory in October 2017 when the Lafayette City Council voted 5-1 for an ordinance to require all local restaurants to offer only milk and water with kids’ meals. This means that kids will no longer see enticing pictures of sodas or juices as an option on kid's menus. The city is the fifth U.S. city, and the first outside of California, with such an ordinance. However, this isn't an outright ban on sugary drinks. Parents can ask for a sugary drink with their child’s meal, and restaurants can meet that request.
Youth Speak Up for Healthier Generations
The ordinance is a huge success ...
Did you know that 40% of Latino children are overweight or obese, compared to 32% of all U.S. children? With the Fall holidays bringing kids out of school and closer to candy and sweets, this is a critical time to make sure they have safe and healthy spaces to play, trick or treat, and achieve a healthy weight! Let’s use #SaludTues on Oct. 31, 2017, to share how what we can do for Latino and all families to improve health and stay safe during the Fall holiday season! WHAT: #SaludTuesTweetchat: Fall into Healthy & Safe Holidays
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. EST Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
CO-HOSTS: SafeRoutes (@SafeRoutesNow) and others We’ll open the floor to your stories, tips and experiences, as we ...
You can share the best—or worst—places to bike in San Antonio, thanks to a new bilingual crowdsourced map. The Open Ciclismo map, launched in October 2017 in English and Spanish by the local online news source the Rivard Report and Bike San Antonio, enables people to identify biking problems, issues, and solutions across San Antonio (63.7% Latino). You can report a public dangerous intersection, suggest a bicycling improvement, or share safe places to ride. Just indicate the location, add a description, and upload or share a video. "By crowdsourcing this data and riders’ experiences, we aim to create up-to-date awareness of hotspots for cycling safety, crime, and infrastructure improvements—holding city officials accountable for safe cycling and pedestrian life in San ...
