Judge Sotomayor Nominated for U.S. Supreme Court

As a member of the Latina minority group I am pleased to congratulate the Obama Administration for its nomination of the first Latina to the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor. At an estimated 20 million, Latinas make up a significant and growing portion of the U.S. population. I'm glad on the efforts of the Obama Administration's to ensure our representation on the nation’s highest court.

Over the next few months Judge Sotomayor will undergo confirmation hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee before being voted on by the entire senate. Please express your support of her nomination by sending a letter to:

Senator Patrick Leahy, Vermont
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
433 Russell Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Fax: (202) 224-3479

Senator Jeff Sessions, Alabama
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee
335 Russell Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510 -0104
Fax: (202) 224-3149

Judge Sotomayor’s legal career has included not only criminal prosecution and commercial litigation, but also academia and appointment to the federal bench at the age of thirty-eight. For the past ten years, her intellect, integrity, and consensus-building have made her a highly respected jurist on the Second Circuit. She taught for over nine years at the New York University School of Law and at Columbia Law School, and has been a mentor to hundreds of attorneys and students as a member of the Puerto Rican and the Hispanic National Bar Associations.

Special Thanks to HOPE.ACT.VOTE for passing the information along, you can visit them at www.latinas.org!

CA State Supreme Court Upholds Prop 8!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/california-supreme-court-upholds-prop-8-gay-marriage-remains-banned-in-state.html

Fellow planner, Louis Zhao, forwarded this information straight from off the press, the California State Supreme Court ban's gay marriage, but according to the article those who got married will be allowed to remain married. What's going on in California?? Our economy is in the dump...so is this going to create a scramble for gay couples to get married before the rule goes into effect to try and stimulate the wedding market?

Truly, that issue is minor compared to the bigger issues that the ruling brings forward, and that's the issue of equality. Several of my post, specifically the "unity" post makes a case for a coalition among those disadvantaged communities to come together and fight for the cause of gaining equality. People need to understand, that once that rights of one man are taken, that only opens up the gateway for the rights of other people to be taken away.

Today, the Supreme Court has taken away the right of people to get married. What will be next?

"State of Paralysis" by Paul Krugman

If you click on the link below, you will read Krugman's recent Oped piece from the NY Times, where the main point is a question:

California, it has long been claimed, is where the future happens first. But is that still true? If it is, God help America.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/opinion/25krugman.html?_r=2

His criticism consist on California's political process and on the Republican party becoming quite the extremists. California, the up till recently (or since the last time I checked) was still ranked the 7th largest economy in the world. What the heck happened? I'm glad to read articles, that are also questioning that same question...but really, people are hurting but not voting..we had a horrible election turn-out.

http://www.sacbee.com/1232/rich_media/1869262.html?mi_rss=Interactive%20Graphics

The link above breaks down the percentage of voters by county. In Orange County, less than 400,000 people voted and the majority of the voters voted NO on the propositions. I'm not sure what the total population is of the county, but I'm sure Anaheim and Santa Ana not combined has more than that number.

Apathy in politics during recession is a bad combination...

Planners at the LA Marathon

Review: Pike Bar & Fish Grill (Long Beach CA)

Located on 4th St. aka Retro Row in Long Beach, this bar can best be described as a that one pair of dirty Chuck Taylor's in your shoe collection -- you know when paired with any outfit, you instantly look cool. 4th St. itself has a Seattle Capitol Hill-esque vibe with scattered boutiques embedded on a quaint urban streetscape and faint whispers of "gentrification." The crowd also reminiscent of the CH audience but definitely with a Long Beach twist -- the flannel shirts were just loose enough to know that you weren't anywhere else than the good ole' LBC.

Drinks were well priced (two Sierra Summer Brews amounted $9) and the music this particular night was stellar. Although on his way to a nice vacation in San Quentin, Phil Spector's Wall of Sound made its presence known on two mismatched turntables and a room full of good intentions. Somehow this era of music fit the bar's coastal-diner interiors and flourished when paired with a pint of hoppy goodness.

As a product of neighborhing city Lakewood and a fan of all things "hip," having the Pike right in my backyard is a welcome feeling. To some extent, a bar like this made favorite spots in Downtown LA and Silverlake a little bit farther and Long Beach a little bit closer.

Pike Bar & Fish Grill

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"Unity" in the Urban Planning Profession

Whites are the most overrepresented ethnicity, and Hispanics the most underrepresented, in the Chapter area and in all three sectors (private, public and non-profit)

- Quote from APA’s Ethnic Diversity in Planning Profession Study (2001)

How do I come to grip that I am part of an ethnic group that is the least represented in the planning profession but yet, is the fastest growing population and in some places is the majority?

Latinos, African-Americans, Asians, Women, Gays-Lesbians, Jewish, Arabs, the list is endless of the different sectors in our community that are marginalized and unite amongst themselves to shield themselves against oppressors. I speak for myself, when I say that I have joined ethnic organizations because that is the group that I am most comfortable. Also, they are people who relate to my experiences. The idea that possibly a White women has gone through my same struggles has never crossed my mind. How do I reconcile the concept that there are other women going through my same struggle that do not share my culture when we live in a country that has its roots in segregation? Whether segregation has been legal or not, the truth is that it has been ingrained in the American society since its inception and is apparent even to this day.

The marginalized are forced to form enclaves amongst themselves, but I now question whether the separation of groups is the most efficient method of achieving equality? Diversity is desirable, and this country will never be able to rid itself of diversity because that is the core of our foundation, so then why do we continue to form barriers among one another? Everyone’s experience is unique and needs to be acknowledged and respected. We need to begin by acknowledging the fact that there are many people with the same struggles, and in order to create change we need to accept the fact we all strive to achieve the same goal and in realizing that, we need to help one another in the process. Achieving unity is a difficult task, one which our country fought a civil war for, so then, it is possible and hopefully it will not take another civil war to achieve that.

We need to revive the momentum of unity and create an environment where everyone is acknowledged and respected and only then can we begin to achieve equality in the planning world and so forth. I’m proud of my cultural ancestry, but of all I am proud to be an American and what it stands for and I believe if we all truly believe that then the struggle to achieve unity among all minorities is half done. Being a planner consists of bringing your own experiences to the workplace and in doing so, the planner is automatically biased towards their own experiences, which is why diversity in the planning profession is essential to create unity, understanding, and achieve equality among all.

PSO - LACMA Trip Sunday!!!

Don't forget LACMA trip this Sunday, meet @ 1 pm on-campus!