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Mil gracias for taking action to move forward the Airport Noise Abatement bill (HB 1847). When passed, you will have helped include areas between Beacon Hill and Federal Way as part of the area that is advocating for noise abatement. Currently, the bill is in the Senate Rules Committee, of which Senator Bob Hasegawa is a member. Senator Hasegawa has committed to pulling HB 1847 onto the Senate Floor for a vote. Please help sustain this community-driven momentum by asking Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig and Senate Floor Leader Marko Liias to put this bill to a Senate vote. For your convenience, we are including a letter template for you to personalize and then send to Senate Majority Leader Billig and Floor Leader Liias.

The text in the brackets below is intended to prompt you for your information. Please delete the brackets and enclosed text before entering the appropriate information. To identify in which district you live, click here and enter your address. Doing so will help elected officials tally how many community members are in support of this bill’s passage.

To: Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig <andy.billig@leg.wa.gov>; Senate Floor Leader Marko Liias <marko.liias@leg.wa.gov>

CC: Senator Bob Hasegawa <bob.hasegawa@leg.wa.gov>; Maria Batayola <mbatayola@elcentrodelaraza.org>

Re: Bring HB 1847 to a Senate Vote

Dear Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig and Senate Floor Leader Marko Liias,

My name is {YOUR-FULL-NAME} and I live at {FULL-ADDRESS} in District {NUMBER}. I ask that you schedule HB 1847 for a vote as soon as possible. {I-MYSELF / I-HAVE-FRIENDS-AND-FAMILY-WHO} live in the affected neighborhood. Airplanes fly overhead every 90 seconds on average, and noise levels are from 70 to 90 decibels, which are well above the standard of 55 decibels during the day and 45 at night.

Please help expand the airport noise abatement area to include the affected neighborhoods between Beacon Hill and Federal Way. Airplane noise adversely impacts the health and well-being of children, adults, and families who live in the area. Passing HB 1847 will make a noticeable difference in {OUR / THEIR} lives. Thank you.

Sincerely,

{YOUR-FULL-NAME}

On early February, the Business Opportunity Center (BOC) developed and provided educational training for community members who want to own their first home. Within one week, the Business Opportunity Center finished designing the training. On the day of the training, 66 participants attended and teachers from our José Martí Child Development Center provided childcare. In 2019, the BOC trained 123 prospective home buyers.

All 66 participants successfully completed the required training. We were thrilled with the outcome because we were able to assist communities who face housing affordability issues in our area. The next step is our Financial Empowerment staff will schedule one-on-one sessions with each participant. These sessions are intended to improve their credit situation through lending circles. This resource is a peer-to-peer model that helps participants access a loan with 0% interest while building credit. We are so excited to work with participants so that each of them can own their first home.

EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
Fidencio Angeles

EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR-HIRABAYASHI PLACE
Francisco Martinez

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Natasha Zastko

SPIRIT AWARD
Lizbet Huizar

TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Martha Diaz

TEACHER OF THE YEAR-HIRABAYASHI PLACE
Martha David

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Heyda Raymundo

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S AWARD
Sharon Hu

EQUIPO del AÑO AWARD
AT&T
Amazon

35 YEARS
Hilda Magaña

20 YEARS
Martha Cano
Miguel Maestas

15 YEARS
Rocio Espiritu
Bertha Hernandez Ortiz
Martha Garcia

10 YEARS
Maria Luisa Aguilera Torres
Iran Barba
Luisa Citlali Beltran

5 YEARS
Ana Garcia

3 YEARS
Rosalina Alvarez Gutierrez
Martha David
Ceyla Diaz Penaloza
Yaiko Iizuka
Jieying Lei
Juana Mendoza
Luisa Graciela Oviedo
Rocio Ruiz
Fengqin Wang Marolla
Danyuan Zhao

Francisco* has been a participant in our Senior Program for the past two years. He has neither a home nor family members. He faces the elements when he is not sleeping at a shelter. Before the sun rises, he must leave the shelter per policy. As a result, he arrives at El Centro de la Raza earlier than other Senior Program participants in search of a friendly place where he can stay warm.

He enjoys the culturally appropriate meals that we provide in a congregate setting. His favorite dishes have chicken in them, and he also loves to drink coffee. Aside from eating a nutritious meal every day, Francisco is socializing with others who speak his language, rather than isolating himself.

There is more to the Senior Program than a nutritious meal and opportunities to socialize. For example, last year, Francisco joined the computer literacy 8-week class for seniors and learned how to use a laptop.

Thanks to King County’s partnership, El Centro de la Raza is now a Senior Hub. We are expanding the operating days and hours of our Senior Program so that seniors, like Francisco, can now attend our daily programming and have access to resources. Francisco says, “I am so glad you guys are open on Mondays again because I didn’t have anywhere to go on those days.” Francisco greatly benefits from being in our Senior Program because he can remain an independent, engaged, and active community member. We are glad to have him here.

We have joined 20 local organizations in co-sponsoring a bilingual film showing and discussion of Los Eternos Indocumentados, which tells the story of exploitative corporate control in Latin America, backed by the U.S. government, and how it has led to the plundering of natural resources, incitement of brutal wars, and forced migration. As the crisis of migration grows, this film will give us an opportunity to learn about and share ideas of how to stand in solidarity with fair treatment of the migrant families at our borders.

The Seattle Interfaith Migrant Rights Network (SIMRN) and the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Migrants Alliance (IMA-PNW) are co-hosting this event. Local experts will be present to answer questions during the discussion following the film. Click to learn more about this event and get free tickets. Seats are limited!

Note: The building’s entrance, doorways, and bathrooms are all wheelchair accessible, there will be Spanish interpretation during our discussion, and we will prioritize front row seating for people who are hard of hearing.

Domestic workers play a critical role in Washington State’s economy. They are mistreated in the sense that they lack legal protection for their employers. In short, they have no basic workers’ rights. Domestic workers, such as nannies and housecleaners, are largely women and people of color. The current law is such that they do not qualify for overtime pay and disproportionately experience workplace harassment and discrimination.

Thanks to OneAmerica’s leadership, other community-based organizations are supporting a proposed statewide bill named Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in this legislative session. They are leading the efforts to address economic inequities for the benefit of our communities. We hope you join us in ensuring that all domestic workers are:

• Paid at least the minimum wage of Washington State.
• Guaranteed overtime pay for more than 40 hours of work a week.
• Entitled to rest and meal breaks, or pay (if breaks must be missed).
• Protected against employers from confiscating personal documents, such as passports.
• Neither discriminated against nor harassed.
• Legally eligible to fight wage theft, harassment, and abuse.

If you believe that all workers, domestic workers included, are entitled to fair wages and basic work protections, please contact your legislators and let them know that you think so. Domestic workers and we need your support to pass this bill. You do not need to be a worker or employer to support this significant proposed legislation.

To take action in support of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights bill, click here to submit a letter. Enter your contact information and address so that when you proceed onto the next page, the system will recognize in which district you live. This part is important because legislators advocate only for constituents who live in their district. If you would like to include additional commentary into the auto-generated letter, type it directly into the designated box. When you are ready to submit your letter, click the button and the system will automatically forward your letter of support to your legislators.

To call your legislative representatives, verify who represents you based on your geographical area by visiting this link. Enter the required fields with your information and click “Find my District.” A list of elected officials’ names should appear on the screen. These representatives are responsible for advocating in support of your interests and concerns. When you click on each representative’s name, a separate tab will open in the same window of your browser. Navigate to the corresponding tab for your representative’s numbers. When you call, let them know that you want them to vote in support of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.

Mil gracias in advance!

Sound Transit has recently announced publically the implementation phase of its Link Light Rail’s forthcoming expansion to the East King County area. They have already begun preparations, and here is what riders need to know.

Rather than shut down service entirely during new track construction, Sound Transit will implement its Connect 2020 plan: over ten weeks in January 2020, trains will run at a reduced frequency of every 12 minutes, and riders continuing through downtown Seattle will need to switch trains at Pioneer Square Station. Passengers will experience longer delays between trains, crowding, and increased travel times.

This major transit line will serve riders to and from East King County at a total of 10 new stations and be operational in 2023. In addition to these changes, to prepare for the aforementioned construction, Sound Transit needs to reduce Link service for three weekends this fall. On the weekends of October 12-13, October 26-27, and November 9-10, there will be no Link service between SODO-Capitol Hill. Trains will run from Angle Lake-SODO and UW-Capitol Hill, and free buses will connect the six stations in between. To learn more, click here to read Sound Transit’s blog post.

*Photo credit: Aaron Kunkler with Redmond Reporter, October 9, 2018.