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Life & Times Transcript

5/1/07

Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times --

With all the hardships facing illegal immigrants, why don't more of them make it legal?

Raul Godinez>> Every case is unique. Some people could have entered here legally and I will not be able to help. Some people may have entered illegally and I can't help.

Val Zavala>> And then, the inimitable Cris Franco offers a survival kit for one of life's biggest tests.

It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times.

Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

With additional support for Life and Times from The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation.

Val Zavala>> It's the loudest and clearest message coming from the thousands of immigrants who marched in Los Angeles today. They want a path toward citizenship, a way to be legal, but critics say that if they want to be legal, why did they cross the border illegally? So what does it take to come here legally? Well, as Anne McDermott tells us, the process can be arbitrary, costly and long.

Anne McDermott>> Juan is not this young man's real name, but that's how we'll identify him because Juan is in this country illegally. Not that he had any say in the matter. You see, Juan was just seven years old when his family sneaked across the border from Mexico looking for a better life in Los Angeles. Better, but not perfect. Juan is keenly aware of what so-called illegals cannot do.

"Juan">> I can't drive. I cannot find a good job. I can't go travel with my friends. I can't get a loan for scholarships.

Anne McDermott>> But this twenty year old kid is going to pay his own way, work extra jobs. He has no other choice. The legal director at the Central American Resource Center says there's no way for Juan or his family to legalize their status, at least for now.

Daniel Sharp>> I've been giving bad news to people for a long time and it is disheartening.

Anne McDermott>> The various INS rules and regulations affect different immigrants in different situations in different ways. Los Angeles immigration attorney, Raul Godinez, says that it's a landscape that must be navigated with care.

Raul Godinez>> Every case is unique. Some people could have entered here legally and I will not be able to help. Some people may have entered illegally and I can't help. We generally have to look at the person's complete condition. You know, what's the reason for coming? What's their employment? What's their family relationships here in the United States?

Anne McDermott>> Let's take the case of Luis Hernandez. Attorney Godinez is trying to reunite Luis with the two children he left behind in El Salvador back in 1989, children he's seen just twice in the past sixteen years. After all this time, Luis is still working on bringing his children here, but his lawyer says that's still three or four years away. By that time, Luis's children will be in their late twenties. Will they still want to come here?

Luis Hernandez>> Yes, they want to come.

Anne McDermott>> And come they do in groups and one by one. Do you see a lot of divided families?

Daniel Sharp>> Absolutely. Most of the people we serve here are in families of mixed status. There are United States citizen children often or a spouse with permanent residence and another spouse who's undocumented, or some children came to the United States with the parents and have no legal status. Other children were born here, so we see that quite a bit.

Anne McDermott>> A legal resident who wants to bring a brother or sister to his new homeland could actually be waiting anywhere from ten or twelve or even fifteen years. Now there is one thing that will further delay any immigrant's dream of legality or destroy that dream altogether and that is lying.

Raul Godinez>> If someone states, "I am a United States citizen", that alone could bar them forever from coming to the United States.

Anne McDermott>> You mean if they are lying?

Raul Godinez>> If they are lying, correct. If someone tries to seek entry, claiming to be a United States citizen, they might as well be a murderer, a terrorist, a rapist because the United States government will forever bar them. It doesn't matter who they're married to. It doesn't matter how many kids, who their parents are. But a false claim to United States citizenship to an Immigration official is the kiss of death.

Anne McDermott>> Boxer Carlos Hernandez, a Los Angeles resident who is no relation to Luis, had little difficulty getting legal status for his Mexican-born wife, Veronica. Carlos, the one-time and perhaps future lightweight world champion, was born in the United States, but lived and boxed in Mexico for a time, which is where he met his wife, Veronica. She was a resident of Mexico until a few years ago.

Veronica Hernandez>> After September 11, my entering the country was getting more and more difficult each time because I was traveling with my tourist visa.

Anne McDermott>> Veronica is now a permanent resident in the process of becoming a citizen, something her daughter already is, thanks to dad. Why did it go so smoothly for this family? Their lawyer doesn't know. But one thing he does know is what they must never do and that's give false hope to immigrants. Yet there are those who will, those who will take immigrants' money and deliver nothing. Some of this fraud is carried out by people who call themselves notaries.

Daniel Sharp>> In Latin America, a notary is usually a person with significant legal training. In the United States, of course, a notary public is essentially a witness with no legal training who basically signs a document for a person.

So people from Latin America see a notary office offering legal services and they go in and they're often offered a work permit for a fee for a thousand dollars or something to that effect and the notary either takes their money and does nothing for them or, worse, takes their money and submits an application to Immigration and subjects the person to the risk of deportation.

Anne McDermott>> But despite the confusing regulations and the backlogged application process, a process that once took a few months and now can take years, well, it apparently doesn't discourage a lot of immigrants like these people, and this man who wants us to know he'll be a good citizen.

>> "I pay my taxes."

Anne McDermott>> And in the meantime, they plod on through the system hoping for some sort of legal status and that's what Juan, the college student, is hoping for because he wants to go to law school someday and practice here in California, which will never be allowed as long as he's here illegally. Sure, maybe he could be an attorney in Mexico, the land of his birth, but to Juan, that would be like leaving his home and going off to a foreign country. Anne McDermott for Life and Times.

Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times".

Val Zavala>> There's a lot of things we need in this world, but is another magazine one of them? Well, there's a new magazine out about southern California appearing on newsstands this month and its creators say that this one will be different. It will reveal the real Los Angeles.

You may have seen the billboards or the signs on buses for Real Talk LA. It's a monthly magazine built on interviews with people you might call transformers, people like an Indian restaurateur turned television host, a black educator who draws on African spirituality to teach kids, or a Latina singer-songwriter who has her own record label.

The founders say that, unlike other magazines, Real Talk LA will appeal to the growing number of second and third generation cross-cultural, multi-ethnic readers who are creative, inquisitive and want to connect with others like themselves. The CEO of Real Talk LA is the founder of the very successful L.A. Weekly, Jay Levin. He sold the Weekly long ago, but now he's back in the magazine business.

I met Jay and editor Judi Jordan at their offices in an industrial area northeast of downtown in a building that's also an art gallery. Why would Los Angeles need another magazine? Go and look at newsstands and there's a zillion of them about everything in the world. Why do we need another there?

Judi Jordan>> Well, I think this is more than just a magazine. This is a statement that we're acknowledging all the people of diverse ethnicity in Los Angeles which is so incredibly culturally diverse. So it's a magazine, yes, because it's printed on paper, but it's much more of a statement from Jay Levin about what he feels are -- and I'm not quoted him -- the neglected communities.

Jay Levin>> The first thing I learned that is you have to provide editorial that really comes from the people themselves that reflects the community and then gives people something about the community, a sense of the community, that they're not getting otherwise.

Val Zavala>> But everyone says that, from your local weekly to the publisher of the Los Angeles Times. I asked Jay, "Doesn't the Times reflect the community?"

Jay Levin>> I think they do within the constraints of the corporate operations that they basically are. You know, the L.A. Weekly was really successful because we weren't a corporate operation. We were able to really, you know, catch peoples' flavors. We didn't have to worry about somebody being offended. If we offended an advertiser, as we often did, and they went away, it was just one advertiser and we had a different base.

Val Zavala>> Accompanying the magazine is a website where readers can interact. And why would you start a paper magazine in this internet world?

Judi Jordan>> You know, I have to be honest with you. I read magazines. I mean, I'm a magazine fanatic. I buy Vanity Fair to Details to GQ to Good. I love having the paper in my hands. I like to be able to refer back to it. Internet is great for fast information, but it's not always satisfying because you can go back and it can be gone, so it's not as long-lasting or as durable.

Also, because a magazine is not just a magazine. It's impressions. You know, one magazine gets passed from person to person to person and can create as many as twenty or thirty impressions, so it does have value. Also, people like the printed word.

Val Zavala>> Real Talk LA's main competition would seem to be Los Angeles Magazine which also covers people, issues and trends. I asked Jay how their magazine is different.

Jay Levin>> Well, Los Angeles Magazine has a dramatically west side, high upscale audience. That's their target audience. That's who they go after. That's the sensibility they want to appeal to. I guarantee you, when people read Real Talk LA, it will be like they step into another world.

Judi Jordan>> Well, we're appealing to what we call the aspirationals, or I call them aspirationals, which means that they are second and third generation acculturated diverse ethnicities, but they have friends outside of their culture. They're not living in a vacuum. They're deeply curious.

They're passionate about their own culture, so there's not that level of wanting to lose yourself, but it's wanting to acknowledge who you are, but also with a certain amount of healthy curiosity about who your neighbor is, you know, knowing about your friends and wanting to try out different things.

Val Zavala>> Besides interviews, Real Talk LA will cover food, cars, media and movies. How will you be different from the L.A. Weekly?

Jay Levin>> Well, first of all, we're very people-oriented. Real Talk is very people-oriented and a lot of interview-based, so certain people express themselves. It's finding those people who can express themselves more. Secondly, we cover sectors that they don't begin to cover, business, human development, academia, science, tech, things that are going on in sectors in Los Angeles that are basically ignored, but people will find interesting.

So this is really about being a little bit more intimate and saying, "Here's who we really are as a people. Here's how we're thinking. Here's the mindsets out there." Every community has un-optimized potential. Our goal is to optimize the growth potential by blowing peoples' minds sometimes, by showing them things they don't know, by enriching their cultural lives. You know, in many ways that say to them, "You live here now. You think you live here, but you live here."

Val Zavala>> But for all the idealistic talk, Real Talk LA will have to make money if it's going to survive.

Jay Levin>> You know, as I learned with the Weekly, since you asked me what I learned from the Weekly, is that popular success is always followed by financial success.

Val Zavala>> But what's the underlying message that they want Real Talk LA to send to its readers?

Judi Jordan>> It's okay to do something different. You know, you can be an executive or you can be an artist. There's a support system out there for all of those things. I'd like to promote understanding and to see less violence and I think that can only be done through dialogue.

Val Zavala>> Real Talk LA is on newsstands starting today. Its website is realtalkla.com.

Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address:

Life and Times
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Val Zavala>> It's a tradition that started back in 1947 and this last weekend was the sixtieth anniversary of the Newport Beach to Ensenada Yacht Race. The winner this time was Alec Oberschmidt in his boat, Staghound. But why is it such a big darn deal? Well, Orange County reporter, Roger Cooper, went to last year's race and talked with Mike Whitehead, Coast Guard Captain and boating journalist.

Roger Cooper>> We're at a great annual event with Mike Whitehead. We're off Corona del Mar. Mike, what is the goal here?

Mike Whitehead>> Oh, there's a couple of goals. The first boats you're going to see leaving will be the bigger boats, the Maxi Fleets, and they're out to win. They want to get to the finish line down in Ensenada, Mexico. The classes in between, some may want to win, some may just round up their buddies and they want to go out and have a good time and sail to an international port that they usually don't get to go to in a controlled environment with other sailors and be safe.

Roger Cooper>> Is this taken seriously? Is this hard competition?

Mike Whitehead>> For the larger boats, it is. And some of the upper classes, the J Fleets, they take it very seriously. The cruising class are out to have a good time. Maybe they'll win, maybe they won't.

Roger Cooper>> What are we going to see when they start?

Mike Whitehead>> You're going to have chaos (laughter). It's supposed to be organized chaos.

Announcer>> "And the Maxi A class is heading off. These are vessels that are fifty feet or greater in length. You'll notice the taller mast vessels weaving their way through. Now as each class comes up to start, the other vessels are supposed to clear the way for them. However, that never happens. There's always someone floating in the way, especially a light wind day like this, which makes it very difficult."

Roger Cooper>> What's the history of this? How did it get started?

Mike Whitehead>> It got started years back when some buddies wanted to go to Ensenada and organize a race. The yacht clubs have picked up on it and now it's organized by NOSA, the Newport Ocean Sailing Association. It's put on by volunteers and they put this race together year after year.

Roger Cooper>> Now there's got to be a big huge prize for winning this.

Mike Whitehead>> You get a plaque (laughter), a trophy. I've been a trophy presenter before. It's a lot of fun. It's at the Bahia Hotel down in Ensenada, Mexico. They have everyone up on the stage. The winners walk up and we present them with their trophies, their awards. Some are cups, some are plaques. Everyone is excited. The yacht club members all cheer.

Roger Cooper>> Some pretty well-known people participate in this race?

Mike Whitehead>> Yes. This year we have Dennis Connors out on the race course. In prior years, we've had Roy Disney on "Pyewacket".

Roger Cooper>> Why do I remember Humphrey Bogart in this race?

Mike Whitehead>> Oh, years back when Newport was a little quieter town and not so well-known, some of the more famous actors would come down here. Of course, they all had boats and their stories go way back (laughter).

Roger Cooper>> What is the beauty of this?

Mike Whitehead>> Seeing over four hundred boats sailing on the ocean off beautiful Newport Coast. Newport is the largest recreational harbor in the world. We have over nine thousand boats in here. You'll notice that the boaters are a very friendly crowd and they're from all walks of life. They're not just the elite. They're everybody. They're you and me. Also, trailer boats come down to Newport and you'll see the ambience up here in the crowd of the people watching these magnificent vessels today.

Roger Cooper>> Admit it. You wish you were out there.

Mike Whitehead>> Absolutely. This is one of the first years I'm standing on hard ground (laughter) and not on the water either on the press boat or out in one of the race boats. I'm up here on the bluffs instead and I'm enjoying it. It's a great time up here.

Roger Cooper>> What is the appeal to someone who does this?

Mike Whitehead>> It's the adventure. You're sailing, as the crow flies, a hundred twenty-five nautical miles. Now a sailboat will actually go further, but you have to tack or maybe jib on the course down. You're going to an international port. You usually don't get to go to an international port by yourself.

The international port is basically sixty miles south of San Diego. There's nowhere to stop between. So the adventure of it, the camaraderie of all your other sailors, and then the benefit at the end with the great parties down there.

Roger Cooper>> Mike Whitehead, Boathouse Radio Show is your home on the air, but this is your home when the race starts. Thank you so much.

Mike Whitehead>> My pleasure. Thank you.

Val Zavala>> Every year, hundreds of thousands of college-bound high school students take the SATs. Well, at least, they hope they're college-bound, and that's what makes the SATs so terrifying. But there's help out there from Life and Times commentator, Cris Franco.

Cris Franco>> The most important test facing most high school seniors, besides a post-prom early pregnancy test, is the dreaded SATs. It's a test which dictates what college you'll attend, which in turn decides your earnings potential, which decides whether you'll get basic cable or HBO and whether you'll buy the small or the Venti at Starbucks, which decides how wired you'll be and how hard you'll work, which decides how much money you'll make, which decides what neighborhood you'll move into and how good your area schools will be, which dictates if your kids will be prepared to take their dreaded SATs -- whew!

In today's test-happy educational system, everything a student does starting with his first work of preschool macaroni art is all merely part of his preparation for taking the almighty SAT.

SAT stands for the Scholastic Assessment Test and it's a long test. Oh, we're talking real long, like Ken Burns long, with a running time of almost four hours. It's a three-part mental marathon measuring your critical reading, writing and math. Each segment is worth up to eight hundred points with a total possible score of twenty-four hundred.

You know, the test has changed a lot since I took it. Then there were only two sections and now the antonym section has been eliminated. I mean, I love the antonym section. You know, the opposite of hydrated is parched, arid or -- vanilla. Supposedly, antonyms made the SAT culturally biased and, for me, it was biased, but not because of the antonym section, but because the test starts with you filling in all these dots with your name using a number two pencil.

I as a minority, Latino, Hispanic, Chicano, Mexican American Raza person of color, my name is longer than most people: Cristobal Emilio Franco-Bulgura de la Nina la Pinta'y Santa Maria. So by the time I'd fill in my name, I wasn't ready to start the test. I needed a break, plus another number two pencil.

Today so much emphasis is put on the student's SAT scores that entire industries have emerged, promising higher scores to those who purchase workbooks, study guides, online courses, sample tests, private tutors and pricey college board coaching classes. Not being one to miss the gravy train, I myself am now marketing Cris Franco's "I'm Going to Ace the SAT" kit.

It's got everything you need to get a perfect score of twenty-four hundred or lower when you take advantage of the many special items in this attractive box. You get two packs of my super brain food snacks scientifically formulated to improve your concentration, memory and promotes brain expansion. It's like encephalitis, only better. You're going to love the taste of my Academia Nuts and Crani-Yums because higher fiber could mean higher test scores.

Also, the night before the test, you're going to want to pop one of these Ambien-SATs. Unique sleeping agents will ensure that the night before the biggest exam of your life will be the deepest, most restful sleep of your life. Ambien-SATs. You won't be dreaming when you see how high your score is.

And just in case the Ambien-SATs works too well, here's SA-Green-T. Drink one hot cup in the morning and you'll feel SATerrific. The distinctive blend of green teas will unlock all the knowledge of the Far East. Your math skills will multiply because you're alert, very alert, and able to hold that number two pencil for those crucial four hours. Be sure to drink it from a strong porcelain cup, not a paper cup. It eats through paper.

So here's what you get. You get the Ambien-SATs. You get the brain snacks, the Academia Nuts and you get the Crani-Yums and you also get the SA-Green-T. But because this is PBS, I'm going to give you infinitely more.

Order today and you'll also get the SAT-shirt. It's micro-blend that's one hundred percent cotton, twenty-four hundred SAT. Wear it the morning of the big one and you'll score big. No sweat. Is there more? Yes.

If you buy the Cris Franco's "I'm Going to Ace my SAT" kit, on the morning of your SATs, the most crucial dawn of your days, you'll be awakened by this clock with my face and the sound of me telling you that today you're going to ace the SATs, and you will.

You will because you're also getting this signed picture of me applauding your perfect score, or lower, and congratulating you on a job well done. Amigos, realizing that every point on your SATs will forever impact your lifelong earnings, you think that this cornucopia of SAT treasures would be worth a hundred, two hundred or three hundred thousand dollars, right?

Well, it is, but because this is PBS, I'm going to throw in one more item, this CD set of songs guaranteed to improve your SAT vocabulary. It's improving my vocabulary already. It's got catchy tunes like "The pulchritude of your iridescent personage impregnate my heart with delectation, frolic and rapture." Can't you just feel your vocabulary score rising?

Now how much do you think that all this that I've shown you right here, the tea, the pills, all this, how much do you think this is worth here in my Cris Franco "I'm Going to Ace my SAT" kit? It's worth over a lifetime of earnings, lots of money. Factoring that one point higher on your SAT is worth millions over the course of your lifetime, therefore, this kit is actually worth millions.

But because this is PBS, I'm offering it for only twenty-four dollars, twenty-four hundred pennies. One penny for each of the points. You're certain to score big if you buy my kit today. And the greatest thing about the SAT kit is that, after you get into college, no one will ever ask you or care what your SAT score is. It's like it magically disappears. But until then, who wants to buy a bag of my Academia Nuts?

Val Zavala>> Sounds great, Cris. So what did you score on your SATs? And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.

Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Sponsored in part by:


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