Category: Main

  • The Refugee Paradox: New Americans Lead the Way to Better Health

    While refugees carried few tangible items with them to the United States, they did bring healthy eating habits and sound family traditions. These foundations have changed the food landscape in City Heights and are setting the example for longtime residents to eat healthier. | Photo Credit: Cuc, 16, Vietnam By Megan Burks Last year, local…

  • Tweet City Heights: Somali Leaders Inspire Community

    By Megan Burks Local Youth Leader Recounts Aid Trip to Somalia Abdumalik Buul, a local Somali leader who recently returned from a trip to deliver aid in Somalia, visited Speak City Heights partner KPBS this week to talk about his experience in the famine-ravaged country. In a radio interview, he described a crumbling Mogadishu filled…

  • County Students More Often Suspended For Non-Violent, Non-Drug Infractions

    By Kyla Calvert The California Endowment is calling on California schools to turn away from “no-tolerance” discipline policies commonly adopted after the Columbine High School shootings. They say the policies do more harm than good. A recent national report shows students who are frequently suspended are more likely to drop out of school and that minority students…

  • Governor Approves State Dream Act, Nixes E-Verify for Private Employers

    By Ruxandra Guidi The two bills faced Republican opposition and were passed right before the legislative deadline. Assembly Bill 1236, the Employment Acceleration Act of 2011, will not make it mandatory for private companies to use the federal employment verification system, or E-Verify. Assembly Bill 130, also known as the California Dream Act, will make…

  • National Spotlight on City Heights Farm

    By Adrian Florido City Heights is becoming a model for how land in dense urban neighborhoods can be put to productive use. Corn stalks, melon vines and nopal cactus flourish there. With the help of local advocates, some of that produce is beginning to trickle into local restaurants, helping refugees tap into the growing farm-to-table…