https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/biden-supporters-celebrate-in-downtown-yakima-point-to-importance-of-latino-native-voters/article_7c0d37e8-2022-524b-8709-f2b9586b3e9e.html The first part of the rally Sunday in downtown Yakima was a dance party. Blue balloons flew around the ground of Millennium Plaza. A soundtrack of disco hits blared from a speaker as participants bobbed their heads, danced and roller-skated. Among the about 40 people celebrating in downtown Yakima was Aileen Kane, 67, 14th Legislative District chair for the Yakima County Democrats. “It was a manifestation of the power people of color hold in their hands,” Kane said, crediting their votes for helping Joe Biden and Kamala Harris get elected. [caption id="attachment_879" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Dulce Gutierrez - Photo by Evan Abell Yakima Herald Republic[/caption] About 30 minutes into the rally, the dance tunes transitioned to “Hail to the Chief,” and the event shifted to a call for action. Sunday’s event, a celebration of the election of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, was also deemed a victory for communities of color and the progress made getting Latino and Native residents to vote. “This election should prove how important your vote is,” said
Yakima Herald Republic - Saturday Soapbox Guest Editorial: by Ninfa R. Gutierrez If I’m paying for a meal, I expect a seat at the table! The proposed strong mayor system for the City of Yakima closes any possibility of having my voice be heard. The layers of government keep getting larger, and the space to address our concerns and ideas keeps getting smaller. I was going to say the old guard is back but they never really left. Dave Edler, Maureen Adkison, Dave Ettl, and others now think they can do something for the City of Yakima, but back when they had a chance and were in charge, they didn’t. In 2011, the citizens of Yakima shot down the same proposal. The Voting Rights Act lawsuit in 2012 that was filed by the ACLU and decided by a federal judge, resulted in a new district system at the cost of $3 million in legal fees from the City of Yakima. Their argument, according to Edler’s comments in the Yakima Herald Saturday Soapbox section, is that
Yakima Herald Republic - Guest Editorial Guest Opinion: Ninfa R. Gutierrez The high rate of Covid-19 infections among the Latino population in Yakima County didn't take me by surprise! Knowing well that poor dissemination of news in Spanish still exists, it was just a matter of time before we would see the adverse effects on our community. KDNA 91.9 FM Public Radio is a Spanish language station where I've worked as a volunteer for 40 years. My work consists of producing community programs and sharing information of interest for the advancement of our farmworker community. I have interviewed politicians and representatives of state agencies covering different issues on healthcare, employment, unemployment, education, housing, citizenship, etc. In late January, those of us that are bilingual Spanish/English began hearing about the Coronavirus and how rapidly the virus was spreading. Since then, there has not been a single day that we don't learn something new about COVID-19. However, when compared to the rate of speed the English-speaking communities receive information, monolingual Spanish communities are still lagging in getting this