By Tony Bizjak
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Published: Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010 - 12:00 am
Sacramento International Airport may need to stick an asterisk in the middle of its name.
With Mexicana Airline's suspension of service this week, the capital city airport has no direct flights to or from other countries for the first time in eight years.
The financially struggling Mexico-based air carrier canceled all 11 weekly flights between Sacramento and Mexico on Sunday, and altered some flights at other airports. The canceled Sacramento flights include one each day to Guadalajara and four a week to Cabo San Lucas.
Airport officials say that doesn't mean a name change back to the days of Sacramento Metropolitan Airport.
"You can still fly to other countries from here, you just have to stop somewhere else first," airport spokeswoman Karen Doron said.
County officials added international to the airport name in 1995, but the first cross-border flights didn't start until 2002 with Mexicana's arrival. Frontier briefly flew to Mexico, and Air Canada briefly flew to Vancouver, but halted that service in 2008.
Mexicana officials on Monday said they are booking passengers on other carriers while the airline works through financial problems. "They have to be patient and they will be protected," spokeswoman Theresa Bravo said.
Sacramento officials said Mexicana told them Sacramento-Mexico flights are suspended at least through August. In the meantime, travelers here can book one-stop flights to Mexico with several of the other airlines serving Sacramento, Doron said.
Mexicana was not a huge presence in the Sacramento airport, accounting for slightly more than 1 percent of boarding passengers.
Mexican government official Humberto Trevino on Monday said Mexicana has submitted a viable restructuring plan and won't go bankrupt "at this time," according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
The airline's troubles stand in contrast to recent reports of an improved financial outlook for airlines after years of reduced passenger numbers, reduced flights and bankruptcies.
"Collectively, major (airlines) had a profitable second quarter this year," said David Castelveter of the Air Transport Association of America. The last full year of industry profitability was 2007. "There is optimism, but it's cautious optimism."
Airlines are expected to marginally increase flights in September, he said.
In Sacramento, passenger numbers are expected to rise slightly next year after tumbling 16 percent since 2007.
Despite the forecast for resumed growth, two major rating agencies last month slightly downgraded Sacramento airport credit ratings for an upcoming $131 million bond sale to help finance the $1 billion airport expansion.
The ongoing expansion includes a four-story central terminal to replace the Terminal B complex, a 19-gate jet concourse, an automated people-mover tram, and a double-deck roadway.
The expansion launched as the economy and airline industry went into a tailspin, forcing officials to cut costs by postponing construction of a hotel and parking garage.
County officials said Monday interest rates are dropping, and they expect to sell bonds with a 5.18 percent interest rate, lower than previously anticipated.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/03/2932073/ailing-mexicana-halts.html#ixzz0vZjCYNop
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 Hopes to connect with Mexican student community Written by Megan Murphy News Writer Published on May 5, 2010 This year, Cinco de Mayo in Davis will offer more than just $4 happy hour margaritas at Agave - we'll be getting a visit from the Consul General of Mexico. Carlos González Gutiérrez, a member of the Mexican Foreign Service since 1987, will meet with students on Wednesday from 2 to 4:30pm in the Mayhew Conference Room in 2234 Social Sciences and Humanities. During his visit, the Consul General hopes to reach out to students of the Mexican student community at UC Davis and hear their concerns and interests. "I want to let them know that the Consulate General of Mexico is here to help them, that they can count on us, and that I am available," González Gutiérrez said in an e-mail interview. "All in all, I want to give a first step in a long dialogue with them." González Gutiérrez works out of the Mexican Consulate building in Sacramento, which offers services including legal representation, support for those in indigence, and assistance to immigrants searching for medical homes. "[His visit is] very significant, as he represents the Mexican government's concerns in protecting, promoting and cultivating relationships of the Mexican origin community in the U.S. with Mexico and within the U.S.," said Dr. Adela de la Torre, director and chair of the Chicano studies department at UC Davis, in an e-mail interview. Though he seeks a connection with the Mexican community on campus during his visit, González Gutiérrez encouraged all interested students to attend. "Every person that wants to know more about our country is absolutely welcome," he said. Johnathen Duran, the Cross Cultural Center's Chicano/Latino Community Intern, also emphasized the relevance the event may have to those outside the Mexican community. "I would definitely invite anyone interested in migration issues to show up," he said, noting that Wednesday's discussion may interest those with family south of Mexico. "There's been a lot of conversation about how Mexico treats people crossing its borders," Duran said. "We have to hold everybody accountable." Mexican President Felipe Calderón appointed González Gutiérrez to serve as Consul General in 2009. Before taking his current post, he served as the executive director of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad starting in 2003. González Gutiérrez, who received a bachelor's in foreign relations from El Colegio de México and later a master's in the same field from the University of Southern California, has authored several publications discussing the relationship between the Mexican government and the Mexican community in the U.S. In addition to increasing Consulate involvement with UC Davis students, González Gutiérrez plans to discuss current problems facing Mexico on Wednesday, including issues surrounding the recent travel warning distributed several weeks ago. Duran also mentioned the recently passed controversial Arizona law allowing police to question individuals who they suspect might be in the country illegally as a likely discussion point. "We want to know what's being done internationally about the law, and what pressure Mexico might be able to put on Arizona," Duran said, adding that similar laws are in the works in several other states. Despite his focus on these concerns, the Consul General hopes that students will assist him in raising awareness about Mexico's beauty and diversity. "I want to ask for their help in order to let other people know about the wonderful things that our country has; about its brilliant colors, the exquisite tastes, the amazing landscapes, the cultural richness [and] the warmth of its people," González Gutiérrez said. MEGAN MURPHY can be reached at Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo.. Copyright © 2008-2010 California Aggie. Website by ASUCD Creative Media http://theaggie.org/article/chief-mexican-delegate-visits-campus
The California Aggie
Chief Mexican delegate visits campus
Notimex en Sacramento El secretario mexicano de Salud, José Angel Córdova Villalobos, anunció hoy aquí la apertura de 50 ventanillas del sector para atención de los connacionales en cada uno de los consulados en Estados Unidos. Al inaugurar la ventanilla número 39 en Sacramento, el funcionario adelantó que este viernes abrirá una ventanila más en la ciudad de Kansas, "con lo cual cumplimos el compromiso establecido para este año". Reiteró que el presidente Felipe Calderón se propuso que durante su gobierno se abrieran 40 ventanillas de este tipo para llegar a un total de 50 en territorio estadunidense antes de que termine su periodo de gobierno en 2012. "En este mismo sentido, hemos recibido la instrucción del presidente Felipe Calderón para que al término de su administración el 100 por ciento de la población mexicana tenga acceso pleno a los servicios de salud", dijo el secretario. Córdova informó que en 2010 México lanzará en Denver, Colorado, un programa piloto para asegurar en materia de salud a los familiares de migrantes mexicanos que están en Estados Unidos y a los propios trabajadores en territorio estadunidense. Además, México abrirá otro programa piloto en el Valle de Yakima, en el estado de Washington, donde hay muchos trabajadores mexicanos legales para promover un seguro de salud binacional. Tras la inauguración de la Ventanilla de Salud en Sacramento, Córdova dijo a Notimex que durante su visita suscribió un acuerdo con el hospital samaritano Schriners, que este año atendió a niños víctimas de un incendio en la estancia infantil ABC de Hermosillo. El acuerdo permite la capacitación aquí de médicos mexicanos expertos en quemaduras. "En México habíamos tenido hasta ahora un rezago en la atención a los pacientes quemados. Aún cuando se han creado servicios especializados no teníamos un centro para tratamiento de los quemados", indicó. "Este año comenzamos a construir en Centro Nacional de Rehabilitación de los Quemados, en el Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación, donde también formamos el primer banco de piel", dijo Córdova. "El hospital se está construyendo, estará listo muy probablemente para mediados de año, el señor presidente lo inaugurará, pero necesitamos además formar más médicos especializados en el tratamiento de pacientes quemados", y es ahí donde se alcanza el acuerdo con el nosocomio Schriners de Sacramento, dijo. El hospital Schriners preparará a dos médicos especialistas por año, que atenderán a los pacientes quemados en ese Centro Nacional de Rehabilitación de los Quemados, precisó el secretario. Durante la apertura de la ventanilla de salud en Sacramento también estuvo presente Cándido Morales, director del Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior (IME). Morales recordó que el programa de ventanillas inicio en 2002 en los consulados de San Diego y Los Angeles. Aclaró que las ventanillas tienen como objetivo prevenir enfermedades y mejorar la calidad de vida de la población migrante mexicana. El coordinador del IME dijo que las ventanillas orientan a los mexicanos para encontrar servicios de hospitales y clínicas de bajo costo, educarse sobre salud preventiva y orientarse sobre programas de salud para los que sean elegibles, especialmente entre los niños. Durante su visita, Córdova se reunió con la directora ejecutiva del Programa de Educación para la Salud, Debra Oto Kent, quien coordina las ventanillas de salud, y con la directiva de la Iniciativa de Salud de las Américas, de la Universidad de California en Berkeley que proporciona atención a los migrantes en clínicas comunitarias. http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=476448
El Secretario de Salud, José Ángel Córdova Villalobos señaló que con el objetivo de que nuestros compatriotas en Estados Unidos tengan un espacio para la promoción de la salud, se creó el Programa de Ventanillas de Salud, que operan en los Consulados establecidos en aquel país. http://www.radioformula.com.mx/noticias/internacional/se-crea-en-eu-programa-ventanillas.html
A través de un boletín, Córdova Villalobos precisó que este programa es de gran importancia para la salud y el desarrollo social de la población de origen mexicano y de todos los latinos que habitan en esta área.
Al inaugurar la Ventanilla de Salud número 39 que se pone en operación en Sacramento, California, el Secretario, señaló que éste estado es cercano a los mexicanos no sólo por su ubicación geográfica, sino por los vínculos históricos y la dinámica económica y cultural.
Córdova Villalobos, destacó que casi 40% de la población de California es de origen hispano y una gran proporción de ella tiene sus raíces en México.
La Ventanilla de Salud de Sacramento, tiene como principal socio al Health Education Council, una organización de la sociedad civil no lucrativa, su objetivo es promover comunidades saludables, mediante la educación sobre los cuidados de la salud, a través de programas de difusión.
“En esta ventanilla, los migrantes pueden encontrar información en materia de prevención y tratamiento de enfermedades crónico degenerativas originadas por el cambio en los patrones de ingesta alimenticia, VIH-SIDA y tuberculosis, entre otras, que son las principales causas de morbilidad y mortandad de la comunidad mexicana de ese lado de la frontera”, finalizó.
By Darrell Smith Published: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 8B For California's Mexican immigrants, homeownership is patrimonio, an inheritance passed down to the next generation. "(It's) what you leave to your kids," Carlos González Gutiérrez, consul general of Mexico in Sacramento, said Monday. "That word means a lot in Spanish." Preserving and protecting that investment is the focus of a pilot program launched this week to help Mexican and other Latino immigrants in Sacramento and the northern San Joaquin Valley avoid foreclosure. Losses of jobs and income are common problems affecting many immigrants in Sacramento, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, González Gutiérrez said. "No one gains by people failing to pay their mortgages - not the bank, not the family," he said. "But the ones who suffer most are the kids, the second generation." To help those in his jurisdiction avoid falling into foreclosure, González Gutiérrez teamed with the Catholic dioceses of Sacramento and Stockton, the state Department of Consumer Affairs and nonprofit ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions to offer free workshops and counseling. The foreclosure prevention workshops, open to Mexican and other Latino immigrants, run through Friday at three Catholic churches in Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto. Next week, mortgage counseling will be offered to the general public at the consul general's office, 1010 Eighth St., in Sacramento. All sessions will be in Spanish and English. The workshop project comes as Latino homeownership nears historic highs: about one of every two Latino households owns a home, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. The project focuses on a region and a state hit hard by the housing crisis. According to the Pew center, Latino and black homebuyers in 2007 were far more likely than whites to borrow in the higher-priced subprime market. They also carried more debt relative to income. In 2007, the Pew center said, 27.6 percent of home loans to Latinos and 33.5 percent to blacks were higher-priced loans, compared with just 10.5 percent of loans to whites. Speaking to The Bee after a news conference Monday, González Gutiérrez says he got the idea for his foreclosure program while talking with Mexican-born service workers at his own home: the cable TV installer from Jalisco and the air conditioner repairman from Zacatecas. Unaware of González Gutiérrez's post, both workers told him they were at risk of losing their homes for financial reasons. The Zacatecas immigrant declared he was living "the American dream," González Gutiérrez said, "but the only thing he regretted was that he was losing his home." Like many homeowners everywhere, Latinos have been hurt first by the subprime lending crisis, then by the recession. Some lost their jobs, and others are earning far less than they once did. In both cases, the mortgage payment gets harder to make. Language barriers and a reluctance to seek help add to the financial problems. Many fall victim to mortgage scams. "Our community has special needs," González Gutiérrez said. "It doesn't ask for help, and a significant number are undocumented, so they're subject to predators who take advantage of their situation." That's why partnerships with local clergy, credit counseling groups and state agencies are important, he said. "We're making sure that consumers aren't being ripped off," said Brian Stiger, director of the state Department of Consumer Affairs. " … People are desperate. They're looking for help and don't know where to turn." González Gutiérrez hopes the new programs can be an answer. "Behind each house (facing) problems there is much sacrifice and much work from a working family," González Gutiérrez said. "To avoid foreclosure is a way to protect the patrimony of the following generation." http://www.sacbee.com/static/insite/slogin.html?goto=http%3A//www.sacbee.com/business/
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Last Modified: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 - 8:18 am
By Stephen Magagnini Published: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 6B Juan Misael Gonzalez-Montañez, a shy 8-year-old who loves to draw, has won his family of six its first-ever computer. Juan, a third-grader at the Smythe Academy in North Sacramento, was one of 15 top winners in an international art competition sponsored by the Mexican government. His award-winning crayon and watercolor picture shows the first flag of Mexican independence containing the image of La Virgen de Guadalupe, an important national and religious symbol in Mexico. The flag was raised by Father Miguel Hidalgo on Sept. 15, 1810. Hidalgo – with his now famous grito, or yell – rallied the town of Dolores to battle the Spaniards. "Hidalgo proclaimed the end of slavery in all Mexico, including California," said Carlos González Gutiérrez, the consul general of Mexico in Sacramento. "Our independence was not achieved until 11 years later, after a long and bloody war, and Father Hidalgo was killed in less than a year," said González Gutiérrez. Juan was the first Sacramento winner in the 13-year history of the competition. Este Es Mi Mexico – This Is My Mexico – was sponsored by the Mexican government for children 7 to 11. This year's theme was the bicentennial of Mexican independence and centennial of the Mexican Revolution. Other winning submissions depicted the revolution that began Nov. 20, 1910, to overthrow President Porfirio Díaz, who had ruled Mexico for more than 30 years. Juan was one of 15 top winners out of 6,266 entries worldwide for the official 2010 Mexican calendar. The top 120 drawings – done by children as far away as Russia and Argentina – will be part of an exhibition at the History Gallery in the Museo del Caracol in Mexico City, where Juan was born. "I draw 15 to 20 minutes a day," said Juan. "I like making the Mexican flag and stuff." His sister Adriana, 13, added, "he also draws cars, superheroes, a lot of stuff." She called the winning picture "a good thing so I can remember about Mexican history, and I want to learn more about my Mexican culture." It's also a good thing because the family – which includes Luis, 12, and Daniela, 15 – will finally get a computer, a $1,500 desktop, this week. "I'll do my homework – math projects in pre-algebra – and check my grades," said Adriana. "Right now it's hard because I have to go to the library to use a computer and sometimes it's not open." Juan could have chosen a digital camera, a drawing kit or school supplies, but he chose the computer. "I want him to do his homework, mainly," said his dad, Daniel Gonzalez. "It's beautiful," he said of his son's drawing, "I know he draws all the time but I never knew he submitted it." Gonzalez said he came to Sacramento from Michoacán in 2000. Five years later, the family joined him. Gonzalez is now a cook in a local restaurant while Juan's mother, Maria Gonzalez Montañez, works at a plastics factory. Juan was honored Sept. 15 on the steps of the Capitol before 5,000 Mexican Americans celebrating Hidalgo's call to arms 200 years ago, the consul general said. But Juan doesn't plan to become an artist. "I want to be a cook like my dad," he said. http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/2316035.html
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Last Modified: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 - 10:00 am
By Darrell Smith The flow of cash from Mexican immigrants to their families back home continues to dry up in the Sacramento area and nationwide as tough economic times and a beleaguered housing sector have taken their toll on paychecks and pocketbooks. Locally, the movement of money south has been curtailed by the disappearance of construction jobs in a battered housing sector, a major employer of Mexican labor, said Carlos González Gutiérrez, Mexico's consul general in Sacramento. Immigrants are "waiting for the economic crisis to go away, but they don't have the resources they had before and are sending less," González Gutiérrez said. "What the global (economic) crisis has shown us is that the host society and the homeland move in sync." Those who have found new work have moved from the higher-paying building trades to lower-paying jobs, he said, reducing the amount they are able to send home. Sacramento ranks among the top six U.S. cities when it comes to contributing to family incomes in Mexico, according to the Mexico culture and information Web site Explorando Mexico. At the markets, carnicerías and panaderías that dot Franklin and Stockton boulevards, shoppers are often greeted by the bright red-and-white signs of money transfer service Orlandi Valuta. The sign hangs above the entrance of Stockton Boulevard's New Sac Market, but the store was quiet last Tuesday. Clerk Abdul Fidel has only worked the counter a few months, but said he's already seen a slowdown in cash wires to Mexico. "When I first came here, it was better, but it's been slow. Before, people came in two to three times a day, but now it's about five times a week," Fidel said. For Western Union and its subsidiaries Vigo and Orlandi Valuta, transactions to and from Mexico account for 6 percent of the Colorado-based company's revenue. The combined companies' revenue dropped 18 percent and transactions fell 13 percent in the third quarter compared with the year-ago quarter, said Western Union spokesman Daniel Ruiz. The slowdown does not appear to be isolated. Nationally, the money sent from immigrants to Mexico fell 36 percent in October from October 2008, Mexico's central bank reported. It's the largest drop since the Bank of Mexico began keeping such records in 1996, according to the Associated Press. Mexicans abroad sent home $1.69 billion in October, nearly $1 billion less than the $2.64 billion transferred in October 2008, the Bank of Mexico said. Remittance payments from Mexican immigrants have been an important part of life in Mexico. The country's diaspora sends billions of dollars back home each year, much of it from the United States. The money – more than $24 billion – represents about 3 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to the World Bank. A 2008 study by the nonprofit Tomás Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Southern California, which studies Latino issues, showed that one in three Mexican nationals had received at least two remittances a year; 33 percent had received six or more. "The amount of monies these remittances represent is enormous," institute president Harry Pachon said at the study's release. But the amount and frequency of those payments has fallen sharply nationwide for the second year, according to Mexico's central bank. The present slump is new territory after years of double-digit percentage growth in remittance payments from Mexican immigrants through the 1990s and into the early part of the decade. By 2006, the economy was beginning to slow. Since then, the cross-border flow of money has continued to dwindle. "The stagnation we saw by 2006 and 2007 was something completely new," González Gutiérrez said. "We thought it would be a plateau." Though the monies aren't seen as an engine of Mexican economic growth, the decline in payments is among the factors that have dragged down a Mexican economy closely tied to the United States, González Gutiérrez said. "The main sources of hard currency came into crisis at the same time," González Gutiérrez said. "The recession caused a drop in remittances, exports and tourism dollars. The fluctuation in the price of oil and a drop in production was also very significant. All of that coincided. It was a perfect storm."
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