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Briefcase -
March 2006

Annual Black and White Ball, Recruiting hi-tech Latinas, and a high-profile case gets more defense muscle.

BLACK, WHITE & FUN
The Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce stages its 48th Annual Black and White Ball on April 22, from 6 p.m. to midnight. At the event, AHCC will give out its Annual Business Awards, presented by Qwest Communications. The event will be held for the first time at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, 6902 E. Greenway Parkway in Scottsdale. The Black and White Ball is the chamber’s single largest fundraiser. Individual tickets are $300 and tables of 10 can be purchased by calling the chamber. Nearly 1,000 people are expected to attend this black tie event. For more information, call (602) 279-1800.

REBUILD MAN
As Phoenix injects new life into its older areas, the city is benefiting from the expertise of neighborhood revitalization experts like Tony Salazar, president, West Coast Division, of St. Louis-based McCormack Baron Salazar. Salazar says the mission of his development company is to transform poverty pockets into vibrant, mixed income communities.

McCormack Baron Salazar redeveloped the old Matthew Henson housing project in central Phoenix. Now called Henson Village, citizens, officials, banks and nonprofits attended a Phase I & II Grand Opening Celebration on Feb. 18. “We take a low income area that hasn’t had any investment in decades, go in, rebuild and create a community for people of all incomes,” says Salazar. Henson Village still houses low-income households, but also includes market-rate units. “The advantage for professionals is that they’re living in a market rate unit close to downtown, and they have a vibrant environment with people who come from that neighborhood...,” Salazar says. For more information on the project, call (602) 252-1944.

HI TECH LATINAS
Thank Intel if your hermana invents the next big entertainment technology. Intel sponsored a conference called Hermanas: Diseña Tu Future/Design Your Future, at Estrella Mountain Community College in February. The county’s community colleges have entered into a partnership with Intel to encourage young Latinas to enter the fields of science, math, engineering and technology. Intel develops high tech products and initiatives. For more information, call (623) 935-8054.

PROTOTYPE DESIGN
The ASU Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family held a design workshop in Guadalupe in February for “energy efficient, culturally responsive” housing prototypes. Guadalupe community members had an opportunity to offer their input on the design of a new prototype home that is being developed by the Stardust Center for Guadalupe’s Youth Build projects and for the Self-Help Housing program. The house will provide a new home for current homeowners, replacing a dilapidated, owner-built home that has been condemned by the Town of Guadalupe. For more information, visit www.asu.edu/stardust or contact (480) 727-5453.

VDS PROFILES OF SUCCESS
Valle del Sol invites the Arizona community to nominate an individual to receive one of the awards that will be presented at the next Profiles of Success Hispanic Leadership Awards Celebration on September 8, at the Phoenix Civic Plaza. The luncheon launches National Hispanic Heritage Month in Arizona and is attended by more than 1,700 people. The premier sponsor is SRP.

Nominations may be made in four categories: Hall of Fame, Exemplary Leadership, and Special Recognition or for the Manuel Ortega Youth Leadership Award. A new award category this year will be the Raúl Yzaguirre Community Leadership Award, which will give special recognition to an individual for their significant philanthropic contributions, support for a nonprofit organization, and community development.

The deadline to submit a nomination is April 28. Nomination forms are available by either visiting the agency’s Web site at http://www.valledelsol.com or by contacting Valle del Sol at (602) 248-8101, ext. 121.

MEChA POWER
Gotta love those sharp, young MEChA members. The student organization is a training camp for Latino activists, and in they held a statewide conference at Phoenix College. The theme of the gathering was, Education, the Pathway to Social Economic Reform. For these future leaders, education and handling money are keys to changing the world.

“A MEChA philosophy is that books are our bullets,” says Gabriel Cruz, a MEChista from Glendale Community College. “We’re not selling out. It’s more like we are buying it out.” On March 23-26, MEChA will host a national conference at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. For those who don’t know, MEChA means Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán. For more information, visit www.nau.edu/mecha

LEGAL EAGLE
A high-profile Arizona lawyer has joined a high-profile illegal immigrant help case. Former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Stanley Feldman has joined the legal team representing one of two volunteers with Tucson-based No More Deaths. Feldman, who lives in Tucson and retired from the state’s high court in 2002, will partner with Tucson attorney William Walker in representing Shanti Sellz. She and Daniel Strauss have been accused of breaking federal immigration law. They claimed they were taking several sick undocumented immigrants to the hospital when they were arrested last summer. The two face charges that they knowingly and intentionally conspired to transport illegal immigrants.

CPLC LAUNCHES PROGRAM
Chicanos Por La Causa,Inc. launched its matched savings program at Toltecalli High School in Tucson. The accounts, known as individual development accounts (IDAs), allow low-income people to save up to $1,000 ($50 monthly) in an account which is then matched 4 to 1. This earns the participant up to a maximum of $5,000. The Allstate Foundation, in conjunction with the National Council of La Raza, has graciously provided the funds match. It is hoped that IDA accounts afford clients the opportunity to make a down payment on a home, something that might not have been possible otherwise. For more information, call (602) 257-0700.

MILITARY EDUCATION
High school students interested in exploring educational opportunities at the nation’s five service academies should contact Congressman Ed Pastor’s office.

To attend one of the five service academies, students must be nominated by their U.S. representative or senator. Each year, Pastor nominates numerous students who live in his congressional district. Pastor represents the Fourth Congressional District. For information, call (602) 256-0551.

JUDGE AT CHAVEZ EVENT
The 11th Annual César E. Chavez Memorial Breakfast at ASU will feature Judge Barbara Rodriguez Mundell as keynote speaker. The event will be held on March 30, at 7:30 a.m. Proceeds from this fundraiser benefit the ASU César Chavez Leadership Institute. For more information, call (480) 965-8890.