Congressman Raul Grijalva is worthy of being mentioned as the Latino legislator of the week for the second time in a row. This time he’s preserving one of our natural wonders, the Grand Canyon from uranium mining.

If you have haven’t followed the sad saga of the Navajos and the uranium miners, I highly suggest reading this article. It will make you sad and angry at the same time. The Navajo Reservation is rich in uranium, and in the need to find more uranium for nuclear arms and energy, mining companies have contaminated water and farm land that the native population depends upon for survival. There are big issues with cancer clusters and other illnesses killing Navajos and their livestock. It really is an environmental justice tragedy.

Invoking a section of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Raul Grijalva was able to declare an emergency to halt uranium mining in the Grand Canyon. The Bush administration is expected to challenge the constitutionality of this move, but thankfully, we only have to endure another seven months of the current administration. With all of the existing challenges in federal court, Raul Grijalva has bought more time for the Canyon. The late Congressman Morris Udall used similar emergency declarations to conserve wildlife. Thank you Rep. Grijalva for preserving one of our natural wonders and for learning how to use procedural maneuvers in the House.

Yesterday Hillary Clinton told a room full of Latino Elected Officials that we all should be united in backing Barack Obama. In acknowledging the help she received from the Latino community, she said, “I was very honored to have so much support in the Hispanic community. I believe this country is worth fighting for, and the best way to continue this fight is to elect Barack Obama as president of the United States.” While Senator Clinton put up a strong and aggressive fight for the nomination, I think that she has come full circle in supporting Barack Obama, especially since he reached into his own pocket yesterday to help her retire her campaign debt. Senator Obama has also asked his top contributors to assist Clinton in paying off her campaign bills.

I think that Hillary Clinton is intelligent and savvy enough to realize that supporting Barack Obama for the presidency will help advance her own agenda, which in reality is not that different from Senator Obama’s. Hillary Clinton kept telling us that she was fighting for women’s rights, children’s rights, and for comprehensive health care for all Americans. Electing Barack Obama will bring us closer to achieving those goals than will supporting Senator McCain or even opting to not vote for president because some are bitter that Clinton did not win the nomination. I really wonder how not supporting Senator Obama will help advance Senator Clinton’s agenda in the Senate for those folks who are angry that she did not win. Furthermore, what real alternative is there in the race that would help advance the causes that Senator Clinton supports?

A new report by the Public Policy Institue of California has found that Latinos are falling behind in the digital divide. In California, just four in ten Latinos have internet access at home, while 77 percent of Asian-Americans, 76 percent of whites and 70 percent of blacks are on-line at home. The majorities of people within each ethnicity interviewed indicated that internet access was important.

Considering how quickly information moves on the internet, the conveniences, and even cost savings of purchasing certain items on-line, the Latino community, as a whole, is at a clear disadvantage in not getting up to speed with current technology. Additionally, Latino school children could suffer for not growing up in homes where technology is available to access the internet to complete homework assignments, learn how search databases, and even communicate with instructors and classmates. 

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Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has officiated a same sex wedding ceremony today. He married producer Bruce Cohen, who also happens to be a Villaraigosa supporter, to his partner, Gabriel Catone. I think that it is great for a Latino male to be progressive enough to not only support but officiate a gay marriage. A few days ago, it was reported in a local Orange County blog that California State Senator Lou Correa accepted money from Howard F. Ahmanson, a big supporter of the anti-gay Protect Marriage Act. I think that there are homophobic tendencies in the macho crowd, but thankfully Villaraigosa can move beyond that and fully support the right for people to pursue happiness and a legal commitment to their life partners.

Photo Credit: LA Times, 06/24/08

This week’s Latino legislator of the week is Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), who was honored a few days ago, along with Senator Barack Obama, by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform as “Legislator of the Year.” Representative Grijalva has introduced a bill, with Obama being the lead Senate Sponsor, that would give $1 billion to states for improving the lowest performing middle schools.

I think that Grijalva is smart in teaming up with Senator Obama. Obama is growing his political capital, and improving K-12 education, especially in the middle grades, should be a high priority. Opportunities for young Latinos often start to slip away in middle school, as algebra classes taken in these grades help predict student success in high school and beyond. Grijalva also has the backing of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on this bill.

Photo Credit: Washington Post