“Fabian Nunez, who as California Assembly Speaker became one of the state’s most prominent Latino lawmakers, is taking on a new media career — joining a team of 2012 election analysts with powerhouse Spanish-language Univision Communications.

Democrat Nunez joins a pair of GOP analysts — journalist Helen Aguirre Ferre and Dr. Emilio Gonzalez, who served as director of the Homeland Security’s immigration services — in the new analyst job with Univision. The new team is charged with delivering political analysis  on the issues and the candidates of the 2012 presidential election on Univision’s evening newscasts, “Noticiero Univision,” for the network’s popular Sunday news show, “Al Punto” (To the Point), and its morning program, “Despierta America.” The network will use the team as part of a plan to marshall more social network and interactive coverage with its “Destino 2012? coverage, according to a Univision news release.

”As Hispanics continue to grow innumber and influence, and become  even more engaged with technology and social platforms, Unvision will….keep audiences abreast of the news that will impoact their lives, so in turn they can make informed decisions,” according to a statement Monday by Isaac Lee, president of News/Univision Communications.”

Since leaving his position as the Speaker of the California Assembly and the controversial pardon of his son’s manslaugher case, Nuñez has maintained a rather low profile. I think that this might be a step toward reshaping his image in taking this public step as a media analyst. It will be interesting to see how the viewers of Univision react to him. I’m not too surprised that he’s stepping back out into the public sphere — are you?

“This mass incarceration, which harms families and communities, and the racial disparities, underscore the fact that major reforms are needed to change the way police operate in communities of color, and how people of color are treated by prosecutors, judges and juries.

One overlooked fact is that many African American and Latino defendants are poorer than white defendants and cannot afford attorneys that have the resources to properly defend them against better-resourced prosecutors.”

What are your thoughts? Should Latino civil rights organizations pay more attention to incarceration issues and the death penalty?

“Outside the first court hearing in the case, Fabian Nunez said his son received a tougher sentence because of his father’s political career and the district attorney’s ambitions.

“When you’re dealing with a district attorney like we did in San Diego, who clearly, you know, has aspirations and has always had aspirations for higher office, the approach that they took to my son’s case, and in particular to him, irrespective of the facts of the actual case — they picked on my son from day one,” said Nunez, a Los Angeles Democrat who was termed out of office in 2008.

“You add up an overzealous district attorney with a judge in San Diego who represented that he would, my son, get a much lower sentence and then went back on his word — that’s why we are where we are. It’s just a horrible tragedy all around and I feel horrible,” Nunez said.”

Really, this whole arrest and trial was to some degree politicized, but I think that Núñez and his defense team may have brought that on themselves. Remember when Mayor Villaraigosa was telling us that Esteban was a “good boy” and when politicians and other leaders were writing letters on behalf of the now convicted younger Núñez? If these politicians and other people had not started publicly commenting, maybe the political element would have been lessened. Had Fabian Núñez not asked for any letters, favors from the former Governor, etc. he and his family may have started to regain some goodwill with the California public. And finally, Papa or Mama Núñez should have taken a peek at his child’s myspace account (and the social media for his Hazard Crew friends) for a glimpse into his child’s interests; maybe this tragedy could have been avoided altogether. Many parents who are in high profile positions closely monitor these things because they know the consequences.

Edited to add: the LA Times has a good update of what happened today after the hearing over the now reduced sentence for Esteban Núñez.

According to CBS/AP:

“An alleged multistate online prostitution ring authorities say was run by a New Jersey physics professor has led to another arrest in academia. Former University of New Mexico President F. Chris Garcia was jailed Thursday, booked for investigation of promoting prostitution, tampering with evidence and conspiracy, Metropolitan Detention Center records show.

Detectives served search warrants Thursday at Garcia’s home and at his university office. He is now a professor at the school. Garcia, 71, was being held on a $35,000 cash or surety bond.

The Albuquerque Journal reported Garcia’s detention was connected to the arrest earlier this week of David Flory, a 68-year-old Fairleigh Dickinson University professor with homes in New York City and Santa Fe.”

If Garcia is in fact guilty of what he’s being investigated for, it’s very disappointing for the Latino academic community. This man should be considered an elder statesman of his discipline and of our community. If he blew it all to be involved in an online prostitution ring, then he’s certainly revealed to the public some troubling priorities. And if Garcia really wanted to be involved with prostitutes, it’s only about a three to four hour drive from Albuquerque to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico where prostitution is legal. It’s amazing that he would risk his nice life as a university professor for this kind of extracurricular activity.

As the Huffington Post reports:

“As the SWAT team forced its way into his home, Guerena, a former Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq, armed himself with his AR-15 rifle and told his wife and son to hide in a closet. As the officers entered, Guerena confronted them from the far end of a long, dark hallway. The police opened fire, releasing more than 70 rounds in about 7 seconds, at least 60 of which struck Guerena. He was pronounced dead a little over an hour later.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department initially claimed (PDF) Guerena fired his weapon at the SWAT team. They now acknowledge that not only did he not fire, the safety on his gun was still activated when he was killed. Guerena had no prior criminal record, and the police found nothing illegal in his home. After ushering out his wife and son, the police refused to allow paramedics to access Guerena for more than hour, leaving the young father to bleed to death, alone, in his own home.”

SWAT Teams and their ability to barge into homes as a “no knock entry” is a by product of the War on Drugs. As Kenneth Nunn explains:

“The potential danger of allowing police officers to enter homes and businesses without announcing their identity and purpose has been well-known since colonial times. Officers may startle residents who may seek to defend their homes. Officers may inadvertently harm residents or innocent bystanders by the use of force necessary to effect the sudden entry of targeted buildings. Breaking into buildings through surprise and stealth seems like a tactic better suited to an occupying army, then to civilian peace officers.”

And in Arizona where citizens have recently posed as law enforcement to enter homes (see Brisenia Flores case for in stance), I can understand why someone like Jose Guerena would grab his rifle to protect his family.

And all of these resources being deployed for pot?! The irony here is that it wasn’t Al Qaeda or terrorists who killed Guerena but instead government sanctioned militarized police who were on some sort of marijuana hunt. What are your thoughts?

The Wave Newspaper reports:

“The father of a murdered college student said he’s outraged that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a snoring noise when asked about his decision to shorten the sentence of his son’s killer, whose father is a former Assembly speaker, it was reported Saturday.

Schwarzenegger made a snoring sound on Thursday, when he was asked about his last-minute commutation for Esteban Nunez, the son of former Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez of Los Angeles, who fatally stabbed Luis Santos outside a San Diego State fraternity party in 2008.

“[Schwarzenegger's] arrogant and insensitive,” Luis Santos’ father, Fred Santos, who lives in the East Bay suburb of Concord, told the Contra Costa Times.”

Esteban Nuñez also received some positive comments from Mayor Villaraigosa if you recall.

I sense that even Schwarzenegger realizes that the public won’t forget about his decision to ease up on the Esteban Nuñez sentence. And should Fabian Nuñez ever run for public office again, this issue will certainly to be a thorn in his side.

Well today, two young men involved in the beating death of Luis Ramirez were sentenced to nine years in prison. Here is the Department of Justice press release on this case:

TWO SHENANDOAH, PA., MEN SENTENCED

FOR THE FATAL BEATING OF LUIS RAMIREZ

WASHINGTON – Brandon Piekarsky, 19, and Derrick Donchak, 21, both of Shenandoah, Pa., were sentenced today to nine years in prison for the fatal beating of Luis Ramirez, the Justice Department announced.  Piekarsky and Donchak were ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $550 to the Pennsylvania victim compensation fund, as well as the special assessments for each count.  Donchak was also sentenced to an additional 30 months for obstruction, which will be served concurrently.

On Oct. 14 2010, a federal jury in the Middle District of Pennsylvania found both defendants guilty of a felony violation of the federal Fair Housing Act for fatally beating Luis Ramirez because he was Latino and because they did not want Latinos living in Shenandoah.  In addition, the jury found that Donchak conspired to, and did in fact, obstruct justice during the investigation of this crime.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on July 12, 2008, the defendants came upon Ramirez in a park after leaving a community festival. The defendants and several of their friends, some of whom testified during the trial, attacked Ramirez. During the course of the beating, the defendants and their friends yelled racial epithets in which they repeatedly referred to Ramirez in derogatory racial terms and told him “This is Shenandoah. This is America. Go back to Mexico.” According to testimony, Donchak beat Ramirez while holding a thick piece of metal identified at trial as a “fist pack.” After another of their friends punched Ramirez in the face, causing him to fall back and hit his head on the ground, Piekarsky kicked Ramirez in the head as he lay unconscious and prone on the ground. After Piekarsky kicked Ramirez, he told a bystander who was married to a Latino man to “tell your Mexican friends to get out of Shenandoah or you will be lying next to him.” After the fight concluded, Ramirez was air-lifted to Geisinger Regional Medical Center, where he died of massive head injuries. The jury also heard evidence that, immediately following the beating, Donchak conspired to obstruct the investigation of the fatal assault.

“Acts of violence, like the beating of Luis Ramirez, have no place in this country,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. “As this case illustrates, the Civil Rights Division is committed to vigorously protecting the civil rights of every person who lives in this country.”

This case was investigated by special agents from the FBI’s Philadelphia Division and was prosecuted by Myesha Braden and Gerard V. Hogan of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Today justice has been served with Shawna Forde, the mastermind behind the home invasion and killing, being convicted of two counts of first degree murder.

Over the weekend, Presente.org started a poster campaign to raise awareness of the Brisenia Flores murder case. I would encourage you to print out the poster that Presente has made available to help raise awareness about the Flores murder case and to let people know that we are paying attention to what happens with crime perpetrated against Latinos. All too often, our children don’t receive the high profile media attention that say a Christina Greene or JonBenet Ramsey receives. Descanse en paz Brisenia.

I think that Daniel’s efforts are worth highlighting because he could have very well be asked to show his papers in his homestate although he is a naturalized citizen. SB 1070 created an environment where someone who has witnessed a crime, like Daniel did, could be asked about his immigration status if the officer suspects that the person is in the country illegally. Again, we get back to the issue of what would make an officer suspect that someone is in Arizona illegally. But currently, the immigration provisions of SB 1070 have been blocked by a federal judge, yet they could go back into effect depending upon the actions of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Also worth noting is that Daniel Hernandez is openly gay. Hernandez is also a member of the City of Tuscon’s Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues. Arizona’s two senators, McCain and Kyl, were against the repeal of the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. I will readily admit that I’m not too familiar with all of the arguments about why a military person could not serve successfully side by side with a gay colleague, but I would gladly have someone as brave and composed under pressure as Hernandez was in reacting and approaching the gunfire on Saturday to save the Congresswoman in my corner. The point is that Hernandez was composed, calm, and competent while under pressure, but yet his own Senators opposed a policy that would allow him to serve in the military openly just because of his sexual orientation.

Finally, Daniel Hernandez doesn’t think that he’s a hero, even though his acts were most heroic. At a time when our society rewards some Americans for doing nothing particularly exceptional (see the latest reality TV stars or even Bristol Palin for example), it’s refreshing to see a young person with a sense of humility and selflessness. We need more of this “help thy neighbor” spirit in these tough times, and Daniel exemplies this.

From what I have read, I don’t think that we can really determine the ideology of the alleged shooter, Jared Lee Loughner. From what little has been revealed about him, he doesn’t seem to really be a right winger or a left winger. He did make some statement about currency and the gold standard. He’s obviously a disturbed young man, but only a trained clinician could make a real diagnosis or assessment about his mental health.

I hope that this incident does not deter other elected officials from holding public events with constituents. I do think that elected and appointed officials should heed warnings and take threats seriously, but I also think that they need to avail themselves to the people they serve. One member of the Arizona congressional delegation who has also received threats is Congressman Raul Grijalva.

I have read a lot of finger pointing on both the right and the left regarding today’s tragedy which is reflective of the polarization in the country, but I do feel that we don’t yet know enough about the alleged shooter and his motives to really determine what set him off. I do think that there are often consequences to heated rhetoric that references firearms and weapons, but I also am a firm believer in free speech. And readers of this blog are especially aware of the political climate in Arizona. I encourage you, the readers of the blog, to pay a visit to your Congressional representative’s next public forum to send a message of hope, civility and civic participation.

Finally, I hope that everyone who was wounded, including the Congresswoman, is on the healing path. This evening it was reported that Congresswoman Giffords was awake and speaking, which is quite remarkable for having been shot in the head.