California Apollo Alliance Announces New Steering Committee Member,
Eric Reyes from The Institute for Socio-Economic Justice

SAN FRANCISCO – The California Apollo Alliance today announced the addition of Eric Reyes to its Steering Committee. The California Apollo Alliance is a broad coalition of labor, environmental, community and business leaders working to promote policies and projects that boost California’s economy by creating high quality jobs and revitalizing underserved communities.

Reyes is an experienced community activist in the Imperial Valley and president and executive director of The Institute for Socio-Economic Justice. 

Prior to his work at the Institute, Reyes was a co-founder of the Celebracion de la Raza, a board member of the Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo, a volunteer treasurer for the Southwest Voter Project, a Farm Labor Organization representative on the Imperial Irrigation District Local Entity, a field representative and outreach coordinator for the United Farm Workers, and a Calexico High School Social Studies teacher for 16 years. In addition to his current work at the Institute, Reyes is one of the lead organizers of the ongoing immigration reform forums in the Imperial-Mexicali Valleys. 

“We are thrilled that Eric will be lending his years of expertise and experience as a community activist to the California Apollo Alliance,” said Cathy Calfo, executive director of the national Apollo Alliance. “Eric’s profound commitment to improving the lives of underserved citizens will be a welcome addition to our California Steering Committee.”

Since its founding in 2005, the California Apollo Alliance has worked at the state and local levels to catalyze the transition to a clean energy economy that will put millions of Californians to work in a new generation of high-quality, green-collar jobs by promoting investments in energy efficiency, clean power, mass transit, next-generation vehicles, emerging technologies, manufacturing, and education and training. The coalition believes that investing in a clean energy, good jobs future will move the nation toward energy independence, climate stability and economic prosperity.
 
The Institute for Socio-Economic Justice has been “Organizing Communities for Empowerment” since 2005. Their mission is “to organize, educate, protect, defend and empower the Imperial Valley region and other intertwined areas in health, social, economic, environmental and cultural interests to build capacity for a sustainable community with a focus on the needs of the underserved; people of color, women, children, immigrants, the undereducated, and people living below the poverty level.”

 Reyes joins the California Apollo Steering Committee to help ensure a just and equitable transition to a clean energy economy that creates broadly shared prosperity. "I am honored to be on the steering committee to bring a voice to underserved communities," said Reyes.

Members of the California Apollo Alliance Steering Committee include the California Labor Federation, California League of Conservation Voters, Center on Race, Poverty and Environment, Community Fuels, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Marina Mechanical, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Sierra Club, State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, Fourth Sector Strategies, SunPower Corporation, and with the recent addition of Reyes, The Institute for Socio-Economic Justice.

For more information, visit www.apolloalliance.org.
The California Apollo Alliance is a coalition of unlikely and diverse interests – including labor, business, environmental, and community leaders – advancing a bold vision for the next American economy centered on clean energy and good jobs.

Counselors help Imperial Valley homeowners during foreclosure clinic at Southwest High School 

Lenders were among the number of people who gave a large gathering of Imperial Valley homeowners advice and help Saturday in avoiding foreclosure during a busy event sponsored by the Institute for Socio-Economic Justice.
The free event was staged at the multipurpose room of Southwest High School in El Centro, where patrons were also aided by counselors certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2009/09/13/local_news/news07.txt

Brawley to take up proposed utility rate hikes, agreement with beef plant
Click here for complete story

Residents Get Help With Troubled Trailers
By MEGAN BAKKER, Staff Writer
Monday, December 8, 2008 10:26 PM PST

Residents of the troubled Browning and Trailer Mecca trailer parks in Holtville are getting their trailers up to code, piece by piece, with help from the local Institute for Socio-Economic Justice.
“They feel that this is another step toward getting the issue resolved,” said Eric Reyes, the executive director of the institute, about the residents.
Reyes spearheaded the effort to help residents fix violations on their trailers. On Saturday, a collection of electrical workers volunteered to fix wiring problems in 21 trailers. Eighteen of the trailers were finished Saturday, and Reyes said the remaining three would be completed within the next couple of weeks.
“They ended up doing a lot of work,” Reyes said.
The two trailer parks have had a host of issues, starting in August 2007, when 50 mobile homes were condemned by the county. Numerous safety violations, such as hazardous wiring, unsecured gas lines and broken windows were cited as the reasons.
Also, the land the parks stood on had been rezoned from residential land to commercial land by the Holtville City Council seven years ago.
Even if all safety violations are fixed, the residents still face a battle, as they need to tackle the zoning changes, as well as hazardous conditions in the park itself, Reyes said.
Because of the set up of trailer parks — residents own the homes but lease the land they sit on — workers can only repair conditions in the trailers themselves. The park owners must take care of any issues with the parks, such as sidewalks or other common areas, Reyes said.
However, Reyes said the institute is doing what it can to help residents.
“I want to make sure that they bring their trailers up to code,” before going after the other issues, Reyes said.
“The next phase will probably be the plumbing,” he said.

>> Staff Writer Megan Bakker can be reached at 337-3452 or at mbakker@ivpressonline.com
Copyright © 2008 ivpressonline.com. All rights reserved.

Mesquite Lake Foe Speaks Out
By BROOKE RUTH, Digital Media News Editor
Saturday, November 22, 2008 10:30 PM PST

Eric Reyes has never been afraid to be the lone voice advocating for or fighting against a particular topic.
In the past he has spoken up for mobile home residents in Holtville who live in parks that were condemned, and for farmworkers who are historically under-represented.
Now he, representing The Institute for Socio-Economic Justice and Progressive Community Development Inc., is the dissenting voice on the Mesquite Lake Development project.
“We are pro business development, but we want to make smart investments of public funds,” Reyes said. “I think that has been our biggest drawback as a community — we have made unwise decisions with public funds, which has stunted the economic growth of the Imperial Valley.”
The institute is taking this issue on in its role as an advocate for the community and the public good. It also aims to ensure that public funds are used in a positive manner for the community, Reyes said.
The Mesquite Lake Development is an area zoned for medium to heavy industrial use and spans from Highway 111 to Highway 86 between Harris and Kerry roads. The area is 5,000 acres.
Part of the goal in developing this area is to create jobs, in particular manufacturing and assembly jobs.
The major obstacle in the area is the lack of infrastructure, such as sewer and water, within the area.

Who will pay?
Reyes disagrees with building infrastructure and then expecting companies to locate within the area. He wants to see the company and the infrastructure come in simultaneously.
“I want to see both at the same time. I want to see that chicken and that egg,” he said.
He said not having this infrastructure in place may deter businesses, but “because we have water and land available rather cheaply we have the advantage.”
“We should never give private businesses with millions of dollars at their disposal a free ride from the public — that is a misuse of government funding and misuse of the public trust of elected officials and officials that work on these projects,” Reyes said.
Imperial County Planning and Development Services Director Jurg Heuberger said not having infrastructure in place is a deterrent to businesses, but putting infrastructure in place and businesses not coming immediately is also a worry. He said a solution to this is running basic infrastructure to parts of the area with the help of their partners — both the cities of Brawley and Imperial, and the Imperial Irrigation District — and encouraging businesses to locate near those areas.
“Because it is so large it will take the participation of government agencies to get it going (funding for infrastructure), but eventually the money will be paid back in a number of ways — in terms of tax base, jobs created, and some paid back directly,” Heuberger said.
Marlene Best, Imperial’s city manager, said public/private partnerships should pay for the infrastructure.
“Over time water, wastewater and electrical expansion will be paid for by rate-payers, but initially we need public dollars to get things going,” she said.
In contrast to the Gateway to the Americas project near Calexico Heuberger said, “Here there is a massive amount of land and landowners that don’t have the resources to spend on infrastructure.”
Landowners and an EDA grant funded the Gateway project.

Details wanted
Part of Reyes’ hesitance in supporting this project comes from what he says is a lack of details about the project. Before moving forward with this project he would like a series of questions answered.
“How much public funds should subsidize private land owners? Who are the landowners? How many holdings to they have?” he questions.

>> Brooke Ruth, Digital Media News Editor, can be reached at 335-4665 or bruth@ivpressonline.com
Copyright © 2008 ivpressonline.com. All rights reserved.

Residents still face eviction
By SILVIO J. PANTA, Staff Writer

TODD KRAININ PHOTO
Gabriel Fregoso, an Iraq War veteran and resident of Browning Mobile Home Park in Holtville, talks about the struggle to save himself and his neighbors from eviction by the city of Holtville.Monday, August 25, 2008 10:48 PM PDT

HOLTVILLE — Two mobile home parks remain unfit to live in even though Imperial County has issued permits that allow residents to fix their trailers, Holtville City Manager Laura Fischer said Monday.

Even though the permits were granted Aug. 18, both Browning Mobile Park and Trailer Mecca do not comply with health and safety standards, Fischer said.

Mobile home residents face eviction after safety violations led to the condemnation of more than 50 mobile homes at the two parks a year ago.

The situation sparked an outcry from the community of mostly low-income residents. The issue has grown more complicated since city leaders have said that the land where the two mobile home parks sit on has been rezoned for commercial development.

“The trailers can be repaired but they have to be moved out of the park,” Fischer said.

Faced with eviction, the residents enlisted the help of California Rural Legal Assistance, a nonprofit group that represents the residents. On Monday a press conference was organized by the Brawley-based Institute for Socio-Economic Justice at the Browning Mobile Home Park to draw attention to the plight of one couple’s uncertain future.

Gabriel Fregoso, an Iraq War veteran whose parents, Serafin and Hermelinda, have lived at the park for the past 14 years, said they don’t know what will happen next.

Fregoso, a specialist serving in the Army scheduled to be deployed next week, said his parents’ troubles weigh heavily on his mind.

The serviceman said he doesn’t mind having his parents relocated just so long as they can get some financial assistance to do so.

“I got to worry about my job in Iraq,” Fregoso said. “I just really want to know what’s going to happen.”

Eric Reyes, executive director of the Institute for Socio-Economic Justice, said the city disputed the county’s authority in issuing permits for residents to repair their homes.

Reyes also claimed that Holtville city officials failed to provide any of the 55 public records requests that would have corroborated the city’s contention the mobile home parks are unlicensed and unregistered.

Fischer, however, said the city did provide the documentation required about the two parks.

Steve Selinger, the Los Angeles-based owner of the Browning Mobile Home Park, said the city has never produced a copy of the rezoning ordinance.

The looming prospect of eviction left 28-year Browning Mobile Home Park resident Yadira Aguayo worried about where it leaves her family. Her husband, a field worker, is collecting unemployment insurance benefits.

“If I had somewhere to go, I would’ve already gone,” she said.

>> Staff Writer Silvio J. Panta can be reached at 337-3442 or at spanta@ivpressonline.com

Copyright © 2008 ivpressonline.com. All rights reserved.

Click Here for Christian Monitor Story

PRESS RELEASE:                          February 1, 2008

    The Institute for Socio-Economic Justice announces a free Social Security consultation opportunity.  Retired Social Security Specialist, Julio Jauregui, who has a career’s worth of experience and knowledge in dealing with the many complex and intrinsic issues surrounding Social Security will be available, free of charge, to assist people with their Social Security questions at the Institute for Socio-Economic Justice office at 541 Main Street in Brawley from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and by appointment every Wednesday by calling 351-9300. Jauregui retired after twenty years working for the Social Security Administration in Imperial County including 15 years (1985-1999) as a Claims Representative and the last five years of his career 1999 to 2004 as the Operating Supervisor in the El Centro office.  Jauregui earned a well deserved reputation for integrity and efficiency dealing directly with the public regarding issues of concern and working tactfully to find equitable solutions while maintaining the SSA regulations and providing sound customer service. 

     Jauregui was also responsible for conducting and assigning investigative cases regarding residency issues, Medicare/MediCal fraud cases, disability issues and legal residency status issues for SSA applicants and beneficiaries.  Jauregui also worked closely with agents from the Office of the Inspector General, Immigration and Naturalization Service investigations unit, INS Legalization and Citizenship section, U.S. Federal Probation investigation unit, Judge Dennis James of the Executive Office of Immigration, Congressman Bob Filner’s office, the Mexican Consulate in Calexico, the Imperial County Sheriff’s Department Investigations Unit, the Imperial County Narcotics Task Force, Vital Statistics Unit in Sacramento, CA, the Imperial County Public Administrator and the local Veteran’s office. 

     “Mr. Jauregui is a knowledgeable and experienced advocate who is culturally competent in dealing with the issues of Social Security, being fluent in English and Spanish and I am pleased as Executive Director of the Institute for Socio-Economic Justice to be able to offer his services to the community.”, stated Eric M. Reyes, Executive Director of the Institute for Socio-Economic Justice.  For more info contact the Institute for Socio-Economic Justice staff at 351-9300 or visit their website at www.sociojustice.org.

PRESS RELEASE:      The Institute for Socio-Economic Justice announces being awarded a $175,000 three year core operating grant from the California Wellness Foundation for core operating support to sustain environmental health education and policy information activities in Imperial County.  The mission of the California Wellness Foundation is to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention.  The California Wellness Foundation believes that the most successful health programs develop the capacity of local leadership and institutions to create healthier environments.  For those reasons, the foundation provides grants for programs that build on existing community strengths, emphasize community potential and foster self-determination.

US Congressman Bob Filner signs a letter of committment in support of the Ag Jobs Bill and commits himself to lobbying other congressmen in its support.  (Pictured to his right is Institute Executive Director Eric Reyes to his left sits Farmworker Rights Activist, Daniel Santillan.)

Our Opinion: Electrical union to the rescue
Imperial Valley Press:  Sunday, January 13, 2008

Thumbs Up
To members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who plan to donate their skills and time to help the embattled residents of dilapidated Holtville-area mobile homes condemned by the county last summer.  More than a dozen electrical workers belonging to the Local 569 chapter of the union have volunteered to help repair the more than 50 condemned mobile homes to bring them up to code.  The project is in conjunction with the Institute for Socio-Economic Justice, which is raising funds for materials. Residents are planning to work on the homes as well.

Union To Lend Hand To Embattled Mobile Home Park Residents
By BRIANNA LUSK, Staff Writer, Imperial Valley Press
Thursday, January 10, 2008

It’s not a hand out, but a hand up to those who need it, Johnny Simpson said.
In the weeks to come the skilled hands of electrical workers will be volunteering to help homeowners make repairs necessary to keep their homes.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is donating its time and expertise to fix the dilapidated mobile homes that were condemned by the county last August in Holtville.
“We work hard to try and help people who can’t help themselves,” Simpson, assistant business manager of the union, said.
The Local 569 chapter of the union that covers San Diego and Imperial counties has already recruited more than a dozen volunteers to repair violations at the mobile homes.
The assistance is a windfall in the ongoing struggle to keep their homes from being destroyed, Eric Reyes said.
More than 50 homes were condemned in August of last year and initially officials said the homes could not be repaired because the city could not issue permits.
City officials have said the land on which the Browning Trailer Park and Trailer Mecca sit has been rezoned commercial.

Reyes, founder of the Institute for Socio-Economic Justice, said he approached the union to do the work as part of its community service project.
“We’re going to fund raise for materials and the residents will pitch in,” said Reyes, who has worked with the residents regularly.
Reyes said he will be seeking donations of materials from local hardware stores to make the repairs, which include broken windows, exposed wires and improper ventilation.

The residents are still guarded but optimistic, Reyes said, due to the complicated legal process they have undertaken in the last few months.

Support has come to the residents in the form of donations and advocates to their cause since the story was brought to the public.

The county recently extended the deadline for the homeowners to file an appeal of the condemnation and fix their homes.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the California Rural Legal Association are among some of the agencies that have aided the impoverished homeowners.

IBEW is expected to complete the repairs over a weekend that will be scheduled in the next few weeks.

Reyes said the support from the electrical union shows the Valley’s commitment to supporting those in need.
“Here we saw people who didn’t have all the resources they needed to come together and people came together to help them,” Reyes said.
“It seemed like a worthy cause for us so we’re trying to do the best we can,” Simpson said.

>> Staff Writer Brianna Lusk can be reached at blusk@ivpressonline.com or 337-3439.

Activists Eye Sacramento

3/22/07 -- Imperial Valley Press:  Survey Says New River Unhealthy
By GREG HOLT, Staff Writer

CALEXICO — Eric Reyes believes encasing the New River is the only way to prevent the hyper-polluted waterway from causing illness and death in West Calexico.

Reyes, executive director of the Institute for Socioeconomic Justice, a Calexico non-profit organization, said the results of a survey of 200 West Calexico households indicate that illnesses ranging from chronic headaches to cancer are endemic to the area.

According to the survey, 2 percent of respondents said they have been diagnosed with cancer, while 11.5 percent of households said at least one family member had been diagnosed with cancer. Eight percent of households said a family member had died from cancer.

“We can all see there is a health issue,” Reyes said. “Encasement of the river is the only way to eliminate this problem, and we need to demand at the state and federal level that something be done about it.”

The survey went on to say that more than half of respondents complained of chronic headaches, allergies and cold and flu illness, and more than a third complained of persistent stomach pains, skin irritation and asthma.

“Race is part of the issue. A poor area of color has less political influence, but we’re becoming more sophisticated,” Reyes said.

Although the California Environmental Protection Agency is planning to dump massive amounts of chorine into the river, Reyes said encasement of the river between the U.S.-Mexico border and the Salton Sea, which could cost as much as $100 million, is the only way to protect the health of those living near the river.

“The chlorine will only kill the bacteria, and the chemicals could spread from any part of the river,” Reyes said. “We need to act as a unified voice if we are to get anything done at the state and federal level.”

County Supervisor Victor Carrillo said the New River also creates health issues outside of Calexico because undocumented migrants often cross the border through the New River and could potentially spread disease to wherever they relocate.

“We need to implore (California Senators Dianne) Feinstein and (Barbara) Boxer to use their influence to procure funding to clean this river,” Carrillo said.

Miguel Figueroa, executive director of the Calexico’s New River Committee, said his organization is preparing to release the results of its own study in upcoming weeks.

“We want to distinguish what we’re doing from what they’re doing. Ours is a two-year study that will cover everything,” Figueroa said.

The New River is commonly considered to be the most severely polluted river in the United States and is known to contain diseases including cholera, typhoid fever, and polio.

Staff Writer Greg Holt can be reached at 337-3452 or gholt@ivpressonline.com
http://gholt@ivpressonline.com
Greg Holt