2012 Spring Fashion

Baby’s First Bling

     Last week we pierced our 6-month-old daughter’s ears. In most of the U.S. people would ask, “Why?” But in Miami the question is: “Why did you wait for so long?”

     I never pictured myself piercing my baby’s ears. I am not Latino.  I grew up in Massachusetts, where I had to wait until I was 10 to get my ears pierced at a salon. My mother didn’t pierce her ears until she was well into her 40s, having been told by my grandmother that only gypsies had pierced ears. But my daughter Amalía is half Nicaraguan. Nicaraguans pierce the ears of female infants in the hospital.  It is traditional for a baby girl’s godparents and family to give her earrings to show how adored she is. In Miami, a baby can be dressed up in pink, but if she doesn’t have earrings, people will still call her a beautiful baby boy. Was I wrong to deny my daughter something that the community around her thinks is a God-given right for a female? I wanted her to embrace Nicaraguan and Miami culture, but I was worried about what my mother would say.

    When I took Amalía in for a checkup and asked our pediatrician about infant earrings, she told me that she refused doing piercing for years, but she knew of a baby whose aunt pierced her ears in the hospital right after she was born, when nobody was looking.  Because desperate relatives were performing secret piercings in hospital rooms and risking infection, the doctor decided to make a “Miami Compromise”. She began offering “beauty visits”; no medical tests or examinations were performed, but she would pierce the baby’s ears, only if she was vaccinated and at least 3 months old, and the earrings used were one of the sterilized infant pairs her office provides.

    The doctor shot the gold studs we had picked out into our baby’s ears. Amalía cried for a minute — less than she did for the flu shot. Then she smiled as we started taking pictures.

   “She looks great,” the doctor said before leaving the room. “But I can tell you guys aren’t from Miami — everyone here goes with the fake diamonds.”


The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests that parents wait until their daughter is old enough to care for the ear piercing herself because infants are at higher risk of infections and may accidentally put the tiny earrings in their mouths.  If you decide to pierce your baby’s ears, the AAP recommends that your baby gets a tetanus shot at two months, and you  wait another two weeks before piercing. Some doctors recommend waiting until all regular vaccinations are completed (15 months)

- Eleni N. Gage, New York Times

Hispanics more likely to get Diabetes

         According to the World Health Organization, there are 346 million people worldwide who have diabetes and 10% of all adults are expected to have it by 2030, making it the seventh biggest cause of death. Diabetes affects many Hispanics in the U.S. disproportionately. The Center of Disease Control (CDC) examined Hispanics with diabetes in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Texas, and Puerto Rico-- from 1998 to 2002. The CDC investigation discovered that Hispanics have double the risk of getting diabetes compared with non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics get diabetes at a younger age, but the possibility of getting diabetes decreases for college-educated Hispanics.  Diabetes is a  genetic and socioeconomic problem.

    Early testing can reduce the risk of problems. Dr. Steven Edelman, of the San Diego School of Medicine told NBC News, "If you don't treat it, your blood sugar gets too high, and blood sugar circulating in your body for years and years that's too high can lead to complications: Eye, kidney and nerve disease." Keeping a healthy body weight, exercising at least 30 minutes a day, eating balanced meals and avoiding tobacco can prevent the start of Type 2 Diabetes.

   "It's all about changing behavior, which is especially difficult with language and cultural barriers," said Hilda Rivera of PinnacleHealth Organization,"Often I'll hear, 'my dad or grandma had diabetes, so I knew I was going to get it.' People need to understand (by) staying active and eating healthy, you (can) control your diabetes so you don't have to lose your leg or go blind."

-Huffington Post

No escaping cuts, fare hikes on T

BOSTON—There will be no stopping fare hikes and service cuts on the MBTA.  According to Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey and Jonathan Davis, General Manager of the MBTA "Our final proposal will include both cuts and a fare increase."   They said they would make a final recommendation before its April 4 meeting on how to close the T’s $159 million budget deficit. They did not say what the final fare increase would be. Many bus routes in the Boston area, all weekend commuter rail service and all  Harbor ferries may be eliminated. Even with service cuts and fare increases, the T may have the same budget problems next year.  Some riders and advocates have suggested different ideas for funding the T, such as increasing the gasoline tax, to help pay for the T.

Police follow beer cans to catch robbery suspect

        Police in Manchester, N.H., say 24-year-old Peter Mackey, of Pittsfield, was charged after he allegedly robbed a convenience store with a knife shortly after midnight Saturday morning. Police told WMUR-TV that when Mackey tried to buy a 30-pack of beer cans. The clerk told him beer couldn’t be sold after midnight. Rather than leave, Mackey’s allegedly took out a knife, grabbed cash from the register and ran off with the cash and the carton of beer. He did not realize there was a hole in the carton. Police followed a trail of beer cans on the ground that brought them right to the suspect. He’s charged with armed robbery, and resisting arrest. Will he also be charged with littering? -WMUR-TV

Kids Get Pink Slime Burgers

          The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) purchase of so-called “pink slime” hamburger for school lunches makes no sense, according to two Scientists who worked for the USDA. “I have a 2-year-old son,” microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein said. “And you better believe I don’t want him eating pink slime when he starts going to school.” Zirnstein first used the name “pink slime” after visiting a Beef Products Inc. (BPI) factory in 2002 as part of an investigation into salmonella contamination in ground beef. Zirnstein said he does not “consider the stuff to be ground beef.” Made from beef scraps normally used for dog food, BPI’s Lean Beef Trimmings are treated with ammonia hydroxide, to kill pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli. The resulting pinkish slimy substance is later blended into traditional ground beef and hamburger patties.
        “We looked at the product and we objected to it because it used connective tissues instead of muscle. It was simply not nutritionally equivalent [to ground beef].” Microbiologist Carl Custer said. He first learned of the product back in the 1990s. He talked about his concerns to other officials at the USDA inspection service, but they decided Lean Beef Trimmings were safe.
       “The word in the office was that Undersecretary JoAnn Smith pushed it through, and that was that,” Custer said. JoAnn Smith was Appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1989. She is not a scientist, her experience is in lobbying for the beef industry. “Scientists were pressured to approve this stuff with minimal safety approval,” Zirnstein added.
       A study by Zirstein and Custer classified the slime as a “high risk product.” Zirnstein says the food inspection service didn’t like their study, and started a separate study that says BPI’s Lean Beef Trimmings are safe.
        The USDA plans to buy 7 million pounds of Lean Beef Trimmings from BPI for the national school lunch program. The USDA is buying meat for school children that McDonald’s, Burger King and Taco Bell refuses to buy.
        “My objection with having it in the schools is that it’s not meat,” Custer said. It’s the lack of clear labeling that angers both Zirnstein and Custer. “It’s more like Jell-O than hamburger, plus it’s treated with ammonia, an additive that is not declared anywhere.” “They’ve taken a processed product, without labeling it, and added it to raw ground beef,” Zirnstein said. “Science is the truth, and pink slime at this point in time is a fraudulent lie.” BPI, and Smith, who is now on the board of directors at Tyson Foods, did not respond for comment.

-David Knowles, TheDaily.com

Trapped between worlds

         14 percent of Latina teens attempt suicide according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey. Dr. Luis Zayas, a psychologist at Washington University says the typical Latina teen who attempts suicide is 14 or 15, the daughter of immigrant parents, low-income and in conflict with her mother over Latino and American cultures. Zayas says the girls' parents have strict traditional Latino values, while teens who grow up in America learn "very different models about what girls should do, and can do. That's the culture that's here, teenagers have certain freedoms. They don't need to consult with their parents to make certain decisions. Inserted in that is the Latino family that says the family is much more important than the individual."
        For five years, Zayas has studied more than 200 Latina teenagers. More than half of those studied have attempted suicide, including Francisca Abreu. When she was 12, she wanted to kill herself. Francisca's mother, Isabel left the Dominican Republic to find work in the U.S. She left her three children behind. Francisca, was devastated. Four years later, Isabel went back to get Francisca and her brothers. But Francisca says life with her mother in the U.S. wasn't what she thought it would be. Her mother worked three jobs, and Francisca didn’t see her much. As she spent time with her new American friends, there were problems between Francisca and her mother. When her mother wasn't at work, they were fighting.
         Francisca says her mother wanted her to stay home, learn how to cook and clean the house. She says she wasn't allowed to hang out with her friends. Her mother complained about her friends, “They like to flirt. They like hanging out. They like to stay out late. These are not the friends I like for my kids." Mother and daughter were trapped between two worlds. "Francisca would throw things, stomp her feet,” Isabel explained. “When she got home, all she wanted to do was sleep. She didn't talk and was rude to her brothers and me. Maybe I wasn't very understanding with her. I don't know."          Francisca wanted to escape the pain. "I was tired of being another burden in my mom's life," Francisca says. But the pain didn't go away. A teacher found a note she wrote and she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for three days.
         Today with the help of therapy, Francisca is learning to manage her depression. She spoke about her experiences growing up Latina at a public celebration. "I came to this country not knowing the language, the people or how it is here," Francisca told them. "But at the end of the day, my mom was my biggest support."Francisca says she now understands her mother. Isabel agrees "At least now she knows I tried to do the best I could. Times change. My times are different from hers, and I have to understand that."

-By Courtney Yager, CNN

Mild Winter Good For Snow Budgets

         The Massachusetts Department of Transportation reported it still has $20 million left in its $48 million snow removal budget. But the executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Geoff Beckwith, says that the State’s unused snow removal money probably won’t be used for other things like schools or fixing roads.   
       “This year is a real relief,” Beckwith says. “But...It’s not as though there will be major surpluses all over, because of course we’re still paying the bills from last year as well.” Last winter, heavy snowfall used up many snow budgets by early February. The mild winter is not good for everyone’s budget. Private snow plow operator George Varelas, who makes additional money plowing snow says, “If I knew it was gonna be like this, I never would have bought my plow…. You wait for it. And sometimes it comes, sometimes it doesn’t.”

- Lynn Jolicoeur, WBUR

Sea lion attacks Shakira

According to People en Español, Colombian singer Shakira was walking with her brother, Tonino, on vacation in South Africa, when they came upon a group of sea lions. The singer went to pet one of the wild animals and was bitten. Luckily, her brother helped her and she wasn't hurt seriously. Here's what she had to say about it. "I think what happened was this: The sea lion thought my shiny cell phone was a fish. The sea lion thought I was playing with him, giving him food. Interestingly, 30 minutes ago I was complaining to my guide, Andrew, of never seeing wild animals up close in my travels. Well, I think I'll never be able to say that again. Now I'm going to see penguins that I think are a little more friendly, besides they have much smaller mouths."

-Rafael Abreu Celestrellas

Foot Pain at Work

       When your feet hurt, you hurt all over. One-quarter of all your bones are in your feet. Each foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles. During your life, your feet will walk a distance equal to walking three times around the world. Foot problems can cause injuries to the knees, hips or back. The American Podiatric Medical Association reported that 83 percent of the U.S. work force had foot or lower leg problems resulting in discomfort and pain. An employee's efficiency, concentration, and positive attitude decrease when a person has foot pain. Standing all day on a cement floor creates an accumulation of blood in the feet and legs, which leads to irritated and inflamed varicose veins. The continuous pressure on a person's feet causes bone misalignment and heel pain such as a condition called “Plantar Fasciitis”.
        To prevent foot problems at work; Rubber floor mats where employees stand and good condition comfortable shoes are necessary. Buy shoes at the end of a workday because feet may be bigger then. Here are some foot healthy foot muscle excercises: Roll a beer or soda can under the arch of each foot for five minutes. Pick up a towel with your toes 30 times.Stretch lower leg muscles by pushing against a wall with one knee up and the other straight out behind you

-Carolyn.Neuhoff@finchcms.edu

Santorum lost in translation

       According to El Vocero, a San Juan, newspaper, U.S. Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum said he would support Puerto Rico becoming a state once English is spoken there He said “as in any other state, (Puerto Rico) should comply with this and every other federal law -- and that is that English must be the main language.”
     There is no federal law requiring that a state must have English as the main language. There is no law making English the official language of the U.S. Prominent Puerto Ricans including republicans have criticized Rick Santorum. He is not expected to win in the Puerto Rico Primary election.

 -By Felicia Sonmez Washington Post

Sofia Vergara: role model or stereotype?

         She plays the loud, sexy, temperamental Colombian wife with the tight tops and high heels on ABC's top-rated sitcom "Modern Family. She's in ads for Diet Pepsi and Cover Girl cosmetics and has a clothing line at Kmart. Is the actress and businesswoman a role model for Latinas, or is she presenting a negative stereotype? Feelings are mixed. 53 percent of online voters in a Latina Magazine poll said they thought Vergara intentionally exaggerated her Spanish accent, calling it "super-annoying."
         Alex Nogales, of the National Hispanic Media Coalition in Los Angeles said, "Some Latinas do not think of her highly because of the role that she plays. She is not like that. She is a very smart businesswoman.. It's almost like she has been typecast as this Latinesque punchline.”

         Sofia Vergara told Associated Press that she doesn't mind being stereotyped in Hollywood. "I love that some networks now are trying to look for more Latina actresses, because it's so amazing how the American public has accepted Gloria and her accent and all her Latin-ness, so it is great. It is the reality. I am a Latin woman. I'm voluptuous, I'm loud, I'm exactly what a Latin woman is.''

 -Johnny Diaz, SUN SENTINEL.com