Our Government/Nuestro Gobierno

White House

British Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama met during Cameron’s visit to the United States this week. Both attend an NCAA men’s tournament game on Tuesday in Ohio and Obama will host Cameron to a state dinner at the White House on Wednesday night.

Casa Blanca

El primer ministro británico, David Cameron, y el presidente Barack Obama se reunió durante la visita de Cameron a los Estados Unidos esta semana. Los dos asistieron al partido de un torneo masculino de la NCAA el martes en Ohio y Obama recibirá a Cameron en una cena de estado en la Casa Blanca el miércoles por la noche.

Colorado’s Governor

Gov. John Hickenlooper announced that Colorado’s State Implementation Plan for Regional Haze, a comprehensive package of pollutant emissions reduction strategies designed to provide sweeping public health and environmental protections, has received preliminary approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA will take public comment on its proposed approval and intends to finalize its decision no later than Sept. 10, 2012. The plan, as approved by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission and submitted to the EPA, can be viewed at www.cdphe.state.co.us/ap/regionalhaze.html.

Gobernador de Colorado

El gobernador, John Hickenlooper, anunció que el Plan de Implementación Estatal de Colorado para la Neblina Regional (Colorado’s State Implementation Plan for Regional Haze), un paquete integral de las estrategias de reducción de emisiones contaminantes diseñado para proporcionar la salud pública y protección del medio ambiente, ha recibido la aprobación preliminar de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de los EE.UU. EPA (por sus siglas en inglés) recibirá comentarios públicos sobre la propuesta de su aprobación y tiene previsto finalizar su decisión a más tardar el 10 de septiembre del 2012. El plan, aprobado por el Colorado Air Quality Control Commission y presentado a la EPA, se puede ver en
www.cdphe.state.co.us/ap/regionalhaze.html.

Denver’s Mayor

The Denver Housing Authority (DHA) announced that former Mayor Guillermo “Bill” Vidal has been appointed by Mayor Michael Hancock and confirmed by the Denver City Council as a member of its Board of Commissioners. Mr. Vidal will serve on the Board through July 2012.

Alcalde de Denver

El Denver Housing Authority (DHA por sus siglas en inglés), anunció que el ex alcalde Guillermo “Bill” Vidal ha sido nombrado por el alcalde Michael Hancock y confirmado por el Concejo Municipal de Denver como un miembro de su Junta de Comisionados. El Sr. Vidal servirá en la Junta a través de julio del 2012.

Colorado Politics

Job growth in Latino communities

Mark Udall joined Sandy Gutierrez, president and CEO of the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Pueblo, at a Senate Democratic Hispanic Task Force meeting in Washington, D.C., to talk about innovative ways to encourage job growth across Colorado and especially in Latino communities. Sen. Michael Bennet also invited Ron Montoya, the chairman of the board at Solera National Bank in Lakewood, to speak at the meeting.

MHDSA receives grant

Mile High Down Syndrome Association (MHDSA) has received a $60,000 Daniels Fund grant to expand its existing programs into rural areas, and to launch much-needed new programming that serves the needs of adults with Down syndrome.

For 31 years, MHDSA has been serving Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region, providing support to expectant parents, family members and caregivers of children with Down syndrome. MHDSA coordinates new parent visits, hosts community support groups, works with eight school districts (representing over 300,000 students) and offers educational programs to parents, self-advocates, and caregivers.

Bill Daniels, a pioneer in cable television known for his kindness and generosity to those in need, established the Daniels Fund to provide grants and scholarships in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. For more information, visit www.danielsfund.org.
For more information about MHDSA, call 303-756-1699 or visit www.mhdsa.org.

Denver to host 2012 NPPTC

More than 1,000 tennis players from all across the country, ranging in age from 5 years old through 80’s, will descend on Denver July 21-29 for the 2012 National Public Parks Tennis Championships (NPPTC), hosted by Denver Parks and Recreation in collaboration with the United States Tennis Association, the Gates Tennis Center and the Colorado Tennis Association.

Registration for all age divisions for both singles and doubles players (female, male and mixed doubles), including wheelchair and adaptive athletes divisions, is now available online at www.denvergov.org/parksandrecreation. Tournament play will take place at the Gates Tennis Center, City Park and Congress Park. USTA membership is required to register for the NPPTC in all divisions except for the adaptive division.

HSF Scholarship

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund Achievement Scholarship is now open until March 31. This scholarship is a 5-year program! It offers up to $1,250 for 2 years at the Community College of Denver (CCD) or the Community College of Aurora (CCA), and up to $2,500 for up to 3 years to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Eligibility: Hispanic high school seniors who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Planning to enroll full time in fall of 2012 at either CCD or CCA with intent to transfer to a 4-year institution. Must have minimum cumulative high school GPA of 2.5 or higher and complete the FAFSA. Minimum of ACT of 17 in Reading, 18 in English, 19 in Math or Accuplacer scores of 80-120 in Reading, 95-120 in English, 85-120 in Math. Highly encourage students with existing college credit to apply. Priority given to students who indicate they want to transfer to CU Denver (with additional scholarship money given to fund their studies there).

Apply at www.hsf.net or contact Nancy Hernandez at nhernandez@hsf.net or 303-927-8242 for more information.

Call for nominations

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver is excited to host its 26th Annual Business Awards Luncheon. This event is the Hispanic Chamber’s opportunity to review its accomplishments from the past year, the goals for the coming year, and recognize award recipients for their outstanding leadership and support in the Hispanic business community.

Do you know of someone that is deserving of on of these awards? The Hispanic Chamber encourages you to submit nominations.

A selection committee consisting of past winners will vote to select the Hispanic Chamber’s finalists. The deadline to submit a nomination has been extended to Friday, March 16.

For more information contact Lorena Maldonado at lmaldonado@hispanicchamberdenver.org or 303-620-4492.

“Bringing Back the Arts”

First Lady of Denver Mary Louise Lee launched her “Bringing Back the Arts” initiative, focusing on increasing students’ access to art, music, dance and theatre classes in Denver Public Schools. The first “Bringing Back the Arts” youth event is a music competition for DPS high school students that will culminate in a special concert at the Bluebird Theater on March 18.

The “Bringing Back the Arts” initiative will raise money to hire more DPS arts, music, dance and theatre teachers as well as host special youth events to spotlight Denver’s talented students.

Colorado Agriculture Day

The American Culinary Federation Colorado Chefs Association (ACFCCA) partnered with the Colorado Agriculture Council to celebrate Colorado Agriculture Day. As a part of National Agriculture Week – March 4th through 10th – this event was designed to highlight agriculture’s value to Colorado’s economy, emphasize the importance of buying local and share agriculture’s bounty with those in need.

Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia, Colorado Department of Agriculture Commissioner John Salazar and President of the Colorado Senate, Brandon Shaffer, participated in a news conference with local chefs, farmers, ranchers and legislators on the West steps of the Colorado State Capitol to recognize the day.

9Health Fair

9Health Fair el 14 de abril a las 7 de la mañana hasta las 12 de la tarde en Denver Indian Center, 4407 Morrison Road en Denver, para la comunidad India Americano, Westwood y la gente de denver Suroeste.

Debe tener 18 años o mayor. Servicios disponibles incluyen: sorteo de sangre y analysis, 30 dólares. Quizas habra vales para los sorteos de sangre pero no limitados, habla por teléfono al 303-953-6600.

Servicios gratis: evaluaciones de la presion sanguinea, indice de masa corporal, educación de cáncer de colon, primeros auxilios, haga una pregunta médica/consiga una remision, preguntas a un farmaceutico, punción del dedo glucosa, nutrición, visión y dental. Puede registrarse de antemano en línea en www.9healthfair.org/enespanol.aspx. ¡Su salud es importante - esta es para usted!