damian trujillo: hello and welcome to "comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo. and remember that qr code at the bottom of your screen, we're running out of time. that's so you can register to vote. takes you directly to the secretary of state's office in sacramento. no more excuses. latinos need to vote. in the background this morning, the altar that my son put together for dia de los muertos. it'll be here for the duration of october.

on the show today, national health month and the vta project at eastridge mall on your "comunidad del valle." ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ damian: and we begin with the laughter is medicine event put on by the indian health center here in santa clara county. with us is gerardo loera who is with the indian health center. gerardo, welcome to the show. gerardo loera: good morning. damian: thank you for being here. before we get into the laughter event, tell us about the indian health center and the many people that you help. gerardo: absolutely. thank you so much for having me on your show today. i'm excited to be here and talk a little bit about the wonderful services that we offer through the indian health center of santa clara valley. we were established almost 50 years ago, originally to serve

the unique health care needs of american indians. in the early '90s we were able to open our doors to the entire community. and today we serve over 20,000 patients at 4 different clinical sites throughout san jose, as we continue to be the only ones who specialize in the unique health care needs of american indians. damian: talk if you will about the importance of making sure that the focus is that the indigenous folks in our community. gerardo: yeah, thank you for that. so, in the '50s, there was a relocation effort, literally a policy was put in place to forcibly, in most cases, remove folks that were living on tribal territories or reservations, as they're better known, to forcibly move them into urban centers like san jose. as generations of folks began moving into those spaces, they realized that there weren't services that were tailored to their needs and so, through the civil rights movement of the

'60s, as a result of that, efforts were put in place to be able to establish places like the indian health center. today, there are over 40 of these urban indian health care centers throughout the nation. ten of them exist right here in california and we are the only one in santa clara county. and just like any of our ethnic groups in our community, it's really important that we have services that are in place that take care of the whole person. and so fortunately here at the indian health center, in addition to providing medical, dental, counseling-- and prevention services for the entire community, we have a whole swath of services directed specifically at the american indian community. and it's through these services that we ensure the survival and healing of american indians who, as a community today, we continue to be the targets of an ongoing genocide against the first nations people of the united states and all throughout the americas. we're coming into a close of, quote, unquote, "latino heritage month," and quickly approaching american indian heritage month,

which is the month of november and in alignment with that, we will be hosting this event, laughter is good medicine, which consists of a gala dinner, comedy show, and after party mixer. damian: all right, i wanna talk about that in our next segment, gerardo, if you don't mind, but it's a great event. the indian health center, again, it's here in san jose. there is the event, november 15 at the mexican heritage plaza. it's called laughter is good medicine. we'll be back with gerardo here, on "comunidad del valle." stay with us. ♪♪♪

damian: and we're back here with gerardo loera of the indian health center on "comunidad del valle." gerardo, i'm glad that you got the memo on the color shirt you should wear for the show today. you're spot on. [laughing] well, let's talk about the event itself. what is happening at the mexican heritage plaza, and how important is it for the success of the overall services of the indian health center? gerardo: absolutely, as i mentioned in the previous segment, in addition to the clinical services that we

provide, we have a whole swath of services that are directed at ensuring the survival and healing of american indians in our community. and it's those services that we really want our greater community to support us in ensuring that we're able to provide those services. some of those services include things like youth workforce development. we have programs for ages 14 to 17 and 18 to 24-year-olds. we have ongoing dance and drum classes to keep our american indian community in touch with some of our traditional ways of expression. in addition to that, we offer programming from 0 to 100-plus through some of our ongoing series that engages the entire family through our prevention service department. our intertribal resource department hosts ongoing events that keep folks socially engaged, things like movie nights and game nights and seasonal gatherings. and so, as i mentioned previously, there was a--there was a movement to push american indians off the tribal lands and

into urban communities. and so here we are, we are the safety net for american indians to continue to stay in touch with their tribal ways, cultural ways, as part of their overall wellbeing, ensuring their healing and survival as a community. and so it's laughter is good medicine. we're calling on the entire community to stand with the american indians in our community by joining us at this lovely event. it's that--that includes both a gala dinner, a comedy show, and an afterparty mixer. ticketing options include two different tiers and one is an all-inclusive that includes dinner through the afterparty. and the second tier is comedy plus where you can just join us for the comedy show and the afterparty, which will also include music and some light eats. can't go wrong with some good tacos and some good music and great company. we hope to see the entire community there, and there are sponsorship opportunities still available. we invite you all to stand with american indians in our community by joining us for our upcoming event, november 15. laughter is good medicine at the mexican heritage plaza, 1700

alum rock avenue. damian: well, it's a--it's gonna be a great event and it's good to share a laugh for a very, very serious cause. it's been 500 years-plus of victimization, gerardo. will it ever end? gerardo: we certainly are working towards that. it's--it is an ongoing genocide against first nations people all the way from chile to alaska, and right here in our homelands. you know, here in the san francisco bay area, in particular, we see local tribal peoples like the muwekma ohlone tribe of the san francisco bay area, who are currently working towards reclaiming their federal recognition. but it really takes the entire community to remember that we're all on unceded territory, stolen lands. and we--and while, yes, that may be a thing of the past for many people, those who continue to survive as tribal peoples today, it's--it behooves us as residents in the area to stand with them in their efforts to heal and restore balance to

our communities. damian: awesome. gerardo, thank you so much for spreading the word and sharing a laugh with our community for a very good cause. thank you, gerardo loera, with the indian health center. gerardo: thank you. thank you for having us. damian: you got it. and again, this show is coming up here in november, during indian american heritage month, as it's called nationally. there is the website for more information. laughter is good medicine. and speaking of health, binational health month is here right now. that'll be next, here on "comunidad del valle." stay with us.

damian: and we are in the middle of binational health month. mike gonzalez is with first 5, one of the leaders there, and also with us is magaly fernandez who is a community volunteer. they join us here on "comunidad del valle." welcome to the show. mike gonzalez: hey, thank you, damian. happy to be here. damian: thank you for being here. and we all heard about what's happening in the indigenous community when it comes to health. what are we doing as a binational effort, mike?

mike: yeah, so binational health week, if i can say real quick, it was once a week, now it's a month long and has been around for over 20 years in our county, starting in 2005. and i've been part of this initiative for over 10 years. but this is a month--this is a month-long event that's driven by many different types of organizations and people to really bring health to the latino community and our neighboring communities because in our community, in our county, it's very diverse and latinos are also very diverse, but this is the month that we can really prioritize the health and well-being of ourselves. we are a hardworking community. we have strong resilience, but with that, we often--the burden is that we don't take care of ourselves. and so this is an opportunity for us to really elevate resources, social resources, health screenings, health resources. and so we do that all month long in partnership with various different organizations, including the mexican consulate of san jose, as well as the santa clara county public health department. damian: i know, magaly, my parents and grandparents would eat nopales and frijoles and the lentejas, all the healthy stuff

when they're in mexico. and then we come here and it's the cheeseburgers and the mcnuggets and the french fries, which is delicious. but is it a cultural thing? what do you think makes us change when we get into--when immigrants get into this country and maybe food habits change? magaly fernandez: i think it's a little bit of everything. i think that us as immigrants and hardworking, we're always just long days. it's a hardworking day. i try to provide for--try to provide for rent. but when it comes to food, sometimes it's the easy way out to kind of like get takeout, get a hamburger, get chicken nuggets. but bringing these resources and organizations that can actually educate our family that provide, that there are simple meals that can take less time but are also as nutritious and just connecting those organizations to our community members and our family makes a big difference and we get to experience that at

the binational health week. damian: so this is kind of an opportunity, magaly, to go back to our roots and say, okay, what you were doing before is fine. let's start eating healthy again. magaly: yes, it's all about preventative and educating ourselves. like we say, we're very rich in our hispanic community. we have the nopales, the chile rellenos, the calabacitas. now, how can we integrate that in a faster mode, that kind of combines with our lifestyle and we have organizations that actually bring that explanations and resources and-- damian: sometimes, mike, you know, sometimes we can't avoid it. diabetes is huge in our community. so this is trying to address that, make sure you get tested and if you are positive for diabetes that you get the cure or the medication that you need. mike: right, yeah.

so, i mean, one thing i want to elevate, damian, is that in our county, unfortunately, you know, we have a lot of families who are living in poverty and it's not to any fault to their own. it's systemic, systemic issues. you know, people are generationally affected by poverty and with that comes consequences around life outcomes including health outcomes. and so, in our county, about 25% of populations, adults over 18, have, are either diabetic, they're high blood--they have high blood pressure, high cholesterol. a lot of them don't access a doctor on a regular basis. and so binational health month that we have now created creates opportunities to get screened and get access and really bring awareness to ensure that we are--we are taking care of ourselves and our families and those who we love. and so most recently, we just conducted a large kickoff event at eastridge mall, on october 5. and we conducted over 250 screenings, including blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, and 'flu shots. and we're not done yet. we're doing this all month long throughout the entire county. and so i would love to invite everybody to go on to the binational health week website on--for county santa clara and look at the various events that we have throughout the entire

county and we're gonna close it all off this month on dia de los muertos in november 2, for binational health week and month with a large kickoff event in gilroy where we'll do more screenings and more services there as well for families. damian: and they're so important, you know. because of some of these screenings, i found out that i have high blood pressure and i also have high cholesterol. and so it's important to get these screenings, otherwise you're not gonna be able to take care of yourselves. and what does it say, magaly, that it did expand from one week to one month? and i see that because i think that, like, first 5 and other organizations around california and the state and the county, they realized the importance and they said, let's make sure that the word gets out not only for a week, but for a month. magaly: it means we're creating trust. the trust we're creating with our family, community, families are not going-- language barrier or there's not that trust between health provider and them.

so, having this opportunity to get that preventive care, to get that screening, the blood pressure, the glucose, and being able to say, "oh my god, okay, i already have this. how can i take care of it?" and having it in your language and with people that actually are not judgmental and can actually relate and tell you and educate means a lot. so now also this year, we extended our event hour from ending at an hour at 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock and we had a very successful result. community and--were coming and they were joined. we were having screenings all throughout the day. and i think that that says a lot, that people are trusting them. people are wanting to get their health as a priority but maybe are not able at some point. and this is a great opportunity for them to connect and get those screens. damian: well, thank you all for doing that. mike, any final thoughts? we have about 30 seconds. mike: it's a big--it's a big national, international,

initiative we have been doing for the last 20 years here in our county. it takes all of us and i would invite for those who are not involved in binational health week or month to get involved. find an event near you, get screened, promote it to your neighbors. get involved. check us out on santaclaracountybinationalhealth week.org to learn more. damian: awesome, mike and magaly, thank you so much. i appreciate the work that you're doing and more power to you guys. this is great. thank you. mike: thank you, damian. damian: all right, thank you. damian: and up next around "comunidad del valle" that vta project, connector to bart from eastridge, what's the latest? that's next on "comunidad del valle."

damian: what is the progress of the vta project, connector to bart at eastridge mall? well, with us from vta is kathleen podrasky. he's--she joins us now on "comunidad del valle." welcome to the show, kathleen. kathleen podrasky: hi, good morning. thank you for having us. damian: thank you for being here. what--give us the latest. kathleen: well, it's exciting. we started construction of our light rail extension in may and for everyone, this is a 2.5-mile extension of our light rail line

that currently terminates on the alum rock station on capitol avenue and it's gonna be 2.5 miles down to eastridge mall connecting you to the transit center. it's going to be above grade with two stations, one at story road and another at eastridge. we started construction in may and, starting with construction with the columns, and so there's a lot of activity taking place from eastridge mall to capitol avenue to build the columns because we're building the bridge right now. and to do this, it means we've been closing lanes intermittently throughout the project area and that's something we want to make sure people are aware of because it can change daily. damian: that's important, that it can change daily. i was on there just a few days ago and you have to pack your patience because i think the capitol expressway, is four

lanes normally and it's down to two with the k rails that are in to allow the construction crews to do the work they have to do. kathleen: that is correct. for the area between capitol avenue and quimby, we--or, well, tully, actually, we reduce the lanes to three in each direction, so, six lanes. after the project is open, it'll go back to eight, south of tully. but it did require us to acquire that lane in the middle to build our structure in the divider, in the median of capitol expressway. damian: what is the expected completion date? kathleen: that's everybody's favorite question. 2028, right, if we have a perfect schedule and perfect weather, it will be in 2028, probably spring 2028, and then we have 3 months of testing to make sure all the systems work and then we'll start revenue service probably late summer or fall of 2028. damian: and it's impressive.

i mean, you see the columns there, and the crews aren't messing around. they're fast at work. kathleen: that is correct. there are gonna be 70 columns and each column has piles driven in. there's about 26 to 30 piles per column, and we're about 10% of the way through of our pile-driving activities. and then once they do the pile driving, they set the foundation and then they start building up the rebar to form the column. and this week you're going to start seeing columns that have been poured. and then as those move on, we move on to the next location and then there's another crew. and in fact, you're gonna start seeing this, this week, we're gonna start setting up the false work, that's like scaffolding and that helps shape the bridge work. and then in a couple of weeks, we're going to be working at night as we install more of that false work. so you're gonna see a lot more progress really fast. damian: well, we're looking at some of the animation. it's beautiful from what y'all are showing us in that animation. i--now i know it's gonna be great for the community.

i feel for the folks who live in the area for the next three years. what's being done as far as outreach when it goes to the local neighbors and the local businesses? kathleen: yes, my team is out. we have held a series of community meetings in may and just this past week to keep the community informed and, you know, explain what is happening, what is coming next. in addition to that, we do mail newsletters every quarter. we have been going door to door to residents to let them know, you know, this week we're working behind your house. we have provided ear plugs. we have helped folks with, you know, provide an air purifier if perhaps the dust is a little more of an issue for them. and this is in addition to all the other work we do to keep dust down, like we have the water trucks and the spraying trucks and the sweepers. but we do door-to-door outreach to the residents and the businesses. and we provide signage and making sure that we don't block driveways, that, you know, cars can go in and out.

a lot of the businesses are in the smaller strip malls. and so we want to make sure that people can still get in and out. so we don't--we won't block a driveway. we just work in half at a time and help people get in and out. we go to neighborhood associations. your previous guest mentioned the event at eastridge mall for binational. we were there as well, tabling. we do a lot of tabling events at back-to-school community events and we will also be at the gilmore one, actually not for this project, but we will be out tabling, sharing more vta information. so we take advantage of every family fall festival, neighborhood association, summer events, school events. we're out there talking with the community. it's really, you know, we find we get better engagement when we are in the community versus having you come to our meetings. we want you to come to our meetings too. but you know, we have this multi-prong approach to make sure we are able to speak to everyone. and i also want to mention too, our staff is bilingual. so we are able to communicate to people in their language as well as the material we provide.

damian trujillo: that's important. and you mentioned 2028. in 2028 what can the residents of east san jose expect? what kind of service will they have in their hands? kathleen: they will have light rail. they will have a lovely bridge that, you know, connects, and i'm sorry, i don't have pictures to show you today, but, you know, the story station is going to have--it's going to be pretty, it has artwork and as well as there's a sculpture over at the eastridge station. so, you know, and this artwork is designed to really reflect the community as well. damian: all right, any final thoughts, kathleen, that you might have? kathleen: you know, we really want to help people to, you know, stay in touch, you know, we certainly push information out, but you can also stay informed by visiting vta.org/eastridgetobart, all one long word. and, you know, and the other thing too, i have to mention, with the construction going on, the traffic control, we do have reduced speeds.

we really would like people to adhere to that. it's so much safer for everybody. damian: and just really quickly, i do have a couple of seconds left. because it's elevated, in 2028 it'll be less disruption on the flow of traffic on capitol and story and all those arteries. kathleen: absolutely, one of the benefits of being elevated is that it doesn't have all the stops at all the intersections. damian: that is wonderful. that's great news for everybody who's gotten stuck in one of those. kathleen, thank you so much. that's great information. we appreciate your time. kathleen: thank you for having me. damian: all right, well, if you want a little bit of information on vta project, you can go to that website. that has all the details and a great animation that we showed you here on the show. well, if you want to get a hold of us around "comunidad del valle," you can follow me on instagram. my handle is @newsdamiantrujillo. there's also my email address, directly to me, and there is the qr code. remember to register to vote. we are running out of time. election is in just over two weeks now. we thank you for sharing a part of your sunday on "comunidad del valle." we'll see you back here again next week. just a little clip to end the show.

we'll see you next week. ♪ we are the women, the women of the world. ♪ ♪ we are the future, the future that's untold. ♪ ♪ we are the women, we bring life to the world. ♪ ♪ we are the future, our future will unfold. ♪ ♪ all right, let me tell you something. ♪ ♪ the media flushes down the strength of women. ♪ ♪ but women be winning in all of that hate ♪ ♪ we're consuming. ♪ ♪ sexist men assuming and jumping to conclusions, ♪ ♪ but women be resuming and zooming. ♪ ♪ ho, slut, thot is our definition. ♪ ♪ we are on a mission not to change our self appearance ♪ ♪ but to rewrite our recognition. ♪ ♪ both feet on the ground ♪ ♪ because i'm not light-headed. ♪ ♪ i'm a young, educated woman that always acts intrepid. ♪ ♪ women should be treated preciously. ♪ ♪ we matter. ♪ ♪ we must lead our generation, please. ♪ ♪ we powerful. ♪ ♪ beauty may be dangerous, intelligence is lethal. ♪ ♪ all women deserve the right to be equal. ♪

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tonight, breaking new details on a dock collapse at a ferry in georgia, killing at least seven people, and the deadly flooding in new mexico. hundreds rescued. new video of