My Dearest Faelan,
Felicidades on passing your driver’s test and getting your driver’s license! This is a milestone for any teen. It’s a right of passage. A step across to the other side of maturity. It’s new found freedom and mobility.
I must admit that one year ago when you received your driver’s permit, I was pretty much freaked out about you learning to drive. But I received some really sound advice from another mom who had been through this with both her children. That sage advice, “let her drive… all the time”. As terrifying as that prospect was, I did it. I tried not be judgy or outwardly nervous, although I know you probably noticed me pressing my “pretend brake” with my foot on more than one occasion. Through it all, you soldiered on…always excited to get opportunities to drive. You accepted corrections with grace but sometimes with the occasional, “yes, I know Momma!”
You’ve come a long way and I love your confidence. I know you were nervous about the parallel parking portion of the test, but the look on your face when you nailed it, was priceless! And, while it’s such an exciting time, know that driving is a privilege and something to be taken seriously. Know that the vehicle you are driving has power. It has the ability to hurt others or damage property. Treat it with the respect it deserves. Most of all, enjoy this milestone and don’t forget the following:
- adjust your seat, mirrors & radio station before you leave the driveway;
- check the gas gauge to ensure you can get where you’ve gotta go;
- do not text while driving;
- car insurance for teens is pricey, don’t do anything to increase our premiums; and
- keep the radio to a reasonable volume.
Love, Momma
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It’s been quite some time since I’ve written a post. I have officially exited my self-imposed political ban after last year’s election results… nuff said! Thanks for sticking with me my Latina In Law Lovelies!
Summer is such a great time of year. The kids are out of school enjoying their free time and even the office load seems a bit lighter this time of year. For our household, though, Summer is travel baseball season in Michigan. This year, my son and his 12U travel baseball team had the wonderful opportunity to travel out of the State of Michigan to participate in the Cal Ripken Tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The tournament was over the Memorial Day holiday, as a result, our family extended our time in South Carolina and made it a family baseball vacation.
Not knowing what to expect, I was impressed with the Ripken Experience grounds and facilities. The umpires and staff were all very friendly. But probably one of the best services they offered was professional photos taken of your ballplayer so that you could concentrate on watching the game without having to worry about missing “the money shot”. While there were numerous photo packages and framed photo options, I opted to buy all the digital photos, which came with a complimentary 8×10 of my favorite photo. Purchasing all the digital photos meant that I was free to do whatever I wanted with them. The best buy, by a long shot. The first two photos above are two of my favorites taken by the photographers. These photos are ones I will keep for a lifetime.
This was my first time to Myrtle Beach. We stayed at the Ocean Reef Resort right on the Atlantic Ocean. Suffice it to say, it was beautiful. We were fortunate enough to have great weather and the resort had every amenity we could ask for. I would definitely go back for another stay. Check them out here: http://www.oceanreefmyrtlebeach.com. We stayed in a 3 bedroom condo with an ocean view and even received a special room rate since we were playing in a Cal Ripken Tournament. The kids had a great time on the beach; swimming in the ocean; learning how to surf; swimming in the pools; drinking daiquiris (w/o alcohol), and playing in the arcade in the evenings. We were fortunate enough to have some of our extended family join us so the vacation was truly a family affair. It was a great baseball vacation and an excellent way to kick off Summer 2017. [click Title for comments]
This was our first visit to Washington DC area as a family. We stayed at the beautiful Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor. I was really impressed with the National Harbor layout. It was a family friendly resort community along the Potomac River, just south of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
The National Harbor resort community was designed like a small town, with block after block of retail shops, dining, residential and hotels. The waterfront area was stunning with a sandy beach, marina, pier, carousel, ferris wheel, swan paddle boats and restaurants overlooking the Potomac. The sidewalks and streets were filled with pedestrian traffic and reminded me of a bustling little town.
While there were numerous places to eat great good, we especially liked Rosa Mexicano, Mexican restaurant where we dined al fresco, discussed our sightseeing plans and people watched. The fresh guacamole and enchiladas were excelente!
My children especially liked the Capital Wheel, a 180 foot high ferris wheel that gave the best views of National Harbor and the surrounding Washington DC area. At nighttime, the Capital Wheel lights up and becomes a wonderful illumination backdrop to the resort community’s nightlife.
We also visited The National Zoo to see the Pandas, of course! 
It was a sunny Spring day and the kids had a great time viewing the animals. The zoo is part of the Smithsonian Institution and therefore does not charge admission. The grounds were beautiful and all food selections were good and reasonably priced.
This was a wonderful destination to visit with lots to see and do. If you have not yet discovered National Harbor or had the opportunity to visit the National Zoo, you should add these to your family travel “must do” list. We are already making plans to come back next Spring. Buen viaje!
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The sky is blue and the sun is shining down on Detroit, Michigan. At long last, the day Detroit baseball fans have been waiting for after a long, cold winter. Opening Day is first and foremost, an “unofficial” holiday in the State of Michigan. I’m not certain of the numbers, but practically no one is working on this day… and if they are, they are likely following along on their smart phone or streaming the game on their desktops.
Springtime in Michigan not only brings blooming flowers and trees, it brings a renewed and fresh perspective of our beloved Tigers’ chances at the pennant. It’s a day of celebration as the City of Detroit and the entire State of Michigan join together to celebrate “our” team. It is that spirit of unification that I love most about baseball. Baseball unifies all people; which is why today in the City is the very best day in the City.
We are headed to the CoPa (shorthand for Comerica Park) and it is certain to be rocking. Enjoy the day and watch for Miguel’s first homer of the season… he will most certainly not disappoint! Happy Opening Day Detroit! [click the Title for comments]
Evenwel vs. Abbott — On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously (8-0) rejected an effort to challenge the well-established principle of ‘one person, one vote’ in drawing election districts based upon total population. This decision upholds or affirms the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit; which also rejected the challenge. Read the Decision in its entirety, here.
The Low Down on Sue Evenwel & Edward Pfenninger: The Appellants, both Texas residents, were recruited by Edward Blum, the director of the Project on Fair Representation to challenge the ‘one-person, one-vote’ principle. Blum has earned the reputation of a crusader against civil rights and affirmative action laws. He refers to Evenwel and Pfenninger as his “clients”, although Blum himself, is not an attorney. Evenwel is a Texas GOP and tea party activist and Pfenninger, a self-proclaimed youtuber and defender of the KJB-perfect Bible in English. Ripe for the picking, pretty much sums up these two “clients”.
Background: In a political attempt to reduce the voting power of the nation’s urban Latino and African American population, the Appellants brought a challenge based on a claim that the Texas Senate redistricting boundaries of 2013 (which were based solely on the most recent census population figures from 2010) were unconstitutional and violated the ‘one person, one vote’ principle of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause because the districts were not divided in a way that used voter population (i.e., only those registered to vote), rather than total population (i.e., all persons). The Appellants argued that using total population diluted their voting power because they each resided in a district that had a large number of people who were nonvoters, unregistered voters, teens, children, felons and noncitizens. The Appellants argued that only people like them, i.e., registered voters, should be taken into account when drawing districts.
Writing for the majority, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated, “This Court’s past decisions reinforce the conclusion that States and localities may comply with the one-person, one-vote principle by designing districts with equal total populations.” The Justice went on to argue that requiring districts to be divided only by counting those eligible to vote would upset an approach that all states and numerous jurisdictions have historically followed. She went on to add that,
“Nonvoters have an important stake in many policy debates and in receiving constituent services. By ensuring that each representative is subject to requests and suggestions from the same number of constituents, total-population apportionment promotes equitable and effective representation.”
This was a clear victory for voting rights proponents. While the state of Texas wanted the option to choose either total population or voter population, the Court only decided that Texas’ current use of total population passed muster and it declined to rule on whether other methods of drawing boundaries could be used. [click the Title for comments]
As a young child, I always looked forward to Spring. Growing up in Michigan, Spring time meant an end to a long winter season and the renewal of all things new. Some of my fondest childhood memories took place during family holiday gatherings. In the Spring, I could count on two constants: a new Easter dress and “cascarones” (confetti-filled, hollowed out eggshells). No Hughes familia Easter celebration was complete without cascarones. 
My family would begin saving hollowed out eggs for months before Easter, which meant that we ended up eating lots of scrambled eggs during this time; which is great, unless you were like me and liked your eggs, over easy. The evening before, we would sit and cut up newspaper or tissue paper for the confetti filling. We’d color hard-boiled eggs, along with our hollowed out eggs, getting everything ready for Easter Sunday.
After mass, we’d all gather at our home or a relative’s home for our Easter celebration. There was always lots of food, drink and the two best things: an Easter egg hunt and the breaking of cascarones. We were always told that breaking a cascarone over someone’s head and showing them with confetti, was supposed to bring good luck. I’m not certain if that was ever true or not, but it was always, and is to this day, lots of fun and still brings a smile to my face as I see my children carrying on that same Easter tradition.
My favorite cascarone memory was when my sister was in 1st or 2nd grade and she cracked a cascarone on my dad’s head; except she had grabbed a hard-boiled Easter egg by accident… ouch! We laugh about that to this day.
Nowadays, there are numerous mercados that sell cascarones already prepared, so we’re not stuck eating scrambled eggs for months ahead of time. Ah, progress! Happy Easter Everyone. [click the Title for comments]
On December 17, 2014, the United States and Cuba announced that they would begin the process to normalize relations between the two countries. Since that time, the two countries have established diplomatic relations and opened embassies. Agreements have been reached to restore direct flights and mail service. Commercial ties have been expanded and increased the capacity of Americans to travel and do business in Cuba.
On March 22, 2016, President Obama became the first American President to visit Cuba in 88 years. During this historical visit, the President brought “saludos de paz” and shared his vision for what the relationship between the two countries should be. Speaking in English and some occasional Spanish, President Obama emphasized that a country’s greatest asset is its people, leaving the Cuban people with a hopeful message for the future.
The President’s historic visit to Cuba was capped off by an exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National Team. This was the first Major League Baseball match in Cuba since 1999. [click the Title for comments]
Exhibit Opening and Panel Discussion, a Must See!
Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. This March 29th, please join the Walter P. Reuther Library for a Panel Discussion to celebrate the opening of a New Exhibit “From the Margins to the Core: Latino Workers in the Nation’s Auto Industry” on loan from Michigan State University. The exhibit spotlights the voices of Latino workers to explore their impact on the auto industry in Michigan, drawing from photographs, oral histories, and other archival records. Panelists will discuss the contributions of Latino auto workers from a variety of perspectives.
Panelists include:
Cindy Estrada, Vice President, International Union, UAW
Rubén Martinez, Director, Julian Samora Research Institute, Michigan State University
Celso Duque, Trustee, UAW Local 22
Robert “Bobby” Ramirez, Bargaining Committee, UAW Local 600
March 29, 2016
5-7 PM
Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs
5401 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI
This event is part of the Reuther Library’s “Latino Americans: 500 Years of History” series, which is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association. “Latino Americans: 500 Years of History” is part of the NEH Initiative, The Common Good: The Humanities in the Public Square. [click the Title for comments]
As far as I am concerned, the world revolves around the City of Detroit. With all of its rich diversity, automotive, artistic and professional sports history, it’s no wonder Detroiters are fiercely proud of their City. While the City’s economic challenges have been widely publicized, the City is well on her way back and the stage is now set for the City of Detroit’s Second Act. The curtain is about to open, better grab a seat.
With so much to do and see, I’ll be your weekly tour guide to places known and unknown around the City, State of Michigan and an occasional family adventure. Thanks for coming along.
So, one day some years back, a group of Latino business people, judges, lawyers, labor and community leaders started meeting regularly to discuss the proverbial political “seat at the table”. You know, when like-minded folks get together to strategize over how Latinos could gain some political influence in the City of Detroit and State of Michigan. It was a presidential election year and President Obama was running for a well-deserved, second term.
Under state law, the three public research universities’ (Wayne State, Michigan State and University of Michigan) governing boards must be elected in a partisan, statewide election. These positions wield power as these elected boards control all institutional policy, money, tuition rates and we also happen to be the university presidents’ bosses. Elected board members serve an eight (8) year term and must serve without pay. That’s right, eight year terms for free … a true public service job! That year, there were two open seats on the Wayne State Board of Governors. Our Latino group decided we’d put forth a Latino candidate for nomination by the Democratic party. We all left the gathering with the idea of scouting our community to select the right candidate to represent us. We agreed we’d all touch base in a few weeks.
Some time had gone by, and I received a call from one of the women in the group who proudly exclaimed she’d found a candidate for us to get behind. Thrilled, I asked who this person was, so that we could begin building a coalition behind him/her. “It’s you, Sandy!” Every excuse for not running for office seemed to rush through my head, almost immediately… I was a mother of three young children, I owned a small business, I didn’t know enough about the higher education world, I had never run for any elected office, let alone, a statewide contest, how would I get the Party’s nomination and the list of excuses seemed endless.
