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| May 8, 2007 »
At about 1:30 at the Vermont and Olympic, the stepping off place for the afternoon march, about a half dozen workers in red t-shirts were piling placards on the ground that said "living wage for all and dignitity for all workers" in English and Spanish. They also stacked cases of bottled water on a small strip of lawn in front of a Union 76 station for those in the march.
They set two large blue balloons in the shape of planet earth bobbing in the afternoon breeze. Several of them worked to erect and even large white balloon that would carry the message "Legalization Now."
Max Mariscal, 35, who came here over eight years ago from Oaxaca, Mexico, is a community organizer with the Korea Town Immigrant Workers Alliance Network.
"For this march, we're saying about 5,000 people are going to show up from all points -- 5,000 people at least," he said.
-Jim Ricci at Olympic and Vermont
Demonstrators began their march up Broadway, stopping after one block. Organizers told police that they are going to try and keep the crowd between 9th and Olympic on Broadway until noon before they start moving down. They are holding a purple sign with white lettering that says "legalizacion." They are just gathering now.
-Tami Abdollah on Broadway
About 50 people , many of them independent truck drivers, gathered at the northwest corner of banning park in the port community of Wilmington for what was a subdued show of support for their 12,000 to 14,000 fellow truckers who are non-union. The event was organized Ernesto Nevarez, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, a socialist workers group.
Surveying the men who were standing in a semi circle and listening to IWW organizers talk of the need to unite for their mutual benefits, Nevarez said, "I’m hearing about 95% of the 12,000 to 14,000 truckers stayed home, went to the march in Los Angeles or came here." When told that less than 1,000 marchers had shown up in downtown LA by mid-morning, Nevarez said, "Are you kidding me?"
Among them was truck driver Max Palma, 44, of Long Beach, who described himself as among "many, many truckers who are not working today." "I’m losing a day’s work, which is about $150 minus expenses of about the same amount," Palma said.
-Louis Sahagun in Wilmington
City Councilwoman Janice Hahn addressed the crowd in front of City Hall, saying she applauded them for coming out and participating in the issues that affect their lives. She said she also wanted to encourage people to register people to vote.
"We're going to elect a new president of the United States next year and she may be the person to bring us together around the issue of immigration," she said. "Elections have consequences."
-Sam Quinones
Five men holding American flags and signs saying, "Illegal immigration ... driving our nation into extinction," stood at the city employee entrance of City Hall on Spring Street, drawing the ire of about 100 marchers who harangued them with chants of, "Racists out!"
The five counter-protesters stood silent and expressionless, and declined to speak with media. A group of police officers kept an eye on things a couple steps behind.
-Tami Abdollah
For half an hour on his Spanish-language radio show on KSCA-FM (101.9), Los Angeles disc jockey Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo held a call-in debate over whether it was appropriate to bring non-U.S. flags to immigration rallies. The calls, primarily regarding Mexican flags, ran the gamut of arguments.
"We carry Mexico in our hearts," one said. "We are Mexican and we will die Mexican. But that doesn’t mean we need to offend this country by waving our flag in its borders."
Some callers, from other Latin American countries, called to complain that Mexican flag-wavers were not only insulting the U.S., but also hurting solidarity over the issue of immigration reform. One, in defending his right to wave the flag, noted that some have been offended by the gesture as U.S. troops waved flags in Iraq.
--Adrian Uribarri
Davide F. Pugsli, manager of the Metro Red Line, said Red Line trains will be running with six cars instead of four all day, and Gold Line trains with two cars instead of one. He said passenger traffic so far has been "very light," but he anticipates an increase around 3 p.m., when the march ends.
Metro officials also said buses are running on schedule, and there have been no snags.
-Tami Abdollah
Hundreds of students have ditched Los Angeles-area schools to join the immigrant rights march, but Miriam Roman said she’s confident her children are not among them.
A 30-year-old immigrant from Guatemala who attended the march with her 2-year-old daughter Jaime, Roman decided to keep her other two children, ages 7 and 11, in class. "I’m here, and they’re over there in school. So we’re both working toward a better future," said Roman as Jaime toddled down the street toting a sign that said, "Earn path to citizenship."
Roman attended the march in the hope that her oldest child, who is in the country illegally, will someday gain the citizenship status held by her other two children "because even the worst here and making ends meet is often the best you can hope for back home" in Guatemala, she said.
--Francisco Vara-Orta on Broadway
With the help of officers in LAPD choppers, the police department now estimates the march crowd at 10,000.
-Richard Winton at the LAPD Command Center
Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton, who was out monitoring the crowds downtown, said the protestors -- who numbered about 5,000 -- were well behaved and that he didn't anticipate any problems. He said earlier he had spoken to Chicago police who were expecting about 30,000 marchers to take to the streets today. "I said most of our people must have gone there," Bratton said.
-Sam Quinones on Broadway
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