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13You Decide – A Bilingual NewspaperDecember 30th, 2021NATIONALOmicron is latest blow to pandemic-weary front-line workersBOSTON, Massachusetts (AP)Staff absences for COVID-19tripled this month in London’shospitals, and nearly 10% of thecity’s firefighters called out sick.In New York, about 2,700 police officers were absent earlier this week — twicethe number who are ill on an averageday. And on Cape Cod in Massachusetts,grocery worker Judy Snarsky says she’sstretched to her limit, working 50 hoursa week and doing extra tasks because hersupermarket has around 100 workerswhen it should have closer to 150.“We don’t have enough hands. Everybody is working as much as they physically and mentally can,” the 59-year-oldin Mashpee said. “Some of us have beengoing like a freight train.”The worldwide surge in coronaviruscases driven by the new omicron variant isthe latest blow to hospitals, police departments, supermarkets and other criticaloperations struggling to maintain a fullcontingent of front-line workers as thepandemic enters its third year.workers, which has been in placeGovernments have taken stepsfor nearly a year in some majorto stem the bleeding across aWest Coast cities, including Losrange of jobs considered essenAngeles and Berkeley and Longtial for society, from truckersBeach, California.and janitors to child care pro“Now is not the time to rollviders and train conductors. Butback the pay for these criticalnurses and other workers worryfront-line workers,” the Demothat continued staffing woes willcratic mayor said earlier thisput the public at greater risk andweek.increase burnout and fatigueUnions representing healthamong their ranks.care workers gripe that far tooSeattle Officer Mike Solan,many hospitals failed to fill staffwho leads his city’s police union,vacancies or to retain pandemicsaid his department is downabout 300 officers from its usual Emergency room nurse Brian Stephen leans against a stoop as he takes a weary staff.break from his work at the Brooklyn Hospital Center, on Sunday, April 5,For example, there are 1,500force of 1,350.2020, in New York.nursing vacancies in New York’s“It’s difficult for our commuCOVID-19, and the arrival of omicronthree largest hospitals alone, ornity because they’re waiting forthat call for help,” he said. “And then we’re has only reawakened her post-traumatic about double the number at the onsetof the pandemic, said Carl Ginsberg, aat risk because we don’t have the proper stress.“Prior to work, I get really bad anxiety,” spokesman for the 42,000-member Newsafe numbers to have a safe working environment when we answer that call for she said. “If I’ve been off for two days, I York State Nurses Association.will come back in a panic because I don’t“There are not enough nurses to dohelp.”the job right, and so there are situationsMichelle Gonzalez, a nurse at New know what I’m walking into.”In Seattle, Mayor Jenny Durkan has where the units have dangerous condiYork’s Montefiore Medical Center in theBronx, said she and her intensive care unit promised to veto legislation repealing a tions, where patients are in jeopardy,” hecolleagues never truly had a break from 4-an-hour hazard pay raise for grocery said.OperationsSupervisor2YHUVHH DVVLJQHG DUHD V RI WUDQVLW RSV HQVXULQJ H൶FLHQW VDIH FRXUWHRXV DQG UHOLDEOH VHUYLFH 5HT 6 *(' \UV WUDQVLW RSV H[S LQFO \U OHDG VXSY H[S RU \U %HKLQG WKH :KHHO &'/ ,QVWUXFWLRQ ELOLW\ WR REWDLQ D 3616 VHFXULW\ SDVV YDOLG : &'/ Z LUEUDNH UHPRYHG 3DVVHQJHU (QGRUVHPHQW DQG DQ H[FHOOHQW GULYLQJ UHFRUG 6DO -RE GHWDLOV DSSO LQFO EHQH¿WV LQIRApplication due by 4:00 PM, 12/31/21.KITSAP TRANSIT IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITYEMPLOYERtú Decides.You decide.To advertise, call Gracie Camposat (509) 438-0781 or Fernando Acevesat (509) 305-7608.In Oregon, call Jose Diaz at (541) 567-6653.www.tudecidesmedia.comWisdom for your decisions

December 30th, 2021You Decide – A Bilingual Newspaper12HEALTHCDC officials recommend shorterCOVID-19 isolation, quarantinemyTCTCCHCH.orgYourCOMMUNITYHEALTH CENTERWelcomeDEEPTHI RIMMA915 dult End ALAPUDGoeocriI, MCall thals Dr nology D.(509) 543 , Richland-1992A high school principal walks through an empty hallway at the school while talking to one of his teachers tosee how she is doing with her COVID-19 symptoms, on Friday, August 20, 2021, in Wrightsville, Georgia.NEW YORK (AP)U.S. health officials on Mondaycut isolation restrictions forAmericans who catch thecoronavirus from 10 to five days, andsimilarly shortened the time that closecontacts need to quarantine.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials have said the guidanceis in keeping with growing evidence thatpeople with the coronavirus are mostinfectious in the two days before symptoms and three days after symptomsdevelop.The decision also was driven by arecent surge in COVID-19 cases, propelled by the omicron variant.Early research suggests omicron maycause milder illnesses than earlier versions of the coronavirus. But the sheernumber of people becoming infected —and therefore having to isolate or quar-DO, MINogyNTORRA docrinol ewickASYnnMAR diatric Eurn, Ken 791Pe . Aub 543-2)S721 all (509Cantine — threatens to crush the ability ofhospitals, airlines and other businesses tostay open, experts say.CDC Director Rochelle Walenskysaid the country is about to see a lot ofomicron cases.“Not all of those cases are going tobe severe. In fact many are going to beasymptomatic,” she told The AssociatedPress on Monday. “We want to make surethere is a mechanism by which we cansafely continue to keep society functioning while following the science.”Last week, the agency loosened rulesthat previously called on health careworkers to stay out of work for 10 days ifthey test positive. The new recommendations said workers could go back to workafter seven days if they test negative anddon’t have symptoms. And the agencysaid isolation time could be cut to fivedays, or even fewer, if there are severestaffing shortages.Wisdom for your decisionsSONIAAF915 Adul SHARIG t En YAMCa oetha docri CHLOll (5 ls D nol09) r., ogy U, MDR5ic199 hland243-WEWelcome NEW PATIENTS

11You Decide – A Bilingual NewspaperDecember 30th, 2021COMMUNITYAstria Sunnyside Hospital receives national recognitionSUNNYSIDE, WashingtonAstria Sunnyside Hospital(ASH) was recently recognized by the American Collegeof Cardiology (ACC) in the U.S. News& World Report’s 2022 “Best Hospitals”issue for its commitment to hospital carefor heart patients.According to the ACC announcement, when hospitals receive this typeof accreditation and seal of approval,it shows ASH’s heart patients and theirloved ones that they can trust ASH todeliver the best inpatient care possible.“I’m proud of our cardiology andCATH Lab teams for their commitment to our patients and I’m pleased thattheir great efforts are being recognizedat a national level,” said Brian Gibbons,Astria Health and Astria Sunnyside Hospital, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer.ASH received this accreditationthrough the data that the hospital submitted from its catheterization laboratory or CATH Lab where doctors andhealthcare professionals perform minimally-invasive tests and procedures tohelp diagnose and treat heart conditions.ASH submitted data to the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR ),which is an ACC program that helpstrack and manage data for hospitals tocontinuously improve the care providedto their patients.“Heart disease is the leading causeof death in the United States,” said Dr.Antony Kim, ASH Cardiologist. “Weensure patients get the very best heartcare, close to home. Our goal is to teachpatients to better care for their hearts.”This accreditation helps solidify thehospital’s and Astria Health’s mission toprovide community members greateraccess to top-notch care, close to home,without the drive to the Tri-Cities orWisdom for your decisionsYakima.During an interview with JaneWinslow, Astria Health Director of Community Relations, a current patient of Dr.Kim shared her experience of receivingheart care at ASH. Originally from thewest side of Washington State, when shemoved to the Yakima area five years ago,she struggled to find a cardiologist whowould listen to her or put in the effort totreat her complicated health issues.“After several bad experiences, I wasfinally referred to Dr. Kim. He treatedme more than just another patient,” shesaid. “I couldn’t ask for a better cardiologist. Even comparing him to the westside doctors, he’s by far the best. I wouldstill only see him, even if I was on thewest side of the state.”Astria Health provides comprehensive outpatient and inpatient cardiologyservices at their health centers in Sunnyside, Prosser, Toppenish and Union Gap,as well as, provides services at ASH. Tolearn more about ASH’s Heart Healthservices, please visit https://www.astria.health/services/heart-care.

December 30th, 2021You Decide – A Bilingual Newspaper10IMMIGRATIONUS has reunited 100 children taken from parentsWASHINGTON (AP)ABiden administration effort toreunite children and parentswho were separated underPresident Donald Trump’s zero-toleranceborder policy has made increasing progress as it nears the end of its first year.The Department of Homeland Securityannounced Thursday that 100 children,mostly from Central America, are backwith their families and about 350 morereunifications are in process after it tooksteps to enhance the program.“I would have loved to have this happenmuch more quickly. But we are makingprogress and I feel like we’re gainingmomentum,” said Michelle Brané, executive director of the administration’s FamilyReunification Task Force.President Joe Biden issued an executive order on his first day in office toreunite families that were separated underthe Trump administration’s widely condemned practice of forcibly separatingparents and children at the U.S.-Mexicoborder to discourage illegal immigration.Migrant families walk near the Rio Grande, which separates the United States and Mexico, on March 14,2019, near McAllen, Texas.Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas thanked community organizations for helping to locate and contactfamily members as he announced the program’s milestone on Twitter. “We have a lotmore work to do,” he wrote. “We are dedicated to finding every family and givingthem the chance to reunite and to heal.”The work of the task force has been complicated by a number of factors, including inadequate or missing records on theseparated families, the sheer number ofcases and the fact that many parents arein remote Central American communitiesand were unable to track down their children or get to the United States to retrievethem.In September, the task force hadreunited 50 families when the administration announced a partnership to speedup the effort with the International Organization for Migration. A web portal —Juntos.gov or Together.gov — was createdfor parents to contact the U.S. government and work through the reunificationprocess.About 5,500 children were forciblyremoved from their parents under Trump,mostly in 2018. His administration wasseeking to stop an increase in peoplecrossing the U.S.-Mexico border by resorting to criminal prosecutions, even if themigrants were presenting themselves toauthorities to seek asylum as permittedunder the law.Amid widespread condemnation,including from Republicans, Trumpstopped the practice in June 2018 justdays before a judge ordered an end to theprogram in response to a lawsuit filed bythe American Civil Liberties Union.LATIN AMERICAPresidential referendum in Mexico becomes a political battleMEXICO CITY (AP)Areferendum allowing Mexicansto vote midterm on whetherthe president should remainin office has become a strange politicalbattle involving all three branches of government.President Andrés Manuel LópezObrador announced gleefully Mondaythat his supporters had collected 10million signatures in favor of the referendum — several times more than is legallyrequired — which could put his future atrisk.It’s strange because there is little apparent reason to hold the referendum andthe constitution doesn’t require it. LópezObrador gets positive ratings from abouttwo-thirds of those polled and wouldno doubt win the vote to serve out thesecond half of his six-year term.But the president’s political style consists of constant campaigning: He was onthe campaign trail nonstop from 2005 to2018, and enjoys it. So he is demanding aating poverty.referendum, even though itPatricio Morelos, awill cost about 200 millionprofessor at the Monand electoral authoritiesterrey Technologicalsay they don’t have enoughuniversity, said Lópezmoney.Obrador is eager toThe issue went all thehold the vote becauseway to the Supreme Court,it was one of his camwhich ordered the Nationalpaign promises. ItElectoral Institute to holdwould also serve tothe April 10 referendumenergize his politicalanyway.base before the 2022And some members ofgubernatorial races andCongress, dominated by thethe 2024 presidentialpresident’s Morena party,weighed in by filing a crimelections.The National Elecinal complaint essentiallytoral Institute wroteaccusing electoral officialsMexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador addresses the United Nations Securityin a statement that theof blocking democracy.Council on November 9, 2021.Congressmembers’With the signatures incriminal complaint washand, the president noworganize it already.”considers the matter settled, and appearsThe opposition National Action Party an act of “intimidation and an attack onto wish that criminal complaint would go calls the referendum “a very expensive our autonomy.”While the institute is independent andaway.and unconstitutional piece of political“Let the people decide, let it be the theater” and said the money would better nonpartisan, López Obrador has frepeople,” López Obrador said. “Let’s end be spent on creating jobs, reactivating the quently accused its member of beingthe complaints and the accusation and pandemic-battered economy and allevi- “conservatives” opposed to his policies.Wisdom for your decisions

tú Decides – A Bilingual Newspaper30 de diciembre 20219POLÍTICABiden prorroga de nuevo moratoria a préstamos estudiantilesWASHINGTON (AP)El gobierno del presidente JoeBiden prorrogó el miércoles lamoratoria a los pagos de préstamos federales para estudiantes que hapermitido a decenas de millones deestadounidenses aplazar el pago de esadeuda durante la pandemia.Según la medida, los pagos de lospréstamos estudiantiles seguirán en pausahasta el 1 de mayo. Las tasas de interés semantendrán en 0% durante ese periodo yse suspenderán las gestiones de cobranza.Estas medidas han estado en vigor desdeprincipios de la pandemia, pero estabanprogramadas para expirar el 31 de enero.Biden dijo que la recuperación financiera de la pandemia llevará más tiempoque la recuperación del empleo, especialmente para quienes tienen préstamosestudiantiles.“Sabemos que millones de prestatariosde créditos estudiantiles todavía estánhaciendo frente a los impactos de la pandemia y necesitan algo más de tiempoantes de reanudar los pagos”, declaró elación de impago o morosimandatario en undad, y el pago mensual procomunicado, añadimedio es de 400 dólares. Losendo que era un temafuncionarios dijeron que laque a él y a la viceprespausa también ayuda a otrosidenta “les preocupa5 millones de prestatariosprofundamente”.que actualmente están en laLa variante ómicronescuela y que aún no estándel coronavirus quepagando los préstamos, perose ha propagado porestán acumulando intereses.Estados Unidos habíaEl secretario de Edudado una nuevacación, Miguel Cardona,urgencia a la cuestióndijo en un comunicado quede si la moratoria sela prórroga permitirá crearprorrogaría. Los funplanes de pago que responcionarios del gobidan a las necesidades finanerno habían dichocieras de los estudiantes,inicialmente que esperaban que la prórroga Los estudiantes caminan en el campus de la Universidad de Indiana de Pensilvania en Indiana, incluyendo un plan basadoPensilvania, el 21 de octubre de 2020.en los ingresos.hasta enero fuera laLa moratoria es válida para más de 36La continuación de laúltima. Pero, aunquela economía mejore, existe la preocupa- millones de estadounidenses que tienen pausa “proporcionará un alivio crítico ación de que los prestatarios no estén pre- préstamos estudiantiles en manos del los prestatarios que siguen enfrentandoparados para empezar a pagar de nuevo. gobierno federal. Su deuda colectiva asci- dificultades financieras como resultadoUna vez que termine la moratoria, a los ende a más de 1,37 billones de dólares, de la pandemia, y permitirá a nuestraque ya estaban atrasados en los pagos se según los últimos datos del Departamento administración evaluar los impactos de lales podrían incautar salarios y prestacio- de Educación. Alrededor de un tercio de ómicron en los prestatarios estudiantiles”,nes como parte de las tareas de cobranza. los prestatarios se encuentran en situ- dijo Cardona.POLITICSBiden extends new moratorium on student loansWASHINGTON (AP)The Biden administration onWednesday extended a studentloan moratorium that hasallowed tens of millions of Americans toput off debt payments during the pandemic.Under the action, payments onfederal student loans will remain pausedthrough May 1. Interest rates will remainat 0% during that period, and debt collection efforts will be suspended. Thosemeasures have been in place since earlyin the pandemic, but were set to expireJan. 31.President Joe Biden said financialrecovery from the pandemic will takelonger than job recovery, especially forthose with student loans.“We know that millions of studentloan borrowers are still coping with theimpacts of the pandemic and need somemore time before resuming payments,”he said in a statement, adding it was anissue he and the vice president “both caredeeply about.”the pause also helpsThe omicron variantabout 5 million otherof COVID-19 that hasborrowers currentlyswept through the U.S.in school who arewith a fury has lentnot yet paying backa new urgency to theloans but are accruquestion over whethering interest.the moratorium wouldEducation Secrebe extended. Administary Miguel Cardonatration officials had inisaid in a statementtially said they expectedthat the extensionthe January extension towill allow for repaybe the last. But even asment plans responthe economy improves,sive to the financialthere are concerns thatneeds of the students,borrowers are not readyincluding an incometo start payments again.drivenrepaymentOnce the moratoriumplan.ends, those who were Students walk on the campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pennsylvania, onThecontinuedOctober 21, 2020.already behind on paypause “will providements could have wagescritical relief to borernment. Their collective debt totalsand benefits taken away as part of debt more than 1.37 trillion, according to rowers who continue to face financialcollection efforts.the latest Education Department data. hardships as a result of the pandemic,The policy applies to more than 36 About a third of borrowers are in default and will allow our administration tomillion Americans who have student or delinquency and the average monthly assess the impacts of omicron on studentloans that are held by the federal gov- payment is 400 a month. Officials said borrowers,” Cardona said.Sabiduría para las decisiones

and influence with the novel “Bless Me, Ultima” in 1972 about a boy’s coming of age in post-World War II New Mexico under the guidance of a traditional spiri-tual healer. The book became a movie — and an opera. Anaya wrote his “New Mexico Christ-mas Story” for chi