National Congress of Vietnamese Americans

If you are a young American activist (ages 18-25) looking for a cross-cultural learning and service experience this summer, join Global Youth Connect and other young activists for a five-week learning and service delegation to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. You will be inspired and engaged!

This is a very unique opportunity for young activists who wish to learn about the daily reality of human rights as experienced in a complex and increasingly globalized world. The program integrates structured learning with substantive service projects which will involve volunteering at local NGOs working on pressing human rights and social justice issues such as landmines, human rights, conflict resolution, HIV/AIDS, street kids, women's rights, environment, poverty/development, etc.

We hope to work together with Cambodian youth to explore possible solutions to current problems. We aim to explore the roots of violence and genocide and explore the avenues for healing from conflict. We desire to learn from each other and understand the impact of our actions on the lives of others.

Our greatest hope is that our efforts will add to the forces already at work to create change. And, at the end of the day, we know we will successfully traverse cultural and national barriers by connecting at a fundamentally human level, forging bonds of friendship that will last a lifetime.

For program details, fees, and information on how to apply visit our web site at:

www.globalyouthconnect.org

If you have specific questions or concerns about the program, please contact the project director:

Jennifer Kloes

Cambodia Project Director

Global Youth Connect

P.O. Box 1484

Woodstock, NY 12498

Tel: (845) 657-7312

E-mail: jennifer@globalyouthconnect.org

We hope you will consider joining us this summer in Cambodia!

Global Youth Connect is an organization of youth acting together for human rights, responsibilities, and compassion. Our mission is to build and support a community of youth working to defend human rights and social justice and to inspire and empower a new generation to act for meaningful social change.

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IMMIGRATION: A POLICY FOR THE 21^ST CENTURY

On March 10, join Margaret Spellings, assistant to the president for domestic policy, for "Immigration: A Policy for the 21st Century" at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Hosted by the National Chamber Foundation of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the event will feature a panel of key stakeholders from the business community who will discuss the long- and short-term implications of immigration reform, as well as a luncheon address by Ms. Spellings.

To register online, visit

http://www.uschamber.com/event.asp?event=CQmiddayImmigration3-10-04

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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

DELMARVA FOUNDATION GRANTS

(http://www.qualityhealthfoundation.org/)

Groups that work to improve the health of individuals and communities may apply for funding from the Delmarva Foundation, a national funder devoted to improving healthcare quality.

March 15 is the deadline for applying for grants of up to $50,000. Nonprofits, faith-based groups, healthcare groups, schools, and others may apply for funding.

Service-demonstration projects and other improvement programs will be funded, including those that promote healthy lifestyles. For more information and to apply online, see the foundation's website.

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SUPPORT FOR JOB SKILL AND EDUCATION

Staples Foundation for Learning

(http://www.staplesfoundation.org/)

The mission of the Staples Foundation for Learning is to provide funding to programs that support or provide job skills and/or education for all people, with special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. Guided by this mission, the Foundation seeks to support causes that teach, train and inspire people from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds. The goal of the Foundation is to help local groups with programs and services that will positively impact their community every day. Nonprofit organizations throughout the country are eligible to apply. The next application deadline is April 2, 2004. Visit the above website for application guidelines.

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FUNDS FOR SOCIAL ACTIVISM

David Bohnett Foundation

(http://www.bohnettfoundation.org/)

The mission of the David Bohnett Foundation is to improve society through social activism. The Foundation makes grants to national organizations, organizations that focus their efforts in Southern California, and to local gay and lesbian centers across the country for the creation and support of David Bohnett CyberCenters. The Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations whose mission and programs are closely aligned with any one of the following areas: the promotion of the positive portrayal of lesbians and gay men in the media; community-based social services that benefit gays and lesbians; the reduction and elimination of the manufacture and sale of handguns in the U.S.; the development of mass transit and non-fossil fuel transportation; animal language research, animal companions and eliminating rare animal trade; and voter registration and education. Letters of inquiry are accepted via email throughout the year and, after review by Foundation staff, applicants may be invited to submit a complete grant request. Visit the above website for more information and application instructions.

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SUPPORT FOR WOMEN IN SPORTS
Women Sports Foundation

(http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/cgi-bin/iowa/index.html)

The Women's Sports Foundation, established in 1974 by Billie Jean King, is a national nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to promoting the lifelong participation of all girls and women in sports and fitness. The Foundation's programs provide girls and women with educational materials and scholarships as well as leadership development and opportunities to participate in sports and fitness. The Foundation offers program grants, research grants, scholarship programs, and internship programs to nonprofit organizations, schools, and individuals across the country. Application deadlines vary by program. For a complete list of current funding opportunities go to http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/cgi-bin/iowa/funding/featured.html?rec.

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JOBS/INTERNSHIPS

INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION SUMMER 2004 INTERNSHIP

Deadline extended to March 15, 2004

http://www.ileader.org/

International Leadership Foundation to Fund Summer Public Affairs Internships for Asian American College Students in Sacramento, CA and Washington, DC

For the fifth consecutive year, The International Leadership Foundation (ILF) will award up to 30 internships for Asian American College Students to better understand American government. Each student awarded a fellowship will spend six weeks during the summer working for a government agency in either Washington, DC or in Sacramento, California.

Any undergraduate student in good standing at a junior college, college, or university is eligible to apply. Applicants must be United States citizens or legal residents. Applications must be received by March 15th, 2004, and can be submitted by mail or email. Interested students can download the application form and find other information on the ILF's website at www.ILeader.org.

Each ILF Fellow selected will receive a $1,000 scholarship, funded by the ILF and the Ronald McDonald House Charities Foundation's "RMHC / ASIA" scholarship program. The ILF works with government agencies to place each Fellow in an internship that reflects his or her area of interest. Students must pay for their own travel, housing and living expenses during their internships.

"The ILF program is non-partisan," explained C.C. Yin, President of the ILF. "We make certain that students get exposed to a wide range of viewpoints." In addition to their own internships, the ILF Fellows also attend weekly seminars and other events to learn about government

"The Asian American community has not yet achieved full equality in politics," said Joel Szabat, founder of the ILF. "ILF Fellowships promote the civic involvement of the next generation of API leaders." In 2003 the ILF and the Ronald McDonald House Charities provided thirty fellowships to deserving Asian American college students.

Szabat, a senior official with Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, the first Asian American to serve in the President's Cabinet, supervises the ILF Fellowship program in Washington, DC. Fellows who intern in Sacramento work with California State Legislators.

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TIPS/RESOURCES

STUDY FINDS NONPROFIT LACK EFFECTIVE VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT

According to a study by the Urban Institute ( http://www.urbaninstitute.org/ ), more than 80 percent of nonprofits rely on volunteers but do not have the knowledge to engage and manage them effectively.

The study, which received support from the UPS Foundation, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and USA Freedom Corps, surveyed nearly 1,800 nonprofit organizations about such topics as how they recruit, engage, and manage volunteers, and what value those volunteers add to their programs. According to the report, Volunteer Management Capacity in America's Charities and Congregations: A Briefing Report, 60 percent of charitable organizations and one-third of congregations with social-service programs said they had paid staff working on volunteer coordination. Among this pool, however, half reported spending less than 30 percent of their time on the management of volunteers. Based on the results, the report concludes that additional resources devoted to volunteer management would generate more productivity from volunteers, thereby justifying the additional investment of resources.

"Nonprofits are using thousands of volunteers every day in this country and making a huge impact," said Evern Cooper, president of the UPS Foundation. "However, volunteers aren't free; it takes conscious effort and interest to engage them effectively.... We want to celebrate success and share effective volunteer management practices widely.

At the same time, we want to learn from nonprofits what we, as funders, can do to help them overcome challenges and fill gaps in volunteer management."

The full briefing (36 pages, PDF) is available on the UPS Web site: http://pressroom.ups.com/pix/Volunteer_Briefing.pdf

"Nonprofits Still Find It Difficult To Manage Volunteers, Study Says." UPS Foundation Press Release 02/19/04.

http://pressroom.ups.com/pressreleases/current/0,1088,4402,00.html

http://fdncenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=61700033

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COMMUNITY AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (CADV) PROGRAM

Boat People SOS

BREAKING THE SILENCE

Breaking the Silence is an educational film about domestic violence in the Vietnamese community. The film is in Vietnamese, using an all-Vietnamese cast, with English subtitles.

Director Kim Viet Ngo has worked with victims of domestic violence for over five years. She found that many people in the Vietnamese community are reluctant to talk about domestic violence because of traditional values that discourage talking about the issue. Using a compilation of true stories, she hopes the film will assist the Vietnamese community in "Breaking the Silence" around domestic violence.

The film is divided into four stories, each one representing common stories of domestic violence in the Vietnamese community. The first story focuses on how domestic violence impacts the well-being of children in the family. The second story shows how substance abuse and gambling relate to domestic violence. The third part shows how men can be victimized as well, including verbal insults and emotional abuse. The final story shows how women who come to the US as spouses can be trapped in a violent marriage. The film ends by encouraging people to call for help, either through the domestic violence national hotline or Boat People SOS.

To order your copy of Breaking the Silence for community outreach efforts, complete the form below, and send with a $10 check or money order per copy (to cover the cost of reproduction and shipping):

Name: ____________________________________________________

Organization: ____________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Phone: ____________________________________________________

Email: ____________________________________________________

Mail to: Megan Pierce

Boat People SOS

6400 Arlington Boulevard, Suite 640

Falls Church VA 22042

Phone (703) 538-2190

Fax: (703) 538-2191

www.bpsos.org

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IN THE RIGHT WORDS: ADDRESSING LANGUAGE AND CULTURE IN PROVIDING HEALTH CARE

(Washington, D.C.: Grantmakers in Health)

Effective health care relies on communication: Physicians must listen to medical histories and symptoms in order to make a diagnosis, and patients must describe their health problems and then understand the treatments recommended to address those problems. Earlier this year, Grantmakers in Health, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to helping foundations and corporate giving programs improve the nation's health, convened experts in health care, philanthropy, and policy to explore the ways in which language barriers can hinder this process and lead to significant health problems. Based on the discussion, GIH's issue brief, In the Right Words: Addressing Language and Culture in Providing Health Care describes the consequences of language barriers within the nation's healthcare systems, reviews relevant laws and policies as well as recent immigration trends and demographic changes that increase the need for language services, and calls on grantmakers to support improved language services throughout those systems. (54 pages, PDF)

http://www.gih.org/usr_doc/In_the_Right_Words.pdf

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POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: A PATHWAY TO HEALTHY TEENS

(Washington, D.C.: Grantmakers in Health)

This issue brief from Grantmakers in Health calls on funders to incorporate positive youth development principles into their initiatives in order to help young people avoid health risks and become healthy adults. In addition to an introduction to positive youth development -- an approach that promotes services, systems, and supports to help youth develop competencies to face the challenges of adult life -- Positive Youth Development: A Pathway to Healthy Teens provides examples of programs designed to support and promote the approach; descriptions of effective services and programs; a review of research in the field; and lessons learned by grantmakers that have adopted the positive youth development approach. (50 pages, PDF)

http://gih.org/usr_doc/Positive_Youth_Development_-_Issue_Brief_16.pdf

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REPORT DETAILS THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SUCCESSFUL NONPROFIT BOARD

McKinsey & Company: "The Dynamic Board: Lessons from High-Performing Nonprofits"

(http://www.mckinsey.com/practices/nonprofit/ourknowledge/dynamicboards.asp)

McKinsey & Company has prepared a report, available on their website, entitled "The Dynamic Board: Lessons from High-Performing Nonprofits." The report, based on a series of 32 interviews with board chairs, CEOs, and executive directors, identifies a set of three distinct roles that a high-performing board plays. The report reviews these roles in detail and elaborates on a set of nine responsibilities that a board must take on to fulfill each role. In addition, the report includes a self-assessment tool to help boards evaluate their current performance against promising practices. Visit the above website to read the report or to take the self-assessment.

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Legislation

February 26, 2004

BUSH BUDGET CALLS FOR FUNDING INCREASES

The federal Performance Partnership Grant (a.k.a. the addiction and mental health block grant) would receive a $53 million increase under the Bush administration's proposed FY2005 budget, Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly reported Feb. 16.

Block-grant funding would total $1.832 billion next year if Congress goes along with Bush's plan. The administration's budget also calls for adding $100 million to the Access to Recovery treatment-voucher program, doubling the current funding level.

In an environment where the federal government is running a half-trillion-dollar budget deficit, the administration proposes to raise funding levels for all of the main federal addiction agencies except the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), where the budget would dip from $198 million to $196 million.

Funding for the Drug-Free Communities Support Program would continue its slow creep upwards, adding $10 million under the administration plan, to a total of $80 million. Funding for drug courts would also increase, and a new offender-reentry program would receive $75 million.

(http://www.manisses.com/)

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NEWS

For Immediate Release

February 24, 2004

Contact: Vana Tran 202-223-5500

OCA PARTNERS WITH KFC FOR NATIONAL ESSAY CONTEST

Washington, DC - The Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for its nationally recognized essay contest, sponsored by KFC Corporation (formerly sponsored by Yum! Brands). “We hope this contest sparks in Asian Pacific American (APA) high school students a visualization of their very important roles as emerging leaders for their communities,” states Raymond Wong, OCA National President. The OCA-KFC National Essay Contest is the only contest of this sort-sponsored by a corporation (KFC) in conjunction with a national APA organization (OCA). This year’s essay topic is “With the changing demographics in the U.S., how do you see your community contributing to U.S. society in the next 20 years?”

Last year, the contest’s first year, OCA and KFC presented award checks to three contest winners who provided organized, thorough, and effective essays. By submitting ideas that bring relevance and insight into the essay topic, students are provided the opportunity to win $1000 for first place, $500 for second place, and $300 for third place. Last year, nearly 200 students participated in this national contest.

“The essay topic gives students an opportunity to increase their awareness of the contributions made by APAs to the past growth of the U.S. economy and to project the significant positive impact APAs will have on the economy in the next two decades,” states Jean Chang, OCA Vice President of Education and Cultural Affairs.

Students’ essays will be judged according to a four-part criterion. The largest percentage will be based on the theme and content of the essay, which will include thoroughness of presentation, validity of ideas, and significance to the topic. Other criteria include the organization, development, grammar, mechanics, and style of the essays.

This year, OCA is pleased to work with the sponsorship from KFC Corporation to select the three winners. "KFC continues to seek opportunities to support the communities we serve, and we believe one of the best ways is through education", says Bonnie Warschauer, KFC Director of Public Relations. "We are proud to partner with the Organization of Chinese Americans because they are helping to shape the future of our emerging leaders."

KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain, specializing in Original Recipe®, Extra Crispy™, Twister® and Colonel's Crispy Strips® chicken with homestyle sides. KFC has more than 11,000 restaurants in more than 80 countries and territories around the world. For more information on KFC Corporation, please visit www.kfc.com.

For more information on the essay contest and application, interested students may go to OCA’s website at www.ocanatl.org. The deadline for applying to the 2004 OCA-KFC National Essay Contest is May 1, 2004.

About OCA

The Organization of Chinese Americans, a national civil rights organization with over 80 chapters and affiliates across the country, was founded in 1973 to ensure the civil rights of the Asian Pacific American community. It maintains its headquarters in Washington, D.C.

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February 21, 2004

D.A. INVESTIGATES MISHANDLING OF BALLOTS
Volunteer for 68th District Assembly candidate Van Tran delivers filled-out ballots to the Orange County Registrar.

Alicia Robinson, Daily Pilot

The Orange County District Attorney's office is investigating the mishandling of ballots by a volunteer for Van Tran, a Republican candidate for the 68th District Assembly seat.

The Tran campaign called the situation "an innocent mistake," but political opponent Mark Leyes said it is evidence of farther-reaching voter fraud.

On Feb. 9 and 10, a representative of Tran's campaign delivered a number of absentee ballots to the Orange County Registrar of Voters' office along with letters from the voters requesting new Republican ballots for the primary, assistant registrar of voters Suzanne Slupsky said.

He also brought six absentee ballots that had been filled out by voters, she said. State election codes state that only election officials or poll workers can receive voted ballots, Slupsky said.

"What we told the representative is that there is a statute that stipulates that voters will only return their ballots to a poll worker or the Registrar of Voters," she said.

Absentee voters who have declined to state party affiliation can request ballots for the Republican, Democratic and American Independent parties in primary elections, Slupsky said. The Registrar of Voters would mail the requested ballot to the voter after receiving a request in writing or in person.

Her office referred the matter to the Orange County District Attorney on Feb. 13, she said.

The volunteer was asked by some voters to deliver their ballots and their requests for Republican ballots, said Tran campaign consultant Wayne Johnson.

"The clerk told him, 'No, you can't do that; they have to bring it in themselves,'" Johnson said of the voted ballots.

"It was an innocent mistake and in every other respect we're completely complying with the law," he said.

Leyes called a press conference on the issue Friday afternoon outside the Registrar of Voters' office to ask the U.S. attorney's office to investigate the issue.

Leyes said he's heard numerous times about people asking Vietnamese voters for their absentee ballots, offering to deliver them or actually vote for them. "That's not fair, that's not right, it's not legal," Leyes said.

Leyes considers the incident reported by the Registrar of Voters as tangible evidence of voter fraud.

"It lends a lot of credence to the idea that this is occurring," Leyes said.

Orange County Assistant District Attorney Douglas Woodsmall confirmed his office had been contacted by the Registrar of Voters office about the ballots and added that it's not uncommon for his office to receive such information during election season.

"There's a possibility that the attorney general might be the one that ends up reviewing it, so we'll contact them and find out if they think it's more appropriate for them to review it," he said.

The matter could be referred to the state attorney general because Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas has endorsed Tran, Woodsmall said.

ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment. She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at alicia.robinson@latimes.com.

(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/pilot/news/la-dpt-voting21feb21,1,4316425.story)

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February 26, 2004

GOP LOYALTY UPSTAGES ISSUES IN RACE
Two candidates vying for O.C. Assembly seat trade attacks on who is the better Republican.

By Kimi Yoshino, Times Staff Writer

Candidates seeking the Republican nomination to replace termed-out Assemblyman Ken Maddox aren't just debating weighty issues such as the state budget, public safety and education. No, this primary race is classic Orange County GOP politics — with a twist.

Garden Grove City Councilmen Van Tran and Mark Leyes both say they are the more conservative choice. But history could be made if Tran prevails in Tuesday's primary and wins election in the fall: He would become the highest-ranking elected Vietnamese American in the country, said Mark Petracca, associate professor of political science at UC Irvine.

"This is the nature of primary Republican politics in Orange County," Petracca said. "There's a kind of kindergarten quality of people accusing each other of not being a good Republican: 'Am too. Are not. Am too. Are not.' That goes on all the time."

In recent weeks, both Tran and Leyes have unleashed a barrage of campaign mailers, all with the same bent, in an effort to win GOP votes in the 68th Assembly District, which includes Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Westminster, Stanton and Costa Mesa. Because Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district 4 to 3, the Republican nominee would have a huge advantage in the November general election.

Tran's literature shows him side by side with President Bush under a quote from Maddox referring to Tran as "Mr. Republican." He has attacked Leyes for being a former Democrat, calling him a "Bill Clinton supporter" and a "Democrat dressed in Republican clothing."

Leyes' campaign has sent similar fliers, including one with photos of prominent, elected Democrats and this statement: "See why these Democrats can thank Van Thai Tran…." Some of those politicians won narrow races, and Leyes has said that Tran has helped register more than 1,000 Vietnamese Democrats and independents.

Both candidates have served as aides to elected officials. Leyes works for Republican Assemblyman Bob Pacheco of Walnut, though he is on leave while campaigning. And Tran, an attorney, worked for former Rep. Robert K. Dornan.

The two agree on most issues, although they differ on Proposition 57, which calls for a $15-billion bond measure to pay off the state deficit; Leyes is in favor and Tran is opposed. So the debate mostly comes down to party loyalty and conservatism.

"I've been a consistent and a loyal Republican since my adult life," Tran said. "I've never changed or flip-flopped on issues or party affiliation for political expediency."

Leyes said he became a Republican during the Clinton era because he realized that the Republican Party reflected his personal values. Tran, Leyes said, "has been so focused on community activism that it's been at the expense of Republican Party goals."

Leyes recently sent out a letter from Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, a former Assembly speaker, in which Pringle said Leyes is more conservative than Tran, and Leyes is the candidate he trusts to work for lower taxes, smaller government, better schools and tough laws.

"Those who have made a party determination by choice are always much more [convinced] of those principles," Pringle said in an interview. "If you see his activism within the party, if you see his commitment to party issues, you know it is not phony."

Aside from the question of who is the better Republican, Petracca said both candidates will have to work to get their names out in Costa Mesa, where they may be less known. Both have high profiles in Garden Grove, where they serve together on the council. Leyes may have the slight edge on name recognition because he ran for the county Board of Supervisors in 1996.

Tran probably holds the edge among Vietnamese voters concentrated in Fountain Valley and Westminster — and given the historic nature of his candidacy, they may turn out in higher numbers to vote.

But changes in district boundaries after the 2000 census mean "the [Vietnamese] ties are now dissipated by the fact that the district now includes portions of Orange County that don't include high concentrations of members of the Vietnamese community," Petracca said.

Leyes, though, said he is not conceding anything. His focus has been on Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa, where he is less known, and he has been making appearances on Vietnamese-language radio stations.

And Tran, who immigrated to the United States in 1975, said he is less concerned about the title of highest-ranking Vietnamese American elected official than in serving his district. "We are all Americans here. I am an American candidate running for a seat that represents Americans."

(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-68assembly26feb26,1,7656299.story)

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February 26, 2004

CISTERCIAN MONKS IN WISCONSIN GO HIGH-TECH WITH INTERNET BUSINESS

ROBERT IMRIE, Associated Press Writer

SPARTA, Wis. (AP) -- Eight times a day, Rev. Bernard McCoy solemnly chants prayers in Latin from 100-year-old books in the chapel of his monastery.

Then it's back to his computer and telephone, to run LaserMonks.

McCoy and four other monks who have vowed a life of prayer, austerity and charity sell refilled inkjet and laser printer cartridges from an Internet site and telephone mail order center at the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank.

"You get quality products at a great savings. We do good work with the extra income," McCoy said. "Plus the monks pray for you. I don't think Staples ever offered to do that."

The Roman Catholic monks hope their 2-year-old business will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for them to do good deeds, such as support a camp for children with HIV or a computer school for street children in Vietnam.

"It is kind of the little Davids that came along to play in the Goliath world," McCoy said.

Chester Gillis, theology professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., said LaserMonks is consistent with monastic ideals and traditions that focus on prayer and work.

"All they are doing is adopting to the contemporary technology," he said. "If raisin bread is not selling, used laser cartridges refilled might."

LaserMonks sells printer goods made by others at prices 30 percent to 90 percent lower than offered at retail stores, McCoy said.

The charismatic, savvy, 36-year-old North Carolina native sees LaserMonks as continuing a tradition started hundreds of years ago when monks copied manuscripts for people.

The idea has the blessing of Rev. Josef Tomann Meinrad, procurator general of the Cistercian order's headquarters near the Vatican. He said he favors anything that promotes the Christian message or provides people with information, which LaserMonks appears to do.

Last year, LaserMonks generated about $500,000 in sales, enough for a $30,000 profit, McCoy said. He hopes to at least quadruple sales this year.

"I almost feel bad making that much. I do," he said, laughing. "But we have a lot of things to do, a lot of people we want to help."

Monks elsewhere are also employed online, doing things like cataloging, Web site designing and editing manuscripts, said Rev. William Skudlarek, an assistant administrator at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., one of the largest monasteries in the world with 175 monks.

Some monasteries continue with the more traditional jobs of baking bread or fruitcakes, but some in Europe are making specialty soaps or medicinal wines, he said. An Oregon monastery runs a wine warehouse, and one in Iowa builds caskets.

LaserMonks makes no products but markets and distributes those made by others, making the idea somewhat different, Skudlarek said.

"This is kind of the modernized, updated version of, you know, the old, live by the labor of your hands," he said.

Some orders from LaserMonks are processed at the monastery but most are shipped directly from manufacturers to the consumers under deals the monks worked out with them, McCoy said.

Rev. Robert Keffer, superior of Cistercian Abbey, welcomes the early success of the for-profit LaserMonks, especially after a failed real estate venture put the nonprofit monastery $500,000 in debt several years ago.

"This is kind of miraculous," Keffer said.

Over the years, the monastery has supported itself through financial investing, real estate, forestry and rental of farmland. Its annual expenses total about $150,000, and LaserMonks is an effort to be self-sustaining, McCoy said.

He admits that the company, which averages 100 to 200 customers a day, benefits from people's curiosity about the monks themselves.

"Monks are cool. Monks are in. People like monks," McCoy said. "Tie that with charity and with an absolutely necessary product that you can get at a better price guaranteed, once people hear about us, it is a no-brainer."

LaserMonks is a hybrid of a similar venture started by two Colorado women, Cindy Griffith and Sarah Caniglia. They were looking to sell their business when they heard about LaserMonks, offered to share their expertise with the monks and ended up working for them by running the call center.

McCoy hopes one day to make enough money to build a church on the grounds of the 17,000-square-foot, 30-room stone monastery.

"Monks are not at all what people think we are. We are not quiet church mice," McCoy said as the monastery's pet dogs Luxor and Ludwig lounged nearby. "There is a lot of pioneering spirit in us.

"If all this fails tomorrow. Fine. We will pick up and keep going."

On the Net:

LaserMonks: www.lasermonks.com

(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/02/26/national1455EST0696.DTL)

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February 27, 2004

ENGINEERING A PLAN FOR THE STATE’S FUTURE

Long Pham wants to fill a void he thinks exists in California's dealings with the engineering and business communities

By Alicia Robinson, Coastline Pilot

With his years of experience in engineering, Long Pham thinks he could fill a knowledge gap in the Legislature that led to the state's energy crisis in 2000 and 2001.

Pham is one of six Republicans competing for the 70th Assembly District seat.

Pham holds a doctorate in engineering and has worked in the industry since 1979, most recently as a nuclear engineer.

"I'm running now because I found out we do not have anyone [in the Legislature] for the last 15 or 20 years with the engineering and business background who understands the engineering industry," he said.

"I would bring not only my own background, my knowledge, but also the knowledge of the rest of the industry," he added.

Originally from Vietnam, Pham chose to study engineering because the field promised jobs and the opportunity to see other parts of the world, he said.

He had planned to go to France because he speaks the language, but when he left Vietnam he ended up in Pennsylvania, where he decided to stay after making friends there. A job offer as a nuclear designer at Bechtel Corp. brought him to California in 1979.

In recent years, Pham has dealt with legislative issues as vice president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. With jurisdiction over a three-state area, the group follows engineering-related legislation and gives input from the industry to the governors' offices.

In 2002, the group was able to convince Gov. Gray Davis' administration not to replace privately owned utility companies with a state-owned power provider, a plan that has failed in other states, Pham said.

This isn't Pham's first political venture. In 1995, he helped found a Vietnamese voters' coalition to get people registered to vote and involve them in politics.

"I believe we have an excellent system, but the system requires the participation of both the candidate and the voter," he said.

Because he disagreed with a stance on fiscal policy taken by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher in 2000, Pham ran for Rohrabacher's 46th District Congressional seat.

His other government experience includes participating in a regulatory round table called by former Gov. Pete Wilson in 1995. The group of engineering industry experts was able to get 3,900 obsolete regulations repealed and have more than 1,700 regulations amended to make them more business-friendly, Pham said.

"I believe that because of that landmark [deregulation], the state was able to attract more business to California after Gov. Wilson left, and we need to do that again," he said.

(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/coastline/news/la-cpt-pham27feb27,1,1566224.story)

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February 26, 2004

THE DIVERSE FACE OF ASIANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, a new report available from APALC

The Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), in partnership with the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, announces the release of a new report, The Diverse Face of Asians and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County. This new demographic profile details the characteristics of over 20 Asian and Pacific Islander ethnic groups in Los Angeles County. The report is intended as a tool to assist grant writers, program planners, advocates, business people, and elected officials in better describing and understanding this growing population and its needs.

Using predominantly 2000 Census data, the report covers many socioeconomic characteristics including education, housing, income, and poverty.

Key Findings

* Asians and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing major racial and ethnic group.

* Many API ethnic groups are among the poorest and least educated groups in

LA County - Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders being the most disadvantaged.

* Ten Asian groups have a majority limited English proficient population, including three of the largest groups: Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

* APIs have the highest multiracial rates

To order copies of the report, please fill out the order form available at www.apalc.org, along with $8.00, plus $2.00 shipping, per report to APALC.

Asian Pacific American Legal Center

1145 Wilshire Blvd. 2nd Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90017

Or download a copy of the report at www.apalc.org

For more information, contact Kimiko Kelly at kkelly@apalc.org or 213-241-0267.

Discounts available for non-profit community organizations and their members.

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The Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) was established in 1983 as a nonprofit 501(c)3 and has become the largest organization in southern California that provides Asian and Pacific Islander (API) and other communities with multi-lingual, culturally sensitive services and legal education. APALC's programs cover family law and domestic violence, immigration and naturalization, consumer rights, workers' rights, welfare and health access, voting rights, leadership development and hate crimes prevention.

APALC's mission is to advocate for civil rights, provide legal services and

education, and build coalitions to positively influence and impact Asian Pacific Americans and to create a more equitable and harmonious society.

For more information, visit www.apalc.org

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March 2, 2004

COURT TO HEAR SUIT ON PRISON RACIAL POLICIES

By Linda Greenhouse
New York Times

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a challenge to a California prison system policy that segregates inmates by race during their first 60 days of incarceration.

The state defended the policy, and a federal appeals court upheld it, as a sensible way of minimizing interracial violence at reception centers where inmates are housed for 60 days while being screened for long-term placement. One purpose of the screening is to assess a new inmate's potential for violence.

During this period, inmates are assigned to two-person cells according to whether they are black, white, Asian or ``other.'' Within those categories, prison authorities also separate certain groups by national or geographic origin. For example, they do not house Japanese and Chinese inmates together, or Laotians with Vietnamese, or Latinos from Northern and Southern California.

The segregation policy is also used for the first 60 days after an inmate is transferred from one prison to another. In all instances, however, areas of the prison other than the actual cells -- the yard, dining hall and work and recreation areas -- are not segregated.

The policy has been in effect for more than 25 years. Garrison S. Johnson, a black inmate serving a sentence for murder, challenged it in 1997 by filing a federal lawsuit that he drafted himself. The lower federal courts dismissed the suit while permitting him to amend it with a lawyer's assistance. The law firm of Proskauer Rose has been handling the case without charge for the past three years.

In the amended lawsuit, both the federal district court in Los Angeles and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in San Francisco, upheld the policy. In its ruling in February 2003, the 9th Circuit said there was ``clearly a common-sense connection'' between using race for the initial assignment and reducing racial violence in the prison system.

``The housing policy does not provide any advantage or disadvantage to any particular race, and the objective, reducing violence among the inmates and against the staff, has nothing to do with race, but rather with inmate and staff safety,'' Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain wrote for a three-judge panel of the appeals court.

In the Supreme Court appeal, Johnson's lawyers argue that the 9th Circuit applied the wrong legal standard, and that a government policy that makes distinctions on the basis of race has to meet a more searching test than that of common sense or reasonableness. All such policies are presumptively unconstitutional, they said.

Rather than the ``strict scrutiny'' usually applied in race discrimination cases, the 9th Circuit applied a more relaxed standard of review derived from a prison regulation case the Supreme Court decided in 1987.

In that case, Turner vs. Safley, the court said that courts should generally uphold prison regulations that are ``reasonably related to a legitimate penological interest.''

Also Monday, the Supreme Court refused to block a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that put the execution of convicted murderer Kevin Cooper on hold.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed an application last week in a bid to reinstate the death sentence, but the Supreme Court turned it down without commenting.

Cooper, 45, was found guilty in the 1983 murders of three Southern California family members and a friend.

(http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/8084173.htm)

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March 2, 2004

HMONG REFUGEES FACE FIRST CULTURAL HURDLE

By REUTERS

SARABURI, Thailand (Reuters) - A U.S. plan to take in thousands of ethnic Hmong refugees who fled the 1975 communist takeover of Laos faced its first cultural hurdle on Tuesday over the tricky issue of polygamy. More than 15,000 Hmong living at the Wat Tham Krabok refugee camp in Thailand -- many of whom fought alongside the Americans in the Indochina War -- are eligible under a resettlement program critics say was long overdue.

But polygamy, which is illegal in the United States, is a common practice among Hmong.

``We were told to apply individually as separate family members. But once we are in the United States we can live together again,'' said one camp resident who declined to be named.

Thai officials raised the polygamy issue during a meeting Monday with a delegation from St Paul, Minnesota, home to one of the largest Hmong communities in the United States.

The northern U.S. city could take in at least half of the Wat Tham Krabok refugees.

Pallop Pinmanee, deputy head of Thailand's Internal Security Operations Command which oversees the camp, said he was concerned after receiving reports that at least one U.S. state would limit men to one spouse only.

``I told them that this would be against human rights,'' he told Reuters, adding that the U.S. delegation appeared sympathetic to the issue.

``No conditions were set. They are prepared to accept any number of families, regardless of how many wives each one has,'' Pallop said.

An official of the U.S. embassy in Bangkok said wives could apply as individuals under the program. ``Each person's eligibility is based upon their individual condition,'' he said.

MAKING UP FOR THE PAST

St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly steered clear of the issue on Tuesday during a visit to the camp where authorities began processing applicants last month.

``I don't have the authority nor the ability to change the polygamy law in our country. This is an issue that needs to be addressed at a much higher level,'' he told reporters.

``Our purpose for being in Thailand is to assess how many people may choose to come. We want to gain information.''

Critics have questioned why it took Washington more than two decades to allow these Hmong to resettle in the United States.

Kelly declined to comment on the timing, but he said: ``Clearly there needs to be a very serious effort to resolve a number of lingering issues that we have as the Vietnam War ended.''

During that conflict, some U.S.-backed Hmong fought against Lao and Vietnamese communists. When the communists took over in 1975, about 130,000 Hmong fled to the United States via Thailand, leaving behind about 400,000 in Laos.

Only those at the Tham Krabok camp, the only official refugee center in Thailand for Hmong and which the Lao government regards as a base for rebel activities, would be eligible for the resettlement program.

Refugees said they were looking forward to a better life in the United States and some had relatives living there.

Their lives at the camp, which has no running water, are monitored as they have to sign in and out. Because they are not Thai citizens they cannot work legally.

``I would like to go because in Thailand, the government and society do not accept us,'' said Suchart Song, 30, who has lived with his 15-member family at the camp for 10 years.

But many older Hmong fear moving to a strange, new country and just want to live out their days in Thailand.

``We want our own land,'' said Vang Pao Xiong, 67, who fought Lao and Vietnamese communist forces decades ago.

``I would prefer to stay, but if I can no longer live here and I have to go, I will go,'' he added.

(http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-thailand-hmong.html)

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About NCVA
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