Tejada on School Bus Crash

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada hosted a community meeting about the fatal school bus crash on April 18 that claimed the lives of two students from Hoffman-Boston Elementary School, according to the Arlington Connection. The meeting was co-hosted with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).

The meeting was geared toward members of Arlington's Latin American community. At Hoffman-Boston, Latinos account for 38 percent of students, according to the school district's statistics. Along with taking input from the public, Tejada said Monday's meeting was also intended as a way to reach out to the school's immigrant families — families that might be afraid to bring problems to a government employee otherwise.

Said Tejada, "In Arlington, we try to be an accessible government, one that isn't afraid to come into the community. For some people, that might not make a whole lot of difference, but for the immigrant population, it can."

Tejada: Day-Laborers are a Community Issue

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada's work with the Shirlington Employment and Education Center was highlighted in an article titled 'Counties Help Day Laborers Find Work, Ease Tensions' in County News, the newspaper of the National Association of Counties. Said Tejada, “I think that [the day-laborer issue] is one of those ultimate tests for localities to really state whether they are indeed a caring and welcoming community, where everyone is important. We didn’t have all the answers when we set out to do this and we have to constantly check ourselves, but what we see from the indications that we have now is that what we’re doing is working.”

Tejada said of the day-laborer issue, “No matter what we thought, we could not ignore a community issue that was very real and happening. Either we take an antagonistic approach, or we find ways that we can constructively resolve the situation.” He pointed out that an often-ignored component of the day-laborer issue is the fact that those seeking daily employment often have children in county schools and spouses and family members working in the community as well.

Tejada Joins DC United Committee

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada has joined Major League Soccer team D.C. United's new 'Hispanic Advisory Committee,' according to this press release. "The objective of the committee will be to work closely with the club in identifying programs and initiatives to strengthen relationships, as well as to fortify existing outreach efforts within the Hispanic community. "

The four other members of the newly created committee are:

• Alejandro Carrasco, President of Radio America
• Alberto Avendaño, Associate Publisher of Spanish-language newspaper El Tiempo Latino
• Saul Solorzano, Executive Director of the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN)
• Dr. Elmer Huerta, a nationally renowned cancer specialist at Washington Hospital Center

The Club's President and CEO Kevin Payne said that "D.C. United has always worked closely with the Hispanic community in our region. The creation of this committee is intended to help us do so more effectively and to better use our resources to help address issues which affect the Hispanic community in the Greater D.C. area."

Tejada's CRM Program in Action

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada attended the environmental forum on Tuesday for the Community Role Models program, an initiative supported by the county to engage young adults in community service, according to the Arlington Connection (see archived version). Said Walter, "We need new energy, fresh ideas and creativity. I believe young people have that." Walter initiated the Community Role Models program to engage Arlington young adults, "our 20- and 30-somethings in mentoring and other civic activities."