Transcripts For KNTV Comunidad 20240704

Damian and we begin with the shop with a Cop Foundation here on comunidad del valle. Darrel cortez is a retired san jose cop. He is the leader of shop with a cop Silicon Valley. And danny acosta is a police chief. Tell us where you are the chief at, danny. Danny acosta im a chief over at foothillde Anza Community College District. Damian wow. Well, welcome to the show. We know all about the shop with a cop, darrell. Its a Great Organization that helps the community all the time, but, you know, you need the help, and thats why youre having a fundraiser. Darrel cortez well, great. Thank you for having us, damian. Its a pleasure. Yes, we wereso we are celebrating 16 years of being involved in our local community. Were a latinoled nonprofit, all volunteer. Danny is on our board. Hes been with us since day one. Hes very, very active participant and donated his time for the marieta programs that we promote in the community. And so we are having our annualour one and only fundraiser called fiesta with a purpose, and there is a purpose behind the celebration, and the dining, and the tequila, and mezcal tastings, and the dancing and everything else. Damian and were looking, danny, at images from, you know, the annual holiday event where youre taking the kids to target. Whats that feeling like, you and your fellow officers in uniform taking these chavalitos by the hand and walking them through the aisles, letting them pick whatever they want for the holiday . Danny its amazing. Its so neat to see these wonderful kids with smiles on their face and having the experience on a Christmas Holiday type shopping, and they just dont get that feeling and they normally wouldnt get it had itif itswasnt for shop with a cop and the host of volunteers that we get. And itsi got to tell you itstugs at the heart with the stories that they share. Damian yeah. And, you know, its no secret, both, darrell and danny, that just the image of a Police Officer nationwide nowadays and how difficult it is for a lot of you who are in uniform. Does these images soften that blow . You, danny, does the fact that youreyou know, youre with the chavalitos and youre getting backpacks and youre getting them gifts and whatnot, given the rhetoric across the country . Danny it absolutely does. It really shows them the person behind the uniform and shows what theyou know, just talking to an officer is not that scary and its not everything that they may have been told or saw or what they see on tv. It gives them a different perspective. And its not only them. It actually reaches a lot, some of their family members, parents, tios, tias, whoever brings them and escorts them to the area, and they take that back to their house and their homes and then share that with everyone. Damian yeah. And thats part of it, right, darrell, is the shopping and the backpacks and the literacy . I mean, you guys tackle everything. Darrel yes. And i want to echo dannys comments. Is what we are about is about rebuilding trust in the community and through positive interactions, especially with the children so these children and families see officers through a positive lens. Yeah, and its very important for me to bring this across to your viewers, that the way that we are going to change the hearts and minds of these children and their p is to be prese engage, and interact. So these Police Officersthe children and the families see Police Officers just as regular people, right . And for many of these children that we host, especially for the annual heroes and helpers Holiday Shopping spree, many of them will not have a joyful Holiday Season if its notif it wasnt for our program where were hosting 300, almost 400 special children from our local community here to go shopping with their hero, be a firemen, Police Officer, and some of the military personnel stationed at Moffett Field air force base. Damian and we werei was covering a story at Sacred Heart Community services. Theyre giving away their free backpacks. I mean, not only are you targeting at the hearts of the children because theyre gett you k something new and free, but yousaving n a lot of money in doing so. Darrel yes. Well, were going to be doing our Event Next Week at two local Elementary Schools and were going to lessen the burden of the cost of all these school supplies, and we want these children to have the tools they need to succeed in the classroom, and that is the backpacks, the schoolthe papers, the pens, the pencils, the rulers and that sort of equipment that they need. These are high quality backpacks, weatherproof backpacks. And nothing brings more joy to all the volunteers, whether it be our individual donors, our corporate supporters, and the numerous volunteers to havesee the smile on these childrens face when theyre receiving this brand new backpack so they hit the classroom running and ready to go. Damian well, and this is where the folks at home can help. Its called the fiesta with a purpose. Its happening here in san jose on august 12th. There is the website of the shop with a cop Silicon Valley for more information. Fiesta with a purpose. Well talk more about what specifically will be happening aside from a tequilatesting when we continue here on comunidad del valle. Stay with us. Introducucing togoss new frech dip p sandwicheses. Feataturing fresesh artisan n d piled hihigh with tendnder roast b beef, smothered d with meltyty provolonone cheese, just enougugh chipotlele mayo and d served witith hot au j for dippining. Try ththe roast bebeef or pasti french d dips today. Y. Onlyly at togogos. Damian were back here on comunidad del valle with darrell cortez, leader of the shop with a Cop Foundation, and danny acosta is chief of the foothillde Anza Community College District right here in the south bay. Youre retired. Youre both retired from san jose pd. Danny, you decided to keep wearing the badge and the patch. Tell us why you decided to serve your community in such a way. Danny you know, i think some of us need to wean off of what we done, we did, for 29 years in my case, and similar age for darrell, and some of us are a little stronger and can just retire like darrell did, but i needed to wean off and i saw the opportunity and it fit. Set it uonce i cand itears now, to somebody, ahen illtrying to join darrell in the golf course somewhere. Damian well, you got to hit him straight though. I dont know if darrell is able to do that in the golf course now. No. Darrell isswings pretty well. Darrell, so fill us in, tequila tasting and whatnot at the annual fiesta with a purpose. Darrel yes, on saturday august 12th at the Silicon Valley holiday inn at 1350 north first street were going to be having our one and only fundraiser of the year with showing our progress throughout the year, the impact that weve made working in the community, especially in marginalized disenfranchised communities here in san jose, and just to bring the community together. We have a lot of local elected officials, some other dignitaries, some corporate sponsors who have really stepped up this year and they see the value of what were trying to achieve here working within the community and Police Officers to, again, rebuild that trust. So we have a great event planned, well, with we h12 high end tequila ors amadors, if youco meal. Willd mezcal vendors that will be pouring their varietals for the guests. We have a live auction with some oneofakind wonderful auction items with our auctioneer franco finn. Hes the hype man for the San Francisco golden state warriors, and so, well, hell be there to auction off and we can raise money because thats what sustains us and sustains any nonprofit here, to raise money so we make an impact. I also want to add that we will be doing a fund the need program where were going to be supporting the alejo family, as you know, damian. Youve covered this tragic story on the 6 oclock news. And we have been following this family ever since this tragic, Violent Crime happened and weve been with the family now just a little over 9 years. And the girls, the two oldest girls, are now entering college. And were over the moon at what they have overcome. And now theyre headed to college. One is going to be attending ucla in the fall, the other one in san jose state. So were going to try to raise some critical funds to help offset the cost of college and help out the father as well because hes by himself now. Hes done an exceptional job raising these three beautifulthe girls. Damian yeah. No. I mean, its ait is a tragedy, a mum killed at the hands of a family member. And thats one thing that shop with a cop has done, is youve adopted families who are victims of these Violent Crimes and then, as you mentioned, put 9 years going on with this family. So congrats and hats off to all of you. I know growing up, danny, we were told, te portas bien o le llamo a la policia. Behave or im going to call the police on you, as a little child. So you grow up to be in fear of police. Thats not what were supposed to do, right . You want to be able to trust police. Danny absolutely. You know, when the individuals need help, assistance, they should be able to trust and call without hesitation. Unfortunately, thats what we were trained aslike you said, as children. We were trained the opposite. It was said that, dont trust them, dont call them, and what have you. You know, there are those that go rogue, and theyre very few, but for the most part 99 plus percent of the officers throughout the country are there to help and want to help. They give up a lot, not just their personal times, not just the work, but then the additional personal time and efforts that they do. So this is kind of the epitome of what officers do under offtime often with the shop with a cop at the during the holidays. Some of them work the graveyard shift and then go off work and go straight on over for the event. Thats their own time. Thats the type of stuff that they do, and thats what we try to reconnect, as darrell said, the community and let them have that faith and show them that theres a human being behind the uniform and the badge. Damian all right. Well, we thank both of you for your continued service to our community. Thank you for your efforts. Darrel oh, thank you very much. I appreciate it, and hope that people can attend our fundraiser. Theyre going to have a great time, and its going to be impactful and moving, emotional as well when you hear the story about the alejo family. Damian absolutely. Well, lets share that information on our screen. Thank you, gentlemen. And its happening, again, on august 12th at the san jose holiday innSilicon Valley holiday inn in san jose north first street, the shop with a cop fiesta with a purpose. Up next here on comunidad del valle, honoring the legacies of la raza leaders. Stay with us. Damian la Raza Historical Society is honoring the legacies of several south bay latino leaders. The honorable Katherine Lucero joins us. Shes one of the honorees this year. Shes here on comunidad del valle. And also with us is rosanna alvarez, the Vice President of the la Raza Historical Society. Ladies, welcome to the show. Katherine lucero thank you. Rosanna alvarez thank you for having us. Katherine thank you for having us. Damian and, judge lucero, congratulations. What an honor. Tell us what it feels like to be honored as one of those receiving this legacy award. Katherine its overwhelming, damian, because, one, the other honorees are people that ive looked up to and have mentored me along the way, even if they didnt know it. You know, were always watching for outstanding examples of the care and kindness and leadership in our communities. So im honored and humbled at the same time and its hard to believe its happening because its a legacy award and i feel like im in so many ways also just Getting Started with my new position, but, of course, im very grateful. Damian well, congratulations. We do want to hear about your new position and your old position as well. But youre looking atright now at the images of the honorees this year. And what an event. You have the honorable Blanca Alvarado, the former vice mayor of the city of san jose and former county supervisor, dr. Jose carrasco, who was my first professor at san jose state, so im so honored to see him there, of course, judge lucero, victor garza, what can you say about him, fernando zazueta, and luis valdez. Boy, rosanna, what a lineup you have here, and so deserving, right . Rosanna definitely. It is the tremendous lineup. And the work of the Historical Society has always been to amplify, preserve, and share the historical contributions of our latino population here in Santa Clara Valley and beyond. And so the honorees, you know, for as much as the katherinejudge Katherine Lucero has already shared, the work never feels finished. I think the folks, the lineup that we have of people receiving these awards are exactly those types of givers in the community, folks who have always shown up alongside community in their various roles, have impacted all of us in the work that theyve done. And im sure that if you join us that evening on september 2nd at the mexican Heritage Plaza over at the school of arts and culture youll hear from each of them and feel the strength of their presence and understand exactly what we mean when we say the work is never finished. And i think these are lifers in the sense that they will continue to do this work in their lives while they are here with us and that many lives after them will continue to be impacted by that work. Damian no. And youre right, because im looking at these images, and all of these folks here, like youve mentioned, they are not done. I interviewed Blanca Alvarado just a few months ago, and at 80something shes still feisty and fiery. Rosanna yes, and definitely always willing to back for community in the various ways, right . We know that Community Comes together, and its always strategizing, acting, organizing for the benefit of our communities. And these folks have definitely impacted me in my journey. And i think that when you hear them in conversation with each other that evening as theyre receiving their awards from us, again, a lot of overlap. Thats exactly what we experienced last year. This is our Second Annual awards night. Well, la Raza Historical Society has been around doing this work for a lot longer than that, but we did notice last year is that everybodys journey is kind of woven into each others and that people collaborate and that people show up in community with community. And it is an honor, a joy, and a tremendous treat to be there alongside them on that evening and just hear from them directly. Damian very well said. And each one of those honorees has touched me personally, and yourself included, judge lucero. Youve allowed me into your courtroom in the past. Its juvenile court, so access isthere is no access, but with some exceptions youve allowed me in to witness the advocacy that you have to make sure that there is justice served to the juvenile offenders. Tell us about that work and why that was important to you. Katherine well, the juvenile justice arena is, as you said, damian, often one that folks dont really get to peek into because of the confidentiality around not wanting young people to be stigmatized in a public way for harms that have been committed by them while theyre just kids. The court that i served, usually at 12 to 17 was the age range, adolescence was the age range that a youth would come before me. So there was thatalways that balance between wanting the community to see how our traumainformed court system works, how our adolescent Brain Development centered system works while at the same time protecting that youths identity. Its really important work because if theres anyone on the planet that deserves a Second Chance is a young person who has made a mistake. And theres also a need for our community to wrap around that young person and to make sure that that young person benefits from the healing and the spiritual support of their families and their communities. It was always my kind of pattern to make sure as much family was involved, as, you know, uncles, aunts, tias, tios, abuelos, abuelas because that is part of the healing circle and the restorative justice, and i often would have folks in the courtroom. And there was always that understanding and there was always that accountability, but there was also a real desire to make sure that that youth was put on the right path. And that was the important work that i did, wanting to make sure kids got off that assumed pipeline to prison that often happens if a youth gets in trouble as a adolescent. Damian well, youve changed a lot of lives, a lot of families and a lot of chavalitos and chavalitas. So we thank you for your service. Again, we are honoring the legacy of many latino leaders in the south bay, including judge Katherine Lucero. Again, its happening september 2nd at the mexican Heritage Plaza. Theres the website for more information. La Raza Historical Society awards gala. Well be back after these messages. So stay with us. [bells t tolling] well well l well, what h have we herere . A mamagical placace. Thats l lookin to o get sca withth bats. Anand ghouls. And cars i in disguisese. Iive cast ququite a spelell. Withth bats. Anand ghouls. And cars i in disguisese. You wonnt believe e your [laughteter] the spelell is cast. T. Halloween n time is baback with spookoktacular e experis in disisneyland anand diy californiaia adventurere par halloween n time is baback with spookoktacular e experis [lauaughter] halloween n time is baback with spookoktacular e experis damian were back on comunidad del valle with the la Raza Historical Society and the annual awards gala. Rosanna alvarez is the Vice President of [lauaughter] la Raza Historical Society. And the honorable Katherine Lucero is one of the honorees this year, welldeserving. You know, and, judge lucero, we do this as community people. We do our work not for the awards, for the recognition. We do it because we care about community, but darn it, it feels good, doesnt it, to be recognized . Katherine it does. It does. Its an affirmation, right, that were on track. That nobody really gives a judge a lot of feedback except for maybe the court of appeal. So its nice to know that im on track. Damian oh, thats great. Briefly tell us about your new role with the state. Katherine so ini started this job in january of 2022, so last year. I retired as a judicial officer and i started as the director of the office of youth and community restoration, which is within the California Health and Human Services division. Our mandate was from senate bill a23 to close the statewide youth prisons that had previously housed youth who committed the most serious crimes in the state of california. In theit was a round for over 100 years. And gavin newsom and his Wise Administration said that no more. Were not going tothe state is not going to be in the business of incarcerating youth at the state level. Its called a realignment. So youth are now cared for, treated, rehabilitated in the community settings. So what has come up in the 58 counties are 36 secure youth Treatment Facilities called sytfs. And so youth who would typically have been sent to a statewide facility generally far away from home in a large congregate care setting or, you know, a lot of different kids in that setting from a variety of different communities will now be cared for and treated in their communities. Santa clara county has ana secure youth Treatment Facility that has some excellent programming. Its a very high quality, high touched, traumainformed, genderhonoring, culturallyrespectful programming, and that programming leads in its in the context of a systems of care. Were hoping that kids will do what we are calling it a step down to a less restrictive program in aand spend the least amount of time in the highest Restricted Program and have actually developed the continuum of care. And so thats what my office is leading, damian. Damian well, now we know. Well, weve known for a long time why youre the recipient of this award, but your legacy continues and your work continues. Then finally, you know, rosanna, sometimes its difficult to select the honorees because everybody is wellqualified. This was not difficult. I mean, this was really easy to put together, i would imagine. Rosanna you know, it was actually difficult, and then at the same time, right, making sure that were opening up the first couple of years with those heavy hitters because weve all been impacted by their work. And la razas mission is to collect and share the history of la raza in Santa Clara Valley and to educate those younger generations of our Rich Heritage by recognizing todays leaders. And this annual Award Ceremony lets us do that and make them present and appreciate them while the work is still being done. And so for as much as its an honor and a privilege to honor this late of sixth and definitely welldeserved now and always, we look forward to continuing to share the stories of other folks who are doing work that aligns with the wellness of our communities, with social justice in our communities. And as you can hear from judge Katherine Lucero, when they talk about their work, that legacy, that community is in mind and always at the heart of what they are doing alongside others. Damian yeah. We as human beings make the mistake of honoring our heroes posthumously. And im honored to see that were doing this when they can listen to the accolades that will be coming from the community. Any final thoughts, we have about 30 seconds, judge lucero . Katherine no, damian. I just want to thank the la Raza Historical Society for being such a leader and a beacon for all of our young ones that are coming behind us so that they can see that, yes, the work is never done and we can pass that baton. Thank you. Damian all right. Thank you. Congratulations. And thank you to the la Raza Historical Society for putting this on. Its going to be a great event. Thank you so much. Rosanna thank you. Damian thank you. And, again, its happening here at the mexican Heritage Plaza in san jose september 2nd. Its the la Raza Historical Society awards gala. Theres the website for more information. Well, if you want to get a hold of us here on comunidad del valle you can follow me on instagram and on threads. Threads is a new social media site. The address is the same, at newsdamiantrujillo. But you can also email me. Theres the websithe email address there and the website for nbcbayarea. Com. Also be sure to watch us on Telemundo Canal 48. We are there every sunday as well honoring our comunidad. We thank you for sharing a part of your sunday with us. Well see you back here again next week and hope you have a glorious and a safe weekend. Well see you next week. Right now on access hollywood, long before her barbie days, were taking you all the way back to a 21yearold Margot Robbie on her first time on access. Plus, George Michael is gone, but his friend and fellow wham bandmate Andrew Ridgeley remembers