WASHINGTON, D.C. – If ever anyone was born to be in the public arena as a champion of the people, it is Hilda L. Solis, whose political career has gone full circle. From those early days when she worked in Washington at the Office of Hispanic Affairs during the Carter administration and later as a management analyst at the beginning of the Reagan administration, her career path has escalated from local and state politics in California to the United States House of Representatives to the present and prestigious post as the current United States Secretary of Labor.
Raised in La Puente, California by
immigrant parents from Nicaragua and Mexico, she was the first Hispanic woman
to serve in the California State Senate and re-elected in 1998. Known for her work toward environmental
justice, she was the recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award
in 2000, the first woman to win
the award.
The third oldest of seven siblings (four sisters, two brothers) she
was the first in her family to go to college. She earned a BA degree in political science from California
State Polytechnic University, Pomona and a Master of Public Administration
degree at the University of Southern California.
Gaining a seat in the U. S. House of
Representatives in 2000, she was re-elected easily to four additional terms in
2002 through 2008, where she was known for her commitment to labor causes and continuing
environmental work.
In December 2008,
President-elect Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate Solis as
the next Secretary of Labor. She took office after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 24, 2009, becoming the first
Hispanic woman to serve as secretary in the U.S. cabinet.
HOLLYWOOD – WWE Superstar John Cena stars in the new action flick from the
director of Die Hard and producer of Speed that opens in theatres March
27. Directed by Renny Harlin, 12
Rounds stars Cena as Danny Fisher, a New Orleans police officer who
single-handedly arrests Miles Jackson (Aidan Gillen), one of the most feared
and wanted criminals in the world.
A year later when Miles escapes from prison he kidnaps Danny’s
girlfriend (Ashley Scott) setting off 12 Rounds of dangerous games plotted
throughout the city in order to save her and put an end to his twisted game.
The cast also includes
Steve Harris as a zealous and obsessed FBI agent, Brian White as Danny’s best
friend, Gonzalo Menendez as Special Agent Ray Santiago.
LOS ANGELES – PBS March highlights include a look at the invasion of penguin territories, a Nova episode of a photojournalist capturing rapidly melting glaciers, a Frontline investigation into the massive national debt in Ten Trillion and Counting and a tour-de-force performance in Shakespeare’s King Lear on Great Performances, among others.
Nature – Penguins of the
Antarctic airs March 22 (8-9 p.m.).
As the climate changes, long-established penguin territories are being
invaded and traditional nesting colonies are being disrupted. How will these extraordinary birds deal
with the full effects of global warming?
Also on March 22, PBS
airs David Copperfield – Part 2 as part of Masterpiece Classic (9-10:30
p.m.). Charles Dickens’ beloved
novel gets all-star treatment in this acclaimed encore presentation. The cast includes Maggie Smith, Ian
McKellen, Bob Hoskins and 10-year-old Daniel Radcliffe as the young boy against
the world.
An Antiques Roadshow – Wichita airs March 23 (8-9 p.m.) featuring a visit to the Wichita Art Museum’s collection of Art Nouveau works by glassmaker Frederick Carder, co-founder of the Steuben Glass Company. Discoveries include a 1920s Buddy “L” toy sand and gravel truck; a 19th-century bronze sculpture by British artist Edward Onslow Ford; and an 18th-century surveyor’s compass, made by one of the finest clockmaker’s in the Virginia colonies, valued at $20,000 to $25,000.
Sister Aimee: American Experience – the dramatic life story of Aimee Semple McPherson, the controversial, charismatic, wildly popular evanglist who was instrumental in bringing conservative Protestantism into mainstream culture and American politics. Program airs March 23, 9-10 p.m. In 1921, at the age of 31, McPherson settled in Los Angeles, founded the Church of the Four Square Gospel and built the Angelus Temple where she often preached before a packed house of 5,000 believers, using elaborate musical productions worthy of Broadway. She also created her own radio station – one of the first Christian radio stations in the United States.
In a
legendary 50-year rivalry, Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein changed the
cosmetics industry as featured in The Powder and the Glory that airs March 23,
10-11:30 p.m. Jane Alexander narrates.
Frontline
Sick Around the World airs Frontline correspondent T. R. Reid as he examines the
healthcare systems of other advanced capitalist democracies to see what tried
and tested ideas might help the U.S. reform its broken healthcare system.
Program airs March 24, 10-11 p.m.
Extreme Ice, that airs
March 24 (8-9 p.m. ET), features a photojournalist and a scientific team that
strive to create a unique photo archive of melting glaciers that could provide
a key to understanding their runaway behavior. In collaboration with National Geographic,
Nova follows the exploits of acclaimed photojournalist James Balog and a
scientific team as they deploy time-lapse cameras in risky, remote locations in
the Arctic, Alaska and the Alps.
In this high-action adventure, Nova investigates the mystery of the
mighty ice sheets that will affect the fate of coastlines around the world.
Frontline – Ten Trillion
and Counting follows on March 24 at 9-10 p.m. ET. All of the federal
government’s efforts to stem the tide in the financial meltdown that began with
the subprime mortgage crisis have added hundreds of billions of dollars to the
national debt. Frontline reports
on how this debt will constrain and challenge the new Obama administration. Through
interviews with leading experts and insiders in government finance, the film investigates the causes and potential
outcomes of — and possible solutions to — America’s $10 trillion debt.
Great Performances – King Lear airs March 25, 8-11 p.m.
ET. Ian McKellen gives a tour-de-force performance as Shakespeare’s tragic
titular monarch in this special television adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare
Company production of one of the playwright’s most enduring and haunting works.
The play opens with Lear’s proposal to divide his kingdom among his three
daughters, according to how much each can profess her love for him, spiraling
forward to dramatize the king’s deception, betrayal and eventual descent into
madness. The telecast, co-directed by Sir Trevor Nunn and Chris Hunt, marks Ian
McKellen’s return to the RSC after a 17-year hiatus.
NEXT POST:
Coming soon. Stay tuned.
Comments