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April 30, 2003

Host: Michael Grant
Topics:
A mid-week legislative update;
A look at the Mexican Holiday, "Dia De Los Niños;"
Stories of Arizona: Bennie Gonzalez
In-Studio Guests:
Howie Fischer, chief correspondent for "Capitol Media Services;"
Jose Velasco, Board Member of the Mexican Cultural Center and Acting Director of the ASU Center for Latin American Studies

>> Michael: Tonight on "Horizon," Governor Napolitano presents state agency efficiency reviews. We'll talk about that and other capitol issues.

>>> Michael: And long celebrated as an important holiday in Mexico, now Dia De Los Niños comes to Arizona honoring all children.

>>> Michael: Plus, one of the first registered Latino architects in our state, a look at Bennie Gonzales and his acclaimed southwestern design style.

>>> Michael: Good evening, I'm Michael Grant. Before we get to today's legislative news, if you are in need of legal advice, the Maricopa County Bar Association has attorneys standing by in the KAET studio to answer your legal questions. If you would like to talk to an attorney free of charge, you can call 480-965-1998. That's 408-956-1998. Phone lines are open tonight until 9 p.m.

>>> Michael: This week the Governor began presenting her efficiency review program. It takes a look at ways to save money within our state's government, all in an attempt to make a dent in the state's colossal budget deficit. Here to mull over that and other legislative news of the week is the dent meister, Howie Fischer, chief correspondent for "Capitol Media Services."

>> Howie Fischer: I'm going to have that printed on my card.

>> Michael: Good to see you. What's the goal -- is this focus completely when we say the efficiency review, is this focused completely on how you can save nickels, dimes and hopefully dollars and bigger amounts?

>> Howie Fischer: Exactly. It's very clear that the Governor does not want to cut programs. There is like a $400 million gap between what she wants to spend and what the legislative does. You can't make that all up in nickels and dimes but, you can find ways to do things better. One thing she figured out, we ought to go to the state agencies, talk to the employees. They have ideas. They know, for example, if we are spending so much money outsourcing certain kinds of training, what can we do in house. That's one of the issues. She's figured out that we've got 8,000 state cars, of which probably 25% of them are driven less than 7500 miles a year. Why do we need state cars for all of these people? Could some go back to fleet management or be sold? She's also looking at issues like cutting down unnecessary travel.

>> Michael: If I recall correctly, I want to say her plug number for her budget was $35 million. I think the legislature has stated it has more confidence in her than that and has suggested $80 million. We have focused initially on three agencies?

>> Howie Fischer: At this point, we're in the middle of looking at three agencies, the Department of Economic Security, which is a very big one and has a lot of different functions, Department of Corrections, and the Department of Revenue. And we're about halfway through those, and what the Governor has said in this interim report is we have found some things we think we can already start saving. She's identified $3.6 million worth of savings. Now, folks say, look, we've got a $6 billion general fund budget out here, $3.6 million is change. But she said, look, we can keep 2100 people, 2100 seniors, with home healthcare services rather than sending them into nursing home which is more expensive. So every nickel and dime really does work.

>> Michael: On the other hand, now, I realize the process is underway, but Department of Economic Security has got to be one of the largest budgets, particularly if you roll in the federal funding that it has got, and in comparison, $3.6 million is not a real large chunk of money.

>> Howie Fischer: And this really is a starting point. I think that she's hoping to find where else you can do things. For example, can you have -- let's say in Bisbee, can you collocate state offices where DES is in the same building as the Department of Transportation down there. They are looking at other things to do. None of this is going to bring in big money. You're not going to find $400 million of waste and inefficiency. But there are things you can do. For example, just the other day the Governor signed legislation to require all state buildings to cut energy use by 15% sometime by the year 2012. Now, you're talking perhaps $11 million a year here, by buying more efficient items. If you have to buy a new computer, by an energy star compliant computer. When you have to replace the air conditioner system --

>> Michael: Air conditioning units, go with a higher seer.

>> Howie Fischer: Exactly, and so there's ways of doing it. Now, of course, the Governor in terms of saying every dollar counts, they get a little testy at this afternoon's press conference, when some people started saying, well, if you are cutting down on unnecessary travel, Governor, what about that plane? And she said, well, you know, I need that plane. Why do you need the plane? Well, for example, I went to Window Rock and met with Navajo tribal leaders, and sometimes you just need to talk to people, and somebody pointed out, well we have this wonderful video teleconferencing system that we spent thousands of dollars putting in, why don't you use that? And she bristled a little bit and said, you know, there are times if I need to know about the forest, I want to be in the forest, next to Flagstaff, seeing things, I don't want to be reading memos. While she wants to lead by example, she has gotten a little testy on a few issues.

>> Michael: You know, having followed the travails of Governor and the state plane over the past decades or so, if I ever become Governor, remind me to immediately sell the state plane. It's just not worth the hassle.

>> Howie Fischer: Exactly. Even though -- she's certainly not -- her predecessor, Jane Hull, was using that plane to go to her cabin in Pinetop. This Governor doesn't have a cabin in Pinetop.

>> Michael: Constitutional amendment -- moving ahead, we've seen a variety of things that would deal with spending, state budget, revenue. This one is the one that essentially says if you put an issue on the ballot, you need to identify a funding source for it.

>> Howie Fischer: This is very critical for lawmakers who find that they are being constrained on all sides that half of the budget now is off limits to their tinkering because back in '98, voters approved Proposition 105 which says if we was pass it, you will do it, and you can't adjust it. All of a sudden you've got situations. For example, back in 2000, they passed Prop 301. Prop 301 had a .6 of a cent sales tax to fund things like university research and teachers pay raises. What wasn't funded in there was an annual inflationary index for state aid to schools, we're talking maybe $200 million a year. Prop 204 said anybody below the federal poverty level qualifies for cost care under the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. That trippled the eligibility standards.

>> Michael: To be funded by the tobacco settlement, although warnings at the time, that the tobacco settlement proceeds were going to be inadequate to take it to 100% of the federal poverty level.

>> Howie Fischer: Not only that, we've actually gotten to the point where the general fund is filling in, and in fact, I just saw a Joint Legislative Budget Committee memo that said because people are are smoking less, and because our share is based on tobacco company revenues, we're actually going to be spending more of the general fund on healthcare, which means it's it's got to come out of somewhere else. Eddie Farnsworth's point is if you don't identify a funding source and tell us to spend on this, well, where do we take it from? You don't want to close prisons. You don't want to close parks. So people who propose things should be responsible about saying where the money should come from.

>> Michael: Procedurally where are we? Where is the constitutional amendment at this point?

>> Howie Fischer: At this point, it is ready to go on the ballot. The House and Senate have now both approved the same measure. Senators did that today, and the Secretary of State now gets it, and it will go on the November '04 ballot.

>> Michael: So, it will definitely be on the 2004 ballot.

>> Howie Fischer: Yes.

>> Michael: If I recall correctly, those sorts of resolutions bypass the Governor's office. They don't require any gubernatorial approval.

>> Howie Fischer: One of the interesting things about ballot measures, it'll be interesting to see the publicity. When people are confused they vote no. The job of people like Eddie Farnsworth is to convince them that there is a legitimate reason for voters to restrict their own rights in imposing initiatives.

>> Michael: Howie Fischer, thanks very much for the update.

>> Howie Fischer: You're welcome.

>> Michael: Have you ever heard a child ask, there's a Mother's Day and a Father's day, why isn't there a children's day? Well, in Mexico there is. Today, April 30th is Dia De Los Niños, children's day, and the holiday is being celebrated in cities across the United States, including Phoenix. The day spotlights Mexican culture and honors children of all races and beliefs. Producer Merry Lucero and videographer Richard Torruellas take you to today's celebration.

>> Reporter: The colorful twirling dancers of the Ballet Folklórico is just one image traditionally associated with Mexican festivals. Entertainment is one part of the Dia De Los Niños celebration today at Margaret T. Hance park in Phoenix. The holiday has long been celebrated in Mexico and Latin America as a day to honor and uplift children. Dr. Cecelia Rosales, Director of the Mexican Cultural Center of Phoenix.

>> Cecelia Rosales: What it is is just a special day to bring into the public light issues that affect our youth and what agencies, organizations and city governments are doing to improve the life of our youth.

>> Reporter: In addition to having fun, the goal of the event, to bring awareness to Hispanic Heritage and cultures of all nations.

>> Cecelia Rosales: The Mexican Cultural Center started partnering with the National Latino Children's Institute in San Antonio to bring children's day as a way of introducing the general public to Hispanic and Latino culture. Particularly and primarily the event has grown so much that we celebrate every culture and every child regardless of race, color or sex. So it's not only a Hispanic celebration, but we try to include as many cultures as we can.

>> Reporter: Festival sponsors, local civic groups and businesses distribute information about their organizations, offer arts, crafts and games, and help to provide children with a fun and educational day. Maria Stenner, Spanish teacher at St. Agnes school, brought her class.

>> Maria Stenner: We are here today because we're learning a little bit about Spanish culture, and Dia De Los Niños is a big celebration in Mexico and in other parts of Latin America.

>> Reporter: Teachers hope the event will help students become more aware of the traditions and customs of other cultures, and of course, the language.

>> Child: To learn more about Spanish.

>> Child: We can learn Spanish.

>> Child: People could like learn about it, about Spanish.

>> Reporter: And maybe they can learn about Spanish. More than 100 cities across the nation now celebrate this gift of a holiday from the Latin community.

>> Michael: Here to talk more about the cultural significance of Dia De Los Niños is Jose Velasco, Board Member of the Mexican Cultural Center and Acting Director of the ASU Center for Latin American Studies. Jose, it looks like a fine time was had by all.

>> Jose Velasco: Very festive occasion.

>> Michael: Margaret T. Hance park. Fill in activities that were going on, that kind of thing.

>> Jose Velasco: We had everything from art contest to reading literacy projects. I even saw a couple of prominent local dignitaries there, Councilman Doug Lignar (phonetic), former legislator Barry Wong took time out of their schedule to go and read stories to children.

>> Michael: Now, how did this start?

>> Jose Velasco: Well, back in 1959, the United Nations had a special session on children, and they recommended to every nation in the world to take aside one day out of the year to honor children. At that time, the -- they were promoting more educational activities and health services for children. And they also gave the choice to every nation to decide what date that would be and what activities would be appropriate to that country. Mexico took it upon themselves to designate April 30th as Dia De Los Niños. That's why we're celebrating it here on April 30th, being part of the Mexican Cultural Center, aligned with the date in Mexico, but Chile has it in August. Brazil celebrates it in October, and Canada also celebrates it in November.

>> Michael: You mentioned literacy and education being part of the original, as well as healthcare. Is there a -- does there remain a fairly strong tie to, for example, children's literacy underlying the day?

>> Jose Velasco: Yes, it does. Some countries have specific activities related to childhood education and literacy, especially. And that's why we, ourselves, want to make sure that we had a tent there and many children participated in this story reading activity, and there were other activities as well. There were water conservation, recycling information. Dental hygiene and health services were also provided by many of the participants today.

>> Michael: Who are the primary sponsors? Who gets behind this?

>> Jose Velasco: The primary sponsor, financial sponsor, is Mervin's department stores. They are the leading sponsor every year. We've had this celebration for the last four years here in Phoenix. We also have other community organizations, [ speaking Spanish ] and other state and local agencies also, City of Phoenix, State of Arizona Health Department participate.

>> Michael: When did the celebration begin? Let's localize it and bring it -- when did it begin here?

>> Jose Velasco: It began here four years ago, especially when Dr. Cecilia Rosales become the Executive Director of the Mexican Cultural Center. Since that time, there has been a variety of different activities taking place throughout the year, not only celebrating Dia De Los Niños but also other Mexican cultural activities, such as the day of the dead in November, and the Mexican Cultural Center under her direction has been active in promoting the richness of Mexican culture and diversity by bringing up individuals associated with literature, with film, with music, a variety of different cultural activities.

>> Michael: Where is the Mexican Cultural Center physically located?

>> Jose Velasco: We're physically located in -- the City of Phoenix provides us with office space. It's interesting to note that here in Phoenix, we have an Irish Cultural Center with their own building. We have a Chinese Cultural Center with their own building, yet we don't have a Mexican Cultural Center with our own building. Under her direction, we hope to in the near future be able to coalesce a group of willing and dynamic community support for that effort.

>> Michael: And you personally have had some long-standing ties to it?

>> Jose Velasco: The Mexican Cultural Center began here about 10 years ago. At that time, I was Director of the Arizona Mexican Commission, and I was one of the first board members of that organization.

>> Michael: Okay. Now, looking ahead, if people have seen this and are intrigued about, for example, children's day, are there avenues for them to get involved in whatever fashion that they would want to?

>> Jose Velasco: We encourage the support, the participation of our community. We have various collaborators already. We plan in the next couple of years to bring in more activities to Phoenix, to better inform our community about the different activities and cultural events. We have extended our cooperation with the University of Mexico to come in and have a Mexican cultural studies modules for the community at large, to be able to learn more about Mexican history through its art and through its literature. All they have to do is call the Mexican Cultural Center.

>> Michael: I've just been advised that on our web site is a link to the Center for Latin American Studies as well. Jose Velasco, thank you very much for joining us.

>> Jose Velasco: Thank you for having me.

>> Michael: Appreciate the information.

>>> Michael: A native Arizonan, Bennie Gonzales, gained a national reputation for his southwestern style of architecture, which gave a modern interpretation to mission adobe style buildings. Gonzales, who now makes his home in Nogales, designs civic centers, banks, schools, libraries, churches and numerous residences that are part of the landscape. Mary Jo West introduces you to Bennie Gonzales.

>> Reporter: Architect Bennie Gonzales, now in his 70s, is still designing homes.

>> Bennie Gonzales: When I started designing houses, they ran from 1200 to -- a big house was about 2200 square feet. Today a small house is about 2200 and goes up to 6, 7, 8,000 square feet.

>> Reporter: This Tubac home is designed around a great room.

>> Bennie Gonzales: They had two kids and their pets, and they wanted a lot of outdoor living.

>> Reporter: Gonzales is living the dream he had as a boy growing up in Phoenix.

>> Bennie Gonzales: I was born in Phoenix in 1924, and we lived on a ranch at 20th Street south of Osborn Road. My father had a pool hall in Phoenix, and he was sort of a gentleman farmer, and my uncle, his brother-in-law, was a contractor, and they would take me out on the jobs as a young kid, so I was around the Heard Museum. My uncle worked on the Heard Museum, and they built the stables at the Biltmore. And when the contractors would call in the architects to review things, the architects would come out on the job, and I thought, boy, that's God. That's what I'd like to be.

>> Reporter: Gonzales was only 7 when his father died. His uncle helped his mother raise him and his younger brother. She was the daughter of an Irish railroad builder.

>> Bennie Gonzales: His name was George Montague, and her father was head of the railroad, the Southern Pacific, and he had built the station in Guaymas, and my mother was born there, but he put her on the train and brought her back in the U.S. and registered her as a U.S. citizen.

>> Reporter: As a boy, Gonzales often spent summers in Nogales with his grandmother.

>> Bennie Gonzales: They used to have a train that you could catch in Phoenix, and it would drop you off downtown, so I used to take the train. Mom sent me down. I don't know, it was about a dollar and a quarter to take the train in Phoenix and drop me off in Nogales. So I was going to Phoenix Union High School when the war -- when World War II broke out. It was the Monday after Pearl Harbor was bombed that we all went and signed up in the service, and the coast guard recruiter was talking to me and he said, what's your name, and I said Barnaby Montague Gonzales, because that's the way my birth certificate was, and he says Barnaby? He says, can we call you something else? So that's how I came about getting Bennie M. Gonzales. I went into the service under that name.

>> Reporter: When the war ended, Gonzales came back to Arizona to finish his education. In 1953, he was one of the first graduates from the new ASU School of Architecture.

>> Bennie Gonzales: Well, I was one of the first Mexicans to become registered as an architect in the state of Arizona.

>> Reporter: One of his early projects was back in his old summer home of Nogales. He designed the Veterans Center on top of a hill.

>> Bennie Gonzales: Most of the workers here were Mexicans and they knew how to put adobes together, so I used the adobe design and the arches, of course, symbolic to colonial architecture, and it was just a lot of fun, you know, more like an artist doing a picture. In fact, a lot of the details that I used here, I would just come on the job and draw the details, and they would build from that.

>> Reporter: Gonzalez gained nationwide attention when his Paradise Valley home was featured in Life Magazine.

>> Bennie Gonzales: The floors were adobe that I got from Nogales here, and then I used cranques (phonetic) all over the floors to give it a browner -- this is crazy architecture, you know, but I used that cranque sorrel to clean it with, to lay it on the floor and the slump block with the mortar wash on it.

>> Reporter: He lived there with his family for a year when a man offered to buy the house.

>> Bennie Gonzales: I had built it for about $75,000, which was quite a bit then for me. He says, I'll give you $300,000 for it. I thought wow, that's more than I make in five years, so, I went ahead and sold it to him.

>> Reporter: The Nogales library was another project that got a lot of attention. It was featured in Phoenix and Tucson newspapers for its innovative design.

>> Bennie Gonzales: The library, of course, they did very limited budget on it, so I used adobe from Mexico for the walls. It was burnt adobe, and I used big beams, and the roof slopes, and I wanted to catch the northern light in the book stacks way in the back, and so that's why I raised the roof up.

>> Reporter: Libraries became a sort of specialty. He designed several in Phoenix, and one in Wickenburg.

>> Bennie Gonzales: I felt that I was pretty good at it because my aunt had been the librarian here Nogales, and I just enjoyed doing libraries. You know, I felt very comfortable with them. I was a big user of them.

>> Reporter: One of his best known libraries is part of the Scottsdale Civic Center. That project included city council chambers, an outdoor amphitheater and cultural center.

>> Bennie Gonzales: They wanted a people place, so that's how it all came ba.

>> Reporter: He also designed the Hopi Cultural Center on Second Mesa.

>> Bennie Gonzales: We used concrete block with the mortar wash on it to give it that pueblo feeling. [ clock chimes ]

>> Reporter: Gonzales also gained a reputation for designing churches and synagogues.

>> Bennie Gonzales: It's interesting, you know, that they would get a fellow that designs Catholic churches to do their synagogue.

>> Reporter: Like most architects, Gonzales designs some projects that were never built. One was a museum for artist Ted De Grazia. They met at a breakfast meeting to sketch out ideas.

>> Bennie Gonzales: We went up on this hill top, and here was the press, and he said, bring me some of that jar that I have in my car there, and I said what is that? He said, well, that's the tonic that I use when I want to paint good. He says, have some. And I thought to myself, this guy is nuts.

>> Reporter: He and his wife Diane now live Nogales at the base of an old mine shaft in a home that is truly a Bennie Gonzales original. The house is built primarily of redwood.

>> Bennie Gonzales: The doors and some of the wood we found in Mexico.

>> Reporter: He's always had an eye for recycling interesting materials, like the bathroom door.

>> Bennie Gonzales: It was the jail in Guaymas. I had gone to a ranch, and the table was a gate. It was to the pig pen, but it was lying on the ground. So I brought it home, and I set it on pieces of pipe column, and Diane said, what are you going to do with that? And I said, that's your coffee table.

>> Reporter: As he reflects on the growth of Arizona, Gonzales is disappointed that more major buildings don't use local architects.

>> Bennie Gonzales: You bring in these outside firms and all they want to do is glass buildings. Well, you know, with our temperatures in the summer time and all, they forget, you know, that we have to use energy to cool them. I think because I live here, I know what the sun can do to you and so I design around what the sun, you know, how it sets and how it comes up in the morning, how the light inside the house is, and I try to stay that way, and also using regional materials.

>> Reporter: He calls his design simply "regional", but Gonzales leaves a legacy of distinctive desert adapted homes, businesses, churches, libraries and civic centers throughout the southwest.

>> Michael: To see a transcript of "Horizon," find out what's on upcoming programs or link to web sites related to topics that we have covered. Go to www.kaet.asu.edu, click on "Horizon" and then you can follow the links.

>>> Michael: Again, a reminder, if you are in need of legal advice, Maricopa County Bar Association has attorneys standing by in the KAET studios just next door to answer your legal questions. If you would like to talk to an attorney free of charge, you can call 480-965-1198. That's 480-965-1998. The phone lines will be open tonight until 9:00. Tomorrow Governor Napolitano is going to join us to talk about Arizona issues. The Governor will also answer viewer questions. You can ask Governor Napolitano a question by E-mail. Just send your questions or your comment to horizon@asu.edu. That's horizon@asu.edu. Some of those questions will be used on the air. That's tomorrow night on "Horizon." Then on Friday, of course, please join us for the journalist roundtable edition for a roundup this week's news. Thanks for being here this Wednesday evening. I'm Michael Grant. Good night.

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