www.luisjrodriguez.com
I'm Luis J. Rodriguez, the author of Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. and several other books in short fiction, children's literature, nonfiction, and poetry. On my web log I'll be posting all the latest news concerning my work as a writer, along with news and opinions on the many political, social, spiritual and cultural activities that I find interesting.
Luis J. Rodriguez | May 30, 2010
For some time now, I’ve been helping support the Youth Promise Act, which is currently making the rounds of Congress for possible passage. This bill will provide badly needed prevention and intervention funds to curb youth violence. We’ve tried the prisons, juvenile lockups, trying youth as adults, zero tolerance, and similar measures that have not [...]
Luis J. Rodriguez | May 24, 2010
On Monday, May 17, the US Supreme Court ruled that juveniles could not be given life sentences for crimes that did not involve murder or the intent to murder. So far 129 young people in various states—77 in Florida alone—were caught in such horrendous sentences, declared “cruel and unusual” by the highest court. But the [...]
Luis J. Rodriguez | May 16, 2010
The drive to San Diego from the San Fernando Valley last Tuesday was smooth on a beautiful Southern California day. Trini and I were on our way to downtown to be part of the 41st Annual Conference of the Juvenile Court, Community and Alternative School Administrators of California.
I keynoted the next day’s luncheon, speaking to [...]
Luis J. Rodriguez | May 9, 2010
May 8 was Trini’s birthday. That day, this past Saturday, we had breakfast to embrace our lives together. This year, in late March, Trini and I also celebrated twenty-two years of marriage. In that time, we’ve helped raise my two older children—son Ramiro, who turns 35 next month, and daughter Andrea, 33 (they’ve given me [...]
Luis J. Rodriguez | May 5, 2010
Cinco de Mayo has become a de-facto US holiday, more so than in many parts of Mexico. Except, of course, Puebla. It was May 5, 1862 when the defenders of Puebla, led by a young Mexican general, Ignacio Zaragoza, including with Native peasants armed with machetes and bows & arrows, defeated a larger and better-equipped [...]
