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By JOHN PORRETTO – 15 hours ago
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — A helicopter crew has found five of six regatta competitors alive after their boat disappeared in the Gulf of Mexico, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said early Sunday.
The search started after the 38-foot Cynthia Woods missed a radio check Saturday morning and was found capsized.
Petty Officer Renee C. Aiello says that a Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Houston hoisted the five men on board and the search continues for a sixth. Their conditions are not available.
The boat was competing in the 40th annual Regata de Amigos.
Texas A&M at Galveston says the crew included four college students and two safety officers.
The boat went missing 11 miles south of Matagorda, which is about 110 miles down the coast from Galveston.

ap.google.com

Salvador Perez strummed the guitar chords to “Cielito Lindo” the other night and sang the lilting Mexican love song with a handful of other Latino immigrants sitting in the second-floor foyer of the Centro del Pueblo on Valencia Street. The sound swelled with feeling.
“Music is a form of release,” said Perez, 27, a San Francisco day laborer from Chiapas, Mexico, who stands on Cesar Chavez Street, or in front of Home Depot, hoping someone will hire him to dig ditches or pour concrete or do other manual labor.
Every Thursday evening, he and other laborers and domestic workers show up at Centro del Pueblo to rehearse with El Coro Jornalero, or the Day Laborer’s Choir. It was put together by the immigrant advocacy organization La Raza Centro Legal with a $32,000 grant from the San Francisco Art Commission’s Community Arts and Education Program, which funds arts activities and street festivals throughout the city’s ethnically diverse neighborhoods.
Originally called the Neighborhood Arts Program, the community arts program - a national trailblazer in nurturing art in places outside the circles of high culture - is celebrating its 40th anniversary with performances and gabfests around town during the next two weeks. The events feature everyone from lesbian comedienne Marga Gomez to poet Diane Di Prima, Danza Azteca Xitlalli and the Brown Bombers Cheer and Dance Team.
El Coro Jornalero began as an informal group that sang at labor events. The city grant has allowed it to formally organize under the tutelage of Ricardo Torres, a sharp local choral director and rock ‘n’ roller who leads the 10-member Coro Obrero (Worker’s Choir) and plays clubs and on the street with his band Amnesia.
“People like to sing and play to express their feelings,” said Torres, 29, a Mexico City native with a long black ponytail and braided goatee. “It’s almost like therapy.”

sfgate.com

A new human rights organization is using Cinco de Mayo to kick off a campaign to help end what it calls hateful attacks against immigrants.
The group is called the Pueblo Center for Legal and Human rights.
As a symbolic message, members plan to break a Sheriff Joe Arpaio pinata during their celebration.
Arpaio says it’s a sad idea.
“This is freedom of speech, they want to do that. I just don’t like it because of the young people. It sends a bad message to young people that they’re trying to beat up the chief law enforcement officer,” says the sheriff, who has made cracking down on illegal immigrants one of his priorities.
Pueblo says it’s goal is to raise youth consciousness of human rights while fending off attacks against immigrants by the sheriff, state Legislature and local groups.
Lots of people, of Hispanic and other cultures, will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo — the Fifth of May. It celebrates the day back in 1810 when a small Mexican militia defeated the mighty French Army near the City of Pueblo. The day is not really a big holiday in Mexico, except in Puebla. But, here in the United States, it’s a tribute to Mexican heritage and pride.
If you plan to celebrate tonight, celebrate smart. Police will have extra patrols out looking for suspected drunken drivers.
In Tempe, police will be out until 3 a.m. Tuesday patrolling near bars and nightclub along Mill Avenue.
“We don’t want people out there drinking and driving,” says Cindy Davies with Tempe Police. “Call a cab, call one of those services that they have, designate a driver, there are so many better options out there today.”
Some Cinco de Mayo celebrations began over the weekend. Police said they made more than 100 DUI arrests statewide during the weekend.

ktar.com

Cinco de Mayo
Well, it’s not the Mexican Independence Day –that’s September 16. It’s not a U.S. holiday — it’s not even an obligatory federal holiday in Mexico. But … those aren’t reasons not to celebrate, right? Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!
The Edge Conference
It’s the last night of the Edge which means it’s the last night to check out the Christian studen conference. With guest speakers Craig Tackett of Inlightened Ministries and Ed Newton of the Steps of Faith Evangelism Ministry, plus live music by the Jonathan Project and entertainment by Christian illusionist Drew Worsham. 7 to 9 p.m. Roanoke Civic Center. theedgeconference.com.
Roanoke College Children’s Choir Auditions
Got any aspiring performers in your house? Maybe they’re interested in singing with the Children’s Choir. Auditions are for children ages 8 to 18. Call to set up an appointment. Olin Hall, Roanoke College. 375-2222.

roanoke.com

By Frank O’Donnell
It has become part of the rites of Spring, along with television’s May “sweeps,” the Kentucky Derby, and Cinco de Mayo.
But unlike these vernal pleasures, the American Lung Association’s annual “State of the Air” report, released May 1 at the start of the traditional “smog” season, teaches some important lessons about the quality of the air we breathe.
Lesson number one: We can make progress. This report card on the state of our nation’s air does show that we have made progress in dealing with the most common air pollutants, ozone (or smog) and fine particle soot. This is perhaps a counter-intuitive finding given seven years of reactionary Bush policies.
Progress has been especially evident in states such as California that have taken aggressive action – through cleaner cars, tougher smokestack requirements, etc. – that have reduced the number of dirty-air days compared to prior eras.
Take, for example, Riverside, California, one of the smoggiest parts of the nation. In 1998, it had 57 days of dirty air for smog, with levels above the national health standard. By 2006, the number of dirty-air days had been cut almost in half – to 30.
Lesson number two: We still have major problems. Despite the progress, the Lung Association report documents the continuing threat that air pollution poses to the health of Americans. Indeed, two of every five people in the nation live in counties that have unhealthful levels of either smog or fine particle soot.
The poster child for this year’s report is Pittsburgh – admitted cleaner than in days gone by, when the odiferous city was described as “hell with the lid lifted off” – but a somewhat surprising first place as the dirtiest city in American for short-term exposure to deadly particle soot. (It’s the first time in the nine-year history of this annual report that California was bumped from the top spot for one of the major pollutants under scrutiny.)

californiaprogressreport.com

CHEMUNG VALLEY HANDSPINNERS AND FIBER ARTS GUILD MEETING, group focuses on preserving/teaching the art of handspinning yarn, also for those interested in knitting, crochet, weaving and other forms of fiber arts; 1 p.m. Bethany Lutheran Church, 256 S. Walnut St., Elmira. Information: 734-6342 or chemungvalleyguild@yahoo.com. http://chemungvalleyguild.wordpress.com.
GRAHAM MCDOUGAL’S “REPUBLIC,” DAN REIDY’S “MONSTERS” AND DANA SPERRY’S “ABOUT,” three shows on display through May 17 during gallery hours or by appointment; noon-4 p.m. Rural Research Laboratories @ The Arnot Art Museum, 254 Baldwin St., Elmira. 654-0337. www.ruralresearchlabs.com.
OPENING RECEPTION FOR “GREETINGS FROM LEISURE LANE!” seashell sculpture exhibit by Phil Kuster, displayed through May 26 during gallery hours; call for information; 1-3 p.m. The ARTS of the Southern Finger Lakes, Spotlight Gallery, 32 W. Market St., Corning. 962-5871. www.eARTS.org.
THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE ART SHOW: MAY — “SPRING,” open through May 31 on Saturdays or by appointment; 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Community Arts of Elmira, 413 Lake St., Elmira. 846-2418. www.communityartsofelmira.com.
(RE)DISCOVER CORNING, presentations, special offers, free admission at over 40 locations throughout Corning for area residents; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Gaffer District, downtown area, Corning. Information: 936-3351. www. rediscovercorning.events.live.com.
A NIGHT FOR THE NET, fundraiser featuring jazz music by Josh Condon Trio, silent auction, hors d’oeuvres, coffee and dessert to raise money for The Net Shelter and domestic violence program; 7-11 p.m. Three Birds Restaurant, 73 E. Market St., Corning. $40, two for $75; available at The Gold Mine and Ginger’s Corner in Bath, West End Gallery and AJ’s in Corning. Information/tickets: 962-0192.
ANTIQUES, CRAFTS MARKET, great deals; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Hayloft Vendors Market, 1505 Pennsylvania Ave., Pine City.
BEN NEWTON MEMORIAL CIVIL WAR WEEKEND, battle reenactments, Union and Confederate encampments, candlelight tours (purchase tickets in advance due to limited space), visit Web site for complete schedule ; Newtown Battlefield, off of I-86, Elmira. 733-0950. www.chemungvalley.org.

stargazettenews.com