Latest news with #Valladares
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
4 Red Flags for the Middle Class After Trump's First 100 Days
Middle-class Americans are already feeling the early tremors of economic change after the first 100 days of President Donald Trump's second term. Be Aware: Find Out: From rising prices at the grocery store to the threat of shrinking job opportunities in key industries, warning signs are emerging that could squeeze household budgets and long-term financial stability. Here are four red flags for the middle class after Trump's first 100 days. In the first 100 days of Trump's return, price hikes are hitting middle-class households in subtle but significant ways. From groceries to gas, everyday essentials are climbing faster than wages and squeezing budgets already stretched thin. 'Tariffs are inflationary, so American consumers need to watch their expenses carefully, especially in the areas of consumer goods,' said Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, managing principal at MRV Associates. 'We are a huge importer of Asian toys, for example, and those are rising in price.' She also explained that, with inflation remaining elevated as an effect of the tariffs, interest rates on loans, credit cards and mortgages will also remain high. In addition, Valladares said the 'erratic nature of the president's policies' worsens the problem. 'If individuals and businesses knew significantly in advance what the tariff policies are, they could plan for the future,' Valladares said. 'Uncertainty and volatility make it very difficult for consumers or businesses to figure out how to budget for tariffs.' Learn More: Industries like construction, agriculture and retail are vulnerable, because they rely heavily on imported materials and goods. 'You might see businesses cutting back, which could lead to fewer jobs or reduced hours in manufacturing, construction and retail,' said George Carrillo, CEO of the Hispanic Construction Council (HCC). These slowdowns hit hardest in regions where local economies depend on vulnerable sectors and lead to fewer opportunities and greater financial insecurity. 'States in the Midwest and South that depend on manufacturing and farming are expected to bear the brunt of these economic policies,' Carrillo said. 'The Pacific Northwest is also likely to struggle as major companies, like Nike, Adidas and Colombia Sportswear, headquartered in the region face rising costs and potential disruptions.' Carrillo added, 'It's a tough spot for workers and businesses in these areas as they face rising costs and shrinking margins.' Rising tariffs are quietly driving up the cost of dining out, making restaurant meals less affordable for middle-class families. As ingredient prices climb, many restaurants are passing those increases on to customers and turning even casual meals into budget concerns. According to the food blog Eat This, Not That, here's why middle-class diners could see price hikes on some of their favorite menu items. Guacamole and avocado-based dishes: 90% of avocados consumed in the U.S. come from Mexico. Salsa and tomato-based sauces: The U.S. relies on Mexico for tomatoes. Fresh salads: Imported produce from Mexico and Canada. Imported beer and alcohol: Many popular beers come from Mexico. Beef and meat-centric dishes: The U.S. imports a portion of its beef from Canada. Supply chain issues are worsening under Trump's trade policies, causing periodic shortages of essential products. Electronics, certain food items and auto parts are becoming harder to find, and these gaps in availability can raise prices even further. These disruptions not only frustrate consumers but also create instability for retailers and manufacturers already coping with higher costs. Carrillo said the ripple effects of supply chain shortages can add stress to households and increase the likelihood that consumers will rely on credit cards to cover rising expenses. 'This can create long-term financial problems if interest starts piling up,' Carrillo said. 'To manage these challenges, focus on sticking to a budget, look for savings through coupons and bulk purchases, and explore ways to bring in extra income or build new skills.' Editor's note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on More From GOBankingRates Surprising Items People Are Stocking Up On Before Tariff Pains Hit: Is It Smart? 7 Tax Loopholes the Rich Use To Pay Less and Build More Wealth 5 Little-Known Ways to Make Summer Travel More Affordable Warren Buffett: 10 Things Poor People Waste Money On Sources Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gross Domestic Product, 1st Quarter 2025 (Advanced Estimate) Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, MRV Associates George Carrillo, Hispanic Construction Council Eat This, Not That, '10 Menu Items Getting More Expensive as New Tariffs Start.' This article originally appeared on 4 Red Flags for the Middle Class After Trump's First 100 Days Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chilean soccer team Colo Colo to challenge ban imposed after two teenage fans were killed
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chilean club Colo Colo said on Thursday it will appeal a ruling that it must play five home matches in continental competition without fans and that its supporters will be banned from the next five away matches. South American soccer's governing body CONMEBOL confirmed the bans Wednesday after two teenage fans were killed in a crush ahead of a Copa Libertadores match last month. Advertisement 'It is a hard penalty for Colo Colo and we will appeal,' team president Edmundo Valladares said. 'We hope that we can overturn it, at least in part." Two fans died before the start of a Copa Libertadores match between Colo Colo and Fortaleza of Brazil near Santiago's Estadio Monumental on April 10. According to authorities, a group of fans attempted to force their way into the stadium and tore down one of the venue's protective fences. The victims were reportedly trapped beneath them. 'Let's also hope that this experience serves to ... make fans more aware,' Valladares added. CONMEBOL also ruled that Fortaleza won the match 3-0 and Colo Colo must pay a fine of $80,000. Advertisement 'The penalty is hard — it hurts us on the field if we lose 3-0 and the economic side also hits us. But we will present the best appeal possible,' Valladares said. Colo Colo, the winningest club in Chile with 32 league championships, is last in its group in Copa Libertadores after the first three rounds. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Chilean soccer team Colo Colo to challenge ban imposed after two teenage fans were killed
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chilean club Colo Colo said on Thursday it will appeal a ruling that it must play five home matches in continental competition without fans and that its supporters will be banned from the next five away matches. South American soccer's governing body CONMEBOL confirmed the bans Wednesday after two teenage fans were killed in a crush ahead of a Copa Libertadores match last month. 'It is a hard penalty for Colo Colo and we will appeal,' team president Edmundo Valladares said. 'We hope that we can overturn it, at least in part.' Two fans died before the start of a Copa Libertadores match between Colo Colo and Fortaleza of Brazil near Santiago's Estadio Monumental on April 10. According to authorities, a group of fans attempted to force their way into the stadium and tore down one of the venue's protective fences. The victims were reportedly trapped beneath them. 'Let's also hope that this experience serves to … make fans more aware,' Valladares added. CONMEBOL also ruled that Fortaleza won the match 3-0 and Colo Colo must pay a fine of $80,000. 'The penalty is hard — it hurts us on the field if we lose 3-0 and the economic side also hits us. But we will present the best appeal possible,' Valladares said. Colo Colo, the winningest club in Chile with 32 league championships, is last in its group in Copa Libertadores after the first three rounds. ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Pairing Artwork and Movies on display at Peoria Riverfront Museum
PEORIA, Ill (WMBD) — Like a Sommelier pairs wine with food, Peoria Riverfront Museum guest curator Carlos Valladares pairs artwork with films for a unique event at the museum this weekend. The Frame to Frame: Film Meets Art series ends Saturday with a full day of movies and discussions regarding the pertinent artwork chosen by Valladares. The day starts off with Akeelah and the Bee (2006), at 10 a.m., then goes to Hard Truths (2024), at 2:30 p.m.. The last movie of the day is the 1979 feature about the ground-breaking comedian from Peoria, Richard Pryor: Live in Concert at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for each movie range from $6.50 to $10.50 and are available at the Peoria Riverfront Museum website. The museum is located on Peoria's Riverfront at 222 SW Washington St. Valladares told WMBD This Morning that events like this show there's 'really no museum, at all, nationally, like the Peoria Riverfront Museum. It's really really special.' And don't worry if you can't make the movies, the artwork being featured is on display. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Column: Republican Latinos are rising in California. Now there's a caucus for them
On election day last year, a conversation with family members confirmed Suzette Martinez Valladares' hunch that Latino Republicans were about to shock California. 'I swear they were socialists when they were, like, 20,' the Acton-based state senator said of her relatives while we ate lunch at a restaurant in Santa Ana. 'But then [one of them] sent me a photo of voting for [Donald] Trump. I was like, 'What is going on here? I never thought I would see this day.'' To Valladares' right was fellow GOP Latina Kate Sanchez, an Assembly member whose district stretches from Mission Viejo to Temecula. 'He can't afford to buy a house and is frustrated,' Valladares continued about her family member, whom she declined to identify because he's not publicly out as a Trump voter. 'And I think a lot of Latino voters felt the same way. So I think it's a huge opening for Republicans in the state, and I think it's the beginning of a shift that I want to make sure we're jumping on.' Read more: Opinion: Why California's Latino voters are shifting toward Trump and Republicans The two are founders and co-chairs of the new California Hispanic Legislative Caucus, the latest attempt at an official group for Latino Republicans in the statehouse. It formed as a response to the 51-year-old Latino Legislative Caucus, a Sacramento powerhouse that has never admitted GOP members. 'When you're not welcome at the table, you learn to build your own,' said Sanchez, 36. She's quieter than Valladares and reels off political cliches that nevertheless land with conviction. 'So I think it was a blessing. When we were reelected [last year], we were like, 'The timing is now, and we're doing it.'' Although Kamala Harris handily won the state, some of Trump's biggest gains over his 2020 run were in Latino-heavy counties in the Central Valley and L.A. County cities like Downey and Huntington Park. Valladares, who previously served as an Assembly member, won an open Senate seat. Meanwhile, Jeff Gonzalez and Leticia Castillo scored upsets in their Inland Empire Assembly races against Latino Democrats backed by the area's long-standing political machine. Those wins pushed the number of Latino GOP legislators in Sacramento to nine, more than doubling the previous high of four, set two years ago. Latinos now make up nearly a third of Sacramento GOP legislators — a once-unthinkable scenario in a state where the party turned off Latino voters for a generation by pursuing a slew of xenophobic measures in the 1990s. It's a legacy that Sanchez and Valladares freely acknowledge that opponents will throw at them. 'I think the Republican Party has probably missed a lot of those opportunities' in the past, said Sanchez, as Valladares nodded in agreement. 'But we're going to be doing a great job.' 'I think we've done a lot of work in the last decade,' added Valladares, 44, who is more plainspoken and sharper-tongued than her co-chair. 'And those seeds that we planted have now grown.' The Hispanic GOP caucus is forming at a time when Democrats still hold a supermajority in both of the state's legislative chambers, while the Republican Party nationally has soured on anything with even a hint of multiculturalism. Nevertheless, the two are confident they're onto something. 'Sacramento doesn't know how to read the room,' Valladares said. 'My race was supposed to have been super close. I was preparing to win by five votes, not five points.' 'I want to say the elephant in the room,' Sanchez added. Trump had been a "tough issue" with Latino voters — but "not so much anymore." Of the two, Sanchez had the more conventional conservative upbringing, growing up in Rancho Santa Margarita and Mission Viejo before attending a small Catholic college in Rhode Island. After working at a conservative think tank and as a staffer for Republican U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, Sanchez ran for an Assembly seat in 2022 against then-Temecula Mayor Matt Rahn. He finished first in the primary as the establishment favorite and had a sizeable cash advantage going into the general election. 'I didn't quite fit the mold of what the party expected me to be like and look like,' Sanchez, who is of Italian and Mexican descent, said before smiling. 'It's the worst thing to tell a Latina.' She wore out three pairs of walking shoes to win a wealthy district where Latinos make up 22% of the population, calling her victory a 'testament to a need, a momentum and openness to have a Hispanic female' in the seat. In the 2024 election, she crushed her Democratic opponent by 23 percentage points. Valladares grew up in Sylmar, 'the most conservative' member in a working-class family where her father's Mexican American side leaned to the right while her maternal Puerto Rican relatives were 'very progressive.' Morning drives to Sylmar High with an uncle introduced her to Rush Limbaugh. She didn't appreciate when a counselor insisted she should register as a Democrat because she was Latina. Read more: Barred from joining Democratic-led Latino Caucus, California Republican lawmakers create their own 'I was represented by Democrats at every level, from city council to county supervisor,' Valladares said. 'On Sundays, my park would be closed because of the gangs. I remember a bunch of my friends having kids when I was in 11th grade. So I'm like, 'If we're represented by Democrats who are in total power, why is my community still suffering?'' In an alternative universe, Valladares nevertheless could have been a part of the fabled San Fernando Valley political machine that has placed Latinos from the region at every level of political office for the past 30 years, from school boards to the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Alex Padilla. Pioneering Valley politician Cindy Montañez helped Valladares with her college entrance essay, starting a friendship that lasted until Montañez's death in 2023. Valladares also volunteered on the unsuccessful 2001 L.A. City Council race of then-Assemblymember Tony Cárdenas, who later won election to the council and went on to represent the Pacoima area in Congress for 12 years. She described Cárdenas as a 'great person' and felt the 2001 race was a 'sad loss.' But her experience on the Democrat's campaign only solidified her choice to register as a Republican. 'I didn't feel like they were addressing the economic issues of small-business owners like my dad,' Valladares said. 'I feel like I gave in my younger life the Democrat Party every opportunity to convince me that they were supporting me. And they didn't.' I asked the two what Latino Democratic lawmakers in California don't get about the political moment for Latinos right now. 'There's a hyper-focus on immigration,' said Sanchez, whose first husband was once undocumented. 'Hispanics are so much more of the fabric of California than that one issue. And I think it's a disservice to everybody if all we focus on is that one issue.' Latino Legislative Caucus members would argue that they've worked on behalf of all working-class Californians, I pointed out. Valladares again brought up her Trumper relative. Last summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed an Assembly bill that would have made California residents without papers eligible for a state program that allows first-time home buyers to apply for up for $150,000 in no-interest loans. '[The relative] was so infuriated" with the bill, the senator said. 'He so wants to buy a house. Then this? That is probably what got him to vote for Trump.' Sanchez and Valladares support Trump's call to deport whom the latter described as 'the worst of the worst' but not a full-scale deportation of all unauthorized immigrants. They want to see immigration reform but argue it's a federal issue. Besides, they point out, the Latinos they talk to care more about 'kitchen table' issues. It's a claim supported by years of polls revealing that immigration is of lower importance to Latinos than Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocacy groups would have the public believe. And enmity against illegal immigration among Latinos in California is higher than it has been in decades. 'It's their wedge issue. It's their emotional issue,' Valladares said of Democrats. 'And when you don't have voices that look like us giving an alternate perspective or opinion or policy fix, they dominate it.' She let a beat pass. 'They're used to owning that space. No more.' 'You said it well!' Sanchez said. Read more: Column: Amid Trump Latino gains, is it time to let Republicans into California Latino Legislative Caucus? The Hispanic Legislative Caucus has yet to meet, but the two are already planning. Valladares is inviting Latino GOP pioneers to become emeritus members — people like former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado and Rod Pacheco, who became the first Latino Republican elected to Sacramento in over a century when he won his Inland Empire Assembly seat in the 1990s. Sanchez is outlining a legislative package focusing on what she describes as the 'mandate on affordability, security and good education' that she said Latinos voted for in 2024. The two say they want to allow anyone to join the caucus, regardless of political affiliation. But they also want to help Latino Republicans win local elections and create a bench to ensure that politicians like them remain a presence in Sacramento for years to come, instead of a ridiculed anomaly. 'We are going to champion issues that we know that California Hispanics care about,' Sanchez said when I asked for her concluding message to Latino voters. Valladares directed her closing thoughts to their frenemies over at the Latino Legislative Caucus. 'Our caucus is here to work on these critical issues on behalf of Californians,' she said. 'We're going to do it with or without you.' Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
