Mutually Inclusive

US Attorney Patrick Miles focused his presentation on the efforts to help ex-convicts re-enter society and to unnecessary federal sentences for nonviolent offenders whose case could be handled by the state. For example:

“We are going to charge the drug trafficking organizations, the people who are part of an organization selling drugs. A small quantity in the possession of an individual, that’s really not a federal case.”

Following the death of Chief Justice Antonin Scalia, West Michigan immigration reform advocates gathered to call on the Supreme Court to affirm deferred action. 

“You wake up every day and then you realize, this could be the last I’m going to see my family.”

That’s Kevin Curiel-Vazquez, speaking at the Hispanic Center of West Michigan about his fears growing up undocumented. When President Barak Obama signed deferred action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, his whole life changed.

WGVU Public Television premiers its newest local show, Mutually Inclusive, tonight at 11. We speak with host Mariano Avila this morning to get a preview.

WGVU held the first Mutually Inclusive Town Hall last week, the topic was Sex Trafficking in Michigan. It is hard enough to talk about it when discussing other countries. But here in Michigan it’s not a foreign concept. The first Mutually Inclusive program on WGVU started the conversation telling the stories of two survivors. Here is one, Deborah Monroe:

We begin a new regular spotlight on diversity with WGVU Inclusion Reporter Mariano Avila. We begin by talking about the new television program, Mutually Inclusive, which premieres February 15th,  at 11 pm on WGVU Public Television.

Michigan blood is looking for donors with blood type O negative and to bring you out, they’re offering a $10 gift card to the retail store Target.

“O negative blood is a universal blood type, which means that anybody in a trauma situation or a serious illness can take O- blood.”

That’s Carleen Crawford, Community Relations Director at Michigan Blood. She says this is a particularly challenging time of year to get blood of any kind.

Kent County is celebrating 15 years of what it calls Intentional Diversity & Inclusion Efforts. We take a look at the mission and areas the county will address in the coming years.

In the year 2000, Commissioners set out to make the county workplace more inclusive and diverse. It formed the Cultural Insight Council outlining a plan focusing on three areas.