Glendale's 1st TV program in Spanish will air Sunday
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 4, 2006

Carrie Watters


Glendale will launch its first Spanish-language television program at 8 a.m.
Sunday on Channel 11, the city cable station.

The show is called Maricopa en Acción and it is produced by Maricopa County with Spanish-speaking former newsman Johnny Dilone.

The magazine-style show covers county-related topics and services to residents. This Sunday's will include a segment on upcoming elections.
Glendale is the first city cable station to pick up the program.

The show comes as Glendale also launches a Spanish version of the city's Web site. Spanish speakers will find key information translated at www.glen daleaz.com.

The city had 49,172 residents who spoke Spanish at home in 2005, or 24 percent of its population. That's up from 17 percent in 2000, according to the U.S. census.

About 55 percent of those who speak Spanish at home say they speak English very well, and 45 percent say they speak English "less than very well."

"It's an important minority that needs to be served," city cable media administrator Laurie Berg Sapp said.

Dilone said the show is a way of reaching out to better explain local government agencies. "When you come from Latin America or other countries, those people do not perceive government agencies the same as we do," he said. "Typically they don't see them working on their side."

In practical terms, this may mean that someone does not call the county when there is a mosquito problem because of the neighbor's green pool. Or if someone gets sick eating at a restaurant, they tell their friends and family but they do not report it to authorities, Dilone said.