By: Cynthia Moreno
SACRAMENTO - Sylvia Méndez was eight years old when she was turned away and denied admission to her local school for being Mexican.
She was also banned from going to the community pool, from eating at local restaurants or using the bathrooms. She couldn't live in the same neighborhood where the "white" families lived.
But, she wasn't the only one.
Virtually all children and families of Mexican descent were living in a time of discrimination and segregation.
By: Elaine Woo
Former state Sen. Ruben S. Ayala, a scrappy Democrat from Chino who fought for a controversial water project and helped create the California Conservation Corps during a legislative career that ran for 24 years until term limits forced him out, died of natural causes Wednesday in Ontario. He was 89.
His death was confirmed by his son Maurice.
