Que pasa? : PEOPLE AND EVENTS

* Frank H. Cruz, a former Los Angeles television reporter and general manager of KVEA Channel 52, envisions the Latino Museum of History, Art and Culture as a showcase for Latinos’ heritage and their contributions to America. Cruz has been appointed executive director of the museum with the responsibility of turning the dream into reality. Cruz hopes the new museum will be “a vehicle of great pride” in the Latino community, as well as an informational resource for non-Latinos. His first tasks, he said, are fund raising and to find a temporary or permanent site for the museum.

* Dr. Aliza Lifshitz is intimately involved with Latino health care issues as an internist, health reporter for the Univision television network and as the newly elected president of California Hispanic-American Medical Assn. Lifshitz, who was born and received her medical degree in Mexico City, says “health care is in crisis for everyone, but more so for people who have to deal with a different language or cultural approach to getting it.” Her role, the Westside physician said, is to work toward solutions in medical care and to raise the awareness in the Latino community about preventive health and how to gain access to the health care system.