Que Pasa? : PEOPLE

When Los Angeles Police Cmdr. Robert S. Gil was promoted last month to the position of deputy chief, he became the highest ranking Latino officer in the history of the department. Gil, married and father of three daughters, has headed the press relations office in the months since the Rodney King beating, which he called the “most stressful job” in his 24 years with LAPD. Gil, 46, holds a master’s degree in public administration from USC. A Los Angeles native raised in a traditional Mexican family, Gil intends to bring to the department “a degree of sensitivity to the Latino culture that hasn’t been there before.” Gil is a founding member and past president of Hispanic Law Enforcement Administrators, which was created to help Latino officers move up the ladder to supervisorial positions.

Supervising producer Sonia Rosario is thrilled to head the development of an innovative multi-cultural public television series to preschoolers, which she said will teach kids of different backgrounds “to be proud of who they are and where they come from.” “The Puzzle Factory” will be produced by KCET in Los Angeles and Lancit Media Productions of New York with $4.5-million funding from the Corp. of Public Broadcasting--its largest programming grant ever for a young children’s series. Its debut is planned for early 1994. Rosario, raised in New York by Puerto Rican parents, worked on documentary films in Japan and at Harvard University, and more recently developed dramatic television series for Columbia Pictures.