Amid fears that millions of people may be overlooked during next year's census, the Census Bureau will launch a $250 million promotional campaign to encourage participation in the decennial head count, especially among hard-to-reach minority groups in urban areas.
More than half those funds will go for advertising across traditional and social media, and nearly a quarter will be devoted exclusively to Asian, black and Hispanic outlets. READ FULL STORYRead more…
Hispanics, once among the smallest of Minnesota's minority groups and predicted to remain so for decades, are now expected to become the state's largest minority group within the next 10 years, the state demographer's office said Monday.
But with a lot more white folks than what experts were predicting as recently as the mid-1990s, Minnesota will also remain overwhelmingly white through the early part of this century. READ FULL STORYRead more…
Beleaguered Citigroup is upgrading its mile-high club with a brand-new $50 million corporate jet - only this time, it's the taxpayers who are getting screwed.
Even though the bank's stock is as cheap as a gallon of gas and it's burning through a $45 billion taxpayer-funded rescue, the airhead execs pushed through the purchase of a new Dassault Falcon 7X, according to a source familiar with the deal. READ FULL STORYRead more…
America has long been the envy of the rest of the world, and for good reason. Over the past century, the United States has harnessed its economic, scientific, cultural and educational resources to produce remarkable achievements in every field of human endeavor. But with nations like China and India emerging as major powers, many argue that U.S. dominance will soon be eclipsed, and what is known as the American Century will soon be over. Our fate is far from sealed, though. Whether America surmounts its challenges or slides to the middle of the pack will likely depend on its fastest-growing segment: the Latino community. READ FULL STORYRead more…
Attendees of the Latino inaugural ball spoke of the huge stake they say Latinos hold in the incoming administration of Barack Obama.
"We are so hopeful, the Latino community came out in big numbers for him because of the hope and the dreams that he has placed in front of us," said Illinois senator Iris Martinez, (D) Chicago.
At the 2009 event, the Obama-inspired hope was flowing like the fountain in the Organization of American States building lobby.
The event was sponsored by the Hispanic Leadership Institute, headed by Chicago's Juan Andrade who told ABC7 Latinos need improved healthcare, education and job opportunities. CLICK FOR FULL STORY & TO VIEW VIDEORead more…
U.S. civil rights leaders today said an increase in hate crimes committed against Hispanics and people perceived to be immigrants in recent years "correlates closely" to the nation's increasingly contentious debate over immigration, faulting anti-immigrant rhetoric in the media and extremist group mobilization on the Internet.
Hate crimes targeted against Hispanic Americans increased 40 percent between 2003 and 2007, the most recent year in which FBI statistics are available, from 426 to 595 incidents, marking the fourth consecutive year of increases. READ FULL STORYRead more…
The immigration issue has receded in importance for Latinos amid their mounting alarm over the economy, according to a nationwide poll released yesterday by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center.
Only 31 percent of Latinos surveyed cited immigration as an "extremely important" priority for the incoming Obama administration, ranking the issue behind not only the economy but education, health care, national security and the environment. READ FULL STORYRead more…
Singers Marc Anthony and Paulina Rubio are among entertainers slated to perform at the upcoming Latino Inaugural Gala in Washington, organizers said.
Also confirmed to participate in the Jan. 18 festivities at Union Station are Rosario Dawson, Tony Plana, War, Cucu Diamantes & Yerba Buena, Elida Reyna and Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano. READ FULL STORYRead more…
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is withdrawing his nomination to be commerce secretary, citing the distraction of a federal investigation into ties to a company that has done business with his state.
Two Democratic officials told CNN the investigation involves a California company that won municipal bond business in New Mexico after contributing money to various Richardson causes.
In a statement Sunday, Richardson said he asked Obama "not to move forward" with his nomination now. READ FULL STORYRead more…
Barack Obama's inauguration is still nearly two months away, but you can already hear the thawing sound over the Florida Strait. Latin America experts anticipate that Obama will quickly make good on his campaign promise to "immediately" revoke the restrictions imposed by George W. Bush in 2004 that severely limit Cuban-American travel and remittances home. Obama has also vowed to shut the Guantánamo Bay prison, long a gringo thumb in the eye to Cubans (and all Latin Americans). READ FULL STORYRead more…
The Latino presence in the suburban political arena will take an important role in this spring’s Municipal Elections. Eira Corral, a seventeen year resident of the Village of Hanover Park, IL and community organizer is running for the Village’s open seat for Village Clerk. With over thirty percent of Latino residents, the municipality has the tenth largest Latino community outside of the City of Chicago and has the youngest demographic composition in the Northwest suburbs.
"Hanover Park is a young, diverse, and vibrant community and it should be represented by someone who reflects the interests of the village, engages community members, and is invested in their leadership development," said Ms. Corral. "The Village Clerk is one of the first local government officials that residents and business owners have an opportunity to meet. Building a strong relationship with members that are invested in Hanover Park is essential for the growth of the Village." Latino businesses are a vital piece for the economic progress of Hanover Park, IL. The advancement of small businesses will be promoted in supporting the recently established Hanover Park Chamber of Commerce through initiatives that encourage new investment and the development of entrepreneurial skills.
Citing a need for progress that presses for open government, accountability and efficiency, Hanover Park residents have formally established the Hanover Park Progress Party to provide voters an alternative to the status quo in the non-partisan municipal elections of April 7, 2009. Inclusion is a key value for the Progress Party by connecting community members and building awareness of community resources available to residents. “We are a community represented by several taxing bodies: two congressional districts, two state senate districts, two counties, several school districts and township governments, etc. Having access to all these jurisdictions should be an asset for Hanover Park in providing residents with the best services. This can only be achieved through networking and developing strong partnerships,” states Ms. Corral.
Core issues for the Village also include Efficient Energy Solutions and Public Safety. Being a part of the Wind Turbine Alliance, Eira believes, “is the Village’s commitment to finding innovative energy alternatives by developing policies that require local action, collaboration with regional and state entities, and that have a global impact.” Supporting the Hanover Park Police Department by increasing the number of police officers to progressively meet the minimum requirements will require strategic planning that involves a review of the budgetary process and being complimented by the Crime Prevention Advisory Board, recently established by Village President Rod Craig, and community policing efforts.
Eira Corral has been active in engaging the community of Hanover Park through her involvement in local parishes and community organizations. Ms. Corral has been appointed Village President Craig to the Cultural Inclusion and Diversity Committee for the Village of Hanover Park, IL. She has worked with Centro de Información of Hanover Park, IL, in mentoring students from Ontarioville Elementary School and has been a committed supporter of the Annual Mental Health Fair. She organizes leaders in Hanover Park to coordinate community outreach events: Immigration Workshops, Consumer Protection Seminars with the Office of Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Property Tax Relief Assistance, and Surviving this Economic Crisis Symposium, among other initiatives in Hanover Park, IL.
Her professional experience has been with the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI), a national, non-profit and non-partisan organization. She manages several of the USHLI Programs to develop Latino civic participation and leadership development for high school and college students, community leaders, and Latino professionals. She has engaged and trained young leaders in strategizing a voter registration campaign and Get Out the Vote campaign that has led to the civic participation for the 2008 election of over 62,000 eligible voters in more than eleven states. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts from DePaul University with a double major in Political Science and Latino & Latin American Studies and a double minor in Community Service Studies and Commercial Spanish.
Eira Corral looks forward to representing her community of Hanover Park, IL as Village Clerk using her skills to promote leadership, inclusion, and efficiency.
- Press Release -
Contact: Eira Corral
eira_corral@yahoo.com
Read more…
During the presidential election, Latino voters provided strong support to then-candidate Barack Obama as he promised immigration reform. But the nation's economic crisis has now taken center stage, with many Latinos wondering if he can deliver on his campaign promise. READ FULL STORY & HEAR AUDIORead more…
With his choice of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary, President-elect Barack Obama broke with tradition, putting a longtime public servant in a position that has recently been held by private-sector executives.
Richardson, who was one of Obama's rivals for the Democratic nomination, has spent almost his entire career in prominent government roles -- as a governor, congressman, United Nations ambassador and energy secretary. Obama cited the range of Richardson's experience in naming him to his economic team Wednesday, saying he would be a domestic strategist and "a leading economic diplomat." READ FULL STORYRead more…
A small but significant decline has occurred during the current recession in the share of Latino immigrants active in the U.S. labor force, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.
The proportion of working-age Latino immigrants active in the labor force has fallen, at least through the third quarter of 2008, while the proportion of all non-Hispanics as well as of native-born Hispanics has held steady. Among Hispanic immigrants, the decrease is sharpest among those from Mexico and those who arrived in the U.S. since 2000. Also, the increase in the number of foreign-born Latinos in the labor force is much smaller than previous years. READ FULL ARTICLERead more…
Diversity within the group of men -- and still only men -- who have been president of the United States will change significantly when Barack Obama is sworn in next month.
But when he looks across the highest level of civil servants managing the government, he'll see a mixed bag when it comes to improving the diversity of the federal Senior Executive Service. A new report by the Government Accountability Office says representation of women and people of color in the senior corps grew overall between October 2000 and September 2007, but not at all agencies. Representation at the departments of Agriculture, Education, and Health and Human Services fell in certain categories, and sometimes those dives were steep. READ FULL STORYRead more…
President George W. Bush couldn't fix it. Neither could several sessions of Congress.
But several groups in the Bay Area are already sending their immigration policy suggestions to President-elect Barack Obama, hoping he can break the stalemate that for years has prevented lawmakers from enacting comprehensive immigration reform.
"Immigration is going to be kind of sticky, but I know he's going to do something," said the Rev. Marvin Webb of Richmond's Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church.
Webb paid a visit last week to Washington, D.C., part of a delegation of East Bay faith leaders who led a prayer rally outside the U.S. Treasury and met with Melody Barnes, a member of Obama's transition team, to talk about foreclosures and immigration. READ FULL STORYRead more…
Barack Obama's election as U.S. president has provoked a rise in hate crimes against ethnic minorities, civil rights groups said on Monday.
Hundreds of incidents of abuse or intimidation apparently motivated by racial hatred have been reported since the November 4 election, though most have not involved violence, said the Southern Poverty Law Center.
White supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Council of Conservative Citizens have seen a flood of interest from possible new members since the landmark election of the first black president in U.S. history. READ FULL STORYRead more…
Danielle Soto isn't wasting any time transitioning from college to a career in the family business.
The 22-year-old environmental studies senior will be sworn into the Pomona City Council on Dec. 15, two days after her last final this week. She won election Nov. 5 to a seat once held by her grandmother, Nell Soto, who went on to serve in the California Assembly and Senate, retiring this year at age 81.
Her grandfather, the late Philip Soto, was one of the first two Latinos elected to the Assembly in 1962. He served two terms before losing his seat in Ronald Reagan's landslide win for governor. READ FULL STORYRead more…
Barack Obama borrowed more from the immigrant labour movement than just a slogan.
Just as Latinos historically had marched for worker rights to the chants of "Yes, we can," ("Si, se puede"), they organised and stumped by the thousands this year to help elect Obama.
Although they initially leaned more toward Hillary Clinton, Latinos threw support to Obama by 67% nationwide, increasing their turnout, delivering several key states and gaining clout in the Democratic party. READ FULL STORYRead more…
What's made up of five women, four African-Americans, three Latinos, two Republicans and two Asians, including a Nobel Prize winner?
The answer: President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet.
Obama is taking the big-tent approach to governing and wanted a Cabinet that stretches the tent wide.
"I think people will feel that we followed through on our commitment to make sure that this is not only an administration that is diverse ethnically, but it's also diverse politically and it's diverse in terms of people's life experience," Obama said December 16.
It might be diverse, but not everyone is happy. Some women's groups are disappointed. Among Obama's strongest backers during the election, they now say they don't have enough seats at the table. READ FULL STORYRead more…
