School board makes cuts to classified staff

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a list of more than 29 classified positions that could be cut.
The layoffs include five administrative secretaries, two groundskeepers, four custodians, five computer technicians, as well as bus drivers, clerks and other school employees.
California School Employees Association president Briton Carr said the classified workers'...

http://www.register-pajaronian.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=8422&page=72

Posted by Ramiro Andrade

Murder victim’s family keeps faith in God

"We're glad they're caught," said Eva Barrera, grandmother of Angel Escobedo, the Hollister teen who was murdered on a Watsonville basketball court on March 21. "It will save other people's lives if they are in jail."
Barrera was one of a number of Escobedo's family members who attended Tuesday's court date for the two men accused of murdering their...

http://www.register-pajaronian.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=8420&page=72

Posted by Ramiro Andrade

City mulls loans for affordable housing

Watsonville's city leaders will consider committing more than $2 million to two low-income housing projects today, loaning two separate agencies more than $1 million each at 3 percent interest over 35 years.
The city's Redevelopment Agency plans to loan Mid Peninsula Housing Coalition $1,125,000 to help the nonprofit organization purchase the Sunny Meadows Apartments at 220 Ross Ave.
http://www.register-pajaronian.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=8407&page=72

Posted by Ramiro Andrade

NALEO Educational Fund

(posted by Jesus Galindo)

LOS ANGELES, CA –The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund issued the following statement regarding the announcement by U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) of his core principles for comprehensive immigration reform legislation:

“We praise Representative Gutierrez for continuing to provide critical leadership that is sustaining the momentum in our nation’s dialogue about comprehensive immigration reform. Many of the core principles he outlined resonate with those articulated by our Board as the framework for achieving fair and humane policies to fix our broken immigration system. We strongly support comprehensive immigration reform that provides a path to U.S. citizenship for those immigrants who have played by the rules and are contributing to our society. We also envision a system which promotes family reunification and reduces immigration backlogs; provides a meaningful opportunity for immigrant students to pursue a college education; protects our national security with effective and fair enforcement measures; and promotes the civic integration of newcomers.
For the rest of the article please follow the link.

http://http//www.naleo.org/pr/pr10-13-09.html

Spanglish: Blending the languages

BY KARA SPAK Staff Reporter

They speak in English and en espanol.

And overwhelmingly, today’s young Latinos also speak a third unofficial dialect: “Spanglish.’’

“One day it’s going to be its own language,” joked Vanessa Quintana, a 22-year-old Columbia College senior, of the Spanish-English hybrid. “My closest girlfriends are not Latino, but even with them, when I’m text messaging, I’ll throw in a Spanish phrase.”

For full article click here.

[POSTED BY: DAISY ALEJANDRA CUEVAS]

More than 45,000 make up New Generation Latinos

BY KARA SPAK Staff Reporter

More than 45,000 young professional Latinos throughout the Chicago area are members of the 10-year-old online Chicago Latino Network.

Founder Jaime Viteri sends out online newsletters — in English — about professional and social events to members, another sign of the growth of the young English-speaking Latino demographic.

For full article click here.

[POSTED BY: DAISY ALEJANDRA CUEVAS]

El Paso Hispanic entrepreneurs honored

El Paso Hispanic entrepreneurs honored
The Latino Journal E-News, Vol. 2, Issue 2

Hispanic entrepreneurs always have played an integral role in El Paso’s business and economic growth. Often rising from humble beginnings, these passionate entrepreneurs relied on hard work and integrity to reach what some told them were unattainable goals.


http://latinobusinessreview.blogspot.com/2009/10/el-paso-hispanic-entrepreneurs-honored.html

(posted by Alejandra Franco)

Univision, feds team up to boost Hispanic ed

By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ AP Hispanic Affairs Writer
Posted: 02/23/2010 08:59:41 AM MST

MIAMI—Univision has kicked off a multiyear, multimillion dollar campaign to boost academic achievement among Hispanics in the United States.

The Spanish-language network unveiled its "The Moment is Now" campaign Tuesday in partnership with the federal government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The goal is to help parents understand what's needed to ensure their children are ready for college and can afford it—highlighting best practices from local educators and communities nationwide.


http://www.elpasotimes.com/nationworld/ci_14454294

posted by (Alejandra Franco)

Crecimiento de población latina es tendencia dominante

Por Luis Ángel Galván
Especial La Estrella Digital

RICHARD W. RODRIGUEZ
Roberto Calderón considera que los resultados del reporte es un indicio de la representatividad futura de los latinos.
DALLAS — El crecimiento de la población inmigrante latina es una tendencia dominante para el futuro inmediato, responde a fuerzas económicas, y su futuro dependerá de actitudes locales y nacionales hacia los inmigrantes.

De acuerdo al reporte llamado Progreso 2010, presentado por la Alianza Internacional de Dallas-Fort Worth (DFWIA del inglés) y que enfoca el impacto de la inmigración en el Metroplex, la ciudad de Dallas contiene el 43 por ciento de población latina.

La antropóloga Mariela Núñez Jones, profesora asociada de la University of North Texas (UNT), dijo que es un fenómeno demográfico nacional de una trayectoria histórica, que a pesar de resistencias políticas y culturales continúa arraigándose.

Núñez Jones dijo que el impacto demográfico implica las oportunidades pero también los obstáculos.

“El papel que los latinos puedan jugar en ciudades en las cuales son casi mayoría, depende de un complejo de factores de carácter macro, como por ejemplo políticas locales y nacionales que tengan que ver con la inmigración y el papel de la lengua en la educación, economía, etcétera; y de carácter micro: actitudes culturales y personales, situaciones de familia, etc.”, explicó la antropóloga.


http://www.diariolaestrella.com/2010/02/26/110260/crecimiento-de-poblacion-latina.html

[Posted by Aaron Mendez]

Latino Childhood Development Opportunity

Posted by David Kilmartin.

Washington DC,

According to reports, states have the opportunity to apply for an additional $8 billion in funding for Latino development, particularly to early educational institutions, such as daycare and preschools.

The articles stresses the importance of assistance for Latino schools and communities, pointing out that aside form California, the entirety of states lack proper guidelines for minorities, particularly Latinos, and that federal assistance and Congressional backing is practically required for youths of the Latino community to have a more equal footing in education and their future.

Link:
Story by Erika Beltran

Caribbeans urged to write in ancestry on US Census

MIAMI -- Identify yourself as being of "Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin" on the 2010 U.S. Census questionnaire, and you will get to be more specific about your ancestry, such as Mexican-American, Cuban or Puerto Rican.

full article here

[Posted by Kimberly Vasquez]

Fright Night on the left

By RUBEN NAVARRETTE JR.

San Diego Union-Tribune

With the midterm elections approaching, liberal Democrats have a simple strategy for reaching out to Latino voters: fear and loathing. The idea is to convince Latinos to fear Republican candidates by telling them how much the GOP loathes them.

It’s insulting. Here you have a constituency that has, in every presidential race dating back to the “Viva Kennedy” campaign of 1960, handed over the majority of their votes on Election Day to Democrats. And all they get in return is an outreach effort that says, “Hey, the other guys are so bad, you have to vote for us.”

Republicans, for their part, play right into the Democrats’ hands by giving them plenty of material to work with.

Consider Tom Tancredo, the former Republican congressman from Colorado. This modern-day know-nothing has long used nativist rhetoric to scare up votes and political donations. In a recent speech to tea party activists, Tancredo again waved the white sheet in discussing President Obama. According to Tancredo, Obama was elected thanks to “people who could not even spell the word ‘vote,’ or say it in English.”

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/02/19/1982204/fright-night-on-the-left.html

[Posted by Aaron Mendez]

GOP hopes to capitalize on Latino disappointment with Obama

WASHINGTON — As one of the first Latinos in the nation to endorse Barack Obama, Democratic state Sen. Gilbert Cedillo of Los Angeles campaigned hard for the president, but he's disappointed now.

The reason: Obama has yet to do anything on a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws, as he promised to do when he ran for president.

"I think he's in danger of breaking the spirit of solidarity and hope," Cedillo said. "More than a broken promise, it's the danger of breaking people's sense of hope in the Latino community."

While the president carried the Latino vote by large margins 15 months ago, many Republicans are out to capitalize on Latino dissatisfaction with Obama and Washington's Democratic leaders. They think that could help them immensely in the 2010 elections.

Republican candidates will gain ground from Latinos once Latinos realize "that what the Democrats offer is just a bunch of empty promises," said Hector Barajas, a communications consultant for the California State Senate Republican Caucus.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/02/15/1969492/gop-hopes-to-capitalize-on-latino.html

[Posted by Aaron Mendez]

Mexican military finds tons of pot behind cookies

BY SANDRA DIBBLE, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2010 AT 12:03 A.M.

More than 15 tons of marijuana seized by the Mexican military was displayed to the media yesterday in Tijuana. Mario López Castro, the driver of the confiscated tractor-trailer, stood between two Mexican soldiers. David Maung

At a military checkpoint between Mexicali and San Felipe, soldiers peering into a truck discovered more than 15 tons of marijuana hidden behind a stack of cookie boxes, authorities announced yesterday.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/24/mexican-military-finds-tons-of-pot-behind-cookies/

Posted by Alex Sobieski

Chicana Scholars to Celebrate Womens history month at UTSA

The UTSA Women's Studies Institute will celebrate National Women's History Month -- for the 25th year in a row -- with what organizer Larissa M. Mercado-Lopez describes as a "dynamic calendar" that includes an opening reception, several discussions lead by Chicana and Latina scholars and participation in the annual International Women's Day March on Saturday, March 6.

Nationally, the month's theme is to "write women back into history." Locally, the theme is "Testimonios: Celebrating Our Stories." They are really one in the same: to remember the stories of mujeres not included in mainstream history.

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/latinlife/

Posted by Victoria Bell

5 top Tijuana cops accused of working with gang

BY SANDRA DIBBLE, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 AT 12:03 A.M.

TIJUANA — Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos’ administration has been dealt a severe blow with the detention of five top police officers accused of collaborating with a violent drug gang believed responsible for the deaths of numerous municipal officers.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/10/5-top-officers-accused-of-working-with-gang/

Posted by Alex Sobieski

Gunmen storm town in southern Mexico, killing 13 people, including rancher and his sons

IXTLI X. MARTINEZ Associated Press Writer

OAXACA, Mexico (AP) — Gunmen stormed a rural town in southern Mexico and killed 13 people, while the U.S. government warned Americans against traveling to cities in a northern border state where shootouts have left slain 19 people over three days.Hooded assailants in several cars killed nine police officers at a checkpoint in San Vicente Camalote, a town in southern Oaxaca state, state deputy attorney general Netolin Chavez said Wednesday.The gunmen then burst into the ranch of Alfonso Maciel, killing him and his three sons, one of whom was a minor, Chavez said. He said investigators believe the attack Tuesday night was related to drugs, but he had no other details.

For more here

[Posted by Julia Martinez]

Racist Police in NYC

The police of New York has constantly been stopping people of black and Latino descent. More than 84 percent of the people stopped where of black and Latino background. Police stops these innocent people for no apparent reason and justify it with dumb excuses like the wrong clothing for the season.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/opinion/02herbert.html

Posted by Enedina Garcia

Latinas and gangs in Chicago

April is a 13 year old Latina who is struggling to keep out of the gang life in her neighborhood. She is a former member of the female chapter of the gang Latin Kings. Her brother was assassinated and she swore to take revenge, that is why she joined Latin Kings. April's counselor, Araceli Hurtado has been her model and the reason why she got out of the gang. Leaving the gang was very difficult for April up to the point that she has attempted suicide. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/us/21cnclatina.html?scp=1&sq=latinos%20&st=cse

Posted by Enedina Garcia

Literacy program gets $50,000 grant

$50,000 from the Community Foundation for Monterey County will allow the Alisal Health Families Resource Center to continue its literacy program for Spanish speaking adults. The program focuses on enrolling parents with younger children.

http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20100128/NEWS01/1280316/0/NEWS07/Literacy+program+gets++50+000+grant&theme=GOODNEWS

[posted by Andrew Brown]

Coalición inmigrante emplaza a Western Union (Immigrant coalition summons Western Union to court)

Una organización de Illinois emplazó a Western Union a devolver a sus clientes 17 millones de dólares confiscados "ilegalmente" por el estado de Arizona, con la amenaza de un posible boicot nacional contra la empresa de envío de dinero.
El plazo máximo para negociar la devolución será el 21 de marzo próximo, día de la Marcha por América en Washington D.C., que se espera congregue a decenas de miles de personas en el Día de la Inmigración y en reclamo de una reforma migratoria, dijo a Efe el director ejecutivo de la Coalición de Illinois para los Derechos de Inmigrantes y Refugiados (ICIRR), Joshua Hoyt.

(Translation) An organization of Illinois summoned to court to Western Union to return its clients 17 million dollars confiscated "illegally" by the state of Arizona, with the threat of a possible national boycott against the shipper of money. The maximum time limit to negotiate the refund will be March 21 next, day of the March by America in Washington D.C., that expects congregate to scores of thousands of people in the Day of the Immigration and in claim of a migratory reform, told Efe the executive director of the Coalition of Illinois for the Rights of Immigrants and Refugees (ICIRR), Joshua Hoyt.
http://www.impre.com/laopinion/inmigracion/2010/2/17/coalicion-inmigrante-emplaza-a-173713-1.html


[Posted by Sonia V.]

Indocumentados dudan del Censo (Undocumented people distrust the Census)

Chicago/EFE — La gran campaña que ha emprendido la oficina del Censo para convencer a la población inmigrante de participar en el recuento demográfico de 2010 no llega a convencer a quienes consideran que responder a los encuestadores puede complicar su situación en EE.UU.

A partir de marzo la oficina del Censo comenzará a repartir los formularios para que todas las personas, incluyendo inmigrantes indocumentados sean contados y ha enfatizado en numerosas ocasiones que la información que se recoja será confidencial.


(Translation) The great campaign that has undertaken the office of the Census to convince to the immigrant population of participate in the demographic recount of 2010 does not come convince to whom they consider that to respond the pollsters can complicate its situation in United States.

Starting March the office of the Census will begin to distribute the forms so that all the people, including immigrants lacking identity papers can be counted and has emphasized on numerous occasions that the information that be collected will be confidential.

http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2010/2/21/indocumentados-dudan-del-censo-174435-1.html

[Posted by Sonia Vissoni]

Hispanic Congressional Caucus Pressures Obama to Keep Promise of Immigration Reform

The chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force Luis Gutiérrez is calling on President Obama to push for comprehensive immigration reform. He has started a petition movement to get as many signatures as he can in support of reform that would give the twelve to fourteen million illegal immigrants in the United States a way to citizenship, or what many say is amnesty. Gutiérrez is in favor of a path to citizenship that would entail english language classes, paying a fine, and waiting another six to eight years.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/print/43038

130 to get layoff notices from PVUSD

WATSONVILLE -- Layoff notices will go out to about 130 Pajaro Valley teachers, assistant principals and counselors in March.

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District board of trustees approved the notices of potential layoffs Wednesday in a 4-2 vote.

The job cuts, which, if finalized, would be effective June 30, are the result of $8.5 million in spending reductions for next year and the loss of grants and other special funding.

The layoffs could be rescinded before the end of the school year if circumstances change, but the district is moving forward now to meet a state mandated deadline of March 15 for notifying teachers and other certificated staff of the potential job loss.

The largest group of teachers, 32, would be laid off due to the increase in class sizes in first and second grades, a cost-saving measure.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/education/ci_14424136

Posted by Ramiro Andrade

Third Defendant Pleads Guilty in Hate Crime Stabbing

After the stabbing of an Ecuadorean immigrant in New York, the US Justice Department has launched an investigation into hate crimes in that area, and the response of local police.

full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/19/AR2010021904555.html

[posted by Ana Perales]

Teens Denied Bail in Pa. Hate Crimes Case Two Men Accused in Beating Death of Mexican Immigrant Plead Not Guilty; Police Officers Accused of Cover-U

(CBS/AP) A federal judge denied bail Tuesday for two Pennsylvania teens who pleaded not guilty to a hate crime charge in the death of a Mexican immigrant, noting that one defendant is accused of kicking the victim in the head "as if you were kicking a field goal."

Brandon Piekarsky, 18, and Derrick Donchak, 19, were charged in the July 2008 beating death of 25-year-old Luis Ramirez in the town of Shenandoah. A separate indictment charges three police officers with obstructing the investigation into Ramirez's death

[Posted by Cynthia Sanchez]

click here for more

El Censo marcha sobre ruedas El mensaje que lleva para los angelinos es ‘confidencialidad

No es casualidad que el vehículo de la Oficina del Censo que recorre Los Ángeles para recordar a sus residentes que su participación en esta actividad es vital haya sido nombrado "Confidencial".Hace una década miles de angelinos dudaron que su información personal no sería compartida con otras agencias de gobierno. El costo fue que no llegaron a esta ciudad más de $200 millones en fondos federales

[Posted by Cynthia Sanchez]

http://www.impre.com/laopinion/noticias/2010/1/5/el-censo-marcha-sobre-ruedas-166999-1.html

TX Governor puts the needs of state's Latino students behind his power-play of party politics

According to the Intercultural Development Research Association's (IDRA) annual school attrition study from 2008-09, Texas schools lost 31 percent of their students. In IDRA's 1985-86 inaugural study, 33 percent of students were lost. The attrition rate gaps between White students and Black students and between White students and Hispanic students persist. The gap today is higher than 24 years ago.

At current pace, the state will lose an additional 2.3 million to 6 million students before reaching an attrition rate of zero in 2042.

http://www.latinalista.net/palabrafinal/2010/01/tx_governor_puts_the_needs_of_states_lat.html

[posted by Cynthia Sanchez}

Immigration, Population, and Economic Growth in El Paso, Texas The Making of an American Maquiladora

By David Simcox
August 1993
Backgrounders and Reports

Executive Summary

El Paso, Texas, the nation's largest border city, has boasted unusually rapid growth in population, labor force and jobs since the 1970s — all hallmarks of progress in the growth-minded southwest. In the 1980s the city's economy created jobs 80 percent faster than did the U.S. economy. Yet El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), already one of the poorest among major cities, has gotten poorer relative to the rest of the country, with chronically higher unemployment and lower earnings. Poverty in the city is now more than twice the national average and average earnings a third below it.

This study looks for the reasons for the city's "growth without prosperity" in demographic factors, such as persistently high birth rates and rapid international migration, that shape the performance of the schools and the size and skills of the labor force and, in turn, the prevalence of low-wage labor-intensive industries.

Manufacturing employment in El Paso rose steadily in the 1970s and l980s while it was stagnating in the nation as a whole. Investment in industries that are declining nationally, such as apparel, leather, food processing, primary metals and miscellaneous manufactures, has flourished in El Paso's low-wage, non-union environment. The city's wholesale, retail and services sectors have also seen rapid job growth, much of it in low-wage, low skilled occupations, in part spurred by Mexican consumer demand.

(Posted by Alejandra Franco)

http://www.cis.org/ImmigrationInElPaso-LaborMarket

Juarez massacre may mark a turning for Mexico

The January killing of 15 young people has created a furor and left some wondering whether it's a tipping point, a moment when Mexicans overcame their fear and fatalism to confront the violence.

By Tracy Wilkinson

Reporting from Mexico City - The slaughter last month of at least 15 young people with no apparent criminal ties has galvanized the Mexican public in ways not seen here in more than three years of bloody drug warfare and has forced the government to enact long-resisted policy changes to combat violence.Some in Mexico are wondering whether this is their nation's tipping point, a moment when public outrage that has bubbled along finally overcomes the fear and fatalism that largely silenced or intimidated Mexican society.Led by parents of the victims in the Jan. 31 massacre, citizens of Ciudad Juarez have marched, protested, challenged Mexican President Felipe Calderon and demanded a new strategy for reducing the number of the gruesome crimes that have made their city one of the world's deadliest. Joining grieving parents in their wrath have been civic leaders, entrepreneurs, politicians, educators and priests.

More here

[Posted by Julia Martinez]

Latinas en educación

VISALIA — La 23ava. Conferencia Anual de Liderazgo de Latinas se realizará del 11 al 13 de marzo en el Centro de Convenciones de Visalia. La fecha límite para registrarse el el sábado 20 de febrero y puede hacerse por internet visitando http://latina-leadership-network.org/

full article here

[Posted by Kimberly Vasquez]

Bulldozing the old East Side, predicting suicide problems at the jail

Bulldozing the old East Side, predicting suicide problems at the jail

BY THE CURRENT NEWS TEAM

Blackout shades

The Mayor’s recently concluded set of Eastside investment summits took place against a virtual backdrop of boarded-up houses and empty lots, the legacy of decades of poverty, discrimination, and absentee landlords. Hundreds, maybe thousands, more buildings in the City’s historically black neighborhoods are in precarious shape, their roofs sagging, porches detached, windows broken.

“It’s old house, old house, empty lot; old house, old house, empty lot,” says Malcolm Monroe, who is fighting the City to save the home his parents built in the ’30s, a single-story woodframe house just north of Nolan and east of New Braunfels. “It was gun boxes — all kinds of wood; wood was hard to get.”

On this street alone, at least two houses have been demolished, and two more are boarded up. The City disputes Monroe’s claim to the house, which was in the name of a brother who died without a will; Assistant City Attorney Savita Rai says Monroe doesn’t deserve the house, in any event, because he hasn’t bothered to work on it since his brother was murdered there in 1997.

http://www.sacurrent.com/news/story.asp?id=70918

Posted by Victoria Bell

The city Initiative seeks to attract Latinos to Catholic schools

Dominga Carmona wanted a better education for her children in the West Lawn neighborhood. The single mother of three, worked overtime just so the eldest could attend a Catholic high school, but it was still a struggle managing the $620-a-month tuition.

"I was afraid, I said maybe I wasn't going to make it," Carmona said of the first years her daughter, Jennifer Rodriguez, attended Maria High School, an all-girls school on the Southwest Side.

For complete article click here.

[POSTED BY DAISY ALEJANDRA CUEVAS]

Hispanic Farmers Allege Discrimination by USDA

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Along the Texas border with New Mexico, in the valley his family settled 400 years ago, Lupe Garcia grows pecans and raises a few cows on 60 acres.

"We were farming in this valley before the pilgrims came to the east coast of the United States," he said. "I've been farming with my dad since we were kids."

From the 60 acres he owns, he looks out on 1,000 acres he lost — and he blames it on racial discrimination by the federal government.

"The last 10 years — between 1990 and 2000 — they starved us to death, shut off all our credit," he said. "They cut our wrists and let us bleed out. That's how cruel they was."

Without timely loans, farmers can't buy fuel for their tractors; or the seed and fertilizer they need to plant each spring.

http://wwwken5.com/news/texas-news/Hispanic-farmers-allege-discrimination-byUSDA-83565512.html

Posted by Victoria Bell

Q&A with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

When Tom Vilsack became head of the Agriculture Department last year, he faced a backlog of 11,000 civil rights complaints and several unresolved class-action lawsuits from minority farmers and ranchers.

...

The USDA is also being sued by Hispanic farmers and female farmers who allege discriminatory practices. What are the biggest challenges facing the USDA in terms of resolving civil rights cases and enforcing civil rights laws?

There are three different areas of concerns. One area is the pending lawsuits against the department from farmers and ranchers who feel that they have been mistreated by the department.

full article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/15/AR2010021503001.html

[posted by Ana Perales]

SIX MONTHS FROM CENSUS, NATIONAL COALITION OUTLINES

(posted by Jesus Galindo)
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves joined prominent Latino groups, labor and faith leaders and leading national Spanish-language media partners today to outline a historic campaign to ensure a full and accurate 2010 Census count of the estimated 50 million Latinos living in the United States. Members of the coalition – called the ya es hora !HAGASE CONTAR! (It’s Time, Make Yourself Count!) campaign – previewed a public service announcement that will begin airing today on major Spanish language media.

“Ensuring our nation’s second largest population group is fully counted is critical to recognizing our nation’s diversity and to building future political strength,” said Arturo Vargas, Executive Director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund (NALEO). “The Census is the single most powerful indicator of who we are as a nation. It not only dictates the story we tell about our demographic makeup, but it also determines the allocation of federal funds and the seats of political power.”
For Immediate Release
October 1, 2009 for the rest of the article follow link
http://www.naleo.org/pr/pr10-01-09YEH.html

Shenandoah police also murdered an18 year old Puerto Rican in custody

New shocking revelations are coming to the surface concerning the all-White police department in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. On Tuesday a federal grand jury charged the police chief, a captain, a lieutenant and another cop on a variety of crimes that included the attempted cover up of the hate beating death of Mexican immigrant Luis Ramirez by six White youths and the extortion of gambling businesses and prostitutes in the town. Professor Montejano talked about this case in our last lecture.
Now Attorney John Karoly filed suit against Chief Matthew Nestor, Captain Jamie Gennarini and the borough of Shenandoah for the murder of 18-year-old David Vega, a Puerto Rican, while he was in jail on a minor infraction in 2004.

http://www.aztlan.net/shenandoah_dirty_cops.htm

Posted By Braulio Felipe Ocampo

Indictment accuses Colombians of supplying cocaine to Mexican drug cartels

Friday, Feb. 12, 2010

By DANNY ROBBINS

The Associated Press

http://www.star-telegram.com/texas/story/1966340.html

DALLAS -- A group of Colombians is accused of supplying Mexican drug cartels with cocaine in a federal indictment that authorities described Friday as a strike at the cartels' reach in the United States.

The indictment, returned by a Plano grand jury in October and unsealed Feb. 5, charges 25 defendants with conspiracy to transport cocaine into the U.S. and the manufacture and distribution of cocaine for importation.

John Bales, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, said investigators believe that they are member of the Gaitan cartel.

"This case is as much about the Mexican cartels as it is about the Gaitan organization," he said at a news conference announcing the indictment.

The case is the first time that he has sought to prosecute individuals outside the country for their role in the drug trafficking chain, Bales said...Read More

copyrighted by Fort Worth Star-Telegram

[Posted by Michael Felix]

East Salinas neighbors team up to protect Alisal students after gang slaying

The violence and taunting that had been allowed to exist finally struck a deeper nerve with residents, school and community officials and business interests on Jan. 12, 2009. That's when a 15-year-old Alisal High student walking to school was fatally shot in a gang-related incident on the 700 block of Burke Street.

The neighborhood said enough is enough and appealed to Salinas Councilman Tony Barrera for help in making the street safer.

Now, more than a year after the homicide, Barrera and others have gathered some resources to improve the area. Local businesses have donated money for landscaping improvements and for surveillance video. Alco Water Co. said it will spend about $65,000 to install two surveillance cameras and provide better lighting in the area, a walkway and plant flowers, said Alco President Tom Adcock. McShane's Nursery and other businesses are also pitching in.

http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20100212/NEWS01/2120316/East-Salinas-neighbors-team-up-to-protect-Alisal-students-after-gang-slaying

Posted by Jeanette Pantoja

Greenfield Library Offers Triqui Classes

The Greenfield branch of the Monterey County Free Libraries is offering Triqui language classes for Spanish speakers, concerned about keeping their language alive. Greenfield has the largest population of Triqui speakers outside of Oaxaca. There are as many 10,000 Triqui people, an indigenous group from Mexico, in the community.

http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20102130311

[posted by Andrew Brown]

Census Bureau making mistakes in campaign to get minorities to fill out forms

WASHINGTON -- The government is fumbling some efforts to assure immigrants that U.S. census data won't be used against them, including gaps in outreach and foreign language guides that refer to the decennial count as an investigation.

With the launch of the head count weeks away, the Census Bureau's outreach has been falling short in at least a dozen major cities, such as Chicago, Dallas, New York, Seattle and San Jose, Calif., according to a report released Monday by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Many states are on the cusp of gaining or losing U.S. House seats and face a redrawing of legislative boundaries that may tilt the balance of political power.

http://www.star-telegram.com/texas/story/1939244.html

[Posted by Aaron Mendez]

City’s Housing Element passed on 5-2 vote

The Watsonville City Council approved the city's Housing Element on a 5-2 vote Tuesday after being assured by the city that the document merely identified where housing could be built, and did not constitute any real plan to build there.
The meeting started with a refutation of the Register-Pajaronian's Tuesday story, which incorrectly inferred that the Housing Element contained
http://www.register-pajaronian.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=8350&page=72

Posted by Ramiro Andrade

Second suspect arrested for Apple Hill homicide

A second man has been arrested in the March homicide of a Hollister man in the Apple Hill neighborhood of Watsonville.
According to Watsonville police Sgt. Saul Gonzalez, officers arrested Jose Avelino Sandoval, 26, Thursday at his Salinas home following an investigation, which he said is still ongoing. The arrest comes 12 days after Watsonville police detective Jarrod Pisturino
http://www.register-pajaronian.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=8360&page=72

Posted by Ramiro Andrade

Los latinos tienen poder sobre las elecciones legislativas

[Posted by Zelene Valencia]

Los latinos serán "una fuerza poderosa" en las elecciones legislativas de este año en EEUU, pero tanto demócratas como republicanos tendrán que aplicarse para ganar su "crucial" voto, y en esa labor jugará un papel decisivo la reforma migratoria.

El estudio "El poder del voto latino en Estados Unidos", difundido por la organización America's Voice, afirma que el resultado de las elecciones legislativas que se celebrarán en noviembre dependerá en gran medida de cómo afronten ambos partidos y sus respectivos candidatos el gran debate de la reforma migratoria.

www.impre.com/noticias/2010/2/14/los-latinos-tienen-poder-sobre-173037-1.html

State Democrats show true colors in picking lieutenant governor candidate

Say you compete for an Olympic gold medal. You've spent your entire life training, and when the starter's pistol sounds, you go as fast as you can.

Sadly, the gods decide to play a cruel joke. You come in second to some hapless Illinois pawnbroker.

Then it turns out that the pawnbroker gets himself disqualified, either for steroid abuse, or perhaps for some wild knife-to-a-hooker's-throat allegation, or a combination of the above.

But since you came in second, the Olympic bosses do the right thing. They give you the gold.

It's only fair. And every athlete in the world knows it to be fair.

They would never, ever withhold the medal from you because you have black skin.

They'd never say, "Oh, wait a minute, we have too many black athletes winning gold medals, let's find some Greek or a Korean or Indian or Irishman because they haven't won enough, so their ethnic groups will give us money.

For full article click here.

[POSTED BY: DAISY ALEJANDRA CUEVAS]

Judge Orders New York to Correct Bias in Fire Department

The judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, ruled that the city's Fire Department hire hundreds of black and Latino jobs for being discriminated in their entry exam. About 293 applicants would be given priority hiring status; it is unclear just how soon these applicants would be hired. "The judge said that out of every five entry-level hires, the Fire Department must agree to reserve two hires for black priority applicants and one for a Hispanic priority applicant until 293 qualifying minority candidates have been offered a position." However, the city plans to appeal the decision. To view: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/nyregion/22vulcan.html?scp=1&sq=latinos&st=cse

Posted by Enedina Garcia

Senators try to exclude illegal immigrants from 2010 Census

(posted by Jesus Galindo)
By Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY

A controversial amendment that would require the Census Bureau to ask for the first time whether people are in the USA illegally is headed for a Senate vote Wednesday.
Proposed last week by Republican Sens. David Vitter of Louisiana and Bob Bennett of Utah, the amendment would exclude illegal immigrants from the population count used to allocate congressional seats after the 2010 Census. It also would require the Census to ask people whether they are citizens.

"Illegal aliens should not be included for the purposes of determining representation in Congress, and that's the bottom line here," Vitter says. If enacted, the amendment to an appropriations bill would stop funding of the 2010 Census unless the changes are made.
The amendment comes less than six months before 2010 Census questionnaires are mailed to 135 million households. About 425 million forms have already been printed, according to the bureau. Some are in different languages; others are duplicates that will go to houses that do not respond to the first mailing.

The Census Bureau is launching an outreach campaign to persuade Americans that next year's national head count will be a simple, painless process.

To continue

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2009-10-13-census_N.htm

Texas man, girlfriend get 9 years in Mexican prison for buying babies to sell to US couples

MARK WALSH Associated Press Writer

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — A Texas man and his girlfriend were sentenced to nine years in prison for recruiting Mexican women to give birth in the U.S. and sell their babies to couples there, a judge said Wednesday.Amado Torres, of Harlingen, Texas, and Maria Isabel Hernandez, of Mexico, paid women up to $3,000 for their newborns, Tamaulipas state Judge Jose Luis Bazan told The Associated Press. He handed down their sentences for child trafficking on Jan. 29.

More here

[Posted by Julia Martinez]

IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ACTIVISTS BLAST PROPOSED STATE CUT

mmigrant rights groups are targeting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to cut food and health assistance programs for legal immigrants by launching a letter-writing campaign critical of the plan.

The California Immigrant Policy Center officials are urging constituents to write to their representatives by Tuesday to save the programs.

In light of a looming state deficit, Schwarzenegger's proposal cuts a host of programs for legal immigrants, especially those who have been permanent residents for less than 5 years.

"Once again, California's most vulnerable residents are being asked to shoulder the burden of balancing the state's budget," the policy center's officials wrote in a statement to the press.

Here are some of the proposed cuts:

•Cut Medi-Cal for newly qualified legal immigrants and other legal immigrants to save $118 million.

•Elimination of CalWORKS benefits for new legal immigrants. The program provides cash assistance, job training and child care among other services to low-income families.

•Do away with the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, which provides benefits to seniors and persons with disabilities who are legal immigrants and are not eligible for federal benefits.

•Elimination of the California Food Assistance Program for legal immigrants who are not eligible for the federal food stamps program. The move would save the state about $60 million over the next two years.

[Posted by Brenda Diaz]

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/immigration-228509--.html

Inmigración no perjudica salarios en EU A estadounidenses incluso les beneficia

WASHINGTON, D.C. - La inmigración no disminuye el salario de los trabajadores nacidos en Estados Unidos, sino que este grupo, sea cual sea su nivel de estudios, registra un modesto incremento de sus sueldos como resultado de la nueva inmigración.

http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?chid=3&schid=278&secid=0&cid=2270296

[Posted by Ericka Salazar]

Berkeley school officials attempt to defuse emotional charge over achievement gap plan

Berkeley High administrators this week shared details of a plan to better educate black and Latino kids — much of it for the first time publicly — then got slammed by school board members for not doing so earlier.

Click here for more.

[posted by sosa]

CSUMB offering event for Spanish-speaking families

California State University, Monterey Bay invites Spanish-speaking parents of incoming and prospective students to attend Dia de Los Padres, a reception and information. The event is aimed at parents of students who have been admitted to CSU Monterey Bay for the fall of 2010 from Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, as well as parents of high school students who are interested in learning more about the university.

http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010100203014
In English (The Salinas Californian)

http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20100206/NEWS05/100205026/1079/Orientación-en-español-para-padres-cuyos-hijos-desean-ir-a-la-universidad
In Spanish (El Sol)

Posted By Jeanette Pantoja

Salinas Hosts Census Campaign for Latinos

Latino organizations met with Salinas-area residents and volunteers Thursday night to launch a program to motivate nearly 50 million U.S. Latinos to participate in the 2010 Census. Officials said the U.S. Census Bureau have had a poor track record counting the growing U.S. Latino population. The 2000 Census undercounted about 1 million Latinos.

http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20100129/NEWS01/1290338/1002/rss

Posted by Andrew Brown

LULAC Launches Initiative for Latino Participation in Census

Link to article here: lulac.org/news/pr/Voto_Latino_to_launch_census_initiative/

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Voto Latino have partnered to launch the “Be Counted, Represent!” campaign, an effort to get Latinos to be fairly represented in everything from the allocation of federal budgets for education, health care and transportation to the drawing of Congressional districts. Latinos have historically been severely underrepresented in the census, especially Latino youth.
A challenge for Latinos in the 2010 count comes from a small but vocal group of community leaders urging Latinos to boycott the census to protest congressional inaction on immigration reform. Supporters say the counting of undocumented immigrants only benefits state and local governments who use their population figures to apply for federal funds, and then refuse to allocate funds to Latino populations.
Concerns about an accurate count of the Latino community partly stem from the outcome of the 2000 census, when the Census Bureau estimated that it over-counted the total population by 1.3 million people while under-counting Hispanics by 250,000.

Schools see more than $5M in cuts

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday made another round of cuts, slashing just more than $5 million from a district already hemorrhaging from eight years of cuts. Elementary school assistant principals, middle school counselors, high school clerks and the district transportation department were among the areas that were impacted.

http://www.register-pajaronian.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=8332&page=72

Posted by Ramiro Andrade

Macareno to make another run for Tulare County Board of Supervisors

The north county political activist who spearheaded an effort to diversify the Tulare County grand jury and the unsuccessful recall of Supervisor Phil Cox is running for the Tulare County Board of Supervisors.

Ruben Macareno, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, announced his candidacy Tuesday. He faces incumbent Steve Worthley, who is seeking his fourth term on the board.

"I am running because of my disgust in the way they have run local government," Macareno said. "In these hard financial times, there has really been a political disconnect between the board and their constituents."

Full article here:http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20101060320

[Posted by: Kimberly Vasquez]

Our census reflects our confusion

It is time to take another census, as Americans do every 10 years, which means it is time again to argue about the census.

If the census is designed to take a snapshot of our nation, the initial reaction looks like a family feud.

In the upper heartland we have U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has called for a boycott of the census unless it includes a question about resident status. The Minnesota Republican has backed down a tad, perhaps because the census determines how many members the U.S. House of Representatives will have. A low census response could cost Minnesota a congressional seat — like Bachmann's.

Besides, too many illegal immigrants already avoid the census precisely because they suspect that it is looking for illegal immigrants. If they were willing to respond truthfully to a straight-up question, such as the one Bachmann suggests, we could have a census every year and put an end to illegal immigration. Dream on.

To read rest of article here.

[POSTED BY: DAISY ALEJANDRA CUEVAS]