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The U.S. Army today reaffirmed its commitment to helping more young Hispanics pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by announcing its sponsorship and attendance at the 2011 Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers' (SHPE) annual convention. The convention will be held from Oct. 26-30 in Anaheim, Calif.

The Army's partnership with SHPE is rooted in the organization's mutual commitment to increasing STEM literacy among students and to developing a highly skilled workforce. Ensuring a pipeline of STEM professionals from diverse backgrounds is seen as critical to the nation's economic growth, its continued leadership in high-tech industries and its national security.

A recent government report finds that while occupations in STEM are projected to grow by 17 percent through 2018, Hispanics remain underrepresented in these professions. The report, released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, indicates that only six percent of Hispanics in the U.S. hold STEM jobs. READ MORE

Members of the Latino community in Alabama closed their businesses and stayed away from work and school Wednesday to make a point about their contribution to Alabama’s economy. A closer look reveals it is a significant contribution, regardless of legal status.

Alabama’s unduly restrictive new illegal immigration law has prompted a backlash from many in the state’s Latino community, who rightly contend they are an important part of the state’s economy.
Latino-owned businesses closed their doors Wednesday, and many Latino workers and students stayed home in a show of solidarity against what is considered the nation’s strictest immigration law.

A three-judge federal panel temporarily blocked enforcement of parts of the law Friday, but most of the objectionable portions of the law that give police sweeping powers to detain people suspected of being in

Alabama illegally were left intact. The court will review the law in the coming months.
So, what of Latinos’ claims that their businesses and labor are an important part of the state’s economy?

A survey of information compiled by the Immigration Policy Center bears out their arguments. For example, unauthorized immigrants in Alabama paid $130.3 million in state and local taxes in 2010.

A breakdown of that number is:

•unauthorized immigrants paid $25.8 million in Alabama income taxes in 2010.
•unauthorized immigrants paid $5.8 million in Alabama property taxes.
•unauthorized immigrants paid $98.7 million in Alabama sales taxes.

Statistics compiled by the Pew Hispanic Center showed that unauthorized immigrants make up approximately 4.2 percent of the state’s workforce with 95,000 workers in 2010.
Most Latino business owners are legal residents, but many of them entered the country illegally years ago looking for work.

The new law is draining farms of their seasonal labor, and some farmers have said they will lose money this year because they can’t get all their crops out of the ground.

There’s a very human side to this story, as well.

Many undocumented immigrants’ children were born in the United States, which makes their children citizens. If the parents leave Alabama with their children and return to their native countries, then their children will be undocumented immigrants in their parents’ country.

The lawmakers who backed this law argue that the undocumented immigrants are robbing citizens of jobs. Maybe, or maybe not. Many of the jobs immigrants take are low-wage, labor intensive jobs that aren’t easy for employers to fill. The long-term effects of the law — if the courts don’t strike it down — remain to be seen.

Immigration policy is a matter for the federal government, and a law that makes sense is enforceable should drive the debate. READ MORE

Carat USA, the Aegis Group media shop, has completed a detailed new study of the Hispanic consumer segment and concluded that marketers are spending dollars against the sector in highly inefficient ways, due to continued reliance on old assumptions and outdated methods of communicating with the Latino population.

The new data has led Carat to conclude that 90% of Hispanic media budgets are targeting only 20% of the Latino population -- and are missing the opportunity to “drive significant business value among 80% of the Hispanic market.”

Among the major findings: a significant decrease in traditional word-of-mouth influence from friends and family. Just like the rest of the population, Hispanics have been empowered by the digital revolution and are highly engaged with digital and social content (such as online ratings, reviews, and blogs).

Digital information now influences the majority of Hispanic purchasing decisions, the agency research found. Previously, children had greater influence in purchases made by parents, and marketers have sought to tap into that persuasion factor. Today, however, 50% of U.S. Hispanic consumers say they no longer shop with their children, opening up a significant opportunity to market to individuals directly through social media channels, per the report.

Another key finding per the study: Impulse purchases and self-indulgence are rising as a mindset among U.S. Hispanics. Nearly 60% of the Latinos surveyed indicated they no longer wait for things to go on sale before purchasing them. And more than half of the respondents said they now make purchases to keep up with the latest fashions.

The green movement has not passed over Hispanic households; nearly 40% now make purchasing decisions based on whether they believe a product or service is environmentally friendly.

“Our research shows there is an immediate opportunity for marketers to maximize their media value and use their dollars more efficiently and effectively by embracing this tremendous cultural shift,” among Hispanics, the fastest growing population segment in the U.S., stated Doug Ray, president, Carat USA. “Advertisers can now tap into a more current set of passions and motivations, some of which are entirely different from those typically identified with Hispanic shoppers, even as recently as five years ago.” READ MORE

Latino activists said Monday they are planning a national "day of action" to protest President Barack Obama and demand an end to a controversial program involving local officials in immigration enforcement.

Actions are scheduled for Tuesday in 10 U.S. cities, including Atlanta, New York, Houston and San Francisco.

"Since signaling a new course in our immigration policy a few weeks ago, President Obama has continued his aggressive persecution, jailing, and deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who he has labeled 'criminals' and whose lives are being destroyed through traffic violations and similar minor infractions," said Roberto Lovato of Presente.org, a Latino rights organization.

Protesters want an immediate end to Secure Communities, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that seeks to find unauthorized immigrants who have criminal records and deport them.

Federal officials have praised the program, arguing it allows authorities to catch criminals who would otherwise fall through the cracks. But critics say it results in the deportations of immigrants who are in the United States illegally but have no criminal arrest records. READ MORE

Tr3s: MTV, Musica y Mas, the bilingual/bicultural network for Latinos in the U.S., unveils a new comprehensive research study coined Death of the Hispanic Adult Demo as We Know It, as part of the brand's mission to continue providing insight on the rapidly growing Hispanic Millennial generation. Since 2007, Tr3s has been leading the market's knowledge bank on this segment, surveying nearly 10,000 Latinos 14-34 to date. The latest study reveals the implications of US-born Hispanics now dominating the 18-29 adult demographic, which are estimated to make up 65% of this demo by 2015, revolutionizing the Hispanic adult demo as we know it. Key findings were presented by Nancy Tellet, SVP of Research for Tr3s at the 2011 AHAA conference in Miami.

"This research helps us understand the massive changes taking place within the Hispanic adult segments, especially 18-34s, as US-born Hispanic Millennials begin to dominate the 18-29 segment," said Nancy Tellet, SVP of Research for Viacom International Media Networks. "We need to develop strategies that consider this demo, to better serve the Hispanic market and deliver results."

METHODOLOGY

The Death of the Hispanic Adult Demo as We Know It study reflects a comprehensive, hybrid approach to the methodology that includes traditional, non-traditional and social media techniques. Resources include national online surveys, texting and Facebook interaction, as well as local focus groups and in-home studies in Los Angeles, New York and Houston.

KEY FINDINGS

Hispanic Millennials respect parental authority, unlike many of their non-Hispanic Millennial counterparts. And they anticipate doing the same with their children (although maybe a little less strict).

Hispanic Millennials are living at home even longer: Large majorities of 2nd generation Hispanic Millennials live at home. A combination of the recession, the "American" delayed marriage and kids life-cycle mentality, and already having a tendency as young Hispanics to live at home longer is a recipe for a long extended stay at home... which includes collaborative sharing among many of the responsibilities and purchasing dynamics of the household. READ MORE

Any industry looking for major growth in the U.S. market can't ignore Latinos, who make up 16 percent of the U.S. population. As the Latino population grows, beer marketers are trying more nuanced ways of influencing this key segment.

"They love beer," says Jim Sabia, chief marketing officer for Crown Imports, which distributes Mexican beers including Corona and Modelo. "Hispanics are 19 percent more likely to purchase beer than the rest of U.S. consumers." On top of that, Hispanics will make up a large portion of the legal drinking-age population in the future.

Mexican brands would seem to have a leg up with the Latino market. But Bud Light is the No. 1 beer of choice. Corona is No. 2. For the most part, the way all of the brands have tried to reach Latinos is through Spanish TV and radio, sponsorships of Major League Soccer events and concerts.

Juan Tornoe — whose favorite Mexican beer is Pacifico — is a marketing consultant based in Austin, Texas. Originally from Guatemala, he has watched the beer industry court Latinos for years, with mixed success. He points to a Corona campaign from 2008 called "Nuestro orgullo. Nuestra cerveza," or "Our pride. Our beer." Tornoe says it backfired. READ MORE

NPR has recently started a new series called "2 Languages, Many Voices: Latinos In The U.S." Pop culture will be one of many elements the series examines, as it does in a timeline out today, From Ricky Ricardo To Dora: Latinos On Television. While that's a more comprehensive look at everyone from Freddie Prinze to Sofia Vergara, in this short essay, Luis Clemens reflects on why hearing Spanish spoken on television made an impression on him as a kid in Miami. Stay tuned for more from this series.

I remember being wowed the first time I heard Spanish spoken on English-language television. It was a 1970s re-run of an I Love Lucy episode. I do not remember what was said. Just that Ricky Ricardo said it en español. And I remember how it made me feel — wondrous, proud, confused.

I was confused because it was disorienting to hear Spanish used on English-language television. As a Cuban-American kid growing up in Miami, I watched English and Spanish-language television but the two languages didn't overlap on-screen. There was the local newscast and then there was el noticiero local; each in a separate tongue and each with a different worldview. READ MORE

Finally, an advisory commission that can compete on Dancing With the Stars.

President Obama has appointed Colombian-born pop sensation Shakira to his Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

Known as an accomplished collaborator -- her artistic accomplices include Beyonce and Wyclef Jean -- she will now be set to work making sweet educational policy music with the likes of Montgomery County Councilwoman Nancy Navarro and Arizona local school district superintendent Kent Scribner.

In naming Shakira, the White House cited her record founding a group, the Barefoot Foundation, which operates schools in Latin America and South Africa, as well as her work with the World Bank on educational programs. READ MORE

The Warriors Running Group was started by Joseph N Sobus to bring people of different backgrounds who shared a common passion for running. The Warriors is a free running group that promotes healthy living, supports various charities and local businesses. This is the first running group to represent the Latino community and the Pilsen community in the 2011 Chicago Marathon.

There has been many inspiring moments for this season ranging from seeing our members on the Marathon’s billboards to having everyone in the group reaching their goals. Collectively, we have raised thousands of dollars for charities like Children’s Memorial, Back on Your Feet, Special Olympics and Susan Komen foundation. The thing that we are most proud of this season we have created a group with no hidden agendas other than to help others to reach their goals.

Next season, we will be breaking our group into two different teams: one that will be focusing on the Chicago Marathon and the other that will training for the Men’s Health Urbanathon.

We would like to thank our sponsors but most of all Second Federal Saving Bank for creating our team uniform. The Warriors would like to invite everyone to cheer us on at the finish line and join us next season.

Learn more about the Warriors Running Group and join them for a run! Click here to visit the facebook group.

Watch Warriors Running Group Bank of America Marathon video:

The proportion of U.S. Hispanics with college degrees in 2009 was 19.2 percent, far lower than the 41.1 percent figure for the population as a whole, which indicates an alarming lack of progress.

The situation is shown in detail by The College Completion Agenda Progress Report 2011: Latino Edition, released Friday in Miami by the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center.

The report shows that a very limited proportion of Latinos go to college and even fewer earn degrees.

All that in spite of the fact that young Hispanics make up the largest minority group in K-12 schools and is the fastest-growing student segment, according to the College Board, which represents more than 5,000 universities in the United States.

"It's a very worrying situation, very serious, but it can be fixed" because the reason for it all is the lack of information among Hispanic families, Dr. Eduardo J. Padron, president of Miami-Dade College where the report was presented, told Efe.

"College completion is a national imperative," he said. "It is the key to improving our nation's economy. Each additional person with a college credential has a significant multiplier effect on the economy."

Latino families "have to make getting a college education for their children a priority, not buying a new car or making a trip to Africa," he said.

But the way things stand, he said, only a small number of Hispanic high school graduates go to college, and a large number of those "often drop out for a lack of funds and their need to get a job." READ MORE

Luis Reyes has been a keen observer of the Latino community over the last five decades. At the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, he has conducted considerable research, but he has never witnessed anything like what he sees now.

"The Latino population has dispersed throughout the city," says Reyes.

Even though the number of Hispanics fell for the first time in Manhattan, the 2010 U.S. Census shows there are 2.3 million Latinos in the city, surging 8.1 percent from 10 years ago.

The Hispanic community now makes up 28.6 percent of the city's population, compared to whites who are 33.3 percent, blacks who are 22.8 percent and Asians who are 12.6 percent.

With a jump in the Dominican population, the Bronx for the first time is a majority Latino borough, at 53.5 percent.

Queens is 27.5 percent Latino, Manhattan is 25.4 percent Latino, Brooklyn is 20 percent Latino and Staten Island is now up to 17.3 percent Latino.

Reyes emigrated to the Bronx from Puerto Rico back in 1946, when he was just a toddler. He says while the numbers change, many problems remain the same.

"For 50 years, an ongoing problem was a high dropout rate and low graduation rate," says Reyes.

But even he could not have predicted not just the widespread of the Hispanic population or its diversity.

The latest census shows the city's 723,621 Puerto Ricans make up the largest group of Hispanics in the city.

The count also recorded 576,701 Dominicans, 343,468 South Americans, 319,263 Mexicans and 151,378 Central Americans.

The figures impress Luis Miranda, the founder and former president of the Hispanic Federation, an organization of social service agencies that tries to pick up where government falls off. READ MORE

To provide additional information and entertainment services to the Hispanic community, Verizon today launched two bilingual social media properties, each of them in English and Spanish, on Facebook and Twitter.

The Facebook fan page Somos Verizon FiOS (We Are Verizon FiOS) and the Twitter site @SomosFiOS (We Are FiOS) will engage Verizon's Hispanic audience by providing a forum for emerging technology that also offers the best in culturally relevant entertainment content and online community connections. The bilingual properties are only part of the story. The remaining story will be crafted by the fans and followers of Verizon FiOS service.

FiOS is Verizon's all-fiber-optic-based combination of home phone, the nation's fastest Internet and crystal-clear TV services. Somos Verizon FiOS and @SomosFiOS complement the FiOS bicultural website, www.EnciendeteFiOS.com , an informational site with versions in English and Spanish that users can easily toggle between.

"Our Facebook and Twitter pages are venues where Hispanics can learn, inform and share their opinions about technology and discuss how it is shaping the future of the things they feel most passionate about," said Orlando Zambrano, Verizon multicultural marketing manager. "We aim to fulfill our community's need to know about the latest and greatest trends of the future by preparing, empowering and inspiring them to learn, create and share their own vision."

Somos Verizon FiOS will kick off with a promotion in partnership with HBO Latino. People who become fans of the Facebook page can register in a sweepstakes for a VIP trip to Los Angeles and dinner with Ana de la Reguera, star of the HBO Latino series "Capadocia." Fans of Somos Verizon FiOS will be treated to regular content updates, promotions, customer support links, special offers and an interactive tab called MontajeFiOS, where fans can upload their photos into a mosaic and share with friends. A partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund will provide educational and informational subject matter to inform users about college funding, educational opportunities and success stories.

On Oct. 11, @SomosFiOS will host its first of many Twitter parties to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Attendees will discuss a variety of topics regarding culture, icons and lifestyle. There will be a chance for participants to win tech gadgets and gift cards, and five winners will be chosen.

"When reaching out to Hispanics, it's not only about language, it's about the overall experience," said Zambrano. "Verizon maintains a large presence in the Hispanic sphere, as many Hispanics crave technology, entertainment and community involvement - three big pillars for Somos Verizon FiOS and @SomosFiOS. We will continue to foster two-way dialogue between the brand and our Hispanic consumers through social media tools that allow customers to engage with FiOS on their own terms."

To experience these new Hispanic social media platforms firsthand, and to become a fan of the new Facebook page, visit www.facebook.com/SomosVerizonFiOS , and follow Verizon FiOS at www.twitter.com/SomosFiOS. READ MORE

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A copy of our report is (or will be) filed available for purchase from the State Board of Elections, Springfield, Illinois, and from the Cook County Clerk, Chicago,Illinois

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Hispanic children are now the largest group of kids in poverty, marking the first time in U.S. history that poor white children are outnumbered by another race or ethnicity, the Pew Hispanic Center said in a report released on Wednesday.

There were 6.1 million Hispanic children living in poverty in 2010. More than two-thirds of them were born to immigrant parents, although the vast majority of the kids were born in the U.S.

Last year, 37.7 percent of children in poverty were Latino, 30.5 percent were white, and 26.6 percent were black, according to the study. Hispanics make up less than a quarter of children in the United States.

Rapid population growth, high birth rates, and deteriorating economic conditions among Latinos are responsible for the disproportionate percentage of Hispanic kids in poverty, the report said.

The Great Recession of 2007-2009 had a huge impact on the country’s Hispanic population. The unemployment rate among Latinos is 11.1 percent, higher than the national unemployment rate of 9.1 percent. Hispanics’ household wealth fell more sharply than that of black or white households between 2005 and 2009.

While there are a record number of Latino children in poverty, black children have the nation’s highest poverty rate, the report noted. Nearly 40 percent of black children lived in poverty in 2010, compared with 35 percent of Latino children and 12.4 percent of white children. Latino children, however, have seen the steepest increase in poverty rates since 2007. READ MORE

Photographer and filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders won acclaim three years ago after he directed the The Black List, a series of documentaries featuring prominent African-American leaders.

Now the legendary filmmaker from Miami is tackling Latinos in a new film and multi-media exhibit called The Latino List.

Music sensation Gloria Estefan, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and TV star Eva Longoria are among the 25 Latinos featured in the exhibit and documentary, which premieres on HBO Sept. 29 and on HBO Latino Sept. 28.

A photo and video exhibit of the same name is on display until Dec. 11th at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

Greenfield-Sanders said he tried to include Latinos from all ethnic and professional backgrounds, including authors, politicians and astronauts, as well as big-name artists like America Ferrera. READ MORE

National Hispanic Heritage Month kicked off Sept. 15 and continues through Oct. 15, and perhaps nowhere else in the nation is this heritage displayed more proudly and reverently than New Mexico.

But we as New Mexicans can do more.

As President Barack Obama noted in a Sept. 15 proclamation of the month from the White House, "Hispanics have always been integral to our national story. America is a richer and more vibrant country because of the contributions of Hispanics, and during National Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate the immeasurable impact they have made on our nation."

The president also mentioned in the proclamation that "Our country thrives on the diversity and ingenuity of all our people," and the Land of Enchantment reflects that.

I grew up in Santa Fe in the mid-1950s and 1960s, and the city was very unlike what it is today. It was not yet a premier tourist destination or world-class art and culture center; it was pretty insular. Through the eyes of a child, it was a quiet, racially homogenous town.

When I arrived as a student at New Mexico State University in 1969, a whole new world opened up. It looked like the United Nations to me. People of every race, background and religion were next to me in class and in the dormitories. Even Hispanics from other parts of New Mexico arrived with different views and a life different from my own.

We know about ethnic and cultural diversity, but we also should consider diversity of thought, ideas and heart. If universities are a modern crossroads of diverse people, ideas and thought, then we should be creating an environment that challenges and transforms the hearts, minds and actions of its members. Without diversity the university does not reflect, or relate to, society at large.

I commend NMSU president Barbara Couture for recognizing diversity as a key to success, to "strengthen our commitment to diversity of faculty, staff and students, anchoring our path to excellence in an unwavering commitment to access and tolerance." NMSU has risen to the challenge of meeting -- and exceeding -- this goal. READ MORE

Long recognizing the opportunities that exist with the burgeoning Hispanic market, State Farm continues to over-index when it comes to ad expenditures against Latinos.
State Farm advertising director Ed Gold, pointing out that 4,500 of the insurance company's 18,000 agent offices nationwide are bilingual, said "we didn't need the 2000 or the 2010 Census to tell us that the Hispanic market is growing. Our agents have been telling us they need Hispanic marketing materials to sell their products."

To that end, Gold, speaking during a keynote interview during B&C/ Multichannel News's ninth annual Hispanic Television Summit here Tuesday morning, said that State Farm budgets about 20% of its ad expenditures toward the U.S. Latino market. Multichannel News editor in chief Mark Robichaux, who conducted the interview, pointed out that while Hispanics represent 16% of the U.S. population, only 4.5% of marketers' ad dollars target this growing group.

Gold, who noted that State Farm ran its first commercial aimed at Hispanics in 1996, said the insurer still sees great growth opportunities within this ethnic segment overall, and particularly those among the 18-to-29 set, who upon moving out of their parents' abodes, are making their first decisions about auto and rental insurance.

"There is a lot of generation to generation" business in the insurance world, "but if we don't get them now, we may never get them," he said, adding that much of State Farm's ad activity against young Hispanic adults is cross-cultural.

With people willing to shop insurance by price and Geico and Progressive engaging in aggressive campaigns thereunto, State Farm and All State have also lifted their spending. All told, insurance category spending jumped 16.2% to some $3.4 billion in 2010, with TV accounting for over three-fourths of that outlay.
Relative to auto insurance spending aimed at Hispanics, Gold said State Farm is the overall sector leader. Last year, overall Hispanic TV ad spending by the auto insurance category reached $198 million, a 21.3% drive from $163 million the prior year, which was down 8.8% from $179 million in 2008. During a post-presentation interview, Gold said State Farm accounts for close to 50% of sector spending here.
During his keynote, Gold said that Hispanic market has a passion for sports, notably soccer. "The World Cup may be a big deal for the general market, but it's a huge deal for Hispanics. For them, it's not just the U.S. team," he said. READ MORE

The Illinois Solar Tour is a FREE public educational event to generate awareness and knowledge of how solar and other forms of renewable energy are being used by home and business owners throughout the state. It is the best event to attend if you are planning to install a system or are looking to learn more about renewable energy. 

The Illinois Solar Tour gives you the opportunity to:
•  Visit multiple renewable energy installations in your neighborhood
•  See and learn about:
        - solar electric (PV)
        - solar thermal (hot water and space heating)
        - small wind (horizontal and vertical)
        - geothermal
        - and passive solar design
•  Speak with knowledgeable professionals and homeowners
•  Meet like-minded neighbors
•  Hear the owners’ stories about why they chose to install renewable energy, their experiences with it, and how this decision has enhanced their lives.

The problem with Katt Williams was that he wore his anger on his sleeves this night and it showed...it was no longer joking, he was expresses what he always wanted to say...and now that he said it, he can't even stick with his conviction because he later had to apologize. Like all dumb asses that open their mouths too wide...say what you mean, and mean what you say...don't back down. Sorry Katt, you lost a fan today!