Diversity of student body outpaces employee diversity
Friday, July 20, 2012
The Latin Chamber of Commerce says the College of Southern Nevada is not doing enough to ensure staff and faculty diversity, and has expressed frustration that similar complaints dating seven years have not led to progress.
Demand outpaces supply, but critics question impact on U.S. workforce
Thursday, July 19, 2012
The U.S. economy is being held back because Congress has not made adjustments to a cap on visas for highly skilled workers in eight years, according to analysts from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program.
Vice president takes questions, addresses concerns at veterans career center
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Vice President Joe Biden didn’t go so far as to offer the shirt off his back during a private visit Tuesday with 32 veterans in downtown Las Vegas, but he came close.
After completing a lunchtime speech to about 2,000 people, Vice President Joe Biden made an unannounced stop Tuesday to talk to a much smaller, though important, Las Vegas audience. A motorcade whisked the vice president and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, from the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, where he had addressed the National Council of La Raza national conference, to the U.S. VETS career center in Downtown Las Vegas. There, Biden took the time to greet all of the 32 veterans and five staff members who were in a life skills seminar.
Presumptive GOP nominee comes under fire for release of only a single year of tax returns
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Vice President Joe Biden asked Mitt Romney to “show us his (papers)” during his keynote speech Tuesday at the National Council of La Raza annual conference in Las Vegas. Romney’s tax papers, that is. Biden juxtaposed Romney’s previous statements in support of Arizona’s immigration enforcement law — and its so-called “show me your papers” provision — with the presumptive GOP presidential nominee’s release of only one year’s worth of tax returns.
Latinos and other minorities hit disproportionately hard by foreclosures
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
During the four-day National Council of La Raza conference going on at Mandalay Bay, pressing issues such as immigration reform, access to health care and unemployment have all been addressed.
Improving civil society collaborations seen as benefit to both countries
Saturday, July 7, 2012
While the civil rights organization National Council of La Raza has its annual conference this weekend to explore the advancement of Latinos in the United States, another organization piggy-backed on La Raza’s presence to gather politicians, business leaders, community organizers and members of nonprofit organizations to discuss what Mexican-Americans can do for Mexico.
After moving from Michigan in 1979, former administrator and professor never left Las Vegas
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Leonard “Pat” Goodall went to see the University of Michigan play the University of Southern California in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day 1979. Goodall was chancellor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn at the time, and while on the West Coast with his wife, Lois, he came to Las Vegas, stayed at the Hilton and visited the small-but-growing UNLV campus. Coincidentally, when he returned home to Michigan, a message was waiting for him from the search committee in charge of choosing UNLV’s next president.
Increased expansion of Mexican economy could ease immigration concerns
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
With two highly anticipated Supreme Court decisions released last week and a domestic presidential race growing more contentious as the calendar ticks toward November, the U.S. public could be forgiven if it failed to realize that Mexicans went to the polls Sunday to choose their next president.
Vice President Joe Biden scheduled to deliver keynote address July 10
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Democrats have booked slots to help open and close the National Council of La Raza annual conference, July 7-10 at Mandalay Bay, and the largest national Latino civil rights organization in the country is hoping some GOP members will fill some of the spots in between.
With few details available on Obama’s new directive, speculation runs rampant
Friday, June 29, 2012
When President Barack Obama announced his new policy of deferred action for a select group of young immigrants who entered the country illegally, the move was met in Southern Nevada with an outburst of elation and excitement from those who qualify.
School districts across the nation look to Clark County as an example
Thursday, June 28, 2012
At the Ramada Inn on Flamingo Road, which sits in the long shadows of the Strip casinos, a group of 40 music instructors spent eight hours on Monday and Tuesday in a mundane conference room.
Vice President Joe Biden will be the keynote speaker for the National Council of La Raza annual conference, which will be staged in Las Vegas for the first time July 7-10, the national Latino advocacy group announced. "Choosing Nevada as the home for this year’s conference is a natural fit given the state’s growing Latino population and electorate," Janet Murguía, National Council of La Raza president and CEO, said in a statement.
Both sides find positives and negatives in ruling on Arizona law
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Advocates from both sides of the immigration debate nationwide reacted swiftly to the Supreme Court’s decision Monday to strike down three of the four provisions in Arizona’s polemical immigration enforcement law — and that included many people who followed the legal challenge closely from Nevada.
A year ago, it was rare to see or hear Spanish-language ads in Las Vegas’ mainstream media. Finding authentic Latino garb was nearly impossible in the valley. The Hispanic cuisine that grocery stores carried amounted to canned refried beans and packaged taco shells.
Former foster children, advocates watching implementation of new laws closely
Monday, June 18, 2012
A study of five states by the federal Government Accountability Office published in December found that foster children were prescribed psychotropic drugs at rates many times higher than other children on Medicaid in 2008. Abandoned by his mother when he was 9 years old, Matthew Pitzer is one of those foster children.
Matthew Stewart Pitzer was 9 years old when his mother decided she could no longer care for him. Pitzer's drug-addicted mother left him at Montevista, a psychiatric and chemical dependency hospital in the western valley. A few days later, social services called to convince Pitzer's mother to come pick up the child. She refused. Pitzer, now 18, was a ward of the state. Over the next nine years, according to interviews with Pitzer, his court-appointed special advocate and his attorney, he was moved 17 times into placements that included psychiatric facilities, foster homes and treatment programs of varying lengths. Almost immediately he was put on a cocktail of medications to help control his mood.
Metro Police are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred this morning in northwest Las Vegas. A male in his mid 30s died in the 300 block of View Drive near U.S. 95 after an altercation that occurred just before 8 a.m., according to Officer Bill Cassell, Metro Police spokesman.
Rep. Steve King, vice chairman of the House immigration subcommittee, said he would not support any of the versions of the Dream Act currently being batted around. In an interview with Fox News Latino, the Iowa Republican said that alternatives to the Democratic version of the Dream Act proposed by Rep. David Rivera and Sen. Marco Rubio, both R-Fla., still amount to amnesty and reward those who have broken the law.
Report argues for greater parole options for low-risk prisoners over 50
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Nevada and other states could save millions if they reassessed their approach to elderly, low-risk inmates, a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union said.
First lady Michelle Obama will visit Las Vegas on Tuesday, her third trip this year to Southern Nevada, an Obama for American campaign official confirmed Wednesday. No details were available on what Obama would be doing in Las Vegas or where she might visit.
Attorneys for Floyd Mayweather Jr. have filed a motion requesting the boxing champion be allowed to serve out the remainder of his 90-day sentence at home. The request comes 12 days into Mayweather’s incarceration at the Clark County Detention Center.
If all of the unregistered Hispanics and permanent residents who are eligible for citizenship in Nevada completed the necessary steps to vote, their numbers would surpass President Barack Obama's margin of victory in the Silver State in 2008.
Chair of Democratic National Convention talks campaign politics, immigration reform and the Latino vote
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was in Las Vegas this weekend to help spark enthusiasm among Democrats ahead of Tuesday’s primary election as the keynote speaker for Saturday’s Nevada Democratic Convention. In September, Villaraigosa, who is serving his second term as mayor, will chair the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.
Student loans may have been the topic du jour of President Barack Obama’s lunch hour speech at UNLV, but Las Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Clark County Commission Chairwoman Susan Brager made sure to bring up the ongoing foreclosure crisis with the president when they greeted him coming off Air Force One.
Student walkouts, march on the Strip seen as turning points in local activism
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Students who were the driving force behind a 2006 march that drew thousands to the Las Vegas Strip in support of immigrant rights are the focus of a new book being written by the director of UNLV’s women’s studies program.
President Barack Obama is set to visit Las Vegas Thursday, and the lunch-hour event on UNLV’s main campus will be open to the public. The White House said tickets to the event are free.
The growing influence of Hispanics in Nevada’s business community is clear. Since 1990, the state’s Latino population has more than doubled, from 10.4 percent to 26.6 percent. More than three-quarters of a million Latinos now live in Nevada. The growth of the demographic has translated into more Latino business ownership. Hispanics own 8 percent of the state’s companies, and their 18,000 businesses generate $3.2 billion in sales and receipts. They employ tens of thousands of workers.
New conservative group launches organization to bolster Latino support for its positions
Thursday, May 31, 2012
A coalition of conservative groups has launched Nevada Hispanics, a new civic engagement organization, throwing down the gauntlet with Democrats for the coveted Hispanic vote. Wednesday, a series of speakers assailed President Barack Obama for failing to advance immigration reform and embracing liberal positions on social issues.
Senate candidate, like Republican Party, embraces new outreach efforts
Monday, May 28, 2012
The blue-and-green signs first appeared early in the year in store windows. “Juntos con Heller” (Together with Heller) they proclaimed, signifying the business’ support for U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev.
Pizza chain offers free pies with order in Spanish
Thursday, May 24, 2012
If Rosetta Stone is not helping you distinguish "que" from "quien," maybe a passion for pepperoni will do the trick. The Texas-based chain Pizza Patro is offering a free pizza to anyone who orders in Spanish between 5 and 8 p.m. on June 5.
Nevadans for the Common Good launches with 65 organizations
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Tuesday evening the UNLV Student Union was rocking, and not because a college band had booked the venue. An estimated 1,300 people packed a ballroom and overflow room in the student union for the first public meeting of Nevadans for the Common Good, a broad-based interfaith organization dedicated to tackling Nevada’s toughest problems.
Smoke from a northern Nevada wildfire is likely to continue enveloping the Las Vegas Valley with a light gray blanket until late Thursday afternoon. The Clark County Department of Air Quality issued an advisory Wednesday morning, as smoke coming from the Tre wildfire west of Wellington increased the levels of pollutants in the air.
After reviewing three separate Metro Police shootings from last year, the Clark County district attorney’s office announced today that it determined all of the officers involved acted lawfully.
Kenneth O. Stimpson, owner of a suspected clip joint where a tourist was stabbed early Sunday morning, was arrested Thursday on a racketeering count, Metro Police said.
The Revs. Marta Poling-Goldenne and Dennis Hutson noticed something about Southern Nevada when they moved here to lead congregations: Las Vegans are not very interconnected.
It is 9 a.m. and 250 Clark County students in matching canary yellow T-shirts are riveted to their instructor’s words. They are told to put their cellphones away and leave them on vibrate, but before they comply, they hold the phones up to capture video of their teachers for the day, Mariachi Cobre, as they perform two songs to kick off a long day of instruction. In 2004, at the first Mariachi Festival and Workshop, Mariachi Cobre came to work with the students from the Clark County School District’s mariachi program.
UC Davis professor pitches idea for work visa reform
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A University of California, Davis economist has authored a report advocating for a market-based auction system for U.S. work visas, a unique system not seen anywhere else in the world.
Event grows after number of artists dropped when economy dragged
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Families, couples and friends meandered through the Art Festival of Henderson, checking out exhibit booths, food stalls and entertainment areas as they shopped for Mother’s Day presents. The number of artists selling their work at the fair is up by about a dozen from last year, according to Annette Mullins, Henderson’s cultural supervisor.
Campaign draws attention to suicide rates, protection of benefits
Friday, May 11, 2012
The veterans’ lobbying group Operation Firing for Effect is organizing two days’ worth of events next week in Las Vegas to draw attention to Nevada’s high rate of veteran suicides and protecting veteran benefits, a campaign that has won the support of Willie Nelson and John “Jocko” Marcellino of Sha Na Na.
Director says branch closures loom if tax is not approved
Thursday, May 10, 2012
With forecasts predicting further budget cuts on top of previous reductions, the Henderson Library District plans to put a tax initiative on the November ballot to stave off branch closures, reduced hours and layoffs
The campaign to re-elect President Barack Obama announced Tuesday the release of new Spanish-language television and radio ads that will play in the battleground states of Nevada, Colorado and Florida.
As Latino student population grows, graduation rates must improve, forum attendees say
Saturday, May 5, 2012
This much we know: Latinos are quickly becoming the majority in Nevada’s public schools, and already are in Clark County elementary schools, but they also do not graduate from high school or obtain advanced degrees at the same rate as other ethnicities. In the coming years, Latinos will continue to make up a large portion of the state’s workforce. So a growing question before Nevada’s educators, from kindergarten to graduate school, is: How do they prepare for and improve the outcomes of the growing population of Latino students?
Peninsula is safe, full of attractions, Las Vegas group told
Friday, May 4, 2012
Hugo Torres, the former mayor of Rosarito Beach, Mexico, is on a mission to “replace fear with facts” and again lure U.S. tourists to his beloved Baja California. Torres and Juan Tintos, Baja California’s secretary of tourism, were in Las Vegas on Thursday as part of their tour across the Southwestern United States, spreading the word that the Mexican state just south of San Diego is full of great spas, wineries, restaurants, beaches and other attractions.
Groups supporting workers’ and immigrants’ rights march on downtown
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Advocates for immigrants’ and workers’ rights rallied and marched in downtown Las Vegas Tuesday, and, as with many May Day rallies around the country this year, the local faction of the Occupy movement helped with organizing.
DNC official participates in Hispanic Student Union roundtable at Rancho High School
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
A roundtable discussion Tuesday on the affordability of higher education took on decidedly pro-Democratic feel, and with good reason: The panel for event, sponsored by Rancho High School’s Hispanic Student Union, included a senior national Democratic Party adviser but no similar Republican Party counterweight.