Immigrant couple turns passion for baking into booming business
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Carlos Pereira talks about bread the way composers discuss symphonies and playwrights critique a show. Just like a concerto is more than simply notes on the page, Pereira knows a memorable loaf of bread is more than a good recipe.
Two days after Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus announced a new effort to sway Latino voters, including installing outreach directors in key states such as Nevada, Democrats rallied Latino legislators and community members Wednesday to kick off their own campaign.
The 1000 block of South Main Street, just north of Charleston Boulevard, is not a great place for a leisurely stroll or even to linger for long. A fenced-off, empty concrete plaza faces a row of four vacant buildings. There is a nearby ballet studio that is open for a couple hours each day and a few other shops in the area. For the most part, though, the dilapidated structures with peeling paint and crumbling facades are backdrops for cars zipping past on their way to Las Vegas Boulevard or Interstate 15.
Metro Police have taken a man into custody who skipped out on his cab fare Monday morning, then ran across Interstate 215 and threatened to jump from an overpass. Around 11:40 a.m., the Taxi Authority asked for assistance for a Yellow Cab driver who reported that a passenger fled before paying his fare, according to Metro Police.
A doctoral student in California, with help from Educators for Fair Consideration, has published a guide for undocumented students who are finishing their undergraduate degrees. The 73-page Life After College: A Guide for Undocumented Students is available for free download.
Nuestro Rio releases 'corrido' in homage to waterway
Friday, April 13, 2012
On Thursday Nuestro Rio, an organization rallying Hispanics to participate in conservation efforts for the Colorado River, unveiled a musical homage and call to action for the vital waterway at events in Las Vegas, Denver, Albuquerque and Phoenix.
In early March, Time magazine ran the cover story “Why Latinos will pick the next president,” on the heels of a report from a national Latino political organization saying the number of Hispanic voters would climb 26 percent in 2012.
A year after the tragic death of a Las Vegas woman who sought plastic surgery in the backroom of a tile store, a recently created statewide task force has launched a public awareness campaign and hotline for reporting people practicing medicine without a license.
Public libraries offering e-books, art, music and more programs
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
It is National Library Week and every year at this time the American Library Association releases its State of America’s Libraries report. This year, as has been the case ever since the economy entered a recession, the report highlighted budget cuts and the increasing cost of keeping up with new technology.
Henderson library employee adapts popular PostSecret blog
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
They may be the most unusual bulletin board postings in the valley. “I am not delicate” one person wrote on a postcard. “I was in a physically abusive relationship for 2 1/2 years. I solved it by leaving the state,” said another. One card reads, “Never Stop Loving,” and a stranger responds with his own message on a Post-it, “True! So true.” This anonymous exchange of random thoughts and secrets occurs on a wall inside the Green Valley Parkway Henderson Library.
It was only two minutes into the game and one team had delivered a decisive blow. The targeted player was caught in a poor position. The other squad ganged up on him and he died. The crowd erupted in vigorous applause.
Police say the driver of a Dodge SUV ran through a red light at West Cheyenne Avenue and North Grand Canyon Drive early Saturday, colliding with a sedan and killing its driver.
Capriotti’s signature sandwich, the ode to Thanksgiving leftovers known as the Bobbie, has received a new accolade to add to its long list of “best of” awards and top-10 lists.
Doug and Stacy Clinkscales, Southern California transplants, love living on Mount Charleston. They just don’t agree on the best of the mountain’s four seasons. Doug can’t wait for the looming spring thaw. Stacy yearns for autumn.
Brian Sandoval addresses Hispanic small-business owners about regulations, economy and more
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Gov. Brian Sandoval addressed a Hispanic small-business conference Wednesday at the Renaissance Hotel, where he outlined his economic development plan and said government should act more like a business and be “focused on the right things — that either support your activities or get out of your way.”
Las Vegas was not dubbed “The Entertainment Capital of the World” for nothing. Ever since the 1930s people have come to what is now known as The Strip to drink, dance, smoke and revel into the early morning hours.
In a town built on gambling, mega-clubs have created a business model that has sustained investors even during a recession. The trend started quietly, then began exploding with the likes of Rain at the Palms, Pure at Caesars Palace and Tao at the Venetian.
In November, Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, D-Las Vegas, organized a successful, standing-room-only town hall for the Hispanic community to meet with law enforcement officials to address questions and concerns.
In February, the Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce and Another Joy Foundation announced they had combined efforts and donated more than 160,000 books to Southern Nevada schools.Their collaboration to assist the community has not stopped there.
Romeo Santos teams with VotoLatino to promote political participation
Friday, March 23, 2012
When chart-topper Romeo Santos comes to The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel on Sunday, it will be the last stop of his U.S. tour and also wrap up one wave of a voter registration campaign organized by VotoLatino.
In 2005 Roxana Sosa and her husband bought a four-bedroom house in Whitney Ranch. They envisioned it as the home where they would grow old, host family get-togethers and retire.
Every morning, Monday through Friday, about three dozen people crowd into a dimly lit room, sit down in front of a small television with the news or a movie showing, and hope their name is called.
The new Spanish-language movie "Casa de mi Padre" (My Father’s House) starring Will Ferrell opened Friday in approximately 400 locations across the country, including Las Vegas.
A group of immigrant advocates in Arizona is working on a smart phone application to assist those detained by immigration authorities. The app will provide users with information about their right to remain silent and have an attorney present during questioning in English and Spanish.
When The Boulevard Mall opened in 1968, it was the first of its kind in southern Nevada and quickly drew crowds of shoppers on weekends. The east valley mall was a hit. Management even buried near the Macy’s a 100-year time capsule, reflecting a vision of longevity. Time, population growth, competition and the recent recession have all but made those days of the Boulevard Mall as the hot spot in town a distant memory, much like the items stuffed into that time capsule.
The trip was unprecedented. Never before had officials from Durango, Mexico, resorted to visits north of the border to seek assistance, but the crisis Durango and other northern Mexican states are facing is also unprecedented.
When state Sen. Ruben Kihuen decided to run for Congress, the decision was met with enthusiasm by the Hispanic community in Las Vegas, especially among young people, who turned out with energy and passion to volunteer and canvas for the campaign.
In Luis Valera’s opening remarks at the Hispanic Voices Town Hall, the UNLV vice president of diversity initiatives touched on several themes that framed the event for both organizers and participants.
In an effort to foster more collaboration between employers and the federal government, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week is sponsoring its first Las Vegas seminar to introduce businesses to a program that aims to eliminate the hiring of workers without a legal status.
It is getting close to 1 a.m. Sunday and Mayan Club manager Spencer Quintanilla is surveying the newly renovated dance floor. A hip-hop song with a distinctively Latin beat is booming through the speakers as a diverse crowd in both age and ethnicity works up a thirst, gyrating and spinning.
On Friday, UNLV will play host to the Hispanic Voices Town Hall, one in a series of community forums around the country organized by Glenn Llopis, an author and a management consultant, and his organization 2012 Hispanic Voices.
Town hall meeting strives to address issues apart from political races
Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012
Much has been made this election year about the growing influence of Latino voters, one example being Time magazine’s latest cover story, “Why Latinos Will Pick The Next President.”
North Las Vegas Police have arrested a 44 year-old man, claiming he presented himself as a doctor and then sexually assaulted several people who came to him seeking treatment.
Cesar Silva saw the advertisement and was ready to pay whatever was asked. To him, a legal status was priceless. Silva came to the United States from Durango, Mexico, in 1989, driven by what he described as a common motivation.
Ramon Ayala’s Cocina and Cantina culmination of years of outreach to Hispanic market
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012
Ramon Ayala, the “King of the Accordion,” first rose to fame in the early 1960s as a member of Los Relampagos del Norte, or "Lightning from the North."
The Republican National Committee and conservative Hispanic groups are skewering Sen. Harry Reid for comments he made to POLITICO’s Glenn Thrush about U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
Four aspirants for state legislature state their cases
Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012
Four state legislative candidates who have never held elected office stood before the room at a Hispanics in Politics breakfast meeting Wednesday, introducing themselves and offering general outlines of their backgrounds and political leanings.
University of Alabama economist Samuel Addy conducted a cost-benefit analysis of Alabama’s tough immigration law passed last year and found the state stands to lose $2.3 billion annually.
When the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health opened to patients in July 2009, one of its primary objectives was to provide a place for Las Vegas residents suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases to obtain treatment locally. Now in its third year of operation, the center has only expanded on that mission.
Divergent trends were on display Sunday at the biannual Quinceañera Expo as signs of the increasing glitz and glamour of the events could be seen along with a growing movement for alternative quinceañeras such as vacations and cruises.
Within the architectural exclamation point of a building that is the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, there are world-renowned doctors, acclaimed researchers and expert therapists. But the distinguished research and treatment center in downtown Las Vegas would not run properly, nor would it be able to meet its own high standards for patient care, without its dedicated team of volunteers.
New events, workshops added as museum enters 20th year
Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012
The Hispanic Museum of Nevada traces its humble beginnings to an empty display case with broken glass at the St. Christopher Catholic School. It was 20 years ago, and teacher Lynnette Sawyer wanted to display some items for her students.
With her sights set on winning the Hispanic vote in her campaign for the Senate, Shelley Berkley is holding Dean Heller’s feet over the immigration fire. On her website, Berkley, a Democratic congresswoman, has outlined what distinguishes her from Heller.
Advocates for domestic abuse victims lament lack of statistics broken down by ethnicity
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012
Rebecca Ferreira knows firsthand about the isolation of being an immigrant victim of domestic violence, and she knows firsthand how the lack of data about such crimes is handcuffing agencies serving those women.
It was Dec. 4, 2010, and Belem Ortega was lying face down on the bedroom floor, blood seeping from the gash on the crown of her head, recalculating the equation she had run in her mind a thousand times before.
Well ahead of general election, both sides pitch to swing Hispanics
Friday, Feb. 3, 2012
Democratic Party members, inserting their voice into an immigration discussion that recently has focused on the policies of the Republican presidential candidates, reiterated their belief that President Barack Obama has the most sensible immigration plan and is still the best choice for Hispanic voters.
As the race for the Republican presidential nomination has moved west to Nevada, the distinctions between the four candidates’ approaches to courting Hispanic voters have become more clear.