Elenamary

Mount Carmel year-round school in Cleveland reopens
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - Cleveland,OH,USA

Tired of Irish-Catholic churches, the Italian immigrants began Mount Carmel by holding Mass in the basement of a W. 69th St. saloon. By the 1980s, a new wave of immigrants, mostly from Puerto Rico, began moving into the neighborhood. Today, Asian, African and Mexican immigrants are turning the area into one of the most diverse sections of Cleveland.

It all adds up to a rich educational experience, said Sister Rosario — an experience that she thinks is enhanced by the year-round schedule.

The swing states: Ohio The big, bellwether battlefield
Economist - UK

Ohio is also a bellwether. It has voted for the winning candidate in all 11 presidential elections since 1960. In doing so, it has deviated from the national vote shares by only a couple of points. In 2004 it matched the national average exactly.

Above all, Ohio reeks of “normality”. Not exactly in the statistical sense. Ohio’s median household income is 8% below the national average. Only 2% of the population is Hispanic. Median house prices are 23% below the national average. But it is average in a deeper psychological sense. Jason Mauk, the executive director of the Ohio Republican Party, says that “this is where national politicians go to get a gut check on middle America.”

Yeah, Ohio is defiantly not reprsentative of the country as a whole especially in ethnic make-up…but we are getting there and democrats need not assume that the new minority populations will be going Democratic…here are some tips on how to win us over.

Asians help fuel county’s growth
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA

“If there are jobs here, they are here,” Mas said, “but if they are not, they will go somewhere else.”

The mid-1990s influx of Latinos here was prompted by service-industry jobs. Then, around 2000, construction was a magnet for Latinos who came after relatives and friends told them of opportunities, Mas said.

Now, “Things are tight,” he said. Still, advocates said the official census number of 42,125 Latinos in Franklin County is about 20,000 too low.

In September the Columbus Dispatch will run a week long series on “Hispanics in Central Ohio” part of me looks forward to the series with anticipation although I know I will most likely be both offended and disappointed. I expect this reaction because I have had this reaction in previous years with their series, and because I have meet two of the journalists and one of the photojournalists while working in the community. They gave me the impression that they view my people as if they were zoo animals…I’ll deal with this another day and in another post…oh and if I show-up in any of the photographs in the series with a pissed off face, now you know why.

Area organizations receive $20K toward Hispanic assistance
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC,USA

The Ohio Latino Affairs Commission has awarded eight grants across the state to help community organizations assist the Hispanic population in various ways. The commission awarded $80,000 in total grants with nearly $20,000 going to organizations in the Dayton area.

Area farm workers’ recognition Saturday
Fremont News Messenger - Fremont,OH,USA

Former Ohio Gov. Richard Celeste — who served from 1982 to 1990 — proclaimed the first Saturday in August as a day to recognize migrant farmworkers.

Ohio has had a long history of migrant farm working and has the first organizing committee of farmworkers in the US (no it is not the UFW) FLOC, an organization where I, a very long time ago, worked as a union organizer. If you ever meet any Xicanos from Ohio, they are most likely from Northern Ohio where migrant farm working takes place.