News (Noticias) Tagged ‘Tallahassee’

Mario Diaz is going from political reporter to political operative.

The 35-year-old former morning anchor at WTSP, Channel 10, resigned from the station Tuesday to take a job with Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign.

Diaz says he is headed to Tallahassee to become the campaign’s Southeast regional communications director. He will coordinate media efforts in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas.”*

When Martin Memorial Medical Center administrator Carol Plato testified in Tallahassee in April about the impact of illegal immigrants on her hospital, the meeting was attended by fewer than 50 people and got scant attention in the media.

But Plato’s two-minute testimony to the House Committee on State Affairs is making big waves on YouTube. A video of her testimony has received more than 360,000 hits on YouTube as well as hundreds of comments”*

If you tried to have lunch or dinner at one of a few Mexican restaurants in Tallahassee on Wednesday, you were greeted by a closed sign.

That’s because a few Mexican restaurants in Tallahassee were targeted in a federal sting that took several illegal immigrants into custody.

Federa law enforcement officials haven’t confirmed an exact number but we know at least three Mexican restaurants in Tallahassee were affected in this sting.”*

Robert Morales was the latest person to come to this realization when he and business partner Carlos Cruz went to Miami to participate in the company’s Business-to-Business Expo last week. More than 400 small-business owners attended the event, which was the fourth Wal-Mart has held in various locales.

Morales and Cruz, who own Black Bean Cuban Cuisine on Apalachee Parkway, saw the event as an opportunity to grow their budding food-service business. The pair started Sofritos Foods in 2005 and since then have provided food products for the military.”*

Leon County Sheriffs say they’ve noticed an increase of robberies where a higher concentration of Hispanic residents live in Tallahassee.

They say there’s been a string of robberies along West Tennessee Street, Blountstown Highway and Lake Bradford within the past several months.”*

Schera’s Citizens of Dade United is among a growing cohort of anti-illegal immigration groups in Florida trying different tactics to drive out undocumented immigrants. They have turned to legislators in Tallahassee for help in the wake of Washington’s inability to find a solution.

”I feel like a little guy at the bottom of the dam with my finger plugged in the dike,” said Schera, 80, vice-president of the group. “I know what’s going to happen if I pull my finger out, only instead of a trillion tons of water it will be a trillion tons of people.”

After mounting a somewhat solitary fight for three decades in Miami, the city with the nation’s highest percentage of foreign-born residents, Schera now has company.”*

*From: http://www.miamiherald.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Saturdays are usually a good day to have huevos con chorizo and beans. Unfortunately, that Saturday I ran out of chorizo, which is a kind of Mexican sausage, so I decide to get on my green and black motorcycle and go in search of chorizo in this “all American city.” Not long after rambling around for a while in the streets of Tallahassee, the sign of a store, “La Moreliana,” appeared next to the CompUSA sign. I promptly parked my two-wheeled vehicle and went into the store. “*

*From: http://hispanicad.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

“As the Democratic presidential candidates prepare to debate tonight, a new poll released today shows that a candidate’s position on education will have a greater impact on Latino voters than their position on any other issue — including immigration and health care — and that Latinos are nearly unanimous that improving public education should be a “very important priority” for the next president. The poll surveyed 1,026 registered Latino voters.

“The Latino community is increasingly showing its desire to help shape the future of our country at the ballot box,” said Janet Murguia, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. and steering committee member for ED in ‘08, a nonpartisan campaign to raise awareness of education issues in the 2008 presidential race campaign. “What this poll makes clear is that Latinos believe the key to our future is improving the quality of public school education and will vote for the candidate with the best comprehensive plan to do that.”

“Presidential candidates have been largely silent about our failure to give our children the skills to be ready to succeed in college, career and life,” said Roy Romer, Chairman of ED in ‘08, “If the presidential candidates want to respond to the priorities of Latinos and demonstrate they are ready to be president, they can start tonight by talking about their plans to get our children ready to succeed in college, career and life.”

Other Key Findings in this poll include: — Latino voters consider the high dropout rate among Latino students to be the greatest educational problem for the Latino community in the U.S. — Half of those surveyed declared that they considered the quality of public schools to be “mediocre” or “poor.” — While generally rating teachers positively, more than 80% of the Latino electorate feels that one way to improve public education in America is to hire more teachers with expertise in the subjects they will teach.

The poll was co-sponsored by ED in ‘08 and the National Council of La Raza and released at the NCLR’s annual convention in Miami.

ED in ‘08/National Council of La Raza Poll of Hispanic Voters July 23, 2007 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The results and findings in this executive summary are based on a public opinion survey of 1,026 registered Hispanic voters in the United States. The interviews in both English and Spanish were conducted July 18-20 of this year by professionally-trained, bilingual interviewers. The sample of the survey was designed to be representative of the national Latino electorate. It includes voters born not only in the United States but also in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Central America and South America. The survey interviewed Latino voters in 24 states. The margin of error of the poll is approximately three percentage points.

MAJOR FINDINGS

1. Education is the most important issue for Hispanic voters. Forty-one percent of all voters and almost half of voters with children in the public schools indicated that the positions of a candidate on educational issues would have the greatest impact on their presidential vote. Education was considered significantly more important than other issues that receive much greater press coverage like the Iraq war and health care.

2. An overwhelming majority of Latino voters — 89 percent — felt that improving the quality of public education should be a “very important” priority for our next president.

3. Hispanic voters consider that the “high dropout rate” among Hispanic students is the greatest educational problem for the Latino community in the United States. More than 85 percent rate it as a very important problem. The “high dropout rate” concerns more Latino voters than other important problems like the “poor English-language skills of immigrant students” and the “poor quality of some teachers.” The importance of this is better understood when we consider that more than half of all Latino parents with children in school are personally worried that their children will drop out of school. Immigrant parents are even more concerned — two-thirds of them worry that their children will soon drop out of school.

4. A substantial percentage of Hispanic voters give negative ratings to the public education system in the United States. Almost half of those interviewed declared that they considered the quality of the public schools to be “mediocre” or “poor.” Native-born Latino voters are more likely to give the public education system negative ratings than their foreign-born counterparts. Almost a quarter of Hispanics with school children complain that students are not receiving enough support at the school that they attend.

5. In contrast to the previous finding, Hispanic voters rate the quality of teachers in the public schools positively. More than 60 percent of them give public school teachers a rating of “excellent” or “good.” When asked to identify the most important reason that there are some low quality teachers in the public schools, the largest group of Latino voters suggests that it is because “teachers are not paid enough.” Nevertheless, more than eighty percent of the Hispanic electorate feels that one way to improve public education in America is to hire more teachers with expertise in the subjects that they will teach.

6. Latino parents accept a significant share of the responsibility for the problems that their children encounter in the public schools. Our poll indicates that the “lack of parental involvement in their children’s education” is considered to be one of the two most important educational problems facing the Hispanic community. It is also revealing that almost half of Hispanics with children in school feel that parents, like themselves, are most responsible for the high dropout rate among Hispanic students.

7. A majority of Latino voters thinks that Latino students need to be held to higher academic expectations — like attending more difficult classes. Only one-third of those interviewed feared that holding Latinos to higher academic expectations could result in many Hispanic students failing and dropping out of school. The study also reveals that most Latinos are not quite aware of the serious difficulties faced by Hispanic students. Only one-seventh of those interviewed was aware that a recent study reported that the average 17-year- old Hispanic student has math and reading skills that are equal to the math and reading skills of an average 13 year old White Anglo student.

OTHER FINDINGS

1. Latino voters are supportive of students spending more time in school to give those that are falling behind time to catch up and to better prepare themselves for college.

2. Latino parents of children in ESOL programs (limited English skills) give very high marks to the quality of the English language education program their children attend.

Latino Students Deserve Stronger Schools

Latino families depend on good K-12 schools for the learning that leads to lifelong opportunities. But Latino students are far less likely to attend strong schools that prepare them for college, work, and life.

Too many Latino students face low standards and unqualified teachers. — Almost 5 million of the nation’s Latino students attend schools in states that have set proficiency standards so low in fourth grade reading that they fall below even the most basic level on a national assessment.(1) — Academic courses in high-Latino high schools are nearly twice as likely to be taught by teachers who lack a degree in the subject they teach compared with classes in high schools with few Latino students.(2)

Poor education leads to low achievement, high dropout rates, and reduced opportunities for Latinos after high school.

– Less Learning. Just one in ten Latino eighth graders reads at a proficient level, and more than half of Latino 4th graders read below the basic level. By the time they near graduation, Latino teenagers have math and reading skills that are no higher than those of White middle school students.(3) — Too Many Dropouts. A study just released by Education Week found that just over half of Latino 9th graders graduate from high school with their peers.(4) — Not Ready For College. Latino graduates are only about half as likely as White students to leave high school adequately prepared for four- year colleges.(5) In states such as Florida and California, the problem is worse: — About 70% of Latinos who enter Florida’s community colleges are unprepared for higher education and are forced to take remedial math, reading, or writing courses — more than twice the rate of White students.(6) Across all Florida colleges, 61% of Latino freshmen have to take remedial courses. Each year, Latino families pay nearly $2 million in tuition for those courses, which teach skills that students should have learned in high school and earn them no credit toward a college degree.(7) — In March, the California State University system reported that 62% of Latino freshmen who enrolled in fall 2006 had to take remedial courses in English and 53% had to take remedial math.(8) — Low College Completion. At the current college enrollment and completion rates, out of every 100 Latino kindergartners, only 10 will obtain at a bachelor’s degree.(9)

The solution is rigorous standards, effective teachers in every classroom, and more time and support for learning. Visit www.edin08.com/ to learn more.

Rigorous American Education Standards: — A 2006 study by Education Week found that states that had raised academic standards over the past decade were more likely to see gains in math and reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.(10) — A national study found that high schools with a more rigorous curriculum have lower dropout rates than those that allow students to take lots of low-level courses. For every two low-level math courses a high school offers, students experience a 30% greater probability of dropping out.(11) Effective Teachers in Every Classroom: — Economists estimate that assigning disadvantaged students to good teachers rather than average teachers for 4 to 5 years in a row would entirely close the achievement gap.(12) More Time and Support for Learning: — Students in KIPP schools get about 60 percent more class time than their peers, and the results are impressive: In Washington, D.C., KIPP fifth graders improved so much in just one year that they rose from the bottom 15 percent to the top 25 percent of students in the nation.(13) — A national study found that high schools where teachers provide students with high levels of support manage to cut dropout rates in half. It found that support is especially important for disadvantaged students who generally drop out at much higher rates.(14)

Strong American Schools, a project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, is a nonpartisan campaign supported by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation promoting sound education policies for all Americans. SAS does not support or oppose any candidate for public office and does not take positions on legislation.

(1)SAS calculations based on 1) National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). Mapping 2005 State Proficiency Standards Onto the NAEP Scales. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. 2) Sable, J., and Garofano, A. (2007). Public Elementary and Secondary School Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-2006. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Washington. Retrieved June 12, 2007 from nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/2007352.pdf

(2)The Education Trust. Latino Achievement in America. Washington, DC: Author.

(3)Data from the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress.

(4)Education Week. (2007, June 12). Diplomas Count 2007: Ready for What? Preparing Students for College, Careers, and Life after High School. Bethesda, MD: Editorial Projects in Education Research Center.

(5)Greene, J. & Winters, M. (2003, September). Public High School Graduation and College Readiness Rates in the United States. New York: Manhattan Institute.

(6)Windham, P. (2002). Bridging the Gap: An Analysis of Florida’s College Preparatory Program. Florida State Board of Community Colleges, Tallahassee, Florida.

(7)Summers, D. (2006, April) Steps Can Be Taken to Reduce Remediation Rates. Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. Tallahassee, Florida.

(8)California State University System, Analytic Studies (2006) Proficiency Reports of Students Entering the CSU System, accessed at www.asd.calstate.edu/proficiency/2006/Prof_Sys_fall2006.htm.

(9)US Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. (2005). March Current Population Surveys, 1971-2003, in The Condition of Education. nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2005/section3/indicator23.asp#info.

(10)Education Week. (2006, January 5). Quality Counts 2006: A Decade of Standards-Based Education. Bethesda, MD: Editorial Projects in Education.

(11)Lee, V. & Burkam, D. (2003). Dropping Out of School: The Role of School Organization and Structure. American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 353-393.

(12)Hanushek, E. (2006). Alternative School Policies and the Benefits of General Cognitive Skills. Economics of Education Review, Vol. 25, pp. 447-466.

(13)Schaffler, S. (2006, December 3). Three Tips from KIPP. Washington Post.

(14)Croninger, R. & Lee, V. (2001). Social capital and dropping out of high school: Benefits to at-risk students of teachers’ support and guidance. Teachers College Record, vol. 103, pp. 548-581. Strong American Schools

CONTACT: Shannon Murphy of Strong American Schools, +1-202-870-1093
(cell), shannon.murphy@strongamericanschools.org

Web site: www.edin08.com/ “

“Yanelli Perez waved goodbye to her mother before she walked into a cafeteria filled with children who all share the same life she does.

Their parents start work at 6 a.m. to harvest tomato fields, hoping to make enough money from 30 cents a bucket. The blistering summer workday doesnt end until the evening. They travel from locations in South Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia looking for fertile opportunities to make a living.”

“The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., today released the text of a letter to President Bush signed by more than 100 Latino grassroots organizations expressing their deep concern over the short- and long-term impact of stepped-up immigration raids on the children in affected families. The organizations in the communities where these raids have occurred are often the first to respond to the humanitarian crisis created by these events. Below is the text of the letter:

President George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We, the undersigned Latino organizations, write to express our outrage and deep concern over the manner in which workplace raids have been conducted all across the United States in the past few months. As organizations that work closely with the communities that are directly impacted by these raids, we are often the first to respond to the immediate humanitarian crisis that occurs when a raid is conducted. Particularly, we are concerned about the raids’ short- and long-term impact on children. There are approximately 3.1 million U.S. citizen children who have at least one undocumented parent, and there are 1.8 million undocumented children in the U.S. We believe that the U.S. must take the needs of these children into account and fix the broken immigration system that separates them from their parents.

Workplace raids leave a long-lasting impact, not only on the local economy, but on the children who are separated from their parents as a result of a raid. Recently, thousands of immigrant workers have been detained as the result of raids. Many of these workers are parents of young children, many of whom are U.S. citizens. While it is our understanding that single parents are occasionally released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody to care for their children, there are many parents who are transported to ICE detention facilities far from their homes, and their family members have no ability to communicate with them.

In the aftermath of the raids, churches, schools, and social service agencies have scrambled to determine which workers have children, assess which children must be picked up from day care and school, find caregivers for the children, and provide basic health and nutrition services. In addition to providing basic necessities, advocates have encountered other problems trying to care for the children of detained parents. For example, after the Swift and Co. raids in December 2006, advocates highlighted cases in which they were not able to interview parents to determine any special needs their children may have. It has also been difficult, if not impossible, for advocates to gather information about sick children who needed medication. Following the recent raid in New Bedford, Massachusetts, a dehydrated infant was hospitalized because her mother had not been able to breastfeed her. Family members or friends have been put in the difficult position of having to care for the children of detained parents, and teenage children have been placed in the unfortunate and unfair position of having to care for younger siblings on their own.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick correctly characterized the recent raids as a “humanitarian crisis.” Our children deserve better, and it is up to the Administration and Congress to deliver to them a sound immigration policy that does not result in parents being separated from their children. The time is long overdue for our nation to stop tearing apart these hardworking families and bring about real, comprehensive solutions to our immigration problems. We strongly urge you to work with Congress to bring about an immigration reform that will allow immigrant workers to work legally, American communities to prosper, and children to thrive.

cc: Michael Chertoff
Julie Myers

Sincerely,

Academia Cesar Chavez – Saint Paul, MN
Acercamiento Hispano de Carolina del Sur – Columbia, SC
AltaMed Health Services Corporation – Los Angeles, CA
Bridge Academy Charter School – Bridgeport, CT
Calexico Community Action Council – Calexico, CA
CARECEN – Washington, DC
Carlos Rosario School – Washington, DC
CASA of Maryland – Silver Spring, MD
CASA of Oregon – Newberg, OR
Center for Hispanic Policy & Advocacy – Providence, RI
Center for Training & Careers/WorkNET – San Jose, CA
Centro Campesino Farmworker Center, Inc. – Florida City, FL
Centro de Amistad – Guadalupe, AZ
Centro de la Comunidad – Baltimore, MD
Centro de Residentes Bolivianos – Madison, WI
Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe – El Paso, TX
Centro Hispano of Dane County – Cambridge, MA
CentroNí – Washington, DC
Centro Presente, Inc. – Cambridge, MA
Cesar Chavez Academy – Pueblo, CO
Cesar Chavez Dual Language Immersion Charter School – Santa Barbara, CA
Chicano Awareness Center – Omaha, NE
Chicano Federation of San Diego County – San Diego, CA
Coalition for New South Carolinians – Columbia, SC
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition – Denver, CO
Colorado Rural Housing – Westminster, CO
Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Inc. – New York, NY
Community Child Care Center of Santa Clara County – San Jose, CA
Conexión Américas – Nashville, TN
Congreso de Latinos Unidos – Philadelphia, PA
Council for the Spanish Speaking – Milwaukee, WI
Del Norte Neighborhood Development Corp. – Denver, CO
Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation – Detroit, MI
Dolores Huerta Preparatory High School – Pueblo, CO
DRAW Academy – Houston, TX
East Las Vegas Community Development Corporation (ELVCDC) – Las Vegas, NV
El Centro de la Raza – Seattle, WA
El Centro de las Americas – Lincoln, NE
El Pueblo, Inc. – Raleigh, NC
Emigrantes Sin Fronteras – Phoenix, AZ
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center – Miami, FL
Florida Immigrant Coalition – Tallahassee, FL
Gads Hill Center – Chicago, IL
Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) – Atlanta, GA
Hands Across Cultures – Española, NM
HELP – New Mexico, Inc. – Albuquerque, NM
Hispanic American Student Association (HASA), University of Central Oklahoma – Edmond, OK
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Minnesota – Minneapolis, MN
Hispanic Coalition of Florida – Miami, FL
Hispanic Committee of Virginia – Falls Church, VA
Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama – Birmingham, AL
Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas – Springdale, AR
HOLA – Hispanas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula (OH) – Painesville, OH
Hyde Square Task Force – Jamaica Plain, MA
Idaho Community Action Network – Boise, ID
Kentucky Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights – Lexington, KY
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights – Chicago, IL
Information Referral Resource Assistance Inc. – Edinburg, TX
Instituto del Progreso Latino – Chicago, IL
La Casa de Esperanza – Waukesha, WI
La Casa Health Network, Inc. – Little Rock, AR
Latin American Coalition – Charlotte, NC
Latin American Community Center, Inc. – Wilmington, DE
Latin American Research and Service Agency – Denver, CO
Latin American Youth Center – Washington, DC
Latino Community Development Agency – Oklahoma City, OK
Latino Economic Development Corporation – Washington, DC
Latino Family Services – Detroit, MI
Latino Leadership – Orlando, FL
Latino Memphis, Inc. – Memphis, TN
Latinos for Education and Justice Organization – Calhoun, GA
Latinos United for Change and Advancement – Madison, WI
Law Offices of Navarro & Associates – Santa Ana, CA
Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care – Washington, DC
Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA) – Jackson & Biloxi, MS
Montebello Housing Development Corporation – Montebello, CA
Mujeres Latinas en Acción – Chicago, IL
NAF Multicultural Human Development Corporation – North Platte, NE
National Association of Latino Independent Producers – New York, NY
Near Northside Partners Council, Inc. – Fort Worth, TX
New Jersey Immigration Policy Network – Newark, NJ
NEWSED CDC – Denver, CO
Parent Institute for Quality Education – San Diego, CA
Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund – New York, NY
Repertorio Español – New York, NY
Rural Opportunities, Inc. – Rochester, NY
Salem/Keizer Coalition for Equality – Salem, OR
San Diego County SER/Jobs for Progress, Inc. – Oceanside, CA
SEA MAR Community Health Centers – Seattle, WA
Servicios de La Raza, Inc. – Denver, CO
Siete del Norte CDC – Embudo, NM
Southern Poverty Law Center – Montgomery, AL
Southwest Key Program, Inc. – Austin, TX
Spanish Speaking Citizens’ Foundation – Oakland, CA
St. Matthew Immigration/Detention Committee – Baltimore, MD
Tejano Center for Community Concerns – Houston, TX
Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) – Nashville, TN
United Dubuque Immigrant Alliance (UN DIA) – Dubuque, IA
United Hispanic Americans, Inc. – Fort Wayne, IN
University of Wisconsin Latina/o Law Student Association – Madison, WI
Vecinos Unidos – Dallas, TX
Washington State Migrant Council – Sunnyside, WA
Watts/Century Latino Organization – Los Angeles, CA
Western Colorado Justice for Immigrants Committee – Grand Junction, CO”

“A Panhandle lawmakers tax-time joke about illegal immigration has drawn sharp protests from the Legislative Hispanic Caucus.

State Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs, recently sent a message to fellow representatives and House staff, saying, “Dont forget to pay your taxes … 12 million illegal aliens are depending on you” He later apologized for sending it.”

“WHAT: The Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C.-
based National Hispanic CREO, and the National Coalition of Latino
Clergy & Christian Leaders (CONLAMIC), will join Step Up for
Students at a march for education in the Capitol Courtyard to
bring attention to Florida’s education and workforce crisis and
its impact on the state’s Latino population.

WHEN: Education Rally - Thursday, April 12, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Interview opportunities - 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
(Visit Media Tent at event for interviews or call now to
schedule.)

WHERE: Florida State Capitol - Capitol Courtyard
Tallahassee, FL

WHY: Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic CREO, and
CONLAMIC have joined forces:

1) To advocate, protect, and expand initiatives that will allow
Florida parents to choose a school that will best meet their
children’s needs regardless of their socio-economic condition;
and

2) To inform legislators of the crisis in low achievement rates
among Latino students and the urgency in which they must act to
better prepare Florida’s future workforce.

“Fifty percent of Florida’s Hispanic children are not graduating
high school, and a staggering 94 percent of Florida’s Hispanic
students who go to college drop out. This is happening at a time
when our nation needs to provide our young people with an
extraordinary education, yet our school system is failing to
properly equip our youth,” reports Julio Fuentes, President of the
Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Satellite Feed Coordinates will be issued Tuesday,
April 11. Spanish- and English-language interviews and rally b-roll will be
available from 3:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. EDT, Thursday, April 12, 2007.
CONTACT: Margaret Garcia or Denise Herrera-Wieters, 210-226-2827/”

“The minority population at Florida State University is growing and more Hispanic and Latino students are choosing FSU.

Nearly 10 percent or 4,000 student at FSU are Hispanic. That is up by more than a thousand over the number of Hispanic stuednts enrolled just five years ago. This also maybe due to the 3 million Hispanics that now call Florida home.”

“State Rep. John Quinones decision to resign last week has set off a frenzy from Kissimmee to Tallahassee as strategists in both political parties scramble for a sudden election in one of the most competitive state House districts in Florida.

Quinones, a Republican, represented the district for the past four years. But the area, which stretches from Kissimmee to Azalea Park and where voters of Hispanic descent outnumber any other demographic, is awfully friendly territory for Democrats.”

“Quinones stood among friends and constituents in a news conference at the Robert Guevara Community Center in Buenaventura Lakes on Thursday afternoon, to tell them that he was coming home to run for an Osceola County Commission seat.

After representing his district in Tallahassee since 2002, Quinones is hoping that his profile as a popular Puerto Rican will supercede demographics that indicate he is a Republican infringing on Democratic turf.”

“Luis Navarro, who led Florida Democrats through their first successful election in 16 years, is leaving the state party to run U.S. Sen. Joe Biden’s presidential bid.

Though Democrats remain a minority in Tallahassee, the party captured a Florida Cabinet post and seven state House seats in November. The party also picked up two congressional districts.”

“Holland & Knight LLP today announced that Bob Martinez, former Governor of the state of Florida, will join the firm upon completion of routine transition matters. Governor Martinez, who joins as senior policy advisor, will maintain offices in Tampa, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C.

Governor Martinez has a long and distinguished career in public service that spans more than 40 years. He was governor of the state of Florida from 1987-1991, served in President George H. W. Bush’s cabinet as the nation’s Drug Czar from 1991-1993, was mayor of the city of Tampa from 1979-1986, and was vice chair of the Southwest Florida Water Management District from 1975- 1979. Governor Martinez is known for his creation of effective environmental protection programs, his focus on drug control and his commitment to public education. He has participated in a number of presidential missions to Latin America, giving him valuable experience in international affairs.

“The arrival of one of Florida’s most respected government leaders demonstrates our firm’s commitment to assembling a preeminent team of problem solvers that can effectively serve our clients throughout Florida, in the nation’s capitol and internationally,” said Holland & Knight Managing Partner Howell W. Melton, Jr. “The governor’s leadership, reputation and track record on policy add significant strength to our team as we focus on becoming the go- to firm for advocacy in Florida.”

“I’m excited about joining Holland & Knight, a firm with a rich history of serving Florida and clients around the world,” said Governor Martinez. “We have a common vision — to be government problem solvers. I look forward to helping the firm’s clients find solutions to Florida’s most important issues.”

About Governor Bob Martinez: Bob Martinez was Florida’s first American governor of Hispanic descent and the second Republican since Reconstruction to be elected to the governor’s office. Born in Tampa, Martinez earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tampa and a master’s in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Bob Martinez was managing director of government consulting for Tampa-based law firm Carlton Fields.”

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“Comedy Central star Jade Esteban Estrada received the award for 2006 Entertainer of the Year at the Family Tree Rainbow Awards held October 12, 2006 at the Paradigm in downtown Tallahassee, Florida.

Estrada has performed in St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, St. Augustine and Miami in the past year as a stand-up comic and as a solo theatre artist. He formally served as a choreographer for Latin diva Charo and as a scratch vocalist for the Back Street Boys. “

“Alonso was one of 55 illegal immigrants working for General Building Maintenance Inc., a janitorial services company contracted by the state. Some were arrested and deported; others face criminal charges or administrative hearings in an immigration court.

Over the past month, the Big Bend has seen a crackdown on illegal immigrants.”

“One of the best places for Hispanic lawyers-in-training is Florida State University, according to Hispanic Business magazine.

FSU’s College of Law jumped to a sixth-place national ranking from the No. 10 spot it held the previous two years. This latest of the magazine’s annual ratings appeared in its September issue.”

“The man Forbes magazine says is the third-richest person in the world, along with a former president of Spain, will be in Tallahassee today as part of Gov. Jeb Bush’s events marking Hispanic Heritage Month.

Carlos Slim, who Forbes pegged with a $30 billion fortune this year, is scheduled to meet with Bush at 3:35 this afternoon. Slim, who the magazine said made his money in telecommunications, is then the featured presenter at a leadership forum that starts at 4.”

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“Florida’s African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans have seen their buying power grow faster than the nation’s in the past 16 years, according to a University of Georgia annual report.

Florida’s growth rate in all categories of minority buying power “exceeds the nation’s across the board,” said Jeffrey Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business and the report’s author.”