News (Noticias) for Delaware

Saturday morning, as part of an outreach effort to the local Latino community, they were at Sparrow Run Park in Bear’s Sparrow Run neighborhood for a first-ever bilingual public safety day.

The purpose of the event, sponsored by New Castle County police and the Latin American Community Center, is to improve relations between police and the local Latino community.”*

Latino-owned businesses, whether Hispanic grocery stores, landscaping companies or restaurants like El Dorado, are one of the fastest growing business sectors in Delaware, which is why the University of Delaware Small Business Development Center in Georgetown has launched a statewide Hispanic business assistance program.

On Thursday the center became Delaware’s first recipient this year of a rural business enterprise grant for $27,000 from USDA Rural Development.

Besides reaching out to potential and existing Latino business owners, the grant also will be used for technical assistance, training and educational seminars. A bilingual business resource center at La Esperanza in Georgetown also is in the works.”*

It was certainly a special day for the children and staff, at the first graduation ceremony from the permanent facility of Primeros Pasos First Steps, on Savannah Road in Georgetown.

Three students from the class enter kindergarten at public schools this coming fall, and other students graduated to the next learning level.

“We value diversity and we welcome all children in our community. One of our goals is to ensure that every Hispanic student entering kindergarten speaks both English and Spanish fluently,” said program director Trudy Cole. “Some of the students who entered the program last fall only spoke Spanish. These 3- and 4-year-old graduates can count at least to 20, know their ABCs, their shapes and their colors.” “*

Georgetown’s La Esperanza is partnering with the Latin American Community Center and Voices Without Borders to sponsor a gubernatorial debate focusing on issues in the state’s Latino population.

The debate will take place July 30 at 7 p.m., in the Dover Downs Conference Center, in Dover, with the goal of “learning the stance of all registered gubernatorial candidates on issues relevant to the Latino community,” according to a June 6 joint press release from all three host organizations.

Questions will center around education, workforce participation and, certainly, immigration.”*

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) will be awarding approximately 15 $3,000 scholarships this fall to graduating high school seniors and undergraduate students from the State of Delaware. They will be awarded to Hispanic students who will enroll full time at a four year university in the Fall of 2008.

The application deadline is May 30, 2008, so please get this information to your students as soon as possible.

Requirements for this scholarship are as follows:

• Be of Hispanic heritage
• Must have a parent address or current address in the state of Delaware
• Be a U.S. Citizen or legal permanent resident
• Minimum 3.00 GPA
• Must apply for federal financial aid using the FAFSA
• Have plans to enroll full time in the 2008-2009 academic year

Students can apply to the HSF/ Delaware College Scholarship through the following link: https://apply.hsf.net/

Stradley Ronon attorney Frances Gauthier co-incorporated the Delaware Hispanic Bar Association, the first professional association in Delaware for Hispanic attorneys. The association was formed to promote the social, economic, professional and educational advancement of the Hispanic community in the state. Ms. Gauthier is a founding board member and vice president of the organization.”*

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

The vehemence of reaction to a Delaware Economic Development Office paper about illegal immigrants seems inversely related to what it actually says.

In very broad and qualified terms, the DEDO report came up with a $79.50 price for public services to these immigrants, payable by every resident living here legally.

But Steven R. Hicks, the DEDO employee and aspiring Ph.D. who did the assignment, admits early and often throughout the text that this is an unreliable ballpark figure that deserves further detailed investigation by state agency experts.”*

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

More than 50 local advocates, including Hispanic elected officials, civic leaders and members of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic Affairs (GACHA), met in Christiana with the institute’s president, Juan Andrade. He told the crowd it’s important to get out the Hispanic vote in upcoming elections.

Wanda Lopez, GACHA’s executive director since 2003, said, “I’m very pleased with the turnout. We had a nice group of folks from the grassroots level to our highest level of Hispanic elected officials.”

She said she will invite USHLI to return to Delaware - next time for a meeting downstate.”*

The runners call themselves “messengers for the dignity of a community divided by the border.”

The first group started from Mexico City on Oct. 7. By the time they reach New York City on Wednesday, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, there will have been 5,000 runners, volunteers from 70 stops along the way. It’s the fifth such journey.

“People ask if we’re running the Olympics,” said Maria Zuniga of Queens, N.Y., whose family is from Guadalajara. “We’re actually promoting friendship and solidarity for people we meet along the way.”"*

“Havidán Rodriguéz, vice provost for academic affairs and international programs and professor of sociology and criminal justice, has received the Professional Achievement Award and was recognized as one of the Hispanics of the Year in Delaware by the Latin American Community Center, Oct. 5, at its 2007 Grand Ball in Wilmington.

Rodriguéz received a plaque citing him for his “determination and persistence against all odds to reach professional success: a trail blazer for all inspiring us to fulfill our dreams.””*

“The University of Delaware is starting a new program designed to provide guidance and a sense of community to new students of Latino heritage or with an interest in Latino culture.

Participants in the Latino Enrichment and Resource Network, or LEARN, will be paired with upperclassmen mentors to assist them in adjusting to college life and getting connected with academic services and social organizations. Mentors and participants also will have the opportunity to attend monthly workshops, social events and day trips and to take part in community service projects.”

“From the moment superstar Rita Moreno stepped into the spotlight of the DuPont Theatre on Monday night, the stage was all hers.

“I know everyone wants to see what Im wearing, so here,” she said, gliding across the wooden floor like a runway model to show off her outfit, which skimmed her whippet-thin frame.”

“It’s a good thing that Gabriel Pilonieta Blanco works with his family.

Otherwise, he might not see them very often.

Mr. Blanco is the editor of El Tiempo Hispano, a weekly bilingual newspaper that is growing by leaps and bounds. Written in both Spanish and English, El Tiempo Hispano takes an unfailingly positive look at issues of importance to Delaware’s Hispanic Community, covering Delaware as well as portions of surrounding Maryland.”

“As Delaware’s rural landscape gives way to housing developments, immigrant workers who once took jobs in the agriculture and poultry industries are turning to home construction and landscaping.
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While reaping the rewards, those workers also have become prone to workplace injuries, prompting efforts to ensure that Hispanic and other non-English speaking workers receive proper safety training.”

“Ronald McDonald House Charities seeks qualified applicants to apply for the RMHC/HACER scholarship program for Latino high school seniors. The program will award up to 20, $1,000 college scholarships to students throughout South Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.”

“Buoyed by calls and letters from voters urging him to continue the fight, John Jaremchuk, who lost a bid for a seat in the state legislature, is creating a local anti-illegal immigration group.

“Were going to focus on exposing employers who employ illegal immigrants,” said Jaremchuk, an Elsmere councilman who unsuccessfully has proposed several laws aimed at ridding that town of undocumented immigrants. “Were bringing to light the issue [illegal immigration], and all the negative consequences that go along with it. Now is the time because its obvious the federal government is not going to address the issue.”"

“With Spanish language collections like La Bibliotecas hard to come by, its a challenge to get Spanish speakers interested in the library, say librarians across the country.

So this month the Delaware Division of Libraries is beginning a series of nine workshops to train librarians throughout the state how to better reach out to and serve the Spanish-speaking community.

The first workshop in the Spanish Language Outreach Program, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is Jan. 23 at Seaford District Library.”

“When Yvette Sparks was hired at AstraZeneca 10 years ago, she didnt even think about marketing her bilingual skills.

It was her ability to speak Spanish, though, that three years ago allowed her to move into a position in the pharmaceutical companys information center, where she handles calls from Spanish speakers.

“Being bilingual is important, and for years I didnt appreciate that,” said Sparks, who is half-Puerto Rican. “But now I realize its marketable.”"

“Hector J. Santa Anna, who flew 35 combat missions over Europe as a B-17 bomber pilot during World War II and six decades later became a prominent character in a play about Latinos who served in the military during the war, has died. He was 83.

Santa Anna, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who was one of a small number of Latino pilots during World War II, died of pneumonia Dec. 9 at a hospital in Dover, Del., after a long illness, said his wife of 61 years, Olive. “

“To bring the Hispanic business community together, a group of local entrepreneurs is launching Delawares first Hispanic Business Association.

“These folks are coming in, opening up businesses, but no one knows who they are or how to help them,” said Maria Ca- brera, owner of the Wilmington-based bilingual consulting firm Los Angeles Inc. and association organizer. “There are so many Hispanic businesses that dont know who each other are.”"