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In The News

PANORAMA

money
New Change
Puerto Rico’s special place in American history was honored last month when Ed Moy, the director of the U.S. Mint, unveiled the latest commemorative quarter. The coin, similar to the quarters that honored the 50 states, is the second of six quarters being issued this year to honor the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories.
“Puerto Rico’s striking quarter design evokes its tropical beauty, rich history and bilingual culture,” Moy told the crowd gathered for the coin’s launch.
The “tails” side of the Puerto Rico quarter features a sentry box in Old San Juan overlooking the sea as well as a hibiscus, Puerto Rico’s official flower. The design, by U.S. Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna, includes the inscription Isla del Encanto, or Island of Enchantment. Collectors can purchase two-roll sets of 40 coins per roll, one roll each from the United States Mint at Philadelphia and Denver, or and 100- and 1,000-coin bags at the United States Mint’s Web site, www.usmint.gov or by calling 1-800- 872-6468.

education
Demographic shifts
Although minority students are making dramatic inroads into suburban schools, the diversification of suburban enrollments is not moving quite as quickly.
Suburban schools educated a student population that was 41.4 percent non-white in 2007, up from 28 percent in 1993, according to the Pew Hispanic Research Center. Yet despite this increase, there has been only a modest rise in the ethnic balance at the level of the individual school, the research found. For example, in 2007, the typical white suburban student attended a school that had a 75 percent white student body; in 1993, this same figure was 83 percent.
The numbers do reflect progress, however. Minority students on average are less segregated in suburban school districts compared with city school districts, so the shift toward suburban school districts tends to reduce national segregation levels.

"We think the Cuban people should determine their own fate, and that they should be able to live in freedom and with some prospect of economic prosperity."

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, speaking at the Progressive Government Summit in Chile. He said the United States is not planning to lift its trade embargo on Cuba, and that it’s up to Cuba to build itself up.

the economy
Unemployment
While the economy is tough for everyone, Hispanics are feeling it more intensely than most, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hispanic unemployment in March was estimated at 12.1 percent, compared to a nationwide unemployment rate of 8.5 percent. Or, another way to look at the situation: nearly 1.2 million more Hispanics are unemployed now than one year ago.
“The minority community is being especially hard hit. Soaring above the national average, unemployment rates are remarkably high for Hispanics,” U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Chair of the Joint Economic Committee, said in a statement. Maloney added, “The stimulus will need time to kick in, but the magnitude of these losses indicates that additional measures will likely be needed.”