Report: 25% Of NJ Struggling To Make Ends Meet

Trenton, New Jersey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – A new report claims one-quarter of New Jerseyans are living in poverty.

The study released Sunday by the Legal Services of New Jersey Poverty Research Institute concludes that more than two million people in New Jersey are struggling to meet their basic needs.  Their numbers have increased since the beginning of the economic recession by more than 300,000.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20130908_ap_b7f29f63ccbe4989a7e751fe8f4d067d.html#MIgPiDRtQXohdeUL.99

Half Of U.S. Seniors One ‘Shock’ Away From Poverty, Report Warns

NEW YORK  (TheStreet) — Are U.S. seniors “truly vulnerable” to spending their retirement in poverty?

That thought, almost unthinkable almost 15 years ago, is inching closer to reality, says a study from the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute.

Older African-Americans (63%) and Hispanics (70%) are especially vulnerable to spending their golden years in economic peril, the study says, with 48% of all U.S. seniors, or about 19.9 million Americans, “one bad economic shock away” from falling off a financial cliff after age 65 — a fall from which they may not recover.

Read more: http://business-news.thestreet.com/philly/story/half-of-us-seniors-one-shock-away-from-poverty-report-warns/11947636

Hispanic Growth Brings New State House Seat To Allentown

English: City of Allentown from east side (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Residents in parts of the greater Lehigh Valley are going to need a new score card to keep track of who their state lawmakers are.

The state Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld new legislative boundaries for the House and Senate as more geographically compact — and less politically gerrymandered — than a previous plan the justices rejected last year.

The new map goes into effect in the 2014 election.  It includes a House seat and Senate seat that are moving to the region from Allegheny County because of population declines there.

In the House, the 22nd District is moving to Allentown to reflect the city’s rising Hispanic population in its downtown and south side.  That newly created Allentown seat pushes Republican Justin Simmons, who has represented those city neighborhoods since 2010, into Emmaus, Upper Milford Township and Montgomery County.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-pa-supreme-court-lawmaker-district-maps-20130508,0,4974852.story

Pittsburgh Sees Asian Population Increase

Locator map of the Greater Pittsburgh metro area in the western part of the of . Red denotes the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, and yellow denotes the New Castle Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Pittsburgh-New Castle CSA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When Deepti Alampally moved here from India four years ago, she didn’t have to explain where she was going.

“Everyone back home knows about Pittsburgh,” Ms. Alampally said.

She said Pittsburgh is famous among Hindus because its three rivers make it a holy city in the religion. It’s fitting, then, that Pittsburgh is home to nearly 15,000 South Asians, according to 2010 Census data. In total, nearly 50,000 Asians and Asian-Americans live in the Pittsburgh metro area — making them the second-largest minority group after African-Americans, and ahead of Hispanics.

That puts Pittsburgh right in line with the national trend, according to a Pew Research Center report released Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/pittsburgh-sees-asian-population-increase-641096/#ixzz1ySpSmX00

Hispanics In Berks County Double Since 2000

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ibrain Marquez-Pacheco knows exactly why he came to Reading: the low cost of living.

“He’s seen that poor people can survive here,” said Luz Mendez, who was translating on Thursday for the 73-year-old man originally from Cuba. “For him, this is like any other city he can go to, but here he can live and survive.”

Marquez-Pacheco was one of several hundred Hispanics who were having their daily lunch at the Daniel Torres Hispanic Center’s senior center at Fifth and Washington streets, where Mendez is a case manager.

Marquez-Pacheco is also one of tens of thousands of Hispanics who came to Berks since the 2000 Census.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=386940

Reading: The City Of Last Resort

Image via Wikipedia

The last place Marisol Carrero wanted to wind up was back in Reading.

She knew it would only lead to a scene like this: Her hunched over a waiting-room coffee table, filling out the most generic of job applications for a temp agency.

Forget a career. She just needs work.

Click here to read the entire article about the current state of Reading, Pennsylvania: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/10/post_263.html

David Archuleta Performs At The ALMA Awards

Check out this amazing performance by David Archuleta at the ALMA Awards on Perez Hilton

http://perezhilton.com/