Allentown Officials Name Interim Police Chief; Announce Other Promotions

The PPL Building (seen here in the distance) is the tallest building in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Allentown officials announced an interim police chief and other promotions at a ceremony Friday.

Allentown police Assistant Chief Joseph Hanna has been named interim chief. Hanna and most of the top brass will be retiring this year under terms of a pension deal they signed almost five years ago.

Allentown police Capt. George Medero was also promoted to the department’s assistant chief, the first Latino to be named to the position.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-allentown-police-retirement-promotion-ceremony-20130906,0,697661.story#ixzz2e8d1HBaZ
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Census: Asians Fastest-Growing Group In Berks

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

An increase of Asians in Berks County is now outpacing a persistently booming growth of Latinos while the number of non-Latino whites has decreased.

With a growth rate of 8.7 percent between the April 1, 2010, Census and estimates taken July 1, 2012, Asians were the fastest growing minority nationwide and in Berks, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Click here for charts showing population growth in Berks County, Pennsylvania and the nation

Berks reflects long-standing state and national trends of rapid growth among Asians and Latinos.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=484432

Reading Police Find Bullet-Riddled Body Of Man Near Storage Business

Reading police found the bullet-riddled body of a man next to a self-storage unit in the city early Wednesday morning.

Police said they received a call from a passer-by about 2:20 a.m. reporting a man down near a locker at a storage business in the 400 block of Blair Avenue.

When investigators arrived at the site just off Schuylkill Avenue they found the body of a 36-year-old Latino man on the ground toward the back of the storage facility.

Sgt. John M. Solecki of the criminal investigations division said the victim did odd jobs at the storage facility for patrons – like watch their cars and valuables – for tips.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=482935

Rise Of Latino Population Blurs US Racial Lines

WASHINGTON (AP) — Welcome to the new off-white America.

A historic decline in the number of U.S. whites and the fast growth of Latinos are blurring traditional black-white color lines, testing the limits of civil rights laws and reshaping political alliances as “whiteness” begins to lose its numerical dominance.

Long in coming, the demographic shift was most vividly illustrated in last November’s re-election of President Barack Obama, the first black president, despite a historically low percentage of white supporters.

It’s now a potent backdrop to the immigration issue being debated in Congress that could offer a path to citizenship for 11 million mostly Hispanic illegal immigrants. Also, the Supreme Court is deciding cases this term on affirmative action and voting rights that could redefine race and equality in the U.S.

Read more:  http://www.timesherald.com/article/20130318/NEWS04/130319547/rise-of-latino-population-blurs-us-racial-lines#full_story

Reading Sheds ‘Poorest’ Rank, But Poverty Still A Challenge

Those who were standing in line at a food pantry in Reading on Wednesday did not know the city had spent a year ranked as the most impoverished city in the nation.

They didn’t know that ranking would be changed by statistics released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

They just knew they needed food.

“Most of them really need it,” said Dorothy Fletcher, 79, of Stony Creek Mills, who is a volunteer and a client at the monthly food pantry at Family First Resource Center, 416 S. Seventh St.

Read more:   http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=415738

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

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/