Diversity Lacking In Scranton, Wilkes-Barre Police

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One.

That’s the number of racial minorities on the 143-officer Scranton police force.

Meanwhile, Scranton has morphed into a fairly diverse city in recent years.

The 2010 census reported the city was more than 5 percent black and 3 percent Asian. More than 80 percent is white. About 10 percent of the population is Latino.

With the mostly white police force in Ferguson, Missouri, making headlines while trying to quell protests from the mostly black town residents after a white officer shot a black teenager last month, the lack of diversity in police departments, and the problems that come with it, have been pulled back into the public eye.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/diversity-lacking-in-scranton-w-b-police-1.1748937

Feds Raid Asian Restaurants In State College For Undocumented Workers

Counties constituting the Happy Valley Region of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Local, state and federal law enforcement are raiding a number of Asian restaurants Thursday in State College, and at least 13 people have been detained in what one federal official says is an investigation of undocumented workers.

Investigators at one scene said the activity is part of a targeted federal investigation, but declined further comment.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security truck is at the State College police department and officials there referred questions to immigration and customs enforcement investigators.

State Attorney General’s office investigators are also reported to be involved.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/06/12/4220624/federal-agents-homeland-security.html?sp=/99/116/#storylink=cpy

A Hard Look At The Future Of Chinatowns

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

People who stroll through Chinatown on Saturday nights bathe in the lights of intriguing new restaurants, hip tea shops, and stylish lounges.

But moving beneath that shiny exterior, as strong and powerful as an underground river, is a torrent of forces that threaten the neighborhood’s very existence.

An influx of luxury housing, rising rents and land values, a soaring white population, and slipping Asian population could mean the end of Chinatown’s 140-year role as a gateway for immigrants and a regional hub for culture and family.

That’s the conclusion of a new study by a civil rights and education group that examined two decades of property and demographic records in the three big eastern Chinatowns – New York’s, Boston’s, and Philadelphia’s.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20131111_A_hard_look_at_the_future_of_Chinatowns.html#ra7F8e0Rev0gffuc.99

Hazleton Community Center To Open With ‘Major League’ Backing

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

HAZLETON, PA — Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon will be among the ribbon cutters Monday at the grand opening of a building he believes will help unify the community — the Hazleton One Community Center.

The community center, housed in the former Most Precious Blood Elementary School, at 225 E. 4th St., between Seybert and Hayes streets, is an initiative of Maddon’s Hazleton Integration Project, which he spearheaded to counteract a sense of divisiveness he detected in his hometown during a 2010 visit over the Christmas holiday.

Tension between ethnic groups seemingly had increased as the city’s Latino population rapidly grew over the last decade. The illegal immigration debate heated up around Hazleton’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act ordinance, which would prohibit landlords and employers from renting to and hiring illegal immigrants.  The law was struck down, but the ruling is being reconsidered.

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/600911/Community-center-to-open-with-major-league-backing

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

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

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

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