Morning News, 8/10/11

1. Latino firms lack savvy
2. AZ hits appeal deadline
3. Pearce facing recall
4. Protestor wants to meet GA Gov.
5. GOP woos Hispanic voters



1.
Latino Firms Hurt by Lack of Financial Savvy, Study Says
EFE, August 10, 2011

Hispanic companies are more exposed to financial risks than the average U.S. firm due to the owners' lack of access to good advice in making business decisions, according to a study published Tuesday by insurer MassMutual.

The Business Owner Financial Wellness Study emphasizes the lack of a long-term strategy by many Hispanic entrepreneurs, who in 89 percent of the cases founded their firms to economically support their families and seven of 10 of whom want to hand the company down to their children although the majority do not have any concrete succession plans.

"Latino businessmen lack much information, basic information," Chris Mendoza, assistant vice president of multicultural markets at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, told Efe.
The findings were formally presented on Tuesday at the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting's national convention in Anaheim.

"Hispanic companies are a little more at risk than the rest of suffering financial problems," confirmed Mendoza, who warned that some Latino businessmen have very scanty training in dealing with possible unexpected problems.

"If they have not made plans for the future to maintain the business, for it to remain in their family if they die or if they can no longer run it, well then there's a lot of risk," he said.

The report reveals that the typical profile of an Hispanic businessman is a first-generation immigrant without formal business training, who created his company thinking more about his family than about getting rich.

In addition, the average Hispanic entrepreneur aspires to be his or her own boss and to help his community in the future, but his management of the company is usually focused more on its day to day operations.

About 28 percent of Hispanic businessmen say that they don't have time to handle investments and 23 percent say that they have too many immediate financial concerns to think about retirement.
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http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2011/08/10/latino-firms-hurt-...

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2.
Ariz. hits immigration law deadline
By Jennifer Epstein
Politico (DC), August 10, 2011

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is facing a Wednesday deadline to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to consider her appeal of a lower court’s ruling that put parts of the state’s aggressive anti-illegal immigration law on hold.

Brewer, a Republican, vowed this spring to take the case to the high court following a ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejecting her motion to throw out a district court’s ruling that blocked implementation of parts of the law.

Among other provisions, portions of the law put on hold – which were originally set to take effect in July 2010 – would permit police to ask people they suspected of being illegal immigrants for their documentation if encountered while enforcing other laws, and would require immigrants carry documentation with them.

Brewer said in May that she was “frustrated” by the court’s ruling and planned to appeal it.

“The bottom line is, is that every knows that the 9th Circuit has a reputation of being very, very liberal,” she said. “After deliberating and thinking about it, I said, ‘Let’s just go to the Supreme Court.’”
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/61010.html

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3.
Russell Pearce, father of Arizona immigration law, now facing recall
By Lourdes Medrano
The Christian Science Monitor, August 9, 2011

A year ago, Arizona state Senate President Russell Pearce (R) was riding high, catapulted into the national limelight as a leading champion of conservative policies following passage of Senate Bill 1070, the tough immigration law he sponsored.

But 2011 has been less kind to Senator Pearce, who faces a Nov. 8 recall election, as well as blowback from some members of his party, who say his agenda has gone too far. His attempts to move a bill that would deny "birthright citizenship" to Arizona residents failed, and Gov. Jan Brewer (R) has vetoed some of his signature legislation, including a bill to allow concealed weapons on college campuses and a "birther bill" requiring presidential candidates to provide their birth certificates.

More recently, he was forced to amend financial disclosure forms to acknowledge that he accepted thousands of dollars in free trips provided by the Fiesta Bowl, one of college football's four major bowls.

Despite these setbacks, unseating Pearce in his conservative district may be difficult – he is, to some, an "American patriot," who draws support even from beyond the state's borders. But a recall is not impossible, says Bruce Merrill, a political scientist at Arizona State University in Tempe.

"It will all depend on the candidate or candidates that challenge him," he says.

At least three people have entered the race to challenge the senator. If he is unseated, he would be the first sitting Arizona senator to be recalled.

A tea party ally of Pearce, Franklin Bruce Ross, has filed a legal challenge in Maricopa County Superior Court seeking to cancel the recall election. The suit contends that Citizens for a Better Arizona's signature-gathering process was flawed, and that not enough of the 7,756 required voter signatures were collected.

But the attorney for Citizens for a Better Arizona, Thomas Ryan, insisted in court Monday that the group had complied with state requirements. State elections officials say recall organizers submitted more than 10,000 valid signatures.

After hearing oral arguments in the case, Judge Hugh Hegyi told a packed courtroom that he will issue a ruling by week's end.

Pearce was not in court Monday and he has not returned calls seeking comment. But he has called recall supporters "radical extremists" and "far-left anarchists."
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http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0809/Russell-Pearce-father-of...

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4.
Hunger striker seeks audience with Deal on immigration
By David Ibata
The Atlanta Journal Constitution, August 9, 2011

A Mableton man who is in the 40th day of a hunger strike to protest Georgia’s new immigration law is seeking an audience with Gov. Nathan Deal as his condition weakens, Channel 2 Action News reports.

Salvador Zamora was in a wheelchair, accompanied by supporters, as he delivered a letter Tuesday to Deal’s office in the state Capitol. Zamora is protesting HB 87, the Georgia immigration law that took effect July 1, the day his hunger strike began.

“These laws are not good not only for the immigrant community, but are not good for Georgia,” Zamora told Channel 2. “We need also to show (Deal) this is bad for the people and this puts a lot of pressure and fear in people and they are running away and hiding.”

The hunger strike started with two men, but one of them dropped out on the 12th day of the fast to take care of Zamora when he came down with an infection.

In a telephone interview with the AJC, Zamora said he has lost about 30 pounds since his protest began and now weighs 175 pounds. He gotten over the infection but now has the “normal symptoms” of food deprivation – “dizziness, headaches.”

“Sometimes I can walk, but it’s a lot of pain, especially from the knees down. Sometimes it’s very hard to get up,” he said.

“We’re trying to get some results and waiting for an answer from the governor, and we’re going to consider stopping if we get an appointment,” Zamora said.

The governor’s office confirmed receiving the letter, but it was unclear late Tuesday if Deal would meet with Zamora, Channel 2 reports.

Zamora is supported in his hunger strike by the Cobb Immigrant Alliance, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights and other organizations.

"Salvador is determined to continue his hunger strike, risking even death, until Governor Deal agrees to meet with him about the effects of HB 87 on all the residents of Georgia,” Cobb Alliance spokesman Rich Pellegrino said in a news release.
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http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/hunger-striker-seeks-...

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5.
Republican group seeking to engage Hispanic voters to hold conference in New Mexico
The Associated Press, August 9, 2011

A conservative Republican group formed last year to woo more Hispanics to the GOP will hold its second conference in Albuquerque next month.

The Hispanic Leadership Network, which is backed by former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman and his American Action Network, on Wednesday will announce plans for the gathering Sept. 23 and 24 at the Hyatt Regency. The group’s inaugural conference was held in January in Miami.

Coleman says the network was created to engage Hispanics on “center-right” issues like the economy, jobs, education and immigration reform.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republican-group-seeking-to-engag...