1/23/08

Visitors from 101 Long Island Communities (29 countries and 38 states)

I started Latino Long Island October 2008--and, thus far, I've done zippo marketing for it.

So it's also a pleasant surprise to learn that so many people searching the Internet find their way to Latino Long Island and my other weblogs.

My sites have a cool data-collection tool called Google Analytics -- a free tool that collects and reports on a wide range of traffic and visitor data, including visitor patterns and preferences.

One of the things I love checking daily is where readers live. My weblog visitors are from 1,000s of towns from across America and the globe. Visitors from 29 countries and 38 US states (plus DC) have visited Latino Long Island.

In terms of local visitors, Long Islanders have visited Latino Long Island in access of 1000 times, representing 101 different jurisdictions or hometowns. My goal is to reach every neighborhood, village, town, city, halmlet and barrier island of our Latino Long Island.

Here's the list of towns as of March 18, 2008:

1. Albertson
2. Astoria
3. Babylon
4. Bay Shore
5. Bayside
6. Bethpage
7. Brentwood
8. Bridgehampton
9. Brooklyn
10. Calverton
11. Carle Place
12. Centereach
13. Central Islip
14. Cold Spring Harbor
15. College Point
16. Commack
17. Corona
18. Deer Park
19. East Hampton
20. East Meadow
21. East Northport
22. East Norwich
23. Elmhurst
24. Elmont
25. Farmingdale
26. Farmingville
27. Floral Park
28. Flushing
29. Forest Hills
30. Franklin Square
31. Garden City
32. Glenwood Landing
33. Great Neck
34. Greenlawn
35. Harrison
36. Hauppauge
37. Hempstead
38. Hicksville
39. Holbrook
40. Holtsville
41. Huntington
42. Huntington Station
43. Islandia
44. Islip Terrace
45. Jackson Heights
46. Jamaica
47. Jericho
48. Lake Grove
49. Levittown
50. Long Island City
51. Malverne
52. Manhasset
53. Manorville
54. Massapequa
55. Mastic
56. Mattituck
57. Medford
58. Melville
59. Middle Island
60. Miller Place
61. Mineola
62. Nesconset
63. New Hyde Park
64. North Babylon
65. Oakdale
66. Old Bethpage
67. Plainview
68. Port Jefferson Station
69. Queens Village
70. Rego Park
71. Ridge
72. Riverhead
73. Rockville Centre
74. Rocky Point
75. Ronkonkoma
76. Roosevelt
77. Rosedale
78. Roslyn
79. Roslyn Heights
80. Sayville
81. Selden
82. Shirley
83. Smithtown
84. Southampton
85. St James
86. Stony Brook
87. Sunnyside
88. Syosset
89. Uniondale
90. Upton
91. Valley Stream
92. Wantagh
93. Water Mill
94. West Babylon
95. West Hempstead
96. West Islip
97. Westbury
98. Williston Park
99. Woodbury
100. Woodside
101. Wyandanch

1/20/08

Isabel Pinto: Prepared to Succeed

According to Newsday's Long Island college freshmen find ways to adjust, Mineola High School graduate Isabel Pinto is thriving as a 1st year pre-law student at St. John's University.

However, many students struggle to adapt to the requirements of college life. Nationally, 16 percent of students at four-year colleges drop out or transfer before sophomore year.

While resourceful students and colleges with well-thought out support programs can ensure a successful transition to college, much more needs to be done to keep students in college--especially for struggling Latino students. The Lumina Foundation has taken a close at the challenges of Latino students and college retention (Camino A La Universidad) and they have issued a number of important recommendations.

Of course, the best college retention program is ensuring that students gain the academic and social skills necessary to succeed before they arrive on a college campus. Credit to the teachers Mineola High School and her parents for ensuring that Isabel Pinto was prepared to succeed.

1/9/08

Katie: A Long Islander in Scotland Missing Puerto Rico

Katie (aka, Long Aye-lander in Glasgow) is a Long Islander living in Scotland and missing Puerto Rico. Here's her latest post entitled: From Manhattan to Maricao: a Puerto Rican Odyssey.

I love visiting Puerto Rico. It’s relaxed yet alive, urban yet natural, American yet Latin American. If I wasn’t so set on going to Scotland, I could easily picture myself living in a little casita with a palm tree in the back garden.

Adrian is fond of pointing out the similarities between Scotland and Puerto Rico. He sites their shared love of fried food (and resulting obesity problems), extreme national pride, friendliness and political situations. As a semi-autonomous territory of the United States, Puerto Rico’s relationship with America is similar to Scotland’s relationship with England. And, just like in Scotland, people make a lot of noise about independence but nothing ever gets done about it.

Of course, Scotland and Puerto Rico are probably more different than they are similar. Scotland is wet, cold and miserable 80% of the time; Puerto Rico is warm and sunny 80% of the time. Puerto Rico is seriously overcrowded – 4 million people squashed into 3,515 sq mi – while Scotland only has 5 million people on its 30,414 sq mi of land. Scottish people may sound like they’re speaking another language, but Puerto Ricans ARE speaking another language. Most Puerto Ricans are naturally fabulous dancers; Scottish people…well, not so much. Adrian is perplexed by what he calls “white people dancing.” His attempts to imitate “white people dancing” are usually ridiculous but not all that far off the mark. Observe:

Ah, Puerto Rico - land of palm trees, beautiful beaches, insane traffic, reggaeton and Ricky Martin.

I miss you already.

JAZZ ON THE VINE - 2008 Long Island Winterfest

“JAZZ ON THE VINE” will be the theme of the 2008 Long Island Winterfest and will include jazz performances in winery tasting rooms every Saturday and Sunday afternoon over the five-week period, from Feb. 8- Mar. 9, 2008.

The calendar already includes nearly fifty performances with FREE admission. Included among the performances is a very special appearance by David Amram, hailed by the Washington Post as “one of the most versatile and skilled musicians America has ever produced." Visit the Winterfest website for schedule.

Also, Latin jazz great Papo Vazquez and his Pirates Troubadours band will kick off Winterfest 2008 at a special, ticketed performance at 8pm on Friday evening, February 8, presented by American Express. Visit http://www.liwinterfest.com/ or http://www.liwines.com/ to purchase tickets to this event, including a limited number of VIP passes.

Winterfest was conceived in 2006 to generate increased business on the East End of Suffolk County during the slowest part of the year by promoting a calendar of activities and specific offers. This will be the first time that Winterfest is adopting a particular musical theme. The jazz program is supplemented by special offers and promotions at businesses and cultural venues throughout Suffolk County.

1/8/08

Hispanic College Fund Call for Applicants

Scholarship Applications for the 2008-2009 academic year now available

Washington, DC--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--January 8, 2007--Scholarship applications for the 2008-2009 academic year are available online at The Hispanic College Fund's website. Scholarship amounts range from $500 - $10,000 and are for one-year only. All scholarship recipients must re-apply each year. The average scholarship awarded is$3,000.

Applications are ONLINE and require an essay, resumé and letter of recommendation. We do not accept any paper applications. Deadlines for our scholarships vary from February 1st, 2008 to March 15th, 2008.

The Hispanic College Fund offers several scholarships through its scholarship program. You must plan to attend a college or a university as a full-time student for the entire academic year in order to be eligible for a Hispanic College Fund scholarship. Only students who are U.S. citizen or permanent resident residing in the United States or Puerto Rico and have a minimum GPA of 3.0 are eligible.

In 2007 the Hispanic College Fund awarded over $1.8 million in scholarships to 615 students.

To learn more go to http://www.hispanicfund.org/ and begin your application!

1/5/08

Latino Business: $539 Billion by 2012

Speaking of Latino entrepreneurs...

Entrepreneurship, the willingness to take a risk and start one’s own business, has always been the driving force of the U.S. economy. Research indicates that among American minority groups, Latinos are the most likely to start their own business.

The most recent government data shows Latinos own the largest number of firms.

Continued growth is expected. HispanicBusiness.com projects that sales from Latino-owned firms will reach $330.1 billion in 2007, and is projected to reach $539 billion by 2012.

All the more reason why Dr. George Sanchez's new entreprenuership track at Briarcliffe College and stepped up recruitment of Latino students are such smart moves.

Joey Reviews Astoria's Luna de Juarez

Joey in Astoria reviews Luna de Juarez and gives the Mexican ("slightly fusion") restaurant the thumbs up.

Joey and his dinner guest loved the service.

Imagine that!

The most stand out thing to me from the get go and throughout the evening was the people. Everyone was so sweet and welcoming, the service was impeccable. I felt like royalty!
And the food? The modestly priced fare was "a delicious smorgasbord of flavors!"

Joey's conclusion?

"Go eat! This place has to iron out a few "taste" kinks but I have high hopes for these guys."

Mamaroneck's Mariana Boneo Selected for MLK Award

From across the Sound....

Mamaroneck Village resident, Mariana Boneo, has been selected by the Mamaroneck-Larchmont Human Rights Commission to be honored at the 21st annual celebration in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Emelin Theater on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 7:30 pm.

Mariana serves the community as the leader of a local social service agency, the Hispanic Resource Center. She has both assisted in the continuance of the center and tried to mediate when the Village of Mamaroneck and local day laborers were at odds. She also was instrumental in organizing the efforts of many who helped bring the community and its residents through the March floods.

Congratulations, Mariana!