Every Day is Magic: Ada Limón
In her 2015 collection, Bright Dead Things, a National Book Award finalist for poetry, Ada Limón writes of moving to Kentucky: “Confession: I did not want to live here.” It’s perhaps not a surprising sentiment coming from a coastally oriented person who was raised in Northern California, attended college in Seattle, and then spent over a decade in New York City.
But Limón and her husband, Lucas, have been in Lexington for seven years now and the effects of settling into this place are noticeable in her new book, The Carrying (Milkweed, Aug.). It’s a phenomenally lively and attentive collection replete with the trappings of living a little closer to nature. While Bright Dead Things is marked by a preponderance of light, such as images of fireflies and neon signs, The Carrying features numerous appearances by various trees, birds, and beetles. Limón also demonstrates a greater willingness to be explicit in naming colors, particularly green. “It’s crazy green, the whole book,” she says. “Lexington is the greenest place I’ve ever lived.” Similarly, where in Bright Dead Things, Limón tells a lot of stories and anecdotes, in The Carrying she is very present in her thoughts and experiences.
As it turns out, these shifts in focus have another, altogether unexpected source. While putting Bright Dead Things together, Limón was diagnosed with chronic vestibular neuronitis, which can cause bouts of vertigo. “If I’m really having vertigo, it’s pretty intense and I really have to focus,”
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Everyone benefits from an inclusive work culture
:..Maria J. Martinez is president/CEO of Border FCU, Del Rio, Texas. She’s a founding member of the Network of Latino Credit Unions and Professionals, the 2012 Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Woman of the Year, a 2015 Woman of Distinction of the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce, Cornerstone Credit Union League’s 2016 Professional of the Year, and a 2017 Herb Wegner Memorial Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement winner. She has been in the credit union industry for almost 32 years…”
https://news.cuna.org/articles/117431-everyone-benefits-from-an-inclusive-work-culture
Women in the Workforce – Mexico: Quick Take
“LEADERSHIP
Women’s Representation in Senior Roles Has Improved for Three Years in a Row
Women held 34% of senior positions in 2018.8
75% of companies had at least one woman in senior management.
However, Few Women Hold Board Seats
Women held only 5.7% positions on major corporate boards in 2015, below the 14.7% global average.
Women Have Made Significant Strides in Politics
Women will constitute 49% of the lower house and 51% of the senate when the congress is seated in December 2018.
Mexico will be ranked fourth globally for representation of women in legislature.
Women will make up 50% of most state legislatures….”
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Mario Rodriguez Executive Director
“Mario Rodriguez, an aviation expert with over 29 years of experience in the private and public sectors, was appointed as the executive director of the Indianapolis Airport Authority in 2014. Prior to the Authority, Rodriguez successfully transformed the Long Beach Airport into an award-winning organization with world-class facilities and exceptional financial performance. Rodriguez also served as president of the California Airports Council, and he sits on the board of Airports Council International (ACI). In the past he served at airports..”
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Victoria L Fernandez
“.Mrs. Fernandez will work alongside the firm’s executive and research teams to analyze current market trends and support asset allocation decisions across both equity and fixed income portfolios based on Crossmark’s investment outlook. Mrs. Fernandez joined the firm in 2012 as Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income. In her new role, she will maintain responsibility for managing the fixed income investment team.
“Victoria’s expertise in market analysis and her quantitative-research capabilities have proven to be an invaluable addition to our investment process,” said Crossmark’s President and Chief Executive Officer Michael L. Kern, III, CFA. “At Crossmark, we are dedicated to delivering the best investment strategies to our clients throughout changing market environments. I am confident that with Victoria’s leadership as Chief Market Strategist…”
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USMCA brings meaningful supply chain benefits, trade experts say
“With house passage of trade deal, experts are hopeful the USMCA will become a reality in 2020.
Trade experts say supply chain professionals have much to cheer about now that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is closer to becoming a reality. The biggest deal? The agreement’s efforts to address customs administration and trade facilitation, which experts say will go a long way toward streamlining cross-border shipments.
“From beginning to end, it’s the…”
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Updated U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement maintains NAFTA’s labour mobility rules
“The rules for professional work visas will remain unchanged under Canada’s new free trade deal with the United States and Mexico.
The three countries approved updates to the agreement’s original text on Tuesday, December 10, paving the way for its ratification.
Under the new agreement, the chapter that deals with temporary entry for business persons and professionals, Chapter 16, remains essentially unchanged from the original North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.
Chapter 16 allows employers in Canada, the United States and Mexico to access professional labour from all three countries…”
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American farms recruit Mexican veterinarians for jobs as animal scientists — but the real work is milking cows and cleaning pens for low pay
“Leslie Ortiz had just graduated when a recruiter arrived at her Mexico City university looking for veterinarians to work on an Idaho dairy farm.
It appeared to be an opportunity to gain experience, learn English, pay down credit card debt from her time as a student and even start to save.
The offer came with a visa — one issued through a special program for professionals from Mexico and Canada who are needed for high-skilled jobs in the U.S.
When Ortiz, then 26, learned she got the job — an animal scientist at Funk Dairy — she was thrilled. To pay for her flight to Idaho, she borrowed $150 from family and pawned her jewelry, including a gold chainlet with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe she received on her 15th birthday…”
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Student reaches for stars while supporting family with personal business
“The stars aligned when Mariella Solano first got the idea of owning an astrology-themed jewelry business.
The second-year political science student launched her jewelry business, Soluna Jewelry Co., on Instagram last month to help pay for her college expenses and has already garnered over 100 sales. Although Solano loves jewelry, she said she mainly sees her business as a way to help her family.
“My parents are both undocumented. It’s hard for them to get jobs,” Solano said. “That leads into why I tried to become self-reliant, so they don’t have to worry about providing for me too.” ‘
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Arizona moves to expand trade with Mexico
“…PHOENIX, Ariz. (Border Report) — When Americans order a product online, they take it for granted it’ll get to them on time. But when Mexican residents order merchandise from a U.S. company, they traditionally face week-long waits for Mexican customs to clear the package.
That is about to change as an Arizona airport becomes the first in the United States to pre-clear items shipped to anywhere in Mexico. Under the SkyBridge Arizona project, Mexican customs inspectors will be based at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and approve items for immediate delivery to any Mexican city, Arizona officials say.
The implications of the program go well beyond young Mexican professionals being able to receive electronic gadgets before their popularity fades, airport officials …”
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Hispanic Unemployment Rate Ties All-Time Low
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The number of Hispanics and Latinos employed set a record high in August as their national, seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate matched its record low of 4.2%, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday show.
In August, the unemployment rate for Hispanics and Latinos, aged 16 and up, was 4.2%, down from 4.5% in July, returning to the record low of 4.2% in April and May – which broke the record low of 4.3% set two months earlier in February. BLS began tracking Hispanic-Latino employment data in 1973.
285,000 more Hispanics had jobs in August, as the 27,866,000 employed broke the record for Hispanic employment of 27,701,000 set in December 2018. The number of Hispanics participating in the workplace rose in August, as did Hispanics’ labor force participation rate, which increased from 66.4% to 66.7%.
The number of unemployed Hispanics fell by 98,000 to 1,216,000, down from 1,314,000 in July…”
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Andres Garcia-Amaya
“…Andres Garcia-Amaya founded Zoe Financial with the goal of improving people’s relationships with their personal finances.
His childhood was spent on a farm in Colombia before his parents moved their family to New York when he was a young teenager. Andres later graduated from Villanova University where he met his wife. After completing his undergrad and a stint as an institutional trader at Morgan Stanley, he went on to study at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, where he received his MBA on an academic achievement scholarship…”
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Money Concepts Regional Director, Gilbert Mercado Receives Recognition for Texas Association of Mexican American Chamber of Commerce Businessman of the Year
“Money Concepts Regional Director, Gilbert Mercado, won the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce Businessman of the Year Award from a Small Chamber.
Gilbert joined Money Concepts in February 2006 as a President and in March 2017, he became a Regional Director for the Del Rio, Texas area. His independent organization focuses on holistic planning including tax preparation services.
Money Concepts President & CEO, Denis Walsh stated, “It is such a pleasure to see someone so committed to helping others receive a well-deserved recognition. Gilbert is a total professional and his true concern for others shines through in everything he does.”
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New Jobs Report Shows Record Unemployment Lows for Hispanics, Women May 3rd, 2019
“…At 4.2% the Hispanic unemployment rate is the lowest it has ever been, and at 3.1% the adult women unemployment rate reached its lowest since 1953…”
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Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
“…While immigrants from Mexico dominated the flows post-1970, the makeup of newcomers has changed since the 2007-09 recession. Recently arrived immigrants are more likely to come from Asia, with India and China leading the way. Countries such as the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Cuba, El Salvador, and Venezuela have also seen sizeable emigration to the United States. By contrast, there were fewer Mexican immigrants in the United States in 2017 than in 2010, representing the biggest decline of all immigrant groups…”
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Latinos’ Incomes Higher Than Before Great Recession, but U.S.-Born Latinos Yet to Recover
“…Overall gain is driven by rise in share of higher-income immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for more years… U.S.-born Latinos have yet to recover financially from the Great Recession.The Great Recession of 2007-09 triggered a lengthy period of decline in the incomes of American workers. Since hitting a trough stretching from 2012 to 2014, their financial fortunes appear to be on the mend – in 2017, a decade after the recession began, the median personal income of American workers stood 3% higher than in 2007…”
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A Central American Marshall Plan Won’t Work
“Since late January, thousands of would-be asylum applicants have been held up just outside of the U.S. border with Mexico, where they have been forced to wait their turn to speak to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The growing humanitarian situation—camps for migrants are overcrowded, unhygienic, and dangerous—has renewed focus on Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s call for a Central American Marshall Plan, through which $30 billion would be channeled toward regional development in an effort to ease migration pressures. López Obrador, popularly known as AMLO, has set a goal of funding the plan by May, and U.S. President Donald Trump, eager to halt immigration to the United States, agreed to participate to the tune of $5.8 billion…”
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Asian Americans Are the Least Likely Group in the U.S. to Be Promoted to Management
“Asian Americans are the forgotten minority in the glass ceiling conversation.
This was painfully obvious to us while reading the newly released diversity and inclusion report from a large Silicon Valley company: Its 19 pages never specifically address Asian Americans. Asian men are lumped into a “non-underrepresented” category with white men (we’ll say more about that below); Asian women are assigned to a category that includes women of all races. In contrast, the report addresses Hispanics, African Americans, and Native Americans as distinct categories. Ironically, the chief diversity and inclusion officer of the company remarked about its efforts, “If you do not intentionally include, you will unintentionally exclude.”
But excluded from the report was the fact that Asian Americans are the least likely racial group to be promoted into Silicon Valley’s management and executive levels, even though they are the most likely to be hired into high-tech jobs. This was a key finding in a 2017 report we coauthored for the Ascend Foundation (“The Illusion of Asian Success”), analyzing EEOC data on Silicon Valley’s management pipeline…”
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Baker Tilly Appoints Mexico Market Leader
“CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mar 5, 2019–Leading advisory, tax and assurance firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (Baker Tilly) welcomes Angel Ramirez to its international services practice as Mexico market leader. In his role, Ramirez will strengthen Baker Tilly’s market-leading expansion solutions for clients, specifically in the area of U.S.-Mexico business growth, operations and trade regulations.
Most recently, Ramirez was Midwest market director for ProMexico – the Mexican government’s trade and investment agency. Following recent news by the Mexican government that all of ProMexico’s foreign offices are expected to close, and operations to fully cease by early 2019, Ramirez’s addition to the Baker Tilly team is both welcome and timely.
Ramirez’s experience includes working in the automotive sector and supply chain and production planning for large consumer product companies in the U.S. and Mexico…”
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Online thrifted clothing platform offers affordability, convenience to students
“Myrka Vega thrifted for clothes out of necessity growing up.
Now, she thrifts out of enjoyment, sharing her hobby with the UCLA community through an online thrift store she founded with friends.
1997 Thrift launched Nov. 16, with UCLA students Myrka Vega, Maria Amaya Morfin and Terii Sanchez at the lead.
Morfin, a fourth-year international development studies student, said the concept of the store is simple: The group purchases clothing from various thrift stores in the area, currently offering one of each piece, with the goal of finding styles that cater to all UCLA students…”
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NAFTA renegotiation signals little change for HE so far
“…In his United States presidential campaign in 2016, Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and to potentially withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a trilateral agreement between Canada, Mexico and the US which has been in effect since 1994.
Trump kept his promise to end the US’ participation in the TPP and in January 2017 signed an executive order to withdraw from the agreement.
However, in the commercial interests of the major economic industries of the US, he agreed to begin the renegotiation of NAFTA. Talks took place between August 2017 and September 2018. The new agreement, which is to be revised and ratified by the three countries, includes important changes regarding rules of origin, wages, the review or renewal mechanisms, agriculture and e-commerce…”
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