Orlando Latino En Breve

•    USA TODAY and El Nuevo Día launchUSA TODAY Puerto Rico Edition. The first edition, published February 22, caters to travelers and tourists on the island.  Besides the regular USA Today newspaper, the Puerto Rico edition will include two pages of translated articles from Spanish-language Puerto Rican daily El Nuevo Dia. The translated articles will be focused on Puerto Rican politics, economy, society, sports, entertainment and tourism. USA Today has a similar partnership in Cancun, Mexico.

• Torii Hunter called dark-skinned Latino baseball players "impostors." In an interview that USA Today published Tuesday, the Angels outfielder discussed the changing demographics in baseball.
"People see dark faces out there, and the perception is that they're African American. They're not us. They're impostors," he told Bob Nightengale. He added, "As African-American players, we have a theory that baseball can go get an imitator and pass them off as us.... It's like, 'Why should I get this kid from the South Side of Chicago and have Scott Boras represent him and pay him $5 million when you can get a Dominican guy for a bag of chips?'" Wow.  Read the story here.



• A new Population Bulletin by the Population Reference Bureau shows that Latino men may be feeling the effects of the recession more than other demographic groups. PRB's report, "U.S. Economic and Social Trends Since 2000," not only examines the impact of the recession on the U.S. population, but also assesses the divergent paths of racial and ethnic groups over the past few years. Read a synopsis of the report here.

• The 2010 Census is coming. I don't know about you, but I got my letter in the mail stating that I would be mailed a census form in another week or so.  That's a letter to inform me that another letter is coming... I know some Latinos want to boycott the Census over a lack of progress on immigration reform, but I think that's a bad idea. There's a lot at stake in the Census, including $400 billion in federal funds for your state and local community and voter reapportionment. Fill out your Census as soon as you get it. That's what I plan to do.

• Minorities accounted for 48 percent of all births in the nation in the 12 months that ended in July 2008.  Minority births could hit the 50 percent benchmark this year. In case you're wondering, there are about 10 Hispanic births for each Hispanic death. We are the most fertile group. Read the New York Times story. 

• Univision Interactive Media plans to launch a new online and mobile “Novelas y Series” (Novelas and Series) channel later this year on Univision.com. This launch follows the website’s successful originally produced webnovela, “Vidas Cruzadas” (Crossed Lives). Go to univision.com to read more.