---Pew Hispanic Center report on Hispanic registered voters---
Hispanic registered voters support Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain by 66% to 23%, according to a nationwide survey of 2,015 Latinos conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, from June 9 through July 13, 2008. The presumptive Democratic nominee's strong showing in this survey represents a sharp reversal in his fortunes from the primaries, when Obama lost the Latino vote to Hillary Clinton by a nearly two-to-one ratio, giving rise to speculation in some quarters that Hispanics were disinclined to vote for a Black candidate. In this new survey, three times as many respondents said being Black would help Obama (32%) with Latino voters than said it would hurt him (11%); the majority (53%) said his race would make no difference to Latino voters. In addition to their strong support for Obama, Latino voters have moved sharply into the Democratic camp in the past two years, reversing a pro-GOP tide that had been evident among Latinos earlier in the decade. Some 65% of Latino registered voters now say they identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, compared with just 26% who identify with or lean toward the GOP. This 39 percentage point Democratic Party identification edge is larger than it has been at any time this decade; as recently as 2006, the partisan gap was just 21 percentage points.

Michelle Obama & family

Judge Greg Mathis

Collio and Wendy Williams(right)

Natalie Cole

Business World Index

---Michelle Obama to address Women for Obama---
The Obama campaign announced that Michelle Obama will address a gathering of Women for Obama in Chicago on Monday, July 28. There, she will discuss the campaign’s success in reaching women across the country, and discuss why her husband, Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, will be a champion in addressing the unique challenges facing working women and families. Mrs. Obama will also unveil a Blueprint for America’s Working Women and Families, detailing Barack Obama’s agenda to help women balance work and family, to keep themselves and their families healthy, and to prosper in a changing economy. Michelle Obama kicked off the Women for Obama program in Chicago in April 2007. Since then, Women for Obama has created a nationwide network of tens of thousands of women working to educate and empower themselves on the issues that are most important to women and families. “We know the importance of women’s voices and votes in this election cannot be overstated, and I am so proud of the progress Women for Obama has made over the last year, bringing the issues that are most important to women and families to the center of this campaign,” said Michelle Obama. Photo by: Martin Schoeller

---Putting the REAL back in Real Estate---
The nation’s oldest minority trade association convenes its 61st Annual Convention at a time when one in five Black American homeowners is projected to lose a residence due to foreclosure. Facing severe economic pressures of their own, more than 600 members of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) are scheduled to attend the four-day gathering, August 8-11, at the Memphis Marriott Downtown Hotel, Memphis, TN. The expected 600 attendees representing NAREB’s 84 chapters, will meet under the banner, “Putting the REAL back in Real Estate,” expect to learn new business survival skills, understand key elements of the re-tooled mortgage lending environment, and training to provide better service to homebuyers and sellers in a roller coaster real estate market. Plans call for the collaborative issuance of a national “Call to Action” designed to include in public dialogue the dire circumstances experienced by the estimated 2 million Black American homeowners facing foreclosure.

---Hispanic Hotel Owners Association---
The Hispanic Hotel Owners Association (HHOA), a rapidly growing non-profit organization that seeks to increase Latino ownership of hotels, announced that its members have either acquired or began development on 48 hotels in the past 12 months. The organization has more than 300 members and continues to attract both existing and potential Hispanic hotel owners and investors at a rapid pace. "Obviously, this has been an untapped market," said Angela Gonzalez-Rowe, founder and President of the Hispanic Hotel Owners Association. "Because hotels arguably are the most complex real estate class, investment can be quite intimidating. Through our Hotel Investment Series, we have been able to attract more than 115 Hispanics who have the financial strength and want to learn more about the investment opportunities in the industry. Many are invested in other segments of hospitality, such as restaurants, and this is a natural extension for them." "When HHOA was founded, we could identify less than 1 percent of hotels in the U.S. that were Hispanic-owned," she pointed out. "In less than two years, that number has increased dramatically. We are on target with our goal of having at least 500 Latino-owned, U.S. hotels by 2011."

---JET magazine features Judge Greg Mathis---
TV Judge Greg Mathis is laying down the law outside of the courtroom in an urgent need to save young Black men. In an interview with JET magazine, Mathis speaks out about the recent weapons charges and jail sentencing of rap superstar T.I. and how young Black men can avoid making similar choices. "T.I. did not need all those machine guns and silencers to defend himself," Mathis stated. "Too many of our young Black men are succumbing to a subculture of self-destruction involving drugs and violence." Mathis, who grew up in the projects of Detroit and also spent time in jail as a teen on a weapons charge, is determined to inspire Black youth to reject violence and develop productive, positive lives. He offers an encouraging statement: "Be tough in the real world. Empower yourself with real weapons of success, meaning an education." This issue of JET magazine is on stands Monday, July 28.

---Coolio on ‘The Wendy Williams Show’---
The Wendy Williams Show recently featured rapper, Coolio, where he addressed everything from his recent arrest to what he gave up to be a better role model for his son. Filmed in New York and airing weekdays exclusively on FOX owned and operated stations, ‘The Wendy Williams Show’ will be televised in New York on WNYW FOX 5 at 10:00 a.m. (ET) and air in Los Angeles/KTTV FOX 11 at 1:00 p.m. (PT); Dallas/KDFW FOX 4 at 11:00 a.m. (CT); and Detroit/WJBK FOX 2 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). (Photo by Anders Krusberg.)

---JET reports Natalie Cole diagnosed with Hepatitis C---
Grammy Award-winning singer Natalie Cole, 58, revealed recently that she has been diagnosed with the Hepatitis C virus and that it is probably the result of her drug use decades ago. Cole told JET magazine that her treatment will not interfere with the release and promotion of her new CD, "Still Unforgettable." "I am committed to my belief in myself and in my abiding faith to meet this challenge with heartfelt optimism and determination," says Cole. This issue of JET magazine is on stands Monday, July 28.

---From scientists to entrepreneurs---
With the life sciences positioned to drive Pennsylvania's economic future, finding an advantage amidst global competition requires finding new and overlooked resources. The bench2BUSINESS 2008 Conference and Awards Celebration, Nov. 8-9, does just that, and will help secure that edge. The inaugural event will draw some 100 scientific investigators of color to Philadelphia and strengthen their skills and deepen their capacity in the business side of the life sciences industry. It will also showcase those already making an impact as scientific entrepreneurs. In spite of the locale, this is a venture that seeks to pull in participants and support statewide and beyond. The targeted audience is African Americans, Latinos, and other underrepresented groups of color in the sciences. "It is through greater inclusion that Pennsylvania will be able to harness its full human and fiscal potential and to seize the growth opportunities in the biosciences," said Bernard E. Anderson, the Wharton School economist also chairs the advisory board of industry, academic and government leaders shaping this event. Industry reports show that Pennsylvania ranks in the Top 5 of biotechnology hotspots in the nation, generating jobs and tax revenues. Still, areas such as Massachusetts and North Carolina are among the many fierce domestic competitors -- let alone places such as Ireland and Japan.