Hispanics

Lottery wants to pitch tickets in Spanish

bniolet — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:09:00 -0500

State lottery officials want to start advertising lottery tickets in Spanish.

There's a catch. The 2005 law that created the lottery states, "No advertising may intentionally target specific groups or economic classes."

So that leaves lottery officials trying to figure out how to market to Hispanics without targeting a specific group. Advertising has always been a sensitive issue for the lottery since critics don't want government encouraging people to gamble.

The lottery was created to raise money for education programs and Executive Director Tom Shaheen said there is a large untapped market. Out of 5,900 retailers, lottery officials figure that nearly 200 have a customer base in which at least half don't speak English.

So, Shaheen told lottery commission members Wednesday, he'd like permission to work up Spanish radio and print ads within the law.

"Thanks for throwing us into that briar patch," Commission chairman John McArthur joked.

The ads would not necessarily be translations of the English language ads already running. The lottery's marketing staff would ensure they are culturally relevant.

"I strongly feel it's an opportunity to for us," said Commission member Bridget-Anne Hampden. "It's recognizing the diversity of our state."

The commission told lottery staff to come back with a proposal on how they would propose to legally advertise in Spanish.

Bazan to chair La Raza board

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:10:11 -0400

Andea Bazán has been elected chairwoman of the board of the National Council of La Raza.

A longtime advocate for Hispanic issues in North Carolina, Bazán will now work at a national level in the new position at the largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States. She succeeds the publisher of the country's largest Spanish-language daily paper.

"Being elected to serve as NCLR's Board Chair is truly a proud moment for me, both personally and professionally," she said in a statement.

Bazan is currently president of the Triangle Community Foundation, a charity in Durham. Previously, she was a co-founder and executive director of El Pueblo, a statewide advocacy and public policy group on Hispanic affairs.

She has master's degrees in social work and public health from UNC-Chapel Hill and has served on the board of La Raza since 2002, most recently as vice chairwoman.

Cisneros: Hispanics part of 'American dream'

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:36:05 -0400

Henry Cisneros says that the future of the Democratic Party lies with Latinos.

The former Cabinet secretary said today that the country's growing Hispanic population in the United States will be a vital constituency in the future, but he said that won't change the party's issues much because they are already "part of the American dream."

"There are very few issues where the Latino interest diverges from the traditional American interest," he told Dome. "This is a group that comes here to work, that is traditional in its family values, in its church values."

A supporter of Hillary Clinton, Cisneros was traveling in North Carolina and making appearances on local Spanish-language radio on her behalf. He said that her high level of support among Hispanics is grounded in part on memories of her husband's presidency, in which he served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Still, Clinton won't win too many votes from Hispanics in North Carolina. According to recent figures from the State Board of Elections, there are 41,897 Hispanic voters, or less than 1 percent of the electorate.

But Triangle Community Foundation President Andrea Bazan-Manson, who was traveling with Cisneros, said that number may be undercounted because voters could only check a box noting that they are Hispanic in the last three years.

"All of us that registered 15 years ago didn't have a choice," she said.