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Let’s do more than just celebrate the Latino community. Let’s invest in it

Each September we celebrate the influence and contributions of Latinos in the United States. We are educators and entrepreneurs, farmworkers and first responders, attorneys and artists– and so much more. These celebrations are particularly salient in the Inland Empire, where Latinos are now the majority of the population, 51.5%, according to the 2020 Census –...
By JESSE MELGAR and LUZ GALLEGOS | |

Group launches $10 million push to reach Asian American voters in battleground states

In the 2020 presidential election, the number of Asian Americans who voted in five battleground states was larger than the presidential margin of victory, according to the nonpartisan group Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, or APIAVote. The Asian American electorate has been higher on the radar of political campaigns since 2018, Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder...
By Zachary Schermele |

Group launches $10 million push to reach Asian American voters in battleground states

In the 2020 presidential election, the number of Asian Americans who voted in five battleground states was larger than the presidential margin of victory, according to the nonpartisan group Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, or APIAVote. The Asian American electorate has been higher on the radar of political campaigns since 2018, Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder...
By Zachary Schermele |

In Orange County, a House Race Is Testing What Asian Americans Want

Karthick Ramakrishnan, the founder of AAPI Data, which helps conduct the annual Asian American Voter Survey, said the economy and crime were top issues for respondents, which could give an advantage to Republicans. But health care has also been a major issue, he said, which could boost Democrats, who recently pushed through Congress sweeping climate...
By Stephanie Lai |

Providing Actionable Data For The IE Ecosystem with Gary Rettberg of UCR Center For Social Innovation

CSI Research Manager, Gary Rettberg, was featured on The Startempire Wire Founder’s Podcast this week. They discussed Gary’s experience as a Research Manager, and also dove into the different data and narrative work surrounding the innovation ecosystem in the Inland Empire. Finally, they get into details about the newly published data supplement released in conjunction...

2021 IE Innovation Ecosystem Highlights & Web Repository Released

The Center for Social Innovation at UC Riverside (CSI) and Blended Impact released its second joint effort, the 2021 IE Innovation Ecosystem Highlights, this week on https://iesquared.org. Last year, in April 2021, CSI partnered with Blended Impact on the region’s first comprehensive report on the Inland Empire innovation ecosystem. The report analyzed the history of...
By Gary Rettberg |
“It is a haven for a lot of people, but it comes with a number of crises that local officials are having to address,” Tyrone Beason says of the Inland Empire.

People of color find ‘room to breathe’ in the Inland Empire

Riverside and San Bernardino counties used to be known for their vast citrus groves and agricultural way of life. But in recent years, the Inland Empire has cultivated suburban subdivisions and massive warehouses and logistics centers. These changes have made the region a magnet for folks leaving cities like LA and Long Beach — particularly...
By Zoie Matthew |
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) held a press conference following Senate passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and the NO HATE ACT at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Apr. 22, 2021.

Study: Asian American voters ignored in political space

“There isn’t as much awareness, yet about the rising political influence of our community, too. I mean, we are still a smaller population relative to African American, Latinos, etcetera, but that’s not an excuse. They still need to be paying attention to us,” said Marita Etcubañez, senior director of strategic initiatives for Asian American Advancing...
By Lia Reichmann |
Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, talks with members of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) during a social gathering June 28, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

Face to Face: SPLC President Margaret Huang strengthens ties with Asian American journalists at informal D.C. gathering

As Huang noted, the AAPI population is the fastest-growing in the nation. Huang herself is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant father and a white mother whose family has been in the U.S. for many generations. Between 2000 and 2019, this demographic grew 81%, significantly more than the 70% increase among the Latinx community, according...
By Rhonda Sonnenberg |

What are the Top Issues for Asian Americans?

Elaborating, she added: “Asian Americans ranked healthcare (88%), jobs and the economy (85%), inflation (83%), crime (85%), education (82%), the environment (75%) and gun control (73%) as ‘extremely important’ or ‘very important’ issues when deciding their votes in November.” “Political parties need to cease their views that Asian Americans only care about crime, or only...
By Jennie L. Ilustre |
In this photo from September 16, 2020, an Orange County Registrar of Voters election services worker stands by as the media gets a view of the "Super Vote Center Site" for walk-in and drive-thru voting starting Oct. 30th at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The OC Registrar of Voters held a media showcase and announced a new partnership with the Honda Center and the Anaheim Ducks organization to expand access to voting in the upcoming November 3, 2020, Presidential General Election. For the first time in history

Political group taps small-business owners in California to help capture Asian American vote

The Republican National Committee is also taking stock of what motivates AAPI voters, with outreach such as setting up tables at gas stations to ask residents about their concerns. The committee's presence in Orange County, where it opened an AAPI community center last year, is its strongest in the state because of its "robust team,"...
By Priscella Vega, Los Angeles Times |
Diamond Valley Lake, one of Southern California's largest reservoirs (800,000 acre-feet) used primarily for drinking water and agriculture, is filled with water from the Colorado River and viewed at 75% capacity on the morning of November 18, 2021, near Hemet, California.

Coastal Californians of Color Feel Inland Empire's Lure

"My ideas about the Inland Empire have always been seeded with a prickly skepticism" writes Tyrone Beason in the latest installment of his L.A. Times series, "My Country." But as Beason immersed himself in the vast region, he discovered a bygone California of orange trees and wild burros that's drawing more and more people of...
By Ariana Proehl |
A mobile clinic sponsored by Eastern Michigan University provides free vaccines at the Philippine American Community Center of Michigan (PACCM) in Southfield.

Despite state efforts to protect abortion access, Asian Americans in Michigan still see obstacles

According to AAPI Data’s analysis of the census’s 2020 American Community Survey, 32 percent of Asian Americans — the highest of any racial or ethnic group — and 12 percent of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have limited English proficiency and so may face language barriers in trying to access reproductive health care. These groups...
By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang |

Hispanic & Latino, AAPI communities show largest jump in voting-age population ahead of primary

“Voting is your superpower; voting is your voice. Don't think about the politics. Think about the issues that affect you and your family,” said Christina Thor, AAPI Coalition of Wisconsin member. Pew Research data shows 4.2% of Wisconsin’s eligible voter population is Latino, while the AAPI share of the electorate in Wisconsin is 3.3% According...
By Elaine Rojas-Castillo |
Breast Cancer Patient

Study examines 'black boxing' in breast cancer survivorship care

Today, many women diagnosed with breast cancer live long after completing their cancer treatments and have post-treatment health and information needs. Unfortunately, across healthcare systems, survivorship care is neither consistent nor systematically implemented. By conducting in-depth interviews with 82 breast cancer survivors and 84 providers in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, Deborah Lefkowitz...
By IqbalL Pittalwala, UCR News |

UCR researcher employs Actor-Network Theory to open black boxes in breast cancer survivorship care

Today, many women diagnosed with breast cancer live long after completing their cancer treatments and have post-treatment health and information needs. Unfortunately, across healthcare systems, survivorship care is neither consistent nor systematically implemented. By conducting in-depth interviews with 82 breast cancer survivors and 84 providers in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, Deborah Lefkowitz...
By Emily Henderson |

Asian American voters remain largely ignored by political parties, according to new survey

The new poll, conducted by APIA Vote, AAPI Data and Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), highlighted how the community has shown continued enthusiasm for civic engagement this year. AAPI Data founder and director Karthick Ramakrishnan noted that the trend "builds on record levels of turnout that we saw among Asian...
By Ryan General |

Candidates must engage with Asian Americans beyond crime and education, new survey indicates

The Asian American Voter Survey, released Monday, examined Asian Americans’ and Pacific Islanders’ attitudes about key issues leading up to the elections in November. It found that while hate crimes and education continue to be significant to Asian Americans, the group’s priorities also lie in issues like health insurance, the economy and the environment. In...
By Kimmy Yam |
Conducted by Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), AAPI Data and Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the ‘2022 Asian American Voter Survey' aims to highlight the AAPI community’s voting choice, policy priorities and views.

Staying the Course: Poll Finds Indian Americans Most Likely to Favor the Democrats in Midterm Elections

Nearly 70 percent of Indian American voters have the deepest loyalty to the Democratic Party and are more likely to favor those candidates in the November elections, a new survey has revealed. Conducted by Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), AAPI Data and Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the ‘ 2022 Asian American Voter Survey’...
By https://americankahani.com/ |

AsAm Voter Survey Reveals Key Issues Ahead of Midterms

Karthick Ramakrishnan, a co-founder of AAPI data, observed that the survey data rebuts the perception, fueled by the Model Minority myth, that Asian American issues are less important because they are more successful than average, or that they tend to be less politically involved. “What our data over the years consistently has shown are that...
By Julia Tong |