KC Hispanic leader: Immigration reform will boost business

By Megan Hart

megan.hart@cjonline.com

No group will get everything it wants from immigration reform, but businesses still will benefit from the coming solution, according to Carlos Gomez.

Gomez, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City and a Topeka resident, spoke at the Topeka Independent Business Association’s lunch meeting Tuesday. Gomez said he would like to see a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million to 12 million people living in the United States who entered illegally, but he doesn’t expect that in the near future.

“It’s not going to happen,” he said.

Large-scale deportations aren’t likely either, Gomez said, and Congress is trying to find a middle ground that probably will allow some of the people who immigrated illegally to stay and work toward citizenship. That will be a boost for the economy, he said.

“That’s (for example), 5 million more people who can buy car insurance who couldn’t before,” he said. “That’s 5 million people who couldn’t get small-business loans before.”

Hispanics are the fastest-growing group when it comes to starting new businesses, Gomez said, and young females are leading business creation within that ethnic group. Like earlier waves of immigrants from Europe, most people from Latin American countries arrive in the United States with dreams and entrepreneurial inclinations, he said.

“A lot of people ask me what’s different about the Latino community,” he said. “The DNA of a small-business owner is the same.”

Spending also is growing among Hispanic consumers, making it important for businesses to learn how to reach them, Gomez said — and translating your fliers into Spanish isn’t the best tactic. Getting to know people in the Latino community through working with churches and nonprofit groups they value is more important, he said, because most people are loyal to businesses when they have a relationship with the owner and employees.

“At the end of the day, no matter the demographic, we’re all the same,” he said.

Business owners also need to recognize that there isn’t a monolithic “Hispanic” culture, Gomez said. People from Puerto Rico may respond differently to a certain message than do people from Mexico, he said, and even people from different states within Mexico may not have the same reaction because of cultural differences, making it doubly important to get to know your area’s community.

Though hiring employees who speak Spanish is helpful, hiring someone who isn’t qualified because he or she is bilingual is “the biggest mistake” a business can make, Gomez said. Businesses need to seek employees who have the right skills and show potential to grow, and having language skills is a bonus, he said.

El Salvadoreño provides taste of Central America in downtown Overland Park

 By KELLI DANIELS

The evening began with a pretty perfect bike ride up and down Lamar Avenue and then west to Metcalf Avenue.

Not surprisingly, we found ourselves winding our ride down near Downtown Overland Park surrounded by the usual watering holes.

Luckily for us, we couldn’t decide on where to stop to grab a bite and a brew as our spokes spun past a quaint Central American store front at 7926 Santa Fe Drive that is home to El Salvadoreño.

“How about here?” My friend asked as her bike was seemingly being drawn in by the authentic music spilling out of this urban, ethnic find.

After reading their accolades on Yelp and Urbanspoon, we learned we were not the only passersby who have been slaves to this Latino spell.

Quite honestly we didn’t expect much, especially after we were approached by the astute Anglo server named John who greeted us and looked like he had just left the set of The Truman Show. Little did we know, we were in for a very pleasant surprise.

As it turns out, John is the brother-in-law of the chef and owner Blanca Alvarenga and very knowledgeable of Salvadoreño fare.

He walked us through the menu and encouraged us to order the Sampler Platter which, as he explained, has a small version of everything on the first page of the menu.

I rubbed my hands together, scooted my chair in, looked at my friend and said, “Let’s do this.”

The appetizer, which served as a perfect tapas tasting for two, included five dishes that are apparent staples in El Salvadorian cuisine:

•  El Pastele — a perfectly fried dough which contained carrot, potato, chilés and braised beef with a light sauce that was undoubtedly the result of this combination being slowly melted together with the patience, discipline and passion that only a native could convey.

•  Next to that was a Papusa — a griddled soft corn shell filled with cheese and the pedals of the flower Foroco. We looked at each other nodding constantly as we savored each bite. The hand made papusa paired with the sweet and slightly floral notes of the loroco were pure incentive to book a trip to the small, coastal Latin American country.

•  The Enchilada — not at all what you would find from its neighbors to the north. This was more like a tostada of sorts. A fry bread that was topped with roasted chicken that was stewed in their house-made salsa, shaved radish, pickled beets and hard-boiled egg. It was our favorite on the plate and boasted so many flavors and textures, I found myself eating more of it just to figure it out.

•  “Tamale Extraordinaire” — riddled with braised pork and its rendering sauce this was, by far, the best tamale I have had in this town, hands down. The masa wrapping is much thicker than the Mexican version of this Latino staple and finer ground than Honduran tamales I have had and the pork melted in my mouth like a well crafted piece of chocolate.

•  Lastly, the Yucca Frita — topped with a spicy cabbage slaw called “Curtido” and, of course, chicharones. The yucca, although a very starchy vegetable was perfectly crispy and the sweetness of it was brazenly balanced with the sharp acidity in the slaw.

We were offered dessert but were somewhat over stimulated and still had a few miles to go on our journey home but we will definitely be back with more friends, empty stomachs and a greater curiosity for the rest of the menu. I encourage you to do the same.

El Salvadoreño can be found on the Internet via its Facebook page.

Bon Appetit.

Chef Kelli Daniels is owner and operator of Good You Mobile Vending and Catering, as well as the chief dishwasher, a restaurant consultant, sister, daughter, a lover and a fighter, metro cyclist, socialite, epicurean and drinker of strong coffee .

Clinton announces Latin America initiative

By DEEPTI HAJELA

Associated Press

The Clinton Global Initiative is taking its formula of a powerhouse gathering of global leaders to a new part of the world.

Former President Bill Clinton said Monday that the first Clinton Global Initiative Latin America is scheduled for December 8-10 in Rio de Janeiro. He made the announcement in New York City, at the mid-year meeting for his annual September conference, which brings together leaders in politics, business and philanthropy to tackle the world's biggest problems.

He was joined by the Brazilian city's mayor, Eduardo Paes, along with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the start of a session discussing climate change and how cities can deal with it.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a CGI commitment that a group of the world's cities would be taking: The creation of an assessment framework for evaluating risks from climate change.

The framework from the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group would allow for a common standard that could be used by cities all over the world as they try to figure out what actions to prioritize in trying to mitigate climate change, Bloomberg said in introducing the commitment.

"Cities can't afford to close their eyes and hope for the best," he said. "In many cases, we've already caught a glimpse of what the future may hold."

He added, "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it."

Bloomberg is the current chairman of C40, which was started in 2005 and is a network of cities around the world looking to implement local actions that can impact climate change.

G.O.P. Opponents Plan Immigration Bill Attack

By ASHLEY PARKER

WASHINGTON — Republican opponents of legislation to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws are readying an offensive intended to hijack the newly released bill as the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday begins a review that will offer the clearest sign yet of how difficult a path the legislation faces.

With the committee expected to spend at least three weeks on the legislation, Republican critics could offer hundreds of amendments to try to reshape the overhaul. They include proposals that could lengthen the timeline for a pathway to citizenship and that could tamper with an already fragile deal negotiated between business and labor groups for a guest worker program. Anticipating an onslaught, Democrats are preparing a robust defense in an effort to keep the legislation largely intact.

For the bipartisan group of eight senators who drafted the legislation and now hope to shepherd it through committee and onto the floor, each amendment is a potential hurdle.

“They’ll be looking to throw obstacles in the way of the process and propose poison pills in order to frame the debate for the far right,” said Frank Sharry, the executive director of America’s Voice, a pro-immigration group, referring to some of the potential Republican amendments. “What they’re really doing is playing towards conservatives, trying to make Marco Rubio and other Republicans uncomfortable, and mobilizing grass-roots opposition.”

Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama and a member of the committee, has long been a vocal opponent of the immigration overhaul, and he signaled last week that heplanned to try to slow down the legislation’s progress by offering amendments that would “confront the fundamentals of the bill.”

“The longer this legislation is available for public review, the worse it’s going to be perceived,” Mr. Sessions said Monday in a phone interview. “The longer it lays out there, the worse it’s going to smell. The tide is going to turn.”

The committee will take up the legislation just days after the Heritage Foundation released a report that estimated that the measure, which would offer a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people already in the country, could cost taxpayers at least $6.3 trillion over time. Though the foundation’s analysis, issued Monday, has come under scrutiny and criticism, a similar report helped kill an immigration overhaul effort in 2007, and many Democrats on the committee expect the Heritage study to come up.

Mr. Rubio, a Florida Republican and a particularly high-profile member of the bipartisan group, is not on the committee but plans to work with his colleagues to shape the bill from the outside.

“We’re working with other senators on the Judiciary Committee to improve the border security triggers, limit the discretionary power given to the administration and address concerns to make sure that today’s illegal immigrants are not eligible for federal benefits,” Mr. Rubio said in an e-mail statement. “It’s clear that if the bill isn’t improved, it won’t ever become law.”

Four of the bipartisan group’s members sit on the Judiciary Committee — Democrats Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and Charles E. Schumer of New York and Republicans Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — and immigration advocates are looking to them to protect the bill. Members of the group have generally agreed to band together to vote down all amendments that they believe would undermine the core of the original bill.

“The Judiciary Committee is going to be a good proving ground for our bill because the committee includes some of the Republican Party’s most vocal opponents of immigration reform,” Mr. Schumer said. “By honing our responses to their criticisms, and perhaps even accepting some suggestions for improvement, our compromise will be all the more battle-tested when it hits the floor.”

While the group intends to try to beat back both Republican and Democratic amendments, its members want to do whatever they can to broaden bipartisan backing. Not only do group members want a strong vote out of committee, but they are also aiming for broad support for the legislation in the Senate — 70 votes, by some estimates — to help gather the momentum needed to push the bill through the Republican-controlled House and onto President Obama’s desk.

“I don’t think that all the Republican amendments will be shot down,” said Marielena Hincapié, the executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, an advocacy group for low-income immigrants. “I think the gang members on the committee really know they want to come out of this with a bipartisan product, and they know they will have to vote in support of some Republican amendments, even if it does move the bill a little bit to the right, for both political and substantive reasons.