The Buzz
The Buzz
FORMER Hawaii Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Jose Villa has added a job -- one he pays to do. Hawaii’s
Hispanic
connectionHe's executive director of Habitat for Humanity, member of the Small Business Administration local and national advisory boards and now hosts Hawaii Hispanic News at 1:05 p.m. Sundays on KWAI radio (AM 1080).
"I'm paying for (the time), and getting advertisers to help support it," he said, "I'm trying to sell the concept that we have other (Hispanic) radio programs for music, but we also have a need for news."
Show guests have included an official from Pearl Harbor talking about federal jobs available at the civil service and trade levels, and attorney Fernando Cosio discussing census issues and immigration laws."Hispanic demographics in the U.S. are changing," Villa said.
Contrary to census estimates that Hawaii has 87,000 Hispanics, he feels undocumented aliens boost the figure to 100,000.
Also changing, he said, is the dynamic between the United States and Mexico. During Mexican President Vicente Fox's recent visit to the United States, he "went to Silicon Valley where he attended the inauguration of the Internet 2. One-hundred eighty universities in the U.S. are connected with universities in Mexico -- through Internet 2," Villa said.
Another of Villa's projects is establishment of the Hispanic Community Technology Center, which will house 20 computers donated by a division of AOL Time Warner.
"Usually the hard part is getting the computers, but we're looking for the facility," Villa said. The center will offer bilingual computer and job skills training.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4757, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com