Businesses in telecommunications, financial services, utilities and insurance that offer customer service in the native language of the consumer will be the biggest winners as the stalled economy begins to move in 2011, according to a new joint report from AT&T* and Language Line Services, the leading provider of language-based solutions.

The report, which cites the example of Hewlett Packard with a reported 85 percent sales increase from a targeted multicultural campaign, points to the significant buying power of the nation’s limited English speaking population. U.S. Hispanic purchasing power will reach $1.3 trillion by the year 2014, the report forecasts (Selig Center for Economic Growth, University of Georgia). The combined buying power of the Hispanic, Black, Asian and Native American communities is already more than $1.5 trillion. One in every six Americans (46.9 million) in the country is Hispanic.

“Organizations have a competitive opportunity to reach the 9 percent of the U.S. population that has trouble with the English language (U.S. Census 2000). That’s more than 27.6 million people who could be potential customers. Yet, 40 percent of companies say they don’t understand the financial value of multicultural groups to their bottom lines,” said Louis Provenzano, President and COO of Language Line Services.

“This isn’t business as usual. It’s a buyer’s market, and many buyers speak one of 170 different languages and dialects in the U.S. By providing integrated in-language services throughout the sales, fulfillment and customer service process, organizations help attract and retain customers and enjoy a significant competitive advantage. Multiple studies verify that goods or services have greater probability of selling and fostering loyalty if they are promoted and supported in the customer’s language,” Provenzano said.

The number of immigrants more comfortable speaking their native language when buying has grown by 25 million U.S. residents in the past 35 years, and every 19 seconds, another immigrant enters the country with limited ability to speak English, according to the report.

According to the report, these numbers simply cannot be ignored. And yet many businesses are doing just that. This multicultural population that presents such great buying potential is the same population that is so vastly underserved.

Other findings from the AT&T/Language Line Services report on language include:

• The U.S. immigrant population is expected to double from 25 million to 50 million between 2000 and 2050. At this rate today’s minority population will become the majority by 2050.

• 60 percent of Asian Americans — which includes Chinese, Indian, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Japanese Americans — now earn an annual income of $60,000 or higher, and 44 percent over the age of 25 have college degrees. The projected 2014 buying power of Asian Americans is $697 billion.

• Asian buying power also has the second-fastest projected rate of growth, slightly behind that of Hispanic purchasing clout.

• Hispanics became the largest ethnic group in the U.S. six years earlier than initially projected. In 2009 the total Hispanic spending power reached $978 billion.

• Multicultural marketing now enables organizations to reach the 23 percent of Hispanic households and 30 percent of Asian households across the nation that were previously considered “linguistically isolated.”

To view the full AT&T/Language Line Joint Report, visit http://www.languageline.com/wpmulticultural

Popularity: 38% [?]

The first thing I ever remember hearing from Jimi Hendrix was “Hey Joe.”

I used to build guitar amplifiers and mixers then, and I had a reel-to-reel tape recorder that I used for recording songs for groups. I recorded Hey Joe off a record and I would play it over and over again.

It made a huge impression on me and any time I hear Hey Joe now, I just want to repeat it two or three more times.

I don’t think I’ll ever get over the need to do that.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Gang member arrested after raid in Greenfield

Monterey County Sheriff’s SWAT officers raided a Greenfield home early Monday and arrested a suspected gang member wielding an AK-47, officials said.

Officers served an early-morning search warrant on the Larson Lane residence, eventually using a Taser stun gun on Leo “Spanky” Garza.

Garza has been described by police as a well-known Norteño gang associate. He was found to be in possession of the AK-47 and another firearm when he was arrested in the usually quiet neighborhood, a sheriff’s official said.

It was unclear late Monday what prompted the search warrant or what charges Garza faces. According to sheriff’s office records, he is lodged at Monterey County Jail.

Bicyclist injured in Marina accident

A bicyclist was injured in Marina on Monday after a collision with a vehicle.

Marina police said the victim was lying in the street when officers arrived at the scene on Imjin Parkway near Preston Park about 10:30 a.m.

Witnesses were already rendering aid to the victim, police said.

It appeared that a vehicle struck the cyclist, whose body hit the windshield. The driver and a passenger were uninjured, police said.

The bicyclist was taken to a local hospital for treatment. No word was available Monday on the victim’s condition.

Two arrested after vehicle vandalized

Two men were arrested after they allegedly damaged a car and beat the owner during a drunken rage.

Salinas police said Michael Varela, 22, Rafael Mendoza, 24, and two women went to the home of Varela’s grandmother to pick up his children about 8:50p.m. Saturday.

The grandmother refused to allow the children to be taken because Varela and Mendoza were “extremely intoxicated,” police said.

The men began to damage a Ford Mustang parked nearby in the 400 block of California Street and beat the owner when confronted, police said. Police said the man’s wallet and cell phone were taken.

Varela and Mendoza fled before officers arrived, police said.

Varela, who was on parole, was taken into custody after he was found hiding in the backyard of a residence in the 400 block of Soledad Street, police said.

Mendoza was arrested Sunday after police found him at a woman’s apartment. Police said Mendoza went to the apartment Saturday and stole a TV. A restraining order forbids him from having contact with the woman, police said.

Varela was booked into Monterey County Jail for suspected robbery, vandalism and parole violation; Mendoza, on charges of robbery, vandalism, burglary and violation of probation, police said.

Teen arrested on gun possession

Salinas police arrested a teenager Saturday after officers allegedly found a loaded gun in his pants pocket.

Police said gang member Giovanni Pacheco, 18, was stopped about 11:50p.m. in the 1500 block of Duran Street while officers investigated a report of loud music from vehicles.

A second male ran away as officers arrived, police said.

Pacheco was searched because he was “behaving suspiciously,” according to officers.

Police said he was was arrested and booked at Monterey County Jail for suspected possession of a loaded firearm, possession of marijuana and gang enhancements.

Driver arrested in gas station accident

A suspected drunken driver was arrested Saturday after Salinas police say he crashed into two cars and a pump at a gas station.

Police said that about 11:20a.m., Mario Rodriguez, 64, was driving in the parking lot of the USA Gas Station at 33 S. Sanborn Road.

After crashing into two cars, police said, Rodriguez tried to back up and smashed into a gas pump. Police said the car came to a stop and a witness pulled Rodriguez from the car and detained him until officers arrived.

Rodriguez was too intoxicated to complete a breath test, police said.

He was on parole for prior drunken driving convictions and was booked at Monterey County Jail, police said.

Suspected car burglar arrested in Salinas

A man suspected of breaking into a car was arrested Saturday after he was seen prowling the parking lot of an apartment complex on Hacienda Place, Salinas police said.

Officers were called to the complex after the suspect was seen looking into cars about 3:45 a.m., police said.

As officers arrived, Arturo Alcaraz, 24, used a hammer to break a window on a vehicle, police said. After seeing officers, he hid behind the vehicle.

Police said that when Alcaraz began to walk away, he was warned that a police dog would be sent after him if he ran.

Alcaraz surrendered and was booked at Monterey County Jail on attempted burglary charges.

Police dog helps nab burglary suspect

A police dog nabbed a man suspected of breaking into the same Salinas gas station twice in one week.

Police said that about 10:45p.m. Friday, officers responded to an alarm at Amerigas, 131 N. Main St.

A window panel on a roll-up door had been forced off, and with the help of a police dog, David Phillips, 19, was found hiding in the station’s back room.

Phillips was kneeling behind a door and was ordered to show his hands; he did not comply and the dog was released, police said.

The dog bit Phillips on the right arm, pulling him to the floor, and the suspect was taken into custody, police said.

Phillips was booked at Monterey County Jail on two counts of burglary, resisting arrest and violation of probation after he was treated for his wound.

Police said he is also a suspect in a Nov. 29 burglary at the station.

Funny smell in truck leads to pot, guns

Salinas police said the smell of pot inside a pickup led officers to find two loaded handguns and marijuana.

Police said that at 7:35p.m. Friday, officers were driving in the 1300 block of Garner Avenue when they stopped to speak to several males standing near a parked Chevrolet truck.

The officers, members of the county’s gang task force, searched the truck after smelling marijuana inside, police said.

A loaded handgun was found under the seat where Jose Perez-Para, 20, sat, and marijuana packaged for sale was found in the truck, police said.

A more extensive search revealed a hidden compartment where a second loaded handgun was found, police said.

Armando Fabian, 20, was also arrested. Police said he and Perez-Para were booked into Monterey County Jail for possession of a firearm, possession of marijuana for sale and gang enhancements.

Popularity: 58% [?]

The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District is getting some much needed relief, thanks to voters who passed Measure P to help the struggling district.

Measure P grants the district a $110 million bond measure that will cover the cost of repairs and upgrades for 24 schools. The district was suffocating under the budget cuts made statewide, leaving the future of the 11,000 student district in question.

Detractors of the measure say they may as well have cut a blank check to the school, since they didn’t provide a list of priorities for the money. They fear the administrators could just spend the money as they please without a real plan set forth.

MPUSD saw earlier attempts at bond measures fail in the past, such as a $158 million measure that came soon after a rotting ceiling collapsed on two students at Monterey High in 2000.

The exact number of votes is not yet known, however, with 21 percent of the votes counted, the measure  already had 70 percent approval.

Popularity: 36% [?]

A suspicious package in front of a Santa Cruz business raised concerns this morning, but it was deemed innocuous upon investigation.

Police were called to a business on Swift Street to examine the package. The Bomb Team arrived and proceeded to blast it with a water cannon, after which it was determined to be nothing harmful. The package that sparked the action was silver with black tape at both ends and a hair bigger than a cigar.

During the investigation, parts of Swift Street were closed off for over three hours and select buildings were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The seemingly silly chaos ended at 1 pm.

Popularity: 4% [?]

A random attack led to an 18 year old being thrown off a highway overpass in Salinas this morning.

As the teen was walking across the overpass at 1:17 am, he was met by Ysidro Madrigal and Juan Barajas, 21 and 18 respectively. They beat him up and proceeded to throw him off of the North Main Street overpass, where he landed on the median between the US 101 on ramp and the highway 22 feet below.

The victim, with severe injuries to his upper body, crawled to the side of the ramp where a passerby spotted him and called 911.

The attackers were caught near the scene of the crime and were thrown into the Monterey County Jail on attempted murder charges. Madrigal was apparently on probation, and was hit with an additional charge.

Popularity: 46% [?]

Princesses aren’t known for their public antics, but this one is surely making an infamous name for herself.

Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, 27, has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol while tearing through Monterey County in September. She was nailed by police in Salinas and found to have a blood-alcohol level of .07 -  just under the legal limit -  but drivers can still be charged with impairment at the officer’s discretion.

The haughty princess showed up for her arraignment in September with a checkbook, thinking that she was just going to pay a ticket and leave. Once she had the “criminal” bombshell dropped on her, she hired a lawyer. Her attorney pleaded not guilty for her and says she is confused about the legal part of the proceedings.

Her pretrial hearing will take place on December 18.

Interestingly enough, the princess was named by the Academy of Couture Arts as “an exemplary role model for the youth of the world.”

Popularity: 100% [?]

Five men have been arrested for spreading child porn images across the Internet – some images victimizing children as young as two years old.

The men in custody are as follows: Robert Paris, 54, of Santa  Cruz, Keegan Knutson, 26, of Monterey, Eryk McGill, 21, of Aptos, Kyle Unger, 19, of Boulder Creek, and an unidentified 17-year-old Santa Cruz kid.

The men posted thousands of these pictures and videos, which are being sifted through by authorities. They were caught when detectives downloaded some of the images from the men with file sharing programs. The fortunate arrests come after a month-long investigation by the San Jose Internet Crimes Against Children and Santa Cruz District Attorney’s Office.

Police ask anyone with information to call (831) 420-5820 or leave a tip at www.santacruzpolice.com.

Popularity: 48% [?]

Forty-three employees of Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula will be out of a job Thursday courtesy of cost cutting decisions. Factoring in 14 employees who quit, 57 total workers are no longer with the hospital – 77 since the beginning of 2010.

The layoffs will run the gamut of positions – nurses, nutritionists, lab techs and security guards mostly working at the main campus will get the axe. Few are from the Ryan Ranch Outpatient Campus, Hartnell Professional Center and Westland House.

The layoffs are a small part of a $21 million cost cutting effort put in place by hospital officials. If all continues as planned, they will outdo themselves by $2 million. The layoffs will save the hospital $12 million, with those who were  given the boot getting two weeks of severance pay for every year worked with the hospital. The hospital earned $6 million from employees paying more for their own health insurance premiums and getting rid of subsidized meals in the cafeteria. Another $3 million came from reduced spending on medical supplies.

Since last year, the total number of layoffs has increased to 258 positions, which brings the number of hospital employees down to 2,060. In the beginning, the hospital planned to cut $12 million, but failed cutbacks from the past made them raise that number to $21 million, cutting  more jobs and leaving the hospital further understaffed.

So just how short did they have fall of their goal  last year to warrant so many layoffs? Thirty million. The cuts they’ve made thus far aren’t expected to reach their goal, but they don’t plan on laying more workers off.

While the hospital has closed some area clinics, somehow they still plan to expand with new clinics.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Twenty eight year old Scott Callan is in hot water for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl. It has now been revealed that the youth leader and employee of the Salinas Police Department impregnated the teen.

The laundry list of allegations against Callan includes a special one that says he caused the pregnant girl bodily harm. Other charges unrelated to the pregnancy are five counts of lewd acts with a child younger than 16, three counts of statutory rape, and one count each of sodomy and oral copulation with a person younger than 16, sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child porn, which was found on his cell phone.

He apparently met the girl through the police explorer’s program, and the sexual assault allegedly occurred from December of last year to March of 2010.

Callan isn’t the only member of the Salinas police under investigation – three others are currently facing allegations of sex crimes and he is one of five who have been charged as criminals over the past year and a half. Former officer Jesus Sanchez is charged with two counts  of sexual battery against a woman who said he assaulted her on duty between 2002 and 2005 – he was subsequently fired.

Lance Mosher is on paid leave accused of lewd acts with a 12 year old girl. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 28.

Not all of the employees are under investigation for sex crimes. Sgt. Jay Malispina is charged with stealing $40,000 from his mother while overseeing her bank accounts – he’s been on leave since last June. Former officer Chris Swanson pleaded no contest to recklessly firing his weapon into a car containing two unarmed people last February. He served three months in jail and was fired.

In 2007, another police officer swindled over $50,000 from the Salinas Police Activities League.

Deputy Police Chief Cassie McSorley told the Monterey Herald that all of these crimes from the police department are “certainly unusual and cause for concern, but we haven’t found any commonality in terms of propensity for unlawful behavior.”

Popularity: 9% [?]