|
(Continued from page 33)
• Now she and her husband see their move as a mistake. An eight-year recession, run-away prices and the flight of doctors have convinced them it's time to join a growing number of Puerto Rican retirees heading back to the U.S. mainland.
• "There's been a big exodus," said 78-year-old Luis Vincenty. "I'd like to go back. Things are getting rough here. Everything's expensive."
• Retirees are struggling with rising water, power and other utility prices, which the government hiked to trim a budget deficit projected to hit $820 million this year. The weak economy also has reduced pensions for retired Puerto Rican public workers, although some people such as the Fajardos still enjoy U.S. Social Security income coupled with pensions from their former jobs in the U.S.
• ___
Long sidelined, Arabs see increasing efforts to include them in Israel's tech sector
• JERUSALEM (AP) -- Ibrahim Sana worked for a global tech company, then broke off to start his own venture. Last year, he was crowned one of Israel's seven most promising young entrepreneurs by a financial newspaper.
• Sana's story isn't typical -- he is one of only a few hundred Arabs who have broken into Israel's booming tech sector, a source of national pride from which the minority has been largely sidelined.
• Now, there is growing awareness among Israeli entrepreneurs and the government that excluding such human capital from a booming industry can have detrimental effects not only on Arabs but also on Israel's economy. Efforts are underway to promote their inclusion.
• "These people are a quality workforce," said Sana, 33, who also works to bolster the inclusion of Bedouin Arabs in the tech sector. "They should be capitalized on."
• Israel's flourishing tech industry, where major global companies have bases and startups abound, has earned the country the nickname "Startup Nation."
• ___
Obama signing into law wide-ranging farm bill that trim food stamps aiding 1 in 7 Americans
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is carrying out a presidential duty that he hasn't had a lot of opportunity to perform recently: signing into law a major piece of bipartisan legislation.
• Obama planned to sign a far-reaching farm bill Friday at Michigan State Univer (Continued on page 35)
|
|
