ISERP Newswatch, Spring 2007

ISERP Newswatch, Spring 2007

• Commenting on the 2008 presidential race in the Washington Post and NYT respectively, Eric Abrahamson and Alan Brinkley speculated about how the personal lives of candidates would swing voters. "There are not too many positions in America that Giuliani's messy personal life would obstruct," said Brinkley. "But the presidency might still be one of them."
• The LA Times quoted Rodolfo de la Garza in an editorial about whether there should be a Hispanic caucus. "The idea of the caucus was to present ethnic unity back when people thought that was the only way they could be important," he said. "Those days are over."
• Ester Fuchs indicated that there was an 80 percent chance that NYC Mayor Bloomberg would enter the presidential race, according to the New York Sun.
• For NPR's "Morning Edition," Lorraine Minnite commented on voter fraud, indicating that in the messy world of elections, proven cases of fraud are rare.
• The Pittsburgh Post Gazette covered research by Kathryn Neckerman and colleagues, which reveals that the lack of access to basic services in NYC neighborhoods imposes a "time tax" on the poor.
• The New York Sun reported on Sharyn O'Halloran's views on the infeasibility of cutting personal income tax rates in New York City. "Unless you are willing to cut public services, reducing income revenue streams is going to be problematic," she said. "I would think that would make it not the priority right now."
• A NYT article about race and the census highlighted a study by former census director, Kenneth Prewitt, that demonstrated that people do not see race as a fixed demographic fact but as "something closer to an attitude toward oneself." A follow-up survey to the 2000 census revealed that four out of 10 people who listed more than one race decided to change their answers.
• A New York Observer article featuring notable South Asian New Yorkers profiled Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh for his new book on the informal economy, Off the Books, and his new documentary, Abhidya. "Filmic representation helps me in my sociological writing," Venkatesh said.
• The AP, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and other media outlets covered a meeting of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change at Columbia University, which was led by Jeffrey Sachs in partnership with nearly 100 corporations, international organizations, and experts committed to fighting global warming. The group endorsed a formal statement to fight for clean energy.
• According to David Leonhart of the NYT, Jane Waldfogel's What Children Need is the "best overview of the research on early childhood that I've seen."