Contractors Required To Use E-Verify The Obama administration has supported the mandate for contractors to use E-Verify, beginning September 8 of this year. The system verifies if employees have legitimate social security numbers, and therefore, determines whether contractors have hired documented immigrants legally allowed to work in the U.S. Mayor Addresses Houston Fire Department Harassment In Houston, Mayor Bill White called a press conference to address the racist and sexist incidents toward female firefighters within the Houston Fire Department. Though White believes the city can handle the alleged harassment case, some critics feel the need to call for a Federal investigation. Survey Shows Capitol Hill Lacking Black Staff A survey conducted by the Congressional Black Caucus reveals that, among Democrats in Congress, Black aides are more likely to work for committees led by Black chairmen. The CBC believe their findings confirm a severe lack of Black staff overall within Capitol Hill, especially in higher level positions. Boston’s Only Black Newspaper Shuts Down After more than four decades in print, Boston’s only Black community newspaper, the Bay State Banner, has suspended its publication due to falling advertising revenues. Shedding Light on Latino Strengths In light of a recent study published by the Education Writers Association encouraging journalists to also highlight strengths within the Latino community, columnist Victor Landa reflects on the importance of finding good news about Latinos to support the less commonly held notion of the Latino as the ‘exceptional immigrant’.