The RaceWire Beat – 12.15.06 Housing Costs Hit Minorities Harder Massachusetts homes headed by minorities were nearly twice as likely as white households in 2000 to find they didn’t have enough cash left after rent and mortgage payments to adequately cover non housing needs, according to the report, released yesterday by a professor at the university’s Boston campus. Hate Crimes Up in Los Angeles Reported incidents of hate crimes in Los Angeles County increased for the first time in four years, while such incidents in schools have more than doubled from last year, according to a report released Thursday. Minority Hiring on Hill Pushed The Congressional Black Caucus has asked Democratic leaders to hire more minorities to work for House committees and on lawmakers’ staffs, saying the dearth of diversity on Capitol Hill is a problem. The RaceWire Beat is a digest of the day’s top news stories on race and politics collected by the staff at ColorLines magazine.