The February 8th protest to repudiate the charging of Cristian Fernández as an adult is perhaps the first demonstration among others to hit the street during the trial of the 13-year old accused of the death of his half brother David Galarraga.

2011 is out the window and probably remembered as the year of the protest. For the first time, the crisis exceeded the ballot box to anchor in the very heart of the system, regardless the color of the government.

What had been “suggestions” from the Department of Homeland Security regarding the detention of undocumented immigrants is now a detailed, formalized policy that stops immigration enforcement to act against illegal aliens who have not been convicted of a felony. The Administration has decided to dismiss all cases that don’t meet its "highest priority," (see immigration page). Liberal groups and Latino organizations gave a thumbs-up to the Obama’s executive order that led to a halt of 300,000 deportation proceedings, preventing many hard working families from being torn apart.

Last month I traveled to Orlando. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists celebrated its annual convention. Temperatures hitting 100F plus did not stop reporters, editors, photographers, news directors, and even executive officers of major Spanish language television networks from attending. It was an unprecedented reunion.

Florida loses more children under the age of five to drowning than any other state. Enough kids to fill four preschool classrooms drown every year. In fact, according to the 2010 Florida Child Abuse Death Report, the main cause of child-neglect deaths in Duval, Clay, and Nassau counties was from drowning. “There were 13 deaths of precious children reported through drowning,” said Nancy Dreicer, NE Region director of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

In its monthly meeting, the First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce offered the Jacksonville mayoral candidates a platform to debate on. Despite all the talk on the importance of the Latino community, diversity, inclusion, and the every-vote-counts motto, only one contender -Alvin Brown- showed up.

After having won bipartisan House approval, the Dream Act was rejected in the senate by 55-41; 5 votes short of the 3/5 majority needed to advance the bill. It would have allowed children (mostly Hispanic-Americans), brought into this country undocumented, to apply for legal status after meeting a 2-year college requirement or entering the US military. At the senate, the vote was mostly along party lines, though a handful of Democrats also voted against the DREAM Act.