Archive for May 17, 2012

High Speed Rail Hosts Networking Event for Small Business

Special to Bilingual Weekly

Lisa Marie Burcar

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Today, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) hosted a

Meet-the-Primes business networking event at California State University/Bakersfield, where more than 500 small disadvantaged businesses and potential subcontractors met with several representatives from five pre-qualified design-build contractors who will bid on the initial construction section of the project.

“The Governor declared May to be California Small Business month and we couldn’t think of a better way to support his commitment to the state’s Small Businesses,” said Board Vice-Chair Tom Richards who spoke at the event. “Under the Governor’s leadership and through our Board’s commitment to a 30% goal for small disadvantaged business participation, we are ensuring the statewide high-speed train project will help small businesses thrive and prosper.”

Through the Authority’s recently finalized Small Disadvantaged Business (SB) Program, the Authority has established an aggressive 30% participation goal for contracts let by the Authority. Competing teams are expected to exercise good faith efforts to obtain SB commitments equal to or exceeding that 30% goal and execute an SB Performance Plan that includes comprehensive outreach to small businesses, SB engagement and the team’s track record working with small disadvantaged businesses.

The CHSRA Meet-the-Primes event was designed to provide an Authority-sponsored opportunity for small disadvantaged businesses to meet with pre-qualified design-build contractors who will be competing for high-speed rail design-build contracts. After an introduction by Authority staff and Vice-Chair Richards, a presentation was given highlighting the initial construction packages and Request for Proposals (RFP) procurement process. Information was then presented by the Authority’s Small and Disadvantaged Business team explaining opportunities available through the SB program.

Following the presentations, small businesses, micro businesses and businesses owned by minorities, women and disabled veterans from throughout California had an opportunity to network with representatives from the five short-listed teams.

Additionally, representatives from many state and federal agencies were available to provide information on services and certifications offered to small businesses.

“Small Businesses will be the backbone of this project,” said Thomas Fellenz, Acting CEO for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. “We can’t build this project without the creativity and diversity of California’s Small Businesses. This Meet-the-Primes event provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to show the five pre-qualified design-build contractors what they do and why they are important to the success of the project.”

The first construction segment of the high-speed rail project will extend approximately 29 miles from Avenue 17 near the city of Madera to south of the city of Fresno. It will be the first section of 130 miles of high-speed rail in the Central Valley which will create an estimated 100,000 job-years over the next five years.

Earlier this year, the Authority completed a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process that resulted in five design-build teams being identified as qualified to bid for Authority work. The Authority’s RFP process will be conducted in two steps, with three Design-Build teams selected following a technical evaluation. The top three teams will then undergo a combined technical and price evaluation. Contracts are set to be finalized later this year.

Most Children Younger Than Age 1 are Minorities, Census Bureau Reports

The U.S. Census Bureau today released a set of estimates showing that 50.4 percent of our nation’s population younger than age 1 were minorities as of July 1, 2011. This is up from 49.5 percent from the 2010 Census taken April 1, 2010. A minority is anyone who is not single-race white and not Hispanic.

The population younger than age 5 was 49.7 percent minority in 2011, up from 49.0 percent in 2010. A population greater than 50 percent minority is considered “majority-minority.”

These are the first set of population estimates by race, Hispanic origin, age and sex since the 2010 Census. They examine population change for these groups nationally, as well as within all states and counties, between Census Day (April 1, 2010) and July 1, 2011. Also released were population estimates for Puerto Rico and its municipios by age and sex.

There were 114 million minorities in 2011, or 36.6 percent of the U.S. population. In 2010, it stood at 36.1 percent.

There were five majority-minority states or equivalents in 2011: Hawaii (77.1 percent minority), the District of Columbia (64.7 percent), California (60.3 percent), New Mexico (59.8 percent) and Texas (55.2 percent). No other state had a minority population greater than 46.4 percent of the total.

More than 11 percent (348) of the nation’s 3,143 counties were majority-minority as of July 1, 2011, with nine of these counties achieving this status since April 1, 2010. Maverick, Texas, had the largest share (96.8 percent) of its population in minority groups, followed by Webb, Texas (96.4 percent) and Wade Hampton Census Area, Alaska (96.2 percent).

The Nation Slowly Ages

There was a small uptick in the nation’s median age, from 37.2 years in 2010 to 37.3 in 2011. The 65-and-older population increased from 40.3 million to 41.4 million over the period and included 5.7 million people 85 and older. Likewise, working-age adults (age 18 to 64) saw their numbers rise by about 2 million to 196.3 million in 2011. In contrast, the number of children under 18, 74.0 million in 2011, declined by about 200,000 over the period, largely because of the decline in high school-age children 14 to 17.

Maine had a higher median age than any other state (43.2), with Utah having the lowest median age (29.5). Florida had the highest percentage of its population 65 and older (17.6 percent), followed by Maine (16.3 percent). Utah had the highest percentage of its total population younger than 5 (9.3 percent).

Among counties, Sumter, Fla., was the nation’s “oldest,” with 45.5 percent of its population 65 and older, and Geary, Kan., was the nation’s “youngest” (11.4 percent younger than 5).

Highlights for each race group and Hispanics at the national, state and county levels:

Hispanics

• Nationally, the most populous minority group remains Hispanics, who numbered 52 million in 2011; they also were the fastest growing, with their population increasing by 3.1 percent since 2010. This boosted the Hispanic share of the nation’s total population to 16.7 percent in 2011, up from 16.3 percent in 2010.
• California had the largest Hispanic population of any state on July 1, 2011 (14.4 million), as well as the largest numeric increase within the Hispanic population since April 1, 2010 (346,000). New Mexico had the highest percentage of Hispanics at 46.7 percent.
• Los Angeles had the largest Hispanic population of any county (4.8 million) in 2011 and the largest numeric increase since 2010 (73,000). Starr County — on the Mexican border in Texas — had the highest share of Hispanics (95.6 percent).

Blacks

• African-Americans were the second largest minority group in the United States, at 43.9 million in 2011 (up 1.6 percent from 2010).
• New York had the largest black or African-American population of any state or state equivalent as of July 1, 2011 (3.7 million); Texas had the largest numeric increase since 2010 (84,000). The District of Columbia had the highest percentage of blacks (52.2 percent), followed by Mississippi (38.0 percent).
• Cook, Ill. (Chicago) had the largest black or African-American population of any county in 2011 (1.3 million), and Fulton, Ga. (Atlanta) had the largest numeric increase since 2010 (13,000). Holmes, Miss., was the county with the highest percentage of blacks or African-Americans in the nation (82.9 percent).

Asians

• Asians, who numbered 18.2 million nationally in 2011, were the second fastest-growing minority group, growing by 3.0 percent since 2010.
• California had both the largest Asian population of any state (5.8 million) in July 2011 and the largest numeric increase of Asians since April 1, 2010 (131,000). Hawaii is our nation’s only majority-Asian state, with people of this group comprising 57.1 percent of the total population.
• Los Angeles had the largest Asian population of any county (1.6 million) in 2011, and also the largest numeric increase (16,000) since 2010. At 61.2 percent, Honolulu had the highest percentage of Asians in the nation.

American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN)

• The nation’s American Indian and Alaska Native population was an estimated 6.3 million in 2011, up 2.1 percent from 2010.
• California had the largest American Indian and Alaska Native population of any state in 2011 (1,050,000), and also the largest numeric increase since 2010 (23,000). Alaska had the highest percentage of AIAN (19.6 percent).
• Los Angeles had the largest AIAN population of any county in 2011 (231,000), and also the largest numeric increase (9,000) since 2010. Shannon County, S.D. — on the Nebraska border and located entirely within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation — had the highest percentage of AIAN (93.6 percent).

Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (NHPI)

• The nation’s Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population was 1.4 million in 2011 and grew by 2.9 percent since 2010.
• Hawaii had the largest population of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders of any state (359,000) in 2011. California had the largest numeric increase since 2010 (9,000). Hawaii had the highest percentage of NHPI (26.1 percent).
• Honolulu had the largest population of NHPI of any county (235,000) in 2011. Los Angeles County had the largest numeric increase since 2010 (2,700). Hawaii County had the highest percentage of NHPI (34.0 percent).

Non-Hispanic White Alone

• California had the largest population of single-race, non-Hispanic whites of any state in 2011 (15.0 million). Texas had the largest numeric increase in this population group since 2010 (80,000). Maine had the highest percentage of the non-Hispanic white alone population (94.3 percent).

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Information provided by the US Census