Special thanks
to our supporters

  • Mark Stegeman
  • Daniel Sweet
  • Peggy Hull
  • Kathryn Reed
  • R. Scott Roy
  • Tricia Armstrong & David Burke
  • Edna Gray
  • Humberto Lopez — HSLopez Family Foundation
  • Regional Transportation Authority/Pima Association of Governments
  • John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
  • Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation
  • & many more!

We rely on readers like you. Join them & contribute to the Sentinel today!

Hosting provider

Proud member of

Local Independent Online News Publishers Authentically Local Local First Arizona Institute for Nonprofit News
The Coyotes’ Hispanic Heritage Month kick-off event Wednesday greeted attendees with fellowship and fun at the Ice Den Scottsdale.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and through its partnership with the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Coyotes will highlight thriving Latino businesses and work with Latino marketing agency Chemistry Cultura to help improve their business brands. Read more»

The pandemic nearly finished off Salvadoreño Restaurant, which opened its first location in 2002.

Latino-owned businesses were hit especially hard during the COVID-19 pandemic but received less federal relief than other firm - to help close that gap, nonprofits have stepped in during the pandemic to help when government programs did not. Read more»

Datos panelists, from left, Gloria Muñoz of the Housing Authority of Maricopa County; Patricia Duarte, president and CEO of Trellis; Amy Schwabenlender of Human Services Campuses; and Chris Rodriguez of Ability 360 speak with moderator Vanessa Ruiz.

This year’s annual report “Datos: The State of Arizona’s Hispanic Market,” focused on Latinos and housing, predicting that 70% of new homeowners nationwide will be Latino through 2040. Nationally, Hispanic buying power was $1.9 trillion in 2020, up 87% from 2010. Read more»

The number of Latino-owned businesses in Arizona doubled from 2007 to 2015, according to recent data released by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. And the group has more purchasing power than ever. Read more»

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey during the Leading with Trade Lunch on Nov. 8.

As the future of NAFTA remains uncertain on a national level and negotiations don’t seem to be moving forward, Gov. Ducey’s administration is still pushing to continue the relationship with Mexico, Arizona’s main international trade partner. Read more» 1

Protestors hold signs against the repeal of DACA outside of ICE headquarters in Phoenix.

The Cato Institute predicted the repeal of DACA and the expense of immediate deportation would cost the federal government more than $60 billion, and the resulting loss of economic growth in the next decade will amount to $280 billion. Read more»

A stretch of U.S.-Mexico border wall near Nogales. Latino groups are criticizing Hispanic-owned firms that have expressed an interest in bidding on a Trump administration plan to extend the wall the length of the Southwestern border, but the companies are unfazed.

Some Hispanic-owned companies on the list of “interested vendors” for the construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall say they are facing a backlash from Latino advocates who call the project “shameful” and “wrong." Read more»

The two founders of Eventkey, Perry Waxman (left) and Rafael Testai, hold a sign demonstrating the app they created, which helps event attendees network at events by displaying each person’s background and contact information.

Under yellow tea lights in the backyard of a house-turned-office space in north Phoenix, Latino startup owners discussed a major parallel between being an immigrant and an entrepreneur: taking a risk for a better future. Read more»

The 2.1 million Hispanics in Arizona prefer to shop at Walmart and love fresh food, smartphones, going out to dinner and owning their own businesses. Their favorite mall in Tucson is Tucson Mall. And their overall spending is expected to add up to an estimated $42.5 billion this year in Arizona and to grow at about $2.2 billion a year. Read more»

Hispanic Americans enjoyed the fastest growth in household incomes and the largest decline in the poverty rate of any major racial or ethnic group in 2015, the White House said Wednesday. Read more»

A rendering of a World View balloon.

The heads of local business groups are calling on a rightwing lobbying group, the Goldwater Institute, to drop a lawsuit against Pima County over support for World View, the high-altitude technology company. That includes the leaders of the Metro Chamber, Sun Corridor, SALC and Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Read more»

While details are still being worked out, the campaign to increase Hispanic household wealth in the U.S. is likely to include a focus on home ownership.

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, planning to mount a multiyear campaign to improve income and household wealth among Hispanic families, pointed to Arizona on Monday as a potential leader in that effort. Read more»

Teresa Ornelas said it took careful planning to get her Tempe business, promotional product company Great Impact! Inc., through the recession. But like half the women business owners in a new survey, she now looks for steady business growth in the next five years.

Almost half of female business owners in Arizona look to hire and expand their companies in the next five years, a new survey shows. The optimistic report comes as new national figures showed the jobless rate fell to 7.7 percent in February, the lowest in four years. Read more»

Rosa Macias, owner of Del Sol Furniture in the Valley, says competition from out-of-state chains makes it important for businesses catering to the Spanish-speaking community to promote the benefits of buying from locally owned merchants.

Local First Arizona is trying to reach Spanish speakers through Fuerza Local — Spanish for Local Force — in an effort to attract more shoppers from the Latino community to buy locally. Read more» 2