But many in the private business sector are realizing the importance of the large and growing Spanish-speaking community in Utah and are creating new ways to tap that market.
Sometimes, a business may be so eager to show Latinos how much it cares about them, it makes claims that are, shall we say, a little overzealous?
Take Richter 7, for example.
The Salt Lake City advertising agency proudly launched this week its new Latino-focused advertising and public relations agency, Onda R7, with a news release, news conference and luncheon.
The news release, written in English and Spanish, boasted that Onda R7, a new division of Richter 7, "is the first Hispanic agency of its kind in Utah . . . to provide advertising, marketing, public relations and interactive services relating to Hispanic communities while supporting Latinos through employment and leadership opportunities.''
There just is one little problem: It's not the first.
Love Communications will be celebrating the first anniversary on Nov. 1 of Hispanic Marketing and Consulting, its sister company that it created with Gladys Gonzales, founder of the Spanish-speaking newspaper Mundo Hispano.
That company has landed accounts from such prestigious clients as Zions Bank, Workers Compensation Fund, R.C. Willey and the Governors Commission on Literacy, showing the rest of the local advertising industry in Salt Lake what a gold mine marketing to the Spanish-speaking community can be.
Of course, with more agencies getting into the Spanish-speaking arena and becoming more vocal and competitive, we might see a new constitutional amendment proposed at the Utah Legislature in January that would outlaw marketing in Spanish.
Homeland security: Before the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, getting mad at your boss and raising your voice in the office may have gotten you a reprimand or even fired.
But now, it's worse. Now, it's a federal offense, apparently.
When Vera Briem, wife of former K-TALK Radio host Rand Briem, was notified by her boss at the IRS center in Ogden that she was being furloughed because of a lack of work, she became agitated and argued with her boss, even throwing her hands in the air, according to the eventual "offense/incident" report.
Security was called and she was interviewed. Apparently, based on her statement to the supervisor that "I'll remember this," even though she later said that was not a threat, she has been charged federally by the Department of Homeland Security for making a disturbance.
The Briems have mailed "special invitation" cards to friends inviting them to her court appearance in U.S. District Court scheduled for Oct. 20, although a P.S. notation at the bottom of the card says the court date likely will be changed. There was no RSVP request on the invitation.
prolly@sltrib.com
