Soaring expectations about the effect of the first black president on U.S. race relations have collided with a more mundane reality, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

All guts, grit and glamor, Carmen Milagros Ortiz of Milton was sworn in yesterday with the double-barreled distinction of being  Massachusetts’ first female and first Hispanic U.S. attorney.

Read more at: The Boston Globe

Carman Milagro Ortiz taking the oath today, with Attorney General Eric Holder at right. (Boston Globe)

With the 2010 census coming up, workers want often overlooked groups–Latinos and Asian immigrants, young African-American males, the unmarried, the poor and the homeless–to know they have nothng to be afraid of in being counted.

Please read more at: The Roanoke Times

Lifetime Networks, the most powerful media brand targeted to women, and VOICE, an imprint of Hyperion dedicated to publishing books by and about women, have partnered to publish Secrets of Powerful Women: Leading Change for a New Generation, the only book to gather a diverse collection of essays to inspire women and girls to become leaders in business, politics and in their communities.

Featuring an introduction from actress Rosario Dawson and a foreword by Andrea Wong, President and CEO of Lifetime Networks, the book will impart the secrets to success — from personal tales of missteps to power pitfalls, power surges, powerful beginnings and power suits — from 24 top female community and business leaders, politicians and journalists.

To view the full list, visit the press release here.