Gary Acosta is an entrepreneur, public policy advocate, investor, and thought leader passionate about advancing prosperity for Latinos and other underserved communities.
Last week I attended the 10th annual Housing Renaissance in San Diego. The Housing Renaissance is an off-calendar gathering of about 60 CEOs, government officials, thought leaders, advocates and policy wonks. The event is by invitation only and is co-chaired by former HUD Secretary, Henry Cisneros, and Harvard Professor, Nic Retsinas. NAHREP National President, Leo…
If you really love authentic Mexican food and plan to be in San Diego, you have to try Las Cuatro Milpas on 1857 Logan Avenue in Barrio Logan near the Chicano Park area. The beef tacos and chorizo con huevos are the best I have ever had. I love to go there after long road…
Did you know that one of the most bankable film producers in Hollywood is a Mexican-American by the name of Roberto Orcí? Orcí and his frequent collaboration partner, Alex Kurtzman, recognized their love for filmmaking after watching the Indie-classic, Sex, Lies, and Videotape. The two began writing scripts for television and films including the first…
I’m excited to say that my favorite TV show is back with a new season. The first two seasons of Ray Donovan were some of the best television I have ever seen in my life. Jon Voight gave a master class in acting every week. Steven Bauer from Scarface plays Ray’s fixer associate. Seasons three…
Anthony Scaramucci was relieved of his duties only ten days after assuming the role of White House Communications Director. He was literally walked out of the building. This was a shocking development in a week of internal turmoil for the Trump Administration. It seems likely that Scaramucci’s dismissal was a condition of General John F.…
Rumor is that the Trump Justice Department is looking into new legal challenges to affirmative action in the nation’s most selective colleges. This is not new. There have been multiple lawsuits in the last couple of decades that have challenged the practice. Some states, like California, have passed legislation to eliminate affirmative action from the…
I spent the last few days with housing experts and found there is a consensus that the biggest current challenge to homeownership is housing inventory. While most of the attention regarding homeownership opportunity is typically focused on identifying demand solutions, housing supply is the primary barrier today. The housing crisis of 2008 crippled the homebuilding…
Actress Zoë Saldaña (Guardians of the Galaxy) has launched a media company called BeSe. The company will focus on “cultural storytelling” targeting millennial and Gen Z audiences. A lot has been said about the lack of diversity in Hollywood, but I always say people will resist change until not changing affects their livelihood. The emergence of…
I spent the last three weeks watching the best high school basketball players in the country compete in tournaments in SoCal and Las Vegas. I also heard a lot of negative things about the growing influence of AAU basketball. The scuttlebutt is that AAU basketball has replaced high school basketball in terms of its relevance…
To nobody’s surprise, Sean Spicer resigned last week as WH Press Secretary. The move came on the heels of the appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as WH Communications Director. Spicer was known for his combative temperament and knack for making false, and sometimes outrageous, statements to the press corps. Sean Spicer was not a very good…