Al's Morning Meeting

The Citizenship and Immigration Service[s] says the fee hikes will allow it to hire more staff and upgrade its creaky system so applications can be approved faster. Among its proposals is to raise the application fee for citizenship from $330 to $595 and the fee for legal permanent residency from $325 to $905.

Advocates for immigrants say the cost may price out the poor from becoming citizens.

If an immigrant cannot afford to pay the higher fees, he or she can apply for a waiver. But that can be used against immigrants because they have to show that they can earn enough money or have a financial sponsor to be eligible for a green card in the first place. Could it be then that higher fees might encourage people to just remain in the country illegally?

Supporters of the higher rates call it a user fee. The immigrants would be paying for the services they are using.

USA Today adds:

The Citizenship and Immigration Service[s] gets its entire budget from its fees. The increases will add an estimated $1 billion a year to its annual budget of close to $2 billion, says Michael Aytes, associate director for operations.

Aytes says higher fees will allow the agency to digitize applications and hopefully reduce waiting times for applicants by 20 percent by 2009.

What is Killing Rap?

An Associated Press story takes a look at the slow and steady decline in rap music sales:

The beginning of what could be rap music's slow demise is hard to pinpoint. But after 30 years of growing popularity, rap is now struggling with a dramatic sales decline and growing criticism from within about the culture's negative effect on society. [...]

Hip-hop is at the very least ailing, according to recent statistics: Though overall music sales are down, rap sales slid a whopping 21 percent from 2005 to 2006, and for the first time in 12 years, no rap album was among the top 10 sellers of the year.

A 2005-06 study by the Black Youth Project showed a majority of youth between the ages of 15 to 25 think rap has too many violent images. The survey was one of the most comprehensive ever to focus on young African-Americans.

In a poll of African-Americans by The Associated Press and AOL-Black Voices last year, 50 percent of respondents said hip-hop was a negative force in American society.

Al's Morning Multimedia

Today's heart-touching multimedia piece, from MediaStorm, is called "The Sandwich Generation."

The project summary says:

The Sandwich Generation, those caught between their aging parents and young children, includes some 20 million Americans.

In this emotionally charged account of family caregiving, filmmaker Julie Winokur and her husband, photojournalist Ed Kashi, expose their personal lives with unflinching candor. Winokur and Kashi uprooted their two children and their business in order to move 3,000 miles cross-country to care for Winokur's father, Herbie.

At 83, Herbie suffers from dementia and can no longer live alone. Winokur and Kashi are faced with difficult choices and overwhelming responsibility as they charge head on through their Sandwich years. It is a story of love, family dynamics and the immeasurable sacrifice of those who are caught in the middle.

I mentioned that in February, NBC Nightly News also was tapping into the Sandwich Generation issue. The network says it has gotten thousands and thousands of messages from viewers about the project.

Fluctuating Temperatures Create Thin Ice

The Detroit News says fluctuating temperatures this winter have made walking on what appear to be frozen lakes dangerous. The ice is not as thick as it usually is this time of year.

Mandatory Spay/Neuter Bill

A California legislator has filed a bill that would require every dog and cat in the state to be spayed or neutered unless the animal is a purebred and has special permission.

The radical idea to do something about ballooning strays has the backing of the mayor of Los Angeles. Dog and cat breeders hate the idea.

Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.