A Texas mayor abruptly resigned after being forced to pick between his job and his love for a Mexican man who does not have legal status in the US. J.W. Lown told the San Angelo Standard-Times on Wednesday from Mexico about his relationship with the man. Lown, 32, said he didn’t want to take the oath of office knowing he was “aiding and assisting” someone who is not a US citizen. “We had to do the right thing and come to Mexico and wait in line for a visa,” Lown said. He said he’d made thousands of decisions as mayor and weighed the one to resign “in the same manner.” City Manager Harold Dominguez said he had spoken to Lown twice since receiving the resignation letter on Wednesday morning. “My impression is that he is very happy with the decision he made,” Dominguez said. “He gave the decision-making process a lot of thought, and he is at peace with it. He did sound happy.”
■UNITED STATES
Snake not used as jump rope
A spokeswoman for Pittsburgh Public Schools says a high school student swung around a snake from a biology class but didn’t use it as a jump rope as police had said. Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said on Wednesday that “it’s not a big enough snake to jump rope with.” She also says the albino corn snake is OK and didn’t need to be treated by a veterinarian after Monday’s incident. Police say the 17-year-old Taylor Allderdice High School student will be charged with theft and cruelty to animals.
■CANADA
British names a plus: study
Jobseekers in Canada fare better if their names sound British than people with names from Pakistan, China or India, a study published on Wednesday revealed. Researchers sent 6,000 fake resumes to small and mid-sized employers advertising jobs in Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis and one of the world’s most culturally diverse cities. Among the fake applicants with Canadian education and experience, employers called back 16 percent of those with English-sounding names. Only 11 percent of applicants with Asian-sounding names were called back, said economist Philip Oreopoulos of the University of British Columbia. “The magnitude of [the difference] was larger than I would have imagined,” he said. “The findings suggest that a distinct foreign-sounding name may be a significant disadvantage on the job market — even if you are a second or third generation citizen.” Oreopoulos added: “A lot of people are going to point and say this is racial discrimination.” The economist said more research is needed to determine whether the results would be similar with large businesses, which were not included in the study, and whether the discrimination was intentional or due to employers flipping quickly through resumes and making “subconscious stereotype decisions.”
■CUBA
Spanish agents expelled
Havana has expelled a group of Spanish secret service agents who had come to investigate activities of members of the militant Basque separatist group ETA, the Madrid daily El Mundo reported yesterday. The agents were ordered to leave by today because they had not informed authorities of their arrival a few days earlier, the daily quoted sources close to Spanish intelligence services as saying. Cuba has taken in ETA members on the basis of deportation agreements with Spain but there have also been reports on the alleged non-official presence of ETA activists. Spain is concerned that the separatists could continue lending ETA financial or logistical support.
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