California is home to the greatest number of people in the United States who claim Latvian ancestry, with New York a close second, according to new population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In all, an estimated 91,096 people claim some Latvian ancestry in the American Community Survey, which is sent annually to a random sample of households. The figure has a margin of error of 2,282, meaning the range of people with Latvian ancestry could be between 88,814 and 93,378.

Updated data from the past five years of the ACS were released Dec. 8. More than 2 million households each year were sampled from 2006 through 2010, according to a press release from the Census Bureau.

An estimated 11,443 people with Latvian ancestry live in California, according to the data, followed by New York with 9,194. The data include both the first and second ancestry reported.

The top 10 states in terms of Latvian population also include Illinois with an estimated 6,982 persons; Florida with 4,921; Massachusetts with 4,706; Michigan with 4,265; New Jersey with 3,946; Pennsylvania with 3,754; Washington with 3,380; and Maryland with 3,289.

The greatest concentration of Latvians continues to be in the Northeast and Upper Midwest of the country, as it has for decades.

Here is a breakdown of the estimated Latvian ethnic population by state, according to the American Community Survey:

State	Total	Margin of error
Alabama	317	+/-142
Alaska	252	+/-107
Arizona	1588	+/-361
Arkansas	187	+/-112
California	11443	+/-893
Colorado	2142	+/-378
Connecticut	1876	+/-375
Delaware	180	+/-96
District of Columbia	297	+/-95
Florida	4921	+/-539
Georgia	1603	+/-390
Hawaii	338	+/-158
Idaho	376	+/-181
Illinois	6982	+/-720
Indiana	1490	+/-495
Iowa	942	+/-283
Kansas	327	+/-128
Kentucky	530	+/-209
Louisiana	265	+/-119
Maine	495	+/-253
Maryland	3289	+/-550
Massachusetts	4706	+/-531
Michigan	4265	+/-519
Minnesota	3010	+/-535
Mississippi	196	+/-103
Missouri	792	+/-226
Montana	337	+/-170
Nebraska	479	+/-149
Nevada	820	+/-244
New Hampshire	521	+/-188
New Jersey	3946	+/-563
New Mexico	411	+/-134
New York	9194	+/-919
North Carolina	1364	+/-242
North Dakota	102	+/-69
Ohio	2580	+/-330
Oklahoma	304	+/-125
Oregon	1701	+/-352
Pennsylvania	3754	+/-416
Rhode Island	127	+/-67
South Carolina	625	+/-160
South Dakota	147	+/-69
Tennessee	666	+/-218
Texas	2300	+/-361
Utah	300	+/-210
Vermont	357	+/-121
Virginia	1911	+/-383
Washington	3380	+/-521
West Virginia	96	+/-59
Wisconsin	2810	+/-468
Wyoming	55	+/-42
Puerto Rico	6	+/-9

When grouped by metropolitan areas in the United States, the region that includes New York City, Long Island and northern New Jersey accounts for the largest concentration of persons with Latvian ancestry, according to the data. A total of 9,098 Latvians were estimated to live there.

The Chicago metropolitan area is second with an estimated 6,560 Latvians, followed by the Los Angeles region with 4,176. The remaining metropolitan areas in the top 10 include Boston with 3,971; Philadelphia with 2,904; Washington, D.C., with 2,684; Minneapolis-St. Paul with 2,643; Seattle with 2,421; San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., with 2,201; and Miami and Fort Lauderdale with 1,846.

Proponents of making Russian the second state language in Latvia have apparently succeeded in getting enough signatures to bring proposed constitutional amendments before the Saeima and to force a national referendum, according to provisional results compiled by the Central Election Commission in Rīga.

A total of 183,046 eligible voters—almost 30,000 more than required—added their signatures to the citizen initiative during November, according to the election commission. Of those, 1,050 did so abroad at Latvian embassies and consulates.

That means legislation proposing changes to five paragraphs in Latvia’s constitution will be submitted in a few weeks. If media reports and political observers are correct, the Saeima is more than likely to reject the legislation, which would then lead to a national referendum on the language issue sometime in early 2012.

However, even if the Saeima approves the amendments, a national referendum is inescapable. One of the amendments would change Paragraph 4, which according to the constitution may only be changed through a referendum. Paragraph 4 stipulates that Latvian is the state language and that the national flag is red with a white stripe.

A pro-Russian group, “Dzimtā valoda,” gathered signatures earlier this year and in September submitted a petition with 12,533 names supporting the initiative. At least 10,000 were needed to trigger the month-long signature campaign.

According to Latvian law, at least 10 percent of eligible voters in the last parliamentary election—a total of 154,379—had to support the initiative to bring the legislation to the Saeima.

The Central Election Commission must now review the signatures, a process that could take three to four weeks, according to spokesperson Kristīne Bērziņa.

More than LVL 70 million already has been paid out to Latvijas Krājbanka clients after the financial institution’s collapse, but account holders abroad may have a tougher time getting to their money.

The bank, Latvia’s 10th largest in terms of deposits, was shut down by regulators after its parent company—Lithuania’s Bankas Snoras, that country’s third largest bank—collapsed amid allegations its owners siphoned off an estimated USD 1.3 billion in assets.

Lithuania’s government refused to bail out the bank. Latvian authorities followed up by taking over Krājbanka on Nov. 21, the Financial and Capital Market Commission (Finanšu un kapitālu tirgus komisija, or FKTK) announced.

Under Latvian banking law, deposits are insured up to EUR 100,000 (about LVL 70,000) from the Deposit Guarantee Fund, regardless of whether the account holder is a resident or a non-resident of the country. Reimbursements began to be paid out on Nov. 29.

Latvijas Krājbanka’s customers abroad can designate someone in Latvia to collect the insured value of their account by preparing a notarized proxy, an FKTK spokeswoman told Latvians Online in an email. The commission recommends that customers contact the nearest Latvian embassy or consulate for assistance on preparing the proxy.

Clients abroad who have used a Latvijas Krājbanka credit or debit card (norēķinu karte) to pay bills may have to ask friends, relatives or acquaintances in Latvia to help them get their money using a money transfer service like MoneyGram or Western Union, the spokesperson suggested.

Otherwise, customers from abroad can apply for the funds when in Latvia. The insured amount will be available for 60 years—until 2071, according to the FKTK.

An estimated 235,000 customers of Latvijas Krājbanka will receive the guaranteed payments.

Ironically, the payouts from Latvijas Krājbanka are being made through Citadele Bank. Citadele was formed in 2010 after the Latvian government took over the failed Parex Bank and transferred that bank’s good assets to the new financial institution.

After the collapse of Bankas Snoras and the seizure of Latvijas Krājbanka, Lithuanian authorities issued arrest warrants for Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov and his Lithuanian partner Raimondas Baranauskas, who were the major shareholders in Snoras. Both were arrested Nov. 24 in London and then released on bail.

Latvijas Krājbanka was founded in 1924. Bankas Snoras in 2005 bought majority interest in Krājbanka.

According to its 2010 annual report, Latvijas Krājbanka held more than LVL 575 million in deposits from customers, almost 60 percent of them private citizens. About 17 percent of the total deposits were from non-residents of Latvia.

Further information about account reimbursements is available by calling the Citadele Bank client contact center at +371 6 7010000.

Complaints about the reimbursement amount or questions about recognizing a person as a Latvijas Krājbanka depositer may be directed to the FKTK by telephone at +371 67774800 or +371 67774801, by email to fktk@fktk.lv, or by mail to Finanšu un kapitālu tirgus komisija, Kungu iela 1, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia.