Author: Andris Straumanis

Immigrant applications from Latvia see decrease

Andris Straumanis | 

For the third year running, the number of registered applications from Latvia for U.S. immigrant visas has decreased, according to the latest results of the diversity visa lottery announced by the U.S. Department of State.

A total of 75 applicants from Latvia have been registered for the 2007 U.S. diversity visa lottery and may now apply for permanent residency, the department announced July 18. They are among about 82,000 applicants—from a total of 5.5 million entries—who have been notified they may apply for permanent residency.

Only 50,000 of the applicants will receive immigrant visas.

Last year, 97 applications from Latvia were registered for the 2006 lottery. Applicants for the 2005 lottery numbered 158, compared to 172 for the 2004 lottery.

Applications for the 2007 lottery were accepted from Oct. 5-Dec. 4.

A total of 40 applications were registered from Estonia, the State Department said, while 298 were registered from Lithuania.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

The end of days

Andris Straumanis | 

Sure it’s summer in the northern hemisphere. And even though Jāņi was celebrated a month ago, we still can enjoy plenty of light before the sun sets each day.  In the eastern Latvian town of Gulbene, for example, the length of time between sunrise and sunset on July 24 was 16 hours and 44 minutes.

Six months from now it will be a different story, as the Web site Gaisma informs us. On that day in January, the sun is to rise at 8:30 hours and set at 16:20 hours, for a total daylight span of just 7 hours and 50 minutes.

The Web site lets visitors learn the sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times of various locations around the world.

The site is the creation of Matti Tukiainen, who lives in Vuorentausta, Finland. He was lucky enough to grab the domain www.gaisma.com and notes on his site that gaisma is Latvian for light.

Thanks to Jānis Zeltiņš in Minnesota for alerting us to the site.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

Senate candidate charged with rape of Latvian wife

Andris Straumanis | 

A U.S. Senate candidate from Maryland has been charged with assaulting and raping his 19-year-old Latvia-born wife, according to Baltimore media outlets.

David Dickerson, one of several Democratic candidates for the Senate, was charged July 22 after his wife claimed she was raped, television stations WBAL and WJZ reported July 24.

Dickerson’s attorney, Craig Kadish, told the news outlets that the charges are false and that Dickerson’s wife has a history of mental illness.

The 43-year-old Dickerson met and married his wife in Latvia, where Dickerson taught college courses and served on the government’s Task Force on Lobbying Law Development, according to a press release posted on his Web site. Dickerson, whose campaign highlights family values, on June 2 entered the race for the Senate seat held by the retiring Paul Sarbanes.

According to charging documents obtained by the news outlets, Dickerson’s wife claimed she had been repeatedly abused, assaulted and raped by her husband in their home in Sparks, Md. She called police July 16 and was taken to a hospital.

The couple has a 2-month-old child who is being raised by the wife’s mother in Latvia, WBZ reported, citing the court documents.

Dickerson is charged with second-degree rape, second-degree assault and a fourth-degree sex offense. He was released on USD 100,000 bail.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.