The Latvian migration to Ireland is now in the mainstream. In a lengthy article that begins on Page 1 of the Nov. 28 Washington Post, London-based reporter Kevin Sullivan follows a 39-year-old Latvian man as he travels to Ireland in search of work.

The article, East-to-West Migration Remaking Europe (registration required), offers a detailed look into the migration process that has been repeated by thousands of Latvians and other Eastern Europeans in recent years. Estimates of how many Latvians now live and work range from 20,000 to 40,000.

Sullivan’s story online also include a short video of images showing his subject, Jānis Neulans, traveling to Dublin on his first-ever airplane ride, looking for work as is money runs out, and finally finding a job in a door factory in County Wexford.

Sanita Jemberga, a reporter for the Rīga daily Diena, also recently covered the flight to Ireland, focusing on how a good many of the migrants have no intention of returning to their homeland.

In Latvia’s newspaper industry, the daily Diena may be the most popular and widely circulated, but the official government daily Latvijas Vēstnesis can claim to be the heaviest.

The paper on Sept. 5 produced a two-section, 416-page edition weighing in at 1,125 grams (that’s almost 2.5 pounds for those of you who are metrically challenged).

And the reason for the heavy news? The paper published, in Latvian and English, a document entitled “Par Eiropas valstu nolīgumu par bīstamo kravu pārvadājumiem ar autotransportu (ADR),” which lays out Europe’s rules for the road transport of dangerous materials.

The entire press run of the tabloid weighed more than four tons, according to a press release from the newspaper.

It’s not the first time the paper has printed such heavyweights. It produced a 96-page broadsheet in 1997 (that would be about 210 pages in the paper’s current tabloid format) and a 316-page tabloid edition in 2004.

The government’s paper of record began publication in 1993.

Laris Krēsliņš, one third of the “Latvian love punk” band Mācītājs on Acid, two years ago said “ar dievu” to New York and moved to Philadelphia. Who cares? Well, The New York Times for one.

In her Aug. 14 story, writer Jessica Pressler reported on the exodus of young artists and musicians from overpriced apartments in New York to the historic Pennsylvania city, where cost of living is 37 percent less.

Helping to promote the exodus is Krēsliņš, who has set up a Web site, movetophilly.com, to plug Philly.

Mācītājs on Acid includes Laris Krēslins, his brother Kristaps (proprietor of the Pharmacy Bar in Washington, D.C.) and his cousin, Gustavs Mergins.

Thanks to Jānis Bībelnieks and Victor Ozols for the tip. And visit Ozols’ blog, New York City Diary.

Ozols notes another Latvian-American who warranted mention in The New York Times: 23-year-old personal trainer Juris Kupris, owner of Juris Kupris Fitness. In an Aug. 18 story, Stefani Jackenthal reports Kupris is part of a growing trend of personal trainers who are taking their jobs outside of health clubs into the homes and lives of their clients.

Kupris, a former NASCAR driver, is set to release four fitness DVDs this autumn. Hey, maybe he could use Macītājs on Acid for the soundtrack!