Covering the week’s most noteworthy news stories impacting the lives of the Filipino-American community in the State of California.
by Harriet Rowan At 11 a.m. last Friday, November 16, thousands of former Paradise, Calif., residents were taking stock of all they had lost to the worst wildfire in the state’s history while they continued the grim task of looking for missing loved ones. At the same moment, with smoke from the deadly Camp Fire…
More than 600 people reported missing as death toll rises to 66 across the state THE Camp Fire in Northern California became the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history in a century, burning through 141,000 acres and leaving about 9,700 homes destroyed as of Friday, November 16. As of Friday, more than 600 people were reported…
by Ana B. Ibarra SACRAMENTO — What do hip-hop dancing and health insurance have in common? For one, you sure do hope that the break dancer busting backflips is covered. Beyond that, Covered California, the state’s Obamacare health insurance exchange, is betting that one will bring attention to the other. So, on a stage designed…
ON November 6, California voters didn’t just cast their ballots for candidates. They headed to the polls to vote on 11 ballot measures, which covered issues from farm animal confinement to daylight saving time. As final results for certain races continue to emerge, here is how the measures did on Tuesday: Proposition 1: Bond for…
Newsom wins gubernatorial race, Pelosi wins re-election as Dems take House and other election results ALTHOUGH the anticipated national “blue wave” that Democrats (and non-Democrats who vowed to vote Democrat in protest of Trumpian conservatism) were hoping for left a lot to be desired, California remained blue as ever after the contentious 2018 midterm elections….
ON Tuesday, November 6, in addition to candidates for state and local positions, voters in California will also decide on 11 statewide ballot propositions. There were originally 12, but Proposition 9 was removed from the ballot by the California Supreme Court. It had proposed splitting California into three different states. During the June 5 primary,…
LOS ANGELES became the first city in California to receive $85 million in state funds for projects aimed at reducing homelessness, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced this week. The city received $85 million, its full disbursement of state Homeless Emergency Assistance Program (HEAP) dollars, which will be used to fund two A Bridge Home projects — one in…
ELIGIBLE voters in California who want to vote in the upcoming midterm election on November 6 have until Monday, October 22 to register. To do so, one can fill out an application online at registertovote.ca.gov or obtain a voter registration form at the county elections office or at a local library, post office, or Department…
Patrick J. Bumatay to be first Fil-Am judge to serve on federal appeals court Filipino-American attorney Patrick J. Bumatay was nominated by President Donald Trump to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday, October 10. If confirmed, Bumatay would become the first Fil-Am judge to serve on a federal appeals…
SAN FRANCISCO — President Trump announced his intent Wednesday, October 10 to nominate Patrick J. Bumatay to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. If confirmed, Patrick will be the first Filipino-American judge to ever serve on a federal appeals court, the second openly LGBT federal circuit court judge, and the second Filipino-American…
SACRAMENTO – AB 2514, authored by Assemblymember Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond), supports the creation and expansion of dual language immersion programs in schools. The bill passed out of both legislative houses with bipartisan support and was signed by the Governor yesterday. “22 percent of our public school students are English learners,” Thurmond said. “Our school districts…
Democrat Gil Cisneros says he’s ready to serve the 39th in the House of Representatives IN the wake of the 2016 presidential election, the Democratic Party began a self-reflection period that involved taking stock of what the party truly represents in order to truly reflect its brand as a party of the people. During the 2016…
California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday, September 18 signed into law, an anti-bullying bill that would require the California Department of Education (CDE) to buckle down in addressing bullying in California schools through new bullying prevention guidelines. Authored by Assemblymember David Chui (D-San Francisco), AB 2291 requires local education agencies in to adopt bullying prevention…
DALY CITY, Calif., — October is celebrated as Filipino American History Month across the U.S. because the earliest documented Filipino presence in the U.S. was on October 18, 1587 in Morro Bay, California. It was the late Dr. Fred Cordova and his wife, Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova, founder of the Filipino American National Historical Society…
California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill on Monday, September 17 that prohibits criminal penalties for sidewalk vending and treating vendors like other businesses in the state. The Safe Sidewalk Vending Act (Senate Bill 946) — introduced by state Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) in February — allows municipalities to establish permit programs for vendors,…
by Phil Galewitz The percentage of people without health insurance continued to decline in California last year, according to a closely watched report from the Census Bureau released Wednesday. The state’s uninsured rate edged down even as Republicans in Washington, D.C. sought to roll back the Affordable Care Act. The rate of uninsurance dropped in…
Gov. Brown signs new bill that aims to combat damaging effects of climate change Governor Jerry Brown signed two measures on Monday, Sept. 10 aiming to convert California to 100 percent renewable energy and “carbon neutrality” by 2045, securing the state’s reputation as a national and global leader in clean energy and environmental innovation. SB…
Substance Use Disorder Patient Protection Act (Senate Bill 1228) will prevent patient brokering in state-licensed and certified treatment facilities SACRAMENTO – Responding to reports of fraud and abuse of patients in recovery from opioid and other addictions, the California Legislature passed the state’s first bill that outlaws patient brokering in the treatment industry. Senator Ricardo Lara…
by Anna B. Ibarra SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It turns out that California and the Trump administration do agree on at least one thing: Don’t mess with coffee. Trump’s hand-picked food and drug czar, Scott Gottlieb, said Wednesday, August 29, that he “strongly supports” a proposal by officials in Sacramento to exempt the morning elixir from…
SACRAMENTO – The Senate unanimously approved bipartisan measure co-authored by Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) that would help human trafficking victims get back on their feet. Specifically, Assembly Bill 900 by Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher (D-San Diego) would: 1. Make it easier for victims to receive compensation for any income they lost, similar to how…
SACRAMENTO — State Assemblymember Jose Medina’s (D-Riverside) bill AB 2772, which increases access to ethnic studies education, was concurred upon on the Assembly Floor on Thursday, August 30. AB 2772 was amended in the Senate to create a pilot program that would allow up to 11 school districts add the completion of a course in…
BEING a harbinger for environmental policies, California on Monday, August 27, published a comprehensive assessment outlining the risks of global warming that are threatening the state. Titled as California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the assessment is the fourth to have been put out by the state since 2006 when former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called…
Legislation comes as studies show divisive rhetoric in national politics has filtered down to schools SACRAMENTO — Legislation by Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) to prevent bullying and harassment in California schools passed the Assembly floor on Monday, August 27, on concurrence and now heads to Governor Brown. Assembly Bill 2291 would require the California Department…
Big Telecom attempts to slow down support for net neutrality by spreading “misinformation” After the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to slowly reduce net neutrality protections, Democratic lawmakers have promised to challenge the Trump administration in order to maintain open and equal access to the internet. In California, Democratic leaders are taking that fight seriously….
Hundreds of foreclosures resulted from Wells Fargo glitch Democratic lawmakers in Sacramento are hoping to overturn a court ruling that would order California to use $331 million in helping homeowners hit with foreclosures. The sum came out of a 2012 nationwide financial protection settlement involving banks accused of improper foreclosure practices. California received over $400 million…
Debbie Dobrosky noticed a peculiar hue in the sky on Monday — “a very ugly yellow casting” — as she peeked outside. A large cloud of smoke had begun to cover the sun. By Tuesday, the smoke was so heavy that “even inside my apartment I’ve had to use my inhaler twice this morning, which is…
Proposed citizenship question could affect overall count in certain geographic 2020 is shaping up to be one of the most crucial years in the history of American democracy. Coming up in the next year and a half, Americans will be participating in two important events: the presidential election and the census survey. There are more or…
California fires have again been making ground, less than a year after a record breaking fire burnt through parts of Southern California’s coast. As of Tuesday morning, August 7, the Mendocino Complex Fire covered over 290,000 acres in Northern California’s Mendocino and Lake counties, making it the largest fire in California’s modern history. Made…
Former president endorses first wave of candidates for midterms elections A total of 81 candidates for federal and state offices got the thumbs-up by former President Barack Obama on Wednesday, August 1 in his first wave of endorsements focused on candidates across 14 different states. Among the first wave of endorsees is Fil-Am congressional candidate…
by Julie Appleby and Alex Leeds Matthews THE planned expansion of short-term health plans under a new Trump administration rule unveiled this week is on a crash course with a brick wall in California. The Golden State’s Democrat-dominated legislature is close to banning such plans, which offer consumers lower premiums in exchange for skimpier benefits that do not meet the Affordable Care…
