Omicron and a collapsed health care system: this is how COVID closes 2021
Almost two years after COVID-19 pandemic started, 270 million people have been infected with the virus and 5.3 million have died worldwide. Cases in the United States exceed 50 million,…
[COLUMN] What is a ‘hardship’ discharge in Chapter 13?
CHAPTER 13 is a reorganization of your financial affairs where you pay a portion of your debts over 36 months or 60 months depending on where your household income is….
[COLUMN] Are you feeling buried under a mountain of debt?
ARE you facing a mountain of debt and don’t know what to do in order to avoid getting buried? Debt problems can wreak havoc on your personal life in many…
[COLUMN] K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa: Getting your significant other to the united states
SEVERAL options exist for a U.S. citizen to bring his/her foreign-national fiancé(e) to the United States. One popular option is to marry the fiancé(e) in the country in which he/she…
[COLUMN] ‘Managers’ may still be owed overtime
PAMELA Ruben-Knudsen and Marnine Casillas were employed as Client Service Managers by Arthur J. Gallagher and Co., a brokerage firm. Client service managers are salaried and considered exempt from overtime….
[COLUMN] Do I have to disclose my Bitcoin to my spouse in my divorce case?
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency has become popular lately as a new store of value. It is decentralized and not subject to regulation in any jurisdiction. It can be stored in…
Bretman Rock, Bella Poarch join Fil-Am community toy drive in Historic Filipinotown
Filipino American breakout stars Bretman Rock and Bella Poarch joined community members at the first annual Historic Filipinotown Holiday Festival and Toy Distribution ahead of the Christmas holiday. Both Bretman and…
What is life? My 2021 Christmas column
WRITING this Christmas column is neither easy nor difficult. However, it required deeper thinking after almost two years of coronavirus-induced changes in our lives. There is a myriad of unexpected…
[COLUMN] The gift of family
A warm Christmas greeting to you and your families! I hope you’re enjoying the Christmas season and keeping yourselves in good health. This Sunday’s Feast of the Holy Family falls…
Mayor Gloria urges residents to help stop omicron surge
SAN Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and local health officials are urging San Diegans to get vaccinated and boosted to protect against the new dominant COVID-19 variant, omicron. “My message to San…
LA County records another spike in new COVID cases
AHEAD of the holiday season, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released new data on COVID-19. As of Thursday, December 23, there were 8,633 new COVID-19 cases and…
Simbang Gabi celebrated at the Los Angeles Cathedral
Filipino Catholics from throughout Southern California celebrated the beginning of Simbang Gabi, one of the oldest Filipino Christmas traditions, with a special Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the…
Dissecting the classic Noche Buena spread
IF the long list of Christmas trends and traditions was any indication, Filipinos love celebrating the yuletide season. Be it decorating the house with lanterns and ornaments as early as…
Fil-Am named deputy chief of Los Angeles Police Department
THE Los Angeles Police Department will have its first Filipino American deputy chief in its 152-year history. Commander Donald Graham becomes the first person of Filipino descent to hold such…
Mon David’s homecoming concert: The floodgates of his creative intelligence, unleashed
“Mon’s performance at Catalina was the alarm clock [that] my jazz spirit needed to wake from its catatonic dormancy throughout the pandemic! It was a great jolt of jazz as…
Philippine Airlines wins US court approval of recovery plan
Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York has approved its Plan of Reorganization (the “Plan”). PAL filed a voluntary petition…
Mayor Garcetti signs directive to improve English learners’ access to LA city services
LOS Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti recently signed Executive Directive 32, which seeks to improve access to city information and services for English language learners. “Los Angeles is a place of…
Nurses in crisis over COVID dig in for better work conditions
NURSES and health care workers across the country are finding strength in numbers and with labor actions not seen in years. In California, which has a strong union tradition, Kaiser…
Kick It California is here to help Californians quit smoking — and improve their mental and physical health
California is once again emerging as a leader in the fight against Big Tobacco with the California Smokers’ Helpline, renamed Kick It California — the state’s official effort to help…
[COLUMN] Catch the first installment of Citizen Pinoy’s very first virtual Q&A on U.S. immigration — AXG: Abunda and Gurfinkel
Asia’s King of Talk, Boy Abunda, and leading U.S. immigration attorney, Michael J. Gurfinkel, lead the discussion in the first virtual forum where Atty. Gurfinkel provides answers and relevant information…
[COLUMN] On the record with Governor Gavin Newsom: California continues to lead the fight against COVID-19
By Governor Gavin Newsom Since the early days of the pandemic, California has led the nation’s fight against COVID-19 through robust vaccination efforts rooted in science and data. This has…
[COLUMN] How’s the housing market?
AS we come to the close of 2021, the data shows that the Southern California housing market has continued to appreciate for the past three years since 2019. As of…
[COLUMN] The January 2022 Priority Dates
Each month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment-based categories. A priority…
[OBITUARY] Ricardo Lim Roco, 75
October 6, 1946 – December 19, 2021 RICARDO Lim Roco passed away gracefully in his sleep on December 19, 2021 after a very rare, fast-paced progressive neuro-degenerative disorder. He was…