WHEN people are going through financial difficulty and are unable to pay their bills, their first reaction is often to ignore their debts and avoid contact with creditors. They think that by doing this, somehow the creditors will simply give up and go away. Bad news: This rarely works. Then one day they get a…
The U.S. FDA has recently approved a painkiller that is 10 times more potent than fentanyl and 1000 times more powerful than morphine, a faster killer when abused, a potentially attractive new drug for narco-lords and gangs. The name is Dsuvia, which is projected to be great for medical use in medical facilities, but a…
IF you were born a man, you wouldn’t worry about being unsafe, especially at night. You wouldn’t have to make use of a pretty face to hide your intelligence. You don’t have to listen to nasty remarks when you sleep with someone you like. People won’t tell you sin was born, the day you picked…
THE client is 66. He purchased a business about 10 years ago for $2 million. He put in $500,000 of his own money and borrowed a $1.5 million small business loan through the Small Business Administration. The business owns real property worth $800,0000 in 2010. It derives revenue through rentals of the real estate that…
A COMMON question that is asked by a person who has a pending immigration petition or application is “how much longer until USCIS makes a decision?” The question is understandable, in that an unreasonable delay in the USCIS’ adjudication of a petition or application can have adverse effects, including loss of employment and employment opportunities,…
Q: I am a registered nurse in the Philippines but I have not yet obtained a license in California. However, I am working as a ‘private nurse’ to a bed-ridden patient in Los Angeles. My duties are mainly nursing duties – tube feedings, inserting catheter, tracheal suctioning, observing and recording vital signs, administering therapies prescribed…
“Now that I’m growing older, My pilot light is out; What used to be my sex appealIs now my water spout…” I WAS in my mid-20s, at the peak of my virility, when I came upon this verse. I found it extremely funny. I also thought it referred to people who had reached 40, which,…
I HAD the privilege of meeting Gina Lopez for the first time in the early 90s when her family welcomed her back after being away for a long long time. She was among the heirs of the late Eugenio (Geny) Lopez Jr. and Chita Lopez – owners of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation. You probably knew about…
IN the absence of a premarital agreement, the general community property presumption under California family code section 760 controls which provides “ ….all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in this state is community property.” Family Code 760. This becomes a problem if you…
IF there is one fundamental thing that God desires for each one of us, it’s a close relationship with him. After all, we are his sons and daughters. He wants that we develop and nurture an intimate friendship with him. God wants us to know and love him with all our heart, mind, and soul….
Noong Agosto 12, 2019, ang USCIS ay nagpahayag ng final rule na nagbabago ng mga regulasyon ng Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tungkol sa public charge. Sa ilalim ng Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), ang isang dayuhan ay maaaring maging inadmissibile o di pahihintulutang pumasok ng US kung mayroong posibilidad na siya ay magiging public…
Finally, for the first-time ever, a musical created and directed by Filipino Americans will be presented off-Broadway. Ma-Yi Theater Company is pleased to open its 30th anniversary season with the world premiere of Felix Starro, a new musical by Jessica Hagedorn and Fabian Obispo. Felix Starro, based on a powerful short story by acclaimed Filipino American writer Lysley Tenorio, stars The…
THE Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday, August 20, said convicted rapist and murderer Antonio Sanchez may walk free out of prison as he becomes one of the 11,000 inmates eligible for release under a new law. According to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, Sanchez would benefit from the recent ruling issued by the Supreme Court…
SACRAMENTO – THE National Asian American Coalition (NAAC), the National Diversity Coalition (NDC), pastors, housing advocates and members of the state legislature’s Senate and Assembly Republican Caucuses celebrated the recent court victory on the return of the $331 million to the National Home Mortgage Special Fund with a press conference and victory rally in front…
DESPITE reports of an impending recession going into 2020, several Asian American and Pacific Islanders in Las Vegas argue that their businesses have been strong since President Donald Trump took office. Members of the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce, together with former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, led a roundtable discussion on Tuesday, August…
Seven Filipino brands, under the group FashionPhilippines, showcased the diversity of materials and outstanding craftsmanship during the Project Womens trade show in Las Vegas this past weekend, August 12 to 14. The Project Womens participation of Fashion Philippines was organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotions arm of…
ON August 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule governing the public charge grounds of inadmissibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The rule is set to go in effect on October 15, 2019. What is the “new” Public Charge rule? The DHS final rule is not new, but it does…
A Los Angeles-based Filipino artist recently completed a new mural in the California State University, Sacramento campus. Eliseo Silva’s “Magkasama Tayo Aangat (Together We Rise),” unveiled on Sunday, August 18, is a tribute to Filipino migration, particularly by Filipina women, in the United States and the merging of the Filipino and American cultures. “Like my…
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 date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date…
Voting can be as quick as a pen stroke or as easy as a tap of a computer screen, yet the simple act is often taken for granted in America. It became a right I lost when I was convicted on felony charges and found myself in state prison several years ago. After serving a…
Einstein wrote “the force from gravity is not instantaneous, as it travels the same speed as light, so light from the sun would still be upon the earth momentarily. Therefore, if the sun disappeared, we would remain blissfully unaware for eight minutes that inevitable doom was upon us.” Life on earth would then cease, except…
“ There are definitely some enemies in my life I definitely would wish celebrity on…” — Gary Coleman Star of the sitcom, ‘Diff’rent Strokes,’ who suffered a reversal of fortune and died at 42 (Part 1 of 2) IN 2010, a young boy who climbed Mount Everest gained a spot in the Guinness Book of…
TO say that Gina Lopez led a colorful life would be a severe understatement. The former environment and natural resources secretary passed away on Monday, August 19, due to multiple organ failure after a brave battle with brain cancer. She was 65. The second of seven children of Eugenio Lopez, Jr. and Conchita La’O, Regina…
[EDITOR’S Note: A full version of this article was previously published in Balikbayan Magazine’s October-November 2011 issue] “Water is a great teacher that shows us how to move through the world with grace, ease, determination, and humility. When a river breaks at a waterfall, it gains energy and moves on, as we encounter our own waterfalls,…
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday, August 19, defended its proposal to restore the law against subversion. According to DILG Undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan Malaya, the Duterte administration is different from the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, who used the law to prosecute thousands of critics. “This is not the authoritarian…
‘Transfer of Sentenced Persons’ to give convicts option to serve time in their home country Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday, August 19, called for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to pursue more Transfer of Sentenced Persons agreements with other countries, pointing out the efforts of the government to help Filipino drug convicts abroad while…
