The calm in the eye of the storm: Celebrating 10 years of service to our community
RECENTLY, I was reminded that our law firm will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary this May 2019. Though I joined this amazing band of legal warriors only in 2012, I…
June 2019 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…
‘Post Colonial Survival Kit’: Addressing the challenges brought by centuries of colonization
COLONIALISM is defined as a system in which “one country creates an empire by taking over other lands and making them into colonies.” As such, colonies don’t have the power…
California bans pesticide linked to develop mental problems
by Ana B. Ibarra / Kaiser Health News CALIFORNIA will ban the use of a widely used pesticide in the face of “mounting evidence” that it causes developmental problems in…
Miracle of life
Wednesday last week, while waiting at O’Hare Airport in Chicago for our flight to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to attend the graduation of our granddaughter, Sydney, my wife, Farida, and I…
Asian Americans spent $1 trillion last year and brands are taking notice, says report
A new report released by Nielsen on Thursday, May 9 said that Asian Americans spent $1 trillion last year — a testament to the demographic’s growing spending power and influence…
Fil-Am coming-of-age immigration drama “Yellow Rose” awarded Grand Jury Prize at three film festivals in a row
‘Yellow Rose’ is an honest, visceral exploration on the complicated definition of ‘American’ THE much-anticipated feature film “Yellow Rose” by Filipina American filmmaker Diane Paragas premiered at the opening night…
‘The Sun is Also a Star’ author Nicola Yoon, actors Charles Melton and Jake Choi shine light on immigrant stories, Asian American visibility
CAN two individuals fall in love in a day? Does destiny exist? These are some of the questions put forth by “The Sun is Also a Star,” an upcoming movie…
Technical issues, election violations mar 2019 Philippine elections
ANY hopes for a smooth sailing election process were dashed as various issues involving vote-counting machines (VCMs) marred the 2019 midterm elections on Monday, May 13. Of the 85,000 VCMs…
2019 PH ELECTION: Senatorial admin bets take lead, Otso Diretso suffers loss
AFTER fixing a technical issue in its transparency server, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) was able to release the partial unofficial results for the 2019 national elections. As of 9:51…
Trump signs executive order to reestablish AAPI commission
PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Monday, May 13 signed an executive order to advance the “economic empowerment” of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). The order, which comes during Asian Pacific…
Philippine National Bank opens its new Los Angeles office
THE right place at the right time bodes good things for the right endeavor. PNB puts itself right smack dab in the heart of the Filipino American community. This is…
Domestic workers alliance launches hotline to report alleged labor violations
THE Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) and the California Domestic Workers Coalition have unveiled the California Homecare Agency Labor Violations Tip Line, a hotline that allows caregivers, consumers and agencies in…
DOT hosts 2019 PATA Summit on sustainable tourism development in Cebu
CEBU CITY – The Department of Tourism (DOT) joined the rest of the Asia Pacific region’s cause for responsible development of travel and tourism as it hosted the Pacific Asia…
Filipino American lawyer George Conway calls Trump a ‘malignant narcissist’ for approach on Mueller probe
PRESIDENT Donald Trump is yet again engaged in a Twitter war with Filipino American attorney and conservative leader George Conway, after the president declared the 22-month long Mueller probe, “sick…
How to obtain custody and visitation rights for unmarried dads
ESTABLISHING parentage rights for Moms is a lot easier than establishing one for unmarried Dads. Moms can establish this by simply showing proof of her having given birth to the…
Whatever happened to ‘happily ever after’?
(Part 1 of 3) “…All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people Where do they all belong?…” —Eleanor Rigby, Lennon-McCartney STORIES make up the…
Duterte: Vote buying an ‘integral part’ of PH polls
According to President Rodrigo Duterte, vote buying is an “integral” part of elections in the Philippines, with the practice being fairly normal among Filipinos. He made the statement on Monday,…
Fees to NVC are application fees, not visa issuance fees
DEAR Attorney Gurfinkel: I’m a U.S. citizen and petitioned my married son many years ago when my grandchildren were still very young. When the priority date became current, the National…
Brother Richard Fernando, a young Filipino Jesuit on the road to sainthood
ANOTHER Filipino might become a canonized saint! His name is Richard “Richie” Fernando, a 26-year-old Jesuit brother who died saving the lives of his Cambodian students in 1996. According to…
The art of the Philippine Ballet Theater
THE Philippine Ballet Theater (PBT) is the premier classical ballet company in the Philippines. Here’s a look at some of the stories the dancers tell on stage: Serye at Sayaw…
Ultra Femme 360: Technology’s gift to women
THE month of May is a very special month because we are celebrating Mother’s Day. And because it’s Mother’s day, we are also honoring the miracle of a mother-bringing-life-into-this-world. So…
The most theatrical looks at the 2019 Met Gala
YOU have never seen the most outrageous and flamboyant outfits in your lifetime until you been to “the Met.” And guaranteed, it’s always bigger, bolder and crazier than the last…
Smiles and tears of motherhood
TO be a mother is not a trade. It is not even a duty. It is only one right among many. What an effort it will be to convince others…
On death and dying: How can I comfort you?
AT one point in our lives, we experience the lowest of lows and some situations seem to be hopeless. We all ask God for the rhyme and reason in difficult…
AFP on red alert for midterm elections
AS the upcoming midterm elections draw near, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday, May 10 raised the red alert status in order to ensure national security on…