ABCs of foreclosures, short sales, and deeds in lieu
THE loss of our homes to foreclosure, short sale, or deed in lieu of foreclosure is akin to adding insult to injury – after losing our homes, we also have…
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Dealing with debt: Are there other options besides bankruptcy?
FOR people who are considering bankruptcy as a way to get out of debt, some questions constantly arise. Am I doing the right thing? What other options are available? If…
Trivia questions you can use in your Christmas parties
ASIDE from the Christmas feast, Christmas carols, and gift giving, one of the highly anticipated parts of our family Christmas celebration are the games — particularly the Christmas trivia. Those…
Financial goals for the New Year
Among the top resolutions people make when the new year comes around is getting their finances on the right track. The promise of new beginnings and the burden of self-improvement…
The best Christmas gift
In both fiction and reportage, I’ve always made known that the winding down of autumn and ushering of winter puts me in a heavy and philosophical mood. I’m thinking about…
Goodbye, 2016. Welcome, 2017!
I HAVE read a lot of posts on social media bidding 2016 goodbye in the context of “good riddance” to all the challenges, losses, disappointments the year that is about…
When malls start playing Christmas songs all day long, you know Christmas is knocking at your door
ONE of the holiday anthems often played is the song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Judy Garland. But not everyone knows the story behind this song. TIME magazine…
A Christmas message
A BLESSED and Merry Christmas and New Year to all of you! For my column this Christmas, I’d like to quote Bishop Robert Baron in one of his Advent reflections….
Legal status: A wonderful Christmas gift for your family
AN important part of Christmas is buying gifts for loved ones. Filipinos are busy filling their balikbayan boxes with pasalubong, to send to their families “back home.” The pasalubong may…
CNMI (Saipan): A US territory
In the early 1990’s, news travelled fast about the irony behind the label “Made in the U.S.A” attached to famous brands of clothing because it was misleading. The apparels were…
All about Christmas
I CAN never quell a stir of fascination, dread and longing, when the house lights dim and the curtain parts in every Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (FASO’s) gentle riot. It…
Desensitization
DESPITE efforts by President Rodrigo Duterte to vociferously fight the drug crisis in the country, many still refuse to see its success. Whether they are guilty or not, the staggering…
The beginnings of our Christmas tradition
CHRISTMAS is my favorite season of the year because it just makes us look at what matters most in our life, be thankful for them, and yearn to spread the…
Fil-Am actor Jose Llana leads diverse cast of ‘The King and I’
National tour at Hollywood Pantages Theatre until January 21 Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I” prevails as a timeless musical production that has undergone several revivals since it first…
The legacy: A house full of daughters
Thirty-two years ago, my husband left me. He died, leaving a house full of daughters, young and adorable, innocent, with the world on their side. In the face of adversity,…
The gaiety, frolic and freedom in the Castro
SAN FRANCISCO – You think they’ll go away. They didn’t, they haven’t and they won’t. They are not just a passing phase with cultural mileposts. They are here to stay…
LA introduces fund for immigrant rights
The city looking to combat Trump’s deportation threat IN conjunction with city officials and philanthropists, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the installation of a $10 million fund dedicated to…
Lawmakers, community groups rally in LA against Trump’s anti- immigration proposals
LOS ANGELES — Roughly 2,000 demonstrators gathered in Pershing Square on Sunday, December 18, before marching to the steps of City Hall, where lawmakers and community leaders pledged to resist…
Client seeks Chapter 7 relief for $57K credit cards
Senior seeks Chapter 7 relief for $100K credit cards CLIENT is 52 and married. Her husband filed for Chapter 7 relief for $30K of credit card debts two years ago. At…
Are part-time employees entitled to paid sick leave?
(And can employees use their paid sick time to care for family members?) Q: I AM a part-time hourly employee working in retail. I work between 20 to 30 hours…
Can’t plan for the future due to excessive debt
ARE you worried about your future due to having too much debt? You’ve probably heard the saying, “The failure to plan is a plan to fail”. And yet so many…
Do we really need a gangster as the Philippines’ president?
FOLLOWING the postings and counter-postings on Facebook of folks whom I regard as righteous and intelligent, I have frankly begun to sense that there is a new standard of right…
The tradition of Simbang Gabi lives on
SIMBANG GABI, or dawn mass, heralds the official start of Christmas among Filipinos, kicking off in the wee hours of the morning of December 16, for nine consecutive days. This…
Frailties and strength
It is not Christmas fever or holiday blues, but a full spectrum of a human condition of what is to be sick, to be cured, to lose and to triumph….
The world meets Miss World Philippines 2016 Catriona Gray
While everybody’s feeling jolly and bright, the world of beauty pageants is gearing up for the Miss World 2016 event which will be held on Sunday, December 18 in Washington D.C. It is with…
Simbang Gabi masses: Our testimony of faith
THERE were a lot of people at the LA Cathedral on Thursday, December 15. The rain did not stop them, mostly our kababayans, from coming to the opening Mass of…
Looking through the lens of ace photographer Filbert Diego Kung
If the world is a stage and each has to play a part…easily then, a camera is one imperative device that will capture every single facet of one’s performance. Its…
The January 2017 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…
Appetite regulators
IN this day and age of health consciousness and the appreciation of the value and role of weight on longevity, interest in weight control and dieting is greater than ever,…
Crimes that may affect your citizenship application
WHEN a legal permanent resident files for citizenship, one of the questions being asked of the applicant is whether the applicant has ever been convicted or charged with a crime. …