THE Supreme Court on Monday, April 4, unanimously upheld that the traditional method in which voting districts are created – based on total population – is constitutional. The lawsuit that challenged the rule was brought on behalf of Sue Evenwel, a Republican county official from East Texas who claimed that the way individuals are counted…
GOV. Jerry Brown made history on Monday, April 4, when he signed legislation that made California the first state in the nation to set its minimum wage to $15 per hour. “This is about economic justice,” Brown said prior to signing the bill at the Ronald Reagan State Building in Downtown Los Angeles, according to…
Last week was a relatively tough but gratifying week for my family as we were practically living in a suitcase for 6 nights while traversing Osaka, Manila and Hong kong. My Family Business coaching work in Japan and a speaking engagement in Hong Kong to celebrate Julie’s Bakeshop’s 35th Anniversary were the highlights of the…
“Never start a business just to make money. Start a business to make a difference”. This quote extracted from an online magazine, successtory.com, best applies to the Chinese business tycoon Wang Jianlin. Known as “The Wealthiest person in China”, he never started business with a motive of quick money during that point of time. The real…
I made plans of seeing my dear friend, Ruffa Gutierrez, when I went to the Philippines last February. She kept inviting me for dinner (part of the reason was for me to meet the person who is making my friend really happy), but because of my tight schedule, our supposed dinner didn’t happen. It would…
AT St. John the Baptist in Baldwin Park, California, they do something big at the conclusion of the Holy Thursday liturgy. The priests and the parishioners transfer the Body of Christ in a huge monstrance to an elaborately decorated hall. You should see the faces of the people as they do this—they are filled with…
COMING to the United States as a K-1 Fiancée is an exciting and joyous occasion. After typically waiting many months to be together, couples are finally reunited and ready to embark on a new life together. Most couples bask in the glow of their new marriage and smoothly navigate through the immigration process of obtaining…
IMAGINE that you lived 2016 years ago in Jerusalem and that you were one of the new converts of Jesus Christ. You’re a 50-year old man or woman who was a gentile. You are a retailer of garments with a stall in a busy retail district of Jerusalem. The news was aplenty about the 33-year…
Q: TWO weeks ago I was fired from work. My employer told me my last paycheck will be mailed to me by next payday. I have not received it yet. When I called the company to ask where my check is, I was told it was on the way. I waited again but still no…
IN a divorce proceeding, people sometimes have a misconception that the only assets or properties that have to disclose assets and properties situated in California. Even worst, sometimes parties even think that since an asset or property is situated in a different country or state, that property is not community property and not subject to…
MOST of us take medical expenses for granted because we have to spend more than 10% of our gross income before we can deduct medical expenses. However, changes in health care plans make this a good time to brush up on 10 medical expenses. 1. Only Prescription Drugs are deductible. Over-the-counter drugs, even if taken…
ARE you overwhelmed with debt problems that seem insurmountable? Are you starting to feel hopeless about your financial future and thinking you’ll never get ahead? You may be at a critical point in your life where the decisions you make at this very moment will determine the kind of life you will have in the…
THE race to the second-highest post in government is a must-follow in Philippine politics. Unlike in the United States where the president and his/her vice presidential pick are elected as a team and from the same party, Filipino voters pick their choices for president and vice president, independently from one another. This is why the…
DESPITE the generally slow Internet connection and only half of its population having access to the World Wide Web, the Philippines has been tagged as a social media haven by digital experts. Filipinos are adoptive to new technologies. According to a survey by Wave 7, Filipinos are the most social people online. The poll found…
What a noble trade it is to be a street sweeper. It consists of sweeping the filth we produce, making our existence less infected. Mindless and ungrateful are those who use the word sweeper in a disparaging way, and who do not understand how extraordinary and precious the sweepers are. We would die of stench, dirt…
WITH affirmative action being used as a wedge issue in communities, ethnic community leaders and members are working toward expanding educational access, affordability, and ethnic diversity in public higher education. “[How] are we going to frame the discourse around education as a public good?” said Betty Hung, policy director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice –…
Our ever-changing world had been enormously manipulated and dominated by not only laudable men known for their commendable deeds that benefited mankind but also by their equally dominant female counterparts who have arguably defied the customary “men-power-rule” with their identifiably influential visions. If only for this, the month of March was specifically earmarked to celebrate…
Edmund Gerald “Jerry” Brown Jr., born on April 7, 1938; heads the list of prominent personalities celebrating their birthdays for the month of April. Brown is currently the 39th Governor of the Golden State of California since 2011, and was also Governor from 1975 to 1983. Before being Governor, he served in numerous State…
EVERYONE is familiar with Starbucks coffee houses, which are located on virtually every street in every city. In some cases, there may be four Starbucks coffee shops on each of the four corners of an intersection. In other words, Starbucks has locations everywhere. Some people have the impression that in choosing an attorney to handle…
WE’VE all been through it, right? Can you remember when your baby teeth were falling out? Did one of your parents yank them out for you? Or, were you one of those do-it-yourselfers? Our advice: No viral video attempts at pulling teeth in crazy ways Have you seen some of the online videos out there…
UNDER the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21), an applicant for adjustment of status can change his or her employer or job without the employer filing a new immigrant petition for the applicant if the applicant’s application for adjustment of status has been pending for one hundred eighty (180) days. On March 18,…
Since 2014 Bataan Legacy Historical Society (BLHS) has been working with the California Department of Education’s Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to implement AB199, a legislation passed in 2011 (Sponsored by Ma and Yee) by the California Assembly and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown which encourages for the inclusion of the role of the Filipinos during…
Doomsday scenario at Ateneo While terrorist attacks in Brussels and Lahore occupied the world headlines, and suspected ISIS-trained jihadists were reported to have set up camp in Muslim Mindanao, a doomsday scenario momentarily descended upon Ateneo University in Quezon City on Monday after it got a text message at 8:30 a.m. saying a “large explosion”…
In today’s health-oriented world, the four major players — diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol abuse – are in the spotlight. Diet weighs heavily on this equation and has also been a subject of a lot of pervasive myths and misinformation. Today, we shall review some of the most popular misconception about diet. Fasting is the…
THERE are two important aspects that should be taken into consideration in your estate planning: 1. Asset reduction which reduces your estate and the amount of estate taxes that must be paid upon death; and 2. Asset protection which safeguards your assets from creditors and lawsuits. Gross estates over the following amounts are taxed at…
RUDY Rosal lived in the squatters’ area across the creek from our house in Paranaque when I hired him as a driver. But he had lofty dreams for himself and his family that he felt he couldn’t achieve by ferrying me and my family in our jalopy. Thus, at the first opportunity, he and his…
Roxas second, Poe third AFTER the March 20 Philippine presidential debate in Cebu, The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America” asked its viewers in an online poll: “If the Philippine Presidential Election was held today, who would you vote for?”. The results of the poll aired on March 23 was quite a surprise. The “Dirty…
In private homes, we learn yet of another world—of quiet angels with gentle hearts. Back home, they used to be teachers, bank tellers, office workers, engineers, or registered nurses who handle with special grace the dignity of their “clients’” last moments. They help not to torment these people with meaningless chemical assaults in their last…
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday, March 28, announced a deal reached with state legislators and labor leaders that would raise the minimum hourly wage to $15. The move would make California the state with the highest minimum wage in the nation, although this could change as other states such as New York are also…
I HAVE two chapter 7 cases right now where the trustees are aggressively pursuing debtor houses. Trustees are tasked with the responsibility of getting whatever non-exempt asset they can get their hands on and sell them to liquidate them into cash for distribution to creditors. When the values of houses are high, the calculation of…
