• FILE your tax records neatly and orderly during the year. If you are not an organized person by nature as some of us are, just throw tax documents in a shoe box or stuff them into a folder labeled with “20__ tax records.” It beats turning over your whole home and garage at tax…
PEGGY Young worked as a part-time driver for United Parcel Service (UPS). Her responsibilities included pickup and delivery of packages that had arrived by air carrier the previous night. In 2006, after suffering several miscarriages, she became pregnant. Her doctor told her that she should not lift more than 20 pounds during the first 20…
QUESTION: It’s too early to prepare a Durable Power of Attorney. I’m healthy and don’t see the need. Answer: Most people wait until it is too late. Multiple times people come into my office with something like the following: “My wife has been put in the hospital for mental problems and now I want a…
ARE debt problems making your life a living hell? Doing your best to pay but creditors just won’t leave you alone? Maybe you get nervous every time the phone rings or get scared to death just opening your mailbox, fearful of what you may find. Deep inside, you know that you can’t continue to live…
THERE are roughly 11.5 million undocumented immigrants in the US today, and 1.5 million of those are Asian Americans. In California alone, at least 40,000 of the half a million undocumented immigrants in the state are eligible for beneficial programs like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), implemented in 2012, which allows immigrants, who came…
FOOD prices in the United States may rise as California farmers cope with the state’s fourth year of drought by reducing water use and planting fewer crops. The Golden State produces about half the nation’s fruits and vegetables, including 99 percent of walnuts and 98 percent of garlic, according to the International Business Times. “California…
CALIFORNIA lawmakers on Wednesday, April 8, approved a bill that would ban parents from opting out of vaccinations for their school-enrolled children due to personal or religious beliefs. In a 6-2 vote, Senate Bill 277 passed the Senate health committee. “I’ve personally witnessed the suffering caused by vaccine-preventable diseases, and all children deserve to be…
THE Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday, April 1, agreed to spend more than $1 billion to repair the city’s sidewalks as part of a lawsuit settlement filed by residents who say the walkways are inaccessible to disabled individuals. “Despite its awareness for the past several years of the city’s broken system of sidewalks and…
CALIFORNIA Governor Jerry Brown’s administration is overhauling its proposal for a controversial tunnel project in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta, despite public doubts on whether water exporters can meet the stringent federal conditions for operating the system over a 50-year period. The $25-billion Bay Delta Conservation Plan is intended to lessen the environmental harm of delta…
A CALIFORNIA appeals court on Friday, April 3, upheld a lower court ruling that incorporating yoga into physical education at a San Diego County school district does not violate the religious rights of students or their parents. “While the practice of yoga may be religious in some contexts, yoga classes as taught in the district…
WHO doesn’t like free college? If you’re an accepted, incoming student at Stanford University whose parents make less than $125,000 a year, you’re in luck. For the first time in history, the top-tier school in Palo Alto, Calif. will offer free tuition to those eligible students who come from households with an annual income below…
THE Filipino mother of a teenager who fell to her death from the 21st story of a Hong Kong apartment was released on bail Thursday, April 9, after being charged with neglect, Agence France-Presse reported. The woman was identified as Herminia Garcia, 53, by the news agency. Garcia and her partner Nick Cousins, 57, a…
Nissan Motor Co. and BMW AG announced Friday, April 10, a global recall of more than 165,000 vehicles due to possible fuel pump failures that could stall or prevent an engine from starting. Affected vehicles include more than 95,000 Nissan Rogue SUVs in the United States and Canada from the 2014 model year and about…
“The best way to find your self is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi AFTER having meticulously assessed all possible resources, conscientiously brainstormed the brightest of ideas, mapped out fundamental schemes and options, totally completed paper and people chases, thoroughly rehearsed-to-perfection slated live performances, and acutely attended to the finest…
On April 7, 2015, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit challenging Pres. Obama’s 2012 original Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This ruling is a good sign, because the very same Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear an appeal of another lawsuit next week, which challenges the expanded DACA…
THE Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday, April 1, agreed to spend more than $1 billion to repair the city’s sidewalks as part of a lawsuit settlement filed by residents who say the walkways are inaccessible to disabled individuals. “Despite its awareness for the past several years of the city’s broken system of sidewalks and…
Foreign professionals wishing to immigrate to the US (as permanent residents) may do so under 3 general classifications: • 1st Preference (EB1) – extraordinary ability foreign professionals; outstanding researchers and professors; and multinational executives and managers known as “priority workers” • 2nd Preference (EB2) – foreign professionals with advanced degrees and professionals of exceptional ability…
The USCIS recently issued warnings to the public about potential immigration scams. This is especially important in connection with President Obama’s November 2014 announcement of executive action, including expanding eligibility for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the creation of a new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA). Among the warnings are: On February…
Although actress, singer and TV host Toni Gonzaga and fiancé director Paul Soriano have announced their engagement and their plans to tie the knot this year, no date has been set yet by the famous couple. People are speculating that they will get hitched on June 12 since it’s their anniversary, Paul has not confirmed…
Starbucks will now offer four years of free college tuition to its employees, up from its previous tuition plan of two years, the coffee company announced on Monday, April 6, “By giving our partners access to four years of full tuition coverage, we provide them with a critical tool for a lifelong opportunity,” Starbucks CEO…
How much would you pay Manny Pacquiao to endorse your business? Envision this. Manny would be in all your advertisements: TV, Radio, Billboard, and Internet. He would be available for publicity events endorsing your company and products. These can be tradeshows, charitable functions, or conferences. How much attention and excitement would he draw to your…
How safe is air travel? There are more than 4000 accidents, mostly non-fatal, that occur around the world each year in general aviation, varying in degree of gravity, mostly involving private recreational aircrafts and are often related to alcohol and/or use of drugs by the pilots. Commercial aviation safely transports almost 3 billion passengers all…
I don’t know the answers to the big questions of life. But everything is relative, everything has a story. Yes, I’ve met amazing souls, and the lights fill me—flattering lights that shine on my face and I confront myself in the mirror to take a deep howling look into the troubles that have lined and…
Lenten season is the time when Christians — Catholic and other religious denominations — remember Christ’s passion (his suffering and death) and resurrection. Ash Wednesday (40 days before Easter Sunday) marks the beginning of this season, it is when you will see Catholics with ashes smudged on their foreheads in the shape of a cross….
A FILIPINO nurse who allegedly insulted Singaporeans on social media in January was charged in court Tuesday, April 7, with sedition and lying to the police. Ello Ed Mundsel Bello, 28, was charged with two counts of publishing seditious statements on Jan. 2 and three counts of lying to the police, a spokeswoman for the…
ALTHOUGH modernization demolishes geographical barriers and moves the world toward an amalgamated economy, clashes among cultures continue to have a damaging impact on world peace and security. Grim news of insurgency and terror attacks make international headlines every day. Because of cross-cultural ignorance, the essence of civilization is compromised. The international community has valiantly dealt…
WHAT would you do if your own young son was forced by police officers to fight another inmate more than twice his size, gladiator style, just so they have a source of cheap entertainment in their place of work? What would you do if this son was threatened not only to be deprived of food,…
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a citywide sustainability plan on Wednesday, April 8 that seeks to reduce the amount of imported water used by Angelenos, improve overall air quality levels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades. The Sustainable City Plan, set for 20 years, sets out dozens of major environmental…
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev found guilty of all 30 charges in deadly attack Almost two years after two pressure-cooker bombs exploded through a crowd of spectators near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, a Massachusetts federal jury found 21-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty of all charges for his role in the deadly blasts on Wednesday, April 8….
HAPPY EASTER! May the following collection of quotes and verses inspire you to live a new life in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do…
