BY now most people already know that President Obama unveiled numerous executive proposals, which will provide deportation relief to many hardworking immigrants, documented and undocumented. The proposals are also aimed at securing our borders and ensuring that dangerous criminals are a top priority in deportation. We expect that approximately 5 million illegal immigrants will benefit…
Client seeks discharge of $68k credit card debt CLIENT migrated to the United States when he was 16 years, which was 49 years ago. At 17, he enlisted with the armed forces. He became a corporal in the army. He was stationed in different American bases all over the world working as a mechanic maintaining…
1. YOU are required to file an income tax return if your 2014 gross income reaches: Elderly and blind taxpayers add $1,200 to $1,550. 2. Personal exemptions $3,950 Phaseouts for personal itemized deduction and personal exemption were reinstated in 2013. 3. Standard deductions: If your combined itemized deductions for interests, taxes, medical and contributions are…
(Part 2) LAST week, we discussed the case of a class of “Review Appraisers,” employed by Bank of America (BoA), who recently obtained approval of a settlement for $5.8 million. The employees sued BoA for alleged overtime violations, itemized wage statement violations, meal and rest period violations, waiting time penalties, and civil penalties against the…
FOR a lot of people, financial concerns can be their number one cause of stress. But worrying without acting doesn’t really solve anything. If you feel that your finances are out of whack, it’s time to take charge and to hold yourself accountable for the results. Here are two steps that may help you reduce…
Obama to seek immediate stay of order ON Monday, February 16, 2015, US District Judge Andrew S. Hanen in Brownsville, TX, granted a temporary injunction temporarily halting Obama’s executive action expansions that were set to go into effect on February 18, 2015. Hanen, a George W. Bush appointee, had been handpicked by 26 “Red State”…
PART-Pinoy TV breakout star Darren Criss is Broadway’s next Hedwig. The 28-year-old “Glee” actor, originally from San Francisco, will return to his Broadway roots in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival, for a limited 12-week engagement starting April 29th on Broadway’s Belasco Theatre. This marks the fifth headliner to play the role since the…
CARSON, Calif. – Community leaders and residents gathered Friday morning, Feb. 20, to voice and encourage support for a possible football stadium in the city that would be shared by the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers. On Thursday, Feb. 19, the California-based NFL teams announced they are exploring a potential new home in the South…
INFECTED bacteria from contaminated medical instruments is suspected in a “superbug” outbreak at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center that has infected at least seven patients, two of whom died. More than 170 others may have also been exposed to the antibiotic-resistant germs. They were potentially infected with Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, during endoscopic procedures…
MORE than 11 million individuals signed up for or renewed health insurance under options made available through the Affordable Care Act, the White House announced Tuesday, Feb. 17. “The Affordable Care Act is working,” President Barack Obama said in a video posted on Facebook. “It’s working a little better than we anticipated.” Sunday, Feb. 15, was the…
An avalanche of pompously conceptualized and planned Valentine’s Day events that nippy Saturday, February 14, successfully pushed through with neither being hampered nor hindered by the prevalence of the inclement weather condition and single digit temp. Significant snow of varying intensity gradually diminished the volume of travelers and commuters due to worsening road conditions and…
Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the federal district court in Brownsville, Texas, issued an injunction preventing the new expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) programs from moving forward. Thousands of “DREAMers” planned for the start of the expanded DACA program to begin…
INFECTED bacteria from contaminated medical instruments is suspected in a “superbug” outbreak at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center that has infected at least seven patients, two of whom died. More than 170 others may have also been exposed to the antibiotic-resistant germs. They were potentially infected with Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, during endoscopic procedures…
Human life is typically formed a man and a woman. But in Britain, future children could soon be created with DNA from more than two people. On Feb. 3, British lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 382-128 to allow the in vitro creation of babies with DNA from three individuals. If approved in the…
THEY were once the fairytale romance in Philippine showbiz. He, the dashing debonair actor who captured the hearts of many women, she was the daughter of showbiz royalty. Many fans swooned and many hearts were broken when they finally admitted their relationship. However, the fairytale did not end happily ever after. Yes, actor Piolo Pascual…
On February 16, 2015, a Texas federal judge issued a temporary injunction against the implementation of President Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), and the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The injunction “enjoins the United States of America, its departments, agencies, officers, agents and employees…
For the past several months, people have been frustrated with the delays and backlogs at the National Visa Center (NVC) concerning the processing of their (or their family member’s) immigrant visas. Some people are receiving NVC’s “60 day letter,” in which the NVC advises it has received “an increased number of approved petitions from the…
MANY people, after completing orthodontic treatment, are fitted with a fixed retainer-—a thin wire that’s bonded to the back of teeth, designed to help keep teeth straight and aligned. Fixed retainers can be great! You never have to worry about losing it! However, fixed retainers can also make it more difficult to keep teeth and…
Can sweat transmit Hepatitis B? Hepatitis B virus was found in the sweat of 13 percent (9) infected athletes, according to a new study on 70 male Olympic wrestlers, which inferred that the HBV could be transmitted by sweating infected athletes to others in contact sports. In 8 of those nine athletes whose blood tested…
THE apple that fell far from the tree, one I could only dream of—a perfect newshen, God’s little pencil. If only she was mine, the daughter I could not have. I would have taught her to begin each work by having a real and passionate curiosity about how people behave in the infinitely various situations…
A little over an hour before the Paris attacks last month at the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo, one of the gunmen sent a text message to the man who later killed four people at a kosher supermarket, according to a French government official. Cherif Kouachi, one of the brothers involved in the Hebdo massacre, met with Amedy…
A powerful explosion at an oil refinery on Wednesday morning ripped apart structures and shook homes for miles around the blast site in southern Los Angeles County. The Torrance ExxonMobil Refinery, located on W. 190th St. just south of the 405 freeway, blasted apart at 8:50 am, leading to an air quality advisory due to the…
EVERY day, people walk the earth daunted by security challenges. With alarming terror threats on the rise, attacks on journalists also remain a worldwide scourge. With a score of 41.19, the Philippines is ranked 141st out of 180 in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index by the Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF- Reporters Without Borders). While…
FOR many undocumented immigrants in America, to finally be granted the privilege to drive with a state-issued license is a step closer to their dream of living in America without fear. This dream possessed by undocumented immigrants in California, including many kababayans, has become possible through AB 60. This development in the state with the…
WHILE passions are still smoldering, it will not be easy to sort out the various issues that led to and resulted from the slaughter of forty four PNP Special Action Force commandos in Maguindanao. Former President Fidel V. Ramos offered the most sober analysis of the tragedy from the perspective of a retired general and…
A powerful explosion at an oil refinery on Wednesday morning ripped apart structures and shook homes for miles around the blast site in southern Los Angeles County. The Torrance ExxonMobil Refinery, located on W. 190th St. just south of the 405 freeway, blasted apart at 8:50 am, leading to an air quality advisory due to the…
FILIPINO-American leaders and organizers nationwide applauded a new bill proposed in Congress that would amend the Immigration Act of 1990, which helped lead to the naturalization of Filipino World War II veterans, but did not apply for their spouses and children. The summary for the bill reads briefly: “[HR 483] Amends the Immigration and Nationality…
WITH an ongoing labor dispute between West Coast ports workers and their employers, Labor Secretary Tom Perez traveled to San Francisco on Tuesday, Feb. 17, to help broker an agreement between both parties. Cargo backlog at the ports has reached a near gridlock amid contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents…
Perhaps the heart is not just a sort of Valentine, nor just a beating thing in our chest that sustains life. It is also the wellspring of faith, hope and love—all the musings in the human heart—meanings, metaphors, even humor, which jumpstarts the imagination about its significance, as the most popular symbol. Would a heart-filled…
I HAVE never attended a Jewish service in my entire life until last summer when my friend Armando invited me to a Shabbat while spending a week-long of vacation in San Francisco and in the Bay Area. “Sure, I’ll go,” I responded quickly to Armando’s invitation. “I’ve always wanted to experience a Jewish service and…
