Social analysts hypothesized the movies to be an art form imitating life but in most cases it seems that life’s mortal realities and its evanescent complexities make it the other way around. As such the movies depict the grandiosity of men’s limitless possibilities in confronting inevitable challenges for probable survival. Human existence when fused with…
The holiday season is almost upon us. This is a wonderful time of the year that provides us a great opportunity to reflect on everything we have and to spend time with friends and family. Those who we care about most are obviously those who should be with us during such an important time of…
LOS ANGELES – Republican Congressional candidate Arturo Alas claims to be less about government and more for the people. Running in California’s 32nd congressional district, which spans all the way from El Monte to City of Industry, Art’s campaign for the November midterm election promises a “New StART – For Congress, for liberty, for us!”…
As fuel prices continue to drop, profits are soaring at some of the biggest US airlines—though not their trip fares. The airlines are expecting even cheaper fuel this coming holiday travel season, thanks to the recent nosedive in crude oil prices. The price of jet fuel, typically an airline’s biggest expense, has dropped by about…
What is the first thing you do when planning for your daily commute? You probably watch the news, check for train or bus delays on the internet, or check a navigation app on your phone for the most efficient ways to get to your destination. Based on traffic or accidents, you might even consider alternative…
On January 1, 2015, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will begin issuing driver licenses to undocumented California residents under Assembly Bill 60 (AB 60). Under the previous law, in order for a person to obtain a California driver license, he or she had to prove his or her identity and that they were…
WE all saw her start as the sweet and cute teen with the amazing voice and cheered on her performances with international stars like Celine Dion, Josh Groban and David Foster. She was already a rising international star—then the change started. Today, it will be hard to recognize Charice Pempengco if she wasn’t in the…
Dallas health officials announced Wednesday, Oct. 22 that Bentley, the year-old King Charles spaniel owned by Ebola-infected nurse Nina Pham, has tested negative for the virus. Sana Syed, a public information officer for the city of Dallas, said that the dog will be tested again for accuracy before the end of his 21-day quarantine period….
Our fellow Filipinos may be enjoying their stay outside the Philippines; but perhaps they get homesick once in a while. If you manage to visit our country, then you might want to do our kababayans a favor of personally bringing the Philippines to them. How? Through pasalubongs, of course! Here are some presents that will…
WHEN IT comes to travel and leisure, politicking should be set aside. Tourism is an ideal, if not obvious, source of growth for a country teeming with natural resources, renowned cultural heritage sites and human capital to attract and reward visitors. Fortunately for the Philippines, its tourism market remains unbridled despite tensions brewing inside (controversies…
THE murder of transgender Filipina Jennifer Laude in Olangapo City last October 11, allegedly by US Marine Joseph Pemberton, has added fuel to the fire of nationalist activists who continue to fight for the abolition of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), and the scrapping of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), signed during President Barack…
WITH less than two weeks until the 2014-midterm elections, many races are still undecided. What many political leaders have failed to recognize is that there is a large, yet relatively silent, population that could be a key to some of these races. Despite being the fastest growing segment of the US population, with voters doubling…
The operating room could be likened to a theater: cupboards hold tanks of oxygen, refrigerators are filled with bags of blood and a table for one—besides where laid out a steel cutlery of unimaginable versatility. It is on this table where bodies are stroked or penetrated for all the pageantry. However, no love is ever…
LOS ANGELES – Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) has been continuing to raise awareness for an issue that has often been overlooked: land grabbing in the Philippines. In a recent letter he signed on Oct. 9, Royce firmly addressed the issue and his full support to continue fighting to end the injustice….
US Labor Secretary Tom Perez has pushed to revitalize President Obama’s stalled plan for raising the minimum wage from $7.50 to $10.10 an hour, and for making the paid maternity leave for mothers of newborns more widely available. Speaking at the National Press Club, Perez suggested that US employees generally have “failed to fully benefit…
A conviction for an offense classified as an aggravated felony would disqualify an alien from most immigration benefits or relief. Due to these immigration consequences, anyone who’s facing a criminal complaint and who must weigh the merits of a plea bargain offer should be familiar with aggravated felonies, especially the more common ones in order…
Pope Francis beatifies Paul VI AS the Vatican synod assembly on the family came to a close this past weekend, the world waited to see the bishops’ final decision on the debate on gays and divorced Catholics. After two weeks of fierce debate, the bishops were so sharply divided that they failed to reach a consensus…
“SO what did you talk about?” I asked a Catholic school teacher who came from a whole day of Religious Education conference. “We talked about unity,” she answered. “Unity? What’s that got to do with teaching religion,” I responded, intrigued by her answer. “Well, we learned that it is important to work together with parents,…
“IF Vice President Jejomar Binay has nothing to hide, he shouldn’t be worried by the National Bureau of Investigation’s probe into allegations that he and his family have amassed ill-gotten wealth.” – Philippine Justice Secretary Leila De Lima. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and its investigating arm, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), recently announced…
ON October 7, 2014, at Avenal State Prison, a panel of Commissioners of the CA Board of Parole Hearings granted parole to a Filipino lifer, who has been an inmate in the California Department of Corrections since April 24, 1992. The panel was composed of Presiding Commissioner Marisela Montes and Deputy Commissioner Pat Cassidy. The…
“Taxpayers who are hit with the 20 percent penalty for negligence or disregard of rules may try to establish reasonable cause for underpayment and show that you acted in good faith.” AS OUR tax laws become more complex, we find it more difficult to comply. As we fail to comply in filing or paying required…
Q: I HAVE worked at XY Company, a big processing plant in the Inland Empire, for many years. My direct employer is really ABC LLC, which subcontracts labor to XY Company. My coworkers and I often work more than 8 hours per day, 6 to 7 days per week at XY Company but we are…
PEOPLE come to me every day with different reasons for getting out of debt. Most of the time, I’m thinking that they would have been better off had they come to me sooner to get help. Had they done this, they’d be doing a lot better by now and could have avoided a lot of…
THE USCIS Service Centers have recently received guidance and new instructions for their adjudicators relating to the timing of creating new jobs and explaining the meaning of “full-time” for positions created through the “EB-5” investor program investment. In apparent response to some unwarranted shifts in adjudicatory processes and the Service Center’s imposition of more stringent…
How strange, the demented feeling it gives me. I realized that I have spent agonizing whole days before a pen and a notebook, with nothing better to do but jot down notes at random. I rap out sentences. It does not help me think, it only eases my crabbed heart. I wish a notebook could…
LOS ANGELES – In California, the voting landscape has changed. As populations and demographics continue to shift, particularly in big cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, the factors influencing voter participation have changed with the upcoming November elections. Organizations like the New America Media are studying the reasons for these changes and taking efforts…
A US District Court judge has ordered AgeWay Senior Care Inc., a family-owned senior home care company and residential facility centered in the Bay Area, to pay at least $134,682 in back wages and damages to 13 Filipino care givers working in and around Silicon Valley, Calif. The owner and proprietor, Ana Dayeh, was ordered…
Last Sunday, October 12, 2014, the Pan American Concerned Citizens Action League, Inc. (PACCAL) nailed it again when it pompously celebrated its 22nd founding anniversary with an alluring touch of class amid the grandiosity of an exhilarating ambience. Inspired by this year’s theme, “A Night in Vienna,” Ramada Plaza Hotel’s Grand Ballroom was magically transformed…
WHEN the marital relationship sours to the point where one or both spouses believe that the marriage cannot be salvaged, three remedies are available to terminate or alter the marital status: dissolution, nullity, and legal separation. Under Family Code Sec. 2300, dissolution of marriage can be attained and the “single” status of spouses restored by…
A US District Court judge has ordered AgeWay Senior Care Inc., a family-owned senior home care company and residential facility centered in the Bay Area, to pay at least $134,682 in back wages and damages to 13 Filipino care givers working in and around Silicon Valley, Calif. The owner and proprietor, Ana Dayeh, was ordered…
