OF course not. Why should I pay taxes based on the highest tax rates? The lowest rates belong to joint filers and widows, followed by heads of household, and single taxpayers. Certainly, it does not make sense to file married filing separate and pay those sky-high rates. Or does it? Let’s discuss the advantages and…
DO you wish you had less credit card debt than you currently owe? Have you charged more than you can afford to pay? Are you frustrated with the fact that your balances never seem to go down after having paid religiously for years? Do you feel hopelessly trapped in credit card debt? Credit cards are…
ONE of the few positive developments Immigration legislation over the past twenty years has been relief for spouses and children of abusive petitioners provided by the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA). For many years, the spouse in an abusive relationship with a lawful permanent resident or citizen of the United States was left helpless in…
CENTURY CITY – The small sensation of power that a press pass can give (it gets you past the first guards) ebbs quickly once you’re in corridors of an international boxing promotion tour press conference, cocooned inside a bullpen as big as the Los Angeles Room at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel in this city….
THE US Justice Department is currently looking into a wide civil rights investigation of the Ferguson, Mo., Police Department, following recent events of the Michael Brown shooting case and the ongoing street riots in August. The source, an anonymous person who was “briefed on the matter,” said a full investigation would be officially announced this…
LOS ANGELES – “We want $15 and a union!” “Fast-food workers run this town!” “Si se puede!” These were some of the chants echoing from angry fast-food employees across the United States on Thursday, Sept. 4. The protesters, many of them McDonald’s and various fast-food chain employees, took to the streets to express their concerns…
“WHAT, therefore, hath God joined together let no man put asunder.” – Mark 10:9 This same sacred biblical line became a stern reminder about the seriousness of the union a couple entered, one that has aptly guided them throughout their married life. Taking the sanctity of the bond with resolute inflexibility and adapted their life…
LOS ANGELES – “We want $15 and a union!” “Fast-food workers run this town!” “Si se puede!” These were some of the chants echoing from angry fast-food employees across the United States on Thursday, Sept. 4. The protesters, many of them McDonald’s and various fast-food chain employees, took to the streets to express their concerns…
LOS ANGELES – Nearly a half-million Californians–200,000 in Los Angeles County–are experiencing changes in their health insurance status through the state’s new Cal MediConnect. The pilot program is being tested for three years in eight counties. But while experts and consumer advocates say the program promises to improve care for low-income seniors and people with…
LOS ANGELES — A proposed statewide law which seeks to provide health care coverage for California’s remaining uninsured could create new fees on remittances and driver’s license applications as a way of funding an expanded Medi-Cal and an insurance marketplace for the undocumented. According to State Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Huntingon Park/Long Beach), the primary author…
LOS ANGELES – Good news for frequent flyers. Getting to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) may have just become easier with the arrival of a new bus line that will shuttle passengers from Hollywood to LAX, and vice versa. On Wednesday, Sept. 3, LA city officials launched the new, low-cost FlyAway bus service that will…
Immigration reform is on the horizon. We can feel it in the air. Change is coming. President Obama may or may not pull through for the thousands of undocumented residents in California. However, even if he does not fulfill his promise to provide a path to citizenship for those here without lawful status, immigration reform…
Clients, husband and wife are 60 years old and both professionals in the medical field. Their combined gross income is about $200,000 annually. Their children are all adults and no longer their dependents. Their residence has a current fair market value of $1.1 M with a mortgage of $900,000. Their mortgage payment is $3,800 monthly…
Generally in California, property acquired by a spouse prior to marriage is considered under the family code as separate property while those acquired after marriage are considered community assets. What ever happens when one spouse purchases real property before marriage but retains it during marriage and uses community funds to pay the mortgage? The community…
The death of Steven Sotloff, the recent American journalist who was shown being beheaded in a video released Tuesday by Islamic militant terrorist group ISIS, has left a family in mourning and the whole world stunned, but not silent. The grieving family made their first public comment on Wednesday, remembering 31-year-old Sotloff for his thoughtfulness,…
THE healthy enamel that covers your teeth is the hardest substance in your body — it’s even harder than your bones! That’s great news when you consider the amount of pressure our jaw muscles exert on our teeth. However, your teeth can still be cracked and chipped. Here are four “don’ts” for avoiding a cracked tooth:…
Filipinos are well-aware that it takes years and years to bring family members to US through some family-based petitions. A petition by a brother or sister could take up to 25 years! What many don’t realize is that a family member may be petitioned for an employment- based green card through labor certification or PERM….
We are surrounded by hundreds of products that are deleterious to our health, including foods, beverages, aerosols, and chemicals for our kitchen and bathrooms, that are toxic to our body. This had led to the rise in the incidence of various forms illnesses, from respiratory (emphysema, asthma, COPD, etc.), cardiovascular (high blood pressure, heart attack,…
OUR hearts are heavy because the Philippine showbiz industry has lost a great artist and person, Mark Gil. The actor passed away at 8am last Monday, September 1. He was 52 years old. He would have turned a year older on September 25. Ralph Eigenmann in real life, Mark belonged to one of the most…
LOS ANGELES — A driver was badly injured after his car collided with Metrolink train No. 220 on Tuesday afternoon in Burbank, according to local police. The driver, 79-year-old Fawaz Khalil from Burbank, died later at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center. The incident occurred about 3:17pm near the traffic-heavy intersection of Buena Vista Street and San…
LOS ANGELES — A driver was badly injured after his car collided with Metrolink train No. 220 on Tuesday afternoon in Burbank, according to local police. The driver, 79-year-old Fawaz Khalil from Burbank, died later at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center. The incident occurred about 3:17pm near the traffic-heavy intersection of Buena Vista Street and San…
A FIL-AM teenager from New Jersey who managed to slip through the security of the World Trade Center in New York, was sentenced last September 3. Sixteen-year-old Justin Casquejo was sentenced by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Felicia Menin to 23 days of community service. This was in a plea agreement made last July, when the…
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The international group Doctors Without Borders warned Tuesday that the world is losing the battle against Ebola and lamented that treatment centers in West Africa have been “reduced to places where people go to die alone.” In separate remarks after a United Nations meeting on the crisis, the World Health Organization…
For Filipinos, Christmas is just around the corner. Yes, you heard it right; and yes, they know that there are still numerous special occasions that come ahead of Christmas. However, when “ber” months, i.e., those that end with “ber,” come, there’s no stopping them—it’s the start of their Christmas season! What happens in the Philippines…
California is a signature away from implementing prohibition to single-use plastic bags, after the Senate passed Senate Bill 270 on a vote of 22-15 last Friday, Aug. 29. The measure written by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacioma) is now awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature to make it into a law that is the first of its…
IT is business as usual for the second most powerful man in the country. While the controversy about the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall Building II heats up, Vice President Jejomar Binay remains unfazed. Amidst the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s on-site probe on the 11-story building on Monday, Sept. 1, Binay was busy fulfilling his…
WE Filipinos are known to be frugal — many of us will do what it takes to save money in our purchases. Unfortunately, one of the ways many of our kababayans choose to save a few bucks is by buying pirated and counterfeited materials, and they even take pride in the savings they make. While…
Adopted children may obtain immigration benefits in three different ways. First, under INA 101(b)(1)(E)(i), a US citizen (USC) or lawful permanent resident (LPR) may file an immigrant petition for a child, who was adopted while under the age of sixteen years if the child had been in the legal custody of and had resided with…
California is a signature away from implementing prohibition to single-use plastic bags, after the Senate passed Senate Bill 270 on a vote of 22-15 last Friday, Aug. 29. The measure written by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacioma) is now awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature to make it into a law that is the first of its…
Some love or hate it, others write or repeat it. But the obsession with gossip seems here to stay. From what we read and see, from the unholy and unchanging trinity of the subject, the reporter and reader have stoked the human appetite for gossip, dating back to the salad days of the silver screen…
