Focusing on Mother Earth this Mother’s Day
SUPER Typhoon Yolanda. Heat waves, drought and wildfires. Torrential rains and flooding. Many of us have been asking why these calamities have been happening more frequently these days. Do we…
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Use Chapter 13 to handle student loans and taxes
CHAPTER 13 has been popular to strip down junior liens such as 2nd trust deeds and home equity loans. But it can also be used to handle student loans and…
Now showing: Life in 4 minutes at PNR
Funny how life happens in a fast-forward pace – so fast that we cannot see and hear it anymore. Even funnier is the irony that we can best observe life…
Relief for beneficiaries of deceased petitioners
IN 2009, President Obama signed into law amendments to the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) reversing the longstanding rule that a “visa petition dies with the petitioner.” The new law…
Inside the death chamber
IT was my first police beat assignment. We felt that we had no right to do what we were doing. The killing of a fellow human being was repulsive and…
LAX Launches Campaign to Inform Public About Modernization Efforts Underway
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – May 6, 2014 – Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has launched a new public outreach campaign to inspire and inform LAX travelers and nearby residential communities…
Advocates Challenge NBA: Take Real Action on Diversity
Greenlining Institute Asks: Do NBA Teams Put Money Back into Communities Their Players and Fans Come From? Calls for Concrete Steps on Diversity Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations…
PH Consul General Herrera-Lim meets with Cerritos Mayor Pulido
LOS ANGELES – Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim paid a courtesy call on Mayor Mark Pulido at Cerritos City Hall on April 30. The two officials discussed political dynamic mix in…
PCG welcomes participants of PNP-PSOSEC Class of 2014-87 and 88
LOS ANGELES – The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles hosted a dinner reception on 30 April 2014 in honor of the Philippine National Police participants of the Public Safety…
AARP Sponsors San Francisco’s 10th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration
AARP partners with APA Heritage Foundation to honor extraordinary AAPI innovators SAN FRANCISCO, May 6, 2014 – AARP is proud to sponsor the 10th annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month…
Paraphrasing Obama
There was a collective expression of disappointment among many Filipinos and the media because Barack Obama “gave no categorical commitment” that America would “defend” the Philippines if its dispute with…
Visa denials due to tattoos and gang membership
Tattoos have evolved into popular forms of self-expression especially among younger people. However, tattoos sometimes indicate gang affiliations. As law enforcement officials began to understand the relationship of certain tattoos…
Show Moms, Grads Your Love but Tie Down Those Metallic Balloons
ROSEMEAD, Calif., May 2, 2014 — Sixty-six percent. It would be a great number in an election. Unfortunately, it reflects a one-month spike in power outages caused by metallic balloons. Since…
Iron and gold
“OUR commitment to defend the Philippines is ironclad and the United States will keep that commitment, because allies never stand alone.” – Pres. Barack Obama’s remarks at the 70th anniversary…
No ‘pasalubong’ from Obama?
ONE controversial issue during the visit of President Barack Obama to the Philippines last April 28-29 highlights those instances when Fil-Ams, who have already been naturalized American citizens, have to…
How the IRS scores your income tax returns for audit
LET’S now discuss the last of three articles: How the IRS scores tax returns for audit. The higher the score, the more likelihood that you’ll be chosen for audit. 1….
When employer retaliation happens to law-abiding employees
THE Los Angeles Times reports that in 2010, eleven officers of the Los Angeles Police Department’s traffic department assigned to the motorcycle unit, sued the city of Los Angeles, claiming…
Don’t retire broke: Get out of debt now
WARNING: If you are concerned about not having enough money to live on by the time you retire, you may find the following totally shocking: According to the Social Security…
Appealing an immigration court case or denied I-130 to the BIA
The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) is an administrative appellate body, and a part of the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR). The EOIR is an independent agency within the…
FACLA makes everyone matter
THE sun was blasting down ferociously on the pavement in this hottest April day, brimming with heat. Historic Filipinotown was melting, heaving and breathing like a tired beast. Here on…
A reflection on training of future priests
YES, it ‘s official. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez has appointed me as a Member of St. John’s Seminary Faculty beginning the 1st of July this year. As I pray and…
One and only Philippine Superstar Nora Aunor turns 61 on May 24
Superstar Nora Aunor, now a resident of Los Angeles, will celebrate her 61st birthday on May 21. La Aunor, known as the one and only Superstar of the Philippines, was…
Concert review: Sounds of Manila sings Cecile Azarcon
THE Sounds of Manila (SoM), a US-based all-Filipino show band aptly tagged as “Ambassadors of Philippine Music,” finally raised the bar of their decade-long musical supremacy this side of the…
No adjustment of status without Section 245(i), even with ‘current’ Priority Date
Dear Atty. Gurfinkel: I am out of status, but my employer filed a labor certification for me in 2006. The I-140 petition was approved, and the priority date is now…
All about US immigration for physicians
Due to demand stemming from aging demographics, the number of foreign-trained physicians practicing in the US continues to grow. According to the American Medical Association, International Medical Graduates (IMGs) comprise…
HMART Buena Park Grand Opening on May 9
HMART Buena Park is just about ready to open its doors and making the final preparations. HMART Buena Park is set to open its doors at 9:30am on Friday, May…
CAPAC urges House GOPs to act on immigration reform
LOS ANGELES – Asian American lawmakers in the US House of Representatives appealed to House Republicans on Tuesday to join them in enacting comprehensive immigration reform into law. On Tuesday,…
Fil-Am appointed to East LA Area Planning Commission
Confirmed by LA City Council on April 30 LOS ANGELES – Mayor Eric Garcetti’s appointment of a Filipino-American to the East Los Angeles Area Planning Commission was confirmed on April…
Consul General Leo M. Herrera-Lim meets with Fil-Am community of LA
LOS ANGELES – Consul General Leo M. Herrera-Lim meets with members of the Filipino American Community at the Rizal Hall at the Philippine Consulate General on 25 April 2014. In…
What should I do to avoid spending too much on dental treatment?
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Every time I am asked this same question, the answer is always the same. A little precaution before a dental…