SAN MATEO – What was supposed to be a celebration turned into a horrific tragedy. A new bride and other four Filipino friends died after the limousine they rented suddenly burst into flames, while crossing the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge on Saturday, May 4 around 10pm. The bride was 31-year-old Filipina, Neriza Fojas, a registered nurse…
BY this time, Filipino voters are completing their would-be ballots come election day on May 13. Up for grabs in the mid-term elections are the country’s next set of senators, and local leaders including congressmen, governors, mayors, and councilors among others. With a few days remaining in their campaign, candidates are exhausting all tricks up…
THE Boston Marathon bombings have somehow revealed a dichotomy in most Americans’ (including Fil-Ams) state of mind: What do we really value more? Our full enjoyment of our freedom and liberties or our national security? As the Associated Press reported, Republican lawmakers question whether the Obama administration’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies failed to share…
SOMEONE in the administration of Ferdinand Marcos was rumored to have declared that the Philippine is a rich country pretending to be poor. It certainly sounds like something Imelda Marcos would have said, but my memory fails me. At any rate, now comes the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) reporting that 27.9 percent of Filipinos…
It was “hail, hail the gags are all here” at the Beverly Hills Country Club on a recent Saturday night. We were spurred by the charity roast or maybe the cluster urge, if not, simply the desire to revel together — as members of the media chomped roast notion. It started with the live roast,…
FOR a lot of people, financial concerns can be their number one cause of stress. We are living in difficult financial times and a lot of people are worried about how they can get by from month to month. But worrying doesn’t really solve anything. If you feel that your finances are out of whack,…
THE USCIS has been approving applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and accompanying requests for work authorization in just 2-3 months on average, notwithstanding the enormous number of cases filed since the program was implemented on August 15, 2012. DACA cam about pursuant to the Obama Administration’s promise to accord Deferred Action Status…
At the Griffith Hall Beverly Hills Club, there was compelled admiration and awe from the elite guests, which grew in every note that Maestro Dexter Grey touched. The Maestro gave an exhibition, a concert which cannot be reviewed. There was a time when a pianist giving a concert on his own (unaided by other musicians)…
LOS ANGELES – An intimate reception was held on Tuesday, to welcome newly-appointed LA Board of Public Works Commissioner Warren Furutani. The event was hosted by the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council and the Asian Pacific American Leadership Project (APALP), with support for civic engagement from Southern California Edison (SCE). Furutani, a former state…
Hosted by APALC, SIPA, and other community groups LOS ANGELES – Various Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community groups will be hosting a candidates’ forum for Los Angeles Council District 13 (CD 13) on May 8, Wednesday, from 7pm to 8:30pm. The forum will be held at the St. Garabed Armenian Church’s Karapetian Hall…
LOS ANGELES – Asian American groups have made it easier for voters to follow and learn about candidates in the upcoming May 21 election for the City of Los Angeles. The Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), in partnership with Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander organizations in Los Angeles, compiled responses from the…
AFTER Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s dramatic and controversial escape from the rule of law (only to resurface as if nothing happened), another high profile personality is now on the loose. This time, it’s Cezar Mancao — another important character in the unsolved mysterious double murder case of media consultant and publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his…
ON MAY 6, 15 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women will be honored as “Champions of Change” by the White House, in observance of AAPI Heritage Month. “The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White house to feature groups of Americans – individuals, businesses and organizations – who are…
LOOK at superstar comic book artist Leinil Francis Yu’s portfolio and you’d think he must have studied in the best art schools in the world. Fans and critics from around the world rave about his kinetic, dynamic pseudo-realistic style. For the past 15 years, Yu has worked for comic book giants Marvel and DC with…
SUFFERING is part of the human condition. Adam and Eve introduced pain and suffering to mankind when they ate of the forbidden fruit. Adam blamed Eve for convincing him to partake of the fruit that would give them the knowledge of good and evil, so the tempter, the devil in paradise said to Eve. Before…
1. E-FILE. When you e-file, your chance of getting an error notice from the IRS is significantly reduced. Besides, it’s faster. Your refunds arrive sooner. 2. Check your occupation. Your occupation must be consistent with your income and expenses. A waiter without tip income is inconsistent. So is an investor with no dividend income, real…
A DISABILITY insurance policy pays benefits when you are unable to work because of injury or illness. This allows you to meet your financial obligations, such as mortgage payments, or medical bills, while unable to work. Disability policies usually pay a fixed amount for a set period of time, such as five years or up…
It is a common situation specially within the Filipino community in California to listen to paralegal marketing about “Quick” Nevada divorces. Since there is no divorce in the Philippines, many Filipinos come to the US still married to their spouse in the Philippines. After settling in the US, some Filipinos in this situation end up meeting an American boyfriend or…
Question: I’m in deportation proceedings and somebody stated I can apply for Cancellation of Removal. Can you shed some light on this and what is required? Answer: The Attorney General may cancel the may cancel the removal of an Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) if he or she: Has been “lawfully admitted for permanent residence” for…
HOUSES may not be homes, but homes could certainly be houses people live in. What happened in this previous housing crisis taught us an important lesson. Economic and demographic changes may severely impact the value of houses when its time to sell. We live now in an “Ideas Economy” with a shrinking industrial base and…
There is something strange about the endearment and the magnetic force that attracts a child towards his mother compared to his father. The reason could be due to the biological relationship, literally from the umbilical tie that serves as a direct “line of connection” between them, having had sanguineous and mammiferous-based foundations. Mothers, generally, are…
There is something strange about the endearment and the magnetic force that attracts a child towards his mother compared to his father. The reason could be due to the biological relationship, literally from the umbilical tie that serves as a direct “line of connection” between them, having had sanguineous and mammiferous-based foundations. Mothers, generally, are…
WE all need guidance in our lives. We need wisdom to make right decisions, to act justly, and to live according to God’s law of love. For, indeed, there are times when we are at the crossroad of life, when we ask ourselves, “Am I doing the right thing? Will this bring peace, harmony, and…
In a previous column, I wrote that soft drinks, which I called “liquid candy,” cola or uncola, diet or regular, “are unhealthy for all of us, especially for children. Not only because the regular ones are loaded with sugar (high carb, super calories), but because of the other adverse effects all these soft drinks (without…
THE first day of May commemorates International Workers’ or Labor Day around the world. Contrary to popular belief, May 1 is not entirely dedicated to today’s workers and their demands. This day is meant to remember those heroes who struggled, fought and even died, for the rights of workers that we enjoy today. As the…
SO, the latest question hanging around these days is: Are you Team Gretchen or are you Team Claudine/Inday. Sadly enough, a (showbiz) family in feud is almost one of the best piece of news in town. It all started with Twitter, with messages bouncing back and forth supposedly between the two older Barretto sisters, Gretchen…
“In making an application for adjustment of status, an applicant must also prove that he is not “inadmissible” to the US. Certain grounds of inadmissibility may be “waived”during the process, such as prior criminal convictions or immigration violations.“ THE US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit granted a joint motion to dismiss a case…
Remember, the I-94 is a long form, and CBP tears off the lower portion of the I-94 and staples it to your passport. The longer portion is retained by CBP, and the information is entered in their database. Recently, a young person came to my office, brokenhearted, because she had filed for Deferred Action for…
San Francisco city officials led by Mayor Edwin Lee, along with Asian American community leaders, kicked off the month-long celebration of May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with a briefing held at the Mayor’s Balcony in the 2nd Floor of the San Francisco City Hall on May 1, 2013. Along with the ever-growing street…
COME the May 13 elections, we should be in the process of recovering from the assaults that were inflicted upon our senses. These assaults include the jingles that haunt our eardrums as they set camp there for the sake of recall. How about the primetime commercials with their taglines, scenes “in-action” and “here’s what I’ve…
