Role of Strategic Planning in a Family Business
Strategy development is a question-based process: Where are we now? Where would we like to go? How do we get there? Strategic planning—for both business and family—can help to strengthen…
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Skills, not charms
In order to be the best, a team must have the best. Perhaps such idea was running through the minds of the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association officials who wanted to…
Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks
Thanksgiving is when people take a step back and reflect on all of the wonderful things and events to be grateful for, and to give thanks to those people who…
Three reasons why your smile may be a fountain of youth
Could the secret to perpetual youth be found in your smile (wink, wink)? Well, that’s probably a bit of an exaggeration! But as you know, here at our practice, we…
8 steps to quit smoking
Smoking kills. It is that plain and simple. There is no doubt today that tobacco (cigarette smoking) is the predominant cause of lung cancer, besides other malignancies and cardiovascular diseases…
Just reward
THIS week, we glorify the heroism and gallantry displayed by American and Filipino World War II veterans. This celebration encourages those of us who are now enjoying freedom, to pay…
DACA Program secure as Obama wins re-election
THE Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program was introduced in June 2012 and was implemented August 15, 2012. Within just one month of the program’s start date, the USCIS…
Obama wins: CNN exit polls say it’s not just about race or the ‘47 percent’
CONTRARY to what some kababayans opine, President Barack Obama won the election NOT just because of race, nor by the force of the 47 percent of the American people, who according to…
Hooked on reading
WE are slowly moving away from the page at this day and age. The book, as we know it, is undergoing a digital transfer. The smell of paper and the…
PERM Job Posting
Under the basic labor certification process, the employer may file an application only after conducting efforts to recruit US workers by means of the following mandatory steps: (1) placing an…
Trying to decide if bankruptcy is for you?
ARE you struggling with debt problems? Are you doing your best to pay but simply can’t? Have you thought of filing bankruptcy but are afraid that this might not be…
How your internet activities can harm your case
ACCORDING to recent statistics, there are about 950 million active users on Facebook, 500 million on Twitter, and 150 million on LinkedIn. Not to mention the active users on MySpace,…
‘Best is yet to come'
And just like that, the highly-anticipated 2012 US presidential elections is finally over. In what turned out to be one of the closest and costliest presidential races in history, President…
Real estate forecast for 2013
I BELIEVE that the housing market will improve moderately in 2013, but nobody will mistake this for a boom. A favored 3-5% growth and appreciation definitely is better than a…
Fil-Ams speak about Obama’s re-election
AFTER a fierce battle in the Presidential Election, American voters have made their choice — four more years for President Barack Obama after he defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney in…
10 facts about gambling winnings
1. GAMBLING winnings are always taxable and must be reported on your tax return – with or without form W-2G. 2. Gambling income includes winnings from lotteries, raffles, horse and…
A Guardian of Electoral Transparency
While the entire world was eagerly watching the US presidential elections this week, a most noteworthy event was also happening in America. From November 4-7, the International Foundation for Electoral…
Failure to schedule rental income may be bad faith in bankruptcy
SECTION 707 of the bankruptcy code provides for the court’s authority to dismiss a bankruptcy case for abuse. What kind of conduct amounts to abuse of bankruptcy law by the…
Nebraska and California service centers granted deferred action to 2 Filipino college students
BY APPROVAL Notice dated October 19, 2012, the Nebraska Service Center granted deferred action on Form I-812D and the corresponding employment authorization on Form I-765, valid from October 17, 2012…
Death Of An Impossible Dreamer
Alex Esclamado is dead. He passed away last Sunday, November 4, in Cebu City from a lingering ailment. His demise is a loss for Filipinos in America, as well as…
Now that Obama has been re-elected, file for DACA!
On June 15, 2012, the Obama Administration announced a new policy of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which is now being referred to as “DACA.” Under this program, the government…
How to help prevent giant utility rate increases and advance the interests of Asian Americans
Six million Asian Americans in California are deeply affected by the actions of one of the most powerful California government agencies, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The CPUC influences…
President Obama wins: Four more years!
THE verdict of the American people is out: President Barack Obama wins over his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, after going over the top of the required absolute majority (magic number…
A killer in our kitchen
Quietly sitting in our kitchen is a good friend but a bad enemy, a killer, when “abused.” We are not talking about fire or boiling water, or knives, or even…
The Perfect Storm
US News and World Report writer Mary Brophy Marcus wrote an article a few years back about the critical shortages of physicians in the United States and the escalating cost…
Priority date retention and automatic conversion of visa petitions
The twin cases of De Osorio v. Mukasey and Costelo v. Napolitano, both decided by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on September 26, 2012 now allows many children who…
Our native soil
Memories were spread across the archipelago in a time before we were made to submit before a colonial power. These memories make up our native history—one filled with gods, our…
The myth of ‘litigation explosion’ should not limit consumer rights
FOR years, special interest groups funded by big business have been perpetuating the myth of “litigation explosion” to justify limiting the legal rights of consumers. Under the guise of “tort…