Galing Pinoy: FilAm Makes the Bad Guy Look Good

by Joseph Pimentel/Asianjournal.com
LOS ANGELES — Filipino American Dennis Calvero is Crooks and Castles (C&C), a clothing brand for the new generation of hip hop aficionados. His clothing line has been   growing in the urban art and fashion scene that recently, hip hop moguls Jay-Z, Kanye West and other rappers and celebrities have appeared in public [...]

Young Filipina Diva Wows Ellen Degeneres

by Maria Sunantha Quibilan and Joseph Pimentel/Asianjournal.com
LOS ANGELES — Filipina singing phenom, Charice Pempengco, left the studio audience of the Ellen DeGeneres Show breathless on Wednesday, December 19.
The 15-year-old’s rendition of And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls received an extended standing ovation. She also received another ovation toward [...]

The Filipino Veterans Equity Act

by Joseph Pimentel/Asianjournal.com
LOS ANGELES — The Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007 has gone through its shares of ups and downs this year.
If passed, an estimated 7,000  Filipino American veterans living in the US and 12,000 Filipino veterans in the Philippines, who both fought during WWII, would restore US Veterans status and be eligible for [...]

‘Subway to the Sea’ Project is on Track Again – Villaraigosa

by Rene Villaroman/Asianjournal.com
LOS ANGELES — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  announced  on Thursday that the project to extend the Metrorail Red Line from Wilshire Boulevard at Western all the way to the City of Santa Monica is back on track again after the United States Congress lifted the prohibition against federal involvement in the construction of the [...]

Galing Pinoy: He Came, He Stayed, He Conquered

by Cynthia de Castro/Asianjournal.com
FILIPINO-Canadian Steve Mark Gan was 10 years old when his parents decided to go back to the Philippines. At first, he wasn’t sure if his parents – medical doctors, Dr William Hoping Gan and Dr Susan Gan – were doing the right thing.
More than 15 years later, after finishing advanced prosthodontics residency [...]

Young Filipino Diva Arrives for US Debut on Ellen Show

by Joseph Pimentel/Asianjournal.com
LOS ANGELES — It’s fitting that the first song that 15-year-old Filipina diva Charice Pempengco sang when she got off of the airplane in Los Angeles International Airport was Whitney Houston’s One Moment In Time.
In the corner wing of the Tom Bradley International Airport arrival center, the brown-haired, light-skinned, and petite Pempengco sang [...]

Filipina Fugitive Stalls Extradiction

by Joseph Pimentel/Asianjournal.com
LOS ANGELES — A Filipino national set for extradition on December 15 for allegedly embezzling close to $2 million from one of the largest banks in the Philippines filed an appeal, effectively stalling the process.
Girlie Jimenez Lingad, 36, is accused of allegedly stealing more than P75 million from her former employer, the United [...]

Villaraigosa to Oversee 7 LAUSD Schools

by Rene Villaroman/Asianjournal.com
LOS ANGELES — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa got a clear mandate to manage seven Los Angeles schools as  majority of parents and teachers opted for a partnership in education reform in a plebiscite held on Tuesday, December 11. The vote was conducted in seven high and intermediate schools in the LA Unified School District [...]

Volunteers Continue Search for Missing Filipina

by Malou Aguilar/Asianjournal.com
MILL VALLEY, CA — The search for Veronica “Nikki” Ruiz, a 25-year-old Filipina from Mill Valley, continued Wednesday with the help of more than 200 volunteers. Friends and family refused to give up hope and organized volunteer search parties to trek the steep Mount Tamalpais trails. Police suspended their search [...]

State Assembly Passes $14B Healthcare Reform Bill

by Rene Villaroman/Asianjournal.com
THE State Assembly in Sacramento passed the first phase of a $14.4 billion plan to provide medical insurance to almost every Californian on Monday. The achievement gave Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Democratic allies their first victory in overhauling California’s healthcare system, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.
The measure, covering an estimated [...]