Fil-Ams in Las Vegas relieved by Pacquiao win

• Were wary of non-KO fight ending, which could’ve robbed their champ again

• Fans now want Mayweather’s head

• Viewing parties bring family and friends together

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Manny Pacquiao is back as champion. Order has been restored. Filipinos in Las Vegas can rest easy.

“He showed he still have plenty left in the tank,” said Pat Pimentel at a fight viewing party. “He has slowed down, but he’s still one of the best.”

Showing just occasional flashes of his old fiery self, Paquiao easily outpointed Timothy Bradley over 12 rounds Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Area to win back the WBO welterweight title he lost to the American two years ago.

There were no anxious moments for the two dozen or so Fil-Ams who watched the fight at the home of William and Trini O’Rourke on Dessert Inn, except before the decision was announced.

Pacquiao easily dominated the fight, but like in 2012, there was fear that Bradley, who came into the fight with a spotless 30-fight winning streak, could snatch the victory.

“I’m glad Pacquiao was declared winner,” said Jose Badsalin. “It was a convincing win, but you never know with this decision victories.”

After a two-loss streak, including that controversial split-decision loss to Bradley, Filipinos here have been wary of a Paquiao fight.

Pacquiao fights are a big event here for the 30,000 or so Filipino-American residents, and fight parties are pretty common, with groups of Filipinos using the occasion to meet up with friends, relatives and folks coming from the same Philippine towns and cities.

“It’s been like family affairs,” said Trini Rourke, who works at the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas. “Everyone here is either a friend or relative.”

Because watching the fight live is expensive, most Filipinos resort to buying pay-per-view to watch the bout, oftentimes sharing the expense and food potluck style.

At the O’Rouke fight party, there were pancit, lumpia, chicken and beef, kakanin, including cassava cake, and puto.

It’s an event repeated in many Filipino homes across the United States — and in the Philippines — as Pacquiao, a tried and tested boxing hero, continues to impress despite his advancing age.

The talk now, here and throughout the boxing world, is if finally fans will get the fight they’re hoping for — a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., a Las Vegas native.

“That will be the fight of all fights,” said Romy Lumanlan, who added that Mayweather could not forever avoid Pacquiao if he were to cement his boxing legacy.

Pacquiao came out sharp and eager to fight and engaged Bradley toe-to-toe in the early rounds, unleashing his patented two-fisted attack and combinations.

In the third round, Bradly pinned Pacquiao on the ropes and appeared to have hurt the Filipino, drawing gasps from the crowd watching the bout.

But Paquiao escaped with not much damage and administered the same punishment to Bradley in the seventh. As the American visibly appeared to be tiring out, Pacquiao took control of the fight.

In the 12th, however, the two boxers banged heads, and Pacquiao sustained a deep cut on his left eyebrow. Good for the Filipino champion, it was the last round, and there was no clear damage.

“He’s good for perhaps another two years,” said Gil Guillen, whose wife is Filipina, and had lived in the Philippines for 14 years. “We can still enjoy watching him fight.”

source: globalnation.inquirer.net

Nevada Fil-Ams begin signing up for Obamacare

LAS VEGAS—Since quitting her job as a nurse in San Francisco five years ago, Christine Gregorio has been without healthcare insurance. She does not have health issues, but at 56 years of age, she worries that ailments that come with growing old would set in sooner or later.

“It’s scary,” said Gregorio, who moved to Las Vegas in 2011. “You never know what will happen.”

But the Affordable Care Act—known by its more popular and controversial monicker Obamacare—offers her hope.

Gregorio is among a growing number of Filipino-Americans, the largest Asian ethnic group in Nevada, who are signing up for the ACA.

On a recent Saturday, she went to Seafood City, a grocery story that specializes in Filipino foodstuffs on Parkway Avenue here, and stopped by a booth manned by two Filipino-Americans to start the tedious and time-consuming process of signing up for Obamacare.

State exchange

The booth was actually set up by Nevada Health Link, a state exchange created in accordance with the ACA and an expansion of the Medicaid program in Nevada.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval is one of a few Republican governors to agree to expanding Medicaid and creating a state exchange that both help Nevada residents find affordable health insurance. It also provides information about tax credits and subsidies to help cover the cost of health insurance.

“Part of what we do is educate people about the healthcare law,” said Rozita Lee, a well-known leader of the Filipino-American community here.

“Even though it’s been in the media for quite a while now, still people are wanting to know more about the details—if they qualify and how much it will cost them.”

The information and signing booths supplement the online marketplace that people can go to purchase state-approved insurance plans, based on income, or to simply browse on what is available.

Lee and Emma Williams, the Asian-American “enrollment facilitators” for Las Vegas, were actually hired by the Latin Chamber of Commerce, which has the contract with Nevada Health Link.

They are responsible for the Asian-American community, of which Filipino-Americans are the largest. They are both fluent in Tagalog.

Not problem-plagued

The NevadaHealthLink.com is separate from the problem-plagued federal website HealthCare.gov, which also is available for those who want to sign up by that route.

Lee said the federal website problems have affected people’s perception and enthusiasm for signing up, but many of them, particularly the elderly, “are not computer-savvy anyway, and they like that face-to-face interaction.”

Williams, the other Filipino-American woman manning the booth, said signing up can be a long, tedious process, lasting from one hour to an hour and a half.

“First step is to set up an appointment,” Williams said. “We ask them to bring Nevada ID or driver’s license, Social Security card, green card and proof of income, such as Internal Revenue Tax return.”

Oftentimes, they come back for the appointment with incomplete documents or they don’t have sufficient employment history, thus delaying the process, or making them not qualified at all, she said.

Most of those who come to the booths are folks in their 50s and 60s, brought by their adult children, and have no insurance. They are too young to qualify for Medicare, whose eligibility age begins at 65. Those on Medicare no longer need to sign up for Obamacare.

Lee and Williams said they are a little disappointed about the number of people signing up, and they plan to do more outreach to community groups and churches, but both expect the pace to quicken as the Dec. 15 deadline approaches for the health insurance plans to take effect on Jan.1.

Looming deadlines

The deadline to sign up for Obamacare is March 15, although there is a clamor for president Obama to extend that deadline because of the glitches to the HeathCare.org website.

People without health insurance by 2014 may be subject to a fine, according to the ACA law.

Sandoval drew flak from his fellow Republicans for acceding to the expansion of Medicaid in Nevada, but the popular governor went ahead anyway, saying that his priority was to provide health insurance to an estimated 600,000 uninsured Nevadans.

According to the Governor’s Office, the goal was to insure about 20,000 through Nevada Health Link. As of November, total enrolled: 513; number of applicants that have selected plans: 1,997; total applications in process: 32,848; total people in applications process: 55,842.

Total eligible for Medicaid: 16,590; total eligible for advanced premium tax credit: 9,231; unique visitors: 310,509; total site visits: 2.79 million, the state Department of Health and Human Services reports.

Nevada is one of a growing number of states that are having success, despite the glitches that came with the Obamacare rollout.

On target

The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday, Nov. 19, that a number of states that use
their own systems, including California, are on track to hit enrollment targets for 2014 because of a sharp increase in November, according to state officials.

Several other states, including Connecticut and Kentucky, are outpacing their enrollment estimates, even as states that depend on the federal website lag far behind. In Minnesota, enrollment in the second half of October ran at triple the rate of the first half, officials
said.

Washington state is also on track to easily exceed its October enrollment figure, officials said.
According to the 2010 census, there are 30,000Filipino-Americans in Las Vegas, although community leaders say there could be as many as 100,000.

There are about 98,000 Filipino-Americans in Nevada, the 2010 census also says, the largest Asian-American ethnic group in the state, and now a popular target for politicians.

But for Gregorio, the thing is to have that all-important healthcare coverage.

“That will give more confidence to face the future,” she said.

source: globalnation.inquirer.net

Don’t go broke seeking foreclosure help, say housing nonprofits

SAN FRANCISCO—Judith Camelo and her husband, both Filipino Americans, bought their house for $196,000 and refinanced it three times. When she had to retire to take care of her injured husband, their income fell. One day, she saw a man post a piece of paper on their door and leave.

“It was a foreclosure notice,” Camelo says. She saw a loan modification advertisement on television and went to the firm for help. She was asked to pay $975 initially and $1,402 the second time. Then she never heard from them again.

Camelo was just one of the thousands of victims of foreclosure rescue scams, a growing epidemic, according to nonprofit housing counselors. Many of the scams target minority and limited-English speaking communities.    



If asked to pay, stay away

“You shouldn’t be paying for loan modification assistance,” says Leah Simon-Weisberg, legal director of Tenants Together. “If you’re asked to pay, stay away,” she added at a press briefing held by nonprofit housing assistance agencies, hosted by New America Media.

“Go to a nonprofit counseling agency for advice,” says Maeve Elise Brown, executive director of Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA), “they’re given grants by donor institutions like San Francisco Foundation to help out people in housing distress.”

That’s what Camelo eventually did. She sought assistance from HERA, which helped her modify her loan and stave away foreclosure and eviction.

“I say do not trust individual attorneys who say they will help you modify your loan,” says Brown. “I’m sorry to say that some of my colleagues in the law profession cannot be trusted on this.”

Foreclosure scams

Foreclosure rescue scams show no signs of abating, and could increase given the slow reversal of the housing bust. Another 700,000 homes are in the foreclosure pipeline in the state, says Vanitha Venugopal, program director of Community Development and Investment at the San Francisco Foundation.

“One million homes were foreclosed in California during the housing bust, and blacks and Latinos have had two times the foreclosure rates of whites,” Venugopal says.

Her program is devoting $2 million in the next two years in an awareness drive to warn minorities of foreclosure rescue scams and to direct them to nonprofit housing counselors for proper help.

The San Francisco Foundation set aside $5.3 million to help prevent foreclosures through counseling and $4 million for rehabilitating vacant properties.

“In two years, 14,000 people have received counseling, 1,900 homes were saved and 1,334 properties were rehabilitated, but many more people need help and the scams are getting bolder,” she cautions.

Worst hit

Minorities have been the worst hit by the housing crisis, says Kevin Stein, associate director at California Reinvestment Coalition, who blames lending institutions.

“First they were redlining minority communities by refusing to provide housing loans,” Stein says, “then they went into reverse redlining targeting minority communities with highly predatory loans, now they’re swinging back to redlining again.”

While the Homeowners’ Bill of Rights and the national mortgage settlement have mitigated some of the problems, there is lack of enforcement by the federal authorities and lack of compliance and accountability on the part of banks and other financial institutions, Stein says.

“Selling loans to non-banks complicates matters and cash buyers of foreclosed homes for investment worsens the problem,” Stein adds.

HERA’s Brown also accuses banks of refusing to release all their real estate properties on the market, creating a false sense of tightness in the ownership and rental markets. “It’s a form of market manipulation,” charges Brown, “increasing pressures to sell to investor-buyers who out-buy common homebuyers.”

Renters vulnerable

House ownership as part of the American Dream is becoming out of reach, the shortage of rental housing is also compounding the difficulties of working people, says Gloria Bruce, deputy director of the East Bay Housing Organization (EBHO).

As it is, says Cruz, an average restaurant worker must work 75 hours a week to be able to afford a $1,000 a month apartment. The federal definition of “low income” she says is a household income of $46,000 a year. “So a lot of working people are struggling.”

Simon-Weisberg agrees: “Foreclosures of rental properties are displacing tenants, creating false vacancy rates that drive up rents.” She adds that foreclosed landlords exacerbate tenants’ problems by not making repairs or not returning security deposits.

Booming technology companies do not plan for the housing of their growing staff, leaving the problem for local governments to deal with, gentrifying low-income neighborhoods, depleting available housing and driving up rents.

Simon-Weisberg also warns of the rise of “company towns” with “mega-buyers like Equity Residential in Palo Alto and Blackstone in Sacramento” buying properties in bulk, making them unavailable to common homebuyers. Tenants in such company towns, she says, virtually have no protection from their big landlords.

Options available

There are options, EBHO’s Bruce says. “There is a misconception that low-cost housing is public housing—no, there are nonprofits that build and maintain low-cost rentals, but the waiting lists are long.”

Bruce is calling for the passage and enactment of Senate Bill 391 in the state legislature to dedicate funding for low-cost housing.

The housing advocates advise homeowners, would-be homeowners and tenants to “be aware of your rights” and go to nonprofit housing advocates for reliable assistance.

This is crucial, says Cheyenne Martinez-Boyette of Mission Economic Development Agency, because homeowners who are underwater need expert guidance in navigating the “murky channels” of the foreclosure process.

And housing advocates emphasize, it’s really help that no one needs to pay an arm and a leg for.

source: bsiness.inquirer.net

Thousands expected at biggest Fil-Am arts fest in southern California

SAN PEDRO, California—Thousands are again expected to attend the Festival of Philippine Arts, one of the biggest annual events in this city. Organizers are counting on some 25,000 visitors and 500 artists to participate in what has come to be known as FPAC.

The celebration of Filipino culture through art, film, dance, poetry, literature and food marks its 22nd year on Sept. 7 and 8 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Point Fermin Park. Organizers have also launched a new storytelling program that began last July 20.

FilAm ARTS (Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture), the premier Filipino-American organization in Southern California, hosts the event whose theme this year is “For Community, by Community.”

The first FPAC was held in 1992 at Los Angeles City College, days after the Los Angeles “Rodney King riots.” It was part of a project conceived by Los Angeles County along with hundreds of artists and community leaders to help the city heal through cultural gatherings.

Since then, FPAC has become a staple in LA’s cultural programming, welcoming tens of thousands of attendees and hundreds of artists and volunteers. Last year’s headliners included Apl.de.Ap of Black Eyed Peas, comedian Rex Navarrete, R&B and Pop Fil-Am singing group Legaci and the Filipino-American Symphony Orchestra.

New storytelling project

FilAm Arts also unveiled a new storytelling program called The Saysay Project at the Echo Park Library Community Hall on July 20. The pilot event aims to become an outlet for a multicultural community to tell their personal stories in an intimate setting. It also wants to relate the experiences of Filipino-Americans from different perspectives. The Tagalog word “saysay” means two things: to have intrinsic value and to narrate.

Jilly Canizares, executive director of FilAm ARTS, said that many tales are left untold after big events such as FPAC, and people often forget to reflect on their experiences. “Because we’re going so fast, the need to share stories is important,” Canizares said. “We need to bridge the gaps.”

Leading the event was writer and performer Giovanni Ortega, author of the play “Allos: The Story of Carlos Bulosan,” which was presented at East West Players, and Leaves from the Silverlake Barrio, a compilation of poems and stories about growing up in the Philippines and  the US.

Ortega led a group of 40 people in discussions of childhood, living in the US and encounters with racism. The attendees came from an array of backgrounds—recent immigrants, first-generation Americans, Hapas (half-whites from Hawaii), mainland Filipinos, military kids and children of manual laborers.

The Saysay Project together with Philippine Consul General also launched an online essay and video contest for elementary and high school students. Students can submit an essay or video to describe an experience that made a positive impact on their identity as Filipino American. Six grand prize winners and 100 honorable storytellers can win cash and a chance to perform at this year’s FPAC.

source: globalnation.inquirer.net

Three Fil-Ams in ‘American Idol’ Top 40

As Inquirer Entertainment hinted last week, three Filipino-Americans have indeed made it to the Top 40 of the US reality show “American Idol.” Various “spoiler” sites reported that Bridget “Jett” Hermano, Adriana Latonio and Bryant Tadeo were among the finalists who breezed through the dreaded Hollywood round. Now, there are two Fil-Am girls who could possibly do a Jessica Sanchez, who finished second last year. Bayani San Diego Jr.

source:  http://entertainment.inquirer.net/81319/three-fil-ams-in-american-idol-top-40