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Amid Houston flooding, Vincent Evangelista is lucky to have power and water; food is running low
By Cristina DC Pastor When I called at 5 p.m., Houston resident Vincent ‘Enteng’ Evangelista just woke up. He stayed up late waiting for the release of water from two overfilled reservoirs. State and city officials were hoping the release would ease the flooding and prevent spillover into other communities and suburbs. “Aapaw na siya,” […]
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DSWD official reports on efforts to assist Marawi residents fleeing war zone
Although it has one of the biggest budgets in government, the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development is hindered in its ability to fully assist in the rehabilitation effort in Marawi City because of the continuing war between the military and the Maute Islamist group. “Mahirap pasukin kung may crossfire,” said Undersecretary Maria Lourdes […]
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The day my daughter thought she was going to die: a 9/11 reflection
By Cristina DC Pastor Every time 9/11 comes around, I am reminded of a day of confusion, a day of too much walking, a day my daughter looked up to me as a source of strength, calm and clarity. When it became clear that the planes hitting the Twin Towers was not due to pilot […]
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Film on Typhoon Haiyan recovery: Triumph over trauma
The film ‘Fields of Hope’ will screen on April 23 as part of the Manhattan Film Festival in New York City. It follows three boys, Jarred, Julius, and Kenneth, who endured the worst of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) when it devastated Leyte in 2013. Through their participation in the Mission Tacloban grassroots football (soccer) program, […]
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Community wardens to meet Jan 16 against backdrop of San Bernardino shooting
The Philippine Consulate is holding a General Assembly of Wardens on January 16 at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue. The meeting will be from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. The assembly is being called following the December 2 San Bernardino shooting where a married couple went on a shooting rampage […]
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Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler warns landlords vs illegal, multiple bedspacers
By Cristina DC Pastor The Elmhurst, Queens apartment where housekeeper Wilma de Jesus lives looks like a maze for lab rats. The living room is creatively partitioned using book shelves, wall dividers, and bamboo screens. Each space has a futon or a sleeping bag a tenant calls her bedspace. Wilma shares this apartment with a […]
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‘When Strong Winds Blow:’ A children’s book with a message of hope
By Julie Stroud Typhoon Haiyan, known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, was the strongest typhoon ever recorded, with unprecedented wind speeds. Despite advanced warnings, Yolanda exacted a devastating toll on many Filipino provinces. Buildings and trees were leveled, and there was significant loss of life in the surge of water. Headwaters Relief Organization joined […]
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22 families displaced by Haiyan receive homes courtesy of Build a Shelter project
The Build A Shelter Project (BASP), a community-based and Consulate-led initiative aimed at building more than a hundred houses in four villages in Eastern Samar and Leyte in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, handed over 22 houses to 22 families in Barangay Pago in Tanauan, Leyte on April 23, 2015. Vivian Talambiras Cruz, one of […]
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Pommes Frites manager Jordan Cezar on East Village explosion: ‘Traumatizing!’
By Cristina DC Pastor It was around 3 p.m. of March 26, and Jordan Cezar, shift manager at Pommes Frites, was about to take his lunch at one corner of the restaurant when he experience a really loud explosion. He felt the room shake, and the poster décors on the walls and the kitchen pans […]