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Affordable Care Act improves access to care for children with disability: advocates (Part 1)
By Cristina DC Pastor Zariah Jimenez, a young girl with autism, regularly reports to two specialist doctors. Paying her medical costs would be financially draining, but her mother made sure she is covered under the government’s Medicaid for Individuals with Disabilities (MID). “As one with a documented disability, she has actually the highest coverage available,” […]
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On board Kate Blanco’s Jeepney Hub
By Maricar CP Hampton & Cristina DC Pastor For one who came to the United States at age 18, Kate Nicole Blanco has stared in the face the struggles of one trying to get started, assimilate and survive, belatedly, in America. The first hurdle: language and accent. “I have to tell people that I was […]
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FilAms urged to join the Jersey City police force
Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop and Council President Rolando Lavarro, Jr. are launching a Jersey City Minority Police Recruitment Drive on August 23rd in a bid to bring in bring in more officers into the police force who come from immigrant communities. “We have made a commitment to expanding and enhancing our Jersey City […]
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Steven Raga: ‘Young FilAms more politically aware than politically conscious’
By Maricar CP Hampton and Cristina DC Pastor Steven Raga, with his trademark aviator shades perched on his head, has seen it all with youth organizing. One of the founders of UniPro – or the Pilipino American Unity for Progress – the Queens-born activist was there for the birth of many youth organizations and witnessed […]
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Queens parents demand air-conditioned buses for special needs children
On Monday August 5, a dozen parents, grandparents, children and neighbors demanded the right to air conditioning for riders and workers on the school bus in hot weather. The target was the Ozone Park bus yard of companies known by several different names (eg. Little Richie, Lorinda, Little Linda) but apparently run by the same […]
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Parents rue that for some FilAm youth, education is no longer a priority
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. The aforementioned comment appeared heavy on the minds of some half-a-dozen Filipino American parents. No, they did not hesitate to inquire whether some from their ethnicity, parents like themselves, are going through similar experiences on how their daughters and sons are faring with respect to their outlook on education. One […]
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Mother fights City Hall for air-conditioned buses for special-needs children
By Cheryl Ocampo My daughter Zariah, like thousands of children with disabilities, attends the summer school program of District 75 in New York City Public Schools. Each year for the past five years since my daughter has been in grade school, I have filed numerous complaints with the New York City Department of Education, Office […]
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Calamansi juice goes mainstream, now sold in Wal-Mart, Cost Plus stores
It takes a village to raise a child or grow an idea. Nothing can be farther from the truth for Victor Elizaga, founder and CEO of Pacific Fruit and Beverage of California. It was the Filipino community’s support for his All-Natural Calamansi juice drinks that got them on the shelves of major retailers, including Cost […]
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Time to ‘unfreeze’ the law and make Reproductive Health available to women
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. July 9 is the first day the Philippine Supreme Court will begin to hear oral arguments on Law 10354, also known as the Reproductive Health law. The High Tribunal, voting 10-5, issued a temporary restraining order on the implementation of the law. Recalling what has taken place since the RH […]