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The immigrant once called ‘nigger’ is now mayor of Ridgway, PA
By Cristina DC Pastor In the lethargic town of Ridgway, Pennsylvania – which is closer to Canada than to New York City – the mayor is a Filipino. The 72-year-old Guillermo Udarbe is also a doctor and so his town runs like clockwork. Mornings, this family practitioner tends to patients, and evenings he holds court […]
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Misconduct maybe, but don’t send the Marines home just yet
By Philip Dominguez Mercurio An article in the “Marine Corps Times” described the Philippines as a country with a “raunchy party atmosphere… where alcohol and scantily clad women have attracted Marines and sailors over the years.” In light of the Secret Service scandal in Colombia and Pres. Obama’s reference to a “couple of knuckleheads,” I […]
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Military wife is this year’s Mrs. Kalayaan
By Elton Lugay The Palawan-born wife of a retired Marine officer was crowned Mrs. Kalayaan in a beauty pageant for married women organized by Pidci. Unlike most pageant contenders, Margie Wisotsky, 39, didn’t go bare in a swimsuit, didn’t dance and didn’t have to sweat bullets to answer a silly question. All she had to […]
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President Obama nominates Lorna Schofield as N.Y. district court judge
Lorna Schofield’s prospective return to government just got a boost when President Obama on April 25 nominated her as federal district court judge for the Southern District of New York, according to a statement from KAYA. Article III judges are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. If confirmed, Schofield would be the […]
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It’s all about the Lin
By Elton Lugay New York Knicks’ point guard Jeremy Lin may be Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential, but to the Chinese media covering the gala, he’s nothing but a “snob.” “I felt discriminated,” a Taiwanese journalist was steaming at the red carpet arrivals for the press. “I cannot believe he went straight to the center […]
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42K Filipinos became U.S. citizens in 2011, up 20 percent
Filipinos were the third largest immigrant group to acquire U.S. citizenship by naturalization in 2011, according to the Department of Homeland Security. A total of 42,520 Filipinos were naturalized last year, representing a 20 percent increase from a year ago. Mexico and India were the top two countries of birth of new U.S. citizens, says […]
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‘As I find pieces of myself I worry that it’s costing you pieces of my heart’
By A. Mabini I remembered the moment I tricked her into holding my hand. It was one of the oldest tricks in the book. I examined it with mine, and without warning locked my fingers with hers and said, “Perfect.” That was 11 years ago when we were both in high school. We had no […]
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Toasting the Tribeca Three
Filmmakers, actors, moviegoers and writers packed the Kalayaan Hall’s cocktail reception for three Filipino filmmakers exhibiting at the Tribeca Film Festival. “This is the first time we’ve seen the Kalayaan Hall this full,” noted Deputy Consul General Tess Dizon de Vega. “This is almost a fire hazard.” It was clear as day who the star […]
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Juilliard artists to share talents with students in Samar
Six artists from The Juilliard School will visit the Philippines June 4 to July 1 as part of an outreach program to perform, teach and “create meaningful exchange” with Filipino artists and students. The visiting artists are led by Filipinos Leonides Arpon and Kendra Samson, the first Filipina recipient of a full scholarship to the […]