WASHINGTON — USCIS has published a final rule to modernize and improve several aspects of certain employment-based non-immigrant and immigrant visa programs. USCIS has also amended regulations to better enable U.S. employers to hire and retain certain foreign workers who are beneficiaries of approved employment-based immigrant visa petitions and are waiting to become lawful permanent residents. This rule goes into effect on Jan. 17, 2017. Among other things, DHS is amendin...

By Corina Oliquino | FilAm Star Correspondent MANILA – change has come as the recent movie line-up for the yearly Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) was released last November 18 – receiving mixed reactions throughout the entertainment industry. This new shift in the traditional (Christmas) film festival was explained by the MMFF organizers as a “refreshing new season.” “On a mission to celebrate the Filipino’s artistic excellence, and to champion the sustainability o...

SAN FRANCISCO – If you’re in the Bay Area for the next 30 years, there’s a nearly 75 percent chance you’ll experience a large earthquake – as big as the 1994 Northridge quake, or bigger. That’s taking into account all the faults in the Bay Area that are likely to produce earthquakes, according to geologist Keith Knudsen, the deputy director of the Earthquake Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS is developing an earthquake early warning system, the...

• Changes to the insurance products mean consumers will save when they access care. • New shopping tools and 300 new storefronts make it easier for consumers to shop for coverage. • More choices in 2017 in Orange, San Francisco and Santa Cruz counties. • Enrollees will get a primary care doctor when they enroll to ease access to care. SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Californians who need health insurance will find new ways to shop for coverage and new ways to save in 2017 when ope...

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is joining utilities throughout North America to make customers aware of telephone, mail, email and door-to-door/in-person scams that involve criminals posing as utility company representatives and demanding immediate payment or personal information. The “Utilities United Against Scams” collaboration has designated November 16 as “Utilities United Against Scams Day.” This day will be supported by a week-long ca...

By Trina Soldedad OAKLAND – The 2014 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors hosted Filipino Heritage Night, presented by Cache Creek Casino Resort, Sunday, November 13 against the Phoenix Suns at Oracle Arena. A portion of the proceeds from each Filipino Heritage Night event ticket sold will be donated back to support local Filipino organizations throughout the Bay Area. The event included a Pre-game Tailgate Party at the Oracle Arena Parking Lot, featuring Fi...

Son Sonoma County’s premier gaming and entertainment destination welcomes guests at awe-inspiring new accommodations !  ROHNERT PARK (November 15, 2016) – Business and community leaders gathered together today along with the leadership from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to cut the ribbon on Graton Resort & Casino’s 342,000 square foot resort expansion.  The more than $175 million expansion adds accommodations to the existing casino and en...

By Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS This column is a part of our personal public heath education campaign for disease prevention and a healthier society the past five decades. We welcome medical questions from you, our readers. Here are some of them with my informational reply.  Could repeated x-rays cause cancer? No, an annual chest x-ray will not cause cancer. The dose of radiation that one gets with a chest x-ray is so minimal, about 30 millirems, which is even less...

By Elpidio Estioko If we base our decision from readings and pronouncements made by President-elect Donald Trump before and after Election Day, there’s a likelihood that the U.S. Department of Education might be shrunk or… abolished! We, however still don’t know the thoughts of the incoming president about the matter because he has a lot of surprises in the vetting process for his cabinet people. In his first public announcement on what he will do for his first 100 days...

By Perry Diaz Little did Donald J. Trump realize that by preaching the gospel of hate, it would bring him to the pinnacle of power in America.  Or, could it be that he was aware that hate was what dictators use to achieve power and exercise total control over their people?  Take Adolf Hitler for one, who arguably was the most despicable of these tyrants who didn’t see any value on the human lives that he put to death.  In a short time, he systematically exterminated more t...