042722 - Southern California Midweek Edition

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ARIL 27-29, 2022 Volume 32 - No. 33 • 14 Pages

DATELINE USA FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

California Joint AAPI Legislative Caucus to celebrate APIA Heritage Month, honor leaders THE California Joint Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Legislative Caucus will celebrate May as Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Heritage Month and recognize distinguished AAPI leaders through this year’s “Excellence Awards.” The honorees range come from advocacy, health, civil rights, business, arts and entertainment, and more fields. “It has been two years since the start of the pandemic and the AAPI community continues to face anti-Asian hate, while dealing with the inequities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Despite these challenges, each honoree continues to uplift the voices of the AAPI communities and enriches our history and culture through their achievements. They give us hope, solace, and courage in times when we need it most,” the caucus said in a release. The Joint AAPI Legislative Caucus is

Philippine Consulate in LA: Ballots for May 9 election have been mailed by AJPRESS

Filipinos registered to vote in the upcoming May 9 elections. On its Facebook page, the Consulate issued an THE Philippine Consulate General in LA announced that all absentee ballots have been mailed for overseas election update, saying: “All ballots have been mailed out as of 22 April 2022. Per USPS, delivery is

by AJPRESS

CA still testing uninsured residents for COVID-19

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UNITEAM GRAND RALLY IN TAGUIG. Presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife lawyer Liza Araneta Marcos, together with Rep. Martin Romualdez wave to the crowd during the grand rally at Arca South, Taguig City on Sunday, April 24. Liza’s appearance in Taguig marked her second participation in a UniTeam rally. PNA photo by Avito Dalan

PLANS to create a national Asian Pacific American museum in Washington, D.C. have moved to the next step as the U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a bill to form a commission to study the issue. The bill approved unanimously by the House on Tuesday, April 26 would create a new commission to consider the development a new National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. The measure will head to the Senate for voting. The group would be responsible for studying the costs of building a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture and if it will be part of the Smithsonian Institution. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) called it a “joy” to see the legislation advance in Congress, noting the contributions Asians and Pacific Islanders have made to U.S. history. “Those contributions are often unheard of and simply forgotten,” she said. “It is time to change that.” AAPI Victory Alliance Executive Director Varun

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International arrivals in Final president, VP debates PH surpass 300,000-mark canceled ahead of May 9 polls by DANIZA

FERNANDEZ Inquirer.net

MANILA — International arrivals in the Philippines have surpassed the 300,000mark since the country reopened its borders to fully-vaccinated tourists last February 10, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat reported on Tuesday, April 26. “From February 10 to April 25, nasurpass na natin ‘yung (we surpassed the) 300,000-mark. We received about 313,050 international arrivals,” Romulo-Puyat said in a Laging Handa public briefing. Romulo-Puyat, however, said that the figure is far from the eight million prepandemic international tourist arrivals

registered in 2019. “Sa pre-pandemic levels naman with regard to international tourist arrivals, medyo malayo pa kasi nung 2019, we received about 8.26 million tourists. Pero masaya tayo kasi (But we are happy because) at least, we already received 313,050 international arrivals,” she added. According to the tourism chief, most of the international travelers are from the United States, Canada, and Korea. Romulo-Puyat reminded travelers to observe health protocols while on their trips. “’Yun na nga syempre paalala pa rin, masaya tayo na we are slowly getting back to normal pero paalala rin that we still

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Jimuel Pacquiao to return to the ring in California bout on May 12 by MARK

GIONGCO Inquirer.net

Jimuel Pacquiao wins his first amateur bout.

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US House passes bill to study new Asian Pacific Heritage museum

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is still offering free covid testing to uninsured residents even though the federal government ran out of money to pay for it. While Congress debates whether to put more money into free testing, California is leaning on programs it already had in place: special state-based coverage for uninsured Californians, school testing, and free tests offered by clinics, counties, and other groups. Absent free options, people without health insurance could pay as much as several hundred dollars out-of-pocket depending on where they get tested. At the same time, demand for community testing — from residents with and without insurance — has dropped precipitously. On a recent Thursday, only three people could be found getting tested at seven testing sites in Sacramento County. Staffers at these locations — from the formerly bustling masstesting site at the state fairgrounds to a tiny kiosk in a church parking lot — said hardly anyone shows up anymore even though testing is still important for monitoring and reducing the spread of covid-19. They mostly see regulars who come in for routine testing required by their employer or school. Dr. Olivia Kasirye, the public health officer for Sacramento County, said the county sends specimens to a state lab at no cost to

between 1-5 business days.” The Consulate previously announced that ballot pickup at its office is available only for registered overseas voters whose ballots were returned due to

MANILA — Jimuel Pacquiao is set for his ring return in the United States on May 12, this time he will be parading his wares before a bigger audience at Quiet Cannon Montebello Country Club in California. The eldest son of boxing legend Manny Pacquiao will figure in a three-round featherweight fight against a soon-to-be-named opponent. Pacquiao second amateur bout is part of the Hollywood Fight Nights series under Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions. The event will be shown live globally on UFC Fight Pass. Pacquiao, 21, had his first amateur fight in the U.S. in March, beating Mexican-American Andres Rosales at House of Boxing Gym in San Diego, California. He has been training at Wild Card Gym under the tutelage of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach and Photo from Instagram/@mannypacquiao Marvin Somodio. n

by DONA

Z. PAZZIBUGAN, JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE, MELVIN GASCON Inquirer.net

MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has canceled the last round of presidential and vice presidential debates this weekend due to the unavailability of the candidates just days before the May 9 polls. The supposed town hall debates rescheduled on April 30 and May 1 will instead be replaced with pretaped, hourlong interviews of the candidates to be aired from May 2 to 6, the Comelec announced on Monday, April 25. The poll body was forced to cancel the final presidential and vice presidential debates originally set on April 23 and 24 after its partner organizer, Impact Hub Manila, was unable to pay P14 million of its P20.5-million obligation to Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, the venue of the Comelec-sponsored PiliPinas Debates. The fiasco has prompted an internal investigation within Comelec of its top officials for possible criminal liability for committing the poll body to an allegedly onerous deal with Impact Hub. On Monday, 14 senior Comelec officials submitted their formal explanation to Commissioner Rey Bulay, who is undertaking the probe, though several among them said they took “no part” in the decision on

the debates. The Comelec tried to salvage the final round of televised debates by rescheduling them a week later, with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) as the organizer. However, several candidates have begged off due to previous campaign commitments. “In consideration of the inevitable scheduling conflicts as the candidates approach the homestretch of the campaign period, and as advised by the KBP, the Comelec will now adopt a single candidate/team-panel interview format,” the Comelec said in an advisory on Monday. Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said the planned hourlong interviews with each candidate, or together with their running mate, would air next week, with the panelists provided by the KBP. The camp of presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has skipped previous Comelec-sponsored debates, on Monday welcomed the poll body’s decision to hold taped panel interviews in lieu of town hall debates. Lawyer Vic Rodriguez, Marcos’ chief of staff and spokesperson, said: “The panel interview of candidates is exactly the format

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