California School Named After Jose Antonio Vargas

Jose Antonio Vargas (Source: Inquirer.net)

An elementary school named after a Filipino Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and immigration activist Jose Antonio Vargas was officially opened in a dedication ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 15 (See Inquirer.net for story).

Environmentalist Gina Lopez Dies at 65

Gina Lopez (Source: ABS-CBN)

Filipino philanthropist and environmentalist Gina Lopez died on Monday due to multiple organ failure. She was 65. Lopez was the long-time chairperson of ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) and was a former Environment Secretary (See ABS-CBN News for story).

Fil-Am Actor Dante Basco Directing ‘The Fabulous Filipino Brothers’

Dante Basco (Source: Deadline.com)

Best known for his role as Rufio in Steven Spielberg’s classic Peter Pan feature Hook, Dante Basco is stepping behind the camera and will make his directorial debut in “The Fabulous Filipino Brothers,” written by Basco and his brothers Darion Basco and Dionysio Basco, and set in the brothers’ hometown of Pittsburg, Calif., a working class suburb of Oakland (See Deadline.com for story). 

UP Beats Harvard, Oxford, Stanford in World Health Research Citations

University of the Philippines (Source: Inquirer.net)

The University of the Philippines (UP) beat other premiere universities — including Harvard University, University of Oxford, and the University of Stanford — in the recent world rankings for health research citation, placing seventh with a score of 98.8 in the 2019 Times Higher Education (THE) World Rankings. Citation scores indicate the number of times a research has been cited in other research outputs, or the impact or influence of a research project which other researchers use as reference from which they can build on succeeding breakthroughs or innovations (See Inquirer.net for story).

Filipino Families with Israel-Born Kids Face Deportation

Ramela and Sivan Noel, along with some 600 families, now facing deportation from Israel (Source: AFP)

Many of the 28,000 Filipinos in Israel arrived to work as caregivers and domestic helpers, but according to the United Children of Israel (UCI) association, some 600 families and their children could now face expulsion over a loss of residency status (See Yahoo News for story).

Son of Capiz farmer wins $300K in U.S. scholarship

Aldrean Alogon (Source: Inquirer.net)

Aldrean Alogon, a farmer’s son in Capiz, Philippines, won one of only 11 prestigious Freeman Asian Scholarships awarded annually, and over $300,000, to attend Wesleyan University (See Inquirer.net for story).

Fil-Am Meteorologist Wins Emmy for Coverage of Ocean Pollution

Shanna Mendiola (Source: NBC 4 Southern California)

Filipina American Shanna Mendiola, the meteorologist for NBC4 Southern California’s weekday morning newscast “Today in LA,” took home an Emmy at the 71st Los Angeles Area Emmys for her coverage on plastic in the ocean (See Asian Journal for story). 

Fil-Am Mail Bomber Gets 20 Years

Cesar Sayoc

Cesar Sayoc, 57,  a Florida amateur body builder who admitted sending pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and CNN was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday by a judge who concluded the bombs purposely were not designed to explode (See Inquirer.net for story)..