Maniolas

BY UDWA BLOG   This blog post originally appeared on udwa.org. $15 an hour wage and paid sick leave for IHSS providers All across this state – from the streets of San Diego to the legislative chambers of Sacramento – home care workers have made our voices heard! For the past year we have rallied and marched alongside thousands of underpaid workers to make one thing clear: no one should have to try to survive on less than $15 per hour in California. Today, UDW Executive Director Doug Moore stood alongside Governor Jerry Brown as he announced a plan to increase minimum wage to $15 by 2022 and provide IHSS home care workers with paid sick leave for the first time ever. The announcement comes as we are gearing up for demonstrations throughout the state in April, and days after the California Secretary of State’s office stated that more than 400,000 signatures were collected to place the Fair Wage Act of 2016, a measure that calls for a $15 minimum wage by 2021, on the November ballot. “This a huge victory for all working Californians, but especially IHSS providers,” said UDW President and home care worker Editha Adams. “We’ve been denied paid sick leave and a livable wage for far too long.” $15 an hour wage and paid sick leave for IHSS providers Last year, we joined together with restaurant workers in April and November for the largest-ever national strikes aimed at increasing the minimum wage. Workers in more than 270 cities, from Read More …

Cristine Reyes and Ali Khatibi (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Married couple Cristine Reyes and Ali Khatibi come from different worlds; she from show business, he from mixed martial arts. With Ali qualifying as one of 26 finalists in Century Tuna Superbods Nation 2016, he just might cross over to her realm. “Si Ali ’yung tipo ng tao na very private so I was surprised na he joined Century Tuna Superbods,” she said. “But I’m okay with it. I support him. I hope he wins.” Despite her busy schedule, Cristine was able to show her support by attending the presentations night March 16 at Valkyrie in Taguig City. “He told me na his agent wanted him to join this competiton. Sabi ko, ‘Ikaw, how do you feel about it?’ ‘I’m gonna try.’ So, sabi ko, ‘Go, if you feel like doing it. Anything naman na you’re comfortable with okay ako,’” she said. Cristine admitted Ali isn’t used to the world of showbiz and fashion yet, so he feels nervous about the competition. “Everybody knows na he’s MMA fighter, Jiu Jitsu purple belt and he’s a motocross rider,” she said. “So ako, natatawa ako kasi very new siya sa ‘atmosphere’ na ito. Ako, I’ve been doing this for 14 years already. So, ako naman natutuwa to see somebody, especially my husband doing this kind of stuff.” If Ali decides to join showbiz in the future, Cristine is willing to give her full support. “I’m not the one ’yung parang humaharang. If Read More …

While most scientific studies have focused on highlighting the role of sleep in weight-loss diets, professor of nutrition science Wayne Campbell and his team of researchers at Purdue University in the US state of Indiana considered the exact opposite, investigating the effect of a weight-loss diet on sleep quality.  A high-protein diet can improve sleep quality in obese and overweight people, the study found.© AlexPro9500/Istock.com The findings, published in the March edition of the American Journal of Nutrition, show that following a high-protein diet for several months can lead to better sleep in obese and overweight adults. In a first pilot study, the researchers asked 14 overweight participants (11 women and three men) to follow a high-protein diet based on pork and beef or soy and legume products. For the main study, involving 44 overweight or obese volunteers, one group followed a diet with a normal intake of protein, whereas the other group followed a high-protein diet. After a three-week period allowing volunteers to adapt to the diet, participants then consumed 0.8g or 1.5g of protein a day per kg of body mass for 16 weeks. Each month, the researchers evaluated the quality of participants’ sleep by means of a questionnaire. The scientists found that after three and four months, the volunteers with the highest protein intakes while losing weight reported an improvement in sleep quality. “Short sleep duration and compromised sleep quality frequently lead to metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and premature death,” explains Jing Zhou, the study’s first author. Read More …

By Nimfa U. Rueda DNC Chief Executive Officer Amy Dacey (photo courtesy of https://twitter.com/amykdacey) LOS ANGELES – As the race for the White House heats up, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) continues to tap better ways to reach Filipino-American and other Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters. DNC Chief Executive Officer Amy Dacey told reporters yesterday (Wednesday in Manila) they have expanded their grassroots outreach to members of the nation’s fastest-growing ethnic group. “We’re looking at how we’re communicating with them…and how they’re getting their information about the party, what we stand for, the general election and our candidates,” Dacey said in a roundtable discussion with the media in downtown Los Angeles. “We’re working on the local level everyday to do that. Peer-to-peer conversation, people hearing from members of their community matters a lot.” Studies show AAPIs will soon outnumber Latinos as the largest immigrant group coming to the United States. While AAPIs are concentrated in California and New York, they are also rapidly growing in the battleground states of Nevada, Virginia, and Florida. That means capturing the Asian American vote is important in the November elections, according to the Asian American Advancing Justice, which is set to release new polling data on AAPIs today (Thursday in Manila). In the last few presidential elections, Fil-Ams and other AAPIs had leaned heavily democrat, and the DNC hopes to get more of them to vote. “The issues that (Democrats) are focusing on are very tuned in to the Filipino-American community, especially the Read More …

Presidential aspirant and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte chants “Mabuhay ang Moro people!” before entering his vehicle after his campaign rally in Cotabato City on Saturday. Majority of the Bangsamoros in the event expressed support for Duterte for his clear stance on resolving the Mindanao conflict.(MNS photo) MANILA, Mar 31 (Mabuhay) – Presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has clarified that he will not scrap the government’s conditional cash transfer program, especially because it benefits poor families. “Don’t worry that 4Ps will stop. It will continue under a Duterte presidency,” he said on Wednesday during a campaign rally in Catanauan, Quezon. Pantawid Pamilyang Piilipino Program (4Ps), is a conditional cash transfer mechanism implemented first during the term of former president and now Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. It was expanded to cover more families under the Aquino administration. Its beneficiaries are required to keep their children in school and invest in their health and nutrition. “Who are you (candidates) to stop a program that benefits underprivileged Filipinos,” Duterte said. However, he pointed out that the funding of 4Ps is not from candidates but from the government itself. According to a statement from the Duterte camp, the mayor criticized administration bets who claimed that the 4Ps would stop if they lose in the elections. Earlier this month, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that four out of five Filipinos would “probably vote for” a candidate who will continue the 4Ps, which now benefits 4.4 million families.(MNS)