Maniolas

Ice skating in New York©Stuart Monk/shutterstock.com (Relaxnews) – If you’re ever in a New York state of mind, consider booking a trip over the next few weeks, as the results of a new study show that January and February are the most affordable months for sleeping in the city. According to a report from NewYorkHotels.org, visitors can find a double room at a 3-star hotel for about $86 in February. For a little more, travelers can upgrade to a 4-star property for about $102 a night. At the other end of the spectrum, visitors on a budget will want to avoid the months of September and October which are the most expensive months of the year: the average nightly rate is more than double that of February at $200 a night for a 3-star room. Count on spending about $231 during those months if you want to book a room at a 4-star hotel. For the purposes of the report, midtown Manhattan was defined as the area extending between 59th Street down to 23rd Street. On a day-by-day basis, New Year’s Eve is the most expensive night of the year, with hotels charging on average $361 and $416 for stays in 3 and 4-star hotels respectively. Another tip: Hotel rates are highest midweek. Guests who stay from Sunday to Monday, for instance, can save an average of 30 percent less for their room compared to stays running from Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Meanwhile, the latest figures out of the tourism office Read More …

www.SBOrchidShow.com Orchid lovers, flower fans and admirers of all things wild and wonderful, save the dates! On March 4 – 6, 2016, Santa Barbara International Orchid Show (www.SBOrchidShow.com) returns to Earl Warren Showgrounds in beautiful Santa Barbara, California. Thousands of blooms in every imaginable shape, color, pattern and texture, will be showcased at the show, one of the country’s largest and oldest celebrations of orchids. The 71st annual Santa Barbara International Orchid Show’s theme, “Wild World of Orchids,” pays homage to a family of flowering plants that boasts 25,000 species, among which beauty is ubiquitous and uniqueness is commonplace. Some are sexy (One species attracts male bees by mimicking the look, scent and feel of a female bee) while others are secretive (It took scientists years to find a moth with a foot-long tongue for pollinating an orchid that hides nectar 12 inches deep.). The three-day Orchid Show highlights bold and beautiful horticultural innovations and feats of evolution represented by more than 50 orchid exhibitors and vendors from around the world. A highlight of this year’s event is the vanilla orchid, which will add taste to the list of senses stimulated by the diverse array of plants. Though each year, the orchid show spotlights the novel and new, the event is steeped in a rich history. In its 71 years, it has grown rapidly alongside the public’s burgeoning attraction and access to orchids. Santa Barbara’s relationship with the exotic beauties was fostered by its well-heeled residents with sophisticated taste, such as Anna Dickinson and Edward and Emily Carpentier, who obtained specimens of the then-rare plants from distributors in England in the 1930s Read More …

Family members of the SAF 44 are prayed over by churchgoers at the close of the mass on Sunday at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Church in Claret School in Quezon City. Relatives and supporters of the slain troopers in Mamasapano held a memorial march Sunday from Cavite. (MNS Photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Wednesday denied the claims of widows of two Special Action Force (SAF) commandos that their family have yet to receive the financial assistance promised to them by the government. In a statement sent by Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr., he said all mandatory benefits had been released by the National Police Commission (Napolcom) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) as of April last year. Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos earlier raised the complaints of Virgie Viernes and Merlyn Gamutan that they have yet to receive the aid pledged by the government. Marcos said such complaints justify the reopening of the Senate investigation on the Mamasapano incident. Coloma said the Viernes family, which includes the victim’s wife, parents and sister, received a total of P1.3 million; while the Gamutan family, which includes the victim’s wife, father, in-laws, and niece, got 2.6 million. He said all concerned government agencies have acted on the requests from the kin of the SAF 44 upon the directive of President Benigno Aquino III. “The government has given extensive assistance to the families of the members of the PNP SAF who were killed in action on January 25, 2015 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao,” Read More …

— Artist Randalf Dilla polishes his 8 x18.5 feet oil and acrylic painting “Salvage Memories, Salvage Lives” at Hiraya Gallery in Manila, Friday. The masterpiece, which depicts human rights issues during the Martial Law era, will be exhibited in commemoration of its declaration on September 21. (MNS photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has only one word to describe Senator Grace Poe: “sister.” “Wala. Pinaninindigan ko na e (I am already standing by it),” Marcos said in jest when he played “fast-talk” during a weekly forum at the Senate on Thursday. An urban legend that Poe is an illegitimate child of the senator’s father and namesake, the late President Ferdinand Marcos with former actress Rosemarie Sonora, has become a running joke for the two lawmakers until Sonora’s own daughter, actress Sheryl Cruz, did not find the joke funny. Poe was found in a church in Iloilo and was later adopted by the late Fernando Poe Jr. and veteran actress Susan Roces. Her being a foundling is now one of the subjects of the disqualification cases filed against her in a bid to stop her from joining the May 2016 presidential race. Senator Marcos also described in one word other presidential bets: “brilliant” for his presidential running mate, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, “friend” for both former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, and “rising” for Vice presidential Jejomar Binay, who topped the latest presidential survey of the Social Weather Stations. He also has one word Read More …

Carla Abellana (MNS photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – If it were up to Carla Abellana, she wants zoos proven unable to properly care for the caged animals shut down. In reposting on her Instagram account the blog entry of WhenInManila.com published December last year titled “Open Letter to Manila Zoo: It’s Not a Zoological Garden, It’s an Animal Prison,” she said, “I believe it’s best if they just close down Manila Zoo and even Malabon Zoo, quite honestly.” In the blog entry, an anonymous Manila Zoo visitor shared his experience while visiting the decades-old site, alleging the animals there were eating rubbish including plastic containers. The blogger also deemed the animals were housed in filthy cages. “These animals deserve to be in much better sanctuaries,” Carla said. “I wouldn’t like to think they should be released in their true homes because either they’d be helpless in surviving on their own (because they were raised in captivity), hunted down and killed, or both.” Carla urged to have the animals transferred to sanctuaries “such as the one in Calauit.” It was reported last year that Manila Zoo would undergo a major facelift as part of a joint venture agreement between the Manila local government and local developer Metropolitan Zoo and Botanical Park, Inc., the latter providing a P1.5 billion budget for the improvement of the 5.5-hectare zoo. The reconstruction promises improvement in animal facilities as well as establishment of shops offering food, refreshments, retail shops and the like. It is known to many Read More …