2010 02/03-02/09

Northern California's largest Filipino American newspaper in circulation since 1990, the Manila Mail is the Bay Area's most read Fil-Am weekly publication distributed free in major cities of Northern California. Community is a B Section page that contains the weekly column of Bradford Adkins 'SCENES in the city'. The column features include: the issues and events, the individuals and organizations moving the community.

Dr. Christopher S. Mow, left, Orthopaedic Department Chief of Stanford Hospital & Clinics, is the world's top orthopaedic surgeon (he invited former patient, former President Joseph Estrada's son, Senator Jinggoy Estrada to visit him in Sunnyvale, CA last Friday) at least to the eyes of 87-year old Ms. Lopez, right, who can't even walk due to a broken hip before Dr. Mow's care. Now, she is a happy walker.

Congratulations to Ms. Regina M. Padilla, LUTCF, who was bestowed the Executive Council Award for outstanding sales performance in 2009 by the New York Life at a formal corporate event held last Saturday night at the Hilton Hotel in Burlingame.

Ms. Grace C. Dirige, LUTCF (left) was also bestowed the Executive Council Award for outstanding sales performance in 2009 by the New York Life at a glittering ceremony held last Saturday night, Jan 20th held at the Hilton Hotel in Burlingame, CA, shown here with fiancee, Mel Lim.

Former Mayor Joe Estevez, rightmost, recently announced his candidacy to be his city's Mayor again, when current Mayor Robert Livengood's 2-year term expires in November this year. Listening in during last Friday's gathering are, (L-R) visiting Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Sunnyvale Health Care Center's Admininstrator and CEO, Herminia Chavez, RN.

The Former Pelotari Superstar Wife, Gina Cunanan-Salazar of Pleasanton, CA celebrated her birthday on Thursday, Jan 28th, shown here with now an avid golfer, husband, Henry.

Tax is on the air again and former KPMG LLP Tax Accountants (L-R), Leonie Ruado, Nora David, Lita Carino, Myrna D. Cabrera, Sally Vergara & Saori Kobayashi took a reunion/luncheon break last Sunday, Jan 24th at the Westfield Mall Food Court in downtownSan Francisco before they all get busy the next few weeks when tax season goes full blast.

Visiting Senator Jinggoy Estrada (center) is shown his ways around the 99-bed nursing home facility, Sunnyvale Health Care Center, owned and operated by a Filipina, Ms. Herminia Chavez, RN (right) while looking on is Stanford Orthopaedic Surgeon, Christopher S. Mow (he operated on the former President, Joseph Estrada's knee).

Senator Jinggoy Estrada, being interviewed by ABS-CBN International, in Sunnyvale, CA when he visited his father's knee surgeon last Friday afternoon, January 29th. , Looking on, (left, behind) is Ms. Nell Ramirez, Activity Director of Sunnyvale Health Care Center.

COX Communicatons to Offer Customers

Filipino On Demand

Service set to launch in top markets as free bolt-on for subscribers of The Filipino Channel

CO–Cox Communications, Inc., a leading multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company and International Media Distribution, an industry pioneer in the distribution of 24-hour global networks in the U.S., jointly announced last January 28th, the signing of a distribution agreement for Filipino On Demand, a video on demand television service from ABS-CBN International, the largest Filipino entertainment and broadcast company in the U.S. The agreement allows for carriage of Filipino On Demand to Cox Digital Cable customers nationally.

Filipino On Demand will soon be available to premium subscribers of The Filipino Channel (TFC) in the following markets: Orange County, Palos Verdes and Santa Barbara , Calif. ; Hampton Roads and Fairfax , Va. and Las Vegas . Filipino On Demand will be available in some sites as early as February 1st.

Cox customers of TFC will have 24/7 access to a wide array of Filipino entertainment for the whole family, with programming updated on a weekly basis. Filipino On Demand categories include Movies, Variety and Maalaala Mo Kaya, the longest-running drama series in the Philippines .

Filipino On Demand highlighted titles for February include romantic concerts from top powerhouse entertainers such as Celebration of Love, Soul To Soul and High on Love, all found inside the “Variety” folder. In addition, the service will feature special love-themed episodes of Maalaala Mo Kaya including “Rosas,” “Selyo” and “Larawan.” For complete program schedules and more, customers can visitwww.filipinoondemand.com.

“We’re thrilled to expand our international offering to include Filipino On Demand, said Bob Nocera, director of marketing, new video services for Cox Communications. “Our On DEMAND platform gives us the opportunity to reach niche audiences in a way that helps them stay connected to home in a way that is most convenient to them. The service brings customers total control to start, stop, pause, rewind and fast-forward content as they wish.”

“We’re proud to provide Cox customers with a range of top quality Filipino movies and shows,” said Jun Del Rosario, ABS-CBN International’s Director of Cable & Satellite. “With fresh programming that’s updated weekly, we’re committed to keeping our customers connected to home through their televisions. And, the convenience of our on demand service guarantees that people can catch their favorite programs whenever they want.”

“Partnering with Cox to make Filipino On Demand available to their digital customers is key to connecting people to programming that reflects their culture and lives,” said Scott Wheeler, Senior Vice President, International Media Distribution. “We’re excited that Cox is making this service available in such an innovative way, so that TFC customers get even more from their subscription.”

With so many Filipino new releases, timeless blockbuster hits, touching miniseries and live concerts each month, Filipino On Demand provides something for everyone. Cox subscription rates for TFC including Filipino On Demand vary by market. Subscribers of TFC can access Filipino On Demand any time of the day or night through the Cox On DEMAND menu under “Filipino On Demand” or “Premium Channels” and then “Filipino On Demand”, depending on market.

For more information about how to subscribe to TFC and Filipino On Demand on Cox, visit www.cox.com.

SEEN IN THE CITY

Moonstar Buffet Restaurant Donates To Haiti !

Daisy Li, Owner of Daly City’s Moonstar Buffet, in partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Archdiocese of San Francisco, announces “$20 for Haiti: Get Fed, Save Lives” – a one-day fundraising event to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti.

On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit just 10 miles west of Porte-au-Prince and its 2 million inhabitants. The human loss ranges between 50,000 to 200,000, exact number is still to be calculated and an estimate of 3 million people are in need of emergency aid.

Moonstar Buffet is generously donating 100% of one-day gross proceeds from buffet lunch and dinner toward Haiti ’s earthquake relief held last Wednesday, February 3, 2010. All diners that attended made a minimum donation $20 per person.

“The earthquake is a terrible tragedy that has such an impact on all of us,” says Daisy Li of Moonstar Buffet when asked about why she hosted the event. “Now is the time to give back and I am asking all my friends to join me.”

Joining Moonstar Buffet Restaurant, Catholic Relief Services, and the Archdiocese of San Francisco to host the event are California Board of Equalization Chair Betty Yee, California State Senator Dr. Leland Yee, California State Assembly Majority Whip Fiona Ma, Campbell Mayor Evan Low, Daly City Mayor Michael Guingona, Colma Mayor Diana Colvin, Colma Councilmember Joanne del Rosario, Daly City-Colma Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Georgette Sarles, Seton Hospital Director of Business Development Jim Comstock, and San Francisco Human Rights Commission Chair Cecilia Chung.

"The devastations that the people of Haiti experience are beyond words. It will take extraordinary efforts from all of us to help rebuild an entire city," says Assembly Majority Whip Fiona Ma, whose district includes most of Western San Francisco and the Northern edge of San Mateo County .

Moonstar is a woman-owned small business located at 383 Gellert Boulevard in Daly City , CA .

Lunch hours are 11:00AM – 3:00PM and dinner hours are 5:00PM – 9:00PM.

TO-BE-SEEN IN THE CITY

PBB Double Up To End Feb 13th

Speaking of TV shows, the Pinoy Big Brother Double Up (where 2 of its ex-housemates came from the US – Tom Mott of Arizona and Hermes E. Bautista of San Diego, CA) is on its final 2 weeks (season finale will be held on February 13th at the Ninoy Aquino Coliseum, not the Mall of Asia or MOA as initially thought). I saw last week's episode on YouTube where the lone female vying for the automatic Big 4 place, Melissa ‘Inday Cactus’ Cantiveros of General Santos City unexpectedly emerged as the winner, beating both strongmen Paul Jake Castillo of Cebu City and Steve ‘Tibo’ Jumalon of Butuan City. Last week’s primetime episode was a triumph of the station’s creative team, empowering the use of smart and fast editing techniques (its 24/7 live stream drags seemingly endlessly in comparison) and effective musical enhancements and sound effects. The episode showed summaries of the whole 11-hour physical endurance contest involving the 3 mentioned, initially standing on their 2 feet first in the middle of Bahay ni Kuya’s swimming pool and only on one foot towards the final moments. Paul Jake fell off first when he lost his balance and then Tibo quit after the 11th hour. Melissa then fell on her place, crying in disbelief (and she was the funniest one) and all the other housemates were shown crying with her, including her trainor, Jason Francisco, who guided her all throughout, shown reminding her of their 5 Points To Success (Number 1 – Focus…, etc). He was her ‘wind beneath her wings’, her trainor and trainor of her heart (according to her). Melissa’s physical endurance win already assured her a slot in the Big 4 winners’ circle (now changed to Big 5 according to Toni Gonzaga’s latest announcement).

I can’t wait for the season finale. My prediction – Melissa Cantiveros and Jason Francisco win both as double up Grand Winners while the rest of the C4 boys will be their runners-up (Paul Jake Castillo, Johan Santos & Tibo Jumalon). And my crystal ball also shows that they will soon reprise their song and dance numbers on ASAP-XV.

PERSONAL NOTES

Congratulations to the Filipino insurance agents bestowed individual Executive Council Awards by New York Life – Greater San Francisco Chapter last Saturday night at the Hilton Burlingame. They are, Milo Abadilla, Jocelyn P. Landicho, Lydia O. Patricio, Regina M. Bondoc, Emma G. Ferrer, Emma, Julius & John Magbitang and Grace P. Dirige, among others.

Quote of the Week – “Please, there is no comparison. Mayweather-Mosley is another level." – by Trainor Roger Mayweather and uncle of Floyd Mayweather, Jr, when asked to compare the Pacquiao-Clottey fight against the Mayweather-Mosley May 1st bout. According to Los Angeles Times, the Pacquiao-Clottey fight sold 20,000 tickets during its initial release on ticketmaster and is predicted to fill its giant Cowboys Stadium venue up to its 40,000 to 60,000 capacity.

This column also appears online athttp://sites.google.com/site/adkinsmmcevents/Home/ with readership in 52 countries, according to the latest Google Analytics report.

Do you have any personal or community events you want announced or published? Just email them to bradford_adkins@yahoo.com