"This is not a hanging chad situation..."

Word on the street is that we should all be congratulating delegate-elect Ron Villanueva for (soon) becoming one of the first of two Asian lawmakers in Virginia's House of Delegates. Ron (R) and newly-elected Korean American Mark Keam (D) of the 35th District in NoVa will each represent areas that are nearly 10 percent Asian. Read more on lawyer activist Mark Keam of Vienna. http://bit.ly/2NejxW

The ODU/Green Run High grad and seven-year Beach city councilman Ron holds a 16-vote lead over Bobby Mathieson for the 21st District. Provisional and absentee ballots are still being tallied.

Because Va. Beach's voting system is electronic, the "likelihood of their being any discrepancies is close to nil," according to one of Tsismis' accountant friends and a former local politico himself.

An official recount cannot be requested until the vote is certified on Nov. 23.

Read more:

http://bit.ly/2NejxW http://bit.ly/fV7Zk

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Did you vote for Ron? Did you sleep last night?

Beach city councilman Ron Villanueva remains in political limbo this morning as his race to become the Commonwealth's delegate in the 21st district continues this morning. With a slight margin overopponent Bobby Mathieson, the two -- as we do -- await a re-count and absentee ballot tally. The exciting re-count comes after dogged campaigning, bitter television attacks and much, much community chatter on the effectiveness and outreach of Villanueva.

Background:

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/11/21st-house-district-race-too-close-call

Results

http://hamptonroads.com/newsdata/election/2009/results/race/house-of-delegates-21st-district

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Reflecting on MacArthur's Leyte Landing

Veterans and historians are gathering today for a commemoration of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's landing at Leyte (Tacloban, Palo, and Dulag) and what has become known as the Philippine liberation campaign on Oct. 20, 1944.

Full schedule:

9:30 a.m.: Opening ceremonies

10 a.m.: Book signings and authors' presentations:

Don Dencker, who landed with the 96th Division at Dulag, Leyte; Cecily Marshall, civilian internees of the Japanese; and Rod Hall, Juergen Goldhagen, and Hans Hoeflein, young boys who had lived in Manila during the Japanese occupation, will share their experiences.

12:15pm: Wreath-laying

2 p.m.: Film premiere of Peter Parsons’ "Unsurrendered: "The Story of the Philippine Guerrillas and Bolomen"

Read more about WWII's turning point of from archivist Jim Zobel at AltDaily.com and more from the Pilot

http://bit.ly/4BCy8b

And more on the World War II veterans who will be in attendance:

http://bit.ly/3J5V7v

And darnit, just go! Join Tsismis and family for the 2 p.m. premiere on the Philippine guerilla campaign:

http://www.macarthurmemorial.org/

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Ondoy relief efforts in Hampton Roads

It's a casual dinner and dance at the Philippine Cultural Center in Virginia Beach tonight to benefit victims of the Philippine typhoons. Bring some sunshine to those across the water with monetary donations beginning at 7 p.m.

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment.

Friday at the ODU Literary Festival...

Poet Jon Pineda will read from his latest collection,"The Translator's Diary" at 11 a.m. at the ODU's University Bookstore. His memoir, "Sleep in Me" will be published in 2010 by the University of Nebraska Press.

He'll be followed by Baguio-born poet Luisa Igloria at 2 p.m. reading selections from her latest, "Juan Luna's Revolver."

Sample them both:

www.jonpineda.com

www.luisaigloria.com

More on the 32nd annual fest - http://www.lib.odu.edu/litfest/32nd/

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It's Filipino American History Month. Events in the 757. Ondoy aid resources.

In recognition of Filipino American History Month http://bit.ly/1q8F8c, ODU Student Affairs has organized a panel of Filipino Americans to talk about how they negotiate cultural values within their professions and lifestyle. Panel includes:

- Anna Gerling, president of the Young Filipino Professionals of Hampton Roads

- Jay Sanchez, former producer of Fil-AM TV, chief videographer for WHRO

- Ron Villanueva, Virginia Beach city council member

- Veronica Salcedo, Va. Beach history teacher; president of the Filipino American National Historical Society, Hampton Roads

Panel will be from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight in Spong 213

For more information, call (757) 683-4406.

*********

More to do....

Offer aid to Ondoy victims

From Emer Lunasin

The Philippine Cultural Center will host a prayer service, dinner & dance for the typhoon victims from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. Tickets are $10. Please remember those who lost their lives and help those who need our support. You may purchase a ticket ahead of time at the PCC between noon and 6 PM.

For more way to give, click & scroll mid-way for monetary and in-kind donations: http://bit.ly/prKiC

If you're organizing a local relief effort, please share with Tsismis.

******

Attend MacArthur Memorial's Leyte Landing 65th anniversary celebration: http://bit.ly/PkBh3

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment.

Why wasn't Manila prepared? Planning a fundraiser or drive?

With nearly 250 reported dead, two million people affected and close to five billion pesos in damage to city infrastructure, neighborhoods, businesses and agriculture, the floodwaters in Metro Manila are subsiding while the clean-up continues and Red Cross and World Food Bank donations pour into the country.

If you want to aid Manila who experienced its worst flooding in forty years over the weekend, find resources to do so: http://bit.ly/prKiC

If you're planning a local fundraiser or drive, post it with Tsismis.

Wondering why Manila wasn't prepared?

Critics say the Philippine administration has been neglecting sanitation and sewage systems for years and that much of the sewage seen in video and still footage may have been part of the cause of the catastrophe. Read more: http://bit.ly/2BN9bX

Arroyo re-negs palace serving as evacuation center

President Arroyo is having a difficult time dealing with the response for help at the Malacang Palace, which she had declared as an evacuation center Monday. Find out how she responded to throngs of people in need. Read on: http://bit.ly/WeHWr

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Death toll for Typhoon Ondoy at 100; Arroyo opens palace as emergency center

As of Monday morning, nearly 100 people have been reported dead and more than 300,000 are without homes after Typhoon Ondoy left metro Manila nearly 80 percent flooded over the weekend. The provinces of Marikina and Pasig and the province of Rizal were hard-hit as well.

President Arroyo has opened the Malacanang Palace as an emergency center and the grounds will help accommodate victims from nearby areas.

If you are organizing a relief effort in Hampton Roads, report it here. Or report conditions from friends and family in Manila.

For full background on the epic flooding and how to help:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment.

Botolan - Zambales Association fundraising for flood victims in Botolan, Zambales

From Alice Garcia of Suffolk

Come out and support the flood Victims in Botolan, Zambales by joining us for dinner next Friday, September 25, at Phillippine Cultural Center in Virginia Beach. The cost is only $15 for a very worthy cause. See you there!

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment.

Save the date: Oct. 17 - Documentary premiere of the Philippine guerrillas of WW II

MacArthur Memorial is planning a celebration of the General's return to the Philippines along with the movie premiere of "Unsurrendered: 100 Voices – The Story of the Philippine Guerrillas and Bolomen" which documents the Philippine resistance during the Japanese occupation of World War II.  Tday-long commemoration will be Saturday, Oct. 17 at  the plaza of MacArthur Memorial in downtown Norfolk.

Movie seating is limited, so make your reservations early by contacting 441-2965 or james.zobel@norfolk.gov.

Norfolk, VA – When General Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines for Australia in March 1942, he promised to return. On October 20, 1944 – some two and a half years later – he finally was able to fulfill this pledge when he waded ashore at Palo Beach, Leyte. With more than 200,000 American ground troops, more than 700 American and Australian ships, and 3,000 American and Filipino guerrillas, the liberation of the Philippines from Japanese occupation began.

The MacArthur Memorial will mark the 65^th Anniversary of the Leyte Landings and Liberation of the Philippines on Saturday October 17, 2009, with a day-long program to include presentations by historians and veterans of the Philippine Campaign, a wreath-laying and remembrance ceremony at the tomb of General MacArthur, and the premiere of a new documentary about the thousands of Filipino guerrillas who played an active part in the fight against the Japanese in the Philippines.

Authors scheduled to speak are all veterans of the war in the Philippines.  Juergen Goldhagen, Hans Hoeflin, and Rod Hall grew up in Japanese Occupied Manila.  Cecily Mattocks Marshall was a civilian internee of the Japanese as a young girl and lived in camps on the island of Mindanao and Manila’s Santo Tomas.  Don Dencker served with the 96th Infantry Division and landed on the island of Leyte, 20 October 1944. This portion of the program will begin at 9:30 a.m., to be followed at 12:15 pm by a wreath laying and remembrance ceremony. The Tidewater Pipes and Drums will be on hand to play at the ceremony and afterward.  At 2:00 pm will be the premiere of the Peter Parsons documentary about the guerrilla war in the Philippines during World War II, Unsurrendered: 100 Voices – The Story of the Philippine Guerrillas and Bolomen.  This will be the second time a Peter Parsons film has premiered at the MacArthur Memorial Theater.

Sadly, this celebration will likely be the last large gathering of World War II veterans, civilian internees and other participants in the story of the Second World War in the Philippines at the MacArthur Memorial. Many of the veterans have indicated that they will be available for interviews.

The program is free of charge and open to the public.  The wreath laying is open to all, but space is limited for the morning and afternoon programs so advance reservations are required. To reserve a seat please contact MacArthur Memorial Archivist James Zobel at (757) 441-2965 or james.zobel@norfolk.gov.

MacArthur Memorial

The MacArthur Memorial is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is closed New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Admission is free. Call 757-441-2965 or log onto www.macarthurmemorial.org for more information.

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