Today is Civics Tuesday here at LAist, and we’re digging into visa backlogs disproportionately affecting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.
In Southern California, thousands of immigrant families are waiting to bring loved ones to the U.S. But a severe visa backlog has thrown applicants into limbo, forcing them to wait years… sometimes decades.
My colleague Josie Huang says calls are growing to revamp the visa system. She talked to Mina Manzano, a Filipino American who is the sole breadwinner of her family and who is taking care of her elderly father, a disabled husband and a son with a rare genetic disorder who can’t eat on his own.
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Manzano is trying to get her brother to emigrate to the U.S. from the Philippines to assist with care. But about 10 years later, she is still unable to bring him to the States. Read more about it here.
Have a great Tuesday, friends. There’s more news below - just keep reading.
(After you stop hitting snooze)
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Being an emo kid was not a phase for me. I’m a lifelong listener of sad, brooding songs from the early aughts. One of the first record labels I ever associated with the genre is Hopeless Records, and they are celebrating their 30-year anniversary with an exhibit right here in SoCal!
Some of its most well-known acts include Thrice, The Used, Circa Survive, Avenged Sevenfold and Yellowcard. The label was founded by Louis Posen when he was a film student at Cal State Northridge and started out representing punk, ska, metal bands — and later, alternative musicians more broadly.
If you want to see the exhibit, visit the Valley Relics Museum through Jan. 7. Plus, listen to the How To LA episode all about Hopeless Records here. And … I’ll be adding “create a new emo playlist” to my to-do this week!
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