California inasequible: Tom Steyer habla sobre políticas de vivienda, salud e inmigración
Tom Steyer. Foto: Gage Skidmore   El candidato demócrata a la gubernatura de California, Tom Steyer, afirmó que los votantes del estado enfrentan una elección entre los “intereses corporativos” y un cambio estructural profundo durante una entrevi...
It’s costing California more than expected to provide immigrant health care. Is coverage at risk?
California is spending more than it expected on Medi-Cal and Republican lawmakers are pointing to coverage expansions that benefited immigrant households.   The California health care program that covers almost 15 million people is costing more m...
Steve Hilton presenta una visión conservadora para California en foro de medios étnicos
Steve Hilton. Foto: Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)   El candidato republicano a la gubernatura de California, Steve Hilton, presentó una visión conservadora para el estado durante un foro virtual organizado por American Community Media, argumentand...
I judged Gavin Newsom’s podcast before listening. Then I realized I was part of the problem
The California governor’s new podcast, where he broke with Democrats on trans rights, triggered a media firestorm and evoked a variety of opinions from Californians.   When I saw the headlines about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new podcast, “This is Gavi...
Perspectivas y Experiencias de los Latinos sobre el Idioma Español
Si bien la mayoría de los latinos en EE.UU. hablan español, no todos lo hacen. El 24 por ciento de todos los adultos latinos dicen que solo pueden mantener un poco o nada una conversación en español.   Más de la mitad de los latinos en EE.UU. que...

Viajes / Travel

Escaping to a luxury heritage villa in small town Europe

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30 June 2013 Darren Ballegeer Print Email
Villa Tripalo is referred to as a ‘luxury heritage villa’ by Orvas Hotels

Luxury is its own escape, whether it is the simple luxury of being in a tranquil place or the five-star kind that soothes senses and indulges pleasures. A recent visit to a luxury heritage villa in Sinj, Croatia was an experience in both kinds of luxury.

Sinj is a pretty and tranquil place of escape from the larger, more crowded, and more commercialized tourist centers of wonderful Croatia (See our article about Sinj here).

TouristLand vs. Hinterland: Experiencing small-town Croatia

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18 May 2013 Darren Ballegeer Print Email
The town of Sinj in central Croatia is a prime example of how tourists are rewarded for traveling ‘out of the box’.
 
Breaking from your travel habits is always rewarding, especially when you go against the crowd. Avoiding tourist crowds, though, is not a goal of most tourists, who choose to visit the familiar, recommended, or most popular places. They are often looking for certain comforts and attractions instead of thinking about the overall experience. People generally know that the most popular travel destinations are neither the most authentic nor the best value for their tourist money.

Dubrovnik: A traveler’s jewelry box delivered with Croatian hospitality

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16 April 2013 Darren Ballegeer Print Email

View of Dubrovnik from the ancient wall.

Arriving to the postcard city of Dubrovnik a few weeks ago, I saw a calm, tranquil community that was still enjoying a rest before the tourist crowds start arriving for another season of urban archaeological explorations and food/wine recreation, all served with old-world hospitality of a most gracious flavor. The hospitality of the Croatian people is exceptional, even by European standards.

Ancient bath therapy reborn

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07 February 2013 Darren Ballegeer Print Email

Photos of Hammam Baths, Athens. Photo: Courtesy of TripAdvisor

A healing and history lesson at a modern bath house --- 

Most tourists and locals in Athens, Greece discover the Hammam Baths by chance – only a relatively small (but growing) number of people are aware of hamam, either in word or concept. It is not something that people search for, but it should be.

A hamam combines the functionality and structural elements of the Roman baths with the Central Asian Turkic tradition of steam bathing, ritual cleansing and respect of water. Hamam is also known as a Turkish bath, and naturally so –