Why does a new type of bounty-hunter have some San Diego residents up in arms? How's Bollywood box office this year? What new, and newsworthy role is the internet playing among overseas Chinese? Answers to these questions are hard to find in mainstream media outlets. Every two weeks New California Media, a network of ethnic media organizations, digests news and commentary from this rapidly growing segment of the news media.

BOUNTY HUNTERS PAID TO TARGET ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

The United States will pay civilian bounty hunters $5000 a head for capturing people who cross its border with Mexico illegally.

The program was outlined at a briefing by INS Commissioner Doris Meisner and Mexican Ambassador Jesus Reyes-Heroles last month in Washington DC. Herman Baca, president of the San Diego-based Committee on Chicano Rights, immediately denounced it as "idiotic and dangerous."

Baca warned the plan "deputizes every hillbilly, redneck and militia to hunt every Mexican-looking individual along the U.S. border." U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, he suggested, should read her department's own ruling banning the use of local police, sheriffs and civilians from carrying out the duties of the Border Patrol.

- La Prensa San Diego, San Diego, Calif.

BOLLYWOOD BIGGIES SINK FASTER THAN TITANIC

Hollywood's latest crop of flops (Godzilla and Armageddon, to name a few) has nothing on the disaster facing India's Bollywood -- the world's biggest producer of films, according to industry experts including Taran Adarsh, editor of "Trade Guide", the Bible of the Indian film industry. So far, 1998 has set a record for poor box office, with only one hit to date. Loosely scripted and poorly directed, relying too much on the initial draw of famous stars and songs, Bollywood biggies have sunk faster than the Titanic.

- India West, San Leandro, Calif.

VIETNAMESE PRESS SCOOPS MAINSTREAM MEDIA ON CNN STORY

Well before CNN retracted its story about the use of Sarin poison gas by U.S. Special Forces in Laos, Vietnamese newspapers in the San Jose, Calif. expressed doubts. A South Vietnamese captain who fought in Laos along with the American SOG (Study and Observation Group) cited in the CNN story told columnist Ha Nanh of Vietnam Newspaper that he knew nothing about use of the nerve gas. Ha Nanh also noted that Hanoi would have seized on the use of poison gas by the U.S. for propaganda purposes. But its museum of American crimes against humanity makes no claim that Sarin gas was used.

- Vietnam Newspaper, San Jose, Calif.

PUBLISH OR PERISH AT ASIAN UNIVERSITIES

The University of Tokyo is still Number One in AsiaWeek magazine's annual survey of Asia's centers of higher learning, followed closely by Japanese universities at Tohoku and Kyoto. But four Filipino universities dropped very far down on the list -- the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and the University of Santo Tomas. The dismal rankings reflect the fact that research output is now a survey criterion. Reynaldo Pena, director of the Commission on Higher Education Programs and Standards, said the Philippines lack financial resources to invest much in research.

- Manila Mail, San Francisco

OVERSEAS CHINESE WEBSITE A VOICE FOR INDONESIA'S ETHNIC CHINESE

"I am an Indonesian Chinese whose family are in possible dangers due to the riots." So begins a letter posted May 17 on the Huaren Worldwide Federation website -- one of hundreds of personal accounts of anti-ethnic Chinese violence reported on the site. Huaren (the word for Chinese diaspora) was set up early this year to give overseas Chinese a chance to monitor the Asian financial crisis. It switched focus in May to provide a voice to ethnic Chinese in Indonesia as anti-Chinese riots swept that country.

"People who received e-mail from relatives in Indonesia would post it on the web," said Edward Liu, a Bay Area lawyer and Huaren contributor. Rape victims could speak freely because the medium guaranteed anonymity and their stories helped draw attention from mainstream media reporters. "A lot of people in Indonesia found relief just knowing that people care," said Website founder W. W. Looi. "They had no idea there were so many people outside of Indonesia who were concerned about them."

- Huaren Web Site (http://www.huaren.org/)

NEW JERSEY -- NEWEST SETTING FOR INDIAN SOAP OPERAS

The first soap opera produced by Indians living in the United States for the television market in India is registering impressive ratings. The show, called Mausam (Seasons), deals with "interracial martial conflict, drama, humor, tragedy and love" among well-to-do NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) on America's East Coast. It airs on a network with a potential audience of 112 million in India. "They are sitting there (in India) and they want some insights to what life here is all about," says the show's producer Sundi Hali.

- India West, San Leandro, Calif.

KAISER PERMANENTE SUFFERS ILLS OF RACISM

African American nurses and other employees at Kaiser Permanante are talking privately about organizing a class action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination at the state's largest HMO. "You see it in some form every day. It's subtle or right in your face." said one black nurse.

A leading complaints is "red circling" -- demoting Licensed Vocational Nurses to medical assistants which slices their pay by nearly $4 an hour. Some also complain about being "floats" -- left in limbo about whether they will work and for how many hours.

Carter Gilmore, former member of the Oakland City Council and now an Oakland NAACP board member, says "We have received many complaints about Kaiser over the last few years (although) less this year than in the past." Some have been settled, including one involving a $150,000 settlement, Gilmore added.

Kaiser officials promised that they would investigate any such allegations. They also pointed out that staffing levels -- in California 48 percent of Kaiser's workforce are racial minorities and 32 percent of managers are minorities -- indicate there is no pattern of bias.

- Sun Reporter, San Francisco