PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA
VOL 37 NO 23 JUNE 2 – JUNE 8, 2018
FREE
36 YEARS YOUR VOICE
Hopes to open new location
Photo by Tiffany Ran
Asian Plaza site for sale
Family operated Phnom Penh Noodle House closes
Photo by John Liu
Darlene Ung (right) behind the counter
By Tiffany Ran NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY By Ruth Bayang NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Dennis Chin is putting his vision in the hands of another. The Asian Plaza Redevelopment (APR) president wanted to replace the current Asian Plaza with a new eight-story-tall redevelopment, with 240 units of mixed housing, a retail plaza anchored by a new Viet-Wah Supermarket, multiple restaurants, a business-class hotel, a community theater, an
Martin Pang to be released from prison
underground parking garage for approximately 600 vehicles, a childcare center, and a veterinary clinic. Wilce and Mitsi Shiomi originally bought the two-and-a-half acre site in the late 1940s. During World War II, they were detained under Executive Order 9066. The Shiomis ran Connors Furniture and Appliance Store for over 40 years. After their retirement, their daughter Sandra and her husband Dennis Chinn took over, converting it to Asian Plaza. see ASIAN PLAZA on 12
SHELF » 7
CHLOE KIM » 8
Darlene Ung arrives at Phnom Penh Noodles House in the morning to open the restaurant. She heads straight to the back bar, turns on the coffee maker, and makes sure the floors are swept and the tables are set. May 28 seemed like any other day in Phnom Penh Noodle House’s over 30-year history, but it was the restaurant’s last day.
JJ » 9
Sam Ung, who escaped the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, opened Phnom Penh Noodle House in Seattle’s International District (ID) in 1987, beginning at a smaller location on Maynard Avenue (space now occupied by the Northwest Asian Weekly) with the restaurant’s original seven dishes, still regarded as Phnom Penh’s top dishes today. The number one then is still see PHNOM PENH on 16
BLOG » 10
OP-ED » 11
Courtesy of Dept. of Corrections
Community members rally against Seattle police chief search Martin Pang
SEATTLE (AP) — Officials say a man who set a Seattle warehouse fire that killed four firefighters in 1995 is set to be released from prison in late September. Martin Pang, 62, was convicted of setting a fire in his parents’
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see PANG on 13
Interim police chief Carmen Best
SEATTLE (AP) — Community members — including one critic who helped vet candidates in the official search — rallied at Seattle city hall on May 29 after interim police chief Carmen Best was passed over for the permanent job. Community leader Frank Irigon said he was “shocked.” “The thing about bringing an ‘outsider’ is laughable,” said Irigion. “Our API community see SPD on 11
FINALISTS
Former Pittsburgh police chief Cameron McLay
Minneapolis Police Department deputy chief of patrol Eddie Frizell
Assistant chief Ely Reyes of the Austin Police Department in Texas
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