VOL 39 NO 38 | SEPT 19 – SEPT 25, 2020

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VOL 39 NO 38 SEPTEMBER 19 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 FREE 38 YEARS YOUR VOICE

ACRS helps community through difficult times Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) has been a mainstay in South Seattle, assisting the local community with a variety of vital services since 1978. The pandemic has seen it shift its focus like many other organizations as they adjust to a new normal. The first concerns over the virus came with stories from China. “Since we heard the early stories about COVID-19 in China, we began to see immediate decline in sales in our local Asian restaurants and other businesses,” said ACRS Executive Director Michael Byun. “The impact was more acutely felt in places like our Chinatown-International District (CID) in Seattle. In the CID, businesses saw a drop in sales, ranging from 20% to 70%.” ACRS, which helps in promoting social justice and wellbeing within the Asian American community, has seen problems with the perceptions of the pandemic. “The decline in patrons to Asian businesses also parallels an increase overall across the country in terms of bias, harass-

Photo from ACRS

By Jason Cruz NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Meal prep for the ACRS food bank

ment, discrimination, and even violence against Asian Americans. And the situation is further aggravated when we hear leaders and influencers using terms like the ‘Wuhan Virus’ or the ‘Chinese Pandemic.’” A segment of the population ACRS assists are immigrants and refugees. “Part of our community is afraid to go out to take care of important activities, such as grocery shopping or attend a medical appointment. What’s most concerning is an overall sense of fear among our Asian American community.” Due to the quarantine and anti-Asian sentiment, it has

Bill Gates Sr. with wife Mimi Gardner Gates

resulted in more need for mental health service, states Byun. “Our mental health and recovery services have seen an increased request in mental health intake service,” Byun added, “For both adults and youth, the required Stay Home, Stay Healthy order means isolation and limited connection to others and the community.” The impact of the shutdown and isolation could have lasting effects on ACRS’ population. “This could especially be tough for adults and older adults who are limited English proficient or do not have strong digital

literacy. For our younger clients, who need to be with peers, social media alone does not replace the experience of physically being with friends. There is also the looming concern of how long this will last. A question for those with severe and persistent mental illness and those with other underlying physical health conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease, might have more difficulty coping during this time. For those in recovery, the chances of relapses have been higher.” Byun is concerned with the

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Keiro on track to empower and bring together communities of color

Photo from Outside Thinc

By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY A property that once provided shelter for Japanese American war veterans is likely to become the site of subsidized housing that could be owned by Black community organizations. After a long journey through multiple phases and owners, the now-shuttered Keiro Rehabilitation and Care Center is currently on its way to be sold to Africatown Community Land Trust, a consortium that promotes the return of dispossessed Blacks to the Central District, said K. Wyking Garrett, its president and CEO. “The developer halted their proposed development of 250plus market rate units and has agreed to divest from the property to make way for equitable development. We are

Photo provided by Mimi Gardner Gates

Bill Gates Sr., father of Microsoft co-founder, dies at 94

Liberty Bank Building ribbon cutting ceremony

working through the details of the transaction to acquire,” said Garrett, in an email. The sale ends the controversial acquisition of the property by Bellevue-based Shelter Holdings, which bought the property last year. Shelter Holdings purchased the prop-

erty for $11 million after Keiro ran into financial problems. Originally, Shelter Holdings had planned to tear down the skilled nursing and rehab center and construct a mixed-use building with apartments and retail outlets. But some opposition from the Japanese Amer-

ican community to the sale emerged, including community members writing letters to the attorney general asking about financial transparency. At the same time, it is not clear how recent fluctuations in the Seattle real estate market may have factored into Shelter’s decision to part with the property. As of press time, Shelter Holdings had not responded to questions for this article.

Proceeds used to sustain Nikkei Manor? Since the sale of the Keiro property, located at 1601 East Yesler Way, vocal members of the Japanese American community have hoped any proceeds would go to help the operations of Nikkei Manor, the still-operating assisted living community. But Keiro board

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By Ruth Bayang NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY SEATTLE — William H. Gates II, a lawyer and philanthropist best known as the father of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, has died at 94. Gates died peacefully on Sept. 14 at his beach home in Washington state from Alzheimer’s disease, surrounded by his family. “My dad’s wisdom, generosity, empathy, and humility had a huge influence on people around the world,” Bill Gates wrote in a tribute. Connie Proctor knew Gates Sr. for 42 years and considered him a mentor and friend. “My heart is heavy on learning of Bill’s passing. He held a special place in my heart,” she told the Northwest Asian Weekly. “I was privileged to know and work with Bill in many roles—as an associate and partner in our law firm, as a member of the Board of United Way of King County and for 12 years, we served together as Regents of the University of Washington.”

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ON THE SHELF

NWAW's must-reads

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PUBLISHER'S BLOG

Why Asians know Trump is a liar

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412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 • f. 206.223.0626 • editor@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com


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VOL 39 NO 38 | SEPT 19 – SEPT 25, 2020 by Northwest Asian Weekly - Issuu