VOL 41 NO 2 | JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

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VOL 41 NO 2 JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

FREE 40 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Kendee Yamaguchi named Seattle Deputy Mayor More AAPIs join Harrell administration local businesses.

“Over the past several months, I have heard—in transition meetings and on the street, with city leaders and with everyday neighbors—calls for a representative and responsive City government. My executive team and cabinet are being built with that priority front of mind,” said Harrell.

Yamaguchi will help support the City’s COVID response, direct the mayor’s external relations team, and coordinate mayoral priorities around see HARRELL on 12

Screencap from King5 YouTube

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell was sworn-in on Jan. 4, and joined by members of his executive team.

A week prior, Harrell announced the latest round of hires joining his administration’s cabinet.

Kendee Yamaguchi will serve as deputy mayor of external affairs.

Yamaguchi, a former City employee who currently serves as executive director for Snohomish County, will be tasked with fostering strong and collaborative relationships between the City of Seattle and community groups, nonprofit organizations, and

Bruce Harrell sworn-in on Jan. 4

New owners of Young’s Restaurant promise continuity

By Kai Curry NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Photo courtesy of Janice Young

“The foundational story of the restaurant is—one, they’ll never go hungry again. And two, they can employ their family when they come.”

So explained Janice Young, daughter of Van and Ella Young, who in 1982 opened Young’s Restaurant in White Center. The Youngs worked tirelessly to make their American Dream a reality— and now, after 39 years, it is time to hand over the torch to new owners.

With their son Bobby, and his wife, see YOUNG on 11 The Youngs received an outpouring of appreciation for their 39 years of business.

THE INSIDE STORY COMMUNITY NEWS New AAPI and Black officials to bridge divide  3 PUBLISHER’S BLOG 2021 awards for the best and worst 5 COMMUNITY NEWS Southend Tiny House Village 6 EDITORIAL Jenny Durkan’s legacy 8

Asia Pacific Cultural Center (APCC) announced that it will return to an inperson event for its 24th Annual Asia Pacific New Year Celebration, featuring China.

This is APCC’s largest annual event, and the first time it will host a live, in-person event since the start of the pandemic, to celebrate Lunar New Year and the Year of the Tiger.

Guests will see demonstrations from China, as well as Guam, Philippines, Fiji,

■

Vietnam, Korea, Thailand, Samoa, Japan, and many other countries. Everyone who attends this day-long event will experience folk music and dances, exciting martial arts, delicious food, and many other wonderful cultural demonstrations.

Attendees can visit many resource booths, cultural displays, food booths, and a variety of vendor tables. It is a FREE family-friendly event for all ages. see APCC on 11

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

Photo from APCC

APCC live event returning

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asianweekly northwest

40 YEARS

JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

■ NAMES IN THE NEWS Tsao is Kin On’s new board president

Kin On announced on Jan. 3 that Sherwin Tsao is its new board president.

Also joining the board is Konnie Kong, who will serve as the co-chair of the Fund Development Committee.

“We are grateful to the tremendous energy and leadership provided by the Board,” said Min Chang, Kin On CEO. “We deeply Sherwin Tsao appreciate their continued support and service to Kin On and the elders in our community.”

Tsao has been serving on the Kin On Board since 2016. He is a business program manager at Microsoft managing data-center initiatives. He also served as the advisor and president for the National Association of Asian American Professionals Seattle Chapter. 

“Polar Preet” makes history

“It was tough getting here and I want to thank everybody for their support,” she posted on Instagram.

The British-born Indian Sikh Army officer and physiotherapist also said, “This expedition was always about so much more than me. I want to encourage people to push their boundaries and to believe in themselves, and I want you to be able to do it without being labeled a rebel.”

To read more about her expedition, go to polarpreet.com. 

Sam Mararac remembered

A memorial service was held on Dec. 21 for Samantha “Sam” Mararac, a resident services coordinator for Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda). She was killed on her way home from a concert when the vehicle she was riding in was hit by a drunk driver.

Samantha Mararac Mararac had been with SCIDpda since May 2021 and was instrumental in getting the Resident Services program off the ground, the first of its kind at SCIDpda.

If you’d like to help her family, you may donate at gofundme.com/f/help-the-mararac-and-senon-family. 

a 14½-inch companion doll of Corinne’s little sister, Gwynn.

“As we celebrate the new year, we’re excited to welcome Corinne and Gwynn Tan to our popular Girl of the Year lineup with meaningful stories that reflect what it means to be an American girl today,” Jamie Cygielman, general manager of American Girl, said in a press release. 

Swearings in of AAPI leaders

Mike Fong was sworn-in in the early morning hours of Jan. 5, as Region 10 Ad m i n ist rator for the Small Business Administ ration, serving resiMike Fong dents and small businesses of Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon.

American Girl’s 2022 Girl of the Year is Asian

Preet Chandi, 32, made history on Jan. 4 becoming the first woman of color to complete a solo expedition in Antarctica. She completed the 700-mile journey in 40 days.

American Girl revealed the company’s 2022 Girl of the Year doll on Dec. 30. Corinne Tan is a young girl living with her Chinese American family in Aspen, Colorado. She loves hitting the slopes, being a big sister, and training her new puppy to be a search-and-rescue dog.

And for the first time in the history of American Girl’s Girl of the Year lineup, the doll brand also introduced

Tana Lin

Also last month, civil rights attorney Tana Lin was sworn-in as the first Asian American federal judge in Washington state. 

JOIN US IN CELEBRATING OUR COMMUNITIES FOR A NIGHT OF SHARING AND LEARNING

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022 5–6 P.M. To participate in the conference, you need to register online at:

YOUR VOICE

■ COMMUNITY NEWS

JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

asianweekly northwest

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New AAPI and Black officials to bridge divide

By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY As a wave of newly elected and appointed officials from minority communities reaches to all corners of the state, leaders of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and Black communities are building alliances.

Partly inspired by the election of Bruce Harrell as Seattle mayor and by a successful event last month celebrating his heritage from both communities, the leaders are organizing several events to build solidarity between the two groups.

“The fact that we have the first ever Black and Asian American mayor provides us the perfect opportunity for these two communities to work jointly as never before,” said Nate Miles, a longtime community leader and executive at Eli Lilly.

Organizers are planning a virtual celebration on Jan. 13, entitled “Unity of Voices,” for the more than 80 newlyinstalled AAPI and Black officials. It will be followed in the spring by an in-person conclave during which the officials can further build relationships and roust out a set of shared issues of mutual interest they can work on.

Still, planning for the Jan. 13 celebration has already served to build ties between the two groups.

“Some of the other organizers I already know,” said Henry Yates, a consultant who represents minority- and women-owned businesses. “Some I’ve gotten to know. But I have gotten to the point where I wouldn’t hesitate to reach out for help, and I know this attitude is mutual because I’ve already been called for help.”

This kind of relationship building is what organizers hope will come of the conferences.

Yates noted that many of the new officials were in far-flung regions, or areas where one might not typically expect minority candidates to prevail, given demographic disparities.

The mayor of Mountlake Terrace, Kyoko Matsumoto Wright, is an Asian American woman. There are three new Black city councilmembers in Olympia and Tumwater—Dontae Payne, Angela Jefferson, and Peter Agabi—not to mention AAPI councilmember Yen Huynh. And the South Snohomish fire chief, David Chan, emigrated from Hong Kong over four decades ago.

“The Asian and African American leadership has expanded to all these

places,” he said.

The virtual celebration is also meant to show support for Harrell while building solidarity as minority officials and their communities seek to partner with him as he embarks on governing.

“We want him to be a mayor for all people,” said David Della, a longtime leader of the Filipino community and labor activist. “It’s a two-way street.”

Della said the event is intended to build off the celebratory energy of a large, raucous dinner last month in which more than 400 people showed up from many of the minority communities in the city to fete and honor Harrell, who danced and hectored the crowd as he was greeted with loud and repeated applause and cheers.

The dinner also represented a coming together of disparate groups to commemorate what they said was a milestone election.

Della, for instance, made sure the Filipino community was represented, filling seven tables.

The emergence of so many new officials from these communities, however, did not come about from racial politics, said Yates.

“These individuals were called to leadership,” he said. “They were not representing themselves in a racial way.”

Still, he said that their presence was also to some extent a reaction on the part of voters and administrators to the social upheavals and activism of recent times— including Black Lives Matter and antiAAPI hate.

“There is some recognition that some of these communities are disadvantaged, that there are people who are trying to deny these communities their basic rights, and folks see this and say, ‘Isn’t it time that these communities are represented as a way to level the playing field,’” said Yates.

He said that 21-year-old Joshua Binda, who was elected to the Lynnwood City Council, identified himself as a Black Lives Matter activist.

At the same time, Clarence Moriwaki, who was elected mayor in Bainbridge Island, had created a memorial there to commemorate the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. “His family was impacted by the event,” said Yates. “Now he’ll be making policy for the community.”

The emergence of new officials from both communities is also owing to the strides made by their predecessors, said organizers. see UNITY OF VOICES on 11

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40 YEARS

JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR JAN 6

CLUB MEETING WITH RACHELL WONG, DISCUSS THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HISTORICAL AND MODERN VIOLIN PERFORMANCE 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

For Zoom meeting link, contact at rotaryofseattleid@ gmail.com

13

16

UNITY IN VOICES— BRIDGING THE GAP, A RECEPTION TO HONOR NEWLY ELECTED BLACK AND ASIAN ELECTED OFFICIALS 5-6 p.m.

Via Zoom Register at https://bit. ly/3z4524G Meeting ID: 984 1825 8953 Passcode: nwasian nwasianweekly.com/ events

“UNITED BY CHALLENGES,” U.S.JAPAN FRIENDSHIP COMING OF AGE CELEBRATION Bellevue College and Zoom 1-3 p.m.

RSVP required seijinusa.org/seijinregistration seijinusa.org

■ WORLD NEWS

MINH CARRICO WAS LOST AND NOW HAS BEEN FOUND, “CALL ME BUDDY” 2-3 p.m.

Via Zoom Zoom Meeting ID: 716 4280 1111 Passcode: 23x40X minhcarrico.com NOW THROUGH JAN. 30, 2022

FEB

NOW THROUGH JAN 31, 2022

PAPER DIALOGUES: THE DRAGON AND OUR STORIES National Nordic Museum, 2655 NW Market St., Seattle For hours, please check online at nordicmuseum.org

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MINH CARRICO WAS LOST AND NOW HAS BEEN FOUND, “KINGS TO KING” 2-3 p.m.

Via Zoom Zoom Meeting ID: 716 4280 1111 Passcode: 23x40X minhcarrico.com

WILDLANTERNS Woodland Park Zoo, 5500 Phinney Ave N, Seattle 4-8:30 p.m. zoo.org/wildlanterns

■ NATIONAL NEWS

In locked down Chinese ‘Our time now’: 1st Cambodian American city, some complain mayor in US sworn in food hard to get

By KEN MORITSUGU BEIJING (AP) — Residents of the Chinese city of Xi’an are enduring a strict coronavirus lockdown, with business owners suffering yet more closures and some people complaining of difficulties finding food, despite assurances from authorities that they are able to provide necessities for the 13 million people largely confined to their homes.

Stringent measures to stem outbreaks are common in China, which still maintains a policy of stamping out every COVID-19 case long after many other countries have opted to try to live with the virus. But the lockdown imposed Dec. 23 in Xi’an is one of the harshest in the country since a shutdown in 2020 in and around Wuhan, after the coronavirus

was first detected there.

On Jan 4, authorities announced that another city, Yuzhou in Henan province, was placed under lockdown over the weekend after the discovery of just three asymptomatic cases.

The Chinese have largely complied with the tough measures throughout the pandemic, but complaints have cropped up over tough policies, despite the risk of retaliation from Communist authorities.

The Xi’an lockdown, however, comes at a particularly sensitive time, as China prepares to hold the Beijing Winter Olympics, which open Feb. 4, and therefore is under especially intense pressure to contain this outbreak.

“Can’t leave the building, and it’s see BEIJING on 10

By PHILIP MARCELO ASSOCIATED PRESS BOSTON (AP) — He came to the U.S. as a young refugee, having survived Khmer Rouge’s brutal rule. Now, Sokhary Chau is the nation’s first Cambodian American mayor.

The 49-year-old city councilor in Lowell, Massachusetts, was unanimously picked by his colleagues to assume the body’s top post on Jan. 3, in the process also becoming the city’s first Asian American mayor.

“God bless America, right? I was a refugee, now I’m mayor of a major city in Massachusetts,” Chau said hours after he was officially sworn in. “I don’t know if that could happen anywhere else in the world. I’m still trying to

absorb it.”

Chau, in his inaugural remarks, reflected on his family’s perilous escape from Cambodia and the deep immigrant roots in Lowell, about about 30 miles north of Boston near the New Hampshire line. It was an early center of America’s textile industry, drawing waves of European and Latin American immigrants over generations.

Today, the city of more than 115,000 residents is nearly 25% Asian and home to the nation’s second-largest Cambodian community.

“As a proud Cambodian American, I am standing on the shoulders of many immigrants who came before me to build this city,“ Chau said before a see CHAU on 8

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YOUR VOICE

■ PUBLISHER’S BLOG

JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

asianweekly northwest

5

2021 for the best awards worst The frontline CEO award

Never in the last four decades have I seen the most destructive city council member in my publishing career.

Kshama Sawant led protests against the city and former Mayor Jenny Durkan in front of her home. She encouraged protests of all kinds. She told people to go to CHOP and opened the City Hall’s entrance for protesters during COVID. Yet, she got away with all her bad actions, including the recall campaign for her removal.

The most sneaky award

Andrew Lewis

Seattle City Council member Andrew Lewis sneaked in a bill “to extend council power over the city attorney’s office.”

The bill got passed before City Attorney Ann Davison began her term in of-

fice.

Going behind someone’s back under the guise to create more transparency was a sneaky and misogynistic move.

Extreme weather Photo by Assunta Ng

The championship award

descent, is the first person of color to serve as Secretary of State in Washington state.

He was surprised that he got picked.

Nora Chan, Benjamin Lee, and David Leong had organized two Welcome Back events in Chinatown-International District. Those two different events brought back lots of families and visitors to the neighborhood.

Savvy political fundraisers

Welcome back organizers award Tony Au and City Attorney Ann Davison, who was campaigning in CID.

Uwajimaya CEO Denise Moriguchi bagged groceries on Dec. 31 when the store was packed with lines of customers. What an example she made!

This was not the first time she worked with her hands at the store as she had grown up with the family business. So did other Moriguchi family members.

Lorena Gonzalez ran for mayor, but got beaten badly even with over $900,000 in donations from the unions, and misleading attack adLorena Gonzalez vertisements about Bruce Harrell.

But voters were much smarter, and saw through the fake messages.

Nicole ThomasKennedy

Nikkita Oliver

City Attorney candidate Nicole Thomas-Kennedy and Seattle City Council candidate Nikkita Oliver were promoted heavily by progressives during the election. Although they both won big in the primary election, they lost quite a chunk of votes in the general election.

Unexpected winner award Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Steve Hobbs to be the new Secretary of State last November. out of six candidates.

A former senator, Hobbs of Japanese

Tony Au single-handedly organized as many as eight fundraising events for several candidates, including Dow Constantine, Bruce Harrell, Toshiko Hasegawa, Jimmy Matta, Ann Davison, see BLOG on 12

Nora Chan at the CID Welcome Back event

Weekly Specials

The biggest loser

Unexpected losers

Rarely does Seattle see a snowstorm twice in a year. 2021 gave Seattle two big snowstorms in February and December.

Climate change has impacted Seattle with double snowstorms and extreme summer heat with temperatures as high as 106º.

WA Secretary of State office

Bruce Harrell, of Japanese and African descent, won his election as the first Asian American and second Black mayor in 152 years of Seattle history.

He beat all 14 candidates and won big eventually with 59% of the votes.

Photo by Assunta Ng

Photo by Assunta Ng

The evil award

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40 YEARS

JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

■ COMMUNITY NEWS

Photos from Alaa Hasan

Southend Tiny House Village: Helping the unsheltered move to safe, warm, dry Tiny Homes

Tiny Houses at LUV Village in South Lake Union

By Alaa Hasan LOW INCOME HOUSING INSTITUTE VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS MANAGER After the recent snow storms, it’s impossible to ignore the thought of hundreds of people trying to survive through the freezing nights. Soon, a new resource will be available to the Rainier Beach area to serve people who face this situation nightly. Truevine of Holiness Missionary Baptist Church, the Refugee Women’s Alliance of Washington (ReWA), and the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) will develop the Southend Tiny House Village to provide shelter, safety, and community to individuals, couples, and families experiencing homelessness.

Tiny house villages are a sustainable and rapid solution to ensure we do not lose another displaced member of the community to the extremities of nature.

“LIHI is excited to work with Pastor Lawrence Willis of Truevine of Missionary Holiness Church to develop a new Tiny House Village in the Rainier Beach Community. There is an urgent, unmet need for emergency shelter in the BIPOC, immigrant, and refugee communities in Rainier Beach,” said Sharon Lee, executive director of LIHI. “Our partner will be Mahnaz Eshutu,

Tiny Houses at True Hope Hope Village on 18th & Yesler

the executive director of ReWA, whose agency will provide culturally relevant wrap-around case management services to our villagers.”

We are committed to working with our neighbors and organizations to reduce the number of unhoused individuals, provide a safe harbor, and a hopeful future. LIHI hosted a meeting to discuss this opportunity. Truevine of Holiness Missionary Baptist Church and LIHI listened to the feedback given by the Rainier Beach Action Coalition, the African Community Housing & Development, and other communitybased groups.

“I am distressed by the number of people I see sleeping in doorways, parks, and in their vehicles during this freezing weather here in Rainier Beach,” said Willis. “Southend Village will be a critical resource in our community in getting our unsheltered neighbors inside, warm, and safe, and on a path to permanent housing.

By working together, teamwork will make the dream work.”

As an essential community that individualizes each experience, the tiny house village program is an enhanced shelter model that provides one bedroom spaces for individuals, couples, and people with pets, and multi-home accommodations for families. Each

Houses being built by Sound Foundations NW and LIHI volunteers will be moved to Southend Village.

village comprises approximately 40 homes with locking doors to ease anxiety, laundry facilities, hygiene services, community space, and 24/7 staffing including onsite case management. Unsheltered persons lose a lot of what they own, including their IDs and/ or important documentation. ReWA case managers will work directly with clients, who are bound to a Code of Conduct, to connect them to resources and provide the

support they need to obtain a new ID, ensure a stable monthly income through benefits or employment, and help people transition into permanent housing. The Code of Conduct requires them to become an active participant in the community.

LIHI and Truevine of Holiness Missionary Baptist Church will provide see LIHI on 9

JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

YOUR VOICE

■ FOOD

asianweekly northwest

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Rice pizza, noodle ices: Food shows Japan’s punk rock soul YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Countries’ foods are also windows on their souls.

Take hamburgers. Handheld, quick to assemble and wolf down, they embody a quintessentially American idea that founding father Benjamin Franklin put to paper in 1748 and which still powers the ambitious on Wall Street and beyond. “Remember,” Franklin wrote, “that time is money.“ In China, food is so omnipresent in the national psyche that people greet each other with the phrase “chi fan le ma?”—have you eaten? And French food snobbery prompted the famously omnivorous President Jacques Chirac to once quip unkindly of the British that: “One cannot trust people whose cuisine is so bad.”

Which leads us to the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama, Japan.

Yes, there is such a place.

And, yes, instant noodles have plenty to say about Japanese traits of inventiveness, risktaking and an openness to adapting and upgrading foreign influences that helped Japan recover after World War II to become an economic, cultural— and gastronomic—titan.

Some of those same traits have also helped Japan pull off the improbable feat—or folly, the jury is out—of hosting the Olympic Games in the midst of the pandemic. Allowing 11,000 athletes to come from around the world, some bringing the coronavirus with them, testified to Japanese resilience, hospitality and flexibility.

AP Photo/John Leicester

By JOHN LEICESTER ASSOCIATED PRESS

A Cup Noodle ice cream, made with the powdered soup of Cup Noodle and topped with freeze-fried shrimp, onions, egg and meat, is prepared to be eaten at the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama, Japan. Sold only at the Yokohama museum, the ice cream embodies a spirit of adventure in Japanese foods.

Now back to ramen, with— excuse the pun—a potted history.

The Japanese cribbed noodles from neighbor China, where they are called “lamian.” Over the years, Japanese chefs elevated ramen into an art, a tastebud-blowing spectrum of flavors, textures and choices.

In short, Japan absorbed a foreign influence and improved on it. The same would later be true with automobiles, gadgetry and—for fans of “Demon Slayer,” “One Piece” and other mangas—cartoons, to name just those few.

Back to noodles, though.

Horrified by food shortages that ravaged post-war Japan, impoverished former credit union worker Momofuku Ando hit upon the idea of turning surplus American wheat into

ramen that hungry people could prepare with just hot water and a few minutes.

Ando’s eureka moment came while watching his wife deepfry tempura. That gave birth to the idea of flash-frying noodles to dehydrate them. Ando’s first instant noodles were launched in 1958.

Cup Noodles followed in 1971. The brainchild for that idea came on a fact-finding trip that Ando made to the United States in 1966, when he saw consumers of his instant noodles rehydrate and eat them from paper cups.

This according to Nissin Foods, the company Ando founded.

Worldwide cumulative sales of Cup Noodles surpassed the 40-billion mark in 2016.

Ando died in 2007, at age 96.

But his inventive spirit lives in what must rank as one of the

world’s most unique flavor experiences: the Cup Noodle ice cream.

Served only at the Cup Noodles Museum, in its fourth floor cafeteria, it’s made with the same powdered soup and freezedried toppings—onion, shrimp, chunks of egg and meat—used in actual Cup Noodles.

Museum visitor Noriyuki Sato, who tried it, described it as “salty-sweet,” neither here nor there. “I’m not sure if that word makes sense to foreigners,” he said. “It’s not sweet and it’s not salty, either.”

But it is a monument to thinking out of the box and to a Japanese knack for fusing together seemingly incompatible things to make wholly new ones. It’s hard to imagine an Italian gelato maker veering so audaciously off the beaten track.

Nissin Foods spokesperson Kahara Suzuki says the ice cream—having tasted it, one hesitates to call it a dessert— embodies “what I would call a punk rock spirit that many Japanese people have.”

“Who would ever come up with an idea like this? I mean it’s very unique,” Suzuki said. “You can see that punk rock spirit in every aspect of Japanese life.”

Certainly on Japanese plates.

A few other examples include fruit sandwiches sold in corner stores and popular rice burgers.

Since May, they and their likes have been joined by rice pizzas—developed by Sachie Oyama, an innovation chef and manager of the Menu Innovation Department at Domino’s Pizza Japan Inc. The Domino’s Deluxe version is, in effect, a pizza built on a base layer of compressed, precooked Japanese-cultivated white rice, instead of a usual base of pizza dough. The rice base is then smothered with rich tomato sauce and topped with traditional pizza ingredients: mozzarella cheese, onions, peppers, pepperoni and Italian sausage. Domino’s sells the product line only in Japan.

Oyama calls it “a pizza you can eat by yourself,” rather than sharing slices.

“Japanese people are good at rearranging things,“ she said. “A combination with pizza and rice is not a weird thing at all.”

Perhaps not. But foods like that do help explain why Japan seems to never stand still. After all, there are always new tastes to invent. 

Curry powder shortcuts savory beef skewers

By CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL’S MILK STREET Across Southeast Asia, sidewalk hawkers offer sizzling meat skewers bathed in the smoky aroma of smoldering wood coals and a seemingly endless combination of savory sauces.

In Thailand, they might be pork slathered in coconut cream, or in Singapore, they could be charred chicken smothered in spicy peanut sauce.

For this recipe from our book “COOKish,” which limits recipes to just six ingredients without sacrificing flavor, we decided to highlight the lesser-known but still familiar flavors of Myanmar.

In that country, tucked between India and Thailand, beef skewers commonly are marinated then basted in a tasty slurry that features turmeric, fish sauce, garlic and ginger, among other seasonings.

In the marinade, we use curry powder for a spice-cabinet shortcut as well as lime zest to brighten the sauce. Grated fresh ginger and garlic add plenty of kick, too.

If you like, trim the ends off two medium shallots, then peel and halve them lengthwise; before cooking, cap each beef skewer with a shallot. Broiling will char the shallots’ outer layers and the interiors will be sweet and tender, a nice complement to the beef.

Serve with fragrant basmati or jasmine rice. 

GARLIC-GINGER BEEF SKEWERS Start to finish: 30 minutes Servings: 4 • 1/4 cup neutral oil • 2 tablespoons fish sauce • 11/2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger • 8 medium garlic cloves, finely grated • 11/2 teaspoons curry powder • Grated zest of 1 lime, plus lime wedges to serve • Ground black pepper

the halved shallots to the ends, if using, then arrange the skewers on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil until charred on both sides, 6 to 10 minutes, flipping once. Brush the skewers with the remaining seasoning paste, then let stand for 10 minutes.

Serve with lime wedges.

1. 11/2 pounds beef flat iron steak OR boneless short ribs, trimmed and sliced against the grain into 1/2-inchthick strips 2. Heat the broiler with a rack 4 inches from the element. Stir together the oil, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, curry powder, lime zest and a pinch of pepper. In a medium bowl, toss the steak with half the seasoning paste. Scrunch the meat onto metal skewers, adding

Optional garnishes: Fried shallots OR hot sauce OR chopped roasted peanuts OR Fresno or jalapeno chilies, stemmed and chopped.  For more recipes, go to Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street at 177milkstreet.com/ap.

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asianweekly northwest

40 YEARS

JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

■ EDITORIAL Jenny Durkan’s Jenny Durkan has left City Hall… and a legacy of being in charge during an unprecedented time.

While we didn’t agree 100% with all the decisions she made, we applaud her for her swift action in dealing with what would become a global pandemic.

When people avoided the ChinatownInternational District (CID) in droves from the misguided fear that Asians caused the spread of the coronavirus in the beginning of 2020, it was Jenny Durkan who brought her staff to CID restaurants to dine, a show of confidence that CID establishments were safe. And she paid for those dining experiences out of her own pocket, not with City money. Durkan encouraged other city leaders to also patronize CID businesses.

It was in March 2020 that Durkan issued a proclamation of civil emergency to help the city respond to the outbreak— giving her special authority to address the threat to public health and safety. With that power, Durkan was able to bypass regulations and steps usually required for city spending, contracting, borrowing, and temporary hiring. And she had the power to close city facilities and cancel events to prevent the spread of the virus.

It was this decisive show of leadership that put Seattle at the forefront of the pandemic. Though the outbreak began in our state and our city had, at first, more coronavirus deaths than anywhere else in the United States—a year later, the Seattle

CHAU from 4

Sokhary Chau

crowd that included his wife and two teenage sons.

Chau recounted how his father, a captain in the Cambodian army, was executed by the communist Khmer Rouge in 1975 during the civil war.

His mother, who died late last year, managed to keep her seven children alive for four years, surviving “landmines, jungles, hunger, sickness and uncertainty” to deliver them safely to the U.S., he said.

In an interview later, Chau said he

Photo by Tim Durkan

LEGACY

Mayor Jenny Durkan on her last day

area has the lowest death rate of the 20 largest metropolitan regions in the country, according to the New York Times.

When Durkan announced last winter that she would not run for reelection, she said it was so she could focus on bringing the city out of the pandemic without being distracted by politics.

By June 2021, Seattle became the first major American city to fully vaccinate 70% of its residents, aged 12 years and older, a testament to Durkan’s commitment to put public health and safety first.

Women, in general, are discouraged from bragging. And Durkan was no exception. We found out that Seattle’s first female mayor since the 1920s donated her

entire 2020 salary to the City.

“When Covid hit, I knew it was going to have devastating impacts on families, workers, small businesses, and the city’s ability to help because of impacts on our budget. I talked to my family and we felt it was the right thing to do,” Durkan told the Northwest Asian Weekly. “The city was in so much pain….I decided to work without pay and they concluded the law required I get paid, so ‘donating’ it to the city was the only way to do that. It was automatic. The funds were not paid to me.”

We also appreciate her for being a good friend to the CID, for being responsive to our needs via her AAPI deputy mayors, Shefali Ranganathan and Mike Fong. Fong

was in charge of all the city departments and mobilized resources for the CID when we needed them. He showed his support by showing up in person to many CID meetings and events.

Durkan also approved funding for at least three affordable housing projects in thte CID. Dealing with a pandemic, along with Black Lives Matter protests and death threats when the address of her personal residence was disclosed that put her family in danger, Durkan had a tough job, one that no other mayor will likely face in our lifetimes.

She did the job with strength and grace, and we salute you, Jenny. Thank you. 

was around 9 years old when his family arrived in Pittsburgh with the help of the Catholic Church. They lived for a time in a convent and embraced Christianity.

They made their way to Lowell’s growing Cambodian community in the mid-1980s, where some of his older siblings immediately set to work in local manufacturing operations.

Chau, however, continued his studies and earned a scholarship to Phillips Academy, an elite boarding school in nearby Andover. He went on to Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he studied economics and political science, also on a scholarship.

Before running for office, Chau said, he worked mostly in financial services, including running a mortgage lending company in Lowell with his wife. He now works for the Social Security Administration.

Chau’s election follows the ascendance of new Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan. She was sworn in last November as Boston’s first woman and first person of color elected to the post.

Chau is also among a growing list of Cambodian American officeholders in Massachusetts that includes two other city

councilors, a school committee member and two state lawmakers, all from Lowell, said Vannak Theng, president of the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell.

But while Cambodian Americans served on local boards and state legislatures nationwide, none were elected mayor, according to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, a nonprofit that helps Asian Pacific Americans pursue public office.

In fact, Long Beach, California, home to the nation’s largest Cambodian community, elected its first Cambodian American city councilor only in 2020, the organization noted.

Chau’s election also comes on the heels of a federal lawsuit that argued Lowell’s election process violated the voting rights of minority residents, who comprise nearly 50% of its population.

A recent settlement in the case led the city to change its electoral system, starting with the 2021 elections. The result was the city’s most diverse class of officeholders, said Oren Sellstrom, litigation director at Lawyers for Civil Rights, a Boston group that brought the 2017 suit.

“Just four years ago, the city’s elected

officials were all white and largely unresponsive to the needs of the city’s communities of color,” he said.

Chau’s role as mayor is largely ceremonial.

Lowell’s day-to-day operations are handled by a city manager picked by the council, and Chau effectively serves as council president, leading its meetings and also serving as chair of the school committee.

But he believes he can make a difference by ensuring the city workforce, including its police department and school system, better represents its diverse populace.

He also acknowledges his election is significant to the Cambodian diaspora.

The community’s political dynamics played a role during the lead-up to the Jan. 3 vote—his primary rival was a fellow Cambodian American councilor.

Chau says he tries to stay out of “old world politics” and intends to focus on the nuts and bolts of governance. But hopes he can inspire the next generation of Cambodian Americans to step up.

“We can no longer be just victims,” Chau said as he closed his inaugural remarks. “It is our time now to be leaders and to succeed.” 

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JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

YOUR VOICE

■ ASTROLOGY

asianweekly northwest

9

Predictions and advice for the week of January 8–14, 2022

By Sun Lee Chang Rat—Despite your eagerness to move on to the next step, some things simply cannot be rushed.

Dragon—Pick and choose where you extend your efforts, as not all things are deserving of your complete attention.

Monkey—A delay can be concerning, but with persistence you should still be able to reach your destination.

Ox—Whether or not you are busy, improve your outlook by collecting and organizing your thoughts.

Snake—Even with a thorough search, is your top choice not available? Shift your focus to finding a viable alternative.

Rooster—Instead of charging ahead with limited visibility, wait for the view to clear so that you can proceed safely.

Tiger—While a good start is definitely important, you should also try to pace yourself so that you finish strong.

Horse—Unsure what layout will work best? Try experimenting with different combinations until you see what you like.

Dog—Are you weary about what you are hearing?

If so, consider the source and whether they may have an agenda.

Rabbit—Although you are under no obligation to provide an explanation, a reasonable level of transparency could be beneficial.

Goat—Frustrated by a lack of information? Don’t wait for it to come to you, seek out what you want to know.

Pig—Looking for signs of where you should go next? Rather than waiting for an external cue, turn inward to find the answer.

WHAT’S YOUR ANIMAL SIGN? RAT 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 OX 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021 TIGER 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 RABBIT 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 DRAGON 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 SNAKE 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 HORSE 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014 GOAT 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 MONKEY 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 ROOSTER 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 DOG 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 PIG 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019

*The year ends on the first new moon of the following year. For those born in January and February, please take care when determining your sign.

LIHI from 6 people living unsheltered in South Seattle with safe, warm, dry, and healthy shelters instead of encampments, cars, doorways, or other uninhabitable places. This tiny house village program is not meant to be permanent housing but a starting point for these residents to get back on their feet. Southend Tiny House village at 9101 Martin Luther King Jr Way South will provide shelter to vulnerable families, immigrants/refugees, and others from the BIPOC community.

With this in mind, we believe our tiny house villages can pave the way for additional affordable housing in the area. Similarly to our Othello Tiny House Village plan, we want to convert our tiny house villages into affordable housing apartments, which is the ideal option.

Lee said, “At Southend Village, we will be able to provide more than 40 families, couples, and single adults who are living unsheltered a safe, heated, welcoming tiny house, with privacy and dignity. What’s even better, the village will serve as a bridge to permanent housing.”

LIHI has developed and operates 2,500 units of affordable housing in Puget Sound. LIHI recently opened George Fleming Place at Othello Park with 106 units of permanent affordable housing. LIHI is also working with SeaMar to purchase a building on Beacon Hill that will serve homeless women. 

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This contract is funded by the Federal Transit Administration. There is a 10% minimum requirement for Washington State Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises Certified Federal Small Business Enterprise (SBE) firms on this contract.

Total Estimated Price for Phase 1: $252,500 Total Estimated Price for all Phases: $1,932,500 King County, in accordance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat.

252, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d to 2000d-4) and the Regulations, hereby notifies all Proposers that it will affirmatively ensure that any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit proposals in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.

This AGREEMENT is subject to the appropriations of the State of Washington.

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KCHA is soliciting bids for Civil Sitework for commercial and residential apartment properties located in King, Thurston and Skagit Counties. Women and Minority owned companies are strongly encouraged to submit proposals. Proposals� are� due� Thursday,�January�20th,�2021. Proposals are available at kcha.org/business/construction/open or via email December 30th, 2021. Contact Danielle Munroe at KCHA (206) 574Ͳ1200 or daniellem@kcha.org

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from 4

GER and/orgetting PHONEmore or EMAIL: Al Khalaf; and more difficult to buy food online,” said

one resident of Xi’an, who posted on the social media platform Weibo under the name Mu Qingyuani Sayno.

The post was from a verified account, but the person did not respond to a request for further comment.

Zhang Canyou, an expert with the State Council’s epidemic prevention and control team, conceded that “there may be supply pressure in communities.”

But he was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as also saying: “The government will go all-out to coordinate resources to provide people with daily necessities and medical services.”

The lockdown in Xi’an originally allowed people to leave the house every two days to shop for basic goods, but it has since been tightened, though the rules vary according to the severity of the outbreak in each district.

Some people are not allowed to go out at all and must have goods delivered to them. People can only leave the city with special permission.

In recent days, people in Xi’an could be seen shopping at pop-up markets, served by workers in head-to-toe white protective suits. Community volunteers also visited people’s homes to ask what they needed.

Yet the strain is beginning to show, with residents increasingly complaining on Weibo of being unable to source necessities. In one widely shared video, guards could be seen attacking a man who had tried to deliver steamed buns to family members. The guards later apologized to the man and were each fined 200 yuan ($31), according to a Xi’an police statement posted on Weibo.

In an online diary on the popular Weixin site, a Xi’anbased writer said that following an initial wave of panicbuying and the closure of markets, residents soon began searching for food online.

“In this age of material surplus, when everyone is trying to lose weight, finding enough to eat has suddenly become a difficult task,” Jiang Xue wrote. A message sent to the account was not immediately returned.

China’s “zero tolerance” strategy of quarantining every case, mass testing and trying to block new infections from abroad helped it to contain previous outbreaks. But the lockdowns are far more stringent than anything seen in the West, and they have exacted a tremendous toll on the economy and the lives of millions of people.

The measures often fall into place after just a few cases are identified, as was seen in Yuzhou. Since the rules were imposed there on Jan. 2, residents have been allowed to return to the city of 1.7 million but are not permitted to leave and must isolate at home.

Only emergency vehicles are allowed on city roads.

Restaurants, sports facilities, and a wide range of other businesses have been ordered to shut, while markets can only offer basic necessities, an order from the city government said.

Meanwhile, Xi’an, home to the famed Terracotta Army statues along with major industries, has seen more than 1,600 cases in a surge that officials say is driven by the delta variant, which is less infectious than the newer omicron strain, of which China has reported only a handful of cases. Another 95 infections were announced on Jan. 4.

China has reported a total of 102,841 cases and 4,636 deaths since the pandemic began. While those numbers are relatively small compared to the U.S. and other countries, and likely undercounts as they are everywhere, they do show the persistence of the virus despite the sometimes draconian measures taken by China.

A third round of mass testing has been ordered for Xi’an, which is capable of swabbing 10 million people in

just seven hours and processing up to 3 million results in just 12 hours, according to state media.

While Wuhan’s health care system was overwhelmed after the pandemic began there in late 2019, China has not reported any shortages of beds or medical equipment and staff in Xi’an. Two dozen special teams have been formed to deal with COVID-19 cases and a pair of hospitals have been set aside to provide other types of care, Xinhua reported.

China has vaccinated nearly 85% of its population, according to Our World in Data. The shots have helped reduce the severity of disease, although Chinese vaccines are considered less effective than those used elsewhere.

In a sign of the pressure authorities are under to curb this outbreak, officials have been put on notice that they will lose their jobs if they don’t bring the numbers of new cases down. Already, the top two Communist Party officials in Yanta district, where half the city’s cases have been recorded, have been fired, according to a statement from the government of the surrounding province of Shaanxi.

The head of a tourism firm reached by phone said that supplies were basically sufficient, but that his business had been suffering since July.

“Now with the lockdown, the effect has been extremely big,” said the man, who gave just his surname, Wen, as is common among Chinese.

Qin Huilin, who works at a traditional mutton soup restaurant, said the lockdown brought business to a screeching halt.

“We used to have about a hundred customers every day, but we’ve had none for more than a dozen days since the lockdown,” Qin said by phone. “The impact on our business is significant, but I can go shopping once every few days in supermarkets and there are enough supplies there.” 

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JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

YOUR VOICE

asianweekly northwest

11

Photos courtesy of Janice Young

YOUNG from 1

Van and Ella Young (left) stand with new owners, Satri and Chan Toekaew (right), and their son Bobby, who will be working in the restaurant with his wife, Bow (center).

Van and Ella Young stand in front of Young’s Restaurant in an ad from their early days.

Bow Chunhasuntorn, new owners Satri and Chan Toekaew will open Young’s for business after New Year’s Day. They promise the same menu and great service.

Bobby has already been working in the kitchen with Van, and is the same age that Van was when he first opened Young’s, then in a smaller location, after moving to Seattle from North Carolina. The Youngs were Vietnamese refugees who came to the United States after three days at sea and a year at a camp in Malaysia.

“Country life” in North Carolina didn’t appeal, according to Janice, and so they moved here. Upon the advice of a friend, they decided to open a restaurant.

“The area they always looked at was White Center. They decided to do Chinese food because of the ‘wave’,” Janice explained, referring to the influx of Vietnamese immigrants at that time.

“They said, ‘Let’s do Chinese, to do something different.’” The family, too, had connections to Chinese language and culture.

“They’re from Vietnam, but they predominantly speak Chinese. When my grandma came to America, she taught us

UNITY OF VOICES from 3 Yates pointed out that Harrell had chosen to stand with former mayor Norm Rice on the night he celebrated his victory.

Della hopes Harrell will offer similar support to the Filipino and other minority communities as Rice did. The founding of an organization to protect the rights of Filipino workers took place in Rice’s office, he said.

“He was really supportive, he met with the leadership every quarter,” said Della. “It was the precursor to what the city is calling its race and social justice initiative.”

Looking forward, some of the

only Chinese, so growing up, I think we were really confused. Are we Vietnamese or are we Chinese?” Janice laughed.

The Youngs settled on a Chinese menu, coupled with American food. They stayed at the original location for five years, then in 1987, when the larger, current building became available, the Youngs said, “Let’s take a chance.” Ups and downs have persisted, as with any endeavor, including hard times during the pandemic, but Young’s stayed in business, thanks to Paycheck Protection Program loans, a sound financial adviser, its customer base, and their own professional ethics.

Van and Ella (who also goes by Binh) have done the lion’s share of the work themselves, along with relatives and Ella’s “left-hand woman,” Suphee Termwut, the prep cook.

“My parents did it all,” Janice recalled.

“Breakfast at 6 a.m. till dinner at 9 p.m. A long day. They hired a lot of people, my uncles, their friends, in order to have two shifts. My dad would go home and sleep for a few hours…They chugged along.”

Janice herself has worked at the restaurant on and off after high school, and

issues that might come out of collaboration between the cohort of new officials includes finding ways for minority communities to benefit from the tax dollars that they pay.

“We can unify to ensure public money is spent more equitably,” said Yates.

For Miles, who has worked with Asian community leaders for years whether on election campaigns or fundraising for critical infrastructure such as the Kin On nursing home, collaboration has always proved the optimal way forward.

“They all taught me that while we may achieve some things going it alone, we are much stronger, are much smarter, and accomplish more

full-time since around 2011. She talked about how much she enjoyed getting to know the customers, and sitting down with them to ask them about their day.

Earlier this winter, Janice announced on Facebook that Young’s would be transitioning to new ownership.

“After 39 years in business, we decided it’s time to pass the torch to another hard working family,” she wrote. The Youngs strove to make the change as seamless and relaxing for everyone as possible.

“I’ve been to restaurants that have closed down [and] it was panic eating,” Janice described. “We wanted to stay ‘business as usual.’”

By the time of the announcement, Bobby had already been working in the restaurant with the family for some time.

A friend of Suphee’s, he came on board when Janice’s aunt had to go work in her own business.

“He started working with my dad and learning about Chinese food…My dad showed him a lot of what he needed to do, then my dad would taste it and say ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘add more of this’...Bobby is so good.

Some things you can’t teach. But you can look at a person and know they’re great.

We taught him…and after a few times, he got it all.”

“I heard from her mom that they were going to sell the restaurant,” Bobby told the Weekly. “I thought I might take over and keep all the menu the same—Chinese food, breakfast food—all the same, nothing changed. I like the customers.

They are really nice…They’re happy.

They talk. Big smiles. I really like it, and that’s why I felt I might take it.” The

Toekaew family hails from Thailand, and Bobby and Bow already had experience working in a Thai restaurant. Satri and Chan sealed the deal with Van and Ella in December and then Young’s for cleaning and some new equipment installation. The re-opening date was set for Jan. 4, which Bobby felt confident about at the time of the Weekly’s interview.

“Everything is done. We are just waiting for the time.”

Van and Ella didn’t want to make a show of the sale of the restaurant and their imminent departure.

“My parents have always been very ‘work hard, keep your head down.’”

Yet Janice felt some recognition of their accomplishment was needed, so she quietly arranged “a secret event” for customers old and new to stop by and bring gifts. “You can see how loved they were.”

During the change-over, the Youngs will continue to assist and train the new owners and employees. Bobby will work in the kitchen, while Bow will be “outside,” in the front. Suphee, who has been with the restaurant for 20 years, will stay on board permanently. Van and Ella will retire and take a well-deserved vacation, traveling and spending time with the grandkids.

“The change is bittersweet for customers, but it’s going to be there, the foundation,” Janice assured. “They’re a hard working family...We want them to succeed.”  Kai can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

when we work together,” he said.

The event is organized by the AAPI and Black community leaders of Seattle: Nate Miles, Regina Glenn, Elaine Ikoma Ko, Tim Otani, Janice Zahn, Henry Yates, David Della, Winona Hollins- Hauge, Kristin Ang, George Northcroft, Girmay Zahilay, Abdul Yusuf, Lem Howell, Cindy Wong-Li, and Assunta Ng. 

see APCC from 1

To meet the new officials, register for the Zoom meeting: https://bit. ly/3z4524G Meeting ID: 984 1825 8953 Passcode: nwasian

The celebration will be held at the McGavick Conference Center in Lakewood on Feb. 19, 2022, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Mahlon can be contacted at info@nwasianweekly.com.

The day kicks off with the colorful Drum of All Nations during the Opening Ceremony.

Then throughout the day, the audience will see Hawaiian dance from Halau Naniloa Mana’oakamai Okeala Akua, Korean drums from Morning Star, traditional dance from the Indonesian Cultural Association, the Pierce College Taiko Drum Corps, and much more. 

For more details, visit the APCC website at www.APCC96.org.

asianweekly

JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 14, 2022

40 YEARS

Seniors contributors award

Abandoned by government officials, 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street, has been on the decline for such a long time. An eyesore in the CID, infested with crimes and sanitation problems, why is this allowed in our backyard?

The rising star award

Nella Kwan recently won a two-year term at the International District Special Review Board.

A graduate of the University of Washington business school, Kwan is a board member Nella Kwan of Kin On and a volunteer with the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce Active for many years. Kwan is also a popular emcee for community events, including political, senior, and kids’ events.

Most political savvy award

A leader and activist, Elaine I Ko is one of the most politically sophisticated organizers in the Asian community. She knows the connections and the nuts and bolts Elaine Ko of both Asian and non-Asian politicians. She has earned the respect of many as she gets things done without making a lot of noise.

The dedicated patrol groups

CID Night Watch and Susan Lee Woo’s Chinatown Block Watch volunteered their time to keep the community safe.

It’s not a fun voluntary experience as the groups have to deal with the homeless, potential criminals, and challenges during the patrol.

HARRELL from 1 cultural initiatives and events, including in the arts, film, music, sports, job creation, and nightlife sectors.

International Community Health Services (ICHS) President and Chief Executive Officer Teresita Batayola, who was recently named by President Joe Biden to an Advisory Commission, called Yamaguchi “a strong appointment… It’s a recognition of her accomplishments and potential. What's even more significant is Mayor Harrrell’s recognition of the diversity and challenges that Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders face as fast growing and

Nora Chan, founder of Seniors in Action Foundation, and its current president, Anna Hou, worked tirelessly for seniors in the Chinatown-International District.

Chan drove seniors to vaccine sites.

Hou organized Mid-Autumn Festivals delivering about 500 boxes of mooncakes to senior residents.

Best newly created role award

Matt Chan has been appointed to be the Special Advisor for Public Engagement by Mayor Bruce Harrell. Chan’s job is to deal with the media.

These days, fake Matt Chan news has stirred up quite a bit of trouble for government officials. He is going to have his hands full.

Touchdown

Kendee Yamaguchi was chosen to be the new Deputy Mayor of Mayor Bruce Harrell. Yamaguchi has a lustrous career including being executive director of ComKendee Yamaguchi mission on Asian American Affairs, a stint for Attorney General Bob Ferguson, and the executive director for Snohomish County. She was very excited for this new job.

Best cross-cultural female athlete award

Emma Raducanu won her first U.S. Open Tennis at the age of 18.

Of Chinese and Romanian descent, she was born in Canada and her Emma Raducanu family immigrated to England. Her fame has generated pride in all those countries and continents.

Best new Asian Hollywood star award

Simu Liu, who starred in the blockbuster “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” has been hailed as the first Marvel Asian superhero.

The movie Simu Liu grossed $432 million worldwide, making it the eighth-highest grossing film of 2021.

Photo by Assunta Ng

James Wong and his team were the lead organizers for Mayor Bruce Harrell’s fundraising dinners, bringing in over $20,000 for his campaign.

Anna Hou and Dow Constantine

can film star in Hollywood to carry the honor. Her film career spanned in both America and Europe.

The most resilient neighborhood

The Chinatown-International District has suffered during the pandemic and even pre-COVID. Prior to this unfortunate virus, CID has endured the Wah Mee Massacre in 1983, Amazon exodus from the neighborhood, and Black Lives Matter’s splinter groups, increasing car prowls, theft,and destruction since 2020, leaving businesses struggling. Several businesses didn’t make it through COVID, but the majority of them remain strong.

Its remarkable resilience is incomparable to many other neighborhoods.

Photo by Becky Chan

Bruce Harrell and James Wong

Photo by Assunta Ng

Photo by George Liu

Sara Nelson, and more.

Asians for Black Lives Matter march from Othello Park on June 7.

The best community event

The worst neighborhood corner

Nation’s Pride award

Asian American stamps with ChienShiung Wu, one of the most influential nuclear physicists of the 20th century, and Go for Broke, about Japanese American Soldiers of World War II, are now for sale.

Actress Anna May Wong’s star will be the face of a U.S. mint quarter in 2022.

She would be the first Chinese Ameri-

Overflowing garbage cans at Little Saigon bus stop

influential communities in Seattle.”

And community leader Frank Irigon said Yamaguchi’s appointment is but a first step in the right direction to appoint other highly qualified Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander people.

“From police chief to department heads, he knows that all of those positions are on the table, and we have highly qualified people to fill them,” said Irigon.

Former Senior Seattle Deputy Mayor Mike Fong called Yamaguchi “a great bridge between the AAPI community and the new administration. Harrell has assembled an incredibly talented and diverse leadership team.”

Also joining the Harrell administration

will be Matt Chan, who will serve as special advisor for public engagement, advising the mayor on the City’s strategic use of digital technology to enhance public engagement, strengthen transparency, and address the digital divide. Chan brings over 45 years of award-winning success in the television industry and has served on the KCTS Board of Directors. His work landed him a spot as one of the few people of color on the Hollywood Reporter’s ‘Top 50 Reality Power Producers’ list.

“I am pleased when people like Matt Chan answer the call of public service to help Seattle reach a new level of meaningful public engagement where all voices are heard,” said Harrell. “This is a

Photo by Rick Wong

see BLOG from 5

Photo provided by Patricia Fong

12

northwest

The AAPI Unity Dinner for Bruce Harrell was held on Dec. 10 at the Joyale Restaurant. Over 400 AAPI of many different Asian ethnic groups joined in the celebration.  Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.

critical part of our vision.”

The current director of Seattle Office for Civil Rights, Mariko Lockhart, will rejoin the Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning as a deputy director, where she and Director Dwane Chappelle will continue to drive major equity initiatives and deliver high-quality support to Seattle students.

Harrell said, “The combination of Ms. Lockhart’s previous leadership in education coupled with Mr. Wheeler-Smith’s leadership in equity work will produce outstanding results in our major equity initiatives with education and mentorship being primary components.” 