VOL 35 NO 14 | APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA

APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

Pakistani native named as preferred candidate for WWU president The Western Washington University Board of Trustees named Oregon State University Provost and Execu- Sabah U. Randhawa tive Vice President Sabah U. Randhawa as the preferred candidate in their search for Western’s president.

Randhawa currently serves as Oregon State University’s provost and executive vice president. “I am honored and excited to be considered as the preferred candidate for president at Western Washington University,” Randhawa said, adding that he was “impressed by the achievements and focus on student success and collaboration at Western. Those align well with my own values and passion for higher education.”

Randhawa, 62, was born in Pakistan and received his bachelor’s see WWU on 16

FREE

34 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Proposed redevelopment plan for Little Saigon paves way for progress?

A NEW TWIST ON BONSAI Street art and bonsai collide in this first-of-its-kind exhibit. » see 7

hawaii adventures Publisher Assunta Ng details unexpected delights on her recent trip to the Big Island. » see 8–9

Donnie Chin's FAmily breaks silence on ID park renaming Their wishes on honoring the late community leader. » see 11 Image credit HEWITT

VOL 35 NO 14

Elevation drawing of proposed plaza

By James Tabafunda Northwest Asian Weekly For generations, shoppers visited Asian Plaza at the easternmost part of Seattle’s International District for authentic Southeast Asian food and the rarest of all downtown amenities: free parking.

see ASIAN PLAZA on 16

DA recommends no jail time for the ex-NYC cop. What's next? » see 11

Community » 2 Calendar » 6 Sudoku » 6 Astrology » 15

Seward Park’s new torii gate: rebuilding and remembering

Painting by Ted Weinberg

Photo by Stacy Nguyen/NWAW

Newly elected SeaTac City council member ready for real work to begin

They will soon find a modern mixed-use commercial center built at an undisclosed price. The first phase of construction is targeted for late 2017, complementing its neighbor, Yesler Terrace’s major redevelopment.

“We want to change it in a way that makes sense

editorial: peter liang

Peter Kwon

By Jason Cruz Northwest Asian Weekly Peter Kwon has taken over 100 meetings since he became an official member of the SeaTac City Council this past January.

A newcomer to politics, Kwon is learning the ropes of the political process during his first term.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, he moved with his parents to New York City when he was 3 years old. Kwon grew up in New York, where he attended Stuyvesant High School. Notably, Frank McCourt, the author of the bestseller ‘Angela

■

Ashes’ was one of his teachers.

He decided to move to Seattle in 1990 to attend the University of Washington (UW). “I really enjoyed the outdoors,” said Kwon of his choice to move across the country. He also discovered that the UW was one of the top schools in the nation for computer science.

Kwon was hired by Microsoft after his third year, from a campus recruiting visit. Kwon worked for three years at Microsoft and then went on to work for Boeing for approximately four years, then at see KWON on 13

Proposed new torii at Seward Park

By Nina Huang NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY As Seward Park anticipates a rebuild of the torii gate that used to welcome visitors to the park, Jerry Arai hopes to dedicate park benches to two very special people in the community.

A retired architect and community volunteer, Arai wants to donate and dedicate two benches for Seward Park. The first one would be dedicated to his father, Kichio Allen Arai, who designed the original torii gate.

“He helped mainly Japanese Americans before the war, and he designed a bunch of Buddhist churches around the Northwest, among others. I

“

Ike Ikeda tried to make things happen when it didn’t seem like it was possible.”

— Jerry Arai

want to dedicate something to him for what he did for us, the second and third generation Japanese, and some of the other minorities,” he said. see SEWARD on 12

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asianweekly northwest

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APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

■ names in the news Elaine Kitamura has accepted a new position as Regional Director for Multicultural Initiatives for the American Heart Association.

Starting April 4, the work that she will be involved in, will help to meet the organization’s impact goal to improve cardiovascular health of all Americans and decrease deaths from cardiovasElaine Kitamura cular diseases and stroke by 20 percent by 2020.

Her role will include serving as internal consultant to the region on all diversity-related initiatives. 

17 in Seattle. The planning committee – Rick Polintan, Toshiko Grace Hasegawa, Celia Jackson, Binah Palmer, Crystal Anguay-Reed, and Max Brown – said this was an inter-generational, inter-community grassroots organizing effort to educate the AAPI community about the presidential electoral process.

Hasegawa said, “It’s about making sure our voices are heard and making sure our issues are the ones that matter.” 

Caucusing for Clinton

Bruce Harrell (center) speaking at the Japanese American Leadership Symposium

BACK ROW: Hyeok Kim (left), David Lee (second from right) FRONT ROW: Rep. Cindy Ryu (second from left), Ed Lee (third from left)

Several leaders and elected officials attended “Hillary for Washington Get Out the Caucus” events on March 25, the day before the Washington caucus. Among the attendees were San Francisco and Seattle native Mayor Ed Lee, Cindy Ryu (D-Shoreline), Medina councilman David Lee, and Seattle deputy mayor, Hyeok Kim. 

API presidential caucus training

The 2016 delegates of the Japanese American Leadership Delegation (JALD) program have now returned to the United States. In its 16th year, JALD provides the opportunity for a select group of Japanese American leaders to travel to Japan to engage with Japanese leaders.

This year’s delegation, which included Seattle City Council president Bruce Harrell, visited Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture, where they participated in a symposium titled “Toward a Secure Society: Challenges in Diversity and Inclusion.”

In Tokyo, the group met with Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, and many other individuals and organizations. 

Bambu celebrates grand opening in ID

(left to right) Amy Nguyen, Dyane Ng (owner), Vivian Nguyen, Vi Kathie Nguyen API presidential caucus training

The API presidential caucus training took place on March

this is the smoothie and juice bar’s second location in western Washington. The first location is at the Great Wall Mall in Kent, and a third location is set to open in the fall in Seattle’s University District. Bambu serves Vietnameseinspired sweet beverages, dessert drinks, puddings, coffees, teas, and fresh fruit smoothies. 

WE Day Seattle announces lineup

Japanese American Leadership Delegation return Provided by U.S.-Japan Council (USJC)

Kitamura moves into healthcare

Bambu, a smoothie and juice bar, had its grand opening March 19. Located at 516 7th Avenue South in Chinatown,

George Takei Lilly Singh

World-renowned speakers and performers will be inspiring 15,000 youth and educators at WE Day Seattle on April 20 at KeyArena at the Seattle Center. George Takei, actor, director, author, and activist, and Lilly Singh – an Indo-Canadian comedian, better known by her YouTube username Superwoman, are part of the lineup.

WE Day is a celebration of youth making a difference in their local and global communities. WE Schools is the yearlong program that nurtures compassion in young people and gives them the tools to create transformational social change. Together, they offer young people the tools and the inspiration to take social action, empower others, and transform lives—including their own. 

Hmong American poet wins prize for best debut A Hmong American poet is this year’s winner of the Walt Whitman Award, given for an outstanding debut book.

The Academy of American Poets told The Associated Press March 23 that 34-year-old Mai Der Vang will receive a $5,000 cash prize and a six-week residency in Umbria, Italy. Her collection “Afterland,” inspired by the flight of the Hmong people caused by the so-called Mai Der Vang Secret War in Laos during the Vietnam War era, will be published next year by Graywolf Press. The academy will feature Mai Der Vang in its American Poets magazine. 

You Don’t Need a Plane Ticket to Sample Japanese Curry Hurry Curry of Tokyo has come to Seattle!

Authentic Japanese Curry and Yoshoku Cuisine Exclusive Sauce Recipes Hurry Curry of Tokyo South Lake Union 825 Harrison Street Seattle, WA 98109 hurrycurryoftokyo-seattle.com 206 681-9443

34 YEARS YOUR VOICE

APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

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APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

■ national news

Ex-NYC cop apologizes in stairwell shooting death

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) – A former New York City police officer convicted of accidentally shooting an unarmed man in the stairwell of a public housing building apologized on March 25 to the man’s domestic partner.

Peter Liang met with Kimberly Ballinger at a mutually agreed upon conference room at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office. Liang expressed remorse over the death of 28-year-old Akai Gurley.

“He said he was so sorry for her loss, and he told her how devastating it was for him. This was the last thing he ever intended or could imagine,” said his attorney Paul Shechtman.

Ballinger’s attorney, Scott Rynecki, said Ballinger, in turn, talked about her loss.

“She let him know that because of his actions, she now has a 3-year-old girl who doesn’t have a father,” Rynecki said. “Her

life is upside down now, she has no partner. She told him the man he killed was a good man, and a good father.”

The meeting was brief and somber, both attorneys said. Liang didn’t try to explain his actions the night of the shooting in a stairwell at the Louis Pink Houses. Ballinger agreed to meet Peter Liang with Liang after about a month of asking by his legal team. She agreed because she wanted to tell him directly of the grief he caused, her lawyer said.

“This was not to accept an apology. This was to talk about what she is missing,” Rynecki said.

The only participants were Ballinger, Liang, and their lawyers. They chose the conference room as a neutral site and a place that would meet safety concerns for Liang.

The meeting came a day after District Attorney Kenneth

Thompson said he would not recommend jail time for Liang, convicted by a jury of manslaughter. Thompson said he would recommend, instead, five years’ probation, six months of home confinement, and 500 hours of community service.

Gurley’s aunt and other activists gathered outside the prosecutor’s office March 25 to protest the decision, demanding steep jail time for Liang and saying they felt betrayed by the prosecutor. A judge will decide if any jail time is warranted at Liang’s April 14 sentencing.

Liang’s attorney praised the decision by the prosecutors.

“We steadfastly believe in Peter Liang’s innocence,” Shechtman said. “The shooting that occurred that day was an accident, not a crime.”

Liang was fired after the verdict. His partner, who was at the scene but not charged, was also fired.  See related content on page 11.

Diners scatter when Chinese businessman Su Bin pleads man drops giant guilty in United States hacking case python in restaurant

By Amanda Lee Myers Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles police say diners scattered when a man dropped a 13-foot yellow python on the floor of a sushi restaurant.

Officer Drake Madison says Hiroshi Motohashi, 46, had argued with an employee and stormed out of Iroha Sushi of Tokyo in Studio City on March 20. Madison says a short time later, Motohashi returned with the giant snake, threw it into the dining room, and walked out again.

Police responded, and Motohashi was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats. Nobody was hurt.

The snake tried to slither away, but got stuck in a cabinet near the cash register. Animal control agents freed it and took it away.

This isn’t Motohashi’s first run-in with the law over his love of exotic pets. He was convicted in 2005 in federal court of selling endangered animals and venomous lizards.  Ruth Bayang contributed to this report.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A Chinese businessman has pleaded guilty to conspiring to hack into the computer systems of U.S. defense contractors, including Boeing, to steal data on military projects, according to court records released March 23.

Su Bin, 50, admitted to conspiring with two unnamed hackers in China to export U.S. military information to the communist nation between 2008 and 2014, according to a plea agreement reached in federal California court on March 22.

The men targeted fighter jets such as the F-22 see HACKER on 14

Su Bin

Los Alamos Historical Museum team to research atomic bomb impact in Japan SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – A group from Los Alamos, once the building site for an atomic bomb, is making an unprecedented trip this month to a country that was devastated by the weapon.

Los Alamos Historical Museum representatives are traveling throughout Japan to gain that country’s perspective on the impact of nuclear warfare. Museum director Judith

Stauber, along with a museum registrar and a student intern, flew to Japan March 24. The team will visit Tokyo, Kyoto, and the two cities that were targeted with the bomb – Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

They will meet with a bomb survivor, researchers, and see ATOMIC BOMB on 14

34 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ WORLD NEWS

APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

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Pakistani Taliban faction claims Easter park bombing ISLAMABAD (AP) – A bombing on Easter Sunday killed 65 people in a park in the eastern city of Lahore that was crowded with Christians, including many children.

A breakaway Pakistani faction of the militant Taliban group claimed responsibility.

Ahsanullah Ahsan, spokesman for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, told the Associated Press that a suicide bomber with the faction deliberately targeted the Christian community.

The explosion took place near the children’s rides in Gulshan-e-Iqbal park,

local police chief Haider Ashraf said. He said the explosion appeared to have been a suicide bombing, but investigations were ongoing.

The attack killed 65 people and wounded over 300, said Deeba Shahnaz, a spokesman for Lahore rescue administration.

Punjab’s chief minister Shahbaz Sharif announced three days of mourning and pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice, said Zaeem Qadri, a spokesman for the provincial government.

The park was manned by police and private security guards, police chief Haider Ashraf said. “We are in a warlike situation see SUICIDE BOMB on 15

■ community NEWS

Photo from Wikipedia

By Zarar Khan Associated Press

Gulshan-e-Iqbal park

Community gives input on International Children's Park name The name, “Donnie Chin Children’s Park” received around 95 percent of the votes at a March 17 meeting to rename the current International Children’s Park.

Ninety attendees voted on three possible names: Donnie Chin International

Children’s Park, Donnie Chin Children’s Park, and Donnie Chin Memorial Park.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray had submitted a resolution to the Seattle City council to suspend the rule that a person had to be deceased for three years before getting a place named after him or her.  See related content on page 11.

Photo by John Liu/NWAW

By John Liu Northwest Asian Weekly

Community members discuss park renaming.

New Asian American and Pacific Islander outreach director named for Clinton campaign

Tacoma family keeps up search for downed Korean War pilot

The campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton announced March 24 that it was appointing Jason Tengco to serve as its new Asian American Pacific Islander out- Jason Tengco reach director.

In a news release March 25, KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress called Tengco a powerful voice for the Filipino American community in his former role as the deputy director for the White House Initiative for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

He has also worked for the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance and was an Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies fellow for U.S. Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA).

News of Tengco’s appointment comes a little more than two months after Clinton’s

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) – As a boy, Albert Paffenroth Jr. walked to the edge of a fence around the runway at Johnson Air Force Base in Japan to watch his dad and other pilots lift into the sky in their B-26 bombers.

Almost 70 years later, Paffenroth is trying to bring his father home from the pilot’s last flight. Capt. Albert Paffenroth Sr. has been missing since he and two crewmates went down somewhere near Pyongyang in the early months of the Korean War. Paffenroth Jr. is aging, and he knows North Korea’s adversarial relationship with the United States won’t help his efforts.

But he isn’t giving up.

“I don’t think in my life, they’re going to find him, but one day, they’ll identify him,” said Paffenroth, 71, of Tacoma. “There’s always hope.”

He and about 200 other descendants and loved ones of missing military service members were set to attend a conference in Bellevue, sponsored by the Defense Department POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

The agency is working to recover about

campaign announced the formation of an AAPI leadership council, which includes Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), and Congressman Gregorio Sablan from the Northern Mariana Islands.

Ninio Fetalvo, the Republican National Committee AAPI press secretary, said, “Hillary Clinton’s campaign shakeup is a clear indication of her failing effort to win the hearts and minds of Asian American and Pacific Islander voters across the country. The only consistency with Clinton’s AAPI outreach campaign is that she has and always will take our communities for granted.”

Both Democrats and Republicans have made great efforts in this year’s presidential race to court AAPI voters, an electorate that by 2040 is expected to double, rising to 12.2 million, according to a 2015 report from the UCLA Center for the Study of Inequality and Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies. 

By Adam Ashton The News Tribune

82,000 military service members who remain lost overseas since World War II, with about 7,800 from the Korean War. At the conference, families heard about Capt. Albert Paffenroth the agency’s work and Sr. learned about advances in technology that might help identify remains with DNA. They also got one-on-one sessions for updates on their cases. The sessions are meant to spare Northwest families trips to Hawaii or to Washington, D.C., where the agency does most of its work.

Paffenroth Jr. knows the organization well. He’s been in touch with it since the late 1990s, when he and his youngest brother got serious about finding out what happened to their father.

Since then, they and their aunt have given the military blood samples that could be used to identify Capt. Paffenroth’s remains. see TACOMA on 12

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APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

■ COMMUNITY calendar MARCH 31 Webinar: Develop your English for a career in government 12–1 p.m. ehlsprogram.org Seattle Chinese Chamber’s Business After Hours Shanghai Shanghai, 989 112th Ave. N.E. Ste. 205, Bellevue 6–9 p.m. $15-$20 seattlechinesechamber.org

APRIL 1 (through 4/3)

Japanese literature public reading, “People Sitting in Darkness” University of Washington, Penthouse Theatre, Seattle Fri–Sat, 7:30 p.m., Sun, 2 p.m. $8–$10 206-543-4880, drama.uw.edu/ performances

2 Japanese American Citizens League holds 94th Annual Banquet SODO Park 5:30 p.m. jaclseattle.org

Grand opening of the longest floating bridge in the world SR 520 Bridge 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

520golong.com Asia Pacific Cultural Center Presents Tea Experience: Hawaii Asia Pacific Cultural Center, Tacoma 10 a.m. $10 asiapacificculturalcenter.org/ teaexperience Asia Pacific Cultural Center Presents Taste of Asia, cooking lesson: Hawaii Asia Pacific Cultural Center, Tacoma 12 p.m. $25 asiapacificculturalcenter.org/ tasteofasia

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Samuel E. Kelly Distinguished Faculty Lecture’s Hidden Bias in Health Care: A Reflection on 10 Years of Health Care Disparities Research University of Washington, Intellectual House 6 p.m. engage.washington.edu/site/ Calendar/1764254689

(last day)

University of Washington Bothell is hosting its second annual Diversity and Inclusion Conference University of Washington Bothell Campus 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

425-352-5101

Ai Weiwei’s “Fault Line” exhibition San Juan Islands Museum of Art, 540 Spring St., Friday Harbor sjima.org/exhibitions/ai-weiwei 2016 Kin On Spring Benefit Dinner Joyale Seafood Restaurant, Pacific Rim Center, Seattle 4:30–9 p.m. $16 206-556-2272, kristintan@kinon.org

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Filipino Film Festival 2016 Dorist Duke Theatre, Honolulu Museum of Art $8–$10 honolulumuseum.org

English Luncheon with David Mao: An update on doing business in China China Harbor Restaurant 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. $15-$25 seattlechinesechamber.org

Author Talk, “Journey into Consciousness,” with Shelly Wilson East West Bookshop, 6407 12th Ave. N.E., Seattle 7:30–9 p.m. $20 shellyrwilson.com

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through 4/30

The Seattle Classic Guitar Society is proud to present award winning classical guitarist Connie Sheu in a free concert featuring original works by women composers and a traditional Chinese Suite Frye Art Museum Recital Hall 2 p.m.

Free 206-622-9250, info@fryemuseum.org

“Asians Collaborating Together” Conference University of Washington, Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center 8 a.m. naspa.org

through 4/16

Jewish Refugees in Shanghai (1933-1941) Hillel at the University of Washington, Second Floor 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Free confucius.washington.edu/shanghaijewish-refugees-exhibit-1933-1941

6 4th Annual Aha Mele Hawaiian Festival Chief Leschi Schools 11 a.m.–9 p.m.

253-445-6000

Asian and Global Arts Treasures Sale Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Friendsofasianart2@gmail.com

Creating the Life You Desire Workshop with Shelly Wilson East West Bookshop, 6407 12th Ave. N.E., Seattle 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. $50 shellyrwilson.com Planting Blooming Bonsais Oriental Garden Center, 30650 Pacific Highway S., Federal Way 10 a.m. $75 253-839-1639

View the solution on page 14

Grid n°808590846 hard

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7 5 4 5 8 1 5 6 8 2 3 7 6 1 5 2 4 3 7 1 2 3

Assunta Ng

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34 YEARS YOUR VOICE

APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

■ on the shelf

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Book recommendations

By Samantha Pak Northwest Asian Weekly

“Realm of the Goddess”

By Sabina Khan Sabina Khan, 2014

When she was 7 years old and living in Kolkata, India, Callie Hansen would have nightmares about fighting against evil demons. They were so realistic, she nearly lost her mind, so she and her family moved to Seattle.

The nightmares stopped, but when she turned 17, they returned.

Callie learns it is because she is an avatar for the Hindu Goddess Kali and the nightmares are actually visions from her past life as Kali. The return of the nightmares means the return of Mahisha, the King of Demons, who she (mostly) defeated thousands of years ago.

Callie eventually accepts her fate after Mahisha captures her parents. She embarks on a quest to find the Sword of Knowledge to defeat the demon king and rescue her parents. Along the way, she is helped by Shiv, a new student at her high school with more to him than meets the eye, and his parents.

“Realm” takes place in the present day, but in a world where myths and legends surrounding the gods and goddesses of Hinduism come to life.

Khan expertly juxtaposes and weaves the two seemingly opposing settings together, as we follow Callie and Shiv

■ arts & entertainment Bonsai, rooted in tradition yet leafing the past behind

By Jocelyn Moore NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

muralists to reinterpret the role of the hanging scroll with modern skate deck art.

Often perceived as an expensive hobby for old men, the art of bonsai is often overlooked by younger generations living a bustling city life.

Decked-Out: From Scroll to Skateboard, an upcoming exhibition (April 30–October 2) at the Pacific Bonsai Museum, combines the tradition of bonsai and skate deck art – introducing bonsai in a way that gets past the general misconceptions against them.

“I want to make the art accessible to people in their 20s and 30s, and make the broad appeal of bonsai relevant to people today,” said Aarin Packard, the curator of the museum who came up with the concept of Decked-Out. It took nearly four years for Packard to turn his concept into reality, as he waited for an opportunity in his career that would allow him to put the exhibit together.

ARTISTS’ INTERPRETATION

BONSAI ROOTS

The art of bonsai can be traced back to the Chinese practice of penjing, which depicts artistically formed trees, plants, and landscapes in miniature. The concept of penjing travelled to Japan in the 6th century when Buddhist students and diplomats in Japan visited China.

Since then, bonsai has played an essential role in Japanese culture, from a symbol of status to a meditating hobby that brings inner peace.

Bonsai is often displayed in a small interior alcove called “tokonoma,” which consists traditional elements: a bonsai, a hanging scroll, and an accent object. Imagine a mantel above the fireplace of an American family home. A tokonoma shares a similar purpose as the room’s focal point.

Decked-Out collaborates with 16 Pacific Northwest

“I want the three elements of the display to present themselves equally,” said Portland artist Maxwell Humphres. “I will be using repetitive forms or modular units in my work. This relates to the systems, and repetition in the treatment, trimming, and care of the bonsai. I want my work to reflect a strong presence of structure. Along with form, I personally will be focusing on my color palette.

I do not want the scroll to have too bright or overly saturated colors.”

Japanese American visual artist Jean Nagai is excited to see the public’s response to his use of white out to cover colors in his work to highlight an individual’s spiritual connection to nature.

“This phenomenon of ‘whiting out’ is something that happens every day and it’s difficult for a lot of people to talk about, but we know it’s happening,” said Nagai, who lives in Olympia. “It can be violent or subtly aggressive and it’s a sad absurd reality.”

Nagai said Decked-Out was a challenge. He had to find common ground between skateboarding and bonsai, and he has little experience in either.

Nonetheless, he saw it as an opportunity to learn something see BONSAI on 12

on their action-packed adventures from Seattle to the jungles of India. Khan educates readers on Hindu folklore through Callie, as she reflects on the stories she learned from her family and community.

While there are a few small moments throughout the story in which Callie is conflicted between her Indian and Hindu customs and traditions, and American customs and traditions, what I particularly enjoyed was the pride Callie has in her heritage. She often describes her favorite dishes her mother prepares, as well as her favorite stories from Hinduism, leaving readers hungry and wanting to learn more.

For someone who has read countless stories about first-generation Americans from immigrant families, it was refreshing to meet a protagonist who is able to strike a balance between the two dominant cultures in her life.

Callie is American, but she is also unapologetically Indian, and she never tries to turn away from her roots.

“The Clout of Gen”

By Ahmad Ardalan CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012 Things are not going well for John Teddy. The newspaper reporter has been stuck in the same dead-end job for about a decade. The only bright spot in see SHELF on 13

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APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

■ travel

Photo by George Liu/NWAW

An escape to the Big Island

Dolphin show at Hilton Hotel

By Assunta Ng Northwest Asian Weekly Most people visit Hawaii’s Big Island to see its volcano.

But I wasn’t interested in trekking over lava and mud, as this was my third visit to the Island. What took me there recently was my desire to recuperate after a stressful month in February. All I wanted was to relax and daydream, facing the ocean or the golf course. Little did I know that things would happen that would lead us to unexpected adventures.

Strange, but when I was on the Island, the word “tsunami” came into my consciousness. To see old tsunami ruins, we landed in a “forbidden” valley. Later, our search for Chinese food brought us to a village of dolphins. Now, I have more stories to share than I realize.

Chinese food and dolphins

I craved Chinese food after three days on Kohala Coast, 23 miles north of Kona, a resort town in the Island.

“Where’s the nearest Chinese restaurant?” I asked a hotel staff member.

“It’s about 60 miles away,” he said. Was he kidding? Or maybe he just didn’t know. Either way, we were not about to drive long distance.

A decade ago, my husband and I dined at a Chinese restaurant inside a Kona hotel. But we couldn’t remember the name of the hotel. (That’s what happens when you get old.)

Later, my husband found photos of the Hilton Hotel on the Internet that matched the photos we took on our last trip. And the Hilton was only a 10-minute drive from our hotel.

We decided to go to the Hilton for Chinese food. I still remember that it was on the second floor of a small building. When we dined the last time, a few tiny birds flew in and whistled the sweetest songs, in rhythm with a wind chime overhead.

Unfortunately, this time, we were four months too late.

The restaurant closed last October. The second floor of the building is now empty and downstairs, is a pizza outlet.

Following a dolphin sign, we wandered around and found an outdoor restaurant. As we walked up, we saw a dozen or more dolphins! They were swimming, diving, and jumping in different fenced areas. The Hilton insists they are not captured, and trainers feed them to make sure they were happy, staying inside the fence, and performing tricks to please the audience.

The restaurant gave us front-row seats to watch the mammals, mingling with the nearly two dozen swimmers, who were picked through a raffle drawing early that morning. Due to the popularity of this program, there was a long waiting list.

Wow! We got free entertainment, not wasting any time waiting in line or spending additional money to buy tickets for the show. Watching the dolphins up close was better than having a Chinese lunch!

as 10,000 people living in Waipi’o in 1946. In the late 19th century, many Chinese immigrants had settled in the valley. Few knew that the valley once had churches, restaurants, and schools, as well as a hotel, post office, and jail. Now, only about 50 people live in the valley, keeping their simple lifestyle of farming and fishing.

To walk to the valley, we had to go through a steep road that gains 800 vertical feet in elevation in just over half a mile. Wikipedia says this road could possibly be the steepest in the world. What stopped us from walking down the road was not the “Closed due to Dengue (mosquito)” sign at the entrance, but the sudden downpour that soaked my raincoat.

Rumors are that the area is unsafe, valley residents are not friendly, and the police would not be available to help if something happened. Still, the partial view we got from our vantage point was beautiful. If we had had a fourwheel drive, we would have driven down.

In Hilo, there are tsunami museums and oceanfront shops that retain the watermarks made by previous tsunamis. Living in Hawaii is wonderful with the water, palm trees, and people enjoying a laid back lifestyle. But the danger of tsunamis is also very real in the presence of an active volcano and global climate change. Hopefully, the people of Hawaii are well prepared.

Tsunami on the Big Island

Food expedition

A splendid magazine photo of Waipi’o Valley drew us to visit on our way to Hilo. It’s also called the Valley of the Kings, where Hawaiian royalty gathered hundreds of years ago, with the stunning backdrop of waterfalls.

Some tour books said a tsunami had killed as many

How much would you pay for a lovely setting with your dining table facing the ocean, so you can watch the fireball of a sun descend and disappear into the ocean?

What we have discovered is that finding memorable meals is not difficult or expensive in the Kona area. You

34 YEARS YOUR VOICE

APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

Lili’uokalani Garden

Abalone

Sunset at the Prince Hotel

don’t need to stay in top hotels to enjoy their food.

We simply said, “We are not your hotel guests, but we would like to try your food.” The hotels even let us park for free.

It cost $67 (not including tips) for us to dine at the Coast Grille at Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, enjoying the sunset and soothing live Hawaiian music, while a dancer swayed by the pool.

We ate Hawaii abalones, beet salad, baked oysters, kale cake dessert, and one soft drink nicely served with complimentary fresh palatable rolls.

The trick was to share our food family-style. We didn’t order any entrees because the appetizers were more appealing. We were so full and satisfied. I felt like royalty dining at the Prince.

At $7 each, we ordered two poached abalone. It was fresh and delicious. I wish we could find prices like that on the mainland.

“I want to take the (pearl-like abalone) shells home,” I told the waitress. I didn’t ask her to clean the shells, but she did. What service!

Did we ever find a Chinese restaurant at Kona? No. Instead, we found a Japanese restaurant at the Fairmont Hotel. I was so happy to see the menu list duck fried rice and salmon udon. It’s not only unique to put duck in fried rice, the combination of flavors worked wonders. Oh, and the udon was the best salmon udon I have ever eaten!

Another great outdoor restaurant was at the Four Seasons Hotel, overlooking the ocean. Although it was only a lunch, the chef made ordinary dishes, like chicken quesadilla and red snapper, exquisite.

We found many Chinese restaurants in Hilo. From Cantonese to Northern-style Chinese, we decided to pick Happy Valley Chinese Restaurant after seeing its poster advertising steamed Hawaii ehu fish. Now, that’s authentic. The people who dined there were not tourists, but local folks. We knew we found the right place.

The other local restaurants we experienced were Ponds and Ken’s House of Pancakes (one of the best cheap eats). You guessed it — Ponds is located by a big pond, serving steaks and seafood. We enjoyed them all.

If you are thinking about vacationing on the Island, you might want to fly to Kona first, and depart from Hilo. That way, you don’t have to drive back and forth to see the volcano. Hawaiian Airlines is the only airline that offers such a route.

By now, you are probably wondering why I haven’t mentioned the volcano.

This was our third visit, so it wasn’t as exciting as the first time we visited in 1981.

Nothing compares to our first trip, when we set foot on the volcano’s crater (which was inactive at the time) with clouds floating around us like we were angels in the sky.

Between Hawaii and Palm Springs, I picked Hawaii for my spring break. I am confident I made the right decision. Palm Springs is probably a place I would want to visit only once. But Hawaii, I will never get tired of visiting over and over again.  Assunta Ng can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.

Waipi’o Valley

Photos by George Liu/NWAW

Biggest garden in the U.S., Hilo

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asianweekly northwest

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APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

■ PICTORIALS

PHOTO by Eugene Tagawa

PHOTO by HYEOK KIM

The 2016 Tomodachi Luncheon

^ (right to left) Michael Shiosaki, Norm Mineta, and Gary Locke ^ Norm Mineta (center) accepting the Tomodachi Award

< Bill Tashima, former president of the Seattle JACL, RECEIVING the Raffle Grand Prize from ANA VP GARY WEISS

PHOTO by Eugene Tagawa

The 2016 Tomodachi Luncheon on March 24 honored former Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta and the Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation.

In his speech, Mineta, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 20 years, recalled advocating for redress legislation in 1987, which was eventually passed by Congress.

As Secretary of Transportation for the Bush administration, Mineta issued the order to ground all civilian air traffic on September 11, 2001. He was instrumental in the creation of TSA and has been an outspoken opponent of racial profiling.

The Tomodachi Luncheon raised $78,000. 

PHOTOs by ASSUNTA NG/NWAW

^ (right to left) ConsulateGeneral of Japan Masahiro Omura, Sen. Patty Murray, and Tay Yoshitani LUNCHEON GUESTS >

2016 DINNER & AUCTION — Wing Luke Museum Nearly 500 guests attended the Wing Luke Asian Museum’s Annual Dinner & Auction on March 26. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Seattle Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim, Seattle First Gentleman Michael Shiosaki, and San Francisco First Lady Anita Lee were among the attendees. The event raised approximately $480,000, exceeding the goal of $460,000. 

< Tamar ManueL SHARED HOW ART HELPED HIM THROUGH HIS DEPRESSION

(LEFT TO RIGHT) MAXINE LOO, GEI CHAN, ANITA LEE, HER HUSBAND, MAYOR ED LEE

> (LEFT TO RIGHT) MAYOR ED MURRAY, LARRY YOK, SF MAYOR ED LEE, AND ERIC OLSON. YOK AND OLSON WON A $1,200 BID TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED WITH THE MAYORS.

PHOTOs by GEORGE LIU /NWAW

^ ellen ferguson, wing luke co-president, donated $15,000 to the youth program.

34 YEARS YOUR VOICE

APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

11

OPINION

■ editorial

Time to heal and move on

It’s a tragedy. An innocent life cut short, and ended unexpectedly.

What happened to Akai Gurley was a tragedy.

Former NYPD officer Peter Liang, who was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter on Feb. 11 for shooting and killing Gurley, an unarmed Black man, should not face any prison time.

That was the recommendation of the Brooklyn district attorney. Ken Thompson announced in a statement March 24 that he will not seek prison time for the convicted officer.

Liang opened fire in the darkened stairwell of a New York City housing project during a routine patrol in November 2014, hitting and killing Gurley.

When he was convicted, it seemed like justice would be served at last, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement — a police officer who killed an unarmed Black man would finally be held accountable for

■ letterS

Ken Thompson

Former NYPD officer Peter Liang

his actions.

But as Brooklyn district attorney Thompson noted, there’s zero evidence that Liang “intended to kill or injure Akai Gurley.”

Rather, when he “went into that building that night, he did so as part of his job and to keep the people of Brooklyn and our city safe.”

In a letter to Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun, who will ultimately determine Liang’s sentence, Thompson wrote, “We believe that justice will best be

served in this tragic case if the defendant is sentenced on the manslaughter count to five years of probation, with the condition that the defendant serve six months of home confinement, with electronic monitoring, and that he perform 500 hours of community services.”

Thompson, who is Black, has been called a ‘traitor’ for his decision.

Liang was a rookie officer who had his finger on the trigger while on patrol. He got startled by a loud noise and fired by accident.

Liang didn’t even see Gurley until after he realized that the bullet that came out of his gun had ricocheted off a wall and struck Gurley in the chest. His mistake cost an innocent man his life. But putting him in prison will not bring Gurley back.

New York state assemblyman Charles Barron has threatened riots if the judge follows Thompson’s recommendations of no jail time, when Liang is set to be sentenced on April 14.

Tensions have mounted between the Black

JACL demands APIs in top SPD ranks From JACL president:

To the Honorable Mayor Ed Murray, the Honorable Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole, and the Honorable Seattle City Councilmembers: The Seattle Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the nation’s oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization, is deeply alarmed by the lack of Asian Pacific Islander (API) representation in the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) upper echelon and leadership positions.

APIs are the largest ethnic group in Seattle. As such, the SPD should reflect the community that it serves at all levels from the top down. There have been multiple opportunities for Police Chief O’Toole to hire API candidates for her command staff, but as it currently stands, we have not seen any special recruitment take place. This is an issue that has continually been brought up, but has yet to be addressed.

What steps are being taken to place more API officers in SPD leadership? Why have we not seen any movement on this important issue? As evidenced by prior emails from other API groups and prominent individuals and leaders, this is a problem that our community takes very seriously. With frequent crimes in the International District and the death of local icon, Donnie Chin, APIs ask for action now. The API community needs representation not only by allies, but by people that look like us.  — Sarah E. Baker Japanese American Citizens League Seattle Chapter President

Response from SPD Chief: Dear Ms. Baker, Thank you very much for your letter. As indicated in previous communications and recent meetings, I am absolutely committed to a police service that reflects the community we serve. Otherwise, we will not succeed. Last year, we significantly increased the diversity of the SPD candidate pool and we’ll continue to work very hard to hire and promote officers who represent all the communities in our city.

When I was establishing my command staff last year, with the assistance of [Seattle Department of Human Resource], job specifications were developed and the positions were widely advertised locally and nationally. While we hoped to attract a broad candidate pool, it was important to have a diverse selection panel as well.

The three-member group included Deputy Chief Carmen Best, then COO Mike Wagers, and a private sector manager who identifies with the API community. Of the 94 internal and external candidates who applied for the assistant chief positions, there was only one external applicant who identified with the API community.

Unfortunately, I was informed that individual did not meet the minimum requirements in the job specifications.

I have not appointed any sworn command staff members since that one competition. Currently, including

myself, there are six sworn SPD command staff members: two white females, one African American female, one African American male, and two white males.

I have also recruited senior civilian members to my team. In fact, in a more recent competition for the SPD communications manager position, there were 146 respondents. That very competitive process produced three exceptional finalists. Two of them were so impressive, I hired them both; one for communications manager and the other for an equivalent management position. I am pleased to inform you that both identify with the API community.

As vacancies emerge in both sworn and civilian positions, I assure you that developing and maintaining a police service reflective of the community we serve is extremely important to me.

As I have indicated on previous occasions, at meetings and in writing, I genuinely want to work with the API community on this and other important issues. Also, I am always available to meet or speak by phone to address your concerns and to hear your input and feedback.

Again, thank you.  — Kathy O’Toole Chief of Police

From community leader: Dear Ms. Baker, Thank you for your letter Sarah, I support it 100% and I’m proud of JACL! The Chief has to “walk her talk.” Also, how effective was her recruitment if it resulted in only one “unqualified” API candidate? I

would have expected her to re-open the search and told the recruiter to come back with more diverse candidates.  — Alan Sugiyama Community Leader

communities and police forces nationwide, no officers were indicted in high-profile cases like that of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in Staten Island, N.Y. The officers involved in those killings were white, Liang is Chinese American.

Some have suggested that Liang was convicted because he was Asian—a convenient scapegoat for a system that has gone out of its way, over and over, to protect white police officers.

But would prison time for Liang really reduce the likelihood of the next Michael Brown, Eric Garner, or Walter Scott being killed?

It’s a tragedy, yes. An innocent man was killed. Gurley’s 3-year-old daughter will grow up without her father. There is plenty of heartache to go around.

Now, it is time to mourn and grieve. Embrace that grief and heal. Reconciling grief will not happen quickly. But it is the first step toward healing. 

Donnie Chin's family on park renaming Dear community members, We would like to thank you all for your tremendous support over the past months since Donnie’s passing. We appreciate the many efforts that have gone into remembering our brother and his lifetime of work for the community.

We are writing to formally state our family’s position on the renaming of the International Children’s Park for Donnie Chin. We feel honored that the community wants to name the park after Donnie and greatly appreciate the community’s participation in this process. Donnie’s love of children, and his wish for them to have a safe place to play, was the catalyst for the park. We feel it is most appropriate for the name of the park to be “Donnie Chin International Children’s Park.”

Donnie was an integral part of the creation of the International Children’s Park and approved of the name. We do not want to take away anything from the original name of the park. Donnie strongly believed in treating everyone equally and being inclusive.

Donnie named his own organization the International District Emergency Center. We ask for your understanding in our decision.

We are deeply grateful to The Honorable Mayor Ed Murray for creating a resolution for the renaming of the International Children’s Park to "Donnie Chin International Children’s Park” and for approving the exemption from the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department’s three year

waiting rule. Thank you also to Seattle City Council President Bruce Harrell and the Seattle City Council for their support of this resolution.

Special thanks to the renaming committee for their hard work to make this happen.

There are members of the community who are interested in erecting a statue of Donnie in the park. This is not of our family’s wishes. We ask for something more modest to reflect Donnie’s modesty. We hereby request that our family be consulted and involved with anything placed at the park to commemorate Donnie.

We know that Donnie meant a great deal to many of those who knew him. We understand there may be many other desires to honor him.

Please consult us on anything named in Donnie’s honor in the future.

Donnie loved his community and devoted his life to making the International District a better place. We feel the best way to honor Donnie is to continue his good work in the community. Get involved in community service. Help each other. Donnie was most proud of inspiring “his kids” and others to help their community. They are his legacy.

Please make all inquiries through Jamie Lee at Seattle Ch i natow n / I nter nat ional District Preservation Authority. You can reach Jamie at JamieL@SCIDPDA. org or (206) 838-8713.  — The family of Donnie Chin

asianweekly northwest

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APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

SEWARD from 1 Arai hopes to dedicate the second bench to Ike Ikeda, who passed away late last year.

“He was a very unusual person because he helped all minorities – Blacks, Southeast Asians, Chinese – he helped them all in different ways. They had a memorial service and the reverend brought up the subject of how he believed in ‘why not?’” Arai explained.

“He tried to make things happen when it didn’t seem like it was possible,” Arai described Ikeda.

Arai hopes to have a special poem engraved into the benches. For the bench dedicated to Ikeda, Japanese American poet and the late Aki Kurose’s sister is in the process of writing a personalized poem about Ikeda. And for the bench dedicated to Arai’s father, another local Japanese American poet, Larry Matsuda, wrote a poem about Japanese Americans and their experience going through the internment.

The benches are a part of the overall torii gate rebuild project. The original torii was a gift of the Seattle Japanese Chamber of Commerce to the City of Seattle in 1934, and stood as a symbol of goodwill from Seattle’s Japanese American community.

The torii was adopted as a symbol for the Seward Park Centennial in 2011, and community members suggested restoring it.

Construction of the new torii designed

by Scott Murase, as well as the benches, should begin this fall, and take about a year to complete. President of Friends of Seward Park, Paul Talbert, said that they have raised over 80 percent of the funds

BONSAI from 7 new and have discussions with different people about the world around them.

“I hope [younger Asian Americans] who pick up this art form learn a more simple and peaceful life with nature within their homes,” Nagai said. “And also carry on the respect and love of nature they found through bonsai to the rest of the planet.”

For Seattle artist John Osgar, his piece at Decked-Out is a personal tribute to his childhood friend who passed away 15 years prior to the day he first met with other artists at the museum.

“My ideas gravitated towards wanting to pay an homage to him, but stay within a certain meaning of the tokonoma and bonsai,” Osgard said.

Osgard said his friend was a talented swimmer who upheld time and dedication to the sport, especially swimming the butterfly.

“For my tokonoma display, I have painted a scene of rough waters [that is] supposed to depict tragedy and something to overcome,” Osgard said. “Around the skateboard deck, I am creating a sort of my own bonsai from cut wood that has butterflies on it.”

Osgard also plans to include a small bed for the purpose of collecting water. This symbolizes his childhood friend’s life around water.

“Once the bed is filled with water, it will give way to a reflection,” he said. “I reflect on Jason quite a bit. He is a big part of who I am."

Packard said that seeing the responses and enthusiasm of the artists is one of the most rewarding aspects of putting up the exhibit. His passion for bonsai echoes the unique connection between each artist and their tokonoma.

“I have a deep appreciation for plants and horticulture,” Packard said. “Trees are so long-lived. They are going to outlive us. Since they are around for so long, they can connect us with the past and future.”

According to Packard, most of the trees in the museum have been cultivated for 50 to 60 years and their history are very well documented.

One particular tree, the Domoto Trident

needed.

Tsuchino and Mike Forrester, and the Stim Bullitt Parks Excellence Fund, were huge contributors for the park’s rebuild.

Talbert, who has been involved with the park since 1999, sees the Japanese influences in the park as an important symbol of the enduring quality of friendship between the Japanese and Americans. In addition to the symbolism, Talbert is passionate about the park because it has the largest stand of old growth trees left in Seattle.

“There’s also a lot of wildlife you don’t see elsewhere, and it’s just a really special place,” he said.

The new torii gate will be located 15 feet away from the original torii. Since the original torii had been taken down in the mid-1990s, Talbert said that a part of the old torii gate is now at the Wing Luke Museum.

Arai said that his large family will be coming together for a reunion in the next couple of months from the West Coast and Japan. He hopes that they will be able to help donate to the bench for the park.

He also hopes that Seward Park will continue to be a place where people can go and remember things. He mentioned that when the Japanese first moved to Washington and saw Mount Rainier, they felt an immediate connection because it reminded them of Mount Fuji.  To learn more about the Seward Park torii project and to donate, visit www. sewardparktorii.org.

Nina Huang can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

Maple, has been in the United States for 101 years. The tree originally travelled from Japan to the United States to be displayed at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915.

Japanese immigrant Kanetaro Domoto fell in love with the tree and bought it at the end of the fair. Despite the family’s economic hardship and Japanese internment during World War II, the Domoto family cared for the tree until 1990, before they donated it to the museum.

Packard said the museum has a collection of 125 trees and 53 are on display at any given time.

“We rotate them as needed and do a major change-out twice a year,” Packard said. “We

TACOMA from 5 Paffenroth Jr. also has made friends with other children of missing troops. He’s close with the son of the navigator who died in his dad’s plane.

For a time, Paffenroth Jr. got to know the late Col. Frank Evans of Gig Harbor, who served in his father’s squadron in Japan.

Evans even had a short video clip showing Capt. Paffenroth in 1949.

Paffenroth Jr.’s best lead came just last year, when information surfaced suggesting one of his father’s crewmates might have been in a North Korean prison during the war.

If true, that would have meant the crew survived whatever brought down their plane. It could have led to burial sites for prisoners of war and eventually to the identification of the pilot’s remains.

He traveled to Washington, D.C., for updates on the investigation, and his hopes soared.

But the tip did not pan out, and Paffenroth Jr. was back to the beginning of his quest. He takes heart in the recent discovery of lost cemeteries in the Central Pacific island of Tarawa, where about 40 bodies of Marines were found last year.

“This’ll never end,” he said. “There’s always new material.”

His father was a decorated pilot who joined the Air Force in 1943. Paffenroth Sr. flew more than 40 combat missions during World War II. Paffenroth Jr. has his dad’s flight log. It shows a list of famous battles in the Pacific, including Corregidor in the Philippines.

After the war, the family moved to Japan.

Capt. Paffenroth had a choice assignment at the air base during the American occupa-

try to keep a variety and some trees need to be out all the time.”

Packard said that people often mistake bonsai as a type of tree that grows indoors.

In fact, people can turn any native tree into a bonsai, as long as they dedicate the effort to observe, water, and connect with the tree every day.

“The temperate climate of Washington allows a broad range of trees to grow well,” Packard said. “Any native tree will grow well, such as fir, spruce, pine, Chinese juniper, Japanese maple, and so on.”

“Try to grow some trees that are native to the environment,” he said. “You want to grow a tree that will do well where you live.”

For first-time owners of bonsai, Packard

tion of Japan’s mainland.

“It was prime duty, not much to do but be there,” Paffenroth Jr. said.

That plush assignment turned dangerous June 25, 1950, when communist forces pushed into the Korean Peninsula’s proWestern south.

Capt. Paffenroth started flying soon after the invasion.

“I remember him coming and going and not understanding what was going on,” Paffenroth Jr. said.

Capt. Paffenroth had a 10-day break from the war a few weeks before his last mission.

It was meant to give him a chance to hold his newborn son, the youngest of his four children. That was the last time the family was together.

On Oct. 19, 1950, Capt. Paffenroth took off from Iwakuni Air Base in Japan on a bombing run in bad weather. Aircraft flew about 30 minutes apart, hoping for breaks in clouds to hit their targets.

His plane disappeared on its return leg, coming down about 25 miles north of Pyongyang. No one knows whether it was shot down or had a mechanical problem.

Paffenroth Jr. was with his mom when two officers approached her at their home on Johnson Air Force Base.

“Mother said, `Oh, no,’ and what she worried about was true,” he remembered.

The family returned to the states. His mom, Lillian McCulley, remarried. Paffenroth Jr. served in the Air Force in the early 1960s and then had a long career at Boeing.

He planned to take his son to the POW/ MIA conference to provide some reassurance that someone will keep up the search for Capt. Paffenroth.

“I want him to understand about his grandfather,” Paffenroth Jr. said. 

offers a few words of advice.

“Start by observing it,” he said. “The more you look at it, you can definitely notice the subtleties. Especially this time of the year when I go out to check the trees, I notice the difference in trees and the little buds coming out. Keep the trees outside, if they need to be in display, then bring them in.”

Maintaining a consistent amount of water is the most crucial for a healthy tree.

“You should check if it needs water daily, but not water daily,” he said. “Trees are always telling us how to take care of them. Our part is simply to listen.”  Jocelyn Moore can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

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34 YEARS YOUR VOICE

SHELF from 7 his failing marriage is his son, and he finds himself in financial trouble after losing a large portion of his family’s savings in the stock market.

And when it all falls apart, John sees no other choice but to end his life.

But just as he is about to do the deed, he comes across a box containing a video featuring a Japanese man from the past who seems to know far too much about the would-be future.

This sparks John’s curiosity and he sets out on a journey to find the man in the video, Yaturo Hitari. His travels take him from an unnamed American city, to a soccer stadium in Mexico City, to a pub in England, and finally to the Japanese city of Kyoto. There, he meets Yaturo. John learns the other man came by his knowledge of future events from a man only known as “Alexi,” who seems to be from the future himself.

“Clout” is a story of “what ifs.” What if time travel was possible? What if you had knowledge of major events that could change the course of history and mankind? What if you could stop or cause these events?

These are all things John contemplates as he delves deeper

KWON from 1 Nordstrom for another four years. He also had stints at other local companies and the UW. Kwon currently works as a systems engineer with online music streaming service, Rhapsody, in Seattle.

SOLVING A NEIGHBORHOOD PROBLEM

After living in the Queen Anne neighborhood for most of his time in Seattle, Kwon purchased a home in SeaTac in 2012. When he moved, his first foray into community involvement with SeaTac was a problem related to mailboxes.

Kwon, who runs for exercise, noticed mail scattered throughout the neighborhood on his routes. While returning mail to some of his neighbors, he learned that the littered mail was due to a string of mail thefts.

Through this interaction with neighbors, Kwon determined that there should be a way to ensure that thieves could not break into mailboxes. He found a local company that made locked mailboxes and was able to broker a volume discount by having several neighbors band together and purchase those mailboxes. From that initial purchase, more neighbors sought him out and “Peter’s Locking Mailbox Program” was formed. Mail theft decreased and through connections he made with SeaTac residents, Kwon learned there were many other issues that concerned them.

With city council seats opening up, Kwon considered running for the first time in his life.

NEW IN POLITICS

“Prior to this, I had never been involved in politics,” Kwon said. “It wasn’t something I ever thought of.” Kwon first sought to see if any of his neighbors wanted to run, as he would have thrown his support behind them. But no one wanted to do it. In fact, his neighbors influenced him to run. “I’m usually a private person,” said Kwon of the potential issues of running. He realized that if he didn’t get involved, no one else would. After much thought, he put his name in the running.

Kwon ran as a “non-partisan” candidate, as he was not affiliated with Democrats or Republicans.

Kwon chose to run against Terry

APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

into the mystery that is Alexi. And these are all things you, the reader, will be contemplating, and wondering what you would do if you were in John’s situation.

“Clout” is a fast-paced story that will have readers absorbed in John’s journey around the world and cause you to think. You’ll wonder alongside him, trying to figure out who Alexi is and just what role he plays in the bigger picture. And once you’re done, you’ll find yourself wondering whether time travel is possible and if there really are people controlling the world’s puppet strings, and we just don’t know it.

"A Whisper of Leaves: (A Paranormal Novella)"

By Ashley Capes Close-Up Books, 2015

After losing her job teaching English, Riko goes on a hike in the forests beneath Mt. Fuji, where she finds an old journal buried in the ground. But instead of leaving it where she found it, something compels her to take it home with her.

The more she studies it, the more she realizes that she has brought home more than just the journal. Some sort

Anderson, one of the original founding members of the City of SeaTac. Anderson had been on the council for 26 years.

Anderson said she sponsored Kwon for her city council seat. “He came and told me [he wanted to run for city council], and when I learned he wanted to do it, I said, ‘Well, all right!’ I’d been there so long. I just felt washed out,” she laughed. “He’s a wonderful guy. He’s very smart. He’s not only smart, he’s very easy to deal with.”

Still, Kwon said he had to work extra hard to get his name out there. Kwon dedicated any extra time he had outside of his fulltime job at Rhapsody to campaigning.

That included “doorbelling” – the process of going door-to-door to meet neighbors and request votes.

Kwon also studied campaigns of SeaTac and Tukwila council elections over the past 12 years. Specifically, he looked at what worked and what didn’t. He noted that candidates sometimes won because they ran unopposed. That wasn’t the case as Kwon had to beat out candidates in a primary in order to make the November election. “I had to run two campaigns,” Kwon said. “I had to win a primary and then the general election.” Kwon defeated the incumbent and another candidate in the November general election.

Kwon reached out to the Korean community to solicit support. As part of his research, Kwon discovered that out of 2,700 registered voters in SeaTac, only five Korean Americans were registered to vote.

Kwon received campaign contributions from friends of his mother in the Korean American community, local businesses that Kwon frequented, and the neighbors he originally helped with the locked mailboxes.

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS

Among the issues Kwon wants to address during his tenure is the SeaTac budget. He identified several areas where the city could be more effective in saving money.

“The budget is a big deal,” Kwon stated. The newly elected city council has established a committee to examine how much the city is spending and holding each department accountable.

He also noted that residents were

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of malevolent force begins to threaten Riko. She begins getting sick and seeing things she’s not sure are really there. All of this leads her to wonder what is happening to her and if she is losing her mind.

Riko is positive that the key to her sanity is somewhere within the pages of the journal, but that could mean risking her life and the life of those around her. Her best lead seems to be an eccentric old man who spends much of her time in the forest where she found the journal.

While “Whisper” may be short in length, it packs a punch.

The story is intense and while it deals with the paranormal, Capes balances it with just enough realism that she’ll have your heart pounding in certain moments and wondering if something like this could possibly happen.

Despite the story’s relatively short length, Capes manages to create complex characters who are multifaceted and relatable. From Riko, who is working and living away from home and her family, but still finds them a little overwhelming at times, to Yuuki, who can’t seem to stand up to his overbearing father, we are able to see ourselves in them and feel for the human struggles they face.  Samantha Pak can be reached at info@nwasianweekly. com.

concerned about a utility tax, imposed to help a shortfall in the city budget. Kwon indicated that he would look into repealing the tax.

Despite coming into office in January, Kwon and the newly appointment council members were embroiled in controversy with the removal of the city manager, Todd Cutts. However, Kwon noted that his removal was not out of the ordinary. “This is pretty common in other cities when you have a shift in power.”

That’s not how Anderson sees it. “Yes, there was controversy around the firing,” she said. “There’s always an uneven number [of people for and against things and] they just went in and fired him. I didn’t think that was an appropriate way to handle it.”

An interim manager was put in place and the process of appointing a new city manager continues.

In addition, there was an issue with the belief that the city was blocking a federal grant to build a city park. Kwon notes that there was apprehension among council members and the mayor, due to a new condition attached to the grant. Kwon explained that the additional condition could expose the city to an additional liability.

“It got blown out of proportion,” said Kwon of the perception that the city turned down the grant. He explained that the grant

was eventually accepted.

The city of SeaTac also has challenges with respect to Sound Transit. Rick Forschler, who recently stepped down as mayor for health concerns, questioned the impact Sound Transit would have on the city. He was concerned with congestion and the process to complete the process of building light rail.

The city council pays $1,000 per month to council members, according to Kwon.

Initially, Kwon thought that his position on the council was part-time, as they meet twice a month. He quickly realized he also needed to spend time within the community, meeting with organizations, business associations, and attending charity functions. Kwon also serves on the code enforcement and transportation board committees.

“If you want to be effective, you have to go to these meetings,” explained Kwon of the additional time he serves in the community.

Kwon hopes that during his time as a SeaTac council member, he can make a difference. “The biggest thing is that I want to make sure local government is acceptable to local citizens. “That hasn’t always been the case in the past.”  Jason Cruz can be reach at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

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asianweekly northwest

14

APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

ATOMIC BOMB from 4 leaders from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, Stauber said.

The trip has been in the works for two years.

It is partially funded by a $10,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

The planned exhibit will open in December.

HACKER from 4 and the F-35, as well as Boeing’s C-17 military cargo aircraft program, according to court papers.

Su’s attorney, Robert Anello, declined to discuss the case in detail except to say that Su is “hopeful to move on with his life.”

Su, described by prosecutors as a China-based businessman in the aviation and aerospace fields, faces up to five years in federal prison at his sentencing July 13. He had faced 30 years before reaching the plea agreement with prosecutors.

Su was arrested in British Columbia, Canada in July 2014 and brought to the United States in February.

Aside from visiting Japan, Stauber plans to collaborate with Japanese Americans on a display on World War II internment camps in New Mexico.

Los Alamos, known as Atomic City, is home to Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The community is considered one of the wealthiest in the United States because of an economy tethered to one of the nation’s largest science laboratories. It’s a city where As part of the conspiracy, prosecutors say Su would email the hackers in China explaining what people, companies, and technology to target. Once data was stolen, prosecutors say Su would translate it from English to Chinese, and email the value of the information to those who benefited from its theft.

U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker said in a statement that cybercrime is one of the most serious national security threats. Su’s “guilty plea and conviction demonstrate that these criminals can be held accountable no matter where they are located in the world and that we are deeply committed to protecting our sensitive data in order to keep our nation safe.”

Cybersecurity has become an increas-

colorful symbols of atomic energy are displayed almost everywhere.

Bo Jacobs, a researcher at the Hiroshima Peace Institute who will meet with Stauber, said the history surrounding atomic energy is not a story of scientific discovery in Japan.

Instead, it’s a story of “people who were killed, who lost family members, who were injured.” In an email, Jacobs said the bomb’s invention took a human toll of anywhere from

ingly sore point in U.S.-China relations.

A report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission last year found that China’s increasing use of cyber espionage has already cost U.S. companies tens of billions of dollars in lost sales and expenses in repairing the damage from hacking. In many cases, the report says stolen trade secrets have been turned over to Chinese government-owned companies.

“The United States is ill-prepared to defend itself from cyber espionage when its adversary is determined, centrally coordinated, and technically sophisticated, as is the CCP and China’s government,” according to the report, referring to the ruling Chinese Communist Party. 

129,000 to more than 200,000.

“The differences between the U.S. and the Japanese narratives of the attack – they couldn’t be more different,” Jacobs said.

Stauber said she hopes this visit will help build an exhibit that can bridge that gap between narratives.

“What do we know, and how do we know it?” she said. “And how are we remembering?” 

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34 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ astrology

APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

15

Predictions and advice for the week of April 2–April 8

By Sun Lee Chang Rat — You make the occasion festive by the energy you bring. Leave your expectations behind and just enjoy the company.

Dragon — What is easy for you is much more difficult for someone else. Your true value will soon become apparent.

Monkey — You have a good handle on what is going on now, but watch out as there are new developments, which could rock the boat a bit.

Ox — There are certain things that must get done eventually. Instead of procrastinating, take care of those items sooner rather than later.

Snake — Fast times call for some quick maneuvering. Even though someone else could be in the lead now, it won’t stay that way for long.

Rooster — It is prudent to plan for the worst case scenario, but that shouldn’t stop you from hoping for the best outcome.

Tiger — Something that seems minor to you may mean a great deal to someone else. Don’t assume that everyone agrees with you.

Horse — After searching for some time, you have finally met your match – although you might not initially realize it.

Dog — A curious turn has you wondering what you missed. Likely, it was less about you and more about what was going on with the other person.

Rabbit — Shuffling the deck could turn up a few surprises. One thing is for certain, you won’t be bored with the interesting combinations.

Goat — One chapter is slowly drawing to a close.

No need to worry for another story is unfolding in the wings.

Pig — What worked for you before could now seem somewhat outdated. You have evolved and your style should reflect that.

What’s your animal sign?

Rat 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 Ox 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 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 Dog 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 Pig 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007

*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.

SUICIDE BOMB from 5 and there is always a general threat, but no specific threat alert was received for this place,” he added.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a meeting to assess the security situation in Lahore, according to a government statement.

Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Raheel Sharif, also convened an emergency meetPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif ing of the country’s intelligence agencies to begin to track down those responsible for the attacks, said army spokesman Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa.

Salman Rafiq, a health adviser to the Punjab government, called on people to donate blood, saying that many of those wounded were in critical condition.

One witness, who wished to be identified only by his first name, Afzal, told AP that he had taken 20 children to hospital and carried three dead bodies to a police car. “I can’t explain to you the tragic situation,” he said.

Another witness, Tariq Mustapha, said that he had just left the park when he heard an explosion. He said his friend was still missing.

Footage broadcast on local television stations showed chaotic scenes in the park, with people running while carrying children and cradling the wounded in their laps.

A witness, not identified by name on Pakistan’s Geo TV station, said he was heading toward a fairground ride with his wife and two children when he heard a huge bang and all four of them were thrown to the floor. A woman was shown crying while looking desperately for her missing 5-yearold son.

A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council said that the United States “condemns the attack in the strongest terms,” describing it as a “cowardly act in what has long been a scenic and placid park.” Ned Price said the United States would continue to work with Pakistan and its partners to “root out the scourge of terrorism.”

Vikas Swarup, spokesman for India’s External Affairs ministry, tweeted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif to express his deep condolences. He said Modi “underlined the need for uncompromising efforts to fight against terrorism.” 

APPLICATION Name: ____________________ Address: ___________________ __________________________ City: _____________ Zip: _______ Phone: _____________________ Birthdate: _____ / _____ / _____ School: ____________________ E-mail: _____________________ Class (as of academic year 2015-2016).

Open to all students, but priority is given to juniors and seniors: ___ Sophomore ___ Senior ___ Junior ___ College Freshman Are you a Northwest Asian Weekly reader? ___ Yes ___ No

WHEN

Please enclose $50 non-refundable registration fee.

June 27 – July 14, 2016 Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

x_______________________________ Parent or guardian for students under the age of 18.

WHERE

Submit a 100-word essay why you would like to join the program.

To be announced

WHAT • • • • • • • •

Develop leadership and communication skills Meet role models and leaders Discover Asian community resources Build friendships with youths from other areas of Puget Sound Exciting field trips Great speakers All expenses paid, including ethnic lunches every day for 3 weeks Earn $200 to $500 in scholarships

Mail this application and your essay to: Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation 412 Maynard Ave. S. Seattle, WA 98104 Application Deadline: June 4, 2016 Any application received after the above date will be considered on a space-available basis.

NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY 412 Maynard Ave. S. Seattle, WA 98104 206-223-0623 www.nwasianweekly.com

asianweekly northwest

16

APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2016

WWU from 1 degree in chemical engineering there. He earned his master’s degree in industrial engineering from Oregon State University in 1980, and his doctorate from Arizona State University, also in industrial engineering, in 1983.

Randhawa impressed members of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee

Asian plaza committee members, from left: Nate Chinn, Dennis Chinn, Leeching Tran, Jennie Cochran-Chinn, Duc Tran, and NWAW reporter James Tabafunda

Image credit asianplazaredevelopment.com

for the community,” said Asian Plaza Redevelopment (APR) President Dennis Chinn.

According to APR’s website, the current Asian Plaza – bordered by 10th Avenue South to the west, South Main Street to the north, 12th Avenue South to the east, and South Jackson Street to the south – will be replaced “with a new major (eight-storytall) redevelopment. It will act as a catalyst to the local economy that has largely been bypassed by the economic progress experienced in other parts of the greater Seattle Metropolitan area.”

Chinn said, “Maybe it’s that people seem to think, ‘Oh, this is the International District. It should be all little, low, one-story buildings.’ Why?” The new Asian Plaza will feature 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 underground parking garage for approximately 600 vehicles, a childcare center, and a veterinary clinic.

Architecture firm HEWITT, Chinn says, found a place to put everything. He admits, “What I really appreciate about this is that David (Hewitt), in my view, he’s adopted this as his legacy as well.”

Other partners include Redmond-based Chinn Construction – no relation to Dennis Chinn.

Wilce and Mitsi Shiomi originally bought the two-and-a-half acre site in the late 1940s, after years of hard work. During World War II, they were detained under Executive Order 9066 at the Tule Lake Segregation Center in California, the largest internment camp for people of Japanese descent from western Washington, northern California, and Oregon.

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.

“Little by little, he had a vision,” Chinn said about his father-in-law. “He didn’t have time to do it, and it wasn’t time yet, but now it is.”

Chinn and his sons, Nate and Brian, started working on this legacy project in 2015.

Nate is an APR vice president of operations.

Brian’s wife Jennie Cochran-Chinn, an APR vice president of project development, said, “The character will be maintained through the mix of restaurants and through the tenants that we have.” Asian Plaza’s tenants include Tamarind Tree, Vietnam House, Lyn Hair Salon, Ocean Pacific Travel, Sichuanese Cuisine, and Thanh Vi. “We’re taking something that we’ve had for years and trying to make it something better that will survive for generations,” Nate Chinn said. “We also imagine it as multicultural: Vietnamese plus Chinese, plus honoring our Japanese heritage.”

Viet-Wah Group founder and chairman Duc Tran was a Chinese-Vietnamese refugee who immigrated to the United States and now provides APR with important insights from the Vietnamese American community, as well as the Chinese American community. His daughter, Leeching, joins him and serves as an APR vice president.

He opened Viet-Wah Supermarket at Asian Plaza in 1986, becoming its first tenant.

“I’m in the process of retiring, and now Dennis pulls me back in,” Tran said, laugh-

Photo by Stacy Nguyen/NWAW

ASIAN PLAZA from 1

Project overview

ing. “I will come and help.”

“We are in the transition to get the younger generation to operate the Viet-Wah.” The APR website says the Asian Plaza redevelopment project is very much a Tran family legacy.

“We’re not saying, ‘Okay, everybody’s got to leave now.’ That’s why we’re phasing in the whole thing,” Dennis Chinn said. “That way, they don’t have to leave while we do construction.”

Minh-Duc Nguyen is executive director of Helping Link, an agency that provides ESL classes and job assistance programs to Vietnamese, Chinese, and Filipino immigrants. With the help of 123 volunteers and without government funding, the organization provides many programs – including a computer lab and Facebook classes – and services at Asian Plaza.

She said, “We’ve got to figure it out really fast, and work out the next stage. Now, we probably have less than a year to really map out the plan.”

“We’re not trying to displace anyone,” Leeching Tran said. “We just want to make it better and grow and see our community thrive.”

APR’s next step in the redevelopment is applying for the design review in April.

“We’re not planning on building this and selling it,” Dennis Chinn said. “We’re here to stay.”  For more information about Asian Plaza Redevelopment, visit asianplazaredevelopment.com.

with his “focus on student success and his interest and understanding of issues related to diversity and inclusivity on campus,” said Trustee Sue Sharpe, chair of the search committee.

Bruce Shepard is retiring June 30 after eight years as Western’s president.

The trustees will meet during the week of April 4, to vote on Randhawa’s appointment. 

James Tabafunda can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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