VOL 41 NO 16 | APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

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VOL 41 NO 16 APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

FREE 40 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Woman to sell house as part of resolving hate crime lawsuit Vietnamese neighbor endured racial threats

A Vietnamese woman and her husband have resolved their civil lawsuit with a white neighbor who spewed racial slurs and threatened her. Under the terms of an agreement announced on April 11, 72-year-old Janet Myers agreed to sell her home and pay Thi Pham $45,000 from a portion of the proceeds.

Pham and her husband, who is white, and their young son, moved to the Shoreline neighborhood four years ago. Myers lived next door. According to Pham, the incidents of hate from Myers have been going on for years.

The civil lawsuit stems from multiple incidents in which Myers, Pham’s next-door neighbor, harassed and threatened Pham. Myers was charged see HATE CRIME on 14

Love and music at KODA

Photos by Mahlon Meyer

Hidden Legacy House offers treasures of care

Dr. Lei Baizhong

Ted Wong

By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

District, shining on the long boards posted over the front windows, remnants of the days of rioting in the first year of the pandemic.

Image by Kai Curry

Scalloped clouds cast a harsh light outside Legacy House, the assisted living community in the Chinatown-International

Thi Pham (right) with her attorney, Jeff Campiche

see LEGACY HOUSE on 12

Photo provided by Da-Li Development.

By Jason Cruz NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Exterior of KODA condominiums

By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Down the long corridors, inside the soundproofed rooms, you never know who you’re going to meet at KODA condominiums.

In one unit, an 81-year-old man lives

with the love of his life, who he met 60 years ago and with a single glance knew she was the one.

In another lives a man, nearly a quarter of his age who plays the violin and viola at night, amazed that his neighbors can see KODA on 16

Mayors’ Concert raises funds, morale for Ukraine and refugees

By Kai Curry NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell addresses the audience at the Mayors’ Concert for Ukraine and Refugees Worldwide

■

In the audience and on the stage, the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag fluttered. At the Mayors’ Concert for Ukraine and Refugees Worldwide on April 4, the Seattle Symphony, Conductor Ludovic Morlot, and Ukrainian

singers and dancers performed for free to support the cause.

“We have come together…because we see that the need is dire for just essential resources as the people of Ukraine…face displacement from their homes and also see CONCERT on 4

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

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asianweekly northwest

40 YEARS

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

■ NAMES IN THE NEWS Fong joins Chase as Community Manager Longtime banker Rocky Fong recently took on a new role at Chase in Seattle as Community Manager, a newly created role.

Fong’s mission is to provide community residents with access to tools and resources available to help achieve their financial goals. The role is part of JPMorgan Chase’s five-year Rocky Fong racial equity commitment of $30 billion towards addressing the racial wealth gap.

At the branch on 301 Broadway East in Seattle, Fong will build and nurture relationships with key community leaders, nonprofit partners, and small businesses at the neighborhood level.

“Working in corporate social responsibility earlier in my career, I saw a number of customers who didn’t know where to start or how to reach their financial goals, ranging from savings, budgeting, and even how to build and start credit,” said Fong. “In my new role, I’m serving the Seattle community at a much deeper level.”

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Fong has resided in Seattle with his family since 1997. 

Harrell names search committee for new SDOT director

Rizwan Rizwi

Monisha Singh

of Transportation (SDOT).

Committee members, including Cassie Chinn of the Wing Luke Museum, Lee Lambert of Cascade Bike Club, Rizwan Rizwi of Muslim Housing Services, Monisha Singh of Chinatown International District Business Improvement Association, and Yu-Ann Youn Yu-Ann Youn of SDOT’s Transportation Equity Workgroup and a University of Washington student, were selected for their technical expertise and vision, lived experiences with the transportation system, and ability to leverage networks to market the position, collect feedback, and provide information to support the process and selection.

The search committee will meet for the first time this month and begin considering candidates in May before a final selection is made this summer. 

Trailblazing Asian American legislator Patsy Young

Cassie Chinn

Lee Lambert

Mayor Bruce Harrell announced on April 8 a committee to help find a permanent director for the Seattle Department

Patsy Young, who served in both the Hawaii state House and Senate between 1971 and 1988, died on April 3. She was 92.

Young was the first Asian American woman appointed to the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, according to biographical information provided by the Hawaii United Okinawa Association.

Her parents emigrated from Okinawa, and they moved the family to Honolulu in 1941.

Young began her legislative career in the House in 1971 and moved to the state Senate in 1974 as the Senate Majority Policy Leader. During her time in the Legislature, she helped pass a law that enabled individuals with a Patsy Young Hawaiian blood quantum of 25% to inherit Hawaiian Homelands leases from certain closely related relatives. 

Nguyen to receive EMILY's List award EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, announced that the 2022 Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award will be awarded to Georgia state Rep. Bee Nguyen. The award will be presented at the We Are EMILY Gala on May 3.

In a news release, Laphonza Butler, president of EMILY’s Bee Nguyen List, said, “Nguyen has shaped history through her fierce defense of democracy during her time in office as she led the successful effort to restore voting rights to over 53,000 people impacted by a racist voter suppression policy in Georgia and fought back against the Trump campaign’s false claims of fraud after the 2020 presidential election…

She is a proven champion of voting rights, reproductive freedom, and equality.”

EMILY’s List endorsed Nguyen’s campaign for the State House in 2020 and has endorsed her in her current race for Georgia secretary of state. 

YOUR VOICE

■ COMMUNITY NEWS

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

asianweekly northwest

3

Minority Health Month

By Gayle Gupit-Mayor NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Dr. Jeffrey Duchin

April is National Minority Health Month (NMHM), and this year’s theme is “Give Your Community a Boost!”

NMHM is an initiative promoted by the Office of Minority Health that focuses on the health concerns of Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, and other underserved groups. Through disease prevention and early identification, the

objective is to remove the disproportionate burden of premature mortality and avoidable illnesses in minority communities.

This year’s theme focuses on the role individuals and organizations can play in reducing minority health inequities by highlighting the importance of COVID-19 vaccination, including COVID-19 boosters, and disseminating trustworthy information as critical strategies for ending the COVID-19 pandemic.

A report from Public Health Seattle & King County (PHSKC) with data taken from the Social & Economic Risk Index illustrates that COVID-19 testing rates were lower among communities with essential non-healthcare workers, lower education and income levels, larger households, and households with foreign-born residents or limited English proficiency households, which results to higher COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Life expectancy is lower and rates of death higher in King County neighborhoods with lower levels of education, poverty, and diverse racial and ethnic populations, according to data from a neighborhoodlevel study published in Lancet Public Health by Institute for Health Metrics and

Evaluation at the University of Washington and PHSKC. “These inequalities or differences in health outcomes found in different subgroups of the population are known as health disparities,” said Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, Health Officer for Seattle & King County Department of Public Health, in a Q&A posted on the King County Public Health Insider web page.

The study shows that minority groups in downtown Seattle, southern areas of Seattle, and southwest King County experience a greater share of illness and injury in comparison to Mercer Island and other cities in the eastside.

“We also see higher levels of poverty, lower levels of educational attainment and other social inequities, driven, in part, by a long history of underinvestment and social injustice,” said Duchin.

Minority groups are also less likely to be able to afford healthcare and face other risks associated with the COVID-19 virus.

This is especially true for undocumented immigrants, who often struggle to get access to basic health services.

“The poorer a person is, the greater the struggle to meet the basic necessities of

life—access to healthy food, opportunities for recreation, safe homes in safe neighborhoods, good schools, employment, and transportation options,” said Duchin.

“Additionally, increased barriers in meeting these necessities leads to chronic stress, which increases the chance of illness and disability.”

The neighborhood-level study showed that minority groups are more likely to suffer from heart disease. This may be due to lack of access to screening services, cultural beliefs about healthcare that lead people to delay treatment, and economic disparities that limit people's ability to afford necessary care.

“A few conditions like cardiovascular disease, if prevented, would make the greatest difference in both improving overall health and reducing disparities,” said Duchin.

Mental health is another area where minorities face significant disparities relative to the general population in the U.S. Several studies show that minorities have less access to mental health services than whites, are less likely to obtain needed see MINORITY HEALTH on 13

Schwiethale’s ‘ABCs of Cambodia’ exposes readers to Cambodian culture

Photo provided by Kiri Schwiethale

the book on Kickstarter (tinyurl.com/ mtt2wskn), which she launched March 14. The campaign ends at 11:59 p.m. on April 15, the last day of Cambodian New Year. Her goal was to raise $16,700, which she reached after about two weeks. As of press time, the campaign had raised more than $26,000. After reaching her goal, Schwiethale added stretch goals to the campaign, which included donating copies of the book to partnering organizations in Cambodia, an online pronunciation guide, and adding numbers to the book if the campaign hit certain financial goals.

Schwiethale estimates backers will receive their books in November, though she hopes it will be sooner.

Kiri Schwiethale with her book, the “ABCs of Cambodia.”

By Samantha Pak NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY About a year ago, Kiri Schwiethale found herself at a crossroads, thinking about how she would share her Cambodian culture with her two kids.

Her husband suggested a kids’ book. At the time, Schwiethale was set to participate in the 36 Days of Type, a challenge for designers, illustrators, and graphic artists to “express their particular interpretation of the letters and numbers of the Latin alphabet,” according to its website. A graphic designer by training, Schwiethale initially considered the challenge to push herself creatively.

But after her husband’s suggestion, she combined it with her desire to share her heritage with her son and daughter—who were 4 and 3, respectively, at the time—to produce “ABCs of Cambodia.”

Schwiethale’s son was also learning and starting to recognize letters at the time, so a picture book using the alphabet to highlight different aspects of Cambodian culture was a way to learn his letters and about his background at the same time. In the book, Schwiethale, 29, has also translated the words into Khmer—including the word written in Khmer script, as well as its phonetic pronunciation in English.

The Port Angeles resident is funding

FAMILIAL INPUT Schwiethale has always been interested in art. Growing up in Cambodia (with regular visits to Seattle), her mother would take art classes and share what she learned with Schwiethale. Her interest in design grew after she got her hands on a bootleg edition of Adobe Photoshop. That hands-on experience as a kid transformed her interest into a passion, which she pursued once she settled in the Pacific Northwest, studying visual communication at Seattle Pacific University.

In creating the book, Schwiethale had see KIRI on 6

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asianweekly northwest

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

40 YEARS

■ COMMUNITY NEWS Several COVID deaths in WA happened before 1st was announced SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state Department of Health has confirmed at least four other Washingtonians died from COVID complications before or on Feb. 28, 2020—the date the first known death in Washington and the U.S. was announced.

In a recent review of the state’s earliest COVID-19 deaths, three people who died before the initial announcement were from long-term care facility Life Care Center of

Kirkland, the site of the first known U.S. coronavirus outbreak, The Seattle Times reported.

State health officials now believe the first person to die in Washington was a Snohomish County woman in her 30s.

That death happened on Feb. 24, 2020.

The woman had a travel history and underlying health conditions, according to Kari Bray, spokesperson for Snohomish

CONCERT from 1 from their homeland,” said emcee Joyce Taylor of KING 5, to a concert hall packed with VIPs. Co-hosting the event were Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and 36 King County mayors, including Burien Mayor Sofia Aragon, who said it was “heartening” to see these mayors join with Harrell “to denounce the violence against the Ukraine and acknowledge the hardships refugees from around the world experience.”

Aragon explained that “many AAPI refugees who have resettled in the Puget Sound region have been through the same trauma and hardships. The crisis in the Ukraine brings the refugee experience to light.”

Seattle Symphony cellist Nathan Chan spoke similarly in a recent interview.

“The week that Russia went to war with Ukraine was a particularly poignant week to be making music. The whole world was on a…precipice of ‘is this really what everything has come to?’” Chan described the immediate action that Seattle and King County took, such as the Symphony playing the Ukrainian National Anthem at events even prior to the Mayors’ Concert.

“Even though it doesn’t seem like much, it’s one small thing we as musicians can do to show our support and solidarity for something that is genuinely so terrible that’s happening in the world.”

The thought of what might be happening in the Ukraine right now hung poignant in the air. Symphony President Krishna Thiagarajan kept his introduction succinct by quoting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from his surprise appearance at the Grammy’s the night before.

“Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos.

They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can’t hear them, but the music will break through anyway.” Thiagarajan then continued in his own words, “Music can transcend language barriers and it takes over when words fail us…Music can also restore hope and faith in humanity.” He explained that the music chosen for the evening highlighted “the quest for self-determination and freedom.”

County’s public health department.

But little other information is publicly available as her death wasn’t investigated by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Bob Anderson, the chief of mortality statistics at a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said recently it has not been uncommon for authorities to have missed some of the

Morlot then came to the stage, a blue-and-yellow ribbon pinned to his lapel. The concert began with a piece by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (“Finlandia”) that was created as a protest against the Russian Empire—at that time, against censorship, but a stronger message could not have been sent as the starting volley of the evening. The program moved from there into a Ukrainian “Welcome Dance,” performed by Barvinok Ukrainian Dance Ensemble. The dancers, in traditional costume, received a standing ovation when they held up the Ukrainian flag.

Next came the music of two Ukrainian composers.

“Melody” by Myroslav Skoryk, who was awarded the titles People’s Artist of Ukraine and Hero of Ukraine, seemed a patriotic choice, confirmed by the moving nature of the music itself; while a more delicate, meditative piece

by Valentin Silvestrov faded to a silence that was so thick you could hear it.

“It has been so long since I heard live music,” Taylor said. “It transports us…It is a universal language…Tonight it has truly allowed us to do something so wonderful, to support people who are facing challenges.”

70% of funds raised this night would go towards helping Ukrainians abroad and in King County, while 30% would go towards other refugees locally. In his remarks, Harrell extolled the good nature of Washingtonians.

“We are a welcoming city…Washington has been one of the top 10 states for accepting refugees…I am asking that our city lead the country in opening our hearts.” He continued with his own reasons for taking a stand. “As Mayor, I have no tolerance for hate, destruction, bigotry, or small mindedness…we are claiming our greatness this evening, we are claiming the best version of ourselves.”

Harrell had already issued an Executive Order to Support the People of Ukraine on March 7 to “direct City departments to take action to assist communities impacted by the unjustified and violent invasion of Ukraine.” As he elaborated on the Symphony stage, “…threats to democracy deserve our attention and our involvement…

What has made us great is not that we pound our chest and suppress the rights of others, but that we open our hearts and welcome immigrants and refugees.”

country’s early COVID-19 deaths.

“Doctors often didn’t know what they were looking at and didn’t have a lot of experience with COVID-19,” he said.

While a few missed deaths likely won’t make a big difference from a public health standpoint, he said, it’s important to keep a record as accurate as possible. 

“Putin and his army don’t value people’s lives. They came to kill, to destroy, and to steal,” said Honorary Consul General of Ukraine in Seattle, Valeriy Goloborodko. “That is a tragedy. But through this tragedy, we are blessed with friends…who do everything possible to help the people of Ukraine and to help civilians and innocents, to save their lives and to get through this war together to victory…to the victory of life.”

Feelings ran high throughout the night. The Ukrainian United Choir sang a “Prayer for Ukraine” in perfect harmony, in spite of wearing masks, backs straight and chins up; then moved into “The Mighty Dnieper,” a song about the large river that flows through Ukraine. The song rose and fell like an angry storm had taken hold of that river and of the wind that “howls and raves,” making one think of wartime, while lyrics such as “The roosters don’t crow…there’s not as yet a sound of man” or “the owls in the glades call out their warnings” lent an ominous feel.

People in the audience yelled out in what might have been Ukrainian and only just settled down when the Symphony launched into the finale piece by Beethoven, “Fidelio” or the “Leonore Overture.”

There was sadness and tension on this meaningful evening, but like the heroine of “Fidelio,” who disguises herself to rescue her husband from where he is held as a political prisoner, there was hope of eventual triumph.

As many have remarked since the start of the conflict, Ukrainians have been steadfast in their resolve in the face of invasion and they demonstrated this resolve on the stage.

“In Ukraine, we have a proverb,” Goloborodko said.

“Going through a sorrow with a friend, you are dividing the sorrow in half. Going through a joy with a friend, you are making double of this joy. We are grateful for…all the friends who are gathered here and all the support we have.

Goloborodko concluded that if Seattle and King County could help the Ukrainians now, in this time of sorrow, then “we are sure that soon a time of joy will come.”  Kai can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON NOTICE TO PROPOSERS Sealed bids will be received for KC000539, Eastlake Layover Facility (Rebid); by the King County Procurement and Payables Section, via the E-Procurement system, until 1:30PM on May 3, 2022. Late bids will not be accepted. The public bid opening will only be conducted on-line following the Bid Close Date and Time; see Invitation to Bid Section 00 10 00 for details.

There is a 15% minimum Apprentice Utilization Requirement on this contract.

There is a Voluntary Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Goal: 10% of the Contract Price.

There is a Voluntary Women Business Enterprise (WBE) Goal: 6% of the Contract Price.

The Work under this Contract consists of construction of off-street and on-street bus layover facilities and building construction of a Metro Transit comfort station. The Work also includes modifications of roadways, traffic signals and channelization to facilitate bus movements.

Estimated contract price: $11,700,000 Pre-Bid: Please see Section 00 10 00 Invitation to Bid for details Prospective bidders can view more details at: https://kingcounty.gov/ procurement/solicitations Complete Invitation to Bid Documents, including all project details, specifications, and contact information are available on our web page at: https://kingcounty.gov/procurement/supplierportal

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

YOUR VOICE

asianweekly northwest

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■ NATIONAL NEWS Experts: Asian population overcount masks community nuances

By TERRY TANG and MIKE SCHNEIDER ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOENIX (AP) — Jennifer Chau was astonished last month when the U.S. Census Bureau’s report card on how accurately it counted the U.S. population in 2020 showed that Asian people were overcounted by the highest rate of any race or ethnic group.

Jennifer Chau The director of an Asian American advocacy group thought thousands of people would be missed — outreach activities had been scratched by the coronavirus pandemic,

and she and her staff feared widespread language barriers and wariness of sharing information with the government could hinder participation. They also thought recent attacks against Asian Americans could stir up fears within the Asian population, the fastest-growing race or ethnic group in the U.S. “I’m honestly shocked,” said Chau, director of the Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander For Equity Coalition.

But Chau and other advocates and academics also believe the overcounting of the Asian population by 2.6% in the once-a-decade U.S. head count may not be all that it seems on the surface. They say it likely masks great variation in who was counted among different Asian communities in the U.S. They also believe it could signal that biracial and multiracial residents identified as Asian in larger numbers than in the past.

The specifics are difficult to determine because all Asian communities are grouped together under the same race category in the census. This conceals the wide variety of income, education and health backgrounds between subgroups and tends to blur characteristics unique to certain communities, some advocates said. It may also perpetuate the “model minority“ myth of Asians being affluent and well-educated.

“Asian Americans have the largest income inequality than any other racial groups in the U.S. and the overall overcount likely masks the experiences of Asian ethnic groups who were more vulnerable to being undercounted,” said Aggie Yellow Horse, an assistant professor of Asian Pacific American Studies at Arizona State University.

Almost four dozen U.S. House members this month see OVERCOUNT on 12

Boston Mayor Michelle China used TV, TikTok Wu hopes to transform stars in discreet Olympics campaign her adopted city

By STEVE LeBLANC ASSOCIATED PRESS BOSTON (AP) — When she was elected mayor of Boston in November, Michelle Wu transformed the image of the city’s chief executive — up until then the sole domain of white men, many of Irish descent.

Now in office, the ChicagoMichelle Wu born daughter of Taiwanese immigrants is facing a raft of challenges, including making good on key campaign promises like creating a fare-free public transit system and blunting the city’s skyrocketing housing costs.

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Wu, 37 and the mother of two, has also grappled with early morning protests outside her home and racist online taunts.

“You can’t take things personally in jobs like this,” Wu said in an interview with The Associated Press. “At the same time, it does seem like in the last few years especially we’ve seen a normalizing of behavior that is toxic and harmful and personally abusive to many, many people.”

“Women and women of color in particular see WU on 15

By AMANDA SEITZ, MIKE CATALINI and ERIC TUCKER ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) — A “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” TV star, a Paralympic swimmer and a self-described “brand king” were among the Instagram and TikTok influencers who were paid by Chinese officials for a discreet campaign that promoted the Beijing Winter Olympics, new Justice Department documents reveal.

The social media posts fanned across a variety of popular Instagram and TikTok accounts that have a combined following of 5 million people who follow their videos, photos and content about travel destinations, sports, fashion and women’s

issues. The Chinese Consulate in New York paid $300,000 to New Jersey-based firm Vippi Media to recruit the influencers.

The posts were not properly labeled as ads in the way that TikTok and Instagram requires.

“It allows them to boost the reach and the resonance of their messaging to make it appear to be authentic, independent content,” Jessica Brandt, a Brookings Institution expert on foreign interference and disinformation, said of China’s social media campaign.

More details about the social media campaign were disclosed in filings on April 4 with the Justice Department, see TIKTOK on 14

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asianweekly northwest

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

40 YEARS

■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR NOW THRU JULY 10 EMBODIED CHANGE: SOUTH ASIAN ART ACROSS TIME Seattle Asian Art Museum, South Gallery Fri-Sun, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. seattleartmuseum.org NOW THRU FEB 19, 2023 EXHIBIT, “WE ARE CHANGING THE TIDE: COMMUNITY POWER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE” The Wing Luke Museum, 719 S. King St., Seattle Thu-Sun, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. wingluke.org/we-are-changingthe-tide

APR 15-17

SAKURA-CON 2022 Washington State Convention Center, 705 Pike St., Seattle 8 a.m.–5 p.m. sakuracon.org/registration

19 CONGRESSMAN ADAM SMITH’S ENVIRONMENTAL TOWN HALL 6 p.m.

Virtual event at https://adamsmith.house.gov/ live Submit questions at https://bit. ly/3JD6G0R

21 CLUB MEETING WITH STEVE ROWLAND AND AMITI BEY ON EDUCATION IN PRISONS 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

For zoom link, contact rotaryofseattleid@gmail.com

22

SERIES: STATE OF SMALL BUSINESS IN SEATTLE China Harbor Restaurant, 2040 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle 11:30 a.m.

Register at bit.ly/ace_seattle

23 13TH SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S FRIENDSHIP FESTIVAL Seattle Center, Fisher Pavilion 11 a.m.-6 p.m. icffseattle.org

LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION Seattle’s Chinatown– International District 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

PUBLIC HUMANITIES TALK, “THE SAMURAI CODE: HOW BUSHIDO CHANGES LIVES ON” WITH LORI TSUGAWA WHALEY 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Via Zoom, register at https://bit.ly/3JiHkGb

AAPISTRONG SMALL BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE

Provided by Kiri Schwiethale

KIRI from 3 to strike a balance between artwork that challenged kids but was also framed in a way that was relatable. She consulted with her son and daughter, who shared their favorite letters with her. “H” for hammock (“ung rrung” in Khmer) for him and “N” for noodles (“kuy-teav” or “mee” in Khmer) for her. Schwiethale’s favorite is “S” for stilt house (“pteah” in Khmer) because it brought back memories of visiting relatives in the Cambodian countryside.

“I really loved how [the stilt house] turned out, just a little picture of the Cambodian countryside,” she said.

For additional feedback, Schwiethale brought sample pages of the book to her family’s Thanksgiving gathering in 2021. She said her elder relatives were encouraging and excited to see her giving life to their Cambodian heritage in a different way.

“We are interpreting the culture in a new way,” Schwiethale said about her generation.

Some of her relatives’ reviews of the book are included on the Kickstarter page.

One uncle praised her work, describing the book as “very good,” while one auntie was a bit more critical, saying, “I don’t think

30

Pages “E” and “N” of “ABCs of Cambodia”

jasmine flowers look like that.” Although Schwiethale was initially hesitant to share them, people have told her they enjoyed reading about her family’s responses to the book.

Although Schwiethale learned the basics of reading and writing Khmer from her father as well as in high school, she turned to her mother as she was working on “ABCs of Cambodia” to make sure she was spelling things correctly in Khmer. In addition, her mother helped her with the nuances and details of the cultural aspects Schwiethale was including in the book.

“My mom has been a very valuable asset,” she said, adding that it’s also been great to talk to her mother about Cambodian culture because her face lights

up as she shares. “It’s been really neat.”

CAMBODIAN CULTURE FOR THE COMMUNITY AND BEYOND As she was going through each letter, Schwiethale had to really consider what aspects of Cambodian culture to include.

There were some obvious choices such as “A” for Angkor Wat, the iconic ancient temples and national symbol of Cambodia.

But others took some time reflecting on her childhood and thinking about what made her life in Cambodia different from life in the United States—and what made it special to her.

For example, she decided on banana leaf for “B” after receiving some nom

ansom—sticky rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves, usually sweet and filled with banana or savory, filled with pork— from her mother. Schwiethale was excited to share the cakes with her kids, making her realize that she hadn’t been sharing enough of her culture with them. The nom ansom also made her think of American snacks in plastic wrappers and compared it to the resourcefulness of the Cambodian people and their ability to use what they have available to them.

“ABCs of Cambodia” may be a tool for second-generation Cambodian Americans to connect with their culture and to share with their own kids, but it’s also a book that increases exposure of Cambodian culture to those outside the community. And this happened in a big way when science fiction and fantasy author Brandon Sanderson donated to Schwiethale’s Kickstarter campaign and mentioned it on his outlets.

“That was huge for us,” Schwiethale said, adding that Sanderson’s mention brought his fans to her page and helped her exceed her fundraising goal.  Samantha can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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YOUR VOICE

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

asianweekly northwest

7

Director of ‘Drive My Car’ surprised

by Oscar, popularity

By MARI YAMAGUCHI ASSOCIATED PRESS TOKYO (AP)— Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi says he was surprised by the international popularity of his Oscarwinning film “Drive My Car,” but attributes it to the universality of the short story by Haruki Murakami on which it is based.

The movie centers on an actor played

by Hidetoshi Nishijima who is directing a multilingual production of Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya.” Still mourning the sudden loss of his wife, the actor, Kafuku, leads the cast in rehearsals in which they sit and read their lines flatly, ingesting the language for days before acting them out.

The 3-hour-long story of grief, connection and recovery won an Academy Award last month for best international feature film.

“Actually I was surprised by how widely this film has been accepted,” Hamaguchi said at a news conference in Tokyo on April 6, his first major event since the Oscar.

While attributing its popularity to the universality of Murakami’s story, Hamaguchi said the actors “put it on the screen in a very convincing way, even though I’m sure it was an extremely challenging task for them to embody Haruki Murakami’s worldview.”

On his part, he tried to “show some sort of hope, as Mr. Haruki Murakami does in his novels, so we can feel this character is now OK—the process of loss and coming to terms with it to move on—if not quite a full recovery,“ Hamaguchi said.

The “inner reality” of the characters in the story is both the charm and difficulty of turning Murakami’s story into visuals, Hamaguchi said.

“Describing inner reality ... is something movies are not very good at,” Hamaguchi said. So he decided not to trace the written language of the original story. “The more attractive a story is, the harder it is for visuals to surpass the images already formed in the minds of readers,“ he said.

Hamaguchi said he decided to visualize the core of the story—the relationship between Kafuku and his much younger driver Misaki—who has also suffered the loss of her mother in a mudslide—which gradually deepens through their conversations in his beloved red Saab, one of few colorful items in the movie.

The film combines the inner worlds of Murakami and Chekhov and reflects their similarities, Hamaguchi said. see DRIVE MY CAR on 15

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asianweekly northwest

40 YEARS

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

■ ON THE SHELF

Protecting the ones we love BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

By Samantha Pak NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Pahua and the Soul Stealer

By Lori M. Lee Rick Riordan Presents, 2021

Pahua Moua is known for being weird. The 11-year-old Hmong American girl can see spirits—including a cat spirit named Miv— and spends her days babysitting her younger brother Matt.

When Pahua accidentally untethers an angry spirit from the haunted bridge in her neighborhood, Matt becomes sick as a result and can’t be awakened. Pahua is worried the bridge spirit has stolen his soul, but when she returns to the bridge in hopes of confronting the spirit, things go from bad to worse when she accidentally summons a demon.

As Pahua embarks on a quest to save Matt, she and Miv are joined by a warrior shaman with an attitude problem. While she may be focused on getting her brother’s soul back, Pahua also makes a few other discoveries along the way.

“Soul Stealer” is a fun and funny story about a young girl determined to help her brother in his time of need. One of the things I loved about Pahua is that she’s far from perfect and makes mistakes—she’s the reason Matt is even in trouble, after all—but she learns from them and does what she can to make things right. As a Hmong American, she is different from the other kids in her neighborhood. And her ability to see spirits makes her even more different, even among her own Hmong community. But what I appreciated was that these differences are a strength and what’s needed to save her brother.

In addition to the fantasy adventure, Lee introduces readers to elements of the Hmong culture that I, at least, hadn’t known about.

From the idea of everything having a spirit (I particularly loved the mushroom spirits and the spirits around her family’s home), to folk tales and mythology, “Soul Stealer” had me wanting to learn more about the Hmong culture and I know I won’t be the only reader who feels that way.

Hot and Sour Suspects

By Vivien Chien St. Martin’s Paperbacks, 2022 Lana Lee is mixing things up at Ho-Lee Noodle House by helping her best friend Megan Riley host a speed dating night at her family’s restaurant. Things go well, but before Lana and Megan can celebrate, Lana’s friend Rina Su—and fellow Asia Village shop owner— calls to tell her that her speed dating match has been killed. And since Rina was with the last person to see the man alive, she’s now the main suspect. Lana, being Lana, jumps in to help immediately.

As she digs into the case, Lana learns that Rina’s date had a rather sketchy past and there are more than a few people who have motives for wanting him dead.

“Hot and Sour Suspects” continues Lana’s adventures in amateur sleuthing. By now (her eighth case), she’s developed a reputation and everyone in her circle (and sometimes beyond) knows her pension for helping (snooping and butting in, really). Some welcome her help, but Rina insists that Lana stay out of it. Of course, Lana doesn’’ listen. It’s this part of her character

that makes Lana so admirable. Rina’s an adult, but Lana feels a lot of responsibility toward her after her sister and brother-in-law were killed (book two in Chien’s series). Though at times, I admit to thinking she just needed to chill. But her inflated sense of responsibility just shows that Lana’s not perfect—like the rest of us.

With this eighth installment of her Noodle Shop Mystery series, Chien has established not only Lana as a character, but the people around her. From seeing Lana’s two best friends, Megan and Kimmy Tran (forever my favorite character in the series) starting to get along, to getting a closer look at what’s really going on with Lana’s sister Anna May, it’s been fun to see Lana’s community grow and develop around her as well. I look forward to seeing more of them in future installments (and am crossing my fingers for a more Kimmy-centric story).

Troublemaker

By John Cho, with Sarah Suk Little, Brown Books, 2022 At 12, Jordan Park already feels like he can’t live up to his parents’ expectations. When he comes home from school after being suspended for cheating, he knows he’ll become even more of a disappointment. But in the wake of police officers being acquitted after beating Black man Rodney King, and Black teen Latasha Harlins being shot and killed by a Korean store owner, Los Angeles has become a place of unrest.

Jordan’s father leaves the house to board up and protect their liquor store. As the news shows increasing violence in the city, Jordan worries for his father’s safety and that his last memory will be of their Big Fight. So Jordan resolves himself to bring his father his gun.

Set against the first night of the 1992 LA riots, “Troublemaker” follows a young boy on a mission to protect his father. Along the way, Jordan learns more about this country’s racist past and present—how his Korean American community has benefited from it at the expense of Black people, as well as racism perpetuated by his community. It’s an intense journey, filled with near misses and revelations about what it means to be human.

For a middle-grade story, “Troublemaker” contains some very heavy content—from the riots, to racism, to guns. I didn’t have a problem with the former two—with the internet and social media, young people’s access to news and information is greater than it ever has been,

and Cho keeps things age appropriate.

Also, youth doesn’t always shield you from racism, as many BIPOC folks of all ages can tell you. The latter, however, did make me pause. But Jordan feels the weight (and not just physically) of the weapon he’s carrying around in his backpack. Like many pre-teens, Jordan is impulsive and doesn’t always think

things through, so even though he is always careful and aware of his father’s firearm, the true gravity of the situation occurs to him gradually, and I think Cho handled the topic with great care.  Samantha can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

YOUR VOICE

■ EDITORIAL

Tiger Woods

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

asianweekly northwest

9

Tiger is back Fourteen months after a serious car accident that shattered his leg, Tiger Woods returned to Augusta, Georgia to play the 86th Masters golf tournament last week.

“It’s been a tough road, and one that I’m very thankful to have the opportunity to be able to grind through it. A lot of different things could have happened, but after 14 months, I’m able to tee it up and play in the Masters.”

In February 2021, Tiger’s SUV struck the center median and crossed into the opposing lane of traffic in Los Angeles—hitting the curb and a tree and then rolled over several times. Tiger had to be pulled from the wreck with the “jaws of life.”

He was left with multiple open fractures in the tibia and fibula in his right leg and several injuries to his right foot and ankle. The injuries required multiple surgeries to repair. A rod was used to stabilize the fractures in the tibia, and screws and pins were inserted in his foot and ankle. He also needed surgery to repair softtissue injuries.

“My right leg does not look like my left, put it that way,” the Hall of Fame golfer once said.

He also told reporters, “I’m lucky to be alive and to still have the limb. I’m very grateful that someone upstairs was taking care of me … [amputation] was on the table.”

It seems fitting that this year, 2022, is the Year of the Tiger—symbolizing resilience and strength.

Who could have imagined that just 14 months after his accident, Tiger would be out of his

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wheelchair and walking—much less competing in golf’s most prestigious tournament?

Sure, Tiger Woods limped to the finish of the Masters. From a strictly golfing viewpoint, this was hardly the Tiger that so many remembered.

The guy who’s won five green jackets, the last of them just three years ago. This Tiger, the one hobbling on a rebuilt right leg that he could’ve lost in that car crash, closed with back-to-back 78s that were the worst scores of his Masters career.

He did not bring home a sixth green jacket or top the leaderboard. But his appearance at the Masters was about more than what happened on the course, and showed that winning is more than just about trophies.

It is about overcoming adversity, grit, and determination.

It showed the world that Tiger is back. 

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asianweekly northwest

40 YEARS

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

■ PUBLISHER’S BLOG

Food adventures during Covid

By Assunta Ng NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Himalayan salt I might never travel to the Himalayas in this lifetime. But I love to try something from those majestic mountains. I Googled Himalayan salt and asked my periodontist, who is Indian American, about it. He assured me that it is a holistic food.

Himalayan salt is better than the regular sea salt for a troubling factor. Regular sea salt comes from the ocean.

“90% of the sea salt has microplastics,” said Dr. Berg on his YouTube channel. “Plastic is toxic to the brain.”

“However, Himalayan salt, [has] zero plastics because the deposits made up of the salt, comes from the ancient sea before the plastics.”

What does Himalayan salt taste like? Not bad. It has the same salt content as sea salt.

But its color is a pretty, translucent pink. The color is eye-soothing. Its texture is uneven in size and has much bigger crystals than processed sea salt.

Himalayan salt is everywhere. They are available in Asian and non-Asian supermarkets, including QFC. Next time you throw away any plastic bottles in the ocean, think twice. One, you are harming our environment. Secondly, if you are a sea salt consumer, you might end up cooking and eating them in your meals.

Salmon bellies The other day, a Uwajimaya customer asked the fish guy to cut away the belly because he wanted the meat and not the belly. The customer doesn’t know what he’s missing. My husband, who happened to be standing over the fish counter, said, “I’ll take it.”

The belly part was for me as I love salmon bellies. Years ago, supermarkets used to throw away bellies. Now, they can sell it and make money.

Salmon consists of omega-3 fats, B vitamins, potassium, and selenium, and it’s a great source of protein. Those nutrients are good for your heart and brain. My husband likes to buy pieces of salmon, including a big belly part. Sometimes, it’s not that easy to find salmon with a belly on the side. I like the belly

part, and he likes the salmon meat. What to do?

At Uwajimaya, we can just buy salmon bellies at a much lower price than a salmon filet. But then, I wouldn’t want to have just a plate full of bellies without salmon flesh. It’s nice to have a mixture of both.

How do we cook it? A pro in salmon cooking, my husband microwaves both the salmon meat and belly together for about two minutes with a little soy sauce diluted with water to lower the salt content. Yum! Organic eggs As inflation rises, organic eggs can hit more than $6 for a dozen, whereas regular eggs cost about $2-$4. Before Covid, I wouldn’t pick small local farmers’ organic eggs as they are pricey. Now, supporting local farmers is my philosophy. Since I am not traveling anywhere, that travel money goes toward my food budget. And I am not shopping either. I don’t consider buying more stuff as a treat for myself. So we buy healthy foods to invest in our health.

Do organic eggs taste superior? The truth is, I can’t tell the difference. I enjoy eating eggs, period. And knowing that these chickens are raised naturally and free from antibiotics, I am all for it.

Green cauliflower or Romanesque

Romanesco at Pike Place Market

Actually the flowering head of a plant, it is called broccolo romanesco, Romanesque cauliflower, or Roman cauliflower.

The green cauliflower is supposed to be more nutritious, rich in fiber, and help red blood cells grow. It is probably a hybrid, being cross pollinated, and developed into a new breed of vegetables. Do they taste better than regular cauliflowers or broccoli? Not really.

It also takes a bit longer to cook to make it tender.

Both broccoli and cauliflower have anti-inflammatory properties. If you don’t want to

Photo by Assunta Ng

Photo by Assunta Ng

Photo by Assunta Ng Steamed black cod surrounded by salmon belly

Photo by Assunta Ng

Photo by Assunta Ng

When you see the word “Himalayas,” the first thing that comes to mind is likely tall mountains. The last thing I would imagine is food.

Not too long ago, a YouTube tutorial said rubbing Himalayan salt, mixed with turmeric and sesame seed oil, would improve gum health. Oh really! My gums are not a problem, but it could be better.

Is there such a thing as Himalayan salt? I forgot about it until weeks later, I stumbled upon Himalayan salt on a top shelf at Lam’s Seafood. Later, I saw Himalayan salt on a bottom shelf at Uwajimaya.

Does a pandemic have anything to do with my growing appetite for strange foods?

As a matter of fact, it does. We were not allowed to go out to do fun things during Covid, so I ended up experimenting with different types of food bought from supermarkets. It’s my excuse to get out of my home and exercise simultaneously. Sorry, online stores, you won’t be getting my business. I have been resisting you the last 24 months.

to find them in specialty stores.

During Covid, no matter how delicious the food is, I would think twice about buying it if it is unhealthy. If I buy them impulsively, they might remain in my home shelf or fridge for a long long time after just a couple of bites. Yep, I have become even more health-conscious than before.

Green cauliflowers

eat both of them together at meals, it seems sensible to eat green cauliflower. Unfortunately, their growing season is short and now that the supply chain is being affected, green cauliflowers may be hard to find. Yet, I recently saw it at Pike Place Market.

Pink lemons Pink lemons were discovered in Burbank, California in 1930. A few months ago, I bought one as I was curious about the word “pink.” It tasted less sour and has a slightly sweet flavor, more like a grapefruit. It’s my kind of lemon for my tea and other foods.

Pink lemons contain a high concentration of lycopene, an antioxidant that gives fruits and vegetables their red pigment. However, they are not always available in stores. They are considered a specialty. You might have

Covid is the best time to acquire good new habits. You can call it discipline. I am not afraid of dying, but I would hate getting sick in a hospital with tubes going through my throat and lungs like many Covid patients. And those patients with long Covid have suffered so many side effects afterwards, it is just not worth the risk. Food is therapy. If you don’t believe it, try eating French fries and drinking sodas every day for a month, you see what happens to your face and body. Your skin will age fast. Any food which gives me nourishment and more immunity, I seek out. If they have great flavors, I would advocate for them. If they are easy to cook, it’s an extra benefit for busy people like me.  Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

YOUR VOICE

■ SPORTS

asianweekly northwest

11

Olympics figure skater Alysa Liu retires at age 16

By BARRY WILNER AP SPORTS WRITER

Alysa Liu

Alysa Liu, a 2022 Olympian and world championships bronze medalist, is retiring from competitive figure skating at age 16.

Considered the future of U.S. women’s skating and already a two-time national champion, Liu posted her decision on April 9 on Instagram.

“I honestly never thought i would’ve accomplished as much as

i did LMAOO i’m so happy,” Liu said in her post. “I feel so satisfied with how my skating career has gone. now that i’m finally done with my goals in skating i’m going to be moving on with my life. ... this skating thing has taught me a lot more about life than i anticipated. i’m really glad i skated.“ And skated better than any American woman at such a young age.

Using the triple axel that few U.S. women have landed successfully, Liu won her first national title in 2019 at age 13, and repeated the next year. She was too young to compete internationally on the senior level, however, and remained a force as a junior, getting comfortable with quadruple jumps as well.

But she lost to Bradie Tennell and Mariah Bell at the last two national championships, making the Olympic team despite having to withdraw from the trials in January when Liu tested positive for COVID-19.

Liu, of Richmond, California, recovered in time to skate in the Beijing Games, where she landed seven triple jumps in her free skate to finish seventh overall.

She then came in third behind Kaori Sakamoto of Japan and Loena Hendrickx of Belgium in a watered-down world championships with the Russian skaters not participating.

It was the first medal at worlds for a U.S. woman since Ashley Wagner in 2016.

Now, Liu is done.

“I started skating when i was 5 so that’s about 11 years on the ice and it’s been an insane 11 years,“ she posted from Japan, where she was appearing in the Stars on Ice tour. “a lot of good and a lot of bad but (you know) that’s just how it is. i’ve made so many friends, and so so sooo many good memories that i’ll have for the rest of my life.” 

Olympic gold medalist Sunisa Lee banking more NCAA success

By JOHN ZENOR AP SPORTS WRITER AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Sunisa Lee needed a respite from the exhausting, allconsuming world of elite gymnastics.

She wanted to go to school, and the ability now for college athletes to make money off name, image and likeness deals made it an easy call.

Sunisa Lee The Olympic allaround champion who has her sights set on defending her title in Paris in 2024 has capitalized on her still-newfound fame with appearances on “Dancing with the Stars” among other endeavors. The 19-year-old is hardly a normal college freshman.

“Even without the NIL, I knew I wanted to go to college anyway just because I had to come find my love for the sport again,” Lee said. “I had to get out of the elite world just because it is so different. This is so much more fun, and having the team be so supportive.”

The new NIL rules allowed her to parlay her success in Tokyo last summer into financial security without sacrificing the college experience and education. And without spending all day holed up in the gym.

Lee has helped lead the Tigers to the NCAA

championships, from April 14-16 in Fort Worth, Texas, for the first time since 2016. She scored her fifth 10 of the season in the regional at Neville Arena, this one on the balance beam to help Auburn edge Kentucky.

The All-American came in ranked first nationally in the uneven bars—where she won bronze in Tokyo—tied for first on the balance beam and second in the all-around.

“I think if the Olympics were a year earlier and this happened, she couldn’t make that decision” to attend college, said Auburn coach Jeff Graba, whose twin brother Jess has been Lee’s longtime personal coach.

While Lee is competing for NCAA titles, she also feels she has much to prove. Lee’s all-around gold came after favorite Simone Biles withdrew from the competition citing mental health concerns. Lee said she doesn’t think she’s reached her full potential yet and that is indeed gold medal-worthy.

“I think it’s something I just want to prove to myself, because I think I have a lot of doubters,” said Lee, a Hmong American who is from Minnesota. “And prove it to everybody else but more importantly to myself.

“I don’t want to look back and be like, I could have done so much more. I want to look back and know I gave it everything I had and if I didn’t succeed, I didn’t. But I gave it my all.”

Lee has a leotard line with GK Elite and a clothing line with Pretty Little Thing., which she tracks while living in a dormitory like other Auburn freshmen with roommate/ teammate Sara Hubbard. She has splurged on a car and her first designer bag but mostly fears spending too much now and not having enough later.

“I’m so scared to actually use my money,” Lee said. “I’m so cautious with it because I have to be.”

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She is still taking online courses and spent the fall in Los Angeles for the dancing competition show before officially joining the team in Auburn in December. Lee feels like appearing on “Dancing With the Stars”—she made the semifinals with partner Sasha Farber—makes her “more of an exciting person.”

“It just makes it interesting,” Lee said. “It’s really cool that I’m getting to do all this at such a young age. But then I’m scared. When I get older, what am I going to do then?

Because if I do everything now, what am I going to do in the future?

“But I don’t know, it’s really exciting.”

Lee has also dealt with the sudden fame that comes with being an Olympic champion. She can’t just pop into the grocery store or have a quiet dinner out. She even stopped going to Auburn basketball games. It’s all a part of the new normal for a teenager who isn’t yet fully accustomed to the spotlight but is eager not to ever come off as standoffish.

“It’s really hard, because even grabbing food, people come up to her and are just like, ‘Hold my baby. Take my picture. Sign my shoes,”’ Hubbard said of her roommate.

“I think it’s just overwhelming. It’s kind of scary when a bunch of random people are just all in your business.”

But Graba and Lee’s teammates said in the practice gym and around them she’s just another Auburn gymnast.

Dealing with high expectations is part of the challenge.

“She’s probably the one who puts the most pressure on herself,“ teammate Cassie Stevens said.

“But I think she’s doing a lot better job handling it, listening to what we have to say. Like, just being you is good enough. It’s great actually.”

But, added Graba: “You don’t win an Olympic gold medal without having that tough-as-nails mentality.’ 

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asianweekly northwest

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

OVERCOUNT from 5 asked the Census Bureau to break down the accuracy of the count of Asian residents by subgroups. Asians in the U.S. trace their roots to more than 20 countries, with China and India having the largest representation.

But the bureau has no plans to do so, at least not in the immediate future.

“To really see how the Asian American community fared, you need lower level geography to understand if there was an undercount or if certain communities fared better than others,” said Terry Ao Minnis, senior director of census and voting programs at Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

Asians were overcounted by a higher rate than any other group. White residents who aren’t Hispanic were overcounted by 0.6%.

The Black population was undercounted by 3.3%, those who identified as some other race had a 4.3% undercount, almost 5% of the Hispanic population was missed and more than 5.6% of American Indians living on reservations were undercounted.

Civil rights leaders blamed the undercounts on hurdles created by the pandemic and political interference by then-President Donald Trump’s administration, which tried unsuccessfully

LEGACY HOUSE from 1 But inside the atmosphere was all bustle. The dining room was swept clean. And residents were waiting for lunch.

A visit arranged by the community for Northwest Asian Weekly on a recent weekday showed a well-cared for community, a vibrant staff, and residents who appeared engaged and cared for. In one case, the community had literally saved a life. In another, it meant a new phase of relaxation and freedom.

For Dr. Lei Baizhong, his room upstairs seemed reminiscent of the dormitory rooms he occupied when he was working his way up the long list of appointments he held in China’s medical establishment. He ended up the chief of the provincial university hospital of Hainan Province, no mean feat.

The rooms are not large, but they are tidy and practical. There is a clean, spartan feeling about them, as if being old, one finally has the right to shed the encumbrances of early years and relax and simply enjoy. There is no fussiness, no trim lamps with Chinese lamp shades or carpets that smell of cleaner.

Dr. Lei, for instance, had a clean medium-sized bed pushed back in the middle of a wall, a desk and other appurtenances that were lost in the cool, refreshing light that came through the blinds.

Lei is 90 but could pass for a robust 60 or maybe 70. His cheeks were flushed and ruddy.

He had come into Legacy House shortly after being kicked out of the hospital because Medicaid wouldn’t pay for a longer hiatus.

“I was in there for five days after the surgery, the scar hadn’t even healed, and they said you’ve got to go.”

He went home to senior housing he shared with his wife. But he couldn’t eat. He couldn’t move.

And the only recourse offered by the hospital was to bring him back in for a course of radiation.

to add a citizenship question to the census form and cut field operations short.

The census not only is used for determining how many congressional seats each state gets and for redrawing political districts; it helps determine how $1.5 trillion a year in federal funding is allocated. Overcounts, which are revealed through a survey the bureau conducts apart from the census, occur when people are counted twice, such as college students being counted on campus and at their parents’ homes.

In the 2020 census, 19.9 million residents identified as “Asian alone,” a 35% increase from 2010. Another 4.1 million residents identified as Asian in combination with another race group, a 55% jump from 2010.

Asians now make up more than 7% of the U.S. population.

Some of the growth by Asians in the 2020 census may be rooted in the fluidity of how some people, particularly those who are biracial or multiracial, report their identity on the census form, said Paul Ong, a professor emeritus of urban planning and Asian American Studies at UCLA. “People change their identity from one survey to another, and this is much more prevalent among those who are multiracial or biracial,” Ong said.

“But I’m an internal medicine doctor,” he said. “I knew that wouldn’t help for this kind of cancer.”

He lost weight and was nearly on his last legs until he contacted the manager at Legacy House.

She arranged an assessment.

Immediately, he was moved into the assisted living community.

With the care he received, within a month, he was back to his old strength.

“I now eat two bowls of rice at every meal,” he said. “Not just one.”

Legacy House was taken over by the International Community Health Services (ICHS) in 2019, just before the pandemic hit. This in a way puts it squarely in the legacy of Bob Santos, who led the rejuvenation of the area and helped found many of its institutions. In the wake of the pandemic, after it was forcibly locked down for almost two years, Legacy House has now been left with a few vacancies, like most of the rest of the industry.

From what you can observe if you visit the community during lunch time, or talk to its staff, this seems surprising.

On a recent weekday, the residents were waiting in a large, clean, well-lighted dining hall as servers served up boxes of Asian food. On that particular day, there was salmon in thick slices, almost slabs, sweet and sour pork, soup, vegetables of two varieties, a white crispy cabbage—even after being stir fried—and something darker, and different kinds of rice.

Taking off one’s mask even for a moment sends a lurch of hunger through one’s stomach. And there was Lei sitting on his side of a table with a glass partition down the middle. Jovial, smiling, waving.

“I have my appetite back,” he said.

Lei’s health (he said he only has high-blood pressure) is the kind of indicator that families looking for assisted communities would consider.

The average for residents to live

40 YEARS Lan Hoang, a Vietnamese American woman who works at the same coalition as Chau, listed her three young children as Asian, as well as white and Hispanic to represent her husband’s background. She used the census as an opportunity to talk to them about the importance of identity, even reading them a kids’ book about the head count.

“It talks about how important it is that you let others know that you’re here, this is who you represent,” Hoang said. “When I filled out (the form), they were totally surprised. ... ’Yeah, you’re three different things in one. You’re special.”’

Conversations about declaring one’s Asian background are especially meaningful given the anti-Asian hate brought on by the pandemic, Hoang added. Eight people, including six women of Asian descent, were fatally shot last year at Georgia massage businesses, and thousands more attacks against Asians have happened across the U.S. since 2020.

Such factors may have led some multiracial people who ordinarily would have indicated on the census form that they were white, Black or some other race to instead select Asian, Ong said.

“When that happens, people who are multiracial go in two directions: They reject

in assisted living communities is measured by a few years, in most places. In fact, it’s a closely guarded secret because it plays into the calculations of how much communities will charge upfront to residents and their families. If they live longer, the charge might be more.

Lei has lived in the community now for 17 years.

Legacy House relies on Medicaid for all of its care and medical expenses and food for residents, said Vivian Hon, a supervisor. The rest is made up by fundraising and ICHS. There appears to be little turnover of staff, a bane of the industry.

A petite, gray-haired Asian woman hurried to pull a white cleaning cart out of the way for visitors. She has been there for 24 years as a housekeeper—a rarity in the industry.

“She was our first employee,” said Hon. A nurse with short cropped hair, also Asian, leans intently, focused over a tray of medicines and paper cups at the lunch hour.

All of the staff, except one server seen that day, were Asian or Asian American.

The residents speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and other Asian languages or dialects. There is not a single white person among the residents.

“You could be the first one,” said Hon to a reporter, noticing his enthusiasm for the activities room (a group of residents were knitting and sewing at a table around bright fabric and supplies).

Legacy House takes anyone.

“But we’re in the International District,” said Hon, who is from Hong Kong, “So it makes sense we’d have all Asian residents now.”

Ted Wong, 79, is another resident. One would expect him, being a hotel manager before he retired—and for some of the top hotels in the world—to have lots of misgivings about his new environment.

their minority identity or they embrace it,” Ong said. “With the rise of anti-Asian hostility, it forced some multiracial Asians to select a single identity.”

Another factor that may have contributed to the Asian overcount is the fact that young adult Asians were more likely to be in college than other racial or ethnic groups: 58% compared to 42% or less for young adults of other race or ethnic backgrounds. That may have led them to be counted twice, on campuses and at their parents’ homes, where they went after colleges and universities closed because of the pandemic.

UCLA junior Lauren Chen spent most of her freshman year back home in Mesa, Arizona, in 2020. Her father included Chen on the household census form even though Census Bureau rules said she should have been counted at school. Chen has no idea if she was counted twice.

“UCLA was pretty swamped with trying to figure out how to get people their belongings. ... It was a very messy moment and I don’t think I knew anyone that got mail or anything like that,” Chen said. “(The census) is definitely something that I paid attention to, especially with the way that my Dad focused on it.” 

He’s been in Legacy House for two and a half years. His room is filled with books and a yoga mat and dumbbells. He is clean cut and well-shaven, as if he were still hosting an important guest to tour the Peninsula in Hong Kong or the Hilton in Seattle, both places he had worked.

But his easy manner shows he is relaxed as he jokes with the guides and staff. He said he’s lived longer because of the care he’s gotten in the community. He walks around the neighborhood in the afternoons, which keeps him lean and fit.

He seemed proud that he had filled out an application and “been accepted.”

Signs also seem to show that family members feel comfortable visiting, which is not always the case in senior living communities.

Out in the hallway, a young woman with dark hair and in a mask escorted an older woman with white billowy hair, that looked like it had been caught and wracked this way and that with two hands mussing it up. The older woman went forward with a walker into the elevator, and the younger woman, apparently her daughter, laid back a little, as if her mother was still taking charge, even in old age.

“We have a lot of family members visit,” said Hon. There are no old people sitting with sullenness on their faces in wheelchairs by the doorway, a constant in some communities.

There are morning exercises, in which about half the residents take part, and then they break into subgroups where they get individualized attention.

The photos on the bulletin boards seem to genuinely show scenes of relaxation and celebration. Rather than the forced grimaces and dissimulation of young family members pained to see their elders in places they might find uncomfortable, these are photos of young people among the residents with faces like spotlights, beaming with joy and

certitude that they have found a place if not only for their parents, then also for themselves.

Dr. Lei is a frequent contributor to the bulletin boards. He has a whole half of a bulletin board devoted to him. Articles in Chinese about heart troubles and other maladies are posted so everyone can read. There are also articles about his life.

After he left China, he came and settled with his daughter in Seattle who later started a company to sell Chinese and western medicine, with his help. His two sons and wife, all of whom are doctors, came over shortly after and helped with the company. One of the sons, however, has now gone into IT. The building itself seems inviting for visitors. The hallways are wide and seemed to reach out forever to lighted doors at the ends—which was surprising because there are only 25 residents on each of the three floors. It seemed more like an old fashioned European hotel, or hostel, than an assisted living community.

Wong, the hotel manager, was in Guam, opening a Hyatt before coming to Seattle. He liked the easy life there, the peaceful ocean, and the kind people. But he wanted his sons to come to the mainland for opportunities.

When asked why he didn’t offer advice to the staff given his long experience in the hospitality industry, he said that five-star hotels had their way of doing things, and senior living facilities had their ways of doing things. He said he was happy with the change.

“There are three steps in life,” said Wong, summing up his experience until now. “The first is getting educated, the second is working, and the third is enjoyment when you retire.”

After a moment, he asked with that kind of Hong Kong humor that makes the city unique, “don’t you agree?”  Mahlon can be contacted at info@nwasianweekly.com.

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

YOUR VOICE

■ ASTROLOGY

asianweekly northwest

13

Predictions and advice for the week of April 16–22, 2022

By Sun Lee Chang Dragon—When evaluating what seems like a cost saving measure, also consider the price in terms of time and effort.

Monkey—Less than thrilled with where things are headed right now? A reset might be a good idea at this juncture.

Ox—If the level of tension is going in the wrong direction, it may be worth thinking of other options.

Snake—Thinking about a new project recently?

It is best to get started when your enthusiasm is still high.

Rooster—Why sign up for an exercise in frustration?

If it doesn’t fit with your goals, then leave it behind.

Tiger—Your initial reaction isn’t necessarily the one you should go with. Consider your objective, then align your action to it.

Horse—Waiting for your turn to speak is not a good way to generate meaningful conversation.

You must listen as well.

Dog—Some processes cannot be rushed. Give yourself grace as you work towards completion.

Rabbit— Are you too close to an issue to see it objectively? Take a step back for a better perspective on the situation.

Goat—Was your last guess a bit off the mark?

Perhaps additional research or observation is needed before trying again.

Pig—Carve out time for a decidedly fun and unproductive endeavor, the joy to be gained will be well worth it.

Rat—Debating whether to make the first move?

To make any progress, someone has to get the ball rolling.

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, 2022 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.

MINORITY HEALTH from 3 therapy, and are more likely to receive low quality care when they do receive treatment.

“While Seattle is a melting pot of cultures, I feel that the disparities in mental health are further enhanced by the lack of easy access to culturally-specific services,” said Luisa Kwok, a behavioral health outreach clinician for Sound, a local nonprofit agency that offers mental health services.

Kwok believes that Seattle is very resource-dense, but to support the community’s mental health issues, organizations must truly understand the population they’re offering their services to and constantly work on refinements to address how they could be better served.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, anti-Asian hate has been amplified because Asians are often seen as responsible for

the outbreak. Psychological stress, brought on by anti-Asian hate, makes Asians more vulnerable to mental health problems associated with the pandemic.

“Race can have an effect on our mental health when others push their ideas of the race we identify with based on their understanding of it. It is unfortunate that people’s understanding of other races can sometimes be flawed or misinformed,” said Kwok.

In the Seattle community, International Community Health Services (ICHS) has been addressing racial disparities in healthcare for more than four decades.

ICHS has been tackling racism head-on by providing culturally and linguistically appropriate health services to minorities.

Previous studies have shown that minority patients are more likely to trust physicians from their own ethnic group, and that this trust can lead to better health outcomes.

Vilma Gutierrez Fernandez and her older sister go to ICHS for their health needs. Fernandez finds the staff very kind and accommodating, and she agrees that familiarity is important.

“I was a care provider for my eldest sister.

If I was not available with her appointment at ICHS, I was confident that she would have a good Tagalog interpreter,” said Fernandez.

To address equitable opportunities for all, King County’s Equity and Social Justice initiative has designed a strategic plan to guide policy decisions and services that emphasize the necessity to decrease health inequalities.

It’s also important for advocates from minority communities to share their expertise and participate in health policy debates. Too often, these communities are left out of the conversation, which can lead to policies that don’t match their specific needs.

“It is critical for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander voices to be represented in national policy discussions, particularly around important issues such as culturally competent health care and access,” said Teresita Batayola, president and CEO of ICHS. President Biden recently named Batayola to the Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, one of 25 leaders appointed for the Commission.

Individuals and organizations can support policies that improve access to quality healthcare for minorities by implementing targeted education and outreach initiatives and promoting COVID-19 prevention.

By working together, we can give our community a boost!  Gayle can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON NOTICE TO PROPOSERS INFORMATIONAL OPEN HOUSE: ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY OPPORTUNITIES (MULTIPLE PROJECTS) - KING COUNTY WASTEWATER TREATMENT DIVISION King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) is intending to utilize Progressive Design Build (PDB) and General ContractorConstruction Manager (GCCM) alternative delivery procurement approaches on three upcoming projects. In order to encourage early teaming arrangements, the County is hosting a virtual informational open house for interested firms. For additional event details, visit WTD’s Consultant and Contractor Forum page (https:// kingcounty.gov/depts/dnrp/wtd/capital-projects/ consultant-contractor-forum.aspx).

A brief description of the three projects we will be discussing at this open house are: East Side Interceptor (ESI) Section 8 Rehabilitation: This project will rehabilitate 4,800 feet of the existing 90-inch diameter, 5,600-footlong tunnel from the Energy Dissipating

Structure, RO2-30, located at the intersection of I-90 and I-405, to structure RO2-29 located at the intersection of I-405 and Coal Creek Parkway SE; the 800 feet of this pipe upstream of RO2-30 was lined in 1996 and 1998 and does not require rehabilitation. The total project budget is $76,000,000.

M Street Trunk Rehabilitation: This project is to rehabilitate approximately 13,900 linear feet of 18, 24, 30 and 36-inch diameter severely deteriorated reinforced concrete pipe and 45 precast concrete maintenance holes between MHs GR21-34A and R18H-78A comprising the northern portion of the M Street Trunk located within the City of Auburn, Washington.

The project will require close coordination with the local jurisdictions for traffic control and associated sewer diversions that will impact public services. The total project budget is $36,000,000.

West Point Treatment Plant Electrical Improvements: In 2019, WTD conducted a

formulation project to define the scope and cost to upgrade and replace existing electrical equipment at the West Point Treatment Plant.

The scope includes approximately 123 electrical assets that need to be replaced, and 9 assets that should be relocated to be above the flood zone. Additional areas to be evaluated in this scope of work are the direct current (DC) battery systems that provide critical power for switchgear and other controls, as well as low voltage (under 480V) panelboards, related transformers, and control systems. The total project budget is $130,000,000.

Meeting Date/Time: April 21, 2022, at 2:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Zoom Meeting Link (Registration is required): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84373272213 Once registered, you will receive an email confirmation that will include the meeting link with the option to save a meeting reminder on your calendar (Outlook, Google, Yahoo).

14

asianweekly northwest

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

40 YEARS

CLASSIFIEDS

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HATE CRIME from 1

by King County prosecutors for a felony hate crime against Pham. In one incident, Pham was working in her garden planting flowers last year when Myers was spotted staring at her from a car. Myers yelled out, “Come on out, you slant eye” and “Hey, Miss Vietnam, hey!” as Pham recorded the disturbing incident on her cell phone.

Myers could also be heard saying, “You’re not going to live very long.” Pham believed this to be a threat and called the police. “I was scared, and shaked and cried,” Pham said of the incident. Her husband described the incident as “devastating.”

“My wife is scared to go outside,” said Pham’s husband at the news conference last August announcing the lawsuit. “She’s scared to take our son in the backyard because she’s

TIKTOK from 5 just days after an Associated Press examination revealed that China is using a sweeping network of influencers and social media accounts to subtly proffer propaganda to users around the globe.

The AP’s reporting found that Vippi Media had not yet filed updates with the Justice Department on its influencer campaign, even though federal law requires the company to do so within 24 hours of materials being disseminated.

The company had registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a 1938 law that is meant to allow Americans to know when foreign entities are trying to influence public opinion or policymakers.

Vippi Media’s campaign, targeted at U.S. social media users, reached roughly 4 million users with ads that were

afraid that she will be assaulted.”

Pham used her cell phone to record the incidents by Myers to document the nature of abuse she was experiencing.

Police arrested Myers on April 5, 2021 and she was charged with a hate crime. She was released without bail on her personal recognizance with an order that she should not contact Pham. Myers pleaded not guilty to the hate crime. However, the family believed that she was violating the no-contact order.

Two weeks prior to the arrest, Pham recorded Myers raising her middle finger to Pham and her 2-year-old son. At the time, Myers was naked below the waist.

The civil lawsuit was filed this past summer. Typically a civil lawsuit is not heard in court before a criminal trial takes place.

A civil trial has a lower threshold to prove a claim. The criminal trial is scheduled for

scattered in stories, videos and posts across TikTok and Instagram in January, February and March by nearly a dozen influencers. The accounts named in the filing shared posts promoting the Olympics with the hashtags (hash)Beijing2022, (hash) partner and (hash)ad.

A majority of the Instagram and TikTok content shared by the influencers simply advertised the Winter Olympics, shared pictures from some of the ceremonial events or gave insight on Chinese cultural customs.

Crystal Kung Minkoff, a cast member of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” who was listed as one of the influencers hired by Vippi Media, posted a video on her Instagram where she conducted an at-home, faux news-style broadcast of a mock Olympics game of musical chairs with her

children. Later the post congratulates “Team USA” and says Beijing is the first city to host the summer and winter games. A message left with Minkoff was not immediately answered.

Meanwhile, Jessica Long, a decorated Paralympic swimmer and popular Instagram personality, celebrated the upcoming Olympics in a Jan. 27 post to her nearly 100,000 followers. “Have fun making lasting memories at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China.” Long didn’t immediately return request for comment.

One of the most striking videos came from TikTok influencer Ryan Dubs, a “brand-king“ with more than a half-million followers on his account, where he frequently hawks skin care products.

Dubs posted a 3-minute-long interview with China’s Consul General in New

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June.

In the lawsuit, Pham sought $100,000 for emotional damages. Her family wanted a permanent protective order against Myers and for Myers to stay 300 feet away from the family. However, their homes are 60 feet away from one another.

At a press conference last summer announcing the civil lawsuit, Pham fought through tears stating, “My life is not safe every single day. I hope what happened to me does not happen to other people. I hope it stops. That’s what I want.”

According to the terms of the resolution, Myers agreed to sell her home and move within six months and pay Pham $45,000.

If Myers cannot sell her home and move, the lawsuit will proceed and potentially be decided by a jury.

“We need to make the people who are

York, Huang Ping, who spoke with the Chinese and U.S. flags behind him.

The spot’s caption includes hashtags for the Beijing 2022 games. Huang and Dubs decry U.S. tariffs against Chinese imports. Dubs says he has amazing suppliers in China and encourages entrepreneurs in the U.S. to do business with China. Haung followed up by inviting U.S. businesses to come to China in the video. The Beijing games feature briefly, with Dubs saying they “helped define China in 2022.” Dubs did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for comment.

It’s unclear how much each influencer was paid to post the content.

Minkoff, Long and Dubs used (hash)partner in their posts, but did not directly identify who sponsored the content. Instagram requires

harassing people because of their race pay and make them pay the victim,” said attorney Jeffery Campiche during the announcement of the tentative resolution of the lawsuit. He called the civil settlement a victory for victims of racial harassment.

“We hope Jan Myers follow [sic] through the agreement and move quickly,” Pham said of the news of the resolution knowing that the harassment and threats should soon cease.

Although this incident has resolved a lawsuit filed by the victim, the criminal case reflects the steady rise of hate crimes being reported by the King County Prosecutor’s Office.  Jason can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

that influencers tag the sponsor, and both TikTok and Instagram require their users to register the posts as a paid partnership with the company. Most influencers, however, flout those rules— leaving social media users in the

dark about who is paying for the posts they see in their feeds.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately return an email seeking comment. 

SOLUTION from SUDOKU on page 6.

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

YOUR VOICE WU from 5 often have the most racialized and gender-based versions of that intensity,” she added.

The noisy morning gatherings outside her home prompted Wu to push through a new city ordinance limiting the hours during which protesters can gather in residential neighborhoods to the window between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

She’s also dismissed online chatter which tried to raise doubts about her mental health. Wu has been open about her mother’s struggles with mental illness.

“What has been most staggering about some of the rumors or these whisper campaigns is that in fact, I think it has the opposite impact,” Wu said. “If I needed mental health support, I would be the first to say that.”

She’s also run into flak from city unions on pandemic mandates and, more recently, tried to thread a needle on whether and how to allow restaurants to continue offering sidewalk dining along the narrow streets of the city’s North End. The post is still a dream job for Wu—a former Democratic city

councilor and policy wonk in the mold of mentor Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

“In many ways, it feels familiar and exhilarating and energizing to be able to roll up my sleeves and just work on issues that I had been talking about,” Wu said. “The energy right now in Boston to get things done is felt everywhere across the city.”

While Wu is the first woman of color to be elected mayor, she wasn’t the first to hold the seat.

Former City Council President Kim Janey, who is Black, held the post of acting mayor for much of 2021 after former Mayor Marty Walsh resigned to become President Joe Biden’s labor secretary.

Unlike the typical Boston mayor, Wu wasn’t born and raised in the city. She first arrived from Chicago to attend Harvard University in neighboring Cambridge.

She would eventually relocate her two younger sisters and mother to Boston as she attended Harvard Law School.

“Boston has given me everything that I cherish in my life—the ability to take care of

DRIVE MY CAR from 7 Conversations between Kafuku and Misaki contrast with those of Vanya and Sonya in “Uncle Vanya,” and when Kafuku acts as Vanya during the performance, he comes to realize his own inner words toward recovery.

“So I found `Drive My Car’ and `Uncle Vanya’ wonderfully intertwined as if they translated each other,” Hamaguchi said.

my family, to connect my mom to health care in a way that saved her life, the schools that I was able to raise my sisters in and now my own two boys,” Wu said. “It’s a city of every possible opportunity that you can think of, but it’s also a city that really needs to take down barriers, still, for that to be felt across every single part of our neighborhoods.”

One of biggest challenges facing Wu is housing.

Boston is facing a hollowingout, driven by rapid gentrification as sleek new apartment buildings rise in neighborhoods that traditionally relied on threestory wooden homes to house a working and middle class “We are working to throw everything we have at housing right now,” said Wu, who has pledged to revive rent control, outlawed by Massachusetts voters in 1994.

Hemmed in by neighboring communities and the Atlantic Ocean, Boston doesn’t have many large open spaces for new housing. One of the last—a former industrial landscape rebranded as the Seaport District—has been filled with boxy glass-enclosed

high rises.

Wu is eyeing three other parcels: a former horse track in the city’s East Boston neighborhood; a reconfiguration of Interstate 90 that could unlock land largely owned by Harvard; and an industrial area near the city’s South Boston neighborhood that had been eyed for a stadium during the city’s aborted bid for the 2024 Olympics.

During the campaign, Wu also promised a free public transit system.

The city has put a down payment on that pledge with three free bus lines serving primarily riders of color and lower income neighborhoods. The city is picking up the tab—$8 million in federal pandemic relief funds— for the next two years.

“Bus service is the most cost efficient and the most equitable place to start, because that is where we see some of the largest gaps in rider experience,” Wu said, noting that Black riders spend 64 more hours per year sitting on buses in Boston compared to white riders.

Expanding the fare-free push to other bus lines and the subway

Hamaguchi said he wanted to thank Murakami at the Oscar awards ceremony but missed the chance because his “thank you” after giving a long list of actors’ names was misunderstood as the end of his speech.

“I still wanted to thank Murakami-san and my staff,” he said.

Hamaguchi’s’ films, which include the anthology “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” released last year, are acclaimed, but he was not widely known in Hollywood

Presented by LY ASIAN WEEK NORTHWEST ST O P E INES & SEATTLE CH

TH N O M E G A T AAPI HERIhoto contest video & p

asianweekly northwest

system would likely require action by state lawmakers, the governor and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which oversees the public transit system. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has panned the idea.

Wu said she’s hoping to change what it means to be mayor of the nearly 400-year-old city—and maybe change the way the rest of the country sees Boston while she’s at it.

“I made a promise to myself early on that I would be proud of who I was in politics long after I got out of politics,” Wu said. “I was anxious at first that being in this role would mean having to change my family’s life in different ways. But politics doesn’t have to be how we see it now. Politics is what we make of it.“ “I hope that, in leaning into who I am—a mom with two young kids, someone who didn’t grow up in the city, raised by parents who didn’t grow up in this country—that I expand the definition of what leadership looks like,“ she said. 

before an award for best screenplay at last year’s Cannes Film Festival brought attention to “Drive My Car.” Hamaguchi said international audiences now see Asia as a source of interesting films, and he hopes his fellow filmmakers can create movies that can “pierce through the hearts of audiences” and live up to their expectations.

His goals for his next film? “I just want to be able to say I made one that is a little better than my previous one,“ Hamaguchi said. 

Show us how you celebrate AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Heritage Month in May. Whether it’s a family gathering, adorable children (and adults!) celebrating traditions, in all forms including arts and craft, or the awesome family cook showing off a delicious meal, we’d love to see the unique ways in which you and your family celebrate AAPI heritage. There will be two categories of competition: videos and photos.

Prizes: Judges’ Choice awards and People’s Choice Awards (readers vote). The winners will be announced in early June. Winners will receive gift certificates to restaurants and grocery stores, and Asian snacks.

Deadlines: submit photo(s) and video(s) by May 20.

Please submit your photo(s) and/or video(s) to james@nwasianweekly.com. For videos (not to exceed 60 seconds), please submit it by posting on your Facebook and tag us #NWaapi to consider. The winning video will be posted Northwest Asian Weekly’s YouTube channel. All photo and video submissions must be original content. Fill out the information below. You may also submit via mail to: Northwest Asian Weekly, 412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104.

Name: __________________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Email: __________________________________________________________________ Phone: __________________________________________________________________ Describe in one to two sentences what the photo or video is about. _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

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15

16

asianweekly northwest

APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2022

40 YEARS

KODA from 1

Photo provided by Da-Li Development

never hear him, the soundproofing is so good.

For both men, the condominium represents a culmination of sorts. The first gave up a picturesque home on a lake with an orchard in Texas. The second was cheated out of his first purchase and saw the reliability and quality of the building and its management as a godsend.

Both use the building’s proximity to the Chinatown-International District (CID) as a means to go shopping at Uwajimaya, or frequent sushi or dumpling shops and barbecued pork or duck restaurants such as Kau Kau. And both use the proximity of the site to downturn and the waterfront to exercise.

FINDING CONNECTION IN NEW SPACES The property shows that new development in the CID can, in fact, integrate into the community while bringing needed business.

From the rooftop garden, sitting in a chair, looking through the Mexican Feather grass that sprays up like whiskers, one can only see sky for as far as the eye can behold.

On grimmer days, just after the building opened last June, residents came up amidst the isolation to watch sporting events in the nearby stadiums.

“They could feel close to the action,” said Vivian Hsieh, sales and marketing manager for Da-Li Development USA, the developer.

But today, during a recent visit to the property by Northwest Asian Weekly, there is a black tie party for residents and guests in the lobby, a two-story communal space.

In the center of the affair runs a long table covered with items from local institutions needing support. Residents bid on items such as a traditional Japanese Zabuton (floor cushion) from Ayame Kai or a vase from the Japanese Cultural Community Center of Washington.

Sushi, salad, fruit, and other fare line another table as guests and residents chat in a corner. A young Asian American woman sings into a microphone as she strums her guitar.

What drew each of these residents here?

From the account given by the two that were available for interviews, it was a longing for community, which it appears they have found, or are starting to.

Don, the octogenarian, asked that his last name be withheld for privacy reasons. He looked up during an interview as a young couple with a tiny baby strapped to the chest of the mother walked in.

“Oh, hi!” he said, waving to them. “I’ll be there shortly.”

The couple lived down the block, but had apparently come to know him as a grandfatherly figure.

As for Dominic Hutt, 23, the younger resident, he fell in love with the space itself—the amenities and the environment.

When he isn’t playing his instruments, he is working in the 17th floor clubhouse with a commanding view of Mt. Rainier.

He works for a startup in downtown so he can bike to his office in five minutes.

“But when I’m at home, working, you can always find me up there, looking eastward,” he said.

For breaks, he takes advantage of the shuffleboard, pool table, and movie theater up there.

BUILDING COMMUNITY How they came there was providential.

Don was born in Santa Cruz, California, where his grandfather was in business drying apples with a partner to sell for cider.

A multi-generation Chinese American,

Rooftop deck at KODA

he had never thought much about race except to notice that there were very few Asian Americans in his hometown.

It was not until he attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and traveled around the world, seeing Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia and Southeast Asia, that he realized he had in fact been quite prejudiced to begin with.

“Growing up with those few Asian American girls, I thought all Asian women were like that,” he said. “It was not until I got to the other side of the world and saw all those Asian women that I realized Asian women could be as beautiful as white women.”

Shortly thereafter, he was on the third floor of his dormitory in Long Island one day, when he looked out and saw the most beautiful of them all.

She was Japanese. And his family had been seriously harmed by the Japanese invasion of China, including the splitting of his grandparents and, for a time, his parents.

But he asked for her phone number and promised to call her the following week. A month and a half went by.

“I got busy with other things,” he said.

He was in the academy and headed for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received his master’s, and eventually he would earn a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona—an intent young man, But she knew instantly. That night, she told her roommate, “That is the man I’m going to marry.”

Why and how did it happen? An armchair psychologist might argue that it was because she had lost her father at age 2. Her father was also in the merchant marine and went down with his ship when it was sunk in wartime.

“He was a great swimmer and great kendo player,” said Don. So his future wife had grown up without a father, except for the haunting photographs of the slim young man in the merchant marine uniform. Now another slim young man appeared in merchant marine uniform to ask for her phone number. Was it a ghost from the past?

Age has proven it wasn’t. They have been married for 60 years and have a son and a daughter. In fact, one of them was the reason for their move to Seattle, to be closer to him in their old age.

“I can’t take care of you if something

should happen,” their son in Seattle had against the glass, one can hardly discern a said to them recently. sound from the street below.

But by the looks of it, they are the ones Each unit was awash in white light from taking care of the younger generation. As the spring sky. the interview ended, Don got up and went back to the lobby to find the younger couple FINDING FREEDOM who he had invited to the feast.

For his part, Dominic Hutt has never met Because of his work and his relative Don, but after hearing his story, he said he newness—Dominic moved in four months hoped that he would see someone out the ago—he has not mingled with other window of his unit. residents as much.

Hutt, in fact, almost ended up homeless, He said he is comfortable in his oneafter being cheated by a developer in bedroom unit where he stir fries for himself Columbia City. with salmon or white fish and vegetables he After graduating from Gonzaga Univer- gets from Uwajimaya. sity in Finance (“I have a history of snow “I love the staff, they will do anything shoveling and to make your stay landscaping,” he more comfortable said), he stayed and they are so put at his parents’ friendly,” he said. house to save Both men find money. He found different things apa job at a startup pealing about the based in Seattle, location. From the but worked retop of KODA, you motely. can see the brown After he had comforting fasaved up enough cades of buildings for an earnest payin Chinatown, like ment, he did rea call home. From search and found a the other side, you unit near the light can see downtown rail line in Columwith its imposing bia City. He was towers which are all set to move in just a skip away. when the developDon heads out er squelched the with his wife in a deal after the contotally different didominiums had rection, however.

A view from the rooftop garden shows a panorama already been built. Photo by Mahlon Meyer On some days, he “The developer and his wife walk used the interest down to the waterthat people like me had in the property to front and walk the whole length. get a better rate of financing and convert it Twice a week, his wife teaches aerobics into apartments.” and Tai Chi at the International District/ Hutt got his earnest money back. But he Chinatown Community Center (he goes, had no place to live. too). And on off days, they practice tai chi When he found KODA condominiums, in the yoga and exercise room of the conhe was impressed with the quality of the dominium. finishings and particularly the quiet, given Dominic, on the other hand, likes the that it’s in an urban setting. access to Pioneer Square, which he said his “I had no idea you could do that with friends told him used to be a complicated soundproofing,” he said. He’s on the second area, but now he finds the restaurants and floor, but can’t hear a thing. coffee shops ideal.  On a recent tour of the building, floor to ceiling windows were revealed like angels Mahlon can be contacted at standing with transparent wings, in each info@nwasianweekly.com. unit. What is indeed surprising, is that standing next to the material, with one’s ear