VOL 41 NO 40 | OCTOBER 1 – OCTOBER 7, 2022

CID community members say NO! to homeless shelter expansion, express pain and anger at county council meeting

By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Almost 100 residents from the Chinatown-International District (CID), attended a King County Council meeting that took place on Sept. 27 to protest a homeless shelter expansion.

They shared stories of break-ins, assaults, harassment, property destruction, and other personal violence. They all returned to a common theme: Their community is no longer safe.

“I was raped in the CID,” said the last speaker, communicating see PROTEST on 12

Pacific Northwest Ballet celebrates 50th season

By Kai Curry NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

The 2022/2023 season marks Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB)’s 50th year on stage in Seattle. The Weekly spoke with co-founders and former artistic directors,

Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, as well as principal dancer, Angelica Generosa, about the season opener, “Carmina Burana,” and its famous set designer, Ming Cho Lee.

see PNB on 13

STORY

A poetic ‘Eye’: Sati Mookherjee on fate, fish, and stick shifts

By Andrew Hamlin NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Bellingham, Washington, population 92,000. Kolkata (for merly known as Calcutta), India, population almost 4.5 million. A study in contrasts. But poet Sati Mookherjee, who spent school years in the former and summers in the latter, finds some surpris ing similarities.

“I’ve never thought about it before, but both first memories involve sunlight,” recalled Mookherjee, who reads from her new book “Eye,” at the University Book Store on Oct. 5. “My [first] Bellingham memory is of sun filling the picture window of our 1950s ranch house (where my parents still live), over a green carpet. I remember the sensation of my toddler body hurtling toward my mother, her arms outstretched, and I remember sensing the gaze of my father over me, warm as the sensation of light.

see SATI on 12

NAMES IN THE NEWS

Bruce Lee mural repainted and replaced after theft

PICTORIAL Seattle Symphony Orchestra 2022

EDITORIAL Homeless shelter expansion death knell for the CID?

A&E Chinese-German filmmaker Eckelberg celebrates lion dancing, heritage, and dual cultures

featuring set design by the late Ming Cho Lee and dancer Angelica Generosa

Angelica Generosa dancing with Dylan Wald in a prior performance of Carmina Burana.

Community members and supporters of the CID line up outside to protest a homeless shelter expansion.

Image courtesy of PNB

Sati Mookherjee

Photo provided by Sati Mookherjee

VOL 41 NO 40 OCTOBER 1 – OCTOBER 7, 2022 FREE 40 YEARS YOUR VOICE PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA ■ 412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 • f. 206.223.0626 • editor@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com Photo by Assunta Ng

In its upcoming Oc tober issue, Food & Wine is showcasing their Best New Chefs 2022, a list of 11 chefs who are emerging tal ents in the U.S. today.

Among the small group is Seattle’s own Melissa Miranda, owner and chef of Musang. The issue is currently available on newsstands.

“This one’s for our global Filipinx community—for all you coming through our doors—for Beacon Hill, Seattle, and of course our entire amazing Musang pamily,” Musang wrote on its Instagram.

“At Musang in Seattle, [Miranda’s] elegant, seasonally driven, locavore take on Filipino cooking pushes the boundaries of tradition,” wrote Food & Wine.

Wing Luke throws House Party bash

one since the pandemic.

This year’s theme was Multiversal Magic, inspired by the movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and featured the People's Catwalk, a writer's slam, film screenings, special performances, drag, live interactive art, signature cocktails, and more.

Asian, Pacific Islander, Trans, and Queer artists, poets, writers, and performers included DJ Magic Sean, DJ KBoogie, Viper Fengz, UTOPIA WA Laulima Cultural Performance Group, Nikita Ares, Seiichi, the Northwest Wushu Academy, Alexa Villanueva, and many more.

Bruce Lee mural repainted and replaced after theft

of the Matsuda family’s imprisonment in the Minidoka Concentration Camp during WWII. The family was among 120,000 Japanese Americans who, without due process and not committing a single crime, were forced by our government into U.S. concentration camps at the hands of U.S. soldiers armed with bayonets.

Matsuda was born in Minidoka and has written three books of poetry, a fourth in collaboration with Tess Gallagher, and a graphic novel about the WWII Japanese American 442 Regimental Combat Team. Animated sections of the novel won regional Emmys in 2015 and 2016.

ICHS appoints Nomura as new CEO

The Bruce Lee mural at Tai Tung Restaurant’s storefront has been repainted.

The iconic image of Bruce Lee and Kareem AbdulJabbar together (symbolizing the unity between Asians and Blacks) was installed in 2020, but was tampered with on Sept. 10. That day, the portrait of Lee suddenly vanished. The original mural was painted by Patrick “Dozfy” Nguyen and Shara Lee.

Thankfully, Nguyen and Lee repainted Lee’s portrait on Sept. 24. It has been reinstalled and can be viewed at Tai Tung’s storefront again.

Matsuda’s collection of poems at Kobo

Lawrence Matsuda released a new book of poetry, “Shape Shifter: A Minidoka Concentration Camp Legacy.” Autographed copies can exclusively be found at Kobo Seattle in the International District or on their website.

“Shape Shifter” expresses the reverberating trauma

The board of direc tors of International Community Health Services (ICHS) an nounced on Sept. 15 the selection of Kelli Nomura, as the health center’s CEO. She will begin the role effective Nov. 7.

Board President Gildas Cheung said, “[Nomura’s] strong leadership abilities and passion for patient advocacy and behavioral healthcare will ensure that everyone in our communities, including the most vulnerable, will continue to have access to quality, affordable health services.”

Nomura succeeds Teresita Batayola, who will continue to serve as president to facilitate a smooth transition for Nomura.

Nomura previously served as director of the King County Behavioral Health and Recovery Division.

Man fatally shot in the CID near Goodwill

On Thursday, Sept. 22, at 2 p.m., a man was fatally shot in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District (CID) at the intersection of 13th Avenue and South Lane Street, at an encampment near Goodwill. KING 5 reported that the man was 31 years old. The shooter fled the scene.

Seattle police officers who arrived at the scene performed life-saving measures. However, Seattle Fire Department

medics pronounced the man dead at the scene. The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is searching for the shooter.

“At this point, this is all under investigation. But that is something we will be exploring and looking into as detectives go through everything. But at this point, still unknown,” Detective Valarie Carson said to KIRO 7.

Carson also said investigators don’t know what led to

the shooting.

According to crime statistics from SPD, there have been “six reported deadly shootings in the neighborhood [since June 18], which is the highest in all of the city’s areas.”

Anyone with information about the shooting should call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.

Sealed submittals will be received by the King County Procurement and Payables Section through the County’s E-Procurement Supplier Portal for the following solicitations.

The list of current solicitations in E-Procurement, resources on how to register as a supplier, express interest, communicate with the Contract Specialist, successfully submit a response and other information is provided on the County’s website: https://kingcounty.

gov/procurement/solicitations

King County encourages minority business enterprise participation. King County does not discriminate based on disability in its programs, services, and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

KC000689

OPENS: 10/17/2022

RFP-Government Relations Consultant Services

Melissa Miranda named Food & Wine Best New Chef

On Sept. 17, the Wing Luke Museum held its annual House Party, a 21+ after-hours event, the first in-person

Photo from Food & Wine via Musang’s

Wing Luke House Party guests cheer on the People's Catwalk contestants

Photo by Stacy Nguyen/NWAW

Artist Shara Lee (left) and Tai Tung owner Harry Chan

Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW

Lawrence Matsuda

Temporary Protected Status for Burmese nationals extended 18 months

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burma for an additional 18 months, from Nov. 26, 2022, through May 25, 2024, due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Burma that prevent individuals from safely returning. In addition, DHS announced a redesignation of Burma for TPS for the same reason, allowing Burmese nationals (and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Burma) residing in the United States as of Sept. 25, 2022, to be eligible for TPS.

According to DHS, the February 2021 military coup d’état has led to continuing violence, large-scale human rights abuses, including arbitrary detentions and the use of deadly force against unarmed individuals, mass

displacement of civilians, worsened humanitarian conditions and limited access to shelter, food, water, and medical care, and spurred an economic crisis. These conditions prevent Burmese nationals and habitual residents from safely returning.

“The people of Burma are continuing to suffer a complex and deteriorating humanitarian crisis due to a military coup, upheaval, and security forces’ brutal violence against civilians,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Under this extension and redesignation, Burmese nationals and habitual residents will be eligible to temporarily stay in the United States until conditions in the country improve and individuals can safely return.”

The extension of TPS for Burma allows approximately

Professor, NASA researcher pleads guilty in China ties case

By Juan A. Lozano THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON (AP)—A NASA re searcher and Texas A&M University professor pleaded guilty to charges re lated to hiding his ties to a university created by the Chi nese government while accepting fed eral grant money.

Zhengdong Cheng pleaded guilty to two counts—violation of NASA regulations and falsifying official documents—during a hearing in Houston federal court on Sept. 22.

Cheng’s conviction was part of a program called the China Initiative, which was first started under the Trump administration. But in February, the Justice Department abandoned the program after complaints it chilled academic collaboration and contributed to anti-Asian bias. The department had also endured high-profile setbacks in individual prosecutions, resulting in the dismissal of multiple criminal cases against academic researchers in the last year. The Justice Department said it planned to impose a higher bar for such prosecutions.

Cheng had originally been charged with wire fraud, conspiracy, and false statements when he was arrested in August 2020. But he pleaded guilty to the new charges as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen sentenced Cheng to the time he had already served during his pretrial incarceration— about 13 months.

Cheng also agreed to pay restitution of $86,876 and pay a fine of $20,000.

Philip Hilder, Cheng’s attorney, said the professor was “relieved that this unfortunate chapter of his life is behind.”

But Hilder was critical of the China Initiative program, saying while its original purpose was “to fight economic espionage ... that was not the case in this matter.“

“The China Initiative ... has now been phased out as a Justice Department priority. The overall mission stays the same, to ferret out economic espionage, but the focus is to target wrongdoers by their deeds and not by their ethnicity,” Hilder said.

Prosecutors accused Cheng, who was hired by Texas A&M in 2004, of concealing his work in China even as his team of researchers received nearly $750,000 in grant money for space research. NASA is restricted from using funds for any collaboration or coordination with China, Chinese institutions, or any see NASA on 14

970 current beneficiaries to retain TPS through May 25, 2024, so long as they continue to meet TPS eligibility requirements. It is estimated that approximately 2,290 additional individuals may be eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Burma.

Current beneficiaries re-registering under the extension of TPS for Burma must re-register in a timely manner during the 60-day re-registration period, from Sept. 27, 2022, through Nov. 26, 2022, to ensure they keep their TPS and work authorization without a gap.

For more information, visit uscis.gov.

Lawsuit: California utility targeted Asians in pot searches

By Don Thompson THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)—

Extraordinary use of electricity has long been a telltale sign of illegal grow houses producing thousands of marijuana plants hidden in seemingly ordinary homes.

But a lawsuit filed by a data privacy watchdog says a Northern California utility went too far by racially profiling Asian communities as it routinely fed customers’ power use information to police without requiring a warrant or any suspicion of wrongdoing, in violation of state laws.

The data disclosure deliberately targeted Asian Americans, with resulting disproportionate penalties against those of Asian descent, the suit says.

The suit illustrates a flashpoint in law enforcement’s efforts to combat illicit drugs.

In 2018, federal and state law enforcement agents seized about 100 Northern California houses that they alleged were bought with money wired to the United States by a Chinese-based crime organization, one of many such actions against alleged perpetrators of Asian descent.

Earlier this year, Asian Americans filed at least two lawsuits against Siskiyou County’s sheriff alleging racial

bias particularly against the Hmong community in his department’s effort to combat widespread illegal marijuana cultivation.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) scoured entire ZIP codes worth of power usage information for the Sacramento Police Department but left out homes in a predominantly white neighborhood, says the lawsuit.

Zhengdong Cheng

Commercial cannabis growing under lamps

Photo by instagram.com/staewet

Photo from Texas A&M University

Model who criticized Myanmar’s military feared repatriation, granted asylum

By JERRY HARMER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BANGKOK (AP)—A model from Myanmar who denounced her country’s military rulers last year from the stage of a beauty pageant in Thailand said Sept. 23 that she feared she may be forced back home.

Thaw Nandar Aung, also known as Han Lay, told The Associated Press by phone that she has been stuck at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport since being denied reentry to Thailand when she arrived from a short trip to Vietnam. She has been living in Thailand but needed to exit and reenter in order to extend her stay.

She said she was seeking the assistance

of the United Nations refugee agency to avoid being sent back to Myanmar, where she feared harsh punishment from the military government she has criticized.

People denied entry to Thailand are usually deported to their last point of departure, but the U.N. agency advised her she would be arrested in Vietnam and then repatriated to Myanmar.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanee Sangrat confirmed in a text message that Thaw Nandar Aung was denied entry into Thailand “due to an issue with her travel document.”

“The relevant authorities did not make an arrest and have no plans to send her anywhere at this stage,” he said.

Myanmar’s military seized power in February 2021 from the elected

government of Aung San Suu Kyi and has cracked down heavily on widespread opposition to its rule. It used lethal force to quash demonstrations and has arrested critics, including actors and other celebrities, under various laws with potential penalties ranging from three years’ imprisonment to death. In July, authorities executed four activists who were accused of involvement with terrorist activities.

Thaw Nandar Aung said that on arrival in Bangkok, Thai immigration authorities entered her name in their online database and then asked her if she had reported her passport missing in Vietnam, to which she replied “no.” She said they then

see LAY on 16

Interview: Marcos wants to ‘reintroduce’ Philippines

By Ted Anthony THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) —

Looking to “reintroduce the Philippines” to the world, new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ambitious plans for his nation on the international stage and at home—if, that is, the twin specters of pandemic and climate change can be overcome or at least managed.

And if he can surmount the legacies of two people: his predecessor and his father.

He also wants to strengthen ties with both the United States and China—a delicate balancing act for the Southeast Asian nation—and, like many of his fellow leaders at the United Nations this week, called on the countries that have caused global warming to help less wealthy nations counteract its effects.

Marcos, swept into office this spring, is already drawing distinctions, both subtle and obvious, between himself and his voluble predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who alienated many international partners with his violent approach to fighting drug trafficking and the coarse rhetoric he used to galvanize supporters.

Asked if Duterte went too far with his lethal drug crackdown, Marcos redirected the criticism toward those who carried out the plan.

“His people went too far sometimes,” Marcos told The Associated Press on Sept. 23. “We have seen many cases where policemen, other operatives, some were just shady characters that we didn’t quite know where they came from and who they were working for. But now we’ve gone after them.”

Marcos, 65, sat for a wide-ranging interview in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual leaders’ meeting. Three months into his administration, he seemed energetic and enthusiastic—and eager to project his vision for the nation beyond its borders.

On Sept. 22, he met with U.S. President Joe Biden in a bid to strengthen the sometimes complicated ties that have ebbed and flowed between the two nations since the Philippines spent four decades as an American colony in the early 20th century.

“There have been bits and pieces where they were not perhaps ideal,” Marcos said. “But in the end, that overall trajectory has been to strengthen and strengthen and strengthen our relationship.”

In addition to Duterte, Marcos also must draw distinctions between himself and the most iconic figure in the Philippines’ public sphere: his late father, whose name he shares. Ferdinand Marcos Sr., hero to some and plundering dictator to others, ruled from the 1960s to the

MARCOS on 11

PREPARE

Model Thaw Nandar Aung, also known as Han Lay

Photo from her Instagram, @hann_may

Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Photo from the Philippine Dept. t of Foreign Affairs

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-arechanging-the-tide

30

JIMMY O. YANG COMEDY SHOW

Moore Theatre, 1932 2nd Ave., Seattle

7 p.m. Tickets at https://bit.ly/3Kqr6Mw

OCT 1

ACRS GALA MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND INDUSTRY

6:30 p.m. https://bit.ly/3LSfcvR

3-9

JOIN US IN CAMBODIA TO EXPERIENCE A WEEK-LONG JOURNEY TO THE UNIQUE CAMBODIAN CULTURE maxglobalexp.org

5

SATI MOOKHERJEE READS FROM HER BOOK “EYE”

University Book Store, 4326 University Way NE, Seattle

6 p.m. Free

Registration is required. ubookstore.com

6

GOODWILL ON-THESPOT HIRING EVENT

Goodwill stores in Lynnwood, Ballard, South Everett, Redmond, Juanita, Edmonds, and its Everett Outlet

10 a.m.–2 p.m.

9

A FAMILY-FRIENDLY 5K/10K, “ALASKA

AIRLINES DAWG DASH,” SUPPORTS UWAA’S GENERAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Through UW’s Iconic Seattle Campus

9 a.m. Register at washington.edu/alumni/ dawgdash

15

CISC’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY FRIENDSHIP GALA

The Westin Bellevue, 600 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue

5:30 p.m. cisc-seattle.ejoinme. org/50thGala

19WASHIN KAI PRESENTS, “WHAT IS HAIKU?”

UW, Kane Hall 210 7-8:30 p.m. Register at events.uw.edu/ WhatisHaiku

Restaurant workers demand Congress introduce first-ever Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights

Restaurant workers, along with supporters and community advocates, are calling on Congress members to introduce the country’s first-ever Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights.

Over the last nine months, thousands of restaurant workers from around the country contributed to drafting the proposal for the Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights. Now, sharing their stories of hardship and struggles, these workers demand to codify thriving life and liberty by introducing and passing the Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights, which are:

• The right to a thriving life

• The right to healing and rest

• The right to a safe and dignified work

environment

• The right to healthcare and autonomy

• The right to participation in governance

A news conference on the Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights took place Sept. 29 with remarks given by Rep. Pramila Jayarapal, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Marie Newman, President and CEO of ROC United and ROC Action Sekou Siby, Federal Policy Coordinator of Family Values @ Work Sammy Chavin, Deputy Director of National Black Worker Center Shanika Houlder-White, and others.

For more information and to read the full document, visit rocunited.org/bill-of-rights.

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editor@nwasianweekly.com

hAn Bui Layout & Web Editor han@nwasianweekly.com

Account Executives

KeLLy LiAo kelly@nwasianweekly.com

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The only weekly English-language newspaper serving Washington’s Asian community. The NW Asian Weekly has one simple goal: “To empower the Asian community.”

The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject any advertisement, letter or article. Subscriptions cost $40 for 52 weeks of the NW Asian Weekly and $30 for 52 weeks of the Seattle Chinese Post. The NW Asian Weekly owns the copyright for all its content. All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reprinted without permission.

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

Server wiping table with a piece of cloth

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto

By Andrew Hamlin NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Seattle filmmak er and lion dancer

Han Eckelberg, of Chinese and Ger man descent, grew up on South Beacon Hill. So each side of his heritage left him with indelible mem ories, starting with his Chinese side.

“My earliest memory of home, family, and the city is taking the Metro 106 line to Chinatown with my Popo (grandmother) and my sister,” remembered Eckelberg, whose short film “Mak Fai Insider,” about Seattle lion dancing, will be shown as part of the Seattle Film Festival in October. “My Popo would let us know when to pull the string to signal our stop. My sister and I would take turns pulling. We would have dimsum and roam the neighborhood with Popo’s friends.”

“My strongest memories within my Chinese heritage are performing martial arts and lion dancing during Lunar New Year around Seattle. My strongest memories within my German heritage are visiting my German relatives in Wisconsin and learning a German nursery rhyme when I was growing up. Food for sure is different. I’ll have Chinese food any time, any day. To reconnect with my German side, I’ll have a pretzel.”

Any film from the Shaw Brothers inspired him growing up, as did anything with Jet Li or Donnie Yen. He also took in TV dramas such as “Meteor Garden” from China, and South Korea’s “Jewel in the Palace.”

“I remember my mom pointing out how strong these Asian leads are in these different storylines and comparing it to the roles Asians would play in American media (weak/nerdy/ subordinate/awkward). Thankfully I had childhood friends who did not want to be like those caricatures and we just made videos for fun or for school. Nothing too serious. But this sparked my interest in videography.”

Eckelbergs’s early film work was silly, cheesy, and very much on the fly. He notes, though, how the storyline to his first finished film was about an Asian kid finding the strength to stand up against a white bully.

Studies in video journalism at Cleveland High School followed, undergrad work at the Univer sity of Washington, then a UW master’s pro gram, which led him to start on his film in the festival.

The Mak Fai Kung Fu Dragon and Lion

Chinese-German filmmaker Eckelberg celebrates lion dancing, heritage, and dual cultures

Dance Association started up in 1974, directed by Grandmaster Mak Hin Fai. It’s overseen now by Sifu Royal Tan.

Eckelberg got involved with Mak Fai as a teenager in 2016. “I joined because some of my friends were already members on the team. I had previous experience in martial arts and lion dancing from community programs and after school clubs, so a place like Mak Fai really interested me. Once I graduated high school, I committed myself to the association full-time.”

The original class assignment called for a three-minute long minidocumentary, but he felt he couldn’t truly capture Mak Fai teaching and history at that length. His finished short runs roughly sixteen-and-a-half minutes.

“The toughest challenge for the film was finding a way to best explain what it is we do to a general audience. There are so many steps, details, and nuances in our performances. I wanted to guide the viewer into learning more about the performers under the lion, as well as the choreography involved, the level of courage required, and the amount of athleticism needed to be part of a lion dance troupe.

“Every performance is not the same. Certain performances have different storylines tied directly into the dance. I decided to explain our process based on how a new member would come into our team; learn martial arts, learn lion dancing, from practices, to performances.”

Asked about future projects, Eckelberg mentions the annual highlights reel he helps prepare for each Lunar New Year, for his troupe.

“I also plan on making more kung fu films, and working with my sifu and teammates to possibly make a short action film. Outside of Mak Fai, I want to make more video stories for other local companies in the area, while producing my own art that is still centered around my Chinese heritage and home of South Seattle.”

“Mai Fai Insider” plays the Seattle Film Festival as part of the Festival’s “Shorts Program 4,” on Oct. 2 at the Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 North East 50th Street in Seattle’s University District. For prices, showtimes, and other information, visit grandillusioncinema.org/series/seattle-filmfestival-2022.

Andrew can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Photo from Han Eckelberg

Photo from Han Eckelberg

Han Eckelberg

Sifu Royal Tan

■ EDITORIAL

Shelter expansion is death knell for CID

We’ve covered the protests and City Council meetings about the new, expanded homeless shelter at the site of the current Salvation Army shelter in the Chinatown-In ternational District (CID)—the funding for which was approved by former Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.

We’ve heard the arguments and outrage from CID community members and leaders that this shel ter was announced without commu nity input.

We reported on the closing of at least three businesses in the last couple of months—a Starbucks store, Bartell Drugs, and Viet Wah supermarket.

Last week, for three consecutive days, an unhoused person parked himself right in front of our office.

The CID is already home to the Navigation Center (another facility sited without our consent or input), dozens of unauthorized encamp ments, and this shelter will be yet one more place for the unhoused to congregate.

Come to the CID, why dontcha? We’re the “one-stop shopping” place for everyone unhoused.

We are sympathetic to the un housed. But we don’t like the prob lems that come with it.

They have rights and we have rights, too—to live and work in a safe and clean environment.

Over the years, the problems have become progressively worse.

It’s unsafe for residents, especial ly the most vulnerable among us. There is physical violence—seniors are being beaten!—and thefts and assaults are commonplace. Busi nesses and cars are constantly be ing broken into, not to mention the hygiene issues.

There are currently 10 shelters within a one-mile radius of the CID.

Apparently, an emergency or der put in place by Durkan during COVID lifted the need for getting any permits for shelters. Will the City now use that loophole to ignore our concerns and expedite approval of this shelter?

This shelter expansion and its op erations for only five years will cost $66.5 million, most of which will come from the American Rescue Plan, federal funds. And at the end of the day, the space will be leased and not even owned. We believe this is a gross misuse of taxpay er money! As protester Matt Chan rhetorically asked, “Who is being enriched here?”

This mega-shelter—proposed with no community input—will be the death knell for our neighbor hood!

It’s easy for elected officials to make decisions from the comfort and safety of their homes (most likely in more affluent and white neighborhoods), where the prob lems they supposedly want to solve aren’t staring them in the face every day, and do not have a direct impact on their business, safety, or life.

Come live in the CID for 30 days. Step outside for a walk, and see and smell the trash and human waste on the streets.

See first-hand senior citizens getting harassed and assault ed. Hear from business owners —who’ve poured their blood, sweat, tears, and possibly life savings—about their bottom line shrinking because of fear ful customers who stay away due to safety concerns.

If the shelter is so great, why not spread it to other commu nities?

Stop dumping on the CID. This megaplex will surely kill us.

Garbage piled up on King St. under I-5

Photo by Dennis Su

PICTORIAL

Seattle Symphony Orchestra 2022

The Seattle Symphony Orchestra’s opening night gala raised $1.75 million for the 2022/2023 season on Sept. 16 at the Benaroya Hall. About 200 guests attended including its CEO Krishna Thiagarajan.

Catered by Chef Shota Nakajima, the dinner was presented with a five-course meal. The program featured performances by violinist Noah Geller and pianist Jan Lisiecki.

The setting

Photos by Assunta Ng/NWAW

Former governor Dan Evans at 95 years old with his wife Nancy (right) and friend Carolyn Grinstein (left).

Main course: poached black cod over sweet potato purée, with squash (left) and charred caraflex cabbage, over squash and mushrooms

The table layout

Violinist Noah Geller

Second course: kombucha braised carrots and radicchio

Thiagarajan (right) seated beside Joan Watjen, who was honored at the Gala in addition to her late husband, Craig.

Photo by Brandon Patoc.

Chef Shota Nakajima supervised chefs laying out ingredients on each plate

Lisa and Ronald Soo (left) with Jon Rosen, chair of Seattle Symphony Board of Directors

Dr. Malik Prihar, Heejin Lee, and Benjamin Lee

Ko-Ichiro Yamamoto and Ike Lee

COMMENTARY

Plea for Republican support is based in fear and lies

By Shasti Conrad SPECIAL TO NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Editor’s note: Shasti Conrad is responding to a commentary we ran in last week’s issue by Frederick Su, titled “Vote Republican.”

In Frederick Su’s op-ed, he paints a wide swath across all Asian Americans by using fear-mongering and outlandish claims to implore the community to support Republicans. It’s what the GOP does, while they block progress and stir up hate against communities of color. While I recognize the diversity of our community and know that not every person will vote the same, I do ask you to critically look at what Su and the Republicans are selling you.

Firstly, Su urges Asian Americans to vote for the GOP based on immigration policies he refers to as a “danger” elicited by Biden’s so-called open-door policies. However, if it weren’t for pro-immigration policies, overwhelmingly supported by the Democratic party, the Asian American community would not be as diverse and as strong as we are. We are the fastestgrowing immigrant community in the U.S. and the majority of our community comes here through immigration (according to data from the Pew Research Center). It is Democratic Rep. Judy Chu from California who is championing the Reuniting Families Act, which reduces family immigration backlogs and promotes a more compassionate reunification of immigrant families. It was the Trump Administration who called for the end of family-based immigration, which Trump himself benefited from.

When it comes to the increasing violence against Asian Americans, look no further than Trump and the GOP. The majority of the current racism and hate towards Asian Americans stems directly from anti-Asian and xenophobic rhetoric promoted by Trump directly, like his references to the “China virus” and “Wuhan flu.”

Hate only breeds hate.

Thus far, most of the GOP tactics to persuade Asian American voters have been rooted in hate, and othering of Asian Americans. Su claims that Republicans love America. Does the insurrection on January 6 look like love to you? Mostly white men stormed the Capitol, encouraged by Trump, injuring Capitol police and calling for the murders of elected officials like our own Rep. Pramila Jayapal. I do not see love in the faces of the men breaking, stealing, and committing violence. The image of love that I think of on that day is of Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, cleaning up in the dome after the violence.

So much of Su’s plea for Republican support is based in fear and lies.

Why, you ask? It’s simple: the GOP is scared.

In the 2020 election season, Asian Americans showed up for Democrats in overwhelming numbers. Our community had the largest spike in voter turnout in

2020, helping us win here in Washington and in key states like Georgia. We are seeing a renaissance in Asian American democratic leaders winning across the country. Here in Washington, we are so lucky to have the first Indian American woman in Congress with Rep. Jayapal and Rep. Strickland, who is Korean and Black and the first Korean American woman elected to Congress. Locally, we have State Sen. Joe Nguyen, Sen. Manka Dhingra, Sen. Bob Hasegawa, Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, Rep. Davina Duerr, Rep. Mia Gregerson,

Rep. Cindy Ryu, Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, Rep. Vandana Slatter, and Rep. MyLinh Thai. All of these incredible Asian American leaders are proud Democrats.

This year, we have a chance to make history again by electing the first Democrat in 56 years and Asian American Secretary of State in Steve Hobbs and in supporting Leesa Manion for King County Prosecutor, where she will be the first woman and person of color to lead that office.

I, along with all these leaders, love our country and our community. I was adopted to the United States from India, because my birth mother wanted a better life for me. She knew I could have that here in the U.S. and I know that I can if we continue to uphold democracy, vote for democratic leaders who view our community through a lens of love and opportunity, and who will continue to stand up for our rights in the face of Republican fear-mongering and hate.

For more information and to connect with her, visit shasticonrad.com.

ABOUT SHASTI CONRAD

Shasti Conrad has extensive experience mobilizing people and communities in pursuit of transformative social change. She has been on staff for three presidential campaigns and one senate campaign: National Advance for Senator Bernie Sanders in 2016; Briefings Manager for President Obama, First Lady, Vice President and Dr. Biden for the 2012 Obama Re-Election Campaign; Field Organizer for Obama for America in 2008; and Political Director for the Jim Barksdale for U.S. Senate campaign in Georgia in 2016. Most recently, she worked with Nobel Peace Prize winners Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi to push for radical change.

MARCOS from 5

1980s, including a tumultuous period of martial law and repression. He made the family reputation an indelible part of Filipino history.

Addressing the family legacy directly is something the son has been loath to do, at least explicitly, though he vehemently rejects use of the term “dictator” to describe his father’s rule. To him, the political baggage of his parents is a remnant of the past.

“I did not indulge in any of that political back-and-forth concerning the Marcos family,“ he said. “All I spoke about was, ‘What are we going to do to get into a better place?’ And people responded.” Engaging, he said, would have simply been a retread— and an unnecessary one. “It doesn’t help. It doesn’t change anything,“ he said. “So what’s the point?”

The elder Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972, a year before his term was to expire. He padlocked Congress and newspaper offices, ordered the arrest of political opponents and activists, and ruled by decree. Thousands of Filipinos disappeared under his rule; some have never been accounted for.

When it comes to his predecessor, Marcos treads a nuanced political line as well.

Distinguishing himself from Duterte’s inyour-face rule can benefit him at home and internationally, but Duterte’s popularity helped catapult him into office, and the former president’s daughter, Sara, is Marcos’ vice president.

The extrajudicial killings associated with Duterte’s yearslong crackdown provoked calls that his administration should be investigated from the outside, and he vowed not to rejoin the International Criminal Court—a precept that Marcos agrees with. After all, Marcos asked, why should a country with a functioning legal system be judged from elsewhere?

“We have a judiciary. It’s not perfect,“ he said. “I do not understand why we need an outside adjudicator to tell us how to investigate, who to investigate, how to go about it.”

Marcos cast the coronavirus pandemic as many other leaders have—as a balancing act between keeping people safe and making sure life can push forward.

“We took a very extreme position in the Philippines, and we eventually had the longest lockdown in any country in the world,“ he said. “That was the choice of the previous government. And now, we are now coming out of it.”

In recent days, he has both removed a

national mandate to wear masks outdoors and extended a “state of calamity”—something he said he didn’t necessarily want to do, but keeping the declaration in place allows more people to continue getting help.

“It’s not very encouraging when people look at your country and they see, ‘Well, it’s under a state of calamity.’ That’s not good for tourists. It’s not good for visitors. It’s not good for business,” Marcos said.

Encouraging ties with China, particularly given Beijing’s aggressive maritime policies, might be a daunting prospect for a nation so closely and historically aligned with the United States. But, Marcos says, it’s possible—and necessary.

“It is a very fine line that we have to tread in the Philippines,” the president said. “We do not subscribe to the old Cold War ‘spheres of influence.’ ... So it’s really guided by national interest, number one. And second, the maintenance of peace.”

Peace comes in many flavors. Last week, Marcos traveled to the southern part of the nation—a predominantly Muslim area of a predominantly Catholic country—to express support for a multiyear effort to help a onetime rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, give up their guns and govern their autonomous region effectively.

While Moro has come into the government

fold, smaller militant groups including the violent Abu Sayyaf have continued to fight the government and wage sporadic attacks, especially in impoverished rural regions with weak law enforcement. Marcos dismissed Abu Sayyaf as a group that no longer has a cause other than “banditry.”

“I don’t believe they are a movement anymore. They are not fighting for anything,” Marcos said. “They are just criminals.”

Marcos did not specify precisely why the Philippines needed to be reintroduced, though the country’s image took a hit from 2016 to 2022 under the Duterte administration.

“The purpose, really, that I have brought to this visit here in New York ... has been to try to reintroduce the Philippines to our American friends, both in the private sector and in the public sector,” he said.

And after the pandemic truly ends, he said, the nation needs to find a fruitful path and follow it.

“We have to position ourselves. We have to be clever about forecasting, being a bit prescient,” he said.

“We do not want to return to whatever it is we were doing pre-pandemic,“ Marcos said. “We want to be able to be involved and be a vital part of the new global economy, of the new global political situation.” 

Shasti Conrad

… if it weren’t for pro-immigration policies, overwhelmingly supported by the Democratic party, the Asian American community would not be as diverse and as strong as we are.

Photo from shasticonrad.com

SATI from 1

“My earliest Kolkata memory is of standing in the kitchen of my grandparents’ house, a trapezoid of sunlight across the

PROTEST from 1

through Zoom. “It has had a big impact on the rest of my life.”

She was speaking so fast and the councilmembers appeared to have so little reaction, that it almost seemed like they may have misheard her.

Tearfully, she talked about trying to return to the CID but encountering more violence.

Violence was the theme—and the lived experience of the several dozen who spoke. Almost a hundred showed up though, spilling from the packed auditorium into a courthouse downstairs.

“We just witnessed 10 broken windows last night,” said a woman who has lived in the CID for 42 years. While she and others were eating in a restaurant, “12 mentally-ill people broke in and took food off the table.”

A man said there had been seven homicides in this year—the last one “in broad daylight, last Thursday at 2 p.m.”

He noted that according to Seattle Police Department (SPD) Chief Adrian Diaz, there are not enough resources to cover the CID.

As he broke up into tears, the speaker said he was not cold-hearted about the homeless. He described performing CPR on one homeless man, saving his life, on the day his own father died from COVID.

But at the same time, he said, “I saw a homeless person sucker-punch a lady, and now he’s back on the street.”

Other speakers talked about SPD officers not responding to violent crimes, apparently as a result of lack of staffing.

Currently, there is a planned expansion in the works for the Salvation Army SODO Shelter, which is on the edge of the CID. The expansion is meant to create capacity to absorb a tent encampment nearby. This expansion would increase the number of people living in the shelter. It is not entirely clear how many spaces will be allotted to an RV park or to the planned micro-housing that will be attached to the expansion. Moreover, while the current Salvation Army SODO Shelter focuses on treating veterans, the expanded version of this shelter will not necessarily share that focus The Salvation Army SODO Shelter will cease its operations in November.

Protesters of this expansion, many of whom are CID community members, have grown suspicious of claims by government authorities which have not jibed with their own experiences.

For instance, Mei-Jui Lin, president of the Chong Wa Benevolent Association, which represents 21 organizations in the CID,

floor, and my grandmother kneeling, rubbing my legs with sharp-smelling mustard oil. It must have been part of the midday pre-bathing routine.”

She praises Bellingham for its gorgeous natural setting, but, she notes, Kolkata ranks as a historic world city, much like New York City, in terms of its crowds, multilingual culture, and long-running enclaves of artists, writers, and musicians.

She’s always held affection for Seattle, where she was born and where she visited frequently growing up.

“Childhood memories are all about Pike Place Market. Bengalis love fish, so getting fresh fish was always the reason for my parents’ Seattle visits.

“Truth be told, I was terrified of both of the cartoonish heads of the dead fish, and of the steep wet hills rising from the market. I still remember those moments when we’d be stopped on the hill in our little stick shift Volkswagen Bug, that feeling of an abyss between the brake and the gas pedal, that the little car would fall backwards into.”

Mookherjee studied both writing and medicine at the University of Washington (UW), but decided, towards the end of

medical school, to concentrate on writing. She does work, alongside her husband, at Bellingham’s Sendan Center, providing mental and behavioral health services to youth.

Through her UW writing courses, “My mentors at the University of Washington were Robert McNamara and Linda Bierds. I can’t articulate what their lessons were, other than to say that they both exemplify a life in writing that is characterized by a profound devotion to craft and tremendous generosity to other writers.”

The poems in “Eye” take their inspiration from real events: Her own grandfather, his exile from India, his travels, and his musings on life. According to the poet, the key to the work lay in some bold, brutal editing.

“‘Eye’ was originally three, if not four, times its current length,” she elaborated. “There were two more stories braided through it: The story of a Burmese woman (actually the parent of a friend) during WWII, and a fictional Roma family in Franco’s Spain. I worked on it for about eight years, and then the consensus of all who critiqued it was that although the

writing was fine, the poems never really got at anything important.

“So I threw away two-thirds of the manuscript and really tried to listen for the beating heart of what was left, which is the motif of orbits, the ripples and intersections of our individual circular journeys, across the earth and in and out of life and death.”

Asked about advice for fledgling poets, Mookerjee confesses she doesn’t, yet anyway, feel like an expert.

“I feel as though I’m starting out, so I can only describe what I try to do, rather than give advice. I think the most important things to do are: a) to read widely, b) to keep writing, and c) to have a group of trusted writers you can share work with.”

Sati Mookherjee reads from her book “Eye” on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m., at the University of Washington Bookstore, 4326 University Way North East in Seattle. The event is free, but registration is required. For more information, visit ubookstore.com/events.

Andrew can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

said she was perplexed that King County Executive Dow Constantine claimed he had spoken to a number of community organizations in advance of deciding on the shelter expansion.

“Why didn’t you reach out to us?” she said at the meeting. “We are the ones representing the CID.”

Frank Irigon, who led protests against plans to raze the CID 50 years ago to build the Kingdome, said, “It’s a shame when the county executive refuses to meet with people.” Turning to the crowd of mostly seniors sitting in the audience, he said, “These are the real voices of the CID. They should be heard!”

Gary Lee, a volunteer with the Seattle Chinatown Block Watch, said officials violated zoning laws in their shelterplanning. He said that a decree allowing emergency construction of shelters was linked to COVID-19, but the current planned shelter is not being built for pandemic-related purposes.

“You should terminate the lease and find another location away from the CID,” he said.

Earlier in the day, councilmembers had received Constantine’s 2023–2024 proposed budget, which includes $5.7 million for a sobering center for the shelter hub. The council will vote on the budget in November.

Lee also said that as a member of one of the community watches that does nighttime patrols, he has talked extensively with people on the streets experiencing homelessness and many reported they were told by authorities to go to the CID.

“Shame on you,” he said, addressing the council. “You guys are the ones who pushed the homeless to the CID. They say they were told to come down here. You’re creating problems so you can be the savior.”

As he spoke the last words, tensions reached a height and a frozen moment of silence reigned.

Gei Chan, another community watch volunteer, said, “I’ve talked to people on the streets. They don’t want to go to a shelter. That is not the best solution. Can you come up with other options, like tiny homes in different areas?”

Golden, a student at a beauty parlor across the street from the encampment in the CID, said the accumulation of needles and the unsafe behavior around the parlor threatens to close it down.

She does not dare to bring her kids there, making it difficult for her to continue her training.

“We have children like you guys,” she said. “I’ve been homeless as well. You see the problem, and it needs to be addressed.”

Julie Neilson, who has worked for years in the CID, pointed to the recent closures of a grocery store and a full-service drug store.

“How are these people supposed to get food and medicine for themselves?” she said. “What did the CID do to deserve this?”

Underscoring the racism that has been infused into many of the attacks that happened in the CID, against both senior citizens and children, Sandy Yu, a resident, held her phone up on speaker.

Her 7-year-old daughter’s voice came out tentatively and filled the council chambers.

“I’m scared right now, he got mad at me,” said her daughter, who was spat upon in the face by a homeless man and threatened. “I don’t want him to live near here, and I’m still scared.”

For many of these community members, violence also reflected a horrible lack of equity.

Several speakers said there are too many

homeless shelters in the vicinity of the CID, with some claiming 20 shelters.

Tanya Woo, a community organizer, along with other community members, asked for the council to come up with a safety plan for the CID before bringing a whole new group of people who might prey on them—such as drug dealers and sex traffickers—into the district.

“We need you to set a precedent for the future, where high-impact policies [like this one] won’t keep happening,” she said.

Carmen Chan, a third-generation Japanese American, described her parents’ incarceration during World War II to councilmembers. She also said, “I’m shocked to learn about all the things planned for the CID.” She also indicated that the expanded homeless shelter will not be the only thing that shuts down parts of the CID for the next decade, but also a planned transit hub.

“Councilmembers, raise your hand if you feel safe walking in your neighborhood,” said one woman who described herself as having lived in the CID for 42 years. “Now raise your hand if you’ve walked through our neighborhood.”

Only council chair Claudia Balducci raised her hand. Balducci later clarified that other of her colleagues had also walked the district.

Referring to the 10 broken windows and the onslaught of a dozen people storming a restaurant to grab food from tables, from the night before, the speaker added, “Does Mercer Island or Medina have the same problems?”

After a moment, Balducci said, “I just want to say for the record that … [my colleagues and I] can see what you’re talking about.”

Mahlon can be contacted at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Protesters and supporters of the CID gather in King County Council chambers to voice their anger and concern over homeless shelter expansion on Sept. 27.

Photo by Andrew Chow

Predictions and advice for the week of October 1–7, 2022

By Sun Lee Chang

Rat—As experienced as you are, there are times when it is prudent to seek the advice of an expert.

Ox—Despite a temporary awkward period, you are right to move away from something that isn’t working for you.

Tiger—While your goal isn’t unusual, the route you take to reach it could be quite out of the ordinary.

Rabbit—In case there are surprises down the line, it is important to set realistic expectations upfront.

Dragon—You have found a gem of a project. However, it won’t sparkle until you put some work into it.

Snake—Are you feeling a bit awkward today? It will take some time to get used to a new environment.

Horse—A soft landing isn’t necessarily a good thing. You may actually end up learning more from a rough start.

Goat—Don’t apologize for following your heart. You can honor your dreams by trying to make them come true.

Monkey—Do you feel a little out of your element? If you put in the effort, that feeling should soon pass.

Rooster—Is the same old thing growing tiresome? Rather than getting rid of it entirely, perhaps a refresh is in order.

Dog—Rather than lamenting what you left behind, embrace the new and different that lies ahead.

Pig—A momentary weakness need not become a habit. You have the strength to make healthier choices.

TIGER

RAT

SNAKE

PNB from 1

PNB started in 1972 as part of the Seattle Opera. Stowell and Russell, a married couple, separated the Ballet from the Opera—although there continues to be tight collaboration—and in 1993, PNB moved to Seattle Center and McCaw Hall.

The first production in the new building was “Carmina Burana.” At that time, PNB faced a lot of pressure after years spent building the new facility.

“What is this going to do for the ballet? Are you going to do better performances? What do you say to that?” Stowell recalled people asking. “What we said was that the visibility of the new building…is a symbol of acceptance and appreciation.”

They knew they needed to have one heck of a season and so Stowell decided on “Carmina” and “Cinderella,” two crowdpleasing, elaborate, and difficult productions.

“It was all about money, money, money, which it had to be, and Kent said, ‘When we get back in there, we’ve got to make everybody turn around and look at the stage and watch the dancers,’” elaborated Russell, who danced in New York City with George Balanchine for 50 years. “‘Carmina’ is one of those pieces of music…that many choreographers try to tackle and oftentimes they take bits and pieces from it, mostly modern choreographers, and I thought, this is a big, lusty piece of bravura music and I’ve got to make it big and spectacular,” said Stowell. His choreography of ‘Carmina’ became well-known, along with its set by Lee. It was a way to bring more people in to see the ballet, by attracting the opera and musical worlds as well.

“After COVID, people coming back to the theater want communication,” Russell commented. PNB’s rendition of Carmina is unique for its joining of symphony, opera, and ballet, and how they are combined. Thanks to Lee’s audacious design, the choir hangs above the dancers, as does a giant ‘wheel of fortune’ designed by Lee, who Russell called the “Dean of American Theatrical Design.”

“Kent and Ming did five…full-length ballets together,” Russell recalled.

“It was a great collaboration, personally as well, and certainly professionally.” Kent continued, “Part of our hopeful profile was not just presenting great ballets but great art

on the stage…The ballets that Ming did were all beautiful sets, all wonderfully conceived, and spectacular to look at.”

Born in Shanghai, Lee came to the United States in 1949, and was a professor at Yale. He won a Tony Award in 1983 and a lifetime achievement Tony in 2013. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame, and was awarded the National Medal of Arts. His sets appeared on Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera, and around the country.

“[His designs] are unique. They’re not like anyone else,” Russell said. “Each ballet… they don’t look like the same designer. They’re so different. He listens to the music and he talks to the choreographer and it comes out gradually as a completely unique whole.”

Stowell and Francia remembered Lee, who passed in 2020, as being “quiet and gentle” with “no histrionics,” but also “very sure of what he thought.”

When Lee, who worked closely with his wife, Betsy, suggested the wheel for “Carmina,” it required a giant pole to be erected in the center of the stage.

Stowell thought, “Oh my gosh, how do I choreograph a 50-minute ballet around this pole?” With the help of a stagehand, PNB figured out how to raise and tilt the wheel, and now, it is one of the most striking aspects of the ballet, along with the unforgettable music by Carl Orff and bold choreography,

which the dancers imbue with spirit and bravado.

“Carmina” is one of three pieces being performed together for this season opener, from Sept. 23 through Oct. 2. Also on the stage is a world premiere by Alexei Ratmansky in support of Ukraine, called “Wartime Elegy,” and a PNB and Balanchine standard, “Allegro Brillante,” featuring dancers Jonathon Batista and Angelica Generosa.

PNB under Stowell and Russell, and up to today, has made a point of supporting diversity in its hiring practices. Russell worked with the Shanghai Ballet and brought two dancers back with her at that time. Also, Li Hengda, who now has his own school in Bellevue, was a major PNB dancer. Generosa, originally from New Jersey, was recruited by current artistic director, Peter Boal, after her graduation from American School of Ballet—where she happened to dance “Allegro Brillante” as her graduation piece. “It’s kind of a full circle for me,” she shared.

we tend to fix things right away, that’s what our careers are…I took those things that were being said and I was like, ‘How do I fix that?’ And then I realized I can’t fix ‘this.’ This is me.”

Generosa remembered that finding a job on the East Coast wasn’t easy—and it was due to her ethnicity. Her parents came from the Philippines. “I’ve had my fair share of [discrimination]. At a young age, I didn’t know. I knew my parents knew of it, but of course when you love something so much in the arts, you think that a lot of things are already accepting,” but this was not the case. “The main reason why I didn’t get hired was because of my appearance. They said, I just ‘didn’t blend in’ or they had their quota of how many [people of color] they needed.”

Generosa tried to deal with it on her own, but it made her question herself and it was hurtful. “Where should I be? What should I do? For me at least, and a lot of ballet dancers,

Generosa experienced a fulfilling sense of being part of a family of dancers when she came to PNB. “I didn’t realize how huge that feeling was of being accepted and appreciated.” Generosa’s love of her craft shows. On stage, her movements are full of élan. She is poised as a butterfly delicately touching down on the ripples of a pond one after the other. The entire production from start to finish goes down without a hitch, with dancers, singers, and musicians giving their all.

When Generosa first danced in “Carmi na,” it was as an apprentice at PNB 11 years ago. “To see a choir above the dancers and to hear opera singers alongside the dancing, and this amazing score … I was like, ‘What is this? This is so cool. I’ve never seen any thing like this before.’ … It felt like a com munity. … There’s so much power in that. It’s amazing.”

“Carmina” runs through Oct. 2. For tickets and information about PNB’s 2022-2023 season, visit pnb.org/season.

Kai can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

MONKEY

DOG 1922, 1934,

1958,

1982, 1994,

2018 PIG 1923, 1935, 1947,

1983,

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.

PNB co-founders and prior artistic directors, Kent Stowell and Francia Russell

Photo by Elaine Thompson/AP

PNB principal dancer Angelica Generosa

Image from PNB

Carmina Burana as presented by the Pacific Northwest Ballet

Image from PNB

CLASSIFIEDS

Prepare for Power Outages

DONE RITE CARPET CLEANING 206-487-8236

CANNABIS from 4

And a police analyst removed non-Asian names from a list provided by the utility, forwarding only Asiansounding names for more investigation, the suit claims.

The utility would turn over a list of customers who used more than a certain threshold amount of energy in a month, the lawsuit alleges. For instance, while a typical household might use less than 1,500 kilowatt hours of electricity in a month, the suit says the utility would disclose homes using more than 3,000 kWh.

The bulk disclosure “turns its entire customer base into potential leads for police to chase,” the lawsuit says. It says the utility “liberally discloses” customers’ Social Security, driver’s license, and telephone numbers.

SMUD and Sacramento police said they couldn’t comment on pending litigation, but SMUD spokeswoman Lindsay VanLaningham denied any wrongdoing.

“We agree that our customer usage data should be (and is) treated with care,” she said Thursday, but she said state law allows and sometimes requires sharing the information with law enforcement agencies.

“We share the information on specific properties to stop what we’ve identified and believe to be power theft and when we are required to do so per local law enforcements’ request to assist them with their investigations,” she said in an email.

“We look forward to being available for questions once legal proceedings have concluded,“ Sacramento police Sgt. Zach Eaton said.

The suit was filed Wednesday by the watchdog Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on behalf of the nonprofit Asian American Liberation Network and SMUD customer Khurshid Khoja, who is described as being an

NASA from 4

Chinese-owned company.

But, prosecutors say, Cheng violated those restrictions by maintaining multiple undisclosed associations with China, including serving as director of a soft matter institute at a technology university in Guangdong, China, that was established by China’s Ministry of Education.

“Texas A&M and the Texas A&M System take security very seriously, and we constantly are on the look-out for vulnerabilities, especially when national security is involved,” John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M System, said in a statement Sept. 23. “We will continue to work with our federal partners to keep our intellectual property secure and out of the hands of foreign governments who seek to do us harm.”

Cheng was fired from Texas A&M shortly after his arrest.

Asian American Sacramento resident, cannabis industry attorney, and cannabis rights advocate.

Megan Sapigao, co-executive director of the network, said the “mass surveillance program is unlawful, advances harmful stereotypes, and overwhelmingly impacts Asian communities.

“It’s unacceptable that two public agencies would carelessly flout state law and utility customers’ privacy rights, and even more unacceptable that they targeted a specific community in doing so,” she said in a statement.

EFF Senior Staff Attorney Aaron Mackey said the foundation isn’t aware of any other California public utilities that are sharing data in the same way as SMUD.

Private utilities like Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric are barred from disclosing customer utility data to law enforcement without a court order under state law and California Public Utility Commission rules, he said.

Public utilities like SMUD aren’t regulated by the commission, but state law bars them “from disclosing entire neighborhoods’ worth of data to law enforcement absent a court order or ongoing investigation,” Mackey said.

SMUD is the nation’s sixth-largest community-owned electric service provider, serving more than 600,000 customers, the suit says.

Southern California Edison’s policy generally requires a warrant or subpoena to share information with law enforcement. The other two major private utilities did not immediately respond to queries from The Associated Press about whether they have similar informationsharing programs, nor did the California Public Utilities Commission comment.

The lawsuit comes as officials are struggling to curtail

Texas A&M is located about 90 miles northwest of Houston.

Hilder said Cheng loves academia but is evaluating his options on what he does next.

“He’s a proud, loyal United States citizen and he looks forward to getting back to being a productive member of our society,” Hilder said.

In a tweet Sept. 23, FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge James Smith said his agency “prioritizes investigating threats to academia as part of our commitment to preventing intellectual property theft at U.S. research institutions and companies.”

In February, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen told reporters he believed the initiative was prompted by genuine national security concerns. He said he did not believe investigators had targeted professors on the basis of ethnicity, but he also said he had to be responsive to concerns he heard, including from Asian American groups.

illegal cannabis grows that are stunting the growth of the legal, licensed recreational marijuana production that California voters approved in 2016.

Disguising illegal cannabis farms in ordinary appearing homes became prevalent nearly two decades ago as authorities disrupted outdoor plots they could spot from helicopters and other surveillance flights.

Law enforcement authorities often discovered the illegal grow houses because of their extraordinary use of electricity to run high-intensity lights, ventilation fans, and other devices to grow thousands of marijuana plants, often enabling several harvests each year.

Sometimes the tipoff came when the houses caught fire due to illegal electrical hookups.

Sacramento officials estimated in 2017 that there might be as many as 1,000 illegal grow houses in California’s capital city.

The foundation said the crackdown “has been highly lucrative” for Sacramento, since a city ordinance in 2017 allowed police to levy large penalties on the owners of properties where marijuana was found.

The city issued nearly $100 million in fines in just two years, the foundation said, about 86% of them on people of Asian descent.

The privacy violation is more acute with the proliferation of “smart” meters that send power usage information to the utility several times a day. That information, collected in increments of 15 minutes or less, can provide “a detailed picture of what occurs within a home,” the foundation said. “It can provide inferences about private daily routines such as what devices are being used, when they are in use, and how this changes over time.”

SOLUTION from SUDOKU on page 6.

LAY from 5

showed her a screen they said indicated there was an Interpol Red Notice out for her, which means the police force of a country had asked for her to be detained.

It could not be immediately confirmed whether Interpol has posted such a notice. However, Myanmar’s military government has unilaterally revoked many of its leading opponents’ passports in an effort to restrict their activities.

Thaw Nandar Aung used her platform as the Myanmar contestant at last year’s Miss Grand International beauty pageant in the Thai capital, Bangkok, to speak about the killings of pro-democracy protesters in her homeland.

“Every citizen of the world wants the

prosperity of their country and the peaceful environment,” she said. “In doing so, the leaders involved should not use their power and selfishness.”

“Today in my country, Myanmar, while I am going to be on this stage, there are so many people dying, more than 100 people died today. I am deeply sorry for all the people who have lost their lives,” she said, pausing frequently to fight back tears.

She added: “I want to say for here that, please help Myanmar. We need your urgent international help right now.”

On Sept. 26, the Bangkok Post reported that she was granted refugee status in Canada. The Post also reported that she left Thailand on Korean Air flight KE652 on Tuesday, Sept. 27. 

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