Norm Ohashi won his first Emmy Award, after nearly four decades in the broadcast news industry, on June 8 at the 56th annual Northwest Regional Emmy Awards. Ohashi, a senior producer with Seattle Channel, won for an inspiring look at the Special Olympics, along with videographer Randy Eng and Executive Producer Shannon Gee. Eng won […]

Three-time Olympic medalist J.R. Celski married his girlfriend, former Canadian short tracker Andrea Do-Duc, on June 1 outside Salt Lake City. A native of Federal Way, Wash., Celski made Salt Lake City his training home before announcing his retirement from competitive speed skating in November. The couple still lives there, where Do-Duc is a sports […]

Asian Pacific Directors Coalition (APDC) hosted a special reception on June 13 at Hing Hay Co-works to welcome cabinet/director-level Asian Pacific Islanders (APIs) in local government. APDC chair Janice Deguchi gave the opening remarks while Maria Batayola facilitated a discussion. Among those honored were Toshiko Hasegawa, Executive Director for Commission on APA Affairs; Mami Hara, […]

The public information officer for the Kent-based Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority will retire at the end of June, after 30 years with the department. In an email, Kyle Ohashi said, “I’ll miss 2 a.m. phone calls, blinding camera lights, and answering the same question eight different times.” Joe Root, who has been with Puget […]

The University of Washington (UW) Bothell has appointed Gowri Shankar to serve as interim vice chancellor for planning and administration (VCPA). In this role, effective Aug. 1, Shankar will oversee financial planning and accounting, campus facilities and space planning, governmental and community relations, information technology, and human resources. Shankar holds a tenured faculty appointment and […]

Superstar Chinese pianist Lang Lang has married his girlfriend, 24-year-old German/Korean pianist Gina Alice Redlinger. The 36-year-old musician, who will perform at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall on Oct. 9, announced the wedding on his official Weibo account on June 2. He and his bride tied the knot in a private ceremony at the Palace of Versailles, […]

The Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle hosted a special reception on May 20 to celebrate the appointment of legendary sushi chef Shiro Kashiba as the “Goodwill Ambassador to Spread Japanese Cuisine.” Kashiba is known for spreading the “Edo-mae” style sushi in the United States. He worked as a chef at Maneki, located in the International […]

Architectural Werks, Inc. (AWI) announced the promotion of Franklin Ng and Jennifer Phang on May 30. “The promotion of Franklin and Jennifer is obviously in recognition of their talents and the demonstrated value they bring to the firm and our clients’ projects,” President Jeff Clark said. Combined, Phang and Ng have more than four decades […]

More than 1,100 seniors attended a series of three free dinners from May 28-30. The dinners were held at the House of Hong. Harry Chan of Taitung Restaurant donated $6,000 so that each dinner guest would receive a red envelope containing $5. $37,310 was raised and that money was donated to three organizations—AiPACE, CISC, and […]

Clark Construction Group and Lease Crutcher Lewis celebrated the achievement of 10 local small business leaders, the newest graduates of its Strategic Partnership Program (SPP), at a ceremony and luncheon on May 31 at Cedarbrook Lodge in SeaTac. The SPP is an intensive, eight-month MBA-style course targeted to local small-business enterprises including minority-, women-, and […]