By Samantha Pak Northwest Asian Weekly The extraordinary journey of the fakir who got trapped in an Ikea wardrobe By Romain Puertolas Alfred A. Knopf New York, 2015 When Ajatashatru (Aja) Oghash arrives in Paris, the first and only thing on his mind is to get to an Ikea. All the Indian fakir — or […]
Ravishing!
The “Ravishing Women” team— a non-profit group that supports women and has various events throughout the year that lead up to the judging of Miss India Washington in May, was invited to do a grand finale fashion show of the Wedding Passport event hosted by Redmond Town Center and Marriott late February. It was very […]
Polintan elected
Rick Polintan was elected on January 20, 2015 as Chair of the 11th Legislative District Democrats. Marvin Rosete was elected Vice-Chair. Robert Kangas was elected State Committeeman. All three are Asian Americans. The 11th is made up of very diverse communities. His goal is for those diverse communities to be engaged politically. Polintan retired as a union […]
“Grace Notes” Gala raised over $800k
Komen raised over $800k for their annual “Grace Notes” Gala/auction and was attended by 320 people in early March at the Fairmont Hotel. Yuen Lui has provided portraits for all the guests pro-Bono for over 10 years. A BBQ with Fred Brown raised $90k at the live auction and “raise the paddle” exceeded $250k. Mona […]
Yoshitomi receives surprise award
Karen Yoshitomi was the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) PNW Regional Office Director (National Staff) for over 22 years. Her office was in the ID. Last year, Karen resigned to be Executive Director for the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington. The Seattle JACL used the Banquet as an occasion to give Karen a […]
Demolition begins on Louisa Building
On April 1, the Woo family started with a cleansing ceremony for the victims who died in the Wah Mee Club. Firecrackers were set off to symbolize a new era of rebuilding, repairs, and improvements for the Louisa Building. Afterwards, demolition of the western wall began. Demolition and cleanup is expected to take 20 […]
Tokyo ward 1st in Japan to recognize same sex marriage
By Yuri Kageyama Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Fumino Sugiyama will finally be able to marry his girlfriend of four years. He couldn’t before, because same sex marriages weren’t recognized in Japan, and he is legally a woman. With a landmark vote Tuesday by the assembly of Tokyo’s Shibuya ward, the district famous as a […]
Technology to look inside Fukushima reactors faces challenge
By Yuri Kageyama AP Business Writer YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — The cutting-edge technology was billed as a way to decipher where exactly the morass of nuclear fuel might sit at the bottom of reactors in the Japanese power plant that went into multiple meltdowns four years ago. But what went wrong, even in a simple […]
About 4,000 fishermen stranded on Indonesian islands
By Margie Mason and Robin McDowell Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) —The number of foreign fishermen stranded on several remote eastern Indonesian islands has spiraled to 4,000, including some revealed in an Associated Press investigation to have been enslaved. Many are migrant workers abandoned by their boat captains after the government passed a moratorium on […]
A mercurial junta leader known for sharp tongue — Banana peel, birthday plans, and multiple personalities
By Todd Pitman and Thanyarat Doksone Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Ear tugs. A flying banana peel. Sarcastic remarks about getting smacked, or punched — or even executed. Such is life for the press corps covering Thailand’s notoriously testy military ruler. Since leading a putsch that ousted Thailand’s elected government last May, general-turned-prime minister Prayuth […]