Kelsey Schmidt, of Japanese American heritage, is Miss Washington USA. Schmidt took the post after former Miss Washington USA Stormy Keffeler resigned this month due to controversy surrounding a DUI arrest. Schmidt earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Scripps College and is currently a pre-doctoral fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and […]
WGU ranks as a top educator of people of color in nursing
For the second year in a row, Western Governors University (WGU) was among the top producers of nursing degrees awarded to people of color, according to a recent issue of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine. WGU ranked fourth in the nation in volume of nurses with minority backgrounds who earn their bachelor’s and master’s […]
Heather Kawamoto joins network for equity in early childhood
Heather Kawamoto and joined the Equity Leaders Action Network (ELAN) to advance racial equity in early childhood systems. Kawamoto is the Puget Sound Educational Service District’s equity in education program manager. ELAN is a focused effort across 20 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, composed of 38 fellows who work at the state or […]
Phillip Yin vying for Washington state lieutenant governor seat
Phillip Yin, a Bellevue resident and Yakima native, is running for Washington state lieutenant governor. “I know we can make Washington the most family-friendly, job-creating, and innovative state in the country,” Yin said in a release. Yin previously worked for Bloomberg Television and CNBC Asia as a business/political anchor and was also a senior portfolio […]
State cherry growers talk supply, demand, and industry challenges
By Mai Hoang Yakima Herald-Republic YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Demand for Northwest cherries was strong last summer, but the supply wasn’t always there. While more than 19 million 20-pound boxes of Northwest cherries — most from Washington state — were shipped in 2015, a majority of the boxes were shipped in June as the hot […]
Filipino Miss Universe winner says next dream is to be a Bond girl
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The reigning Miss Universe has her eyes set on her next big dream: being a Bond girl. Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach returned home to the Philippines for the first time since her crowning — and that awkward moment when host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia as the winner instead of her. […]
Taiwan elects first female president and rejects pro-China party
By Christopher Bodeen and Ralph Jennings Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan elected Tsai Ing-wen as its first female president Jan. 16, handing her pro-independence party its first majority in the national legislature and rejecting the China-friendly party that has led the self-governing island for eight years. The result should be deeply unsettling to […]
Suicide of student triggers protests over castes in southern India
HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Shouting slogans and holding placards, hundreds of students on Jan. 19 angrily protested the death of an Indian student who, along with four others, was barred from using some facilities at his university in the southern tech-hub of Hyderabad. The protesters accused Hyderabad University’s vice chancellor along with a federal minister of unfairly […]
Coconut trees are no longer considered trees in Indian state, now are palms
PANAJI, India (AP) — Coconut trees are no longer considered trees in the tropical Indian state of Goa, where authorities have reclassified them as palms to allow farmers to cut them down more easily.
King County Council declares January Human Trafficking Awareness Month
On Jan. 19, the Metropolitan King County Council declared January Human Trafficking Awareness Month in recognition of the ongoing effort to call attention to this form of modern day slavery. “In order to stop the scourge of human trafficking in our county, we need a coordinated and unified response,” said Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles, a co-sponsor […]