G. De Castro is the new Director of Aging and Adult Services at Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS). He has been with ACRS since 2011, serving the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. De Castro holds a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Seattle University, where he also worked professionally in the areas […]
Naoko Morisawa artwork at Edmonds library
A selection of artist Naoko Morisawa’s wood mosaic collages is available for public viewing at the Edmonds Library through March 15. Morisawa’s work is a contemporary update of traditional Japanese wood mosaic popular during the Edo period (1603–1868). Her pieces, made from thousands of very small slices of natural and oil-dyed wood, explore imagery that […]
Sen. Cantwell meets with Japanese Prime Minister
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Feb. 10 to discuss strengthening the Japanese-American economic relationship. Cantwell expressed that the two countries would continue their strong alliance and advocated on behalf of Washington state’s farmers, ranchers, and businesses. Despite Japan being the third largest trading partner with Washington state, farmers […]
Vincent Yao, Director General of Seattle’s Taipei Economic and Cultural Office
Vincent Yao has been appointed the Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle. As Director General, Yao works on broadening and deepening Taiwan’s diversified relations with the Northwest, including Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. Yao’s last post was in “the other Washington,” and when asked how he liked Seattle, […]
Microsoft Asia Spring Festival
The 17th annual Microsoft Asian Spring Festival was held on Jan. 21 at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond. Hosted by the Chinese Microsoft Employee Network (CHIME), the celebration is the biggest spring festival event in the greater Seattle area with over 2,000 attendees.
Buddhist monk arrested in Myanmar with 4 million meth pills
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A Buddhist monk has been arrested in Myanmar after authorities found more than 4 million methamphetamine pills in his car and in his monastery, police said. Officer Maung Maung Yin said the monk was stopped on Feb. 5 as he drove in northern Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh. Authorities had been […]
Tour bus flips over on Taiwan highway, killing 32 people
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A bus carrying Taiwanese tourists on a trip to view cherry blossoms flipped over on an expressway ramp in Taiwan’s capital on Feb. 13, killing 32 people and injuring many others, officials said. The bus was carrying 44 people when it crashed on the No. 5 expressway, the Taipei city fire […]
Malaysia official: N.Korea leader’s brother slain at airport
By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was assassinated at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, telling medical workers before he died en route to a hospital that he had been attacked with a chemical spray, a Malaysian official said. Kim Jong Nam, 46, […]
Beverly Hills man pleads guilty in student immigration scam
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Beverly Hills man has pleaded guilty to fraudulently enrolling hundreds of foreigners as students in his vocational schools so they could stay in the U.S. Hee Sun Shim entered pleas on Feb. 9 in Los Angeles to federal conspiracy and immigration document fraud. He could face up to 15 years […]
NYC man pleads guilty to smuggling exotic turtles
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City man has pleaded guilty to smuggling endangered turtles to and from Hong Kong by stashing them in socks or boxes labeled as “snacks.” Hsien Lin Hsu entered the plea on Feb. 13 in federal court in Brooklyn. The 46-year-old Hsu was arrested last year after federal agents […]