The International Examiner

The turnaround in our local economy that we all wished for in 2011 didn’t occur. If you’re like me, you’re apprehensive about 2012. Cuts to federal, state and city government budgets seem to continually loom over us, affecting our lives one way or another. Politicians and elected officials point fingers at each other and at [...]

Before writing this column, the IE Editor in Chief reminded me that this issue would focus on the passionate opinions of others. Given my propensity to have passionate opinions, I am grateful that Diem provides me more regular opportunities and column space to share them with you. Trying to choose a topic to write about [...]

   Last week I had a chance to travel to Toronto. My 11 year-old son attended a week long ice hockey camp at Eagle Lake, Ontario, about l50 miles north of Toronto. On our 4 hour drive back to Toronto, I asked my son what he liked about the camp. He responded, “The hockey…it was [...]

I have spent 20 years working on public safety issues with the community and Seattle Police Department in the Chinatown/International District. We battle typical urban drug and crime problems as an urban neighborhood. I have learned fighting these problems demands constant vigilance and diligence on the part of the entire community. The cycle of negative [...]

After working in the International District/Chinatown for 20 years and studying other Asian ethnic neighborhoods, I know developing the ID into a more economic vibrant neighborhood demands community collaboration and creativity. The new economic reality places more urgency on the ID to create effective economic development efforts that ensure the preservation of our historic cultural [...]

I am probably one of a handful of Americans who have the distinction of being in Vancouver for both Game #7 riots in 1994 and 2011. On June 14, 1994, the Vancouver Canucks lost a close and exciting Game #7 to the New York Rangers for the Stanley Cup Championship. After the game, I was [...]

Nothing makes me feel more “old” than the Internet, cell phones, texting and social media. I’m talking about the “old” feeling, like when we thought our parents were old when we were fifteen. Facebook, Twitter and texting makes me feel like I’m in a foreign country and can’t speak the language. One of my more [...]

Who has influenced you? How do you pass it on? Eric Liu, Seattle author of “Guiding Lights: How to Mentor and Find Life’s Purpose”, started a recent panel discussion on mentorship with these two questions. I was participating on the panel as a “mentor”. The panel discussion was sponsored by the Asian Pacific Islander Community [...]

I took a hiatus from writing this column for a month because I have had no time to write between my regular job and my seasonal cross country coaching at Holy Names Academy. To write this column, I’m on a self-imposed detention at the hockey rink on a Friday night where my son will be [...]

“Public safety is our number one concern.” I hear it at resident meetings and business meetings. Seattle Police Department (SPD) officials, the Mayor and City Council members all say that improving public safety is a top priority. However, decisions by them appear to be in conflict with improving public safety. Under the City’s current budget [...]

I recently made my annual summer visit to Whistler, B.C. Unlike my high expectations for great food in Vancouver and Richmond, I usually have low expectations for the restaurants in Whistler. However, I finally found a restaurant that I am excited to return to. The Rimrock Café is not for the budget minded, but well [...]

Parking. There is no other topic in the International District that is wrought with so many myths and misconceptions. Parking is not a problem. But it seems that everything else associated with parking in the neighborhood is a problem. Unless there is a Safeco or Qwest Field event that draws more than 35,000 people, one [...]

I first met Ray Chinn in 1991 when I started working in the ID. He and other family members owned the Rex Building and operated the Wa Sang Grocery store next to Tai Tung Restaurant on King Street. The store closed in 1997, but Ray has remained an important leader and role model in the [...]

My son plays ice hockey, so there are many hours which to write or to talk to other parents at the ice rink. Greg, the father of one my son’s teammates, asked me, “What’s with all the rift raft in Chinatown?” He commented that he eats in Chinatown but does not feel it is very [...]

I have a unique perspective on the impact of the larger economy on our local economy in the International District. The negative impact on commercial activity and business is significant. I receive calls from commercial tenants who request rent concessions because customers are spending less. Prime commercial storefront spaces sit vacant for months and now [...]

Writing a column twice a month is really something new to me, in more ways than one. My experience working with Diem, the editor, on my very first column is testament to what I’d like to see more in the community. I was indignant at edits to my column at first, but realized that I [...]

I don’t consider myself a writer. I doubt anybody has ever described me as articulate. How is it that I find myself writing my first ever published column? Do I have anything to say that readers will be compelled to actually read? Apparently, Diem Ly, the young and thoughtful editor of the International Examiner, thinks [...]