Numbers are interesting. They can measure, time, analyze and rank someone. But to what extent can numbers really tell about a person? According to statistics from the Census Bureau and data from higher education, Asian Americans rank highest among the five major racial/ethnic groups in the United States in college degree attainment and rates of [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Do you know who Hideo Nomo is? If you’re not a sports fan, you probably have never heard of him. Hideo Nomo was a baseball player. He was only the second Japanese player to play in Major League Baseball when he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers back in the 1990s. (Masanori Murakami was the [...]
As the debate around the recently passed immigration law in Arizona clearly demonstrates, racial and religious profiling continues to be a real and urgent problem across the United States. Washington State is not immune to the scourge of this discriminatory behavior by law enforcement officials. Last October, it came to light that, instead of collecting [...]
In China, people eat dogs. Yes, unfortunately, the stereotype of the Chinese eating, well…everything, is somewhat true even in the context of what we consider a household pet. Earlier this month, CNN published a video covering the dog meat market in Guangzhou, China. I cringed at the thought of my own family’s black lab and [...]
Now I’m not saying he did, and I’m not saying he didn’t, but I do know that quite possibly, the biggest fight in the history of boxing is being held up by a few drops of blood. In the past few weeks, Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao and his team have effectively halted all further [...]
In the supposedly post-racial Obama era, most people would now find it unfathomable that a race-based attack in high school could happen, yet on Dec. 3 twenty-six Asian students, both international and US-born, were deliberately attacked by their peers at a South Philadelphia high school. Apparently, racial tension at this high school have been escalating. [...]
