For placing an ad in Classified section, please contact John Liu at john@nwasianweekly.com.
The deadline to place a classified ad is Tuesday. Read the full story

By Staff
Northwest Asian Weekly

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and will kill more Americans this year than breast, prostate, colon, and liver cancers combined. The Chinese American population has the highest death rates for lung and bronchial cancer among all Asian American groups. Read the full story

By James Tabafunda
Northwest Asian Weekly

Members of The Long Journey Home Committee (which consists of members from the University of Washington, UW Nikkei Alumni Association, and the Japanese American Community), along with their presenters. Front row from left to right: Chantal Carrancho, Sara Griggs, Ed Escalona, Gail Nomura, Stephen Sumida, Tetsuden Kashima, and presenter Jim McIntire (State Treasurer-elect). Standing from left to right: Presenter Ellen Abellera, Ellen Eskenazi, Norm Arkans, Tyler Mayeno, A.C. Petersen, Richard Warner, Irene Mano, Glenda Pearson, Todd Mildon, Ken Sato, Diane Adachi, Kyle Funakoshi, Tom Griffin, Beth Kawahara, and Theresa Mudrock.

Make a positive contribution to the Asian Pacific Islander American community and your efforts can be recognized. A few outstanding individuals and organizations have shown the kind of perseverance worthy of the community’s praise.

Supporters of the Northwest Asian Weekly (NWAW) and the Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation gathered more than 350 community members and their friends to honor the 2008 Top Contributors to the Asian Community on Dec. 5. The community dinner at Renton-based Tea Palace Restaurant also collected three boxes of nonperishable food items for Northwest Harvest.

The dinner emcee, Q13 Fox’s Lara Yamada, announced that the dessert auction raised a total of $7,700 with donations for the Wing Luke Asian Museum and Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS), two of the six honorees.

The whole event netted $22,000.

Assunta Ng, publisher of the Northwest Asian Weekly, said the Foundation would use some of the net proceeds to bring the total donation to Wing Luke and ACRS to $10,000. Each organization would receive $5,000. Read the full story

American Hotel Building, LLC has acquired the historic American Hotel Building in the International District and plans to provide workforce housing, student housing, and international hostelling once the current tenant and former owner, Union Gospel Mission, vacates the property at the end of June 2009. Read the full story

By Caroline Li
Northwest Asian Weekly

Forget the socks and t-shirts. In today’s global economy, the most talked about country in the world has an opportunity to shed its reputation from being the mass maker of cheap products to a model for the U.S., according to Daniel Rosen, an economic adviser specializing in China’s commercial development. Read the full story

By Jessica Mintz
The Associated Press

Qi Lu

SEATTLE (AP) — Microsoft Corp. on Dec. 4 tapped a former Yahoo search executive to lead its online push, adding to the intrigue surrounding a possible search partnership between the two rivals.

Microsoft named Qi Lu president of its Online Services Group, which is responsible for all of the software maker’s Web-based programs and services, including search and online advertising — areas where it ranks a distant No. 3 behind Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.

The slot was left vacant after Kevin Johnson, a driving force behind Microsoft’s quixotic attempt to buy Yahoo, departed in July. The top internal contender to succeed Johnson, former aQuantive chief Brian McAndrews, is leaving the company, Microsoft said. Read the full story

By Stacy Nguyen
Northwest Asian Weekly

By Assunta Ng
Northwest Asian Weekly

Instead of swinging by a drive-thru on the way to work, pack your lunch. A whole wheat bagel with spinach, tomatoes, and ham has far fewer calories than a greasy burger.

Have you ever been in a life or death situation? I was.

Strangely, I had never thought about how lucky I was to be alive until I was fighting for my life a month ago. It was a terrifying experience. This kind of thing tends to hit you without warning, just when you least expect it. It seems to happen when life is smooth and sweet. Read the full story

Photo provided by www.missmichellewie.com

By Doug Ferguson
The Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Michelle Wie has been playing LPGA Tour events since she was in the seventh grade, drawing the biggest galleries because of her youth and power, but earning little respect from players because of her preferential treatment.

In the 62 tournaments she has played over the last seven years, Wie received 53 exemptions or invitations.

The next time the 19-year-old from Hawaii tees it up, she can finally feel like she belongs.

Wie opened with three straight bogeys before settling down in blustery conditions Sunday for a 2-over 74, easily finishing among the top 20 players at the Q-school to become a card-carrying member of the LPGA Tour. Read the full story

Local residents light candles on Dec. 1 in front of the Taj Mahal hotel in memory of those who died in the attacks last week in Mumbai, India. Soldiers removed the remaining bodies from the shattered Taj Mahal hotel, searching each room in the labyrinthine building and defusing booby-traps and bombs left by the gunmen who killed 172 people during three days of terror. Photo taken by Saurabh Das and provided by The Associated Press.

By Ramola Talwar Badam
The Associated Press

MUMBAI, India (AP) — The only gunman captured by police after a string of attacks on Mumbai told authorities he belonged to a Pakistani militant group with links to the disputed region of Kashmir, a senior police officer said Sunday, Nov. 30.

India has blamed “elements” from Pakistan for the 60-hour siege during which suspected Muslim militants hit 10 sites across India’s financial capital, leaving at least 174 dead.

Joint Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria said the assailant now in custody — the only one of 10 to survive — told police the group had intended to hit even more targets.

“Lashkar-e-Taiba is behind the terrorist acts in the city,” Maria told reporters. “The terrorists were from a hardcore group in the L-e-T.” Read the full story

Young female skaters get together with Skate Like a Girl, an organization that works to break down stereotypes. Skate Like a Girl strives to build community coalitions with other groups and organizations that are working to challenge oppression through education and dialogue. (Photo provided by Nancy Chang.)

By Ryan Pangilinan
Northwest Asian Weekly

Donning a gray sweater and sitting behind a laptop, Nancy Chang blends in with most of the other API faces that are taking up residency in a non-descript café in the University Village. Yet, for a person with a rather mild-mannered demeanor, Chang can probably kickflip better than most of the students pacing the coffee shop in their oversized UW hoodies. Read the full story

On Oct. 4, a worker uses envelopes to separate rice collected on a test field sewn with different rice varieties in the outskirts of Kunming, capital of southwestern China’s Yunnan province. In a mountainous place like Yunnan, and in many other parts of the developing world, such advantages can tip the balance between hunger and a decent living. Photo taken by Andy Wong and provided by The Associated Press.

By Elaine Kurtenbach
The Associated Press

KUNMING, China (AP) — Zeng Yawen’s outdoor laboratory in the terraced hills of southern China is a trove of genetic potential — rice that thrives in unusually cool temperatures, high altitudes or in dry soil; rice rich in calcium, vitamins or iron. Read the full story