Is it the booming businesses? The good food? The top-rated schools? The diversity?

By Tiffany Ran
Northwest Asian Weekly

Above: The Meydenbauer Center is a convention center and performing arts theater. It is 54,000 square feet, opened in 1993. Center: Bellevue erected a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in 2009 to recognize the link between India and Washington. Top right: The Bellevue skyline is constantly changing, expanding, and growing. About 24 percent of Bellevue residents are Asian American who are taking advantage of this booming city. Bottom right: Children from Bel-Red Bilingual Academy. Bel-Red is an independent school in Bellevue that is certified by the Washington State Board of Education. (Photos from the Meydenbauer Center, Bel-Red Bilingual Academy, and James Tabafunda)

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By Tiffany Ran
Northwest Asian Weekly

Jason Wu at Nordstrom in Seattle on April 15 (Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW)

Try as he may, clothing designer Jason Wu can rarely be named without mention of the stunning one-shoulder, white silk chiffon dress worn by Michelle Obama at the inaugural ball. While Wu is grateful for the recognition, his designs in every show since the inaugural ball have been a deliberate departure from the notable dress.  Read the full story

By Vivian Luu
Northwest Asian Weekly

Community members applaud the vision of the first Vietnamese Community Forum. Many hope to address issues and change policies concerning the Vietnamese population. (Photo by Elliot Suhr)

Spring rolls and flash-fried shrimp crackers weren’t the only goodies sizzling at the Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) office on April 7. Talk of how Washington’s Vietnamese community could come together was heated, yet productive and optimistic, at the first Vietnamese Community Forum. Leading the forum were Youth Action Team members of the Community Action Research Empowerment (CARE) group — a pod of nine young students, who are looking for ways to dig into their Vietnamese roots and help others do the same by connecting elders with younger generations. Read the full story

By Vivian Nguyen
Northwest Asian Weekly

Image provided by myshimmer.com

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Up to $2,500 scholarships are available to students studying journalism in the fall. The Seattle chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is seeking applicants for three scholarships aimed at college journalism students, recent graduates, and soon-to-be graduates. Read the full story

The U.S. Department of Commerce has honored Bellevue for its Initiative India, a special effort to boost trade in the region with India.  Read the full story

By Kevin McGill
The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A business that brought hundreds of Filipino teachers to Louisiana to work in public schools has been fined and ordered to refund placement fees that a teacher union estimates will total $1.8 million. Read the full story

By Ken Thomas
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to agree to a fine of more than $16 million, the largest government penalty levied against an automaker, for a four-month delay in telling federal authorities about defective gas pedals on its vehicles, a Transportation Department official said last Sunday. Read the full story

By John Marshall
The Associated Press

Sunil Chhetri

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The news came in a single line in the list of the day’s sports transactions:
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS — Added F Sunil Chhetri to the 24-man roster.

The move barely registered with American sports fans. It was probably somewhat exciting to a small portion of the most knowledgeable soccer followers. Although it is nowhere near David Beckham, it is still kind of cool.

Back in India, however, Chhetri’s signing was monumental. Front-page news, can-you-believe-it, call-your-friends big.

One of the biggest stars in the world’s second-most populated country — 1.1 billion people and counting — became the first player from his country to sign with Major League Soccer. Read the full story

Wakako throws up her hands in triumph as she crossed the finish line during the Boston Marathon women’s wheelchair title. (Photo provided by PhotoRun/bostonmarathon.org)

BOSTON (AP) — Wakako Tsuchida of Japan has won her fourth consecutive Boston Marathon women’s wheelchair title.

Tsuchida finished in 1 hour, 43 minutes, 32 seconds. She finished comfortably ahead of Diane Roy of Canada.

Tsuchida was more than nine minutes off the world record, which was set in Boston.

Roy has been the Boston Marathon runner-up five times. She finished 3 minutes, 36 seconds behind Tsuchida. ♦

By Chris Blake
The Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s constitutional court upheld a controversial blasphemy law Monday that critics say limits religious freedom in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, ruling that the law is vital to religious harmony. Read the full story

The Shanghai Pearl (Photo by John Cornicello)

By Vivian Luu
Northwest Asian Weekly

Jenny Ku’s apartment is cloaked in sequins, feathers, and fishnet stockings. Her laptop is red — a shade almost as bright as her lipstick — and so is her tea kettle, which brewed jasmine tea on one of spring’s sunnier days. But that doesn’t compare to the 17 pairs of peep-toe pumps peeking out from her rows of boas, dresses, and masks.

Ku says she gets to play for a living. She is, after all, The Shanghai Pearl, one of the few Asian American burlesque dancers. The clothes, jewelry, and shoes aren’t merely for dress-up, but for her performances at venues such as The Pink Door, El Gaucho, and A Contemporary Theatre.

At her performances, Ku wears her costumes — a sequined, sheer mermaid outfit, a black dress glistening with rhinestones for her dance to “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend,” and others. She gets angry, silly, and happy, depending on her act for the evening. These performances include a careful and artful removal of her clothing until she is down to jeweled underwear (cute) and dazzling pasties (even cuter).  Read the full story