Jim McDermott (center) with his API supporters

Local community members gathered together at the Four Seas Restaurant in the International District to raise money. Read the full story

From top to bottom, left to right: Lisa Dickinson, Pearl Leung, Quang Nguyen, and Frieda Takamura

Gov. Chris Gregoire has appointed four individuals to the Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs.

Lisa Dickinson resides in Spokane. She is the owner of the Dickinson Law Firm, PLLC, where she practices business law and civil litigation. She has served on the board of the Northwest Justice Project, MLK Family Outreach Center, Rotary Club 21, as Past President of the Spokane Chapter of the Washington Women Lawyers, and Spokane County Young Lawyers. She also served as legal advisor to the Japanese American Citizens League (Spokane Chapter). Read the full story

Priscilla Wegars, of the Asian American Cooperative Collection at the University of Idaho, leads a traditional Chinese healing ceremony in front of the Chinese-built walls at the cove.

The Fourth Annual Chinese Remembering Conference was held at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston. The event remembered the nearly three dozen Chinese gold miners massacred on the Oregon side of Hells Canyon in 1887. The conference brought together historians and others to talk of the Chinese who once lived and worked in the region during the gold-mining era in the 1800s. Read the full story

Participants walk (or run!) for rice at the 21st annual fundraiser.

About 600 people braved the rain and cold weather to attend Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS)’s 21st Annual Walk for Rice at Seward Park. To accommodate demand, ACRS set their event fundraising goal at $200,000. The community responded and raised more than $160,000 for the ACRS Food Bank to purchase rice and other Asian staples, and donations continue to come in. Read the full story

Humor columnist Wayne Chan

By Wayne Chan
Northwest Asian Weekly

Breaking news: Computers will never take over the earth. Repeat: Computers will never take over the earth.

How do I know this? Actually, I came to this conclusion pretty easily. Read the full story

By Will Weissert and Christopher Sherman
The Associated Press

LOS FRESNOS, Texas (AP) — Police wearing berets and bulletproof vests broke down the door of a Guatemala City apartment in February, hunting for illegal drugs. Instead, they found a different kind of illicit shipment: 27 immigrants from India packed into two locked rooms. Read the full story

By Jeremy Hainsworth
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — One of China’s most-wanted fugitives has alleged connections to organized crime, loan sharking, and illegal gambling in Canada, according to a Canadian intelligence officer. Read the full story

By Cheih-Hsin (Jessie) Lin
UW News Lab

Samantha Irish (left) and Resat Kasaba (Photos provided by Cheih-Hsin Lin)

Samantha Irish, a UW senior who lives in Tacoma, grew up surrounded by Cambodian friends. Ever since her parents passed away, positive relationships with her Cambodian friends have been her spiritual support, helping her move on with her life. Read the full story

On June 23, the 29th anniversary of the racially motivated murder of Vincent Chin, members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) spoke out against a growing trend of anti-Chinese rhetoric in political ads that use Chinese language and imagery to portray candidates as sympathetic to China at the expense of American interests. Read the full story

By Samantha Pak
Northwest Asian Weekly

“Tiger’s Quest”
By Colleen Houck
Splinter, 2011

In this second installment of Houck’s “Tiger Saga,” Kelsey Hayes has returned to Oregon after her extraordinary adventures in India.

As she tries to adjust to a normal life free of the dangers of immortal sea monkeys and 300-year-old curses, Kelsey also has to adjust to a life free of Ren, a 300-year-old prince, victim of said curse, and the man she loves.

For how fast and hard she fell for the prince/white tiger, Kelsey deals with her broken heart quite well — enrolling in college, taking up wushu, and dating other guys. Read the full story

By Tiffany Ran
Northwest Asian Weekly

A photo of Nina Saisombut using the Thai greeting, “Sawasdee” (meaning “Hello” in Thai)

Every Sunday, Supakit (Duke) Bhuphaibool goes to Thai temple for Thai language classes. There is only one non-Thai person in attendance. But, few Thai Americans attend temple to reconnect with their culture. One Sunday a monk at the temple inquired whether Bhuphaibool is Thai. Read the full story

By Vivian Miezianko
Northwest Asian Weekly

Ann Marie and her daughter, Ana Louie (Photo by Inti St. Clair)

Without a magic wand, can an 8-year-old girl’s drawing and sketches of dresses be turned into actual garments? Read the full story

By Jean Wong
Northwest Asian Weekly

Regal Financial Bank’s Seattle office

Regal Financial Bank (Regal Financial), a local community bank, announced that it has settled a lawsuit accusing it of defrauding a group of Indonesian investors in a Ponzi scheme. The settlement was announced through a June 27 press release. Read the full story

By Evangeline Cafe
Northwest Asian Weekly

Elenoa Napau is excited to finally enroll as a freshman at Interlake High School this fall. The American-born Fijian has her eyes set on success and hopes to defy what has been dubbed the educational “achievement gap” between Pacific Islander students and their peers. Read the full story

By Nancy Armour
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Japan team coach Norio Sasaki, right, celebrates with his team after winning the final match between Japan and the United States at the Women’s Soccer World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, July 17, 2011. (Photo by Frank Augstein/AP)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Amid the sorrow that lingers throughout Japan, the determined women on its World Cup team may have brought a little joy. Read the full story

By Assunta Ng

The Japan women’s World Cup team display a banner thanking all for their support post-tsunami.

The United States women’s soccer team lost to Japan in the World Cup Final Sunday in Germany before a sell-out crowd of over 48,000 and millions watching the final game on television. Read the full story