By Evangeline Cafe
Northwest Asian Weekly

Image by Stacy Nguyen/NWAW

Laotian American designer Banchong Douangphrachanh buzzes with excitement as she prepares to launch her 2011 fall/winter menswear collection.

“It’s gonna go to the trade show in February. Right now, I’m going the rounds, meeting buyers and networking with boutiques,” she said.

Her Regatta clothing line combines sophistication with functionality. She mingles sleek, conservative pieces with bold organic shapes and even incorporates performance fabrics such as neoprene and Gore-Tex.

“My line is definitely Northwest-inspired,” she said. Although the Capitol Hill-based designer has no troubling finding inspiration, translating her ideas into wearable apparel requires a lot of hard work. Read the full story

By Tiffany Ran
Northwest Asian Weekly

In the mid 90s, advocates at the Asian & Pacific Islander Women & Family Safety Center (APIWFSC) were alarmed by a disturbing trend in domestic violence cases. Aside from suffering abuse, clients reported being forced into labor and prostitution without pay.

Finally in 2000, the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the United Nation’s human trafficking protocol, known as the Palermo Protocol, gave a legal definition to the trend of modern slavery and brought it to the world’s attention. Read the full story

By Sarah Yee
Northwest Asian Weekly

Cobalt CEO John Holt (Photo provided by John Holt)

John Holt had a hard time getting acquainted with all of his 800 employees on a daily basis. Now, with new office spaces in the International District, not only does he get to learn everyone’s name, but he is also given access to magnificent views and more than 60 restaurants within walking distance.

“It’s been great. We are very pleased,” said Holt, the CEO of Cobalt Group, Inc. Today, Holt looks out the window to an extraordinary sunset, with the Olympics clearly visible in the background.  In June 2010, the company merged with ADP, Inc., and became the head of its dealer services in the online marketing division. Read the full story

Viet Wah’s storefront in Seattle (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

By Stacy Nguyen
Northwest Asian Weekly

This week, KING 5 Investigators reported on incidences of food stamp fraud at Viet Wah Supermarket in the International District (ID). Read the full story

A new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) documents a large wage and benefit advantage for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers in unions, relative to their non-union counterparts. Read the full story

By Amy Taxin
The Associated Press

Tan Nguyen

SANTA ANA, California (AP) — A former California congressional candidate accused of sending a mailer to Latino voters in 2006 warning that immigrants could not vote was sentenced Monday, Feb. 14 to a year and a day in prison for obstruction of justice.

Tan Nguyen, a Republican who was running for Congress in Orange County, will also serve six months in a residential re-entry program and three years of supervised release, federal prosecutor Greg Staples said.

Nguyen declined to comment on the hearing before U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter, except to say it didn’t go well.

He will start serving his term March 28. Read the full story

By Andrew Welsh-Huggins
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The family of an Ohio storekeeper fatally shot in the head during a 1994 robbery opposes the upcoming execution of the man convicted of the crime, arguing it won’t change anything and they are satisfied with a life sentence. Read the full story

By Mari Yamaguchi
The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — A group of Japanese citizens filed a lawsuit Monday, Feb. 14 challenging a civil law that effectively stops women from keeping their surnames when they marry. Read the full story

Transsexuals from left: Nathatai Sukkaset, Dissanai Chitpraphachin, Chayathisa Nakmai, and Phuntakarn Sringern pose for photo at P.C. Air headquarters in Bangkok. The four have been recruited as flight attendants for a start-up charter airline that says it will be Thailand's first to include transsexuals among its cabin crew. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP)

By Thanyarat Doksone
The Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Four Thai “ladyboys” have been recruited as flight attendants for a start-up charter airline that says it will be Thailand’s first to include transsexuals among its cabin crew. Read the full story

By Tomoko A. Hosaka
The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan confirmed that China’s economy surpassed its own as the world’s second largest in 2010 and said a late-year downturn was its first quarterly contraction in more than a year. Read the full story

On Saturday, Feb. 12, community members marched and rallied to remember the 350 Chinese railroad workers, agriculture workers, and coal miners who were pushed out of Seattle in 1886. (Read related content on our editorial)

Photos by George Liu/NWAW (Click here to see more photos)

By Ninette Cheng
Northwest Asian Weekly

The past month showed a lot of love to Asian stars. The Academy Award nominees include a number of Asians, the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition released its annual report card on television diversity, the NBA announced diversity nights, and Jay Chou starred in “The Green Hornet.”  On a less positive note, Padma Lakshmi has begun what looks to be an ugly custody battle with her ex. Read the full story

Thousands brave the cold in order to listen to speakers give speeches on immigrant and refugee rights. (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

The challenge of emceeing for an audience of more than 2,000 outdoors in 30-something-degree weather was keeping the program on time and on point. How do you keep an audience warm and engaged? What happens when the last speaker arrives late? Read the full story

Can you survive without speaking English in the ID? What percentage of outsiders patronize ID businesses? Read the full story

For those of you who did not received any card or gift from your boyfriend or husband on Valentine’s Day, get over it. You don’t need one.

Every year, I create my own celebration. I buy gifts for myself and make dinner reservation for my family on Valentine’s Day. And I have a ball. No, I don’t want my husband to buy me flowers or jewelry. The fellow is a nice guy, but he has poor taste. I’d rather be honest than let him waste money on the wrong gifts. This year, I picked an orchid plant, and he was more than willing to pay for it. Read the full story

Community members and allies came together on Feb. 12 to rally and march for the Chinese Expulsion Remembrance Project in Seattle. (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Over the last year, Asian communities made significant strides in ‘righting’ wrongs. Read the full story