Christopher Louck (right) receiving award from Consul General Kiyokazy Ota

The Japanese Foreign Minister awarded a special commendation to the Asia Northwest Cultural Education Association (ANCEA) for their service in deepening relations between the United States and Japan and furthering understanding between the two countries. The ceremony and reception for the award was held at the official residence of Consul General Kiyokazu Ota on May 30. ANCEA organizes the Sakura-Con anime convention every year in spring to coincide with cherry blossom season in Seattle. The award was presented to Christopher M.B. Louck, chairman of ANCEA.(end)

Volunteer Nora Chan speaks at Friendship Wall dedication (Photo by Jim Dawson and Liz Hattemer)

More than 100 supporters gathered at the Seattle Chinese Garden on a drizzly afternoon on May 20 to dedicate the garden’s newly installed Friendship Wall. The wall is made of green granite bricks that bear the names of donors, friends, and their honored family members. Volunteer Nora Chan worked closely with the garden leaders to plan the wall and secure hundreds of brick donations. Chan had the honor of cutting the red ribbon along with community members Yale and Laura Wong. Read the full story

Hunt Hotel heritage project researcher Stephen Kitajo (right) with former Hunt Hotel resident Susumu Tsutsumi (left)

Japanese Cultural Community Center for Washington (JCCCW)’s “Unsettled – Resettled: Seattle’s Hunt Hotel” is a recipient of a $7,000 Heritage Special Projects grant through 4Culture, a cultural services agency for King County. The grant supports proposals to document and interpret the history of King County and promote appreciation for its heritage and cultural traditions. Read the full story

Jiji Jally

On May 31, nonprofit child advocacy group Children’s Alliance presented the “Voices for Children” award to Juji Jally, a Marshall Island native living in Lacey, Wash. Jally is recognized for her work in saving Washington State Food Assistance, a program which offers a lifeline for documented immigrants who don’t qualify for federal food stamps. Jally took a high-profile role in the Children’s Alliance campaign, testifying in Olympia, speaking at press conferences, and gathering support from community members. (end)

By Gosia Wozniacka
The Associated Press

SELMA, Calif. (AP) — News of a murder-suicide that left four family members dead raced through a tight-knit Indian community in a small California agricultural town, as police tried to determine why a former Indian army officer opened fire on his family before killing himself. Read the full story

By Associate Press Staff

President Thein Sein (Photo from Abhisit Vejjajiva/Flickr)

SITTWE, Myanmar (AP) — With fearful residents cowering indoors, security forces patrolling a tense town in western Myanmar collected bodies Monday from the debris of homes burned down over the weekend in some of the country’s deadliest sectarian bloodshed in years. Read the full story

By Assunta Ng

Mayor McGinn (left) shakes hands with Chongqing Mayor Huang Qifan

Recently, I was dining with a group of friends, and the mayor’s name came up. Some of them went with Mayor Mike McGinn to Seattle’s sister city, Chongqing, in March.  Read the full story

By Assunta Ng

A few years ago, my husband started kicking me out of the kitchen. It used to be that I was the chef and my husband was the helper. Read the full story

Assunta Ng’s classmates having dimsum lunch at Jade Garden

By Assunta Ng

The Seattle Chinese community is not famous for its Chinese restaurants. I hate to admit it, but our neighbor to the north, British Columbia’s Chinese cuisine well surpasses ours. Read the full story

Yuki Ohno (right) and his son Apolo Ohno (left) (Photo provided by Yuki Ohno)

By Evangeline Cafe
Northwest Asian Weekly

He is one of the most widely-recognized single fathers in the world. Read the full story

Teho (left) and his granddaughter Corinne Villa-Riese (right) in 1975 (Photo provided by Ted and Corinne-Villa Riese)

By Stacy Nguyen
Northwest Asian Weekly

In 1988, Corinne Villa-Riese took time off from her job and backpacked Read the full story

Tiffany Ran and her Dad at Santa Monica Pier, Calif.

By Tiffany Ran
For Northwest Asian Weekly

I was raised by Dad, a single father. Read the full story

By Jason J. Cruz
Northwest Asian Weekly

Welcome to another edition of the Layup Drill. Remember when we had an NBA team? I wonder what it’s up to nowadays. Among this month’s subjects, we talk Pac-Man, ping pong, guns, a spelling bee champ, and Long Ding. Read the full story

By Andrew Hamlin
Northwest Asian Weekly

The Manzanar War Relocation Center housed at its peak 10,000 Japanese internees during World War II. Forcibly relocated from their homes on the West Coast by a government order, the internees toughed it out against desert heat, cold weather, dust, and constant wind between 1942 and 1945. Barbed wire fences surrounded the camp and armed guards monitored the camp from towers, with orders to shoot anyone trying to escape. Read the full story

By Tiffany Ran
Northwest Asian Weekly

Delta skycap worker Hosea Wilcox in front of the billboard with his photo (Photo provided by Working Washington)

In 2011, a staggering 32.8 million passengers flew into or out of Sea-Tac airport, making this valued asset of the Port of Seattle the 17th Read the full story