(left to right) State Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, Consul General Kiyokazu Ota, the Honorable Kip Tokuda, and Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Last month, former Washington State Representative and former Japanese American Citizens League Seattle Chapter President Kip Tokuda Read the full story

(left to right) Pacific NW JACL District Council Governor Chip Larouche and Puyallup Valley JACL President Elsie Leilani Taniguchi, Vice Presidents Eileen Yamada Lamphere and Kayomi Wada, Secretary Liz Bergert Dunbar, Treasurer Dudley Yamane, and Youth Representatives Madison Akemi Ikeda, Kaila Yoshitomi, and Sean Tanino (Photo provided by Elsie Leilani Taniguchi)

The Puyallup Valley JACL introduced its newly elected officers of 2012 and 2013 and also welcomed new members at its annual dinner. The Read the full story

Stacy Nguyen (left) and Han Bui

The Western Washington chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) presented its Excellence in Journalism Awards to the staff at Northwest Asian Weekly on May 19 at the Renaissance Hotel. NWAW won awards in four categories.

—The staff (which includes Jason Cruz, Andrew Hamlin, Nina Huang, Vivian Nguyen, Han Bui, and Stacy Nguyen) got third place for Special Sections.

—Layout editor Han Bui got third place for Page Design.

—Former editor Stacy Nguyen got second place in Editorial and Commentary and third place in Graphics and Illustration.

These entries were four among more than 2,100 entries in 184 categories received by SPJ this year. (end)

The Fil-Am Society Choir at the 2012 Pagdiriwang Festival (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

The Filipino Cultural Heritage Society (FCHSW) presented its 26th Pagdiriwang festival commemorating the anniversary of Philippine Read the full story

By Gosia Wozniacka
The Associated Press

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — In a crowded refugee camp in Thailand, Misty Her often sneaked away to a school house and listened through a hole in the wall. She knew she could never attend, being Hmong and a girl. Read the full story

By Andrew Hamlin
Northwest Asian Weekly

In 1985, Japanese anime directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata joined forces to create a new studio for anime films. The studio’s name, Studio Ghibli, was named after an Arabic word meaning “Mediterranean wind,” with the hope that their works would blow a new wind through the world of animation. Read the full story

(left to right) Albert Shen and Gayatri Eassey, Seattle Community College District Board of Trustees, State Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney holding her honorary degree from NSCC, White House Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu, NSCC graduate, and NSCC President Mark Mitsui (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

When Chris Lu, President Obama’s Cabinet secretary, was in town as the commencement speaker for North Seattle Community College (NSCC)’s graduation ceremony on June 15, I thought that I could get the latest scoop on Obama. Read the full story

By Assunta Ng

Graduates at the North Seattle Community College commencement ceremony (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

At NSCC ’s commencement, one graduate stood out not because she is my friend, but because she is an older student who worked hard for her associates degree in business. She is also a mother with a daughter who graduated years before. Read the full story

James Donaldson and wife Meirong Zheng in Beijing, Forbidden City

By Assunta Ng

Looks like NBA star James Donaldson just won the jackpot. He recently married a C hinese woman who works in a Read the full story

By Assunta Ng

The other day, a man called me saying he was from a group trying to start the Seattle chinese Radio. Although the group claimed to be the first, Read the full story

By Dan Joling
The Associated Press

Mount McKinley (Photo from peakbagger.com)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A shallow avalanche on Alaska’s Mount McKinley may not have killed four Japanese climbers, but the slide pushed them into a crevasse more than 100 feet deep, the National Park Service said Sunday. Read the full story

The current Seattle Chinese Community Drill Team (Photo provided by Sue May Ho)

The Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team will celebrate its 60th anniversary on July 21 at 6 p.m. at the Renton Pavilion Event Center. Read the full story

Foreign Fulbright students from Vietnam and Thailand at the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar (Photo provided by Ed Grocholski)

The annual Fulbright Enrichment Seminar took place at the Hyatt Hotel from May 29 through June 2. Present were Seattle’s top experts in energy, environment, science, and technology and over 70 Fulbright students who studied the subjects in 42 countries, including Vietnam and Thailand. Read the full story

Friends of Little Saigon (FLS) is asking the community to sign a petition against Seattle Housing Authority’s proposal to rezone the 30-acre Yesler Read the full story

Saroo Brierley’s mother Fatima Munshi (center) stands in front of the the fountain in Khandwa, India where her sons Saroo and Guddu played as she worked as a daily wage laborer about 25 years ago. (Photo by Saurabh Das/AP)

By Kristen Gelineau and Ravi Nessman
The Associated Press

KHANDWA, India (AP) — Saroo’s eyes snapped open and everything was suddenly, horribly wrong. Read the full story

The Associated Press Staff

Photo from campusprogress.org.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama eased enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws Friday, offering a chance for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to stay in the country and work. Embraced by Hispanics, his action touched off an election-year confrontation with many Republicans. Read the full story