Editor’s note: This is an edited version of a longer letter that  was sent to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn by Chinatown-International District business owners and community leaders.

Dear Mayor McGinn,

We are writing to ask for your help — the extension of paid on-street parking hours from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Chinatown-International District has greatly compromised the economic vitality of our neighborhood.   Read the full story

The colorful Year of the Dragon stamp is the latest collectible in the U.S. Postal Service’s Celebrating Lunar New Year series, which began in 2008 with the Year of the Rat. Read the full story

By Annie Huang
The Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, but you wouldn’t know that from visiting the obstetrics department at Taiwan Adventist Hospital. The hallways were abuzz this week with dozens of women lined up for ultrasound checks and other appointments with obstetricians. Read the full story

By Hope Yen and Ben Nuckols
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s historic Chinatowns, home for a century to immigrants seeking social support and refuge from racism, are fading as rising living costs, jobs elsewhere, and a desire for wider spaces lure Asian Americans more than ever to the suburbs. Read the full story

Snow falls in Hing Hay Park (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

When the snow descended, a bunch of nightmares came true for me. While many of you had no school or stayed home last week due to the snow, the Northwest Asian Weekly faced one of its worst crises in 30 years. “It will be the end of our reputation,” I thought. “We might not have the paper out. We’ve never missed an issue before.” Read the full story

Whoa and wow! — 30 years of challenges and wonders

A narrative: What does Lunar New Year mean?

Where do red envelopes come from?

By Assunta Ng
Northwest Asian Weekly

Northwest Asian Weekly and Seattle Chinese Post employees at our recently annual Christmas potluck (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

In September 1981, when I dreamed of starting a newspaper, I was a mother with a baby and toddler. Most people called me nuts, thinking a woman should put her family first and ambition second. In addition, it would be a risky venture. Read the full story

By Andrew Hamlin
Northwest Asian Weekly

Director Tran Anh Hung left his native Vietnam in 1975, at the age of 12, after Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese forces. Until the year 2000, he made all of his films, with permission, inside the unified Vietnam, showing a rich mixture of love for his homeland with Western influences, particularly rock music.

His new feature, “Norwegian Wood,” marks a bold step away from his old ways. Not mentioning Vietnam at all, the director works in Japan with an all-Japanese cast, filming a story from the best-selling Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. Read the full story

By Nan Nan Liu
Northwest Asian Weekly

Image by Han Bui/NWAW

Firecrackers, feasts, and exhilarating lion dances — Chinese New Year has many interesting traditions. However, one of the most appealing traditions, especially for young ones, is the red envelopes. Read the full story

By Tiffany Ran
Northwest Asian Weekly

The morning after Chinese New Year, the ground is littered with firecracker casings (Photos provided by Tiffany Ran/NWAW)

As early as I can remember, I loved firecrackers. Read the full story

Amy Chua (Photo by Peter Z. Mahakian)

By James Tabafunda
Northwest Asian Weekly

Bestselling author Amy Chua walked toward the microphone and podium. She stood in front of a bookshelf labeled “Collector Editions” to share her thoughts — on everything.

“I was misunderstood,” said the proud, strict mother and author of The New York Times bestseller “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” She did a Jan. 13 book signing at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park to promote its release in paperback.

A standing-room-only crowd of about 100 people, some standing in the distance behind book shelves, came to see her and hear her one-hour talk.

“It’s a memoir, so it’s the opposite of a how-to guide,” she emphasized, hoping to clear up the misunderstanding. Read the full story

In President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address this week, he tackled many important issues, but we latched onto the moment when he said, “Tonight, my message to business leaders is simple: Ask yourselves what you can do to bring jobs back to your country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed.” Read the full story