Nate Miles (Photo from UW)

The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle has named Nate Miles of Eli Lilly and Company as chair of its Board of Directors for 2013. He was unanimously elected chair for the 2-year leadership term. Read the full story

Catherine Giudici

Catherine Giudici, daughter of Carey and Cynthia Giudici, is currently participating in the 17th season of ABC’s “The Bachelor.” She if half Filipino American. She has survived seven episodes and is one of the four final contestants from the original 26. Before appearing on the show, Giudici was a graphic designer working with Amazon.

Her parents are Seattle residents Carey and Cynthia Giudici. Cynthia Giudici is a current trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society. (end)

Contestant received a stuffed panda courtesy of Panda Express. (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

The 3rd annual Northwest Asian Weekly Lunar New Year Kids Parade happened on Saturday, Feb. 9, breaking its previous participation record. Read the full story

Emcee Thanh Tan (left), Seattle Times Executive Editor David Boardman (center), and Keynote Speaker Julie Pham (right) (Photo from Northwest Vietnamese News)

The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) hosted its annual Lunar New Year Banquet and Silent Auction on the night of Saturday, Read the full story

Leah Li

Leah Li will be representing the Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the 2013 Miss Chinatown USA pageant. Leah is 20 years old and will be the youngest contestant. She is currently studying at NYU and attended high school on Mercer Island. The competition will take place Feb. 16 at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Her talent will be dancing. She is the daughter of  Hengda Li, founder of the Hengda Dance Academy. (end)

Pastor Thomas Kap

By Bob Driehaus
The Cincinnati Enquirer

CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) — Pastor Thomas Kap rattles off the accomplishments of his congregation of Myanmar immigrants as if they were family.

“We have five college students and 86 students total in the church,” he said. “There are 296 of us now.” Read the full story

By Gosia Wozniacka
The Associated Press

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Last fall, narcotics agents confiscated thousands of marijuana plants, many 10 feet tall, from a 140-acre farm just on the edge of Fresno — one of the biggest pot busts in the county’s history. The pot grew hidden among rows of rotting peppers, tomatoes, and bitter melons, tended by a dozen immigrant farming families. Read the full story

By Amir Shah and Kim Gamel
The Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan models paraded down a candle-lined catwalk Friday, Feb. 8 as men and women watched from the audience in a restaurant off a muddy street in Kabul. Read the full story

By Jim Gomez
The Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — After years of fighting the government from hidden jungle bases in the southern Philippines, an Al-Qaida-linked militant group is facing a new adversary, fellow Muslim insurgents who can match their guerrilla battle tactics and are eager to regain their lost stature by fighting the widely condemned terrorist group. Read the full story

By Christopher Bodeen
The Associated Press

Normally a time for opulence, this year’s Lunar New Year celebration was toned down. Restaurant served smaller portion sizes, firework displays were shorter, and several events were cancelled. (Photo by La Priz)

BEIJING, China (AP) — The annual Lunar New Year fireworks barrage in Beijing was notably muted Sunday, Feb. 10, following government appeals to reduce the smoky celebrations after air pollution rose to near catastrophic levels over recent weeks. Read the full story

Compiled by Staff
Northwest Asian Weekly

The Northwest Asian Weekly’s Diversity Makes a Difference scholarship program celebrates young people who are committed to reaching across cultural lines. Students are nominated by their school for being champions of diversity. From those nominations, a judging panel will choose five winners who will receive $1,000 scholarships and a number of finalists who will receive $200 scholarships. Read the full story

More than 1,000 Asians and Pacific Islanders, collectively speaking over 20 languages, are expected to participate in this year’s Asian Pacific American Legislative Day in Olympia, the largest pan-Asian Pacific American gathering of its kind in the nation. Read the full story

The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced the appointment of six new members to the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans on Jan. 31. Read the full story

The International District Community Center has started a lunchtime activities program running from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays. The program aims to help International District residents and workers live healthy and active lifestyles. For a drop-in fee of $3 for adults and $2 for seniors, participants can play basketball on Mondays and Fridays, Badminton and Pickleball on Tuesdays, and use the Community Center’s fitness equipment on Monday, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. (end)

For more information, call 206-233-0042.

The six finalists vying to take over Gael Tarleton’s Port Commissioner seat will be participating in two moderated town-hall-style forums in February. Read the full story

By Staff
Northwest Asian Weekly

Jeffrey Chen

Former Medina Police Chief Jeffrey Chen’s wrongful-termination lawsuit against the city of Medina will finally be seeing a trial by jury. However, the lawsuit will be without several claims that were thrown out by the judge.

The trial is scheduled to begin on March 11.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Zilly rejected on Thursday, Feb. 7 Chen’s claim that he was subjected to a hostile workplace. The decision follows an earlier rejection of a claim that multiple members of the Medina city government conspired to fire the then police chief. Read the full story