VOL 34 NO 44 | OCTOBER 24 – OCTOBER 30, 2015Layout44

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA

VOL 34 NO 44

OCTOBER 24 – OCTOBER 30, 2015

POLITICS On your ballot » Page 3

FREE 33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Debate over Initiative 1401

Mile markers Alaska Airlines collaborates with Hainan Airlines

Photo by George Liu/NWAW

How it affects endangered animals and citizens

From left: Hou Wei, Gary Locke and Andrew Harrison open the cookie. The fortune reads, “Clear skies, a prosperous future and many happy customers ahead for Alaska Airlines and Hainan Airlines! Wishing you good fortune on your partnership!”

By Staff Northwest Asian Weekly Gary Locke, former Washington state governor, broke a big fortune cookie and wished Alaska Airlines and Hainan Airlines a prosperous future at a reception in Chinatown on Oct. 20, celebrating a win-win for their collaboration and especially for customers. {see ALASKA AIRLINES cont’d on page 5}

Ivory horns and tusks

By Martha Baskin Crosscut.com The macabre side of this story is straight out of a Stephen King novel: Poachers slaughter endangered wildlife, often hacking off tusks, horns or skin while the animal is still alive.

The highly valued products are concealed in cargo containers holding other import commodities and smuggled to ports of call all over the world.

The ports of Seattle and Tacoma which, combined, constitute the third largest port in the nation, are no exception.

Eighteen international coastal ships enter the ports during an average week, carrying the equivalent of more than 16,400 containers filled with furniture, auto parts, games, toys, apparel and footwear. Hidden somewhere within this cargo are the remains of endangered species. {see INITIATIVE I-1401 cont’d on page 13}

Asian superstitions…

Why leave luck to chance?

By Sun Lee Chang Northwest Asian Weekly

Do you see what number is missing?

Whether you collect good luck charms by the dozen or pluck that rare four-leaf clover, it’s hard to ignore the many superstitions out there that will hopefully shift the winds of fortune in your favor.

Many traditional cultures are steeped in age-old superstitions. Across Asia, there are a whole host of interesting ways

to keep the bad luck at bay and usher the good in. From losing your baby teeth, to which direction your house should face, here are a few superstitions you might or might not have heard of before: 1. Forget the tooth fairy — throw your baby teeth on the roof! For as long as I can {see ASIAN SUPERSTITIONS cont’d on page 12}

Wrong path Missed deadlines by developer could be end for Othello project

By Jason Cruz Northwest Asian Weekly

Lobsang Dargey

Former monk, turned developer Lobsang Dargey is under investigation for possible fraud charges and as a result, the purchase of a commercial development in South Seattle that would revitalize the area near the Othello light rail station may not go forward. This has drawn the ire of the Seattle {see DARGEY cont’d on page 6}

The Inside Story NAMES People in the news » Page 2

■

WORLD Cows and politics » Page 4

A&E Frank Kunishige on exhibit » Page 7

FOOD Sichuan pork ragu » Page 8

412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 • f. 206.223.0626 • info@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com

asianweekly northwest

2

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

■ names in the news Maj. Gen. Nagata steps down

working with One Reel, The Vera Project and Do206. He has worked with Seattle’s Bumbershoot festival. 

Maj. Gen. Michael K. Nagata is stepping down as commander of American Special Operations forces in the Middle East. He was responsible for a program that trained approximately a few dozen fighters assigned to train and equip Syrian rebels. Nagata served in Special Operations for more than Maj. Gen. Michael K. two years. According to The New Nagata York Times, he is in line to be awarded a third star to lieutenant general and take a senior position at the National Counterterrorism Center. The decision is not final. 

Edmonds CC students selected to visit NASA’s Johnson Space Center

SAFF festival announces new appointees

Adrian Alarilla and Shaun Mejia

The South Asian American Film Festival (SAFF) announced that the new Artist Liaison will be Adrian Alarilla. A filmmaker from Quezon City, Philippines, Adrian immigrated to Chicago in 2007 before moving to Seattle in 2010. His films have been shown at a number of festivals in the Philippines and the U.S. including SAAFF, and he is currently working on his first feature-length documentary.

The new Marketing and Content Manager is Shaun Mejia.

Shaun has worked in marketing and many other roles while

Edmonds Community College students Ben Nguyen and Rebekah Waligorski have been selected to travel to NASA’s Johnson Space Center Oct. 2528 to participate in the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars project (NCAS).

Nguyen and Waligorski were selected as two of 160 community Ben Nguyen college students from across the U.S. to be part of NCAS. Nguyen is currently pursuing an Associate in Science degree, Track 2, General Engineering and would like to transfer to the University of Washington.

Waligorski is studying mechanical engineering and would like to transfer to Washington State University.

Nguyen and Waligorski were chosen to represent Edmonds CC out of nearly 300 students based on their achievement in an NCAS online session.

During the five-week online learning session, they studied the past, present and future of Mars exploration, took quizzes, attended lectures by NASA subject matter experts, read a technical paper and submitted essays and a final mission proposal in order to qualify for the on-site workshop.

NCAS is a project funded in part by the Minority University Research and Education Program. 

Philanthropists Jerry and Charlene Lee honored Jerry and Charlene Lee were honored as generous supporters of research to cure breast cancer and as 2015 Outstanding Philanthropists by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Advancement, Northwest

Charlene Lee and Jerry Lee

Washington.

Lee, chairman of MulvannyG2 Architecture, lost his first wife, Patricia, to breast cancer. Charlene is a breast cancer survivor.

The couple’s philosophy is simple: Treat everyone like family, approach clients and contractors as partners, and give of yourself and you will receive in return. 

Banking official Tran Meyers appointed VP of Team Read Tran Meyers, Relationship Manager for Wells Fargo’s Seattle Regional Commercial Banking Office, recently became Vice President on the Board of Directors of the nonprofit Team Read.

The organization pairs struggling readers with trained teen reading coaches for one-on-one tutoring Tran Meyers after school and during the summer. Team Read partners with elementary schools where more than 50 percent of the students are low-income. “My work with Team Read began over 16 years ago when I served as a high school reaching coach for 2nd and 3rd graders in the Seattle School District,” Meyers said. 

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ politics

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

3

On your ballot…

John Lee is running for Council Position #6 in Bothell. He grew up in Bothell, is a former UW Husky and obtained his MBA from Seattle University. According to his campaign website, John is concerned with the issues that come with growth in Bothell and supports building infrastructure to keep up with growing needs. He is currently a general manager at Whelan Security.

Hira Singh is running for Council Position #1 in Kent. He is currently a senior software developer at Starbucks, and he is running on a platform to support programs and policies that build strong communities such as after-school programs, summer teen job opportunities, apprenticeship programs, and making early education accessible and affordable. Hira is also a volunteer teacher at the local Punjabi School, which helps teach children computer literacy, music and leadership development.

Pamela Banks is opposing incumbent Kshama Sawant for Seattle City Council Position #3. Pamela has spent her career uniting people to address complex problems, making progress on racial and economic justice, fair wages for women, and safe, affordable housing for all. She is committed to addressing the affordable housing crisis, is a vocal advocate for police reform, and fights for strong neighborhood schools.

Pamela is endorsed by King County Young Democrats, Councilmember Bruce Harrell and former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.

Kshama Sawant is the current incumbent for Seattle City Council Position #3 and has helped pass the $15/hour minimum wage, prevented rent hikes, and raised funding for a women’s shelter. She continues to be focused on making housing affordable,

expanding public transit, and implementing a municipal broadband. She is endorsed by former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, current King County Council member Larry Gossett and numerous community organizations.

Incumbent Bruce Harrell is running for Seattle City Council Position #2 and is opposed by Josh Farris and Tammy Morales. Bruce has been a Seattle Council member for eight years and is supported by current Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Congressman Adam Smith. He supports public safety, transportation, jobs/education, and housing issues. While in office, Bruce has sponsored transportation improvements and increased the number of police officers.

Peter Kwon is a former UW Husky alum and currently works as a systems engineer. He is running for SeaTac Council Position #3 and wishes to improve safety, community involvement, and the education system. He has worked in Seatac to clean up abandoned homes, created yard work parties to help those in need, and currently is leading efforts to design a website to resolve neighborhood conflicts.

Mia Su-Ling Gregerson graduated from the University of Washington and is currently a State Representative, Mayor of SeaTac and the incumbent City Council member. Mia has worked to extend the light rail and advocated for healthy, clean and safe neighborhoods. She has also brought to SeaTac a Smart Growth America grant that provides technical assistance for communities around the light rail stations.

Lloyd Hara is running for King County Assessor. During his time serving as assessor, King County was the first assessor’s office in the nation to use I-pads in the field,

increasing productivity and providing quicker information. The office also eliminated the need to travel downtown to review and file an appeal with the launch of e-appeals, a tool that helps compare homes to similar homes. According to his campaign website, in only the second year, 52 percent of all appeals were received online. This greatly reduced “paper chasing” and improved response time. He also helped launched LocalScape.property an online portal that provides real-time community property data coupled with education, permitting, census and sales information.

Hiroshi Eto is running for Director District No. 5, Federal Way School District No. 210. He believes his skills in budget planning and setting goals in policy and operations can be extended to the board’s expenditure review. Eto said the board’s main focus is to ensure kids in the district are college-ready upon graduation. He recalls that top graduates of the Federal Way school system felt unprepared in college compared to their peers. He has lived in Federal Way for 10 years.

Vandana Slatter is running for Bellevue City Council Position No. 5. Slatter was appointed to the Washington State Board of Pharmacy by Gov. Christine Gregoire in 2007, is a Board Member for the Overlake Hospital Foundation, and served as a Trustee of the Children’s Institute for Learning Differences. She completed the first Bellevue Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training with other neighborhood leaders, and works with organizations that build community through support of urban green spaces and social entrepreneurship. 

asianweekly northwest

4

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

■ world news

India, cows and politics

■ community news

“Stop this band, stop this show, Viet Cong has got to go.”

Photo by Saurabh Das/AP

Photo by Nodyia Fedrick/NWAW

With Hindu party leading India, beef grows more political

Hindu temple priest Ram Mangal Das caresses a cow at his ‘Gaushala’ or shelter for cattle, in New Delhi, India.

By Tim Sullivan Associated Press NEW DELHI — The legislator was full of outrage when he arrived in the northern Indian village days after the killing of a Muslim farmer who was rumored to have slaughtered cows. A Hindu mob had smashed through the heavy wooden door to the man’s

home, then beat him to death with his wife’s sewing machine.

The legislator’s anger, though, was not about the killing. Instead, Sangeet Som was furious that men had been arrested in the attack in the village, just 30 miles from New Delhi. Som, a member of India’s ruling {see INDIA-COWS cont’d on page 14}

Protestors outside Neumos

By Nodyia Fedrick Northwest Asian Weekly These words chanted by dozens, filled the air Friday night during the protest against Canadian-punk band Viet Cong who performed at Neumos in Seattle.

“This is a band named after a communist regime that raped and tortured people,” said

Tony Vo, one of the protest’s organizers who wanted the show canceled and the band name changed.

Although the protestors may not have been successful in canceling the show, they did get a brief interview with a Viet Cong band member who refused to reveal {see VIET CONG cont’d on page 12}

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ national news

By Randy Essex Post Independent

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

Bonsai! A growing movement in U.S.

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — This is a story of how two Glenwood Springs High School grads and Mr. Miyagi (yes, from “The Karate Kid”) have changed bonsai in the United States from a hobby to a rising art and industry.

The Artisans Cup, the first U.S. bonsai exhibition of its kind, a juried art show with a $10,000 first prize, was recently held at the Portland Art Museum in Oregon.

Seventy trees were trucked across North America — from Ontario, from Florida, from Los Angeles — and 1,000 tickets to the event were presold to patrons from as far away as Germany, Australia and Japan.

It was the brainchild of Ryan and Chelsea Neil, who graduated from Glenwood High in 2000 and 2003, respectively.

Ryan is the artist, who served a bonsai apprenticeship in Japan from 2004-2010. Chelsea, whose maiden name is Strautman, gave up her career as an immigration lawyer for love. Now she is on a course, her husband said, “to professionalize bonsai in the United States.”

Bonsai, seen by most Americans as cute shrubbery, really is “a living art form that is a representation of nature in miniature and a reflection of where trees come from,” Chelsea said.

The two run Bonsai Mirai, a nursery and school in St. Helens, Oregon, about 25 miles from Portland.

Mirai is the current end point of an unusual path by the Neils.

They met when Ryan was a senior at Glenwood High and

{ALASKA AIRLINES cont’d from page 1} Alaska Airlines is joining with Chinabased carrier Hainan Airlines to enhance its Mileage Plan. Hainan Airlines operates a fleet to more than 90 destinations throughout the world. From Seattle, Hainan flies nonstop to Beijing and Shanghai, and offers service throughout China. Hainan also flies from San Jose, Calif., to Beijing.

Members of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club were able to start earning miles on July 23.

“Alaska is expanding its international partner portfolio with the addition of Hainan, giving our Mileage Plan members more ways to earn miles for their travel from the West coast to Shanghai and Beijing and on connecting flights within China,” said Andrew Harrison, Alaska Airlines executive vice president and chief revenue officer. “Hainan offers business and main cabin service with distinctly Chinese touches such as traditional tea service, which will appeal to our culturesavvy Northwest customers.”

Hainan offers business class passengers 180-degree flat seats with turndown service, and gourmet Chinese cuisine on transPacific flights. Business class passengers also receive complementary private limo service both at U.S. and China gateway cities.

Harrison added that Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members will be able to redeem miles on Hainan later this year,

Popular exhibition at Portland Art Museum

Chelsea was a freshman. They didn’t date then, but were friendly — “there was always a spark,” Chelsea said — and became email pen pals when Ryan left for California Polytechnic State University to study environmental horticulture. They stayed in touch when he went to Japan to learn bonsai from Masahiko Kimura, who Ryan said is the “father of modern bonsai.”

When she finished high school, Chelsea went to the University of San Diego, studied in Latin America and England, then went to law school at the University of Colorado-Boulder and became an immigration attorney in Denver.

The two had stayed in touch and had seen each other on and off. Then in 2012, Ryan was in Denver for a bonsai demonstration, and they went out to dinner.

“Six months later, we eloped,” on Dec. 31, 2012, Chelsea said. They now have a son, Taft, who will be 2 in November.

When Ryan came back to the United States from his apprenticeship, he found that American bonsai “was a hobby economy,” in contrast to Japan, where professional bonsai artists prep trees for collectors and exhibitions, and

and that Alaska and Hainan will continue to enhance their partnership by recognizing and extending elite reciprocal benefits to members of Mileage Plan and Fortune Wings Club. Earned flight miles on Hainan currently qualify toward elite status in the Mileage Plan.

“Seattle was Hainan’s first North American gateway, opened in 2008, and since then we have carried hundreds of thousands of people between the U.S. and China,” said Hou Wei, Hainan Airlines vice president, who flew in from China for the celebration. “We have long connected passengers to and from Alaska Airlines and are excited to be able to offer members of Alaska’s Mileage Plan the ability to earn miles on Hainan. Hainan’s Fortune Wings Club members will also be able to earn miles on Alaska Airlines flights.”

Hou said he hopes one day that the partnership can grow to the stage that both airlines can code-share their systems: Alaska would have its code in the Hainan system and vice versa. Alaska said it has already increased by 200 customers a day since the collaboration this summer.

Held at the Wing Luke Asian Museum, the reception was attended by approximately 200 guests. Nyhus Communications, who selected the site for the celebration, said the Wing Luke Asian Museum is a national treasure, symbolizing the greater part of the Asian community.  Staff can be reached nwasianweekly.com.

at

info@

Want to become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter?

Visit www.nwasianweekly.com.

curate collections.

Bonsai had been introduced to the United States after World War II, but it takes many years to learn the intricacies of the art, which simply hadn’t quite taken root here.

“There was no way in the U.S. for professional bonsai artists to make money,” Ryan said. Mirai and the Artisans Cup are efforts to support professionals, educate Americans about bonsai and advance the community, the couple said.

The sculpted trees, all North American, shown on the Mirai website sell for $1,500 to more than $50,000.

Ryan has won renown as an artist, having been featured in the latest issue of Bonsai and Stone Appreciation magazine, published by Bonsai Club International.

He “brings to his work the experience of his great master (Masahiko Kimura), a very modern and natural line, with a naturalness that has always been also sought in American bonsai,” the article said.

Bonsai, Ryan said, is a “horticulture endeavor in stunting the tree’s growth and art in re-creating a miniature of a natural tree.”

“I like creating art and sculpting a living thing,” he said.

All of this — the Artisans Cup, Mirai and the Neils’ role in the American bonsai movement — started at Glenwood Springs’ Strawberry Days.

“I was into martial arts and the `Karate Kid,’ and saw Mr. Miyagi doing bonsai” in the movie, Ryan said. “I was at Strawberry Days and went to the bonsai vendor booth. I thought, `Gosh, if they can do that, I can do it.’

“I went home and got a juniper shrub,” he said.

A few years later, carefully selected truckers were bringing the best examples of American bonsai to his home. 

Assunta Ng

Account Executives

John Liu

rebecca@nwasianweekly.com

Peggy Chapman

kelly@nwasianweekly.com

Publisher assunta@nwasianweekly.com Associate Publisher john@nwasianweekly.com Editor editor@nwasianweekly.com

Han Bui

5

Layout Editor/Webmaster han@nwasianweekly.com

Rebecca Ip Kelly Liao John Liu

john@nwasianweekly.com

Stacy Nguyen Editorial Consultant

The only weekly English-language newspaper serving Washington’s Asian community. The NW Asian Weekly has one simple goal: “To empower the Asian community.”

The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject any advertisement, letter or article.

Subscriptions cost $40 for 52 weeks of the NW Asian Weekly and $30 for 52 weeks of the Seattle Chinese Post. The NW Asian Weekly owns the copyright for all its content. All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reprinted without permission.

412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 info@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com

asianweekly northwest

6

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

■ COMMUNITY calendar THU 10/22

INFO: 206-769-0259, seattlecenter.org/skcclinic

WHAT: “Fateful Ties: A History of America’s Preoccupation with China” WHERE: UW, Ethnic Cultural Center WHEN: 5:30-6:30 p.m.

COST: Free INFO: 206-543-5401

TUE 10/27 WHAT: U.S. and the Rise of Asia, a program in celebration of the career of Kenneth B. Pyle WHERE: UW, Kane Hall 225, Seattle WHEN: 3:30-5:30 p.m.

WHAT: Poetry Reading and Experimental Music Performance WHERE: Purlieu Hall, International District, 102 S. Jackson St., Seattle WHEN: 7 p.m.

WED 10/28 WHAT: Sunset on Third Street, the second of a 2-part series of Japanese movies in collaboration with the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle WHERE: Seattle Keiro, 1601 E. Yesler Way, Seattle WHEN: 2 p.m.

RSVP: lasami@nikkeiconcerns. org, 206-726-6501

THU 10/22 THRU SUN 10/25 WHAT: Free medical, dental and vision care WHERE: Seattle Center, KeyArena, 401 First Ave. N., Seattle WHEN: 12:30 a.m. Admission tickets are distributed starting at 5 a.m.

WHAT: Union Jobs Fair WHERE: South Seattle College, Georgetown Campus, 6737 Corson Ave. S., Seattle

WHEN: 4-8 p.m.

WHAT: Free flu shots! (with most insurance) WHERE: Seattle Keiro, Garden Vista Room, 1601 E. Yesler Way, Seattle WHEN: 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

INFO: 206-726-6501, lasami@ nikkeiconcerns.org

INFO: 206-522-5438, FriendsOfAsianArt@earthlink. net

INFO: hmongofwa.org

WED 11/4

WHAT: Culture Day Festival, “Bunka no Hi” WHERE: JCCCW, 1414 S. Weller St., Seattle WHEN: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

WHAT: Sushi & Sake Fest WHERE: Museum of History & Industry WHEN: 6-8:30 p.m.

INFO: 206-320-0095

THU 10/29

THU 11/5

WHAT: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month WHERE: ReWA’s DV Office WHEN: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

RSVP: events@rewa.org, 206721-8448, by October 26

WHAT: Free seminar, “Universal Design: Inclusive Outreach and Public Engagement” WHERE: Capitol Hill Library, 425 Harvard Ave. E., Seattle WHEN: 6-7:45 p.m.

INFO: 206-684-5667

SUN 11/1 WHAT: Tsutsugaki Textiles of Japan WHERE: Seattle Asian Art Museum, Volunteer Park, Alvord Board Room WHEN: 1-3 p.m.

COST: $15-$20

SAT 11/7 WHAT: Hmong New Year Celebration WHERE: Seattle Center Armory, 305 Harrison St., Seattle WHEN: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

COST: Free

SUN 11/8

SAT 11/14 WHAT: Chinese Community Fundraiser for Kin On WHERE: House of Hong Restaurant, 409 8th Ave. S., Seattle WHEN: 6 p.m.

INFO: www.kinon.org

SAT 11/18 WHAT: Sleepless in Seattle Give Away 2015 WHERE: University Christian Church, 4731 15th Ave. N.E., Seattle WHEN: 2-9 p.m.

INFO: sleeplessinseattlegiving@ gmail.com

Have an event to promote?

Please send us the details at least 14 days in advance to info@nwasianweekly.com. {DARGEY cont’d from page 1} Housing Authority who are at odds with Dargey and his development company for not coming through on its promises.

Dargey is president of Path America, an Everett-based company that works with non-U.S. citizens that wish to immigrate to the United States through the EB-5 immigrant investment program.

The program allows for entrepreneurs to apply for a green card if they make an investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States and plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.

Dargey, who was a former Buddhist monk from Tibet, came to the United States not knowing how to speak English.

His first job in America was painting an orthodontist’s office in Federal Way per a Seattle Times feature on him in 2012.

From meager beginnings, Dargey became a real estate developer. He is married to Tami Agassi, the sister of the famous tennis star Andre Agassi.

Three civil securities fraud complaints by the Securities and Exchange Commission had caused assets related to several of Dargey’s projects to be frozen.

The most notable is Path America’s $190 million Potala Tower in downtown Seattle.

The SEC believes that Dargey has been defrauding mainly Chinese investors through his commercial projects and using millions of dollars for his personal use.

Dargey is accused of taking $17.6 million of investors’ money and misusing most of the money to acquire other properties as well as for his own personal use.

Specifically, he was accused of using $2.5 million of investor money to buy a house in Bellevue and withdrawing $350,000 in investor funds including $200,000 at casinos. The freezing of funds by the court has put several Dargey projects in jeopardy.

The Seattle Housing Authority has let Path America know that the proposed sale for a 500-unit apartment project with a farmers’ market for the South Seattle property near the Othello light rail station will not extend past a Nov. 1, 2015

deadline. According to Kerry Coughlin, SHA Communications Director, Path America has not met milestones outlined in the Purchase and Sale Agreement for the property.

SHA sent a letter to Path America on Aug. 27, 2015, notifying it of a “Default of the Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement” outlining that it has not met conditions and milestones of the Purchase and Sale Agreement entered into on March 13, 2015. Path America responded, stating that it still wanted to go through with the acquisition. According to Coughlin, SHA sent another letter last week reiterating that it still had not met its obligations.

No response had been received from Path America to the second letter from SHA yet. Coughlin stated that Path America was to have submitted plan and design reviews to SHA among other information in order to purchase the Othello property.

Additionally, Path America was to have provided SHA a complete financial overview of the financing for the project 30 days prior to the closing date of Nov. 1.

SHA is scheduled to sell 3.2 acres of land near the Othello light-rail station for $7.5 million to Path America with a closing date of November 1st. According to the Purchase and Sale Agreement, Path America has already paid $270,000 in earnest money with the intent of purchasing the land. If Path America does not come through by Nov. 1, it will lose the $270,000. The intended development would have brought mixedused buildings of apartments and retail space. Overall, experts had projected the land development costs to run in excess of $100 million.

“Our intention is to go back to market,” Coughlin stated if Path America allows the Nov. 1 deadline to expire without meeting any of the terms and obligations.

This would mean SHA would look for other developers that would be interested in a similar project to the one agreed upon with Path America.  Jason Cruz can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ arts & entertainment

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

7

Mystery and form Frank Kunishige’s photos on view at Central Library

By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly

Frank Kunishige (1878-1960) was a patient photographer. You have to be patient to catch Seattle’s Smith Tower in snow.

But he also knew how to bring impressive changes out of traditional subject matter. He was no stranger to the female nude study, but he found ways to veil the female form, literally or figuratively, in mystique and sometimes in mid-gesture. Whatever Kunishige shot stayed enveloped in mystery, enigmas inviting repeat viewings.

Frank Kunishige At The Seattle Public Library,” an exhibit running through Dec. 15, at Seattle’s Central Library, showcases about 30 of the Seattle photographer’s works (with additional prints available for viewing online).

This marks the first solo exhibition of Kunishige’s work since his death. He was closely associated with the Seattle Camera Club, a largely Japanese American photographer’s group he helped found.

Elizabeth Brown and David F. Martin, two experts on 20th-century photography, appear at the Central Library Thursday, Oct. 22,

Shai Shotie

Untitled view of Suzzalo Library, ca. 1931

from 6:30 to 8 p.m., to discuss Kunishige’s work. Brown is the guest curator for the exhibit and former chief curator of Seattle’s Henry Art Gallery. Martin co-authored “Shadows of a Fleeting World: Pictorial

Photography and the Seattle Camera Club,” a 2011 study of Kunishige’s work alongside the work of his compatriots in the Seattle Camera Club.

Kunishige began his life in Japan, and arrived in the United States through San Francisco in 1895. He arrived in Seattle in 1917, married his wife Gin that same year and began working for the photographer Edward S. Curtis.

Most of Kunishige’s work falls under “Pictorialism,” a school of photography that avoids strict realism and often manipulates the image in some way, to further artistic effect

By Jennifer Bates FOR Northwest Asian Weekly

Recently there has been a lot of publicity and news coverage about the Ride the Ducks tour bus crash. There were five deaths and more than a dozen seriously injured exchange students. There has been one lawsuit filed on behalf of a student who sustained fractured fingers and/or hand.

Undoubtedly, there will likely be other lawsuits eventually filed.

However, approximately two years ago King County quietly settled an injury claim on behalf of a foreign exchange student from Korea who was represented by Buckley & Associates law firm. The 17-year-old student had been in the United States for approximately two weeks, living with a host family and attending a school in Seattle.

The student boarded a King County Metro bus on her way home in the North Seattle area when the metro bus driver reportedly stopped the bus in the middle lane of the three northbound lanes of Aurora Avenue North and permitted the student to exit the bus into traffic. As the student stepped off the bus, she was struck by a Jeep Cherokee driven by a young Seattle woman who was traveling northbound in the curb lane. The bus driver claimed there was too much snow in the curb lane, so he let the student off the bus in the middle lane. The student’s attorney, James C. Buckley of Buckley & Associates, hired meteorologist Jeff Renner of King 5 News, who determined there was insufficient snowfall on the roadway on the date of the accident to create sufficient snow accumulation to make the curb lane unsafe for the bus to stop in the curb lane.

In addition, Attorney Buckley located an in-

dashboard police videotape of the roadway when the responding police officer was deposed. The videotape shows there was insufficient snow in the roadway to create a stop hazard in the curb lane. According to Buckley, King County agreed to accept {see COMMENTARY cont’d on page 13}

“Frank Kunishige at The Seattle Public Library” runs through Dec. 15 at the Level 8 Gallery, Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave. For more information, visit http://cdm16118. contentdm.oclc.org.

Andrew Hamlin can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

Graphic provided by Buckley & Associates

■ commentary Accident cases pose complex issues

and to call attention to the artificiality of the photographic process. The photographer used soft focus as one pictorialist tactic, although he also printed his work on “textra tissue,” a rough-surfaced paper he designed and had custom-made. The distinctive interaction between the image as image and the textured paper became a trademark.

The Seattle Camera Club, founded in 1924, included Kunishige and other Japanese photographers including Kyo Koike, Yukio Morinaga, Iwao Matsushita and Fred Y. Ogasawara. Ella McBride, who joined later, was their first non-Japanese member.

Kunishige spent World War II interned at the Minidoka camp and lived in Twin Falls, Idaho, for some time, then returned to Seattle and died here. 

Relative position of accident site

asianweekly northwest

8

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

■ food

Lucky Peach cooks up easy side of Asian food

By Michele Kayal Associated Press

SICHUAN PORK RAGU Start to finish: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

David Chang and Peter Meehan

Disney princesses reimagined as hot dogs and drunken rants by name-brand chefs are de rigueur for quarterly food magazine Lucky Peach. But a new cookbook from the journal’s editors leaves most of that on the table, favoring instead a just-campy-enough approach to Asian home cooking.

Launched in 2011 by New York food writer Peter Meehan and Momofuku chef David Chang, Lucky Peach combines award-winning long-form journalism with that special brand of hipness designed to make outsiders know where they stand. The cookbook from the selfproclaimed “cult” food magazine has some of that — the chapter

The new retro cookbook cover

introduction mentions a staff Bacchanalia on Richard Branson’s private island — but also goes a long way to making you a master of easy Asian cooking.

Delicious, straightforward recipes for items such as shrimp-andchive dumplings and the Japanese pancake called okonomiyaki fill “Lucky Peach: 101 Easy Asian Recipes,” along with romping commentary that makes the book fun to read {see LUCKY PEACH cont’d on page 12}

2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable, divided 2 large yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced (about 5 cups) 1 pound ground pork 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 2 tablespoons gochujang 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns 1 teaspoon chili flakes (preferably gochugaru) 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 cup water Kosher salt 2 cups coarsely chopped bok choy Fresh wheat noodles (lo mein or ramen), rice noodles, cooked spaghetti, or rice, to serve Chopped scallions, to serve In a wide, deep saute pan or a 3-quart saucepan over medium, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring and folding, until the onions are light golden but still retain their shape, about 15 minutes. Scoop the onions onto a plate and wipe out the skillet with a towel.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the pan over medium-high, then add the ground pork and cook, breaking the meat into small pieces with a spoon, until just cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Push the meat to one side of the pan and add the garlic to the pork drippings. Sweat until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in the gochujang, peppercorns, chili flakes, soy sauce, sugar,

water and reserved onions. Season with salt.

At this point, the sauce may be refrigerated or frozen. Reheat before proceeding.

Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat and stir in the bok choy. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the stems are just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve over noodles or rice, sprinkled with scallions.

Nutrition information per serving: 470 calories; 280 calories from fat (60 percent of total calories); 31 g fat (9 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 105 mg cholesterol; 620 mg sodium; 17 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 9 g sugar; 32 g protein.

(Recipe adapted from “Lucky Peach: 101 Easy Asian Recipes” by Peter Meehan, Clarkson Potter, 2015)

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ pictorial

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

9

Win-win for Alaska Airlines and Hainan Celebrating partnership at the Wing Luke

Photos by George Liu/NWAW

The entrance at the Wing Luke Asian Museum decorated with names of Alaska and Hainan airlines.

Hainan Airlines Vice President Hou Wei and Brad Tilden (center) with flight attendants and pilots from both companies.

Joe Chusid of Hainan, Mark Bocchi of Alaska, and travel agencies’ representatives.

Mayor Ed Murray, Roger Nyhus and former governor Gary Locke.

Hainan VP Hou Wei presents Brad Tilden, Alaska CEO, a scroll of Alaska Airlines in Chinese calligraphy.

Brad Tilden, Bellevue City Councilman Conrad Lee, Mayor Ed Murray, and Hou Wei

Brad Tilden, Alaska CEO, presents a football autographed by Seahawks’ Russell Wilson.

A toast from Brad Tilden, Hou Wei, Gary Locke, Alaska EVP Andrew Harrison and Mayor Ed Murray.

Guests Min Christ, Gregory Johnson and Kevin Corbett.

This pictorial is sponsored by

Alaska Airlines’ Shaunta Hyde and guests Christine Lee and Ming Zhang.

asianweekly northwest

10

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

■ PUBLISHER'S BLOG

OPINION

Right and wrong A closer look at Motives to vote

the candidates

The Nov. 3 general election is important and exciting. Not only are there Asian American candidates running for offices in several cities and King County, there are issues directly impacting the Asian community. It is the first time after redistricting that voters will decide to elect some new blood to the Seattle City Council. Several King County races are interesting to watch.

Photo by John Liu/NWAW

Pam Banks vs. Kshama Sawant

Co-chairs of API Candidates’ Forum (from left): Akemi Matsumoto; moderator Natasha Chen, KIRO TV reporter; and Maria Batayola

President Obama’s presidential election in 2008 inspired an astounding turnout for African American voters. It happened to the Asian community when one of our own was running for office. Why not? It’s an opportunity for Asian Americans to make an impact when it comes to public policy.

It’s wonderful to see Asians breaking the glass ceiling because there are so few on top.

Politically correct?

We might fall into the trap of “political correctness”, sometimes without really knowing the candidate’s stand. Or we assume we know the candidate simply because s/he is Asian and that we’ve known the candidate for a while.

“Political correctness” could be the same {see BLOG cont’d on page 15}

Seattle City Council Position 3 It has been disappointing to see Kshama Sawant’s performance at the Seattle City Council for the past 20 months.

Her tough leadership style doesn’t win colleagues. Humiliating her opponents in public is not necessarily a winning strategy. Negotiating and compromising behind the scenes can go a long way. She fails to recognize how to get things done.

She needs five votes and teamwork at the council.

A City Council member should be equipped with skills and knowledge, and willingness to deal with the city’s many pressing problems. Sawant’s opponent, Pam Banks, has shown collaborative skills, empathy and flexibility through her past experiences as Urban League CEO and former city employee, and understands that it is critical to work on diverse issues including transportation, police reform, utilities, public safety and

development issues. Focusing on a limited agenda which Sawant follows — wage and housing issues — will not advance the city very far.

Lloyd Hara vs. John Wilson

King County Assessor race King County Assessor Lloyd Hara has a surprise challenger this election. His former deputy, John Wilson, who was asked to resign, is running against Hara.

Perhaps revenge? Hara has had a track record in public service for decades. He has been promoting efficiency, innovation and outreach for the office. Hara is visible in many communities, including Asians, other people of color and mainstream communities, and listens to communities’ concerns, while his opponent disappears (except when sending out his website message asking for money). {see BLOG cont’d on page 11}

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ editorial

Time to vote!

Northwest Asian Weekly’s endorsements Initiative 1366 NO

Initiative 1401 YES

Advisory Vote No. 10 Maintained

Advisory Vote No. 11 Maintained

Advisory Vote No. 12 Maintained

Advisory Vote No. 13 Maintained

King County Charter Amendment No. 1 — NO Proposition No. 1 — APPROVED Assessor: Lloyd Hara Director of Elections: Julie Wise or Zach Hudgins (dual endorsement) Council District No. 2: Larry Gossett Council District No. 4: Jeanne Kohl-Welles Council District No. 8: Joe McDermott

City of Seattle District No. 1: Shannon Braddock District No. 2: Bruce Harrell District No. 3: Pamela Banks District No. 4: No recommendation District No. 5: Deborah Juarez District No. 6: No recommendation District No. 7: Sally Bagshaw Council Position No. 8: Tim Burgess Council Position No. 9: Lorena Gonzalez Initiative Measure No. 122 — YES Proposition No. 1 — YES Seattle School District No. 1 Director District No. 3: Lauren McGuire Seattle School District No. 1 Director District No. 6: Leslie Harris

City of Bellevue Council Position No. 5: Vandana Slatter

City of Medina Council Position No. 2: David Lee

City of SeaTac

11

OPINION

■ commentary

Naming the Children’s Park after Donnie Chin Seattle Parks and Recreation superintendent offers alternatives

By Douglas Chin For Northwest Asian Weekly While not committing to the Asian American community’s request to rename the International Children’s Park at Seventh Avenue South and South Lane Street after the late Donnie Chin, Seattle’s Parks and Recreation Superintendent Jesus Aguirre offered several ways his department could memorialize and honor Chin’s legacy.

The Parks and Recreation Department, Aquirre said, is willing to name several park facilities in the Chinatown/International District after Chin: (1) the play area at the Children’s Park, (2) a room at the park’s community center, and (3) the new addition to Hing Hay Park. Moreover, the superintendent said, his department would be open to erecting a memorial of Chin at the Children’s Park as well as providing more programming and activities at that park.

The Superintendent made his offer to the Donnie Chin Children’s Park Naming Coordinating Committee, which evolved to spearhead the community’s request to name the Children’s Park after Chin. “We

strongly believe that naming the park after Donnie would be an appropriate way to recognize his role as the founder of this park, and to pay tribute to Donnie for dedicating his entire life to making our community a safer and better neighborhood for all,” the committee told the superintendent.

Although the committee argued that there are compelling reasons to rename the park after Chin, the superintendent expressed reluctance about the name change because of a provision in Parks and Recreation policies stipulating that “the person must be deceased for a minimum of three years” before a park can be named after a person (Chin was fatally shot during summer this year). However, Aquirre suggested he is open to putting into motion the steps to officially rename the park after Chin when the three years have passed.

The Donnie Chin Children’s Park Naming Coordinating Committee will hold a public meeting, to consider community residents’ wishes regarding the superintendent’s offer, at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at the IDEA Space conference room, on the lower floor of the Bush Asia Center, next to Hing Hay Park. 

Want to get the inside scoop on the latest happenings of Seattle’s Asian American community? Follow Publisher Assunta Ng’s blog at nwasianweekly.c om under the Opinion section.

Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No. 2: Courtney Gregoire Commissioner Position No. 5: Fred Felleman or Marion Yoshino (dual endorsement)

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

Fred Felleman vs. Marion Yoshino

{BLOG cont’d from page 10}

Port of Seattle Commissioner Position 5

Julie Wise vs. Zach Hudgins King County Director of Elections

Fred Felleman Julie Wise

Zach Hudgins

Rep. Zach Hudgins, a candidate for King County Director of Elections, is an ally of the Asian community. Some of Hudgins’ supporters have spread the rumor that Hudgins’ opponent, Julie Wise, deputy director of elections, would not work hard on voters’ disparity, including Asian American voters, while Hudgins would if he gets elected. Not true.

On Oct. 1, the API Candidate Forum gave us a chance to listen to the debate between Hudgins and Wise. Wise said she is interested in improving voters’ disparity and reaching out to minority communities.

Both will bring rich experiences and backgrounds to the job. Either candidate will be qualified to be King County Director of Elections.

Marion Yoshino

Fred Felleman, a marine biologist, is passionate about the Port of Seattle and the environment. He has consistently attended the commission’s meetings over the past few years. He knows the Port inside out.

Marion Yoshino, a former Normandy Park City Council member, is not Asian. If elected, she will be the only commissioner living in South King County.

It’s important to have diverse representation on the five-member commission.

Both candidates are aware of the issues facing the port. Felleman might be more informed about the port issues because he attended the Port Commission’s meetings regularly. However, Yoshino’s collaborative leadership style is more likely to work well with others. 

For more recommendations, please see the Asian Weekly’s endorsement list on page 11.

Council Position No. 7: Mia Su-Ling Gregerson

City of Kent Council Position No. 1: Hira Singh Bullar

Have a story idea that you think would fit perfectly in Northwest Asian Weekly?

We want to know about it.

Send it to us at info@nwasianweekly.com.

asianweekly northwest

12

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

{LUCKY PEACH cont’d from page 8} as well as to cook from. We talked with Meehan about the book, the magazine and the future of Asian cuisine in America.

AP: In 2011, with big magazines such as Gourmet out of business, you and David Chang founded Lucky Peach.

Remind readers of the thought process there.

Peter Meehan: It seemed like a good idea at the time, for purely creative reasons. I was a writer and I had stories I wanted to write that I couldn’t place. As a chef, there were only certain things people wanted Dave to do. They wanted the bear to dance. For him, it was so he didn’t have to be the dancing bear.

And for me, so I didn’t have to write the story about how the bear danced. We were young and full of ideas and we didn’t think about the potential for success. We just thought about doing it. I hate to short-sell us, but we were in the right place at the right time and it hit a chord.

AP: What do you think that chord was?

Meehan: It’s so hard to say things without feeling incredibly self-congratulatory. But I think there was an honesty and a directness, a transparency. We didn’t make another lifestyle magazine, we wrote about our lives. Once that first issue was a success it gave us an opportunity to expand the conversation around food, and to let writers write at the length they needed to tell their stories, and to showcase what chefs were passionate about outside of seasonal roundups and easy recipes.

AP: How has Lucky Peach evolved since then?

Meehan: We curse less. I prided myself on publishing unpublishable recipes that were either difficult and authentic or represented how the greatest chefs in the world cooked. And then over time, I think out of personal interest and because we felt like we’d proved our point, we’ve moved into a more approachable and usable set of recipes because we see the value in those.

AP: Who’s reading and why?

Meehan: We have a pretty huge audience of cooks and chefs. We finally did some audience research. And we found there is a huge audience of people who cook at home, who eat out a lot, who are in their late 20s to early 40s. I think guiltily that we write the magazine we want to see. And that’s the constituency I’m most concerned about — making a magazine I don’t hate. And then it’s always comforting when people want to come on that ride.

We print 100,000 copies and distribute all of them. We’re big for a little magazine.

AP: Did the magazine push the envelope more on journalism or on food?

Meehan: It’s hard for me to be the person answering that question. If we pushed either of those conversations at all, then I feel great about it, because those are my passions and my profession. But I think it’s great to see other magazine stories getting longer, their curiosity about cuisines getting more diversified. If we’re helping move either of those bars forward, that’s an enormous success.

AP: Early on, you prided yourself on difficult recipes.

Why this book, why these very approachable recipes?

Meehan: This felt like unexplored territory for Lucky Peach. For as much as I love and have a bookshelf full of nostalgic Oriental cookbooks from the `70s, they’re useless. And they’re bad. The food from them doesn’t taste good. So bringing what I know and what we know collectively about Asian cuisine, I feel like it was a useful, timely cookbook. Many of these recipes are things my wife and I have made at home for years.

AP: You’ve got so many classics in here: cumin lamb, scallion pancake, sticky rice in lotus leaves. You could do a whole dim sum at home. What’s your favorite recipe?

Meehan: I ate the entire portion of cumin lamb pictured there. Which was very gross, but very delicious. Miso claypot chicken, no claypot. Now I add a couple of Chinese sausages

{ASIAN SUPERSTITIONS cont’d from page 1}

common superstition that opening an umbrella indoors is sure to bring back luck.

remember, my mother would throw my tooth onto the roof as soon as it fell out. I found out later that we were not the only ones doing this and, in fact, this was done traditionally to try to improve one’s luck.

4. Whatever you do, avoid the numbers 4 and 13. Just as there are lucky numbers, people in many Asian countries believe these two numbers are ones to avoid, as they are the opposite of lucky.

2. Don’t wash or cut your hair the last or first day of the year. Do you pride yourself on washing your hair every day or getting a fresh new haircut for the New Year? Don’t even think about it! It is believed that doing so could also wash away or cut into your good luck allotment in the coming year.

5. Never clip your fingernails or toenails at night. I think this superstition was born of a time when Korea had very little electricity or power at night. Practically speaking, it would probably not have been the best idea to cut your nails when you could hardly see what you are doing and risk injury.

3. Keep your umbrella closed when you are inside your home or office. Do you ever leave your umbrella open to dry inside?

Well, if you venture into a Korean home, it is probably wise not to do so. It is a very

6. Avoid drinking ice water when you are expecting. This is one superstition I had no problem ignoring, as I can’t stand tepid water. I think the idea is that you want to maintain temperature equilibrium in your

to it. We eat it twice a week and the kids eat it. Then there’s a “Chineasy” cucumber salad in the front of the book that uses black vinegar, and that’s a really exciting, cool, eye-opening ingredient that you can order from Amazon and totally change your cucumber salad game. Which is a sad, small statement, but if you cook at home, it’s an exciting trick.

AP: The inaugural issue of Lucky Peach was about ramen. You’ve also done Chinatown. Describe the evolution of the magazine’s relationship with Asian food and how it’s reflected in the book.

Meehan: In the magazine, we want depth. One of the qualifications I look for in a Lucky Peach story is: Is this person inside the story? Can they tell it in a way that would feel authentic to a person who knows it intrinsically? I think that that’s the measure of the better stories we do about Asian cuisine and food culture in Asia. In most of (the recipes), the home cooking shortcuts are the ones they take in Asia.

Everyone there has jobs and computers and deadlines. There are some campy twists and turns in the book because they’re fun, but we’re trying to honestly represent how this food is made in a home cooking setting.

AP: What place does Asian food occupy in American culture today? How far beyond Chinese have we gone?

Meehan: We’ve gone so far beyond Chinese that we’re actually beginning to discover Chinese. Black vinegar to me is a signifier that we’re moving beyond mall chicken.

That’s really a nod to the books that came before, not a food I would enjoy to eat. That’s a nostalgic joke. But the Sichuan peppercorns, cumin lamb, discovering those parts of Chinese cuisine are important to not having it be a one-dimensional joke. Chang and (Los Angeles chef) Roy Choi, the fact that the bigger food culture has accepted chefs cooking Asian or Asian-ish food, you don’t see miso in italics anymore because it’s a scary foreign word. I think those changes are important and encouraging. 

body for your baby, so keeping things at room temperature would help maintain a better balance.

7. Stop shaking your legs or tapping your feet! My little brother would get in trouble for this all the time. He would shake one of his legs as a nervous habit while sitting at the dinner table or on the couch. My parents would tell him to stop or he may not be successful. To this day, I think about what my parents said about leg shaking when I see someone do so at a business meeting.

8. Get the crows away from your house.

My father would stop eating to shoo away crows if they got too loud or if he saw them on our house. Much like the Western superstition of black cats, the crows were thought be a harbinger of bad luck.

9. If you are thinking about giving gifts,

don’t give away fish symbols. I had this idea of giving away fish-shaped charms for our wedding favors many years ago.

Thankfully, I chose something else.

Apparently, we would have been giving away our good luck.

10. Who needs a housewarming gift?

Throw coins, instead! The first time my in-laws came over to our new home, my mother-in-law started throwing coins from a cup on the floor. I had no idea until my husband explained to me later that this was a way to usher in good luck and fortune into our home.

While there is certainly no guarantee of success, why not stack the deck in your favor when it comes to superstitions?  Sun Lee Chang can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

{VIET CONG cont’d from page 4} his actual name. Activists asked when they plan to change the name and why it hasn’t happened yet.

“It takes a little bit of time. We’ve had a few ideas and unfortunately they were both just kind of dead ends due to licensing,” said the band member.  Nodyia Fedrick can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

Northwest Asian Weekly is always looking for Asian American community news. If you are the host or an attendee of an API fundraiser, e-mail us a big photo, event highlights, and the amount of money raised. We are also looking for news about APIs in new jobs and APIs getting public recognition and awards. Please send materials to info@nwasianweekly.com with “names in the news” as the subject line.

www.buckleylaw.net

Seattle Office 675 S. Lane St. Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104 Office: (206) 622-1100 Toll free: (800) 404-6200 Fax: (206) 622-0688

Our law firm has recovered over $200 million for clients

Tacoma Office Wells Fargo Plaza Suite 1400 Tacoma, WA 98402 (appointment only)

Our Attorneys & Staff Proudly Serving the Community

 Auto accidents  Back & neck injuries  Brain damage  Wrongful Death  Permanent Disability  Pedestrian Accidents  Quadriplegia/Paraplegia

 Slip & fall  Product Liability  Contingent fees (no recovery, no fee, costs only)  Same day appointments  Before & after work appointments available  Free initial consultation  Home & hospital visits available

Member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum Selected as Super Lawyer Selected as Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the United States Member of Several Bar Associations

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ astrology

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

13

For the week of October 24–October 30, 2015

By Sun Lee Chang

Rat — Are you playing the role of referee right now between two friends? They need to talk to each other instead of putting you in the middle.

Dragon — You tend to favor the practical over the more showy choices. As it turns out, those picks will also stand the test of time.

Monkey — A spirited display wasn’t quite what you were expecting. It would be a good idea to use the emotion to your advantage.

Ox — A taste of sweetness has you wanting more of the same. Moderation is the key to enjoyment without any unwanted consequences.

Snake — Once you get a flavor of how you will be treated, then it is up to you whether you want stay or leave.

Rooster — Things have worked out a little different than you had originally planned. This is not cause for concern, rather a chance to gain a new experience.

Tiger — With all that is going on, it might be difficult to see things as clearly as you would like. Some time away could help you gain a fresh perspective.

Horse — A quick fix is not a substitute for a long term solution. While it has bought you some breathing room, there is additional work to be done.

Rabbit — The change was so gradual that it may have slipped your notice. However, there is no denying that you are now in a very different place.

Goat — You did not intend to be in the limelight, but somehow your performance has managed to steal the show.

Dog — Have you been actively trying to avoid someone this week? Don’t allow the awkwardness to continue, for you will have to face them sooner or later.

Pig — Until you are sure you are on secure footing, it is probably not a good idea to relinquish your other options.

What’s your animal sign?

Rat 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 Ox 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 Tiger 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 Rabbit 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 Dragon 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 Snake 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 Horse 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014 Goat 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 Monkey 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004 Rooster 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005 Dog 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 Pig 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007

*The year ends on the first new moon of the following year. For those born in January and February, please take care when determining your sign.

{INITIATIVE I-1401 cont’d from page 1} This is where a detective or inspector with expertise in wildlife trafficking might best pick up the story. If you could find one. Only 1 to 2 percent of all cargo unloaded at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma is even inspected. Even so, officials found more that 100 illegal animal parts at the Port of Seattle between March 2010 and December 2014, including elephant, leopard, tiger, polar bear, crocodile and zebra, according to a report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The violation report was released following a FOIA request by backers of Initiative 1401, a ballot proposal that would make selling, purchasing or trading certain animals threatened with extinction a gross misdemeanor or class-C felony, punishable with up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The initiative covers 10 endangered species, among them elephants, lions, leopards, tigers, rhino, marine turtles and pangolins — cocker-spaniel-sized creatures whose scales are used for medicinal purposes.

Supporters say I-1401, which is being bankrolled by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, will help stanch the flow of illegal wildlife parts by closing loopholes in the law, instigating tougher penalties for those who are caught, and raising money for tougher enforcement. Opponents say it will only turn law-abiding citizens into targets.

A multi-billion-dollar industry, wildlife trafficking is a complex web of poachers, black markets, and money laundering. Shipments routinely hold contraband that is falsely labeled and often transferred from one ship to another to avoid detection.

“It’s right up there with drugs, arms and human trafficking,” says Gavin Shire, the Fish and Wildlife Service’s chief of public affairs, who authenticated the violation report provided to I-1401 backers. In fact, he says, many cartels are engaged in more than one of these illegal trades.

A major part of the problem, says Shire, “is that we don’t have enough inspectors.”

There are federal penalties for illegal wildlife trafficking.

But ivory trafficking from increasingly endangered African elephants is so out of control that states with major ports in the U.S. are taking action to stiffen penalties. California, New Jersey and New York have passed laws banning the sale of ivory over the last year. The laws complement a new federal proposal to ban the sale of ivory across state lines.

Elephants have declined nearly 95 percent in the last 50 years, says Sam Wasser, Director of the University of Washington’s Center for Conservation Biology, who

{COMMENTARY cont’d from page 7} liability shortly after the discovery of the police videotape.

According to Buckley, the exchange student sustained a fractured right leg and foot, spleen lacerations and post traumatic stress disorder, as well as other mental duress and suffering. King County paid $1,000,000 and settled the

analyzes seizures of over a half a ton, primarily tusks, from all over the world. “There’s a tremendous urgency to get the trade under control before all the animals are lost,” says Wasser, who has called the the illegal wildlife industry the “extinction economy.” But “it’s complicated to police,” he says.

The issue needs to be addressed at several levels, Wasser says, from law enforcement where the animals are killed, all the way through elicit transit and on to final end-users.

Federal officials can seize wildlife parts being smuggled into the country, but Mike Cenci, deputy chief for law enforcement with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, says enforcement is sparse. Jason Holm, a regional U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent, says his agency has made 45 seizures so far this year, 37 of which had “discrepancies of some kind” — false paperwork, incorrect permits. But he was unable to specify at what entry points the seizures took place or what the contents were.

Washington state has two existing laws to deal with possession and unlawful trafficking of fish, shellfish and wildlife. Of the 10 species I-1401 seeks to protect, sharks are the only ones covered by these laws – and the initiative would strengthen restrictions on shark products, too. In addition to the more severe punishments, I-1401 would require individuals convicted of smuggling to pay a penalty of between $2,000 and $4,000, which would be deposited in a fish and wildlife enforcement account.

Opponents of I-1401 say it may be well-intentioned, but it will do nothing to curb ivory trafficking. Instead, they say, it will turn law-abiding citizens into the targets of law enforcement actions.

“It’s insane,” says scrimshaw artist Pete Lange. Ivory is the canvas he’s used for decades for this original American art form developed by whalers. Lange says he has enough raw ivory for several lifetimes and it’s all legal. He owned a company called North Coast Trading for years before retiring a few years ago. Agents raided his place in the 1980s but “they walked out with zero, because we did everything legal.”

He made his last purchase in the ’80s from an unlikely source: the Seattle school board. Lange bought eight palettes containing almost a thousand pounds of ivory scrap. The school board got the scrap from a company that operated in the area in the ’50s, he says. In fact there were three big companies in the state that made ivory jewelry and artwork, he recalls, all for the Alaska tourism trade that thrived after the war and often relied on Washington state artists to fulfill demand.

“We all love elephants,” says Lange. “Nobody wants to

see animals being killed, but no one has ever accused me of anything illegal.”

Lange and others who oppose I-1401 formed the Legal Ivory Rights Coalition. The group includes collectors, antique dealers, and state representatives. The NRA, which helped kill a bill designed to thwart ivory trafficking in the legislature last year, has also weighed in. NRA spokesman Lars Dalseide says most people don’t have receipts for heirlooms or other items that are perfectly legal such as firearms with inlaid ivory pistol grips, musical instruments, jewelry or art.

I-1401 supports say the polls are tilting in their favor.

Jennifer Hillman with the Seattle office of the Humane Society of the U.S., an animal rights organization, says the average voter is horrified that wildlife trafficking is still happening and that Washington is part of the problem.

“Animal welfare groups are looking across the entire country at where major markets and entry points are to come up with a strategic plan to combat the overall crisis.”

Opponents of the measure wouldn’t say if they’d conducted any polls. But they’re not convinced the state has a wildlife trafficking problem, particularly in ivory.

They blame the problem on poachers all over Africa, and China’s appetite for ill-begotten tusks.

But while China is the world’s largest market for ivory, the U.S. is the second-largest. Obama and President Xi of China signed an agreement to ban ivory last month, but it remains to be seen how the agreement is enacted on the ground. 

claim. Buckley says his client and her parents were happy with the settlement and did not want to go through what would have been a three-week trial. “The bus driver made a mistake, and King County did the right thing and settled the case,” Buckley said.

Buckley now represents a victim who reportedly was injured in the Ride the Ducks crash. The client, Jae Won

Jang, is a student at North Seattle Community College.

Buckley says he expects to settle the claim without the need for a trial. Buckley says his client sustained post-traumatic stress disorder and other physical injuries. 

VOICE FROM THE COMMUNITY “We have a responsibility to ensure the survival and protection of these endangered species. I want my children to be able to grow up and learn of these great animals and see them in their native and natural habitat rather than as a display or food product. Through cultural traditions older ethnic generations were taught about the monetary value of these animal parts, and it is part of a familial status symbol, I think as younger generations learn about the importances of these animals and the role it plays in maintaining our ecosystems, there is a dynamic shift in how they view status and owning animal parts is not one of them.”

— Taylor Hoang, Pho Cyclo Cafe

Jennifer Bates is Legal Assistant for Buckley & Associates.

asianweekly northwest

14

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

{INDIA-COWS cont’d from page 4} Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), called the arrests “atrocities on innocent villagers.” As for the family of the dead man, he dismissed them as “those cow killers.”

A few days later, a half-dozen BJP politicians slapped around a legislator on the floor of a state legislature, angry that he had served beef at a party. In southern India, six members of a leftist student political party were suspended after their attempt to serve beef curry on campus to protest the farmer’s killing set off a melee. On Friday, violence swept another northern village amid rumors that a cow had been slaughtered, with a crowd, who had chased down two Muslim men they suspected of cow-killing, clashing with police and burning several cars. Some villagers and police were injured, but no major injuries were reported.

Cows have long been sacred to Hindus, worshipped as a mother figure and associated since ancient times with the god Krishna. But increasingly, cows are also political. They have become a tool of political parties, an electioneering code word and a rallying cry for both Hindu nationalists and their opponents.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on the late September mob killing of Mohammad Akhlaq, saying communalism threatened the country’s economic growth.

Modi also rose to power as Hindu nationalist, and since his election last year hard-line Hindus have been demanding that India ban the sale of beef.

In the past, Modi has spoken out angrily against India’s beef industry. Since becoming prime minister, though, he has danced delicately between an intense desire to be seen as a tolerant international statesman — the sort of man who is greeted warmly by presidents and jokes around with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg — and the need to satisfy a political base that is deeply distrustful of Muslims and other minorities.

Authorities are still investigating after the arrests of eight villagers for Akhlaq’s death, but announced Friday that the meat found in his home turned out to be mutton — not beef. Meanwhile Som, the Hindu firebrand and avowed strict vegetarian, has denied media reports that he once owned part of a major Indian meat export company. The company exports goat and buffalo meat, but apparently not beef.

Amid so much rancor, it is not hard to find people sympathetic to the attack on Akhlaq.

“We should drink cow’s milk, not its blood,” Ram Mandal Das, a priest at a Hindu temple in New Delhi that also shelters abandoned cows, said Friday. “If someone attacks mother cow, or eats it, then this sort of reaction

should happen,” he said of Akhlaq’s killing. “It is justified.”

Modi supporters see some opponents as deliberately provoking Hindus. Some “beef parties” — when beef is eaten in defiance of local laws — are clearly intended to invite a backlash and score political points against the BJP. Such actions “have pushed a society that worships the cow as mother to question the real motives of the seculars,” Tarun Vijay, a member of parliament and top BJP official, wrote recently in The Indian Express.

He also criticized the killing of Akhlaq, writing: “Lynching a person merely on suspicion is absolutely wrong.” ((Maybe: “Vijay left unsaid if he felt lynching was justified if there is evidence of cow slaughter.”??)

The public bitterness on both sides hides the reality of much of Indian life, where Hindus and Muslims can live alongside one another for decades without incident.

In Akhlaq’s village, for example, more than 100 Hindu villagers trekked to his family’s home a few days after the attack, to urge his family not to move away. Hindu leaders also pledged to ensure that upcoming Muslim marriages went ahead without incident.  Associated Press writers Nirmala George and Rishabh R. Jain contributed to this report.

Service Directory The American Legion Cathay Post 186

Law Office of Kim-Khanh T. Van, PLLC Immigration, Personal Injury, Family, Contracts, Business, & Criminal/Traffic Laws

Serving the community since 1946

607 SW Grady Way, Suite #260, Renton, WA 98057

cathaypost@hotmail.com

Cell: 206-304-0642  Office: 425-793-4357

FREE CONSULTATION! FREE PASSPORT PHOTOS!

SUCCESS SECRETS REVEALED! Selecting ONLY a few pre-qualified people to receive SPECIALIZED success training. For a FREE CD, and to find out if you have what it takes, please call 206-349-2808. English speaking is a must.

PS-ask about a FREE CRUISE.

English, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin and other Asian Languages

206-625-9104 www.herrmannscholbe.com » Personal Injury» Airline Disasters» Bicycle Accidents

» Wrongful Death» Dog Bites » Pedestrian Accidents

Mandarin, Cantonese & Korean Interpreter available

HONG LAW FIRM, PLLC 206-856-8291  honglegal@gmail.com

Bankruptcy Chapter 7  Personal Injury Landlord-Tenant  Simple Wills

Frank S. Hong, Attorney at Law avvo.com

NEED CASH NOW? LET US HELP! My family has private money to lend with your RE as collateral.

Credit/Income, No Problem!

Matt: 425-221-8660

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

To exercise your judgment, it’s wise to distinguish your own personal bias from facts about certain candidates. Also identify the rumors you have heard. Some might not be true because you have no evidence to verify them. It takes courage to recognize your own fallacies and to vote for strong candidates even though you might not totally agree with them.

Guiding principles

A colleague once said his guiding principle is to vote the insiders out and outsiders in.

Think twice. Some experienced elected officials are worth keeping. They have built the connection to make things happen for the city and state. Newcomers do take much longer to learn the ropes and build relationships.

Another colleague said always go with female candidates or persons of color. Some vote along party lines. It’s risky to follow those guidelines. However, if both candidates are equally qualified, then you can vote by gender and people of color.

A candidate with an Asian last name doesn’t necessarily mean s/he is Asian if she uses her spouse’s name. Meantime, an Asian candidate might have a non-Asian last

1221 S. King St., Seattle ∙ 206-720-0969 Monday—Sunday: 8:30 a.m.—8 p.m. www.lamsseafood.com

Reaching out to candidates

Most of us have difficulty being informed voters, including the Northwest Asian Weekly. We don’t know everything, so we have to dig up a lot of information by calling the candidates, asking them questions and interviewing their opponents, supporters and neutral parties. You can do the same. The candidates are receptive to voters emailing them questions and even calling them. They are good about returning calls promptly.

Challenge them with issues and problems so you know how well they know about their job.

There are a few who never respond, of course, so it tells us that they are not interested in getting Asian voters.

FEATURE ITEMS Persimmon

PRODUCE

Challenge your assumptions

All sale lasts from Friday 10/23 to Thursday 10/29

$

The more you attend candidates’ forums, the more you learn about them in different settings. The API Candidates’ Forum on Oct. 1, held at the Asian Counseling and Referral Service, helped an audience of 190 to understand candidates better.

The Ethnic Media Candidates’ Greet and Meet on Sept. 10 enabled us to chat with candidates informally. I also attended downtown forums to listen to city council candidates. All of these gatherings were informative, helping the Northwest Asian Weekly make endorsement decisions. Our endorsements are by no means complete, but they serve as a guide for some critical races.

As a small publication, we just didn’t have sufficient time and resources to study every candidate and issue, but we hope we are available to provide some insight. 

0.99 lb

$

Gala Apple

4.99 lb

Green Papaya

1.49 lb

$

White Shrimp 36/40 Head-Less $

Attending debates/forums

Florida Longan

Bitter Melon $

SEAFOOD

rule that some of us apply to non-Asian candidates. “Yes, this candidate supports the Asian community,” therefore, we should vote for him. What if the candidate is a lousy leader and he couldn’t govern? He would be an ally of the community but disastrous for the city or the state!

You as a voter have to decide if the candidate’s pro-community position is more significant than his ability to lead. Is your decision based on your personal convictions or your affiliations (because your friends ask you to support certain individuals)? In any case, it’s crucial that you balance your values of convictions and affiliations so you can be at peace with your own conclusion.

name because s/he is adopted by non-Asian parents. We look at the candidates’ photos and follow up with phone calls to verify their heritage. They don’t seem to be offended.

Voters should always study the candidates by reading the Voters’ Pamphlets and reaching out to them as suggested in the later section. Vote for the person’s qualifications rather than his political party or other affiliations.

$

0.59 lb

Shirakiku Panko Bread Crumbs 7oz $

Ginger

0.69 lb

$

1.29

0.69 lb

Fresh Tilapia Whole

18.99 4lbs box

$

179.99 case 10boxes

$

1.69 lb

Fz King Mackerel Steak $

Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand Oyster Flavored Sauce 18oz

3.99 lb

$

$

13.99 4lbs box

Fresh Catfish Slice

129.99 case 10boxes

$

Beef Flap Meat $

4.99 lb

$

Pork Sparerib $

Live Dungeness Crab

3.79 lb

2.49 lb

$

5.99 lb

Pork Side End Cut $

Chicken Drummet

3.79 lb

Presented by Northwest Asian Weekly and Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation

Top Contributors

to the Asian community Making a difference Friday, Dec. 4, 2015 • 6 — 9 P.M. House of Hong Restaurant • 206-622-7997 • 409 8th Ave. S., Seattle

Gold Sponsors Silver Sponsor Pearl Sponsors

HONOREES REGISTRATION $75 before December 2. $80 after December 2. $85 walk-ins. $40 students with I.D. $50 student walk-ins. $750 for an individual table of 10. $1,000 for a corporate table of 10, with the corporate logo To purchase tickets, call us at 206-223-0623, or email rsvp@ nwasianweekly.com.

Ming-Ming Tung Edelman

President, Chinese Americans Citizens Alliances

Elsie Taniguchi

President, Puyallup Valley JACL

Mel Kang

Civil rights activist and community volunteer

To reserve your space, fax a copy of this form to 206-223-0626 or send a check by December 5 to: Northwest Asian Weekly, Attn: Top Contributors, P.O. Box 3468, Seattle, WA 98114 Name: ___________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Telephone: ________________________________________________ Fax: _____________________________________________________ Email: ___________________________________________________ Organization: _____________________________________________ Title (if applicable): _________________________________________ Name of guests: ___________________________________________ _________________________________________________________  Mastercard

Van Dinh Kuno

Community volunteer

Bill Tashima

Former president, JACL

Rick Polintan

Chair, 11th District Democrat Caucas

Chong Dameron

Board chair, Korean Womens Association

1.79

Offer only good while supplies last. We reserve the right to correct all printed errors.

White Shrimp 80/100 Head-On

MEAT

{BLOG cont’d from page 10}

15

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015

 Visa

Card no.: _________________________________________________ Exp. date: ____________ Signature: ___________________________

$

2.99 lb

asianweekly northwest

16

OCTOBER 17 – OCTOBER 23, 2015