‘Write what you know best’ is the advice that writers probably hear most often. And for Franklin Odo, activist, academic and museum curator extraordinaire, that’s exactly what he does. His latest title, No Sword to Bury: Japanese Americans in Hawai‘i during World War II (Temple University Press), takes him back to his native Hawai‘i to […]

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Even after 35 years since the United States Fair Housing Act was passed to protect homeowners and tenants from discrimination and unfair treatment, efforts still need to be made to combat continued adverse treatment of minority groups, including Asian Pacific Americans according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

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Walking onstage last week at UC-Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall to receive the composer’s traditional bouquet of flowers, Naomi Sekiya probably didn’t stop to think just how far she had traveled to reach this point. For the second time in four months, her work was performed by a major symphony orchestra. The 34-year-old Los Angeles resident has […]

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Oakland singer-songwriter Odessa Chen doesn’t necessarily want to rock your world or make you shake it like a Polaroid picture.
“I don’t do any dancing. I don’t perform nude. I don’t play my guitar with a vibrator,” she says, yelping with laughter.

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Many neighbors saw the men come and go. A few contacted the police, but many more remained silent about the suspected prostitution and human trafficking ring operating out of quiet residential homes in western portions of San Francisco.
Even after law-enforcement officials raided six houses and arrested some of their neighbors last week, many residents of […]

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Six months ago, world Muay Thai kick boxing champ Alex Gong, 32, was gunned down in a busy San Francisco street after chasing a driver who hit his parked vehicle and then sped off. Alex was working out in his gym when he witnessed the collision, and he ran after the culprit barefoot, wearing his […]

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Taking the first steps toward mending and reforming the nation’s immigration system, U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) introduced The Immigration Reform Act of 2004 on Jan. 21. The comprehensive immigration reform legislation calls for improving national security, increasing predictability in the U.S. job market and reuniting families who […]

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Failed Republican candidate for governor Bobby Jindal is moving to Jefferson Parish and pledging that his family will stay in Louisiana, reinforcing speculation that Jindal will mount a run for Congress next fall.

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Ansar Mahmood’s legal troubles started when he decided to take a snapshot near a picturesque reservoir during the jittery weeks after the 2001 terror attacks.
A suspicious guard posted at the water supply called police. The young pizza deliveryman from Pakistan was eventually charged — not as a terrorist, but on an immigration law violation.

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A pioneering compilation of essays, photographs, and artwork — telling in part how Sept. 11 impacted Asian Pacific Americans— has now been published under the title of Voice of Healing: Spirit and Unity After 9/11 in the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community.

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Chairman Mao once said “Women hold up half the sky.” In San Francisco, that seems particularly true. In two weeks, Mayor Gavin Newsom has appointed four women to major posts: Heather Hiles, school board; Heather Fong, interim police chief; Joanne Hayes-White, fire chief; and Michela Alioto-Pier, supervisor.

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The San Mateo City Council crooned an unpopular tune last night, approving a controversial 45-day emergency moratorium on the creation of small, private rooms for karaoke in restaurants and clubs.
The decision would not affect karaoke in the main room of a restaurant or club, but it may provide a blueprint for part of the city’s […]

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