Bay Briefs
October 28, 2005
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Shimtuh: Korean Domestic Violence Program will hold their 6th annual women’s festival in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The event, themed Turning Points: Self Reflections and Transformations, will take place on Thursday, October 27 at 6 p.m., at the Oakland Museum of California.
Sponsored by the Korean American Coalition to End Domestic Abuse and the Korean Community Center of the East Bay, all proceeds will benefit Shimtuh –– the first and only program in Northern California to address domestic violence in the Korean community.
“This event is about celebrating those powerful turning points of positive change and reflecting on ways to end violence at the individual and community level,” said Shimtuh Program Director Ann Rhee Menzi.
This year’s event will feature cultural and artistic performances, including the Korean American Youth Alliance’s mask performance of a domestic violence survivor’s story, traditional folk drumming by local Korean groups and spoken word.
S.F. Chinatown College Campus Near Reality
SAN FRANCISCO –– City College of San Francisco purchased two adjoining parcels of land for $8.7 million in preparation for the construction of its new Chinatown-North Beach campus. Development and construction of the campus will be funded by $15 million of an upcoming $246.3 million college bond if more than 55 percent of voters support it on Nov. 8.
College Board member Lawrence Wong compared the struggle to build the campus like Mao’s “Long March.” Wong has led the nearly three-decade campaign to replace the leased, out-of-date Filbert Street campus in North Beach. Delays, including a lawsuit over preservation, have inflated the costs of construction.
“It will be the first college in any Chinatown in the United States,” said Wong, who oversees a district where more than two out of five students are APA.
The current Filbert street campus serves 6,500 students in basic skills, ESL and citizenship. The new campus, to be built in 2008, will accommodate 7,500. Construction is expected to start in 15 months with the campus opening in 2008.
70th Anniversary of China Clipper
EVENT: To commemorate the launch of Pan American Airways’ China Clipper flying boat, SFO hosts The China Clipper Celebration: Pan Am and 70 Years of Pacific Air Travel
BACKGROUND: Pan American Airways’ famous flying boats played a significant role in the development of aviation in the Bay Area, opening the first regularly scheduled trans-oceanic air service.
INTERESTING: The events will be held in the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum.
DETAILS: $4-25, Nov. 4-5, San Francisco International Airport, (650) 821-9911, www.sfoarts.org/chinaclipper.html.
Bush Asked to Replace Miers
with APA
LOS ANGELES –– The Downtown Los Angeles Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League wants President Bush to replace the nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Miers with a qualified Asian American.
“It is a sad day in America when someone is nominated to the highest court in America based primarily on their friendship with the President,” said chapter head Kitty Sankey.
“It is even sadder that President Bush refused to even consider the many qualified Asian Americans who have a very distinguished legal track record,” stated Sankey.
Sankey cited as qualified APAs: Federal Court Judges Robert Takasugi, Ronald Lew, Anthony Ishii, Denny Chin, Susan Oki Mollway and Wallace Tashima; California Supreme Court Justices Joyce Kennard and Ming Chen; Hawai‘i Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Moon, and Associate Justice Paula Nakayama; Civil Rights Attorney Dale Minami; SF Public Defender Jeff Adachi; former California Senior Assistant Attorney General John Sugiyama; and former Assistant U.S. Attorney General Rose Ochi.
Hmong Family Wins Suit Against Cemetery
FRESNO, Calif. –– Three members of a Hmong family were awarded $40,000 from Mountain View Cemetery for burying their matriarch in a grave that contained someone else’s bones, a situation the family said was repulsive and an affront to their religion.
The jury ruled that Xia Yang was not buried “in a dignified manner.” But they also said family members brought on some of their emotional distress themselves, and denied the original $5 million sought in the lawsuit.
Cemetery officials said the use of an oversized casket by Xia Yang’s family disturbed other graves. Although there was insufficient evidence of grave recycling, the state agency responsible for overseeing cemeteries has opened a separate investigation.
Jurors failed to understand the suffering the family went through, said Vincent Yang, one of Xia Yang’s grandsons.
“What [the cemetery] did was wrong,” he said. “It violated our customs, our religion.”
KoreAm War Vet Awarded Highest Military Honor
LOS ANGELES –– A veteran of two wars, retired U.S. Army Col. Young Oak Kim has received more than 20 medals, which he humbly stores away. But he will soon add the Taeguk Order of Military Merit to his box, the highest military honor in South Korea.
Political observers say South Korea is making the unusual move in an effort to maintain friendly relations with the U.S. during a wave of anti-Americanism there.
The 86 year old is frail as he undergoes cancer treatments, but his biggest dream is for Korean reunification.
“It’s not going to happen in my lifetime,” Kim said from his hospital bed. “But most Koreans, including myself, deeply wish for that.”
“I don’t care about leaving a legacy,” Kim said. “I don’t think much about my contributions to the world. I just did what I could with my life while I’m still living.”
Movieland Wax Museum is Closing
BUENA PARK, Calif. –– The 43-year-old Movieland Wax Museum will close on Halloween because of increased competition from upscale shopping malls and nearby amusement parks including Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, owner Rodney Fong said.
When the museum first opened in 1962, searchlight beams oscillated across the skies, actress Mary Pickford cut a ceremonial ribbon and a freshly sculpted wax figure of James Dean greeted the guests.
It drew up to 1.2 million annual visitors during its peak in the 1960s. Fong said he tried unsuccessfully to find a buyer who would continue operating Movieland, which was built for $1.5 million by an entrepreneur who made a fortune with an over-the-counter sleep aid.
Most of the 300-plus wax figures, movie sets and costumes will be shipped to Movieland’s more successful sister location at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.
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