Bay Briefs
May 25, 2007
SoCal Hotel & Lodging Conference
EVENT: Southern California Hotel & Lodging Conference
DESCRIPTION: Presented by the California Hotel & Lodging Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association. Includes educational seminars on lodging law and internet marketing, and trade show focused on California lodging industry professionals.
DETAILS: Free, May 31, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim.
CONTACT: (714) 765-8950, calodging.com
Learn Mandarin for Free
EVENT: Free Beginning Mandarin Classes
DESCRIPTION: Kenneth and Xiao Hild teach beginning Mandarin. All ages welcome.
DETAILS: Free, May 30, 6 - 6:45 p.m., Auditorium of the Golden Gate Church of Christ, 701-8th Avenue (near Golden Gate Park), San Francisco.
CONTACT: (415) 221-2631 or (415) 584-7095
HIV/AIDS Awards Gala
EVENT: Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team’s community awards gala and dance
DESCRIPTION: Honoring those who have embodied the true spirit of leadership and those who have contributed to the fight against HIV/AIDS.
DETAILS: May 31, 8 p.m., Holiday Inn — Marquis Ballroom, 7000 Beach Blvd., Buena Park.
CONTACT: (213) 553-1830, apaitonline.org
Commemorating Tanforan
EVENT: “Journey to Tanforan”
DESCRIPTION: Commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Tanforan Assembly Center, a temporary residence to Japanese Americans forcibly removed as a result of Executive Order 9066. Features speakers, former internees and political guests, as well as a reenactment of the evacuation to Tanforan.
DETAILS: Free, Jun. 2, 10 a.m., The Shops at Tanforan, 1150 El Camino Real, San Bruno.
CONTACT: (415) 567-5505 x234, jcccnc.org
Will San Jose Have a Vietnam Town?
SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose wants to recognize 85,000 residents of Vietnamese descent and designate a one-mile commercial strip as the city’s official “Vietnamese Business District.’’
The bustling area near Highway 101 just east of downtown is already home to nearly 200 Vietnamese-owned businesses. Crews are building a 300,000-square-foot mall to be called Vietnam Town.
Madison Nguyen, who in 2005 became the first Vietnamese-American elected to San Jose’s city council, may bring the proposal to the council June 5. Signs and monuments would promote the neighborhood to non-Vietnamese consumers and celebrate Vietnam’s cultural heritage.
Mandarin Immersion Program Likely in Palo Alto
PALO ALTO, Calif. – An optional Mandarin-language immersion program could begin in Palo Alto public schools in 2008 after receiving support from school board members.
At first the school board voted against the Mandarin immersion program in January, citing unfairness to other language programs. Some members said at the time that they did not want a separate charter program for Mandarin.
But other officials have voiced their support for the new plan, which would integrate the optional Mandarin immersion program into local public schools. The school board will vote later this month on whether Ohlone elementary school will begin the program. The school district’s decision is being closely watched in this Silicon Valley city where many Chinese and non-Chinese families want their children to learn the language.
Vietnamese Priests Fill Cleric Gap
ORANGE COUNTY — Vietnamese immigrant priests are helping ease a critical cleric shortage in the US and changing the face of the Roman Catholic Church.
The influx of Vietnamese clergy comes as the number of priests nationwide has dropped nearly 30% in three decades, from 58,900 in 1975 to about 41,700 last year.
Though Asians are only 1% of the estimated 77 million U.S. Catholics, they account for 12% of Catholic seminary students.
In places such as Orange County, home to the largest Vietnamese community outside Vietnam, that has translated into major change. Of 181 diocesan priests almost 28% are Asian, predominantly Vietnamese.
—Los Angeles Times
Little Manila, Black Eyed Peas get Statewide Award
Stockton, CA — The Little Manila Foundation, along with the Black Eyed Peas, received the President’s Award for Excellence from the California Preservation Foundation in Hollywood.
Both groups were recognized for their unique collaboration to preserve Filipino American history.
The Stockton-based Little Manila Foundation partnered with the Black Eyed Peas in March 2007 to create a music video treatment of their song, “Bebot,” sang entirely in Tagalog.
The band privately funded the video and used Stockton’s Little Manila circa 1938 as a backdrop. Apl.De.Ap stated: “Filipino culture is like a community movement, and it feels good to represent my culture and to be embraced by my people.”
The Little Manila Foundation is dedicated to preserving Stockton’s Little Manila historic site.
Filipino Activists Fight for Immigrant Rights at L.A. Rally
LOS ANGELES — About 100 Filipino-Americans marched early this month from the historic Filipino town to join the immigration rally at MacArthur Park for immigrant rights.
The group also joined 50 other Filipino demonstrators in a bigger immigration rally on 3rd and Vermont streets. Activist groups in the march included Justice for Filipino American Veterans, Gabriela, Filipino American Service Group, Search to Involve Filipino Americans and UCLA’s Samahang Filipino.
The women’s group, Gabriela, passed out flyers citing cases of abuse among women immigrant workers, who suffer silently for fear of deportation.
One Filipino protester said that Filipino-Americans might be small in number, but they were united and passionate about fighting for immigration reform, labor rights and legalization for all immigrants.
—Asian Journal
Bay Area Residents Named as ‘Local Heroes’
Union Bank of California has named five Bay Area residents “Local Heroes” for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
This year’s honorees include: Betty Kinoshita, San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, Sangha Crafters (San Jose); Norm Ishimoto, President, Kiyomura-Ishimoto Associates (San Francisco); Rolland C. Lowe, M.D., Physician (Orinda); Eva Lai-Kit Jones, Self-Help for the Elderly and Alzheimer’s Association (Menlo Park); and Siath Hen, a mental health counselor at Asian Americans for Community Involvement.
The honorees, nominated by members of the community, are being recognized for their exceptional commitment and contributions to the Bay Area through business, community activism, education and social services.
Clinton Pushes Hard For APA Vote
SAN FRANCISCO — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton has appointed several Asian American leaders to her campaign to win ethnic voters to her side come election time in 2008.
Clinton recently named Rep. Doris Matsui of Sacramento as her national Asian American voter outreach campaign chairwoman in an event attended by Asian and Pacific Islander business and community leaders.
The Clinton camp signed up key Asian American leaders in seven targeted regions — Northern and Southern California, New York, Florida, Hawaii, Texas and the mid-Atlantic states. Her campaign has also tapped more than a dozen “ethnic-specific” co-chairs; California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma of San Francisco, for example, co-chairs Chinese Americans for Hillary.
—SFGate.com
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