Author Archives: Jeff

About Jeff

Jeff lives in Silicon Valley, and attempts to juggle marriage, fatherhood, computer systems research, running, and writing.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Ousted in November Recall Election

After calls for her resignation after a number of incidents, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao was recalled from her office in this November’s election.  She has to vacate her office after the election is officially certified, sometime between December 5 and … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Politics, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Remembering Asian American Veterans: Florence Finch gets a Coast Guard vessel named after her

You may not have heard of WWII veteran Florence Finch, but her actions during WWII has inspired the US Coast Guard to name a ship after her, which was recently launched.  Florence was born in the Philippines to an American … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, History | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

San Francisco Japantown Thriving, at least for the moment

We have written about the challenges and evolution of Japantowns in the US, but according to this article, San Francisco’s Japantown is thriving.  According to the article, tax revenue for the Japantown area is up this year compared to 2019, … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Food & Drink, Local, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Fremont: The Asian American City that rates as “Happiest” in the United States

In the movie Didi, the lead character Chris seems anything but happy.  Ironically, his home of Fremont, which is also the home town of Didi‘s creator Sean Wang, was selected by Wallethub as the happiest city in the United States.  … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Local, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Men who Fed America: A StoryCorps Animation about Larry Itliong

We have talked previously about Johnny Itliong’s StoryCorp recording about his father, the labor leader Larry Itliong, but I thought that the best way to mark the start of Filipino American History Month would be to share this new StoryCorps … Continue reading

Posted in Family, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Asian American Admissions after the end of Racial Affirmative Action

After the end of racial Affirmative Action last year, a key question of interest emerged:  how would admissions to elite colleges be affected? Would Asian American admissions skyrocket?  Would be Black and Hispanic numbers decline? Looking at some summaries of … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Filipino American Cristeta Comerford Retires as White House Executive Chef

Filipino American Cristeta Comerford has retired as White House Executive Chef after working almost 30 years in the White House.  She prepared food for five US presidents, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Food & Drink | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Asian American Brunch

When the Number Two Son and his girlfriend invited The Wife and me to brunch, I didn’t realize that our meal at Tanzie’s Cafe would be representative of an emerging food trend – the Asian American brunch. Terry Tang of … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Drink, Local, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Historic Japanese American Farm to become Silicon Valley Housing

Five days a week, I drove past the patch of land owned by the Sakauye family and worked by the Tsukuda family when going to work at my tech job. When I was doing that commute along Montague Expressway in … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Community, Current Events, History, Real Estate, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Continued Evolution of US Japantowns

The three remaining historical Japantowns left in the United States have had a difficult time surviving the pandemic and continue to undergo challenges. San Francisco’s Japantown is undergoing a two year renovation of its core Peace Plaza, and merchants there … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Food & Drink, Local, Real Estate, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

AAPIs (and some Asian Canadians) in the 2024 Paris Olympics: A Retrospective

After watching the 2024 Paris Olympics which closed last week, I definitely felt that AAPI athletes had a high profile. That led me to decide to create this retrospective on AAPI (and some extent, the Asian Canadian) presence in the … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

US Table Tennis Gains visibility during the Paris Olympics

US Table Tennis, a sport in the US that has faces many struggles and in which the US has never medaled, has gotten a huge lift in visibility during the Paris Olympics.  This viral video from the day of the … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment