Category Archives: Local

The “Other” Chinatown

In contrast to the broken down, struggling Chinatown of Los Angeles, the original and oldest Chinatown in the US located in San Francisco is a hustling and bustling center of activity in the Bay Area. Established in the early 1850s … Continue reading

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The Aconic™ Podcast – Inspiring Stories of Asian and AAPI Icons

A friend of mine is involved in this recently launched podcast, The Aconic™ Podcast – Inspiring Stories of Asian and AAPI Icons: “The Aconic™ Podcast features candid conversations with successful Asian and AAPI icons who share their personal journeys of … Continue reading

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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

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Black Box Diaries Opens Oct 25th in NYC (Plus Review & Post-Screening Q&A)

The documentary Black Box Diaries: “… Japanese journalist Shiori Ito takes on the most compelling and traumatic assignment imaginable – investigating her own sexual assault. The nonfiction feature from MTV Documentary Films – an expected Oscar contender that has won … Continue reading

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Asian Boyz – A Cambodian Street Gang in SoCal

Asian Americans are often thought of as the “model minority” – a highly educated, wealthy, and good-behaving demographic. Sure, Asian Americans as a whole do have the highest income amongst all racial demographics and are massively overrepresented in higher education, … Continue reading

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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

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Where’s Chinatown?

Chinatown, Los Angeles. Walking through there, it’s obvious that the neighborhood is struggling. With broken sidewalks, empty and abandoned stores, widespread vandalism, and a lack of commercial activity, it’s no wonder that hardly anyone walks through these streets. Though there … Continue reading

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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

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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

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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

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Sunny Choi and other AAPI to watch in the Paris Olympics

The Wife, Brother-in-law, and I watched the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony last night, and what struck me as cameras panned over the Team USA boat was that there were a fair number of Asian faces. We have talked about gymnasts … Continue reading

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Asians are now the Largest Racial Group in the Bay Area

Asians are now the largest racial group in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to results from the 2020 census compiled by the San Jose Mercury News. The percentage of Asians in the six county area grew from 25.5% in … Continue reading

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