Category Archives: Southern California

Little Tokyo – Small Corner, Big Place

Little Tokyo, Los Angeles – the largest official Japantown in the US and a bustling center of activity in the heart of LA. With strong connections to Japanese culture, cuisine, and media, Little Tokyo is one of the most popular … Continue reading

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Koreatown – Trendy Nightlife or Neighborhood in Decline?

Koreatown, LA – a vibrant and bustling place, especially during the night. Full of bars, restaurants, shops, and nightclubs, the area attracts many young adults and teenagers in the LA region. As the densest neighborhood in LA County, totaling at … 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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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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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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Netflix’s The Brothers Sun: Review (Spoilers)

As we had mentioned back in December, the Netflix series The Brothers Sun premiered January 4th. I just finished binge watching the series, and I don’t think I can say enough great things about it!  The series is about: “When … Continue reading

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Randall Park’s UCLA 2023 Commencement Address

This past week, actor, comedian, writer, director, and UCLA Alumnus Randall Park delivered the keynote speech at all three UCLA 2023 college commencements. In this speech, he walks through his career ups and downs and how they shaped himself to … Continue reading

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SF DocFest: How to Have an American Baby

I had first heard of ‘birth tourism’ from a former co-worker/friend of mine more than a decade ago. When I heard that Chinese women were coming Southern California to give birth so that their kids could get U.S. citizenship, I … Continue reading

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Andrew Yang & Moving Forward Together with the Common Sense Party – San Francisco (4/21/23)

Speakers in the video above – in order of appearance: (click on “Watch on YouTube” for entire timestamped video segments in the video description) Sara Lashanlo, Northern California Volunteer Coordinator, Common Sense Party Andrew Yang, Co-Chair, Forward Party Tom Campbell, … Continue reading

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California Shootings Highlight the Struggles of Asian American Seniors

After the initial shock about hearing about the Half Moon Bay shootings, my next reaction to hearing that Chunli Zhao actions were related to his work on a farm was “why is a 66-year-old working on a farm?” This shooting … Continue reading

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Asian American Commercial Watch: Lanhee Chen for California State Controller

I first heard of Lanhee Chen when he had first worked for then Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney as a policy advisor, and I met him the first time when he was a Hoover Fellow at Stanford University discussing his … Continue reading

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8Asians Exclusive: Interview with Jay Chen for Congress

(Full disclosure: I’ve donated to Jay’s campaign and endorse his run for Congress.) The last time I had interviewed Taiwanese American Jay Chen was back in 2012 when I first met him at the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC). Recently, … Continue reading

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