a mixed plate of Japanese American news and culture
Two Japanese American teachers from Hawai‘i were recently honored by President Barack Obama at the White House with Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Liane Tanigawa and Seanyelle Yagi were among more than 100 educators from across the country who received awards from Obama on Jan. 6 as part of his “Educate [...]
LOS ANGELES — Residents, workers and business people in Little Tokyo, who had been concerned about the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) plan to possibly run a light rail connector line above ground through this historic Japanese American enclave, heard better news recently with a proposal by a community group for a fully [...]
ISLETON, Calif. — Unfamiliar with the Sacramento Delta region but lured by Japantown lore and a faint recollection of actor-comedian Pat Morita claiming his roots in Isleton, my family and I visited the riverfront town. Driving the two blocks of Main Street, we easily found Chinatown with its distinctive architecture and remnants of Chinese characters [...]
NEW YORK — Professor Jeanette C. Takamura, dean of the Columbia University School of Social Work, has been honored with The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, for her contributions to the promotion of social welfare policies and programs and the status of Japanese Americans. First awarded in 1875, the Order [...]
SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — San Leandro High School’s new freshman campus will be named after the late Fred T. Korematsu — who challenged orders to go to a World War II American concentration camp — following a unanimous vote by the school board. “I hope my father’s story will be an inspiration to high school [...]
A few dozen community members gathered at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC) in San Francisco’s Japantown on Dec. 6 to discuss the state of the community’s Japanese American newspapers. The forum — co-sponsored by the Nichi Bei Foundation, the Japanese American National Library, the National Japanese American Historical Society and [...]
Trombone player Jon Hatamiya is only in high school, but he’s about to have the unique opportunity to rub shoulders with notable Grammy Award-winning artists. Hatamiya, 17, was one of 28 students from around the country selected from a field of 75 entrants to participate in the 2010 Grammy Jazz Ensembles program. He will be [...]
On Dec. 4, Edith Oto received a degree from the School of Nursing at the University of California San Francisco. She also turned 90. The Napa native was one of the 68 former UCSF students who was granted an honorary degree almost 68 years after Executive Order 9066 derailed her education. Diplomas were handed out [...]
California Polytechnic State University junior Charles M. Tamae’s body was found on Dec. 4 at Cerro San Luis, a popular hiking destination in San Luis Obispo, Calif., located less than a mile from campus, city police told the Nichi Bei Weekly. San Luis Obispo Police Department Administrative Captain Chris Stanley said that Tamae was reported [...]
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