News

A celebration of decades of community with Nobuko Miyamoto

The last time Nobuko Miyamoto performed in San Francisco, she had black hair. But the octogenarian musician and activist still had the groove and the movements as she commanded the stage for “120,000 Stories” at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco’s Presidio Aug. 5. Miyamoto, whose career spans decades, reflected on her life, which began […]

New Ohlone College President Charles Sasaki rolls up his sleeves

While most of his family is in Hawai‘i, Charles Sasaki’s arrival in California to take over Ohlone College in Fremont, Calif. is somewhat of a homecoming for the Gosei — or fifth-generation Japanese American — administrator. “My parents met in college in Los Angeles, so that’s why I was born in California. So I think, […]

Santa Clara Co.: Sheriff’s office denies forcibly removing arrested woman’s hijab

The Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office denied Aug. 5 that one of its deputies forcibly removed a hijab of a Muslim woman that was arrested and booked in a Milpitas correctional facility. The statement came days after the Council on American-Islamic Relations in the Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA) said the Muslim woman, Asia Aden, had her hijab […]

Marin Co.: Muslim civil rights group condemns racist flyers left on driveways

The nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization has condemned the recent distribution of flyers containing racist and antisemitic language in North Bay cities. The flyers were left on residents’ driveways in Larkspur and Corte Madera on July 30, according to the Central Marin Police Authority. Zahra Billoo, the executive director of the San […]

A deep dive into history restores credit where it’s due for Nisei diver

MONTEREY, Calif. — It’s not uncommon for someone to have a “big fish” story, but the Hattoris had a “big mollusk” story. Roy Hattori, a Nisei commercial abalone diver based out of Monterey, claimed he had discovered a new species of abalone off the coast of Santa Barbara, and it turned out to be a […]

Longtime OB-GYN to retire, focus on playing the ‘ukulele

ORINDA, Calif. — Dr. Jim Hisao Nishimine rode on a C-130 transport plane flying over Turkey in 1974. Drafted into the military during the Vietnam War, he served his two years at the tail end of the war as he participated in the Berry Plan to finish his residency before joining the military. Stationed at […]

SF: Alleged assault on elderly woman result of insufficient mental health supports, advocates say

For the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, the arrest and charging of a man accused of severely assaulting an 88-year-old woman July 14 is another example of an Asian hate crime in a city run amok with crime. For the defendant’s lawyers and advocates, he represents what happens when people with little resources seek help […]

Has anti-Asian hate crime really decreased?

A new report from the California Department of Justice notes that hate crimes against Asian Americans have dramatically dropped since last year. But civil rights advocates say the data does not accurately reflect the threats the community continues to face. Hate crimes against Asian Americans dropped by 43% in 2022 in California, according to a […]

Fans of martial arts legend Bruce Lee fondly remember his life philosophy 50 years after his death

HONG KONG — Fans of late martial arts legend Bruce Lee, who broke negative stereotypes around Asian men in films, gathered in Hong Kong recently to commemorate their idol’s death half a century ago, remembering his legacy and his life philosophy on persistence. Lee, who was born in San Francisco but raised in the Asian […]

LAPD report shows 15% increase in hate crimes in 2022

LOS ANGELES — Hate crimes in Los Angeles rose by 15% in 2022, according to a report shared by the Los Angeles Police Department July 25, which attributed the increase to expanded outreach efforts that encourage the city’s most vulnerable communities to report such crimes. The department’s analysis revealed 701 hate crimes and hate incidents […]