This Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) hosts the return of its celebrated Rising Chefs Series, a dinner pop-up series convening emerging Asian American chefs as a celebration of food, culture and the spirit of innovation. Taking place within the JACCC’s Toshizo Watanabe Culinary Cultural Center (TWCCC), previously ..read more

By GWEN MURANAKA, RAFU SENIOR EDITOR More than 120 gathered Saturday to celebrate the Valley Japanese Community Center with song, dance, and a tribute to seven decades of achievement. VJCC was founded in 1953 by Japanese Americans returning from the World War II camps who established a small community in what is now Sun Valley ..read more

Kennedy Hayashi is among four students from El Camino College who have been selected as semifinalists for the highly selective Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship program. ECC students Frankee Granados, Pintack Gualotuna, and Emily Hidalgo were also announced as semifinalists. “Congratulations to El Camino’s four Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship semifinalists,” said El Camino ..read more

The ninth annual Delicious Little Tokyo, a one-day festival that celebrates the culinary heritage and rich cultural character of the neighborhood, will be presented on Saturday, May 4, by Go Little Tokyo. This year’s event features a wide array of activities, from food tours that explore Little Tokyo’s hidden gems to immersive, hands-on work-shops conducted ..read more

February 5, 1929 — March 20, 2024 Paul Hitomi Okamura, 95, born on February 5, 1929, in Boyle Heights, and a long-time resident of Montebello, passed away peacefully at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center on March 20, 2024. A Nisei, his early childhood was in Boyle Heights and his parents operated Toyo Florist & Nursery ..read more

A graveside funeral service for James Y. Kawamoto, 98-year-old, Reedley, Calif.-born Nisei, who passed away on April 2, 2024, in Gardena, will be held on Friday, April 26, 2024, at 10 a.m. at Inglewood Park Cemetery, 720 E. Florence Ave., Inglewood, with Rev. Becky Hirata from Faith United Methodist Church officiating. He is survived by ..read more

Private family service for Hisako Terasaki, 95, a Los Angeles-born Nisei and resident of Beverly Hills who passed away peacefully on April 15, was held on Tuesday, April 23, at the WLA United Methodist Church. A public service will be held at a later date. She is survived by her sons, Mark (Rindy), Dr. Keith ..read more

By TIM YUJI YAMAMOTO, RAFU CONTRIBUTOR To kick-start the 49th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach week-end, IndyCar drivers Takuma Sato and Katherine Legge were inducted to the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame, located in front of the Long Beach Convention Center on Pine Avenue, on April 18.They are the 38th and 39th inductees ..read more

Ron Wakabayashi, former regional director, U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service, has been named as the 2024 recipient of the Sue Kunitomi Embrey Legacy Award. The award, named after the late chair of the Manzanar Committee who was one of the founders of the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage and was the driving force behind the ..read more

There are two iconic celebrities who would be great characters in a Shakespearean tragedy… America’s Dad, Bill Cosby, and O.J. Simpson! Both fell from grace. Since the recent passing of O.J. Simpson, I reflected on my “connections” with the “Juice,” a childhood hero. Growing up in San Francisco, I looked up to Simpson, the kid ..read more