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Kamna Shastri

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Filipina American journalist Venice Buhain receives Community Voice Award for more than two decades...

Venice Buhain was that rare fourth grader who had a passion for civic engagement. The local newspaper was a regular visitor on the kitchen table and may have been where she got her  scoops...

“Hunger Mitao!” Food Lifeline and Indian American Council team up to tackle food insecurity

Last April, Raj and Aradhana (Anna) Asava, reached out to Food Lifeline in Seattle. They wanted to start a Seattle effort to get local Indian Americans involved in eradicating hunger. The Asavas started the...

Advocate Indira Trejo wants to get to the bottom of forced labor in agriculture

Read the word “human trafficking” and one might conjure images of young girls being coerced into sex work and prostitution. But forced labor – another form of slavery – comes in a variety of...

South Asians engaged and represented at the decision-making table

Last year, eight South Asians appeared on the November 7th King County Ballot. The recent election of candidates like Rep. Manka Dhingra (D-45) and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-7) is a testament to the fact that South Asians are getting involved

Northeastern University creates new generation of tech leaders

Isabel Su was working as an environmental engineer in New Jersey when she realized her current career path was not providing her with the challenge she desired. She didn’t like the repetitive nature of the work and knew there would not be much space for her to grow in the industry. Su had always liked using math and logic and had long been drawn to the algorithmic problem solving intrinsic to the computer science field

Census 2020: Accounting for everyone

The decennial census happens every 10 years, and the 2020 Census is fast approaching. But unlike previous census counts, the upcoming questionnaire will feature a question about citizenship which has not been on the...

Councilmembers and constituents discuss head tax, affordability, homelessness and economic dependence on big business

Early on Friday morning, constituents gathered at the Metropolist event space in SoDo to express their concerns loud and clear about Seattle City Council’s proposed employee hours tax, or "head tax." The tax would charge Seattle businesses making more than twenty million dollars a year - which make up 3 percent of Seattle’s businesses – 26 cents per employee hour. It generate $75 million dollars a year. Three quarters of this funding would go to developing 1,780 housing units. The remaining 25 percent would finance social service providers, who are currently under a great deal of stress to remedy the homelessness epidemic

LGBTQ stories take the spotlight at 12th annual Aaina, South Asian Women’s Focus

Tasveer has made a name for itself in Seattle over the past decade and a half. In that time the non-profit organization that aims to engage the South Asian community through film and art...

New KVRU station manager Sharon Maeda shares her vision for Rainier Valley Radio

KVRU 105.7 FM just finished testing its signal on September 16. The community radio station off of Rainier Ave is all set to start providing diverse programming by and for Rainier Valley residents. Sharon...

As King County elderly population increases, API elders face unique challenges

Within the next 20 years, the percentage of King County residents who are elderly will grow from 18 percent to 25 percent. Asian Pacific Islander elders will be one of the fastest-growing subgroups. The...