lazy link roundup

Ask About the Gentrification of Chinatown: Last week, Peter Kwong, Hunter College professor and author of several books on Chinatown, responded to New York Times readers' questions on job loss and gentrification in New York's Chinatown.

Voices That Matter: Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce: Here's a brief interview with Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, who talks about his goals -- and the many programs -- for helping small-business owners succeed.

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts: President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Arun Majumdar for Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy, Department of Energy.

Chinese babies stolen by officials for foreign adoption: The Los Angeles Times has a disturbing story about areas in rural China where greedy officials took babies violating the government's one-child policy, and sold them for foreign adoption, each fetching $3,000 in adoption fees.

Couple tormented by tragic oversight: This is an extremely sad story about Jing and Kesen Hu, an Austin couple who lost their 18-month-old son when he was left unattended in a locked car in 102-degree weather.

Asian-focused charter school urged for city: In Quincy, Massachusetts, developers are planning a charter school that would mix Asian immigrants and native English speakers and draw on both Western and Eastern educational traditions in an attempt to prepare students for "international readiness."

A Design Generation Rising: The Wall Street Journal has an article on the growing number of young Asian American fashion designers who command growing clout in the fashion world, including Thakoon Panichgul, Jason Wu, Philip Lim and Alexander Wang.

New York Philharmonic Gets A New Director: The New York Philharmonic's new music director, Alan Gilbert, is not only the first native-born New Yorker to hold the post, he grew up as an "orchestra brat" -- his parents played in the violin section, and his mom still does.

Microsoft Xbox exec Shane Kim leaving company: Shane Kim, Xbox vice president for strategy and business development, is retiring after 19 years at Microsoft. He'll leave at the end of the year, after helping with the transition.

Lisa Ling To Return To "The View" As Guest-Host: Lisa Ling, former co-host of The View, will be back on the show as a guest co-host for two days next month, October 5 and 6. She'll sub for regular co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck (blech) who's on maternity leave.

Newlywed Game to Feature First Gay Couple: Star Trek's George Takei and Husband: GSN has announced that George Takei and his husband, Brad Altman, will make television history as the first gay couple to compete on The Newlywed Game.

Lee Byung Hun To Start Filming As Storm Shadow For G.I. Joe 2 Possibly At The End Of The Year: According to several Korean articles, Lee Byun Hun will be back as Storm Shadow in the next G.I. Joe movie.