We Are One Step Closer to "Bruce Lee Day" in California

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.

California bill to create Bruce Lee Day heads to Gov. Newsom

In case you hadn't heard: we are one step closer to Bruce Lee Day. A plan to officially designate May 17 as Bruce Lee Day in California is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk after winning unanimous approval in the state. The bill would honor the martial arts icon's impact on film, culture and Chinese American history, and would make Lee the first Chinese American commemorated with a day in California.

---

Eugene, Springfield Asian American households still may be targeted by burglary ring

Despite recent prosecutions of a burglary ring targeting Asian American business owners and households in Oregon, local law enforcement say there has been an increase in organized burglary activity, and Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander households in the Eugene and Springfield communities could still be at risk.

---

@thesavbananas G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S😮‍💨 @Kelsie Whitmore #savannahbananas #bananaball #fergie #glamorous ♬ original sound - thesavbananas

Watch Savannah Bananas give Kelsie Whitmore legendary entrance with champagne and Fergie

You gotta smile at the Savannah Bananas giving pitcher Kelsie Whitmore, one of the baddest players in baseball, the glamorous entrance that she deserves, complete with champagne and Fergie. Already a veteran and trailblazer in the women's baseball, she was the first overall draft pick in the inaugural Women's Pro Baseball League, set to debut this year. So yeah, a fitting walk up, Bananas-style.

---

'The Fast and the Furious' took the Asians out of an Asian American story

"Fans of modified Japanese import cars, like me, have a love-hate relationship with the $7 billion Fast and Furious franchise. On one hand, the movies helped popularize modified Japanese cars. People all over the world fell in love with them and the import car culture they publicized. On the other hand, the movies left out so, so much of the story."

---

The Outer Threat

Constance Wu stars in the new sci-fi thriller The Outer Threat, in which the discovery of extraterrestrial life forces an astrophysicist and his family to flee from their home, pursued through the countryside by a relentless and anonymous danger. Their escape for their lives tests the limits between cosmic truth and paranoia. The Outer Threat hits digital platforms on July 10.

Man arrested in hate crime attack on Sikh store owner

Andrew Ramsey assaulted Harwinder Dodd and attempted to steal his turban.



In Oregon, a man is facing a hate crime charge after attacking a Sikh convenience store owner and attempting to steal his turban, in a violent altercation that started with a disagreement over a pack of cigarettes.

On Monday, 24-year-old Andrew Ramsey tried to purchase cigarettes at the 12th Street Market in Salem, but didn’t have identification with him. When the owner, Harwinder Dodd, refused to sell him the cigarettes, Ramsey became angry and attacked him, throwing his shoe at him, pushing him down and attempting to steal his turban.

According to a probable cause statement, Ramsey told police he thought removing the Dodd's turban would disrespect him because he was "Hindu and prays to Vishnu the catfish god." Ramsey was charged with misdemeanor second-degree intimidation -- a hate crime in Oregon -- and fourth-degree assault charges.

More here: Salem police investigate possible hate crime attack on Sikh store owner

Man arrested for vandalizing Asian-owned business in Oregon

39-year-old Bernard Shifman was arrested after shattering the windows of two restaurants in Eugene.



Over the weekend, police in Eugene, Oregon arrested a man in connection with the vandalism of several Asian businesses after he was caught throwing rocks through the windows of two restaurants.

Man arrested in connection with vandalism at two Asian-owned restaurants in Eugene

39-year-old Bernard Shifman was charged with two counts of felony first-degree criminal mischief and one count of disorderly conduct for throwing rocks through the windows of Lotus Garden and Jade Palace.

According to the Eugene Police Department, officers were dispatched to Lotus Garden after receiving reports that a man threw a rock through the front window of the restaurant. While investigating the incident, another caller reported a similar event at Jade Palace. Shifman was arrested in connection with both incidents.

Asian market targeted by vandals in possible hate crime

Yi Shen Market & Restaurant in Eugene, Oregon has been hit seven times in the last six months.



In Oregon, an Asian supermarket has been targeted multiple times by vandals on a monthly basis -- seven times in the last six months, and three times within the last week -- and dammit, the owner has had it.

Local Asian Gem May Be Victim of Target Vandalism

The Yi Shen Market & Restaurant in Eugene has been vandalized seven times since October. Each time, at least one of the store's windows was broken, but nothing was stolen, leading owner Phung Hsieh to suspect these acts might be hate crimes. The most recent incident occurred last Monday.

Oregon politician claims Vietnamese refugees ate dogs

Lane County Commissioner Faye Stewart complains "their culture and their lifestyle didn't mix with ours."



You know what happens when we allow refugees into this country? They'll eat your cats and dogs! Take it from one Oregon politician who claims that Vietnamese refugees who came to the area years ago "harvested" people's pets for food "because their culture and lifestyle didn't mix with ours."

Oregon Senate Candidate Complains About Vietnamese Refugees Eatings Dogs

Faye Stewart, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Oregon made the comments while discussing the current Syrian refugee crisis during a GOP candidate forum. He was apparently telling a story about Vietnamese refugees first arriving to the Pacific Northwest in large numbers in the late 1970s and early '80s.

"[W]e took in some refugees," Stewart recalled. "I believe it was some Vietnamese refugees into this state years ago and it created a huge problem because their culture and their lifestyle didn't mix with ours."

Among other things, Stewart claimed that the Vietnamese refugees "went to their natural ways" and ate people's dogs and cats.

Lynn Nakamoto appointed to Oregon Supreme Court

She will be the first Asian American to sit on the state's highest bench.



This week in Oregon, Governor Kate Brown announced that Lynn Nakamoto has been appointed to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court. She will be the first Asian American to serve on the state's highest bench.

Oregon Governor Announces 'Historic' Supreme Court Appointment

Nakamoto, who has served on the Oregon Court of Appeals since 2011, will replace Judge Virginia L. Lander, who is stepping down from the Oregon Supreme Court at the end of the year.

Nakamoto first began practicing law in Oregon more than 30 years ago:

Missing: 33-year-old Eugene Vibar, last seen November 1

Southeast Portland man has been missing since Halloween.



Have you seen Eugene Vibar? In Oregon, police and loved ones are asking for the public's help searching for 33-year-old Southeast Portland man who has been missing for over two weeks.

Police, friends search for Eugene Vibar, missing SE Portland man

Eugene Vibar was last seen in the early morning hours after Halloween, at 2:30am on November 1, after returning from the HOWL Halloween festival. He left his house in the South East Buckman area to go for a walk. When he didn't return for several days, his roommate filed a missing persons report.

Vibar is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds, with brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a black or blue jacket.

New report examines Asian American & NHPIs in the West

Asian American Advancing Justice releases final report in 'Community of Contrasts' demographic series.



This week, Asian American Advancing Justice released the final report in its A Community of Contrasts demographic report series, examining the growing Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations in the Western U.S., including Arizona, Hawaii, Las Vegas, the Seattle metro area and Oregon.

These demographic reports showcase the contributions and needs of Asian Americans nationwide. The report's disaggregated data illuminates income and educational disparities across Asian ethnicities, highlights Asian American business and economic contributions and underscores the future political power of our rapidly growing demographic. Props to Asian Americans Advancing Justice for always slinging that demographic data.

Here are some highlights from the West report:

Nine killed in Oregon tour bus crash

Some awful news out of Oregon from over the weekend... On Sunday, nine people were killed and dozens injured when a tour bus went over a guardrail and plummeted down a steep embankment: Oregon Tour Bus Crash Kills 9 People, Injures More Than 20 Others.

The charter bus, carrying forty tourists -- mostly from South Korea -- from Canada to Las Vegas, skidded off an icy mountain highway and crashed hundreds of feet down a hill in northeastern Oregon. Four men, four women and one girl were killed, though authorities are still identifying several victims: