Chino Y Chicano

Send us Fan Mail There is good news to report in Matt Chan's battle against kidney cancer.  Immunotherapy is working. While the battle is not over, there is progress and hope. Read: https://southseattleemerald.org/voices/2025/07/22/masked-men-are-detaining-people-when-will-washingtons-leaders-protect-us Read: https://nieman.harvard.edu/mark-trahant-wins-the-2025-i-f-stone-medal-for-journalist...

Send us Fan Mail  In Seattle's Chinatown International District, there is outrage over King County plans to construct a homeless shelter complex adjacent to the CID. Community members say the CID is already overwhelmed by crime from homeless encampments. They want the county to pause the project. On this episode, we talk with Seattle University Professor Emerita Marie Wong about the controver...

Send us Fan Mail  Patti Cole-Tindall made history when she became King County Sheriff. She is the first person of color in the county’s history to land the job. Cole-Tindall is also the first Black woman to serve as a sheriff in the state of Washington. The new sheriff joins the Chino Y Chicano to talk about her non-traditional journey to the post and the challenges ahead with the need for more of...

Send us Fan Mail Seattle Interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz joins the Chino Y Chicano to talk crime, gun violence, homeless encampments, staffing, and his desire to be selected as the city's full time top cop.  Read: https://southseattleemerald.org/voices/2025/07/22/masked-men-are-detaining-people-when-will-washingtons-leaders-protect-us Read: https://nieman.harvard.edu/mark-trahant-wins-the-20...

Send us Fan Mail After finding out in May he had a cancerous tumor on his right kidney, Matt Chan has endured a rollercoaster ride of emotions. His oncologist changed his treatment plan after tests found cancer in the lymph nodes and a lung. In early August, Matt started immunotherapy, a treatment aimed at shrinking the tumor and curbing the spread of the cancer. This week, Matt tells us there is...

Send us Fan Mail Does the mainstream media give more coverage to missing white women than missing women of color? Is it a matter of white privilege? What are the stakes involved? The Chino Y Chicano take up that topic and more race related media issues with Seattle Times columnist Naomi Ishisaka. Along with her column, Ishisaka is the Times’ assistant managing editor for diversity, inclusion, and...

Send us Fan Mail Jonathan Choe joins the Chino Y Chicano to talk about his coverage of homelessness in Seattle.  Choe is a veteran broadcast journalist who now covers homelessness as a senior fellow for the Discovery Institute's  Center on Wealth & Poverty.  A major project of the Center  is the Fixhomelessness.org website which focuses on and reports about the root causes of homelessness...

Send us Fan Mail Fenit Nirappil joined the Washington Post health & science team in 2020 to cover the government response to the coronavirus pandemic and vaccine distribution. Recently, his reporting has focused on the monkeypox outbreak and the Biden Administration's decision to declare a public health emergency.  He joins the Chino Y Chicano to talk about the concerns and challenges in...

Send us Fan Mail Sound Transit is considering several options for a second light rail station in Seattle’s Chinatown International District. Activist Betty Lau opposes anything that will harm the people, the businesses and the regional legacy of the C-I-D. Lau joins the Chino Y Chicano to explain her concerns and what she sees as a lack of respect for the  Chinatown International District. https:/...

Send us Fan Mail In May,  the Chino, Matt Chan was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on his right kidney. Since then, his life has been a roller coaster ride of doctor visits, CAT scans, blood draws, anemia, on and off surgery plans,  and uncertainty.  On this episode, Matt shares dramatic news about his condition and what is ahead as he faces cancer.  Read: https://southseattleemerald.org/voices/2...

Send us Fan Mail The Covid-19 pandemic revealed that healthcare inequities related to race and economics are widespread in communities of color. But Celestina Barbosa-Leiker, PH. D, and Vice Chancellor of Research at Washington State University Health Sciences in Spokane, says those inequities were present long before the pandemic took hold. Barbosa-Leiker joins the Chino Y Chicano to talk about h...

Send us Fan Mail Veteran Journalist and author Ray Suarez joins the Chino Y Chicano with excellent analysis of the January 6th House Committee Hearings, the recent controversial rulings of the conservative dominated Supreme Court, and the state of our fragile democracy. Suarez also talks about the professional and health challenges he endured in recent years as he faced ageism and colon cancer. He...

Send us Fan Mail In May, the Chino, Matt Chan learned he had a cancerous mass on one of his kidneys. On this episode, Matt talks with the Chicano, Enrique Cerna about the diagnosis, his upcoming surgery to remove the mass and how he is preparing himself mentally as he faces cancer.  Read: https://southseattleemerald.org/voices/2025/07/22/masked-men-are-detaining-people-when-will-washingtons-leader...

Send us Fan Mail Joël Barraquiel Tan is the new guy at Seattle's Wing Luke Museum.  On this episode of the Chino Y Chicano podcast, Tan talks about his journey from the Philippines to the U.S., to California, Hawaii, and Seattle where in April he became the new executive director of the Wing Luke Museum. What prompted him to seek the job and what does it hope to accomplish? Join us as we find...

Send us Fan Mail Seattle's Little Saigon and the Chinatown-International District have been battered over the past two years by the Covid-19 pandemic, homelessness and crime. On this episode, the Chino Y Chicano talk with Quynh Pham, executive director of the Friends of Little Saigon and co-chair of the Seattle Chinatown-International District , Public Safety Council. We talk about the econom...

Send us Fan Mail The Chino and Chicano celebrate Mother's Day as they reminisce about their mothers Rosie Chan and Josephine Lopez Cerna. Read: https://southseattleemerald.org/voices/2025/07/22/masked-men-are-detaining-people-when-will-washingtons-leaders-protect-us Read: https://nieman.harvard.edu/mark-trahant-wins-the-2025-i-f-stone-medal-for-journalistic-independence/ Read: https://www.24t...

Send us Fan Mail On March 31st, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into a law a bill that created the first in the nation statewide alert system for missing Indigenous people. State representative Debra Lekanoff sponsored the bill.  Lekanoff is a Democrat, who represents the 40th legislative district. She joins the Chino Y Chicano for a powerful conversation about the importance of the legislat...

Send us Fan Mail Luam Wersom started working as a dishwasher at the Seattle restaurant Mojito 22 years ago. Today, he is the chef and owner. How did an Ethiopian immigrant go from dishwater to owner of a popular eatery that serves classic Latin American dishes from Cuba, Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela? Find out as Wersom shares his fascinating story with the Chino Y Chicano. It is a story of surv...

Send us Fan Mail It was the slap seen around the world. It left us stunned, shocked and wondering if comedian Chris Rock deserved to get slapped by actor Will Smith. We are still asking why Smith would do so in front of millions of people at the Oscars. This much is certain, the Chino Y Chicano are disgusted about what happened.  Read: https://southseattleemerald.org/voices/2025/07/22/masked-men-a...

Send us Fan Mail After 18 years as International Community Health Services president and CEO, Teresita Batayola says she plans to retire from the post in December of this year. ICHS is  Washington state’s largest Asian and Pacific Islander non-profit organization providing primary health care services. Batayola has been at the helm of ICHS as it has grown to provide health services to a wide range...

Send us Fan Mail Sara Porkalob is on her way to Broadway for a role in the revival of the musical “1776”. But before she leaves for the Great White Way, she joins the Chino Y Chicano for a humorous, but sometimes serious conversation about her career as a Seattle based performance artist. Porkalob also talks about the success of the Dragon Cycle, a trilogy of plays she created and performs that ho...

Send us Fan Mail Roberta Romero is the executive producer of the KING 5 News Facing Race unit. She is a veteran journalist, a wife, mom, and a recovering alcoholic. In a candid, and entertaining conversation with the Chino Y Chicano, Roberta discusses the roots of her alcoholism and why she talks about it so openly.  Read: https://southseattleemerald.org/voices/2025/07/22/masked-men-are-detaining-...

Send us Fan Mail The Chino and Chicano talk with Bao Tran, writer and director of the excellent action, comedy Paper Tigers. The movie was shot in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District and has been called one of the best action movies of 2021. Bao Tran talks about the long journey to make the film, its success and how it has opened doors for him as a director. #ThePaperTigers http://thepapert...

Send us Fan Mail Seattle City Council President Debora Juarez is proud to be the first indigenous person to hold the post, but she is quick to point out there is far more to her resume. She has practiced law and served as a judge, skills she plans to put to good use as council president. In a candid conversation, Juarez talks about the challenges facing the council, the mayor and the city, and how...

Send us Fan Mail Eugene Tagawa is a good friend of the Chino Y Chicano. Our friendship began in the late 70s when all of us worked at KING 5 television. Eugene worked there for more than 30 years as a graphic artist.  Eugene's hobby is photography. Over the years, he has photographed countless Asian community activities free of charge. He has captured the images of iconic events in the Chinat...