Hello, everyone!   

Two new updates from the investigation of the shooting at Half Moon Bay sheds new light. 

The two farms where the shootings took place, California Terra Garden and Concord Farms, did not have the necessary farmworker housing permits which would have subjected the farm to annual inspections by the county's health department. Officials are now examining why the permits were not obtained. Eight families were living on the California Terra Garden property at the time of the shooting, but the number of workers living at Concord Farms is unknown. The latter farm also faced issues with the Planning and Building Department in 2019, receiving a notice of violation and a stop order on new worker housing.

Additionally, the shooter, Chunli Zhao, told investigators that he was motivated by anger over a $100 repair bill for a forklift damaged at work. San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe confirmed that Zhao was upset over the bill and blamed a co-worker for the collision that caused the damage.

• Taiwanese Americans Vivienne Chang and Eugenia Yoh are the author and illustrator duo of the children’s book “This Is Not My Home.” The book is centered around the character Lily who does not like moving back to Taiwan with her family to take care of her elderly relative. Lily eventually learns what home means to her.

• Remembering AAPI journalists: Two notable AAPI journalists, Randy Hagihara and Gregory Yee, passed away earlier this month. Hagihara was a veteran journalist and retired editor at The Los Angeles Times who passed away at 72 on Jan. 7, 2023 after battling esophageal cancer. He was born in LA and had a four-year Air Force career before starting his journalism career in 1979 at Koreatown Weekly leading to over two decades at The Los Angeles Times. Yee, 33, was a breaking news reporter at The Los Angeles Times who passed away on Jan. 4 from complications from a respiratory issue. Yee was a Los Angeles native and UC Irvine graduate who had worked at several newsrooms, including the Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina. The Asian American Journalists Association Los Angeles Chapter and The Los Angeles Times will start a scholarship in honor of Yee to help early career journalists. 

...

• Oakland’s first Lunar New Year parade: The city’s first Lunar New Year Parade took place on Sunday in historic Chinatown. The parade was a combination of celebration and healing for the Asian community which has been hit hard by the pandemic and a rise in anti-Asian crimes. The new mayor of Oakland, Sheng Thao, took part in the parade and called it "a chance to uplift the community and bring new, revived energy back to the space." The parade was filled with vibrant colors and cultural displays, including a float carrying a 92-year-old Chinese opera star, a gold-latticed float carrying the mayor, and marchers in embroidered silks and headdresses.

• Missing boy in China found: The disappearance of 15-year-old Hu Xinyu from a boarding school in southern China's Jiangxi province has raised questions among the public surrounding the circumstances of his death. After more than 100 days of exhaustive police searches, Hu's body was found in the woods near his school on Sunday, becoming a top trending topic on China's social media, Weibo, as well as highlighting the issue of missing children in China. The Zhongmin Social Assistance Institute reports that a million people went missing in China in 2020.

...

• A new champion: Gaon Choi of South Korea broke Chloe Kim's record as the youngest X Games snowboard halfpipe champion, winning at the age of 14 on Saturday in Aspen, Colorado. Choi, the world junior champion, became the first Winter X Games medalist for South Korea. Chloe Kim, who is taking this season off, posted that she feels like a proud mom as the future of snowboarding is in good hands. 

• ‘Ay-Yo’ it’s finally here: K-pop boy group NCT127 released their repackage album “Ay-Yo” on Monday, a follow up to their album “2 Baddies.” This new work contains all the tracks from the “2 Baddies” album and three new songs, including “Ay-Yo” and side numbers “DJ” and “Skyscraper.” They recently wrapped up the Americas portion of their tour, starting in Chicago earlier this month and concluding Jan. 28 in Mexico City.  

...

• Marie Kondo is messy: Marie Kondo, the author of international best-selling books on tidiness and decluttering, has given up on keeping her home tidy all the time. She told the New York Times that the birth of her third child made her realize the importance of spending time with her kids. This news is likely to be a relief to those who have struggled to keep up with Kondo's standards. Her latest book, "Marie Kondo's Kurashi at Home: How to Organize Your Space and Achieve Your Ideal Life," focuses on finding happiness and calm in the midst of daily chaos, such as cooking a favorite meal, cleaning out a junk drawer, or gardening.

• A woman drove her car into an 85°C Bakery Cafe in Irvine, California. 
   
• The father of Sam Kim, a South Korean singer-songwriter, was fatally shot during a robbery in Seattle. 
   
• The original anime director of “Cowboy Bebop” voiced his disapproval of the Netflix live-action remake. 
   
• The Google Doodle on Google’s homepage is in celebration of boba tea. 
   
• A boy from Bangladesh ended up in Malaysia after hiding in a shipping container during a game of hide and seek.   

GoFundMe Monterey Park: Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), in partnership with The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF), Stop AAPI Hate, Gold House, Stand with Asian Americans and Chinatown Service Center, has organized a GoFundMe page for the benefit of the victims. As of this writing, the campaign has raised over $904,000. 

GoFundMe Half Moon Bay: The GoFundMe for the victims and surviving families of the Half Moon Bay Mass shooting. The funds are organized by several Bay Area organizations and others including Stop AAPI Hate, The Asian American Foundation, Hate Is A Virus, and Stand with Asian Americans. It has over $16,000 raised at the time of writing. 

Mymy Nhan’s GoFundMe: Individual page for Mymy Nhan’s funeral funds. 

Xiujuan Yu’s GoFundMe: Individual page for Xiujuan Yu’s funeral funds.  

Ming Wei Ma’s GoFundMe: Individual page for Ming Wei Ma’s funeral funds. 

Memorial and resource center: A memorial honoring the lives lost and survivors has been established at Monterey Park City Hall located on 320 W. Newmark Avenue. A resource center is open at the Langley Senior Citizen Center in Monterey Park.  

Asian Mental Health Collective: A list of mental health and other great resources.

Yellow Chair Collective Therapy Sessions: Yellow Chair Collective are offering six free trauma-informed therapy sessions available in English, Mandarin Chinese and Korean.  

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California hotline: Confidential hotline available in seven Asian languages.