Hello, everyone!

A preschool in Hawaii has been partly shut down due to concerns of lead in their drinking water, the latest in a string of incidents as a majority of Hawaii elementary schools have tested positive for the same issue. 

Lead exposure in Hawaii schools has prevailed since at least last year. This most recent shutdown coincides with the Department of Human Services own statement on the matter: “Lead exposure within our community has been at the forefront in recent news impacting both keiki and adults. This issue has always been important to DHS and we consistently work with DOH and take an active role in ensuring that keiki in child care are not exposed to lead or any other hazardous conditions.”

• S.F. Chinatown’s new leadership: San Francisco native Alice Lam has made history by becoming the first woman to lead San Francisco’s Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, a 170-year-old institution and bedrock for Chinese American immigrants.

• Hawaii students undeterred by pandemic: The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted public school reading test scores in numerous states, but a new study shows Hawaii students grade 3 through 8 are doing just fine. 

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• Utah’s Asian Cultural Center coming soon?: University of Utah students are pushing to create an Asian cultural center for its AAPI students. A resolution for the center has passed and a petition has already reached 400 signatures since September. 

• Iran’s secret government program: Newly revealed hacked documents show how an Iranian government program allows authorities surveillance and control access to people’s phones.

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• Thousands of slaves held captive: A new report uncovers the shocking estimation of 100,000 human trafficking victims lured to Cambodia with the promise of work. 

• Seattle's South Asian film festival: The Tasveer South Asian Film Festival starts on Thursday and will feature films from 17 countries in 15 different languages.  

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• Hawaii’s International Film Festival: Elsewhere, Hawaii is having a film festival of its own, the 42nd of its kind and featuring a whole slew of international films, including 14 from South Korea. 

• Japanese Iron Chef Morimoto will open a primarily Chinese restaurant in Napa. 
   
• A dad in China has run 53 marathons with his disabled son - and has more to go. 
   
• Hirokazu Tanaka in Japan broke a new world record for the largest gathering of people all with the same name in one place… all 178 of them. 
   
• China has announced new regulations for celebrities and product endorsements, banning those with “lapsed morals” from brand deals. 
   
• Climate change is changing fish diets, meaning thinner and smaller catches for the world’s best sushi restaurants.