Vol. 89, No. 61, September 21, 1979. 8 pages. View this issue
Redress led the news in this eight-page issue. The Marina City Council became the first civic body to pass a resolution backing S. 1647, the JACL-supported bill for a commission to study redress, and Seaside followed on Sept. 6. Senator Daniel Inouye spoke to nearly 500 people about the bill in Southeast Los Angeles, and Cecil Suzuki reported on it. Columns by John Tateishi, on answering anti-Nikkei letters in the redress debate, and John J. Saito, on the families of Terminal Island, carried the subject further.
Other items include Clifford Uyeda’s column on the sentencing of Wendy Yoshimura, and Harry Honda’s note on why the paper shrank to fewer pages. A Seattle benefit with Mako, Pat Suzuki and Tina Chen will fund a plane to Minidoka for a Day of Remembrance. Bill Hosokawa wrote about a summer with his grandchildren.
What’s in this issue
National
- Marina City Council First to Support S. 1647 Redress Study Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Marina City Council became the first civic body to pass a resolution supporting the JACL-backed S. 1647 bill to create a commission studying redress. Seaside followed on Sept. 6, and other cities were asked to join.
- Supreme Court to Hear Third Affirmative Action Case: Fullilove vs. Kreps, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court will take up Fullilove v. Kreps, challenging the 10 percent minority contractor set-aside in federal public works grants. The case raises broader questions about race-conscious policies after Bakke and Weber.
- Ventura D.A. Faults Filipino American Doctor with Perjury, by Virginia Hom Fung, page 1. Navy physician Dr. Bienvenido Alona faces perjury charges in Ventura County after an FBI agent testified he had suspected child abuse in a toddler’s death. Supporters argue the Navy’s own investigation fully exonerated him and have set up a defense fund.
- Radio Documentary on Japanese Americans Four Generations of Assimilation, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Western Public Radio completed an hour-long documentary featuring forty Nikkei community leaders discussing intermarriage, the effects of the WW2 evacuation, and the JACL. It is scheduled to air on KQED-FM.
Community
- Fresno Nikkei Bid for School and Water Board Votes, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Five Fresno County Nikkei are candidates in school and conservation district races. Harry Hiraoka faces a challenge for his community college trustee seat after 13 years of service.
- HUD Approves Retiree Housing: Nikkei Village in Pacoima, by P.C. Staff, page 1. HUD approved Nikkei Village, a 100-unit rent supplement retirement facility at the San Fernando Valley Japanese Community Center. Construction is expected to be completed in about two years.
- Operation 80s Launched in NC-WNDC, by Kari Nobuyuki, page 2. National JACL Executive Director Kari Nobuyuki describes attending the NC-WNDC quarterly meeting in Turlock to test the new Operation 80s long-range plan. He reports a positive reception from delegates and youth reorganization plans.
- East Bay Issei Housing Bazaar and Diablo Valley JACL Fund-Raisers, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Diablo Valley JACL is raising funds through a chicken teriyaki booth, a Adobe Savings luncheon, and a Christmas bazaar booth. Proceeds will support the chapter’s scholarship fund and East Bay Issei Housing.
- Anti-Nikkei Bias Worries JACL at Eastern-Midwest District Convention, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The joint Eastern-Midwest District Council convention in Bloomington, Minn. recommended a national JACL civil rights project to combat employment discrimination against Japanese Americans. Delegates also backed support for Wendy Yoshimura and Mas Yamasaki’s case.
Incarceration & Redress
- Up to Nisei to Shut WW2 Chapter on Evacuation, by Cecil Suzuki, page 1. Senator Daniel Inouye spoke to nearly 500 people at the Southeast Japanese Community Center about his bill S. 1647 to create a presidential commission on wartime relocation and internment. He urged Nisei to resolve the redress issue for their comrades and for the Sansei.
- Terminal Island, by John J. Saito, page 6. Saito recalls his childhood visit to Terminal Island and describes a JACL-sponsored documentary film on what happened to 500 Japanese families there in 1942. He notes the project needs funding and JACL support.
Military & Veterans
- EEOC Pilot Program to Reduce Backlog of Federal Job Bias Complaints, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The EEOC launched a pilot program to overhaul its backlogged investigation of federal employment discrimination complaints. Five agencies representing over 50 percent of the federal Title VII workload are involved, in eleven pilot cities.
Arts & Entertainment
- Stars Set for Seattle Benefit, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Seattle JACL is raising $15,000 to charter a plane to Minidoka for a Day of Remembrance. Mako, Pat Suzuki and Tina Chen will perform a concert reading of Frank Chin’s The Year of the Dragon.
JACL
- EXECOM Minutes: FY 1980 Budget Trimmed $110,000, by P.C. Staff, page 3. At its Sept. 7-9 meeting, the JACL Executive Committee revised the FY 1980 budget downward by about $110,000 due to membership revenue shortfalls. Cutbacks could be restored by April 1980 if revenue allows.
Commentary
- Justice, by Clifford Uyeda, page 4. Uyeda examines the sentencing of Wendy Yoshimura to one to fifteen years for renting a garage used to store weapons, contrasting her punishment with the clemency given Patricia Hearst. He questions whether equal justice under the law is truly available to Asian Americans.
- Cutback/Restoration, by Harry Honda, page 4. Editor Harry Honda explains the Pacific Citizen’s cutback from 12 to fewer pages as a result of a JACL memorandum of understanding on austerity measures. He says the reduction is meant to show that more membership is needed.
- Sticky and Gooey Generation, by Sachi Seko, page 4. Seko reflects on the 1970s as the me generation as the decade nears its end. She offers personal observations on how people have changed over the years.
- Grandchildren Help Summer Slip By, by Bil Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa describes a August gathering in Denver of his grandchildren from East and West coasts. He recounts fishing trips and everyday moments with the children.
- Dealing with Anti-Nikkei Backlash, by John Tateishi, page 5. Tateishi responds to letters in a Torrance newspaper that repeat wartime stereotypes about Japanese Americans in the redress debate. He argues the misinformation must be countered with facts.
- JACL’s Positive Role, by Bill Yoshino, page 6. Yoshino argues that JACL’s founding principles remain valid as Asian populations grow and Japanese Americans become less identifiable. He calls for cooperation with other Asian groups and a more aggressive civil rights posture.
- Carter & the Energy Crisis, by Barry T. Saiki, page 8. Saiki argues that current American malaise stems from causes rooted in the war and postwar years, which past administrations treated only as symptoms. He contends that the loss of community benevolence is a deeper problem than energy policy.
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