Good morning, and welcome to The Yappie’s AAPI politics briefing — your guide to the policy news and activism affecting Asian Americans + Pacific Islanders. Send tips and feedback to [email protected] and support our work by making a donation.
— Edited by Shawna Chen
Here’s what is happening across America…
🏥 After months of disputes and debates, Guam senators voted to rebuild the Guam Memorial Hospital at Ypao Point, Vincent Akimoto writes in a column for Pacific Island Times. The hospital has been a mainstay in the community for over half a century and is the only public hospital serving the entire island.
❤️🩹Hawai‘i state senators have expressed concern over rising hotel room costs for Maui residents displaced by the Lahaina wildfires, Honolulu Civil Beat’s Kevin Dayton reports. Lawmakers from the Aloha State are renewing calls for support from the federal government, which they say still has not arrived.
- In their words: “We are bleeding right now, and it needs to stop, and I understand it’s hard,” state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D) said in a tense hearing. “But there’s no level set by the administration what the cost is to the rest of the operations state government if we don’t get this under control right now.”
🎓 A new study finds that South Asian American applicants are 50% less likely to attend prestigious universities compared to their white peers, NBC Asian America’s Sakshi Venkatraman reports. Legacy admissions likely contributes to that disparity, the study’s authors say.
🎰 The looming expansion of New York casinos could disproportionately target Asian Americans, especially elders, by bombarding them with aggressive advertisements, Rafia Tasleem writes for BNN Breaking.
🎖️ The Sacramento Bee has released its list of 2023 Asian American and Pacific Islander Change Makers, honoring those in the Sacramento region who pushed the boundaries to bolster their community.
- Included on the list are: CivicWell CEO Bernadette Austin, the Institute for the Future mayor-in-residence Christopher Cabaldon, Yolo County Office of Education’s former director of financial services Frances Losana Palu, California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Pat Fong Kushida and ChangeLawyers director of programs Jasjit Singh.
🏠 Asian Americans and Latinos have seen the biggest homeownership gains in recent years despite rising interest rates, Axios’ Astrid Galván and Russell Contreras report.
- By the numbers: 63% of Asian Americans owned a home in 2022 in contrast to 57% in 2012, per a report by NAR.
🎬 A new vanguard of South Asian actors is taking the helm in Hollywood after stars like Kal Penn and Priyanka Chopra paved the way, The Tribune’s Savi Parmar writes.
🧧 Businesses are moving to capitalize on Lunar New Year by experimenting with marketing amid increasing awareness around the holiday, Axios’ Hope King notes.
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