TimesOC: Orange County confronts increase in anti-Asian hate

Good morning and welcome to the TimesOC newsletter.

It’s Friday, March 26. I’m Ben Brazil, bringing you the latest roundup of Orange County news and events.

Orange County has the third-largest Asian American population in the country. But it isn’t immune to an increase of anti-Asian hate crimes and racism that has been spreading across the country over the last year.

This week, Seal Beach police were investigating a racist letter that was sent to an 82-year-old Korean American woman following the death of her husband, Byong Choi.

Reporter Andrew Campa wrote that the letter was sent to the widow days after the Atlanta-area shootings, though her daughter never gave it to her to spare her from the pain.

“Now that Byong is gone makes it one less Asian to put up with in Leisure World,” the letter said. “You frickin Asians are taking over our American community!”

The Chois’ daughters withheld the identity of their mother to save her from any more racist acts.

“I’m not sad. No, I’m angry and I want to talk about it,” said Claudia Choi, one of the Chois’ four daughters. “I want to tell people that this is happening because I think that people just assume that this doesn’t happen in real life.”

Also this week, Irvine police released footage of a young man allegedly assaulting a 69-year-old Asian man following a skirmish between their dogs.

Irvine police spokeswoman Karie Davies said late Thursday that they had arrested a suspect for the alleged crime, which occurred last Friday at Sierra Vista Middle School.

Irvine police said the motive for the alleged assault at the school isn’t clear yet, but they have not ruled out the possibility of it being a hate crime.

These acts come just about a week after eight people were gunned down in Atlanta-area spas, including six Asian women. The suspect in that case denies racism was a motive.

OC Human Relations Chief Executive Alison Edwards told reporter Vera Castaneda that although the stats are still being finalized, preliminary data show a tenfold increase in hate incidents during the past year in the county.

Earlier this month, reporter Hannah Fry wrote that neighbors of an Asian family in Ladera Ranch started taking night-watch shifts after teenagers repeatedly harassed the family at night, ringing their doorbell, yelling racial insults and pounding on the door.

But the community has been coming together in protest of the growing hate and to honor the victims of these alleged crimes.

Castaneda reported this week that a candlelight vigil was held Tuesday night in honor of the victims of the Atlanta and Boulder, Colo. mass shootings.

The gathering was held in front of the Advance Beauty College in Garden Grove by Nailing it for America, a volunteer program comprised of beauty and spa professionals. Some of those who attended the event were beauty school students.

As part of the event, a group of instructors from the Vietnam Martial Art Center provided self-defense tips to attendees.

“It was important for us to have this because the people that got killed that day were part of the spa and health industry where our students, who are primarily Asian females, are going into,” Linh Nguyen, vice president of Advance Beauty College, told Castaneda. “We wanted to empower them, so that they can learn some skills to be able to feel a little bit better.”

Supporters attended a candlelight vigil in Community Center Park in Garden Grove on Tuesday.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

NEWS

— The O.C. Fair will return this summer. The fair’s board of directors decided Thursday to bring it back as coronavirus case rates decline and vaccinations continue to be administered.

— Orange County officials decided this week to allocate another $125,000 to a local body transport service due to the high number of human bodies that have been delivered to the coroner’s office since the pandemic began.

— Orange County could enter a less-restrictive reopening tier as early as next week. The county would allow bars to reopen outdoors, and amusement parks, restaurants, movie theaters, churches and zoos can increase their capacities.

— Newport Beach businesses won’t have to pay business license taxes for a year.

— A Huntington Beach man was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault of a minor.

— Immigration-rights activists held a car rally outside of Rep. Young Kim’s office on Wednesday as part of a national effort to advocate for legal status for 11 million immigrants.

— The Ocean View School District is planning to bring elementary school students back to campus on Monday.

— Though COVID-19 cases continue to decline, a potential hunger crisis still looms in Orange County. The county’s two major food banks — Second Harvest Food Bank and the OC Food Bank — are expecting to deliver millions of pounds of food this year, but they will need to raise millions of dollars in order to fill the county’s needs.
— Disneyland has big plans for the future. The theme park is aiming to develop new attractions, shops and restaurants over the next several years.

SPORTS

— A roundup of sports games from Orange County beach cities.

— David Fletcher doesn’t just play second base for the Angels, he can also solve a Rubik’s cube.

ARTS

— The Rose River Memorial will be on display at the Christ Cathedral Cultural Center until June 30 to commemorate the lives lost to COVID-19.

— The Segerstrom Center for the Arts is holding outdoor classes and other events as it returns from the yearlong shutdown.

OPINION

— Joseph Klunder wrote that countries that took the virus seriously early on in the pandemic have recovered faster than those that dismissed the virus.