Latest news with #Yao
Ottawa Citizen
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Bell High School valedictorian defended by advocates after pro-Palestinian remarks
A part of Bell High School valedictorian Elizabeth Yao's speech mentioning the war in Gaza initiated a call from her principal, asking Yao to stay home the following Monday. Article content Now, some advocates are showing support for Yao and demanding that the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) issue her a public apology. Article content Article content 'I think people are using the platforms they have to make important statements. That, I think, is totally legitimate,' said Sam Hersh, a member of Independent Jewish Voices Ottawa. 'Touching on politics and the commencement speech and talking about what students and younger generations are going to face is probably appropriate and contextual for the times that we're currently living in.' Article content Article content Yao's Valedictorian speech largely focused on the memories she made after four years at Bell High School. Article content Article content In videos and a written copy of her speech circulating online, Yao reminisces about preparing 200 waffles with her peers for a fundraiser. She thanks the custodial staff for their reliance and speed, and the front office workers for supplying students with forks to eat their lunch. Yao also mentions her fellow students, saying their participation in school events made them 'the heart of our high school experiences.' Article content 'As a commitment to truth and reconciliation I must acknowledge colonial and genocidal atrocities today, including the massacre of more than 17,000 Palestinian children in Gaza,' the speech reads. In videos of Yao's speech, her comments are met with cheers and applause from the audience. Article content Article content 'I refuse to stand on the side of history that allows the repetition of crimes against humanity,' she continues. 'It is my hope that every single one of you present today consider my speech and my desperation for a free Palestine.' Article content Article content In an email addressed to parents and guardians, Bell High School principal Jane Conrod apologized for the speech's 'unexpected and unapproved' comments. Article content 'The content of the remarks, which touched on deeply sensitive global events, was not part of the pre-approved speech,' the email reads. 'We deeply regret that this occurred and are truly sorry for the harm that has been caused.' Article content In a statement, OCDSB spokesperson Diane Pernari said Conrod would not be available for an interview. But Pernari said the goal of their commencement ceremonies is to 'create a joyous celebration of student achievement.' Article content 'Our schools provide appropriate forums within the school year to engage thoughtfully with a wide range of issues that impact our community. These settings are designed to facilitate respectful, safe and supportive discussions,' the statement said.
Los Angeles Times
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Keep that downtown Los Angeles dining reservation. It's safe to go to dinner
It sounded like the alarm for a severe weather warning. At 8:19 p.m. on Monday evening, my phone blared with a public safety alert that a curfew was in place from 10 p.m. to 6 am. in downtown Los Angeles. It came just as I crested the hill on the south 110 Freeway that offers a sweeping view of the city below. I was on my way to meet a friend for dinner at Kinjiro, a snug izakaya in the heart of Little Tokyo. The area is one of the downtown neighborhoods most gravely affected by the aftermath of the recent demonstrations protesting President Trump's immigration policies and the ensuing raids. Mayor Karen Bass' curfew, enacted a week prior in an effort to quell any chaos associated with the demonstrations, meant the streets were empty. It was the latest hurdle in an ever-expanding list of challenges for Los Angeles restaurants, which in the last five years have faced drastic drops in business from a pandemic, Hollywood writers' strikes and fires. All along 2nd Street, the windows and doors were hidden behind plywood. Graffiti featuring choice words for the police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement covered nearly every surface. The frequently bustling Japanese Village Plaza, where shoppers dine at a revolving sushi bar and stop for cheese-filled corn dogs, was desolate. When I made it to the izakaya, it was clear that they were closed. The windows had been boarded up and a security gate was pulled across the entrance. We drove over to Bavel in the Arts District, curious to see if one of the city's most consistently booked restaurants was feeling the effects of the curfew, which covered the area of downtown between the 5 and 10 freeways and from the 10 to where the 110 and 5 freeways merge. You can probably measure the state of dining in Los Angeles by the fullness of the dining room at Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis' Levant-leaning restaurant. A last-minute prime table at 8 p.m. on any other night? No chance. When we arrived as walk-ins, we found a patio that was mostly empty, sparse patrons at the bar and a dining room that felt devoid of the usual Bavel energy. A quick scroll through the week's upcoming reservations on OpenTable showed multiple openings each night. I drove home past curfew, expecting to see a checkpoint of sorts or maybe even an increased police presence. There wasn't a single police car or protester. All the streets were open. The 8 p.m. curfew, first issued on June 10, was changed to a 10 p.m. curfew on Monday. On Tuesday, the curfew was lifted altogether, but many downtown restaurants are still struggling to fill their dining rooms. Just last week, Kato restaurant lost 80% of its reservations. Jon Yao, Ryan Bailey and Nikki Reginaldo's Arts District tasting menu restaurant celebrates Yao's upbringing in the San Gabriel Valley. It was named the No. 1 restaurant on the L.A. Times 101 List three times. Earlier this week, Yao won the James Beard Award for best chef in California. If there's a destination restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, this is it. On Tuesday, in light of the lifted curfew, the restaurant was still looking at a 70% drop in reservations for the upcoming week. 'The direct impact of the media's portrayal of DTLA being unsafe, which it is not, has impacted Kato immediately, and we were forced to close two nights,' Bailey says. On Friday, around 20 of the reservations canceled were for dinners booked weeks and months in the future. 'I had two specific instances where the guest called to say they were canceling their upcoming trip to L.A. based on not feeling safe in L.A. anymore,' Bailey says. 'The optimist in me hopes that the curfew, especially given the lifting now, does not cause long-term damage to downtown,' says Cassy Horton, co-founder of the DTLA Residents Assn. The organization works to create a thriving urban community in downtown that supports new and existing residents in the area. 'This is why we have been advocating so strongly to make sure our small businesses can open up,' says Horton. 'We need our neighbors across the region to really rally behind downtown right now because we need their support.' Hours after the curfew was lifted Tuesday, downtown started to show signs of coming to life again. Just before 7 p.m., a line began to form at Daikokuya in Little Tokyo. The small ramen shop is known as much for the perpetual wait as it is for its steaming bowls of tonkotsu ramen. It was a hopeful sight during a week of uncertainty, in an area that was the epicenter of the demonstrations. 'We checked with our friends who live right here and we were really mindful about coming tonight,' says Kevin Uyeda. He stood in line for ramen with fellow Echo Park resident Julie M. Leonard, both eager to make the short trip to Little Tokyo for dinner. 'I think there has been a lot of misinformation about the protests and the levels of everything,' says Leonard. 'I don't think the curfew was necessary. Most of the protests were peaceful.' A few doors down, at Korean restaurant Jincook, the staff removed the boards covering the windows that afternoon. 'It's safe to come here,' says Jincook server Hendrik Su. 'We want people to know that we are open.' At the Japanese Village Plaza, strollers rolled through the winding walkway with patrons sipping boba. Arts District residents Renee Sogueco and Chris Ciszek carried bags of leftovers from recent stops at Daikokuya and Fugetsu-Do, the more than a 100-year-old mochi and mango confectionery on 1st Street. 'Once we heard the curfew was lifted we wanted to come out,' says Sogueco. 'We've been feeling really bad about it with all the immigrant-owned businesses being affected. Daikokuya was fairly busy, but not as busy as we've seen it.' Ciszek's parents decided to make the trip out from Virginia to visit, despite friends back home questioning the decision. 'People are seeing a lot of very curated images online,' says Ciszek. 'They don't reflect what's been happening downtown. From what we've seen, the protesters have been happy, dancing, playing music, not violently disruptive.' I took a short drive west to the South Broadway block that houses Grand Central Market and found people eating tacos on the tables that line the sidewalk. A few locals sipped glasses of wine at nearby Kippered, the wine and tinned fish bar from Lydia Clarke and Reed Herrick. 'With everything boarded up, it doesn't feel inviting for tourists or people to come,' says Clarke. 'We still need people from outside the neighborhood, so people don't forget how great downtown is, how easy it is to come and pop around to a couple of places.' With the curfew being lifted, many restaurants that closed, temporarily opened for lunch or moved to entirely new locations outside of downtown Los Angeles, started to announce that they would return to regular business operations. Lasita, the Filipino rotisserie and wine bar in Chinatown, reopened for dinner. Steve and Dina Samson's Italian restaurant Rossoblu, which operated as a pop-up in Playa Vista over the weekend, returned to dinner service at its Fashion District location recently. 'I know we deal with so much in downtown, but when things get harder, our hearts get bigger,' says Clarke. 'I'm feeling really hopeful again.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
"You got a billion dollars and you can't get a custom car?" - Cuttino Mobley says Yao drives a Range Rover he barely fits in
"You got a billion dollars and you can't get a custom car?" - Cuttino Mobley says Yao drives a Range Rover he barely fits in originally appeared on Basketball Network. Cuttino Mobley and Yao Ming played together for two seasons with the Houston Rockets from 2002-2004, during which time they developed a friendship that would continue long after their NBA careers were over. Advertisement During his recent appearance on Paul George's Podcast P, Mobley revealed that he often goes to Shanghai to spend time with Ming, either on business or pleasure. Cuttno recalled one time when he spent his birthday with his good buddy, and Yao picked him up in a car he didn't look comfortable in. "I would hang with Yao for a few days in Shanghai. He comes and gets me in a Range Rover. This boy's knees… I'm like, 'You got a billion dollars and you can't get a custom car?' Both his knees up his ears. And all I'm thinking about is the crash. I'm nervous as a** in that car. I sweat for goodness, dog," Cuttino explained. Maybe Yao was fine in a Range Rover Mobley did not say when this incident happened, but in 2013, Ming talked about driving a Range Rover in China because he wouldn't fit in cars. During that period, Land Rover produced a new Range Rover model with bigger legroom. Advertisement "The first, and arguably the most welcome addition to the Range lineup, is the long-wheelbase version, which tugs the rear wheels aft nearly eight inches to increase rear-seat legroom by 5.5 inches. Those who opt for this option will have the choice of a bench seat for a trio of passengers or a pair of bucket seats split by a center console. Take the latter layout, and the seats can recline up to 17 degrees, which is eight degrees more lying back than is available in the standard-wheelbase Range Rover," per Car and Driver. Based on this, Yao's Range Rover likely had just enough space for him, but not comfortable enough for Mobley to see. Still, it would not have hurt the Chinese legend to build a customized car, just as the late Wilt Chamberlain did when he satisfied his dream to drive a sports car by making his own — The Searcher One. Wilt's supercar cost $750,000 in 1986, which would translate to around $2.1 million today. That's a hefty price to pay, but although Yao isn't the billionaire that Cuttino claimed, his reported net worth of $160 to $180 million, depending on which website you're looking at, would be more than enough to pay for it, if he wanted to own one. Related: "I don't think I should defend myself anymore, I'm done with that in my life" - Allen Iverson on why he's had enough trying to defend his public image Yao once owned a customized BMW Ming had customized a car before when he was still playing in the NBA. During a stopover in Hong Kong in 2007, he fell in love with a BMW 7-series sedan and ended up buying one from a Houston car dealer. And because Yao would not fit in the driver's seat, he had it customized by Long Island car shop Unique AutoSport. Advertisement The project included lowering the car's body by four inches and moving the front seat by 18 inches. It also included extending the steering column and re-wiring the vehicle, which, according to shop owner Will Castro, were the complex parts of the job. "Doing all this wasn't too easy since we couldn't chalk up anything like a tailor," said Castro. "It was particularly difficult to put in all the new wiring and to machine the steering column. That meant getting in and out of the car a thousand times and putting in special wiring because of the fiber optics. But it now works beautifully," he added. After two and a half weeks and a cost of $30,000, Castro personally delivered the car to Yao's Houston home. When he gave the 7'5'' center an after-sales call a couple of months later, all Ming told him was, "Great job" and "It works." Advertisement Aside from fitting in the driver's seat, Yao's issue with driving was that he couldn't see the traffic lights. But that issue was solved after Castro's crew lowered the car floor. "Before, he couldn't see the traffic lights through the windshield because he was looking above the glass. But now, sitting four inches lower, he saw everything perfectly," he concluded. Related: Cuttino Mobley breaks down why Yao is by far the most influential international player in NBA history: "He didn't come as a bust" This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
Time Out
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
An L.A. chef just took home the James Beard Award for Best Chef: California
Jon Yao, the Taiwanese American chef behind Michelin-starred Kato in the Arts District, took home one of the top prizes at the James Beard Foundation Awards—the only nominee in Southern California to do so. The annual awards ceremony, which takes place in Chicago (almost) every year, recognizes excellence in restaurants, bars and food media, including books, broadcast media and journalism and is widely understood as the Oscars of the (American) food world. In 2016, Yao first opened Kato inside a West L.A. strip mall, and moving the restaurant to the Arts District in 2022. Immediately, the then-scrappy restaurant attracted the attention of critics for its uniquely Asian American spin on fine dining. Over the years, the self-taught chef has honed his craft and grown into one of the city's best restaurants, at least if you ask me. In 2022, Kato earned its first Michelin star; last year, the restaurant was named as 'one to watch' by the World's 50 Best Restaurants organization, which has yet to name any L.A. eatery to its prestigious annual list. 'The restaurant and the food we serve [at Kato], it's really a medium for storytelling. It's representative of a lot of immigrant stories,' Yao said in a backstage interview clip provided to media. 'There's a lot more restaurants like ours. It's not just ours. We're very proud to be part of that fabric.' Like last year, just one L.A. restaurant, bar or food media publication has taken home a national James Beard Award. In the spring, five other local restaurants, bars, bakeries and writers were nominated for various awards, including Long Beach's Gusto Bread for 'Outstanding Bakery' and Tobin Shea, bar director behind Redbird in Downtown L.A., for 'Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.' On Saturday, newly L.A. based writer and native Angeleno Jeff Gordinier also took home the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award for 'The City that Rice Built,' a long-form piece featuring Charleston, South Carolina in Food & Wine. While Yao's restaurant is already a popular destination among wealthier, in-the-know local diners and tasting menu fans from far and wide, it's been a surprisingly easy reservation to book most days of the week, at least until now. If you haven't yet booked a table at Kato, now might be a good time to do that—before everyone else does.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
This L.A. chef was named the best in California at the James Beard awards
On Monday evening some of the country's most celebrated chefs, beverage professionals, restaurateurs and bakers filled Chicago's Lyric Opera House for the 35th annual James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards. The awards are considered some of the highest honors in hospitality, and this year, amid nationwide deportations and a mounting culture of fear, winners throughout the night honored immigrants: often the unsung staff working in restaurant kitchens. 'We tell stories,' said Kato chef-partner Jon Yao, 'stories of immigrants, diaspora, endurance and perseverance.' Yao won the 2025 category of best chef: California. At his fine-dining restaurant in the Arts District — No. 1 on the L.A. Times 101 List for the last two years in a row — he serves a pioneering tasting menu evocative of his Taiwanese heritage seen through an L.A. lens. Yao's win marks the third year in a row that a Los Angeles nominee took the title of best chef in the state. In 2023 Justin Pichetrungsi of Anajak Thai won the category, while last year the honor went to Kuya Lord chef-owner Lord Maynard Llera. Yao is the only Los Angeles or Orange County nominee to win an award at this year's Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony. The Kato chef was a semifinalist or nominee in the rising star category in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Yao, a child of Taiwanese immigrants who grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, thanked everyone on Kato's team, both past and present. He underscored the importance of immigrant cuisine not only for Kato but Los Angeles. 'L.A. is a city built by the toils of immigrant communities, and right now, those same communities are being ripped apart,' Yao said in his acceptance speech. 'As the children of immigrants, I'm sure many here can imagine a scenario where we couldn't be here to celebrate this all together. But we all deserve the freedom to pursue our dreams, to determine our own futures and to be treated with equal dignity and respect. And everyone in this room tonight has the ability and voice to amplify that message through their own stories in their own communities, and I urge all of us to please use that voice and platform.' The culinary contributions of immigrants could be heard in acceptance speeches through the night, across a range of cultures. Chefs, restaurateurs and food media regularly praised America's diversity of flavor, widely crediting immigrants. 'All food is immigrant, and immigrants make America great,' Miami chef Nando Chang said when he won best chef: South. 'We're gathering at a time of challenge and fear,' Clare Reichenbach, chief executive officer of the James Beard Foundation, said in the ceremony's opening speech.'That's why it is so important to remember the agency we possess, that hope and empathy are an active choice we can make, and that we're connecting tonight in our shared humanity and in the celebration of food and its unique power to unite. … America's food scene has never been more dynamic, more diverse and exciting — and in large part, we owe that dynamism, that vibrancy, to the immigrant communities that lead and underpin this industry in every way. We get to taste the world because of them.' Washington, D.C., chef Carlos Delgado of Causa and Amazonia accepted the award of best chef: Mid-Atlantic and voiced his support of immigrants while his colleague proudly carried a Peruvian flag to the stage. San Juan's Identidad won Best New Bar, and its owners carried a Puerto Rican flag for their acceptance speech. 'I want this to serve as an inspiration to all Puerto Ricans — and Latinos — that it can be done,' co-owner Stephen Alonso said. Best chef: Great Lakes winner Noah Sandoval of Chicago's Oriole, couldn't attend the evening's ceremony, so a friend read a statement in his stead: 'Thank you, and deepest respect to all the nominees and winners tonight. Also, f— ICE.' When Kumiko owner Julia Momosé accepted the award for Outstanding Bar, she underscored the importance of immigrants not only to her own Chicago establishment, but also the industry. 'Every day we are a team of immigrants,' she said. 'We are children of immigrants … your perspective is your strength.' Los Angeles native, former L.A. Times food writer and community activist Toni Tipton-Martin received the lifetime achievement award, celebrating her decades of contribution to food journalism by raising African American culinary voices and platforming young writers. Last year Ruth Reichl, another Los Angeles Times Food vet, received the lifetime achievement award. Tipton-Martin thanked Reichl in her own acceptance speech for helping to guide her culinary voice early in her career. Though most of Southern California's nominees did not win this year, their contributions to the county's culinary fabric were still recognized. 'You are not just an incredible pitmaster, but you're incredibly creative, and you're sort of creating a style of barbecue that you call Southern California barbecue,' food journalist and red carpet host Francis Lam told Daniel Castillo before the ceremony. 'It's not Texas barbecue, it's not Carolina barbecue, but Southern California barbecue.' Castillo co-owns San Juan Capistrano's Heritage Barbecue and Santa Ana's Le Hut Dinette, and was nominated for best chef: California, which Yao won. San Diego's Tara Monsod, of Animae and Le Coq, was also a nominee in the category. Gusto Bread, the Long Beach artisanal panadería from owners Arturo Enciso and Ana Belén Salatino, was nominated in the category of outstanding bakery as it also was in 2024. The lauded bakery did not win this year; that award went to JinJu Patisserie in Portland, Ore. Anaheim's Strong Water is widely celebrated for its spins on classic tiki drinks as well as its ambitious nonalcoholic program. Like Gusto it was nominated in 2024, but this year's award for outstanding wine and other beverages went to Charleston in Baltimore, Maryland. Redbird bar director Tobin Shea was nominated in the category of outstanding professional in cocktail service, which went to Ignacio Jimenez of New York City's Superbueno. Whether he was going to win or lose, Shea previously told The Times that he would be celebrating: This year's awards fell on the week of his 50th birthday. 'It's going to be a great week,' he said. On Saturday night the foundation held its annual media awards, which celebrate the year's top culinary books, articles, television, radio and more. Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison, columnist Jenn Harris and Food senior editor Danielle Dorsey all saw nominations this year. Andrea Freeman — a professor at L.A.'s Southwestern Law School — took the award in the category for food issues and advocacy with her book 'Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch.' L.A.-based journalist Jeff Gordinier, along with artist and designer George McCalman, won the M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award for Food & Wine article 'The City That Rice Built.' Another Los Angeles-based author, Gastropod podcast co-host Nicola Twilley, also won an award. Her book 'Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves' led the category of literary writing. The full list of the 2025 James Beard Media Award winners can be found here.
