It’s been a good month in court for a San Jose businessman dubbed the “Godfather of Little Saigon,” entangling a local councilmember, an embattled power broker, a Trump administration bigwig and suggestive Vietnamese aphorisms. Politically influential San Jose bail bondsman Hai Huynh has seen favorable turns in two dramatic courtroom battles in the last few...
San Jose Viet Museum remains closed amid lawsuit
San Jose’s Viet Museum has been closed for months due to a political power struggle. Now its leaders are suing each other in an attempt to settle the matter for good. The Immigrant Resettlement and Cultural Center — the nonprofit managing the old farmhouse in History Park that stores precious artifacts, photographs and art from...
Santa Clara County leaders show support for Little Saigon Freeway
A sign telling motorists they’re entering Little Saigon in San Jose is close to being installed — with a fresh stamp of approval from local leaders. But it still needs a final sign-off from lawmakers in Sacramento. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution in support of a state...
San Jose highway could be named to honor Vietnamese community
A bipartisan effort to honor San Jose’s Vietnamese American community at the state level has passed a key milestone. The state Assembly has unanimously approved a bill authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra to rename a stretch of Highway 101 in San Jose between the Story Road exit and Interstate 280/680 junction “Little Saigon Freeway.” Supporters say...
San Jose officials push for South Vietnam flag emoji
As emojis become a widespread form of global messaging, San Jose leaders are calling on the world’s leading text encoders to add a symbol for the Flag of South Vietnam. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to urge the Unicode Consortium — the Mountain View-based organization overseeing the digitized use of text in all of the...
Report: San Jose festival was behind-the-scenes nightmare
San Jose’s Vietnamese Catholic Lunar New Year festival appeared to be all smiles this year. But a recently-obtained report alleges verbal abuse, property damage, safety concerns and political weight-throwing caused misery behind the scenes. The report — submitted by History San Jose to multiple City Hall officials in February — was kept hush for months...
San Jose councilmember sued for defamation
A prominent Vietnamese American businessman is suing San Jose Councilmember Bien Doan for defamation after the two sparred in court last year — painting an alleged connection between San Jose and a federal bribery scandal in Oakland. The Feb. 3 lawsuit by Le Bail Bonds owner Hai Huynh says Doan wrongly described him as a...
East San Jose mural honors Vietnamese community
A new Vietnamese mural brings East San Jose residents agency. The mural’s three panels — which depict Vietnamese people fleeing their homeland, a woman in cultural dress and the beauty of Vietnam — is a first for the East San Jose Asian American community. The artwork evokes the history of the Vietnamese American community in...
Fight over San Jose Vietnamese museum puts future in limbo
Charges of nepotism and suspicious bank withdrawals surround a fight for control of San Jose’s Viet Museum in History Park – a crown jewel for Little Saigon. The 147-year-old farmhouse, which stores hundreds of precious artifacts, photographs and art of Vietnam War refugees, now hangs in limbo over a dispute between the museum’s visionary, Loc...
2024 in review: Little Saigon had a roller-coaster year
A courtroom battle over an alleged ‘Godfather.’ A City Hall protest against one San Jose mayoral staffer. A fight for control of a Vietnamese cultural garden. The takedown of a renowned charity organization. A common thread connected all these stories in 2024: unhealed wounds over the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese community is more dynamic and...