Congresswoman Judy Chu in Cleveland

Mandarin teacher Li Luling and Congresswoman Judy Chu

Judy May Chu is the U.S. Representative for California's 32nd congressional district, serving since 2009. She is the first Chinese American woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress and is chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.


The Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) Cleveland Chapter and Margaret W. Wong & Associates sponsored a New Faces of Leadership meet and greet with the Congresswoman.

See photos and videos from the event.

TV Pioneer Fred Griffith Retirement

Mark Johnson, Lee Jordan, Fred Griffith,
Andrea Vecchio and Michael Cardamone

There was a special mood at the taping of WKYC's Good Company Wednesday morning.

There was frivolity - balloons, cake, champagne.
There was nostalgia - remembering good times with good friends.
There was sadness - saying good bye is always difficult.

The occasion? Fred Griffith, Cleveland television legend, was doing his last show. He was retiring after having logged in more live hours on television than anyone else in history. (Regis Philbin and Fred are very close in hours).

Everybody in Cleveland knows Fred Griffith. He has been a familiar and well-loved face on television for decades.

Read the official Fred Griffith ClevelandSeniors.com profile here.

Wednesday February 22, 2012 was Fred's last day on the air at WKYC on the Good Company Today show. Family, friends and co-workers from the present and past paid tribute to the TV pioneer.

Whatever is next for Fred Griffith he will tackle the task with the charm and grace he always has and we look forward to his next adventure.

Photos and videos from Fred Griffith's last show party.

Greater Cleveland Sports Awards

Erin Andrews and young fan

Another sellout crowd honored the area’s best athletes for their outstanding accomplishments at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel.

The Greater Cleveland Sports Awards were created in 2000 by the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission as its annual fundraising event.


ESPN Sportscaster Erin Andrews served as MC for the event and attendees lined up for a chance to take a photo with the popular journalist.

Photos and more from the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards

Go Red for Women

Lindsay Silverstein, Susie Kilgore and Jen Vogrin

By now you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. It kills nearly half a million women each year at the rate of about one per minute. They are our sisters, mothers, daughters, friends, neighbors and colleagues.

The annual Cleveland Go Red For Women Health Expo & Luncheon educates and raises research funds. The following two short videos are for you Medical Geeks.

First, Dr. Attizzani from University Hospitals in Cleveland explains OCT - Cardiovascular Optical Coherence Tomography which is a catheter-based invasive imaging system. OCT uses light rather than ultrasound and produces high-resolution images of coronary arteries and deployed stents.



Then Jeff Foster from University Hospitals Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Center in Cleveland shows devices to improve the quality of life for heart patients.

Linsanity - Jeremy Lin

New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin, an unknown point guard, shot to stardom overnight. Jeremy Shu-How Lin had no athletic scholarship offers out of high school and was undrafted out of college.

Lin is one of the few Asian Americans in NBA history, and the first American player in the league to be of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. He is a 2010 Harvard University graduate.

What a refreshing story after so many NBA divas.

Joe Tait and Terry Pluto

After listening to Joe Tait as Voice of the Cavs for so many years it was hard for all of us to hear that he was sick. Then we felt relief that he was recuperating and finally a little melancholy that he was retiring.

So it was with eager anticipation that hundreds of people flocked to the Corporate Club luncheon put on by Executive Caterers at Landerhaven on January 19th to hear Joe Tait and Plain Dealer sports reporter Terry Pluto talk sports.

Together Tait and Pluto have written Joe Tait: It's Been a Real Ball (Stories from a Hall-of-fame Sports Broadcasting Career) a book that has both chronicled Joe's life and Cleveland sports.

See more from the Joe Tait and Terry Pluto event including photos.

Chinese New Year in Cleveland

I just realized that I never posted about the Chinese New Years celebrations in Cleveland.

This year I attended events at two locations - Asia Plaza at 30th and Payne and the new Asian Town Center on East 38th by Superior.

Both had performers, music, food, dragons and community organizations.

See videos, photos and more from Cleveland Chinese New Year

Stalker app or cool connection tool for singles?

What do you think of this idea?

ClevelandWomen.Com received a press release and an invitation to try a new smartphone app called SinglesAroundMe for Valentine's Day.

They say that "SinglesAroundMe (SAM) is a location aware mobile dating app for the iPhone, Blackberry and other smart phones. The patent pending SinglesAroundMe (SAM) app is the new cool way to find singles and it is a must have app for singles on the go like you. Covering the globe, and in your local city, SinglesAroundMe is there. Travel someplace; see who is single around you right now.

The "SAM" search plots your location with singles around you on a geographical Google map, in real time, and lets you control the distance and set results to match your desired profile. From here you can view a user's profile, photos, and send various winks and messages. View their GPS location, add them to your hot list, block list, and control your privacy.

The "Destination Search" option allows you to view matching singles at a location of your choice, in real time. Check who is in a bar before you decide to go, scope out a resort, club, university, city, etc. Meeting new singles has never been easier or more enjoyable than with SinglesAroundMe. With complete privacy, you can turn your GPS location on or off."

What do you think? Is this an invitation to stalkers and other unsavory characters or a fun new way to see who is near you?

Let me know what you think.

Peruvian Peace Corps Adventure

Katie Campbell-Morrison is working for the Peace Corps in Cusicancha, a village in Huancavelica, Peru.

Though she only gets Internet access about once each month, she is sending ClevelandWomen.Com stories and photos from her experiences.

Really interesting stuff!

Check out Katie Campbell and her Peruvian Peace Corps adventures.

Global Cleveland Welcome Center

Bienvenue. Welkom. Willkommen. Dobrodošli. Vitajte. Huanyíng. Benvenuto. Bienvenido. Merhaba.

No matter what language you say it in, Cleveland now has a physical space that says "Welcome."

The ribbon cutting and grand opening of the Global Cleveland Welcome Center took place on Tuesday February 7, 2012.

3 pages of pics and videos from the Global Cleveland Welcome Center ribbon cutting and grand opening

Groundhog Logic

Wikileaks Cleveland Connection

Ambassador Heather Hodges spoke at the Federation of India Community Associations (FICA) India Republic Day Celebration in Cleveland Ohio.


She told how she was "kicked out" of Ecuador because of Wikileaks documents. She was the first female US ambassador ever to be declared persona non grata.

She now serves as Amabsaador in residence and President of the Cleveland Council on World Affairs.

Black History Month opening ceremony

Black History Month began with an opening ceremony titled Celebrate Music at the City Hall Rotunda on February 1, 2012.

Several soloists and choirs were featured. I had never seen a Praise Dance before - very powerful.

Videos and photos of the Black History Month kickoff

Mahjong at the Maltz

The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage was transformed into a Mahjong Hall in honor of The Chinese New Year. Some have said the game is the single most factor that has brought Jews and Chinese together.

Check out the photos of the people and exhibits