U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will keynote a Jan. 7, 2011, summit on entrepreneurship and small business growth in Mountain View, Calif., sponsored by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

President’s Advisory Commissioner Dilawar Syed (in photo) will lead this gathering, the first in a series of economic summits to be conducted by the White House AAPI Initiative in order to raise awareness of the Administration’s efforts to encourage entrepreneurs and small businesses to drive economic growth.

The Summit is free of charge, but registration is required. Add yourself to the Facebook event.

Below is the initial descriptions of the panels and sessions.

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From the Office of Public Engagement:

On Monday, November 2^nd at 3:30 p.m. EST, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett will hold an extended online chat to discuss how health insurance reform will impact minority communities and all Americans.  Submit your questions now at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ope/webform/valerie-jarrett-health-insurance-reform-all-americans, or join us on Monday here at WhiteHouse.gov or at Facebook.com/WhiteHouse to submit your question live during the discussion.

Cross-posted from AAA-Fund:

The votes are now in, and we are proud to announce AAA-Fund’s 2009 Blogathon winners!

Before going further, we congratulate all of our finalists for their insight and eloquence:  Cameron Feng, Jenny Jiang, Rose Wei, Micah Weinberg.

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A neat little video that encapsulates the essence of the Obama health care proposal in four minutes. Great tool for talking with your family, friends, and colleagues about the need for reform.

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State

U.S. Department of State

Please join Asia Society’s live video webcast of The Honorable Hillary Clinton’s first major foreign policy speech on the eve of her upcoming trip to Asia. Presiding, Vishakha N. Desai, President, Asia Society.

AsiaSociety.org live, Friday, Feb.13, 1pm ET

This is an INVITATION-ONLY event. Tune in to the free live webcast,
1pm ET, Friday Feb. 13. Click the WATCH LIVE ONLINE link.

Webcast viewers are encouraged to submit questions prior to or during the program to moderator@asiasociety.org

>> Join an online discussion now: What Secretary Clinton Should Know About Asia

Senator Daniel Inouye (one of the key negotiators) has this to say:

“We do not have the luxury of time,” said Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), another key negotiator. “We must expeditiously face the facts and pass this measure. To delay this any further would lead to consequences that could be horrendous.”

Inouye said more delay “could lead to a crisis worse than the Great Depression.” And, since the United States is now the world’s only superpower, “if we go down, there’ll be chaos on this globe,” he said.

Read more at The Washington Post. 

2009 Sacramento Community Women of Color Day/Diversity Event
Sunday, March 1, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Christ Unity Church, 9249 Folsom Blvd,
Folsom & La Riviera) Sacramento, CA 95826.

Official Women of Color Day Song, “AURORA” CD Release at Event. Sales support Women of Color Day and many other community events.

Celebrated in Sacramento since 1991, the annual Sacramento Community Women of Color/ Diversity Event includes an awards program, honoring outstanding women and supporters of diversity in the Greater Sacramento area and across the nation, will celebrate the 23rd year since its founding.

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Elena Ong, the National Coordinator of “The Gift of Hope,” brings us this message, urging everyone to conduct a bone marrow donation drive at your next APA community event. If you register your “1,000 Cranes for Hope” drive at www.usaservice.org by March 1, 2009, your group might even get a chance to get a phone call from Yul Kwon, Cook Islands Survivor. Please read on for more details.

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Asia Society Event - 2/4/09 - “Delivering on the Promise: Advancing US Relations with India”

Asia Society will host a panel discussion titled “Delivering on the Promise: Advancing US Relations with India” on February 4th from 8:00-9:30 a.m. Please join us at Asia Society’s New York Headquarters or online via a FREE LIVE VIDEO WEBCAST. Internet viewers will be able to ask questions and offer comments via email during the webcast. Send your questions to moderator@asiasociety.org.

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Frank Sharry of the Huffington Post points to a weekend interview with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Gannet News Service indicating the potentially quick passage of comprehensive immigration reform in the upcoming 111th Congress.

Reid said, “On immigration, there’s been an agreement between (President-elect Barack) Obama and (Arizona Republican Sen. John) McCain to move forward on that. … We’ll do that.”

Sen. Obama’s reaching out to Sen. McCain after the election may already be paying dividends, but Sharry opines that the move may have a lot to do with the significance of the Republicans’ very poor electoral performance among Latinos, a rapidly growing constituency. Whatever the reason, if Reid’s confidence is not misplaced, this bodes well for AAPIs and others wanting to move the ball forward on important immigration reforms, including combating backlogs, family reunification, and more.