By PATRICIA TAKAYAMA
David Ono, TV co-anchor for ABC7 Eyewitness News, will be the guest speaker at the San Fernando Valley JACL installation luncheon on Sunday, Jan. 19, at the Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills.
The JACL is the oldest national Asian American civil rights and heritage preservation organization in the United States, founded in 1929.
Ono joined ABC7 in 1996. Among his many projects, he trained with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s elite Special Enforcement Bureau. His participation allowed viewers to see the grueling demands of the Sheriff’s SWAT Academy.
In 2005, Ono reported on a historical research project at the CSU Northridge Asian American Studies Department on the “Japanese American Farmers in the San Fernando Valley” prior to the World War II removal of all Japanese American residents from the West Coast.
Since then, he has reported on other Japanese American stories, including a four-part series, “Witness: The Legacy of Heart Mountain,” and won an Emmy for “Witness American Heroes: Nisei Soldiers.”
Ono has won two Edward R. Murrow awards for his coverage of the devastation following the January 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince. In March 2011, he traveled to Japan to report on the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands.
The Odyssey Restaurant is located at 15600 Odyssey Dr. The ticket the price is $33. Registration will commence at 11:30 a.m. For reservations, contact Linda Tanaka at (805) 527-1224.