In my year or so of working for Reporter newspapers, I’ve found that our Eastside community is a colorful one. I’m talking about diversity.

I think one of the first stories I wrote as an employee was about Diwali, a festival of lights celebration in Sammamish, and the balancing act of the community raising their children to be both Indian and American.

From there, many of my stories have focused on multiculturalism – from a Palestinian fashion designer commissioned by Queen Rania of Jordan, to a Miss Hispanic Seafair Princess and the booming Spanish-speaking population, to stories of Din Tai Fung and our sought-after Chinese food on the Eastside, to the recent Bellevue Scene story about Japanese American taiko drummers.

It’s no secret that the Eastside is a hub for diversity, with booming techie industries that pull in well-educated employees of Eastern European, Asian and Hispanic descent to name a few. In the past decade, Bellevue saw a 12 percent increase in people of color. Roughly 30 percent of Bellevueites are foreign-born.

Diverse|City is my attempt to fairly and accurately cover race, diversity, cultures and traditions here on the Eastside and in the Pacific Northwest. Everyone should get a chance to see themselves and their communities in mainstream media. Help me increase coverage of minorities and diverse communities by dropping me a line at gnomura@bellevuereporter.com.

As a hapa girl (that means mixed race) with a multicultural family life that includes everyone from Christians to Zen Buddhists to proud Irish and Japanese Americans, I’m pretty excited. So, as my jichan (grandpa) would say in true multicultural fashion, konnichiwa, ya’ll. Check back here each week to stay fresh on the diversity beat.

Diverse|City is a multicultural reporter’s eye on race, traditions and lifestyles here together in the Northwest. Gabrielle Nomura be reached at 425-453-4602.