The first Filipinos to travel to North America came aboard the Manila Galleons such as this, Spanish trading ships that traversed the Pacific ocean during the 1700s and 1800s. 

Most of the young Filipino men who came to California in the first half of the 20^th century intended to eventually return home, but many of them never did.

 Remembering Our Manongs- Sonoma County's Filipino History   is a historical documentary film covering the first Filipino immigrants who traveled to the US and settled in Sonoma County during the First half of the 20^th Century. The film will be broadcast on KRCB-TV, Channel 22 on Tuesday evening, May 12, at 9 pm.

Partial funding for the film came from  California Council for the Humanities through their California Stories grant with additional support from the Filipino American National Historical Society.  The Society's Sonoma County chapter is one of 30 across the country. Chapter president Delia  Lanosa Rapolla explains the organization's purpos in 5the audio clip below.

For more information about the film call (707) 294-3784.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department is charged with illegally overreaching in their support for immigration enforcement by federal officials. The ACLU suit also challenges the regulation upon which that cooperation is based.

Julia Harumi Mass, staff attorney for American Civil Liberties Union of Northern  California (ACLUNC) is the lead attorney behind that group's suit  charging that the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been collaborating beyond the law to target, arrest, and detain Latino residents of Sonoma County.

The rights embodied in the US Constitution are not there only for American  citizens, says Mass, but are explicitly applied to everyone, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.

Even as the ALCU lawsuit unfolds, Mass says she sees some early hints that the new Obama administration may be moving toward a different stance on ICE enforcement usage of the disputed regulations.

After half a century of hostile relations, is it finally time to start talking-and trading-with Cuba again?

Cuba is not a high priority for the Obama administration, Erlich observes, but there is a considerable upside to taking action there.

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Under Raul Castro (left) , the Cuban government has instituted some reforms, but Erlich says many of them have little effect on the day-to-day lives of the Cuban working class.

Cuba's socialized medical care is sometimes cited as one of the country's main successes. Erlich agrees...up to a point.

 Reese Erlich is the author of The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis and co-author of the best-selling Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You. He reports regularly for National Public Radio, Latino USA, Radio Deutche Welle, Australian Broadcasting Corp. Radio, and  CBC radio in Canada. He also writes for the San Francisco Chronicle, St. Petersburg Times, and Dallas Morning News.

 Newly preserved and restored, a rare piece of bay area history reopens for visitors on Sunday.  (See below for details of the reopening day ceremonies)

The federal immigration station on Angel Island, as seen above in 1915,  was reached by a long wooden dock which no longer exists. Most of the other structures remain, with the exception of the main administration building (seen in the left foreground in the photo below), which was partially destroyed by fire in 19xx.  The restored barracks building is on the hill to the right, with the station hospital on the far hill to the left. You can read a much more extensive history of the facility here. 

One of the interpretive park rangers at Angel Island, Casey Lee, describes and then translates a poem that was carved into the wooden wall in one of the smaller rooms at the Immigration Station barracks. It has been preserved and will now be on public display.

Poetic Waves  is a elegant and detailed website devoted to the poetry of Angel Island.

You can also read a more scholarly article about the carved poetry here.

The Grand Re-Opening of the U.S. Immigration Station at Angel Island will be celebrated on  Sunday, February 15, 2009 with a public Dedication Ceremony at 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This will be followed by public tours from Noon to 3 p.m. with presentations by storyteller Charlie Chin; performance artist/dancer Melody Takata, ; historical re-enactor Silvia Lange; and museum designer Daniel Quan.

Free admission, free tram service on Angel Island, and reduced rates on ferries from San Francisco and Tiburon are available. See schedule below. You must take the 8:45 a.m. ferry from San Francisco or the 8:50 a.m. ferry from Tiburon to attend the Dedication Ceremony. For complete schedule, visit www.aiisf.org.

Tram to U.S. Immigration Station, Angel Island Schedule

Departs Ayala Cove at 10:00 a.m., 11:20 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m.

Trams will depart from the Immigration Station for Ayala Cove every half hour starting at noon. Visitors are encouraged to walk one mile to the U.S. Immigration Station from Ayala Cove as space on the trams is limited. Walk and enjoy the beautiful view of the Sonoma Valley and the Bay.

Visitors with disabilities who need assistance should contact the park in advance at 415-435-5390.

Tiburon Ferry Schedule

Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry, 21 Main St., Tiburon, CA

Depart Tiburon-Arrive at Angel Island, Ayala Cove

Depart - 8:50 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

Depart Angel Island-arrive at Tiburon

Depart 1:20 p.m., 3:20 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.

San Francisco Ferry Schedule

San Francisco Blue and Gold Fleet

Depart San Francisco Pier 41-Arrive at Angel Island, Ayala Cove

Depart - 8:45 a.m.- 10:35 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.

Depart Angel Island-arrive at San Francisco Pier 41

 You can check the weather conditions at the Island by looking at the Ayala Cove webcam here.