From forgotten varieties of plums and apples to grapefuit and even bananas, an impressive array of rare fruits are growing in Sonoma County.

The California Rare Fruit Growers organization is internationally known for its devotion to cultivating and perpetuating fruit varieites that may otherwise go unnoticed and even face extinction.  Even Sonoma County's favorite homegrown apple, the Gravenstein, is considered a rare or heritage variety in most other places.

 

 

The Redwood Empire Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers has events for local members as well as an annual community  event to showcase the organization and demonstrate their grafting and planting techniques. Visitors can even select some cuttings to take home.

 Phil Pieri, president of the Redwood Empire chapter, retired to Sonoma County to fulfill his lifelong dream of growing food for his own table.

 

 

 

 

The USDA is preparing to adopt standards defnining exactly what can be labeled organically farmed fish. Not surprisingly, that's prompted a big debate behind the scenes.

 

 A typical "open pen" at a commercial salmon farm. These pens are usually arranged in larger groupings (such as the one shown in the photo below) , linked by walkways that are used by the staff.

 

This commercial salmon fishingoperation is in a deepwatercoveoff Lucas Bay, Alaska. Most of the world's salmon farming is done in the cold northern Pacific and Atlantic waters off North America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Urvashi Rangun (right)  is a senior scientist and policy analyst for Consumer's Union, which is advocating for rigorous new standards for farmed seafood to be labled "organic."

 

Filipino-Americans are a growing presence in Sonoma County, with an interesting local history they are eager to share.

 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. 

 

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.

 

Two public screenings of  Remembering Our Manongs- Sonoma County's Filipino History  are currently scheduled. The first, from 1-4 pm on  Saturday, November 8th at the Sonoma County Office of Education (5430 Skylane Blvd., Santa Rosa), will be followed by a panel discussion on "Sharing the Filipino American Experience in K-12 Curriculum."  And on  Saturday, November 15th, also 1-4 pm, the film will be shown at the Finley Center (2060 W.College Ave.) in Santa Rosa,  followed by a panel discussion on "Preserving the Filipino American Experience--Storytelling and Intergenerational Dialog."

For more information about these events call (707) 294-3784.

 

Mixed news on the health care front:  stem cell research is spurring advances in what's being called regenerative medicine, but California's budget crisis threatens the ability of community clinics to provide many basic services.

 

Dr. David Greenberg, Vice President of Special Research Projects for the Buck Institute for Age Research in Novato.

In addition to embryonic stem cells, Dr. Greenberg says current research is also studying adult stem cells.

 

Beatrice Bostick, Executive Director of Clinic Ole in  Napa County warns that reducing health care coverage through Medi-Cal will inevitably result in greater demands for hospital emergency rooms, with no funds available for that care.

 

 

stem cells

Two brothers with a shared vision are bringing a new international student exchange to Sebastopol.

 

In setting up the Global Student Embassy program at Analy High School (left), Jasper Oshun says they departed from the models of other existing student exchange programs.

 

Lucas Oshun says they selected the two participating South American towns, rural Zurite, Peru and and bustling Santa Fe, Argentina (below) in part because of the contrasts between them.

Created by two brothers from Sebastopol, Lucas and Jasper Oshun, the Global Student Embassy is "building leaders by connecting the world's youth to practice social responsibility and community service." The program is intended to educate and increase community responsibility amongst teens from all three participating towns.

On November 14^th, the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center will host the Global Student Embassy's Fundraising Dinner. For tickets and information, click here.