SAN FRANCISCO — Angel Island is often referred to as the “Ellis Island of the West.” It sits in the San Francisco Bay and was used by the U.S. government between 1910 and 1940 to detain and interrogate immigrants, mostly Chinese, upon arrival. Passed by Congress in 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the first piece of…
SAN FRANCISCO – When my parents came to this country for the first time, they hoped to find a better life, just as the Chinese did many years ago when they entered the United States through this Western immigration station in San Francisco Bay. As I entered the immigration station at Angel Island, now a state…
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — What if your grandfather wasn’t really related to you? What if you brother had never been your brother? Many Chinese-American families are discovering that their ancestors, immigrants from China in the 1840s, were not who they say they were. This phenomenon is called “paper sons,” families created on paper so that nephews,…
SAN FRANCISCO — For people in the 19th and 20th centuries who faced harsh conditions within their own countries, the United States of America seemed like a ticket to a better life. With events such as the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s, America began to look more and more appealing to outsiders. Immigrants poured…
BERKELEY, Calif. – Farmers’ markets have become a recent fad in many major cities within the U.S. Ben Feldman, however, doesn’t do it because it is popular, nor has he just been doing them recently. Since 1987, Feldman, program manager of the Ecology Center, has been running multiple farmers’ markets throughout the city, both on different days…
SAN FRANCISCO — Imagine hearing of a place worlds away, a place your people call “Gum San,” or “Golden Mountain.” Imagine having to sell all your possessions to afford passage, make the month-long journey with the hope of arriving to a better life, a new beginning. Instead, you find yourself facing prejudice, hate and discrimination. This…
BERKELEY, Calif.— Every Saturday of the month, early in the morning, people begin working at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market preparing their stands and laying out their produce. But only on the first Saturday of the month will you find a unique farmer who focuses on wine and vinegar. Jim Nofzinger, a Pacifica, Calif., resident, makes…
BERKELEY, Calif. — One of them has been selling honey for 28 years. Another was inspired by a dream to start a business serving vegetables in flax-seed cones. Yet another decries the flaws in society as he seeks to provide treatment for injured soldiers. The allure of the shopping experience at the Berkeley…
BERKELEY, Calif. — Safeway’s expansion plans have come up against an active resistance in Berkeley, where volunteers organized as FANS, Friends and Neighbors of Safeway, passed out leaflets and collected more than 1,000 signatures objecting to the size of the renovation on College Avenue. Those were presented to the Oakland Planning Commission last week. In…
BERKELEY, Calif. — A father, holding his coffee, walks along the row of tents, pulling behind him a wagon containing his two young sons. A clown twists elongated balloons while shoppers look over the baskets of avocados. At the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, you can spend your Saturday morning on Center Street sampling fresh peaches or…
BERKELEY, Calif. — Not even a damp and chilly Saturday morning could deter nearby residents from visiting the Downtown Berkeley Farmers’ Market. Open year-round, rain or shine, this eco-friendly market provides a warm and colorful environment for all its visitors. Dozens of vendors line Center Street selling a variety of fresh, organic produce as well as…
SAN FRANCISCO — This island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay captured the imagination of thousands of visitors each year. The inmates here faced harsh conditions and suffered isolation from their family and loved ones while the U.S. government decided what to do with them. Angel Island, now a California State Park, was…