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County supervisors said Tuesday now's not the time to give hefty raises to Sheriff Donny Youngblood (22 percent) and District Attorney Ed Jagels (11 percent).
Sure, the county pay structure has some equity problems for the two men but that structure needs some study and the county's really...
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When you are in financial trouble, personally, do you immediately look for a higher paying job? What is the first step you take? CUTS. Cutting back and consolidating are simple concepts that we use in personal finances to help keep us on track financially. Any individual...
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Ex-Italian President: Provocateur Riots Then “Beat The Sh#t Out Of Protesters”
Cossiga says Italian government should “do what I did” under Operation GLADIO - infiltrate protest groups with agent provocateurs
Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga...
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Nearly 12,000 Kern County residents who qualify for federal economic stimulus checks but still have not filed for them have only until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to do so.
This group consists primarily of veterans and senior citizens who in 2007 received at least $3,000 in federal benefits, IRS...
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I imagine most of you heard about the lights being turned off in the House of Representatives by Nancy Pelosi. She had them turned off, and ordered the press out. Thid kind of behavior is totally unacceptable. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who sees a problem with these...
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Local health care providers scratched their heads this morning over what would make residents take the cuts to Medi-Cal more seriously.
The impacts won't only be felt by the poor, they said.
Like many government programs, Medi-Cal took a 10 percent cut July 1 to help make up for the budget...
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Areas of Oildale need help, and Supervisor Mike Maggard believes a redevelopment agency could be one solution to eliminate blight, create jobs and offer residents hope.
Tuesday, supervisors asked county staffers to study what it would take to create a redevelopment agency. It's a small step...
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For all you Republicans and Democrats, it's time to leave your parties. That's right. Register as a decline to state, or register as Constitution Party or American Independent Party.
You can only take so much of this nonsense. The Republicans are blind on the war and blind on...
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Would you be in favor of tax increases if it meant more money for schools and health care?
A Democrat-controlled Assembly committee approved a new state budget last night based on a $9.7 billion tax increase, the first state budget proposal based on a major tax increase since 1991.
According to...
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Here's another letter to the editor forwarded to me on the budget cuts to Medi-Cal.
This one is signed by the CEOs of Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, Kern Medical Center, San Joaquin Community Hospital and Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield.
What do you think? Does this spur you to action?
This...
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Russell Judd, president of Mercy Hospitals, submitted a letter to the editor about the state's cuts to Medi-Cal.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
For more info about the cuts, read "Calif. sued over Medi-Cal rate cuts" and "Is health reform dead?"
Budget Cuts Put...
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A large coalition of California medical organizations is suing the state over the planned 10 percent cut to Medi-Cal.
Locally, this cut will mean Kern Medical Center will lose $4 million per year in Safety Net Care Pool Funds and $1 million per year in outpatient Medi-Cal funds, KMC CEO Paul...
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't given up on passing a health plan that covers all Californians.
According to the Associated Press, his staff is working to fix the previous plan.
"Now we'll try again," Schwarzenegger said. "We will continue on, keeping the stakeholders...
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A Massachusetts bill aims to add weight and height to the list of characteristics people cannot use to discriminate with.
From the Chicago Tribune:
Currently, people can seek protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act, but they must prove their obesity is a disability and, in some...
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Straight from McCarthy's office today:
Congressman McCarthy Introduces the Military Voting Protection (MVP) Act of 2008
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman McCarthy, Ranking Republican on the House Administration Elections Subcommittee, introduced the Military Voting Protection (MVP)...
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Efforts are afoot to retrain workers laid off from residential construction. (In case you haven't noticed that the pace of new home construction has slowed.)
The state's Labor and Workforce Development’s Employment Development Department is looking for formal proposals.
It's being...
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce and The Californian today to talk budget cuts.
(Read "Governor in town to talk about budget crisis" on Bakersfield.com.)
In his interview with The Californian, the governor slipped in a few comments about health...
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California lawmakers have filed their annual reports (this for 2007) of outside income, gifts and travel expenses covered by outside entities. The Sacramento Bee was kind enough to put everybody's — including Kern's legislators' — online.
Below is a story the Bee did and links to...
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Want to know how much the presidential candidates' health plans cost? And what the plans mean to the federal government, states, employers and you?
I just came across a site that may help you out. It's ReformPlans.com, run by the World Health Care Congress. The site has a grid of the plans,...
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The Kern County grand jury issued this report Monday:
CITY OF CALIFORNIA CITY – ISSUE OF CITY MANAGER ACTION WITH RESPECT TO PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION
PURPOSE OF INQUIRY:
As a result of a complex complaint regarding the City Manager of the City of California City (City)...
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Fascinating stuff about an upcoming petroleum rights auction:
"...the censoring of the Arctic report was typical of the actions of the White House. "It fits a pattern of downplaying, denying, and suppressing climate science at every turn. It's all part of the Bush-Cheney strategy of...
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If the governor's health care proposal is one of the patients it is trying to help, that patient is gasping for air, bleeding out on the table.
In other words: The Senate Health Committee voted down the proposal yesterday.
From the L.A. Times:
Lawmakers called the plan, which passed the...
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The Current Fiscal Disaster
It is virtually impossible to overstate the profligacy of what our government spends on the military. The Department of Defense's planned expenditures for fiscal year 2008 are larger than all other nations' military budgets combined. The supplementary budget to pay...
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I read an article the other day about the Beret and how it is making a fashion comeback. I have always thought that berets looked silly, especially on men, unless they had been earned with an elite military unit such as the Rangers or Green Berets. I have noticed that over the last ten years,...
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Many of you will probably agree with me that employers need to provide better benefits to their workers, ALL of their workers they hire, not just full-time, but part-time as well. Many employers do not provide benefits that should be considered necesary, such as health insurance, vacation,...
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Most Californians are in favor of the new health care bill recently approved by the Assembly.
A Field Poll found:
By a nearly three-to-one margin (64 percent to 23 percent), California voters are inclined to favor a major health care reform plan backed by Republican Gov. Arnold...
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Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the city making curbside recycling mandatory. And many people have criticized the city for this plan, because it would impose an annual fee of around $36. Now, it's my turn to show off my criticism.
We all know that the city will be...
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Kern High School District Trustee Chad Vegas wants “In God We Trust” to be posted in every classroom in the district.
Vegas said he plans to discuss his proposal at Monday night's Board of Trustees meeting. The board member said he...
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West Nile virus was in the spotlight yesterday, but valley fever also got a nod.
(Read "Rising danger" in today's Californian.)
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's state-of-emergency proclamation over our rising West Nile virus cases says:
"Whereas there are also numerous...
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What is the answer D? And what would it do to the U.S. election process? It's actually quit simple. Any American who has gone to school and been subjected to a multiple choice test is more than familiar with the "Answer D". What answer D does is indicate to your...
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I just saw Michael Moore's Sicko (finally!) with some other reporters at a health journalism conference in Los Angeles.
Due to the wonders of Bakersfield movie distribution, I missed the small window of time when Sicko was in town.
Have you seen this yet? What did you think?
Considering...
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The government plays a large part in our lives but most of the time they don't tell us the whole story, no I'm not saying there is necessarily a "conspiracy" going on but I've heard a few rumors that the U.S. government played a part in altering the course of the hurricane,...
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Eminent Domain was set up to ensure that the expansion of America, states, counties and cities would not be interferred with by private landowners and businesses intent on being greedy or just hardheaded by giving the government the power to take over certain land for the good of the many as...
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So Cindy Sheehan has given up her fight against the war due to her perfectly understandable emotional, physical and financial exhaustion. She also cited the lack of the Democrats ability to do anything about bringing the war to an end. Well, they haven't accomplished much of anything else...
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The U.S. government is undertaking some very ambitious and very controversial medical experiments.
The $50 million, five-year project, which will involve more than 20,000 patients in 11 sites in the United States and Canada, is designed to improve treatment after car accidents, shootings,...
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How much are California tax payers paying their elected officials? The answer to this question can be found at www.dpa.ca.gov/jobinfo/ElectedOfficersSalaries.shtm . All Legislators in the State Senate and Assembly receive an annual salary of $113,098. Since 2005 Lawmakers have received a...
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Bumper Stickers Recently Seen:
What Part of "Bush Lied" Don't You Understand?
Even Nixon Resigned
George Bush is Creating the Terrorists Our Kids will Have to Fight
Let's Fix Democracy in This Country First
America: One Nation, Under Surveillance
Jail...
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The good news: Kern Medical Center has improved on some of their financial issues.
The bad news: There is still much more work to be done, and in fact, the hospital's progress has slipped a little when compared to the years before.
The Macias Consulting Group presented its latest round of...
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Just the thought of mixing sex and 12-year-old girls is making some people queasy about mandatory human papillomavirus vaccinations.
Through a Republican governor’s order, Texas girls must now receive the HPV vaccine before entering sixth grade unless their parents opt out. In...
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During the final months of 2006 there was a flurry of activity at the local level. There were articles in the paper, editorials, letters to the editor, blogs, forums, and more - almost all of them were about local politics. Many people were actually thinking, weighing the...
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Oh come now! Another one? It seems that whenever a golden child/cause of the left is called into question it is automatically a cover-up or a vast right wing conspiracy. Today it is Global Warming and it's all Dubyas fault! I wasn't aware that it was a subject that was a secret to the masses or...
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The governor laid out his comprehensive plan to improve health care in the state yesterday. Here are some of the highlights:
All Californians will be required to have health insurance.
Insurers must guarantee coverage.
Access to public programs, like Medi-Cal and Healthy...
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I see the IRS is at it again. This time blocking the distribution of funds raised to benefit the families of the firefighters killed fighting the Twin Pines fire in October. The IRS says the United Way, who handled the donati0ons, failed to follow the guidelines that seperate individuals or...
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The county supervisors are holding a "health summit" on Monday to talk about the biggest health issues facing the county. I'd urge anyone interested in the future of health care in Bakersfield to attend.
What do you think are the biggest health issues? KMC? The rise in obesity and...
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A 16-year-old cancer patient got his wish today to forgo chemotherapy.
According to an Associated Press story, the family’s attorneys and social services officials reached a consent decree, which said that Starchild Abraham Cherrix, who is battling Hodgkin’s disease, will be...
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