|
|
|
Welcome to Weighed Down, the blog that will accompany the Californian's upcoming series of stories exploring obesity.
Overweight and obesity has exploded over the last 30 years, becoming an epidemic facing over 60 percent of Kern County residents alone.
To see how obesity affects people's...
|
Comments [5] - Views [117]
|
|
|
|
Growing up the daughter of an OB/GYN's medical assistant, I have grown accustomed to the mountains of swag drug reps drop off at doctors offices.
Yeast infection medication calculators. Birth control lunch bags. Mountains and mountains of pens for every infertility, pregnancy, multivitamin,...
|
Comments [1] - Views [71]
|
|
|
|
It is remarkable how many conservatives can be so passionately and uncharitably opposed to the concept of a country ensuring the availability of education, health care and enough food and shelter for all its citizens despite their economic status.
I guess they think that the...
|
Comments [12] - Views [106]
|
|
|
|
Does the governor's proposed budget cuts kill the hope of health reform in California?
One local person thinks so.
"He (Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger) strongly and eloquently verbalizes his support for full access," said Clinica Sierra Vista CEO Steve Schilling. "But I'm...
|
Comments [64] - Views [265]
|
|
|
|
As Baby Boomers age, taking care of elderly relatives will become a greater task.
To help people with relatives suffering from Alzheimer's, the Alzheimer's Disease Association of Kern County is hosting a workshop on caregiving.
Starting tomorrow, "Alzheimer's, The Basics in...
|
Comments [0] - Views [22]
|
|
|
|
This is an invitation to an Advocare Nutrition Meeting.
We will be giving information on the top Energy, Wellness,
Weight loss and Sports performance systems. And
Highlighting the new Commit 2 Fit program.
This free informational meeting will be held
Tuesday January...
|
Comments [0] - Views [13]
|
|
|
|
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,...
|
Comments [21] - Views [191]
|
|
|
|
Not sure how Clinton feels about universal health coverage? Wanna find out what Huckabee's stance on private health care is all about?
Well, the Association of Health Care Journalists, of which I am a member, has compiled a break down on all the candidates' health plans and opinions. Along...
|
Comments [0] - Views [34]
|
|
|
|
But, what have they really done?
Our valley Agricultural businesses will benefit more than most if our air quality improves. Crops will yield more and be able to resist disease better because of improved plant health. With less dust, soot, and other common pollutants both valley...
|
Comments [1] - Views [44]
|
|
|
|
Law Now Applies to all Trucks
Beginning January 1, 2008, in the State of California, all trucks above 5 tons gross weight will no longer be allowed to idle longer than 5 minutes unless they are stuck in traffic. There were already state laws against excessive idling but an important...
|
Comments [1] - Views [75]
|
|
|
|
Don't Breathe Too Deeply
The last two nights have shown dangerously high levels of PM 2.5. The worst pollution has occurred around midnight. I used to carol as a teenager during those hours. You couldn't pay me to do that now. I had enough trouble breathing indoors...
|
Comments [1] - Views [22]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [3] - Views [43]
|
|
|
|
You can get gift cards to almost any store or Web site, for almost any good or service, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone created a gift card for something that leads to half of all bankruptcies — health care.
A Pittsburgh health insurer is selling Healthcare Visa...
|
Comments [2] - Views [67]
|
|
|
|
MRSA has been given a pretty scary nickname: superbug.
But MRSA — otherwise known as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, which also doesn't sound too fun — shouldn't keep parents up late at night worrying, state and local officials said today.
Several of these...
|
Comments [3] - Views [101]
|
|
|
|
California just got one step closer to health care reform.
Legislation that would provide coverage to a lot of uninsured Californians was approved today by the state Assembly.
The $14.4 billion health care reform plan has the support of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, but will not...
|
Comments [44] - Views [144]
|
|
|
|
It looks like the Kern High School District board isn't the only one debating freedom of choice in public schools.
The San Diego Unified attorneys are taking a second look at a policy that requires school staff to tell parents and guardians if they learn a teen is pregnant.
Some schools...
|
Comments [42] - Views [216]
|
|
|
|
It looks like Kern Medical Center's beleaguered OB/GYN department will grace the pages of The Californian yet again.
A former KMC OB/GYN resident has filed a claim against the county, the hospital and several other medical residents for damages she says she suffered after the residents...
|
Comments [0] - Views [477]
|
|
|
|
If you were dying and Dr. Gregory House was a real person — and not the main character in Fox's "House" — would you want him treating you?
Would you excuse his reckless, sometimes illegal actions and terrible bedside manner for his lifesaving diagnosis?
That question...
|
Comments [5] - Views [104]
|
|
|
|
If 80 percent of people with West Nile virus have no symptoms, that means at least 690 Kern County residents were infected by the mosquito-borne virus year.
This figure assumes that every person who felt sick went to the doctor, who then reported the case to the state, so this number is...
|
Comments [0] - Views [29]
|
|
|
|
Most of you probably won't admit it within earshot of an employer, but you know you've played hooky from work by calling in sick a time or two.
CareerBuilder.com recently released its annual survey on absenteeism and found that 32 percent of workers admitted to calling in sick when they were...
|
Comments [0] - Views [51]
|
|
|
|
KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in North America. KaBOOM! brings together parents, community leaders and corporate partners to facilitate the group planning and design of new community playspaces. Our goal is...
|
Comments [4] - Views [139]
|
|
|
|
Unregulated Ammonia Emissions are to Blame
PM 2.5 measurements for November have never been worse. Compared to just a year ago, there was a 66% increase in average 24 hour readings of the deadly particulates this past month. The graph shows the comparison between this November...
|
Comments [26] - Views [163]
|
|
|
|
Supervisor in Kern Sees Green
For several years we have known that the worst air in the nation is often found infiltrating the lungs of local residents.
Today, in oil rich Kern County, a Supervisor, Michael Rubio, has moved the county to agree to purchase the cleanest, most fuel...
|
Comments [1] - Views [64]
|
|
|
|
Chew on this (as you prepare for the most gluttonous, overindulgent holiday of the year): Condors fans will soon be able to take advantage of an All-You-Can-Eat Pavilion in Rabobank Arena.
As if Kern County needed another excuse to overeat.
Here's the news release:
BAKERSFIELD, Calif....
|
Comments [0] - Views [48]
|
|
|
|
Another World AIDS Day comes around, but is the community any wiser?
I spoke yesterday with Audrey Chavez, director of the Bakersfield AIDS Project, about World AIDS Day and where Kern stands in fighting the infectious disease. (Read "Observe World AIDS Day at many local events" in...
|
Comments [0] - Views [64]
|
|
|
|
Just to bring this to light, I would like to expose you all to the dangers of irrational thinking based on religion. Unfortunately a mother lost her life due to refusing a blood transfusion.
These are the dangers when I'm asked to live and let live. Now twin babies will have to live without a...
|
Comments [24] - Views [149]
|
|
|
|
PM 2.5 Readings Off the Chart Again
After only 4 days of healthful air, PM 2.5 levels have skyrocketed to nearly 3 times the federally mandated level for good health.
We recently finished an almost unprecendented spell of lousy air quality the first 8 days of November. During...
|
Comments [24] - Views [164]
|
|
|
|
Ok to start thanks so much to Murphy for the help!!! I didn't get far but at least it's something...
Ok for sure we know He had a sister named Christina. Johnny owned a shop named Johnny's auto shop, and worked at a place called Joe's auto parts. He was born in 62 or 63. His mother and...
|
Comments [0] - Views [21]
|
|
|
|
Seeing a pregnant woman sidle up to the bar with a pint of Fat Tire or a pregnant woman taking a couple drags on her Virginia Slims while walking down Chester Avenue will probably make more than a few people cringe.
But what about expecting moms taking sips of wine?
That is what a new...
|
Comments [6] - Views [219]
|
|
|
|
A few blogs ago I posted tips for discarding unused meds. Here's some info on how to manage the meds you keep.
The Golden Empire Society of Health-System Pharmacists is urging patients to keep track of what they're taking to help avoid drug interactions. (Read "Patients urged to list...
|
Comments [1] - Views [24]
|
|
|
|
Blogs aren't just for the Web anymore.
"The Pulse" is now a Californian feature, along with being a fun and informative way to while away your time at work.
Every Monday, one of my blog posts is going to run in the Eye Street section of the paper.
"Spicy meatballs...
|
Comments [2] - Views [84]
|
|
|
|
OK, you can breathe again.
After 160 straight hours of unhealthy air we got relief last night at 10 pm in the form of a weak low pressure system moving through. This was some kind of record for bad air that the air district must be really puzzling about.
The problem was PM 2.5 made...
|
Comments [3] - Views [69]
|
|
|
|
Well after a lot of questions and a bit of waiting I have some more info.
Mr. Garcia had a auto shop some 25 years ago called Johnny's Auto Shop, before that he worked at a place called. Joe's auto parts. He has a younger sister named Christina, also one more sister and 1 or 2 brothers. We do...
|
Comments [0] - Views [21]
|
|
|
|
I appreciate everything the oil companies have done the past 10 or 15 years to reduce their pollution emissions. But, they still have to use a huge amount of energy to produce the oil and the burning of this energy is not a small part of the emissions inventory by any means. I think I...
|
Comments [4] - Views [85]
|
|
|
|
Chalk up something else to our burgeoning girths.
Obesity has killed the It's a Small World ride at Disneyland, or, at the least, it has put it out of service.
From Wired:
"The boats routinely bottom out under the weight of super-sized riders, bringing the popular ride to a...
|
Comments [12] - Views [149]
|
|
|
|
A once-promising holiday toy is now being recalled for containing the "date-rape drug" chemical.
This follows in a long line of recent recalls. In toys alone, the Consumer Product Safety Commission conducted 61 recalls this year so far, compared to 40 recalls last year.
Can...
|
Comments [12] - Views [51]
|
|
|
|
A friend in Frazier Park sent pictures from this past Sunday of the haze from the valley creeping up the Grapevine. We all know the view of brown haze going down into the valley from that area. It must be pretty disturbing to see it rising up to greet you if you live up there.
The...
|
Comments [9] - Views [109]
|
|
|
|
Even if you're not someone with an overflowing amount of prescriptions, the penicillin from the infection a year ago, pain meds from when your back went out and leftover allergy pills can add up over time.
Here are some tips on how to safely discard the medicine, courtesy of the Substance...
|
Comments [3] - Views [59]
|
|
|
|
The thought of your grandparents getting it on is enough to make any mature, well-adjusted adult say, "Ewwwwww! Icky!"
But it turns out that them "making whoopie" — as it was called back in the day — may help in the long run. Sex and sleep may be the keys to...
|
Comments [7] - Views [117]
|
|
|
|
PM 2.5
As of Saturday morning around 10 a.m. we have completed 48 straight hours of horrible air quality above the federal standard of 1997 and far above the federal standard of today. The pollution is in the haze and is mostly ammonium nitrate. It is formed by an atmospheric...
|
Comments [20] - Views [158]
|
|
|
|
Nowadays, everything must be named, categorized and analyzed to give a concept a proper place in the monster that is American Culture.
Pretty much, you need a book. A how-to book is even better. A humorous how-to book puts it over the edge.
Enter: Knock Yourself Up: A Tell-All Guide to...
|
Comments [1] - Views [120]
|
|
|
|
I love me some Italian food.
I lived at Fazoli's, a fast-food Italian restaurant back East, when I was in college. Frugatti's is my favorite place to eat in Bakersfield. Give me pasta, sauce, maybe some meatballs and bread sticks and I am a ragazza felice (happy girl).
But maybe this is why I...
|
Comments [1] - Views [313]
|
|
|
|
I always knew people who liked candy corn were strange. Who likes candy shaped like vegetables? It defeats the purpose.
I can also think of a couple Twizzlers and Butterfingers. Weirdos.
What is your Halloween candy personality? The Washington Post put together a neat guide to gaging who...
|
Comments [9] - Views [465]
|
|
|
|
A box of Halloween cookies have been tempting me all week. Right now they are sitting on the end of my kitchen table, beckoning me to take "just one." I bought them to give out at work, and that's where they will go...not all into my stomach...I'm promising myself.
Halloween can be...
|
Comments [5] - Views [58]
|
|
|
|
My concern is the lack of Advanced Life Support Paramedics in rural areas of Kern County. I have been working on this issue since my husband died while we waited over an hour for an ambulance with an ALS paramedic. The firefighters (BLS paramedics) from my local fire station...
|
Comments [13] - Views [223]
|
|
|
|
Unless you're going for that crusty, pink-eye look on Nov. 1, don't top off your Halloween costume with novelty contact lenses.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, decorative contact lenses carry the same risks as corrective contact lenses, including:
conjunctivitis (pink...
|
Comments [1] - Views [71]
|
|
|
|
Ok well after some checking I found out that the man I'm looking for was called Johnnie or Jonny. So John may or may not be his first name. I do know for a fact that middle name is Alonzo. Would be about 43-44 years old and had a lot of family in Bakersfield. I am looking all this up from a...
|
Comments [2] - Views [50]
|
|
|
|
MRSA — or methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, an antibiotic-resistant bacteria — has been widely talked about over the last weeks after several people were infected in Indiana and the "superbug" killed a Virginia teenager.
Shortly after starting here last year, I...
|
Comments [2] - Views [140]
|
|
|
|
For the past several days my gaze has been pulled to the large TV near my desk in the newsroom. "California burning" and "California inferno" — as CNN is calling it — is the gist of what I've been watching.
Looking out the window at the beautiful Bakersfield...
|
Comments [6] - Views [62]
|
|
|
|
I heard about an amazing lecture by Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, an expert on Virtual Reality, and computer/human interactions. He is also dying of pancreatic cancer, and has just a short time to live. There is a tradition at Carnegie Mellon that professors will give a...
|
Comments [0] - Views [86]
|
|
|
