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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Just last week Cub Scout patches were recalled due to high levels of lead. This follows several recent recalls of children's toys and jewelry.
How apropos then that this week is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week.
Lead is much more harmful to children than adults because it can...
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Do you have an inspirational story to tell about your personal weight-loss journey? If so, the Californian wants to hear about it.
We're gearing up to do a large package of stories on obesity — childhood obesity in particular. And we want to get our readers involved in the final...
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How do you feel about your HMO and physicians group?
BFMC, GEMCare, Kaiser, Blue Cross, Health Net — all have been evaluated and rated for patient satisfaction and how well they met national standards of care.
The state Office of the Patient Advocate released the scores yesterday in...
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Drug companies voluntarily withdrew over-the-counter cough-and-cold medicines for infants and toddlers younger than 2 last week.
While the medicines aren't dangerous in the right doses, the companies are afraid parents will accidentally OD their kids, an industry spokesperson said.
(Read...
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All types of alcohol — wine, beer or liquor — add equally to the risk of developing breast cancer, American researchers said today, according to the Associated Press.
Furthermore, women who had more than three drinks a day raised their risk by 30 percent.
That definitely makes...
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It seems October is being hailed as a different disease's awareness month every time I turn around.
In fact it comes in a close second to May (19 causes) for most number of month-long national health observances with 17, according to the U.S Dept. of Health and Human Services.
October is:...
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Call me cynical, but the amount of products boasting "Buy me! I support (insert breast cancer organization here)" is getting a little out of hand.
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for raising money to research breast cancer. My grandmother was just diagnosed with it a couple weeks ago, so...
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Just because we can, does it me we should?
That question is at the heart of a debate over the consequences of genetic testing of fetuses. Some feel the increasing use of genetic screenings is leading to more abortions and promoting a form of eugenics. Others see it as a way to be fully aware...
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Public markets have been around since 1800s. It's a great way to shop for vegetables and other nutritious foods. We could definitely use more of these public markets here in Bakersfield. I heard that someone is going to open one downtown. I can't wait! I'm even thinking of leasing a space...
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I spend 15 minutes in the garage every Saturday with my daughter crushing cans... we have a designated space on the kitchen counter where plastic bottles accumulate until they are carried out to our bin... and I carpool as much as humanly possible in my line of work. So I ask you, what can...
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With all the talk surrounding West Nile virus, it's easy to forget that our annoying needle-limbed bloodsucking friends can carry other diseases as well.
George Gilbert Lynch, a frequent citizen journalist for the Californian, sent me a link to a story he wrote last year about his bout of...
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Last year, Bakersfield city officials decided to create a new image for Bakersfield. An image of a better quality of life, a better place to live. And so they created a new motto that goes something like this: "Bakersfield: Life as it Should Be." Here's...
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I've had the same wonderful dentist Terrence Lukens for 30 years. During the time I was in his care, I never had a toothache. He took excellent care and was the kindest, most caring compassionate dentist I've ever met. Suddenly I found myself with no insurance. I...
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If you ever have ridden in or been near a helicopter as it lands, you know the wind these big machines can create.
Add some valley fever spores into the dust that is kicked up, and you can have a problem.
Below is an excerpt from a blog by Chopper Chick, otherwise known as Desiree, a...
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Do you think cheerleading is a sport? I believe it is, even though I never did it myself. Here is my argument as to why. First, it is athletic and competitive. Second, cheerleaders perform many stunts and do lots of gymnastics and dancing. Third, there's a risk of...
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Why does it seem like whenever Kern County is No. 1, it's for something bad?
Kern County has led the country this year in West Nile virus cases. And to help residents understand the threat and what the county is doing to combat the mosquito-borne virus, Supervisor Michael Rubio and Interim...
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Remember bird flu? It was all the rage about a year and a half ago but has since seemed to have faded back into the brush of the Third World counties whence it came.
I even remember a very alarming made-for-TV movie "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America" about it. Because, you...
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When I came to Bakersfield almost a year and a half ago, I didn't have any prescriptions or things that were seriously wrong with me (though that's probably up for debate).
Now I have asthma, persistent allergies and, as of the last couple of weeks, rashes on my arms, legs, neck, feet, hands...
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Too sick for the homeless shelters.
Not sick enough for the hospitals.
Too poor or too young for other rehab and skilled nursing programs.
What should Bakersfield do about homeless residents who need more care but shouldn't be in the hospitals?
This town has a gap in care when it...
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I've heard a lot of West Nile virus misconceptions over the past couple of weeks. Hopefully this will help ease some worries and satiate inquiring minds.
Myth: West Nile virus only affects the young and elderly.
Answer: Busted.
The Kern County Department of Public Health held a press...
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If you get the chance, please read the Woman to Woman columns on page B7 of today's Californian. Very powerful stuff.
Diane Glass, the left-leaning columnist, lost her battle with bile duct cancer on July 30. This is her last, farewell column. She had everything going for her: a relationship,...
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I love this photo that Californian photographer Casey Christie took one afternoon last week.
The sky was definitely eerie last weekend, to say the least. A friend joked that it was signally the Apocalypse. And I know it wasn't healthy to be breathing in all that ash.
Locusts anyone?...
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Hello everybody...at long last the Road Show Shop is open.
www.cafepress.com/roadshowshop
I am particularly pleased to announce that all proceeds will be donated directly to the San Juan Regional Trauma Center and family hostel.
At the moment we have only a small inventory of Road Show items...
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When I left for work this morning, I noticed some ash on my windshield.
Did you see this too?
It could be affecting your health, warns the local air district.
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District issued a health warning this morning for Fresno, Madera, Merced, Kings,...
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Don't we all have days when we wish we could take a sledgehammer and demolish the place we work?
Well for nurses at San Joaquin Community Hospital, that day was today. They got to help in the demolition of the hospital's old family birth center.
(Read "San Joaquin demolishes old...
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