BOOMERS: GET SHINGLES VACCINE

People who have experienced or witnessed the pain associated with shingles are rushing to obtain Zostavax, a vaccine manufactured by Merck & Co. Inc.

Kalpna Patel, a pharmacist in the Central California city of Bakersfield, says she has administered hundreds of doses at her San Dimas Pharmacy. As consumers have discovered in other California communities and other states, the vaccine can be administered in pharmacies and doctors’ offices.

But the vaccine is expensive, when not covered by insurance. It also must remain frozen until injected. As a result, some physicians and pharmacies do not make it readily available. But that is not curbing the increasing demand.

“Shingles can be very painful. There have been cases that have caused blindness,” said Patel, adding that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people who are over 60 years of age and who do not have disqualifying medical conditions receive the vaccine.

As people learn about the vaccine through the manufacturer’s advertising, or from their doctors, they are requesting it, said pharmacist Sylvia Ta, another Bakersfield pharmacist. Ta said anyone who has been exposed to chicken pox should be vaccinated.

Shingles is a viral disease that commonly strikes older adults. It is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox in children. After exposure to chicken pox, the virus remains dormant, or “asleep” in nerve cells along the spinal column for decades.

As immune systems become compromised with age, or for other unknown reasons, the virus can reactivate, following a nerve to the skin’s surface, where it will appear as a painful rash.

Dr. Rafael Harpaz, a CDC epidemiologist, told National Public Radio that the painful blisters can travel to the face and into the eyes, where they can impair vision and even cause blindness.

“It can last for months and sometimes even years. It can be really life shattering,” he said. “I’ve heard stories of vibrant 62-year-old tennis-playing persons that end up being housebound and suicidal because of severe pain and not being able to interact socially and so forth.”

To hear NPR’s report, go to http://tinyurl.com/NPRshingles

Most people over the age of 60 have been exposed to the chicken pox virus. Although the vaccine to prevent chicken pox was developed in Japan in the 1970s, it wasn’t until 1995 that it was recommended for routine use in the United States.

Merck researchers estimate there are more than a million cases of shingles in the United States each year. The average person has a 30 percent chance of developing the condition in their lifetime.

Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt Medical School in Nashville, Tenn., gave this statistic perspective when he told NPR that almost half the people who reach 85 years of age will have experienced shingles at some point in their lives.

As with all vaccines, there is no guarantee that Zostavax will prevent shingles, said Patel. But its effectiveness has led the CDC to recommend it be given to people 60 years of age and older, who are more susceptible to shingles. It is uncertain if children now receiving the vaccine to prevent chicken pox will also carry the dormant virus and will need to be vaccinated to prevent shingles in their later years.

But a dose of Zostavax can be expensive if you do not have insurance, or your insurance does not cover the medication.

Because of the cost, the need to order the vaccine in volume and the need to keep the “live virus” vaccine frozen until it is administered, many local physicians and pharmacies to do carry it, Patel said.

Patel’s pharmacy is one of the few in metropolitan Bakersfield, where the vaccine can be purchased and administered. Patel said about 70 percent of the people who come into her pharmacy for Zostavax are covered by Medicare. Those who have not reached Medicare age and do not have insurance to pick up the cost pay $215 for the vaccine. Some insurance plans will only pay for the vaccine if it is administered by a physician.

At Ta’s pharmacy, a physician will request an order of Zostavax. When it arrives at the pharmacy, the patient will pick it up and take it quickly to the physician to be injected, or the pharmacy will deliver the medication to the doctor’s office so that it will be administered shortly after it arrives. This may require the patient to make two doctor’s visits.

Pharmacists and insurance providers urge people to read and understand their coverage before getting vaccinated. Medicare and many insurance plans will cover this relatively new vaccine. But how to get insurance companies to pay up may be hidden in the “fine print.”

With Vanderbilt’s Schaffner calling the vaccine a “major public health advance” for the 60-plus age group, Patel said getting an injection of Zostavax is worth the effort.

This article written by Dianne Hardisty appeared first in The Bakersfield Californian on Feb. 21. 2010.

ADULTS MISS VACCINATIONS

Nearly 50,000 adult Americans die each year from diseases that could have been prevented by vaccines, according to a report released this month.


“Adult Immunization: Shots to Save Lives,” a report prepared jointly by the Trust for America’s Health, the Infectious Disease Society of America and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, tracked illnesses and adult vaccination rates in each state.

“This country does not have an effective strategy for immunizing adults against infectious diseases,” said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health, as the report was being released. The report can be read at www.healthyamericans.org/

“Thousands of lives could be saved each year if we could increase the number of adults who receive routine and recommended vaccinations. We need a national strategy to make vaccines a regular part of medical care and to educate Americans about the effectiveness and safety of vaccines,” Levi said.

Researchers noted that the systems in place to vaccinate America’s children are “first rate.” But too often adults fall through the cracks. Adults may not have access to medical care, or are not aware of the need to be vaccinated.

Community health officials are confirming this shortcoming in adult vaccinations. Dr. Claudia Jonah, the health officer in Kern County, Calif., agreed that more needs to be done to vaccinate adults.

Noting the demand among adults in her rural Central California county for H1N1 (swine flu) vaccinations, Jonah said vaccination rates will increase when a case is made for the need.

“This is a very important discussion people should be having with their doctors,” she said, pointing out that the Kern County Health Department primarily is called upon to vaccinate adults who plan to travel. The vaccination records of these adults and the risks found in countries they plan to visit are evaluated, and shots administered.

According to Jonah, adults should be vaccinated for pneumonia, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, and seasonal flu. Tetanus and diphtheria require booster shots. If an adult has received the complete polio series as a child, no booster shots are required.

In many cases, young women also will be urged to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, she said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the failure of American adults to be vaccinated adds about $10 billion annually to the cost of health care.

States require children to be vaccinated before they can enroll in school. Veterinarians send out reminder cards to have dogs and cats vaccinated to be licensed. But little is done to alert adults to the need to be vaccinated.

“We give a lot of attention to protecting our children,” said Jonah. “More needs to be done for adults.”

This article by Dianne Hardisty appeared first in The Bakersfield Californian on Feb. 21, 2010.

CARPETBAGGERS: DO VOTERS CARE?

Carpetbagger describes opportunistic Northerners, who moved to the South after the Civil War to loot, plunder and politically manipulate the defeated states for personal gain.


The word applies today to a politician who runs for public office in an area in which he is not from, or in which he has lived for only a short time. Depending on the politician, the area and the circumstances, the word can either enrage voters, or make them yawn.

Campaigns in the 30th Assembly District and the 16th state Senate District – two sprawling political jurisdictions that include portions of Kern County, as well as neighboring counties – have attracted candidates some might call carpetbaggers. But the candidates’ residencies will likely cause more yawns than outrage, according to political observers.

Former Kern County Supervisor Pete Parra has rented an apartment in Hanford, and moved his residency and voter registration from Bakersfield to that city to run in the June Democratic primary for the 30th Assembly District seat being vacated by Republican Danny Gilmore of Hanford. Parra will face Fran Florez, a Shafter city councilwoman and member of the California High Speed Rail Authority, for the Democratic nomination.

Phil Wyman, a former Republican assemblyman and state senator, has moved his residency and voter registration from his Tehachapi ranch to Hanford to seek the Republican nomination to succeed 16th District Sen. Dean Florez, a Democrat, who is termed out of office. So far, Wyman is the only Republican in the race. He is expected to face Kern County Supervisor Michael Rubio, a Democrat.

Likely both Parra’s and Wyman’s opponents will raise residency as an issue. Both men are prepared to respond.

Parra points out that he grew up in east Bakersfield, which is included in the 30th District. His Bakersfield home is only one mile outside its boundaries. As a former Kern County supervisor and before that as the head of the county’s jobs program, and now as a member of regional organizations, such as the eight-county California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, he says he is tuned into the concerns of district residents.

Wyman calls his move to Hanford a return home. He lived in the Kings County city for three years – from 1993 to 1995 – when he represented the 16th Senate District after the Legislature redrew district lines, shuffling politicians into new areas.

In those years, so many candidates were moving around to run for offices that The Californian mocked four of its elected representatives -- Wyman, former Sen. Don Rogers, former Kern County Supervisor and later Assemblyman Roy Ashburn, and former Assemblyman, Senator and now Congressman Jim Costa -- by depicting them in a cartoon riding a gypsy cart dressed in gypsy costumes.

Wyman, who claims election fraud blocked his reelection to the 16th Senate seat, which he lost to Costa, says he is very familiar with the people and needs of the district.

But why move to Hanford?

“People in Kern County know me well,” said Parra, explaining he is not as well known in the northern part of the district. Parra’s daughter, Nicole, represented the 30th District until she was termed out of office in 2008. She, too, embraced Hanford as her home as a candidate and later as an assemblywoman. Both Parras were attracted to the picturesque, tree-filled city because it is located in the heart of the district.

Wyman explained that traveling to the far reaches of the 16th District would take hours if he had just moved to Bakersfield, instead of Hanford, to satisfy residency requirements. A base in Hanford gives candidates quick access to voters in Kings, Fresno, Tulare and Kern counties.

“Voters don’t seem to mind where candidates live,” said Bakersfield government consultant Gene Tackett, who pointed out residency in a district is not required to hold a seat in Congress. “People seem to vote more by party, or ideology. I am not sure [residency] is that important to voters.”

Tackett noted that Tom McClintock represented Thousand Oaks in Southern California in the state Senate until he moved in 2008 to Northern California to successfully run for the 4th Congressional District, a vacancy created when Rep. John Doolittle decided not to seek re-election.

McClintock, a Republican, responded to carpetbagger charges: “I think most people are far more interested in where one stands than where one lives.”

McClintock had plenty of examples to back up that claim. They included the recent relocation of Dan Lungren, a Republican state and federal lawmaker who represented the Long Beach area before becoming California attorney general. In 2004, Lungren leaped from Southern California to successfully run for Congress in Northern California.

Former Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, who lost his seat in 2006 to Democrat Jerry McNermey, has launched a political comeback campaign. But he won’t be taking on the man who beat him. Instead of running in his “home” district, Pombo is seeking the Republican nomination in a neighboring district. So far he is facing Sen. Jeff Denham and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson to replace retiring Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa.

“Sometimes moving into a district to run for office doesn’t work,” said political scientist Sherry Bebitch Jeffe at the University of Southern California. “And sometimes voters just don’t care. Voters will decide if it is important.”

“The real hostilities come when candidates use fake addresses and actually live outside the district,” she said.

Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, a Southern California-based non-partisan think tank, said he doesn’t “get all worked up” about candidates moving into districts to run for office. But questions about residency can make races tighter, he said, noting residency requirements, particularly for state legislative seats, can be a little arcane.

But Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley does get all worked up about residency. In recent months, he has started investigations of city, county and state lawmakers, including Sen. Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, and Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon, for allegedly not living in the districts they represent.

“You have to have a residency requirement,” said Bakersfield Republican political consultant Stan Harper. “How do you represent a district you don’t even live in? I would have a hard time supporting a candidate who just moved into a district to run, like McClintock. Carpetbagging is wrong.”

But Republican political consultant Cathy Abernathy of Bakersfield has a more tolerant view, noting the distance a candidate moves might make a difference.

“If someone from San Francisco ran in the 32nd Assembly District, it would bother the voters a lot,” she said. “You are supposed to elect someone who knows the district and its people.”

Abernathy noted that until recently, the drawing of political district boundary lines was done by the Legislature. A ballot measure in 2008 transferred the redistricting job to a “citizen committee.” But in previous redistricting, the majority party sometimes intentionally carved the homes of minority party incumbents out of their districts.

“It’s a cute gimmick. Sometimes you have to be cute back,” Abernathy said.

This article by Dianne Hardisty appeared first in The Bakersfield Californian on Feb. 21, 2010.

HISTORIAN HAS DEEP ROOTS

Lynn Hay Rudy and husband, Jerry, harvest a tree on their farm.

When Lynn Hay Rudy looks out the window of her Sonoma County farm house, she sees ocean waves crashing down on the Northern California coast. Her home is hundreds of miles away from where she grew up. Her life experiences have taken her to other nations. But her focus has remained on her roots in Bakersfield.


Rudy, a descendent of Kern County pioneers and a published historian, will speak Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010, during a luncheon meeting of the Kern County Historical Society at the Stars Theater, 1931 Chester Ave.

Rudy is the author of three local history books: “A Brief History of the Hay Family of Bakersfield, California,” “Granddad: Hugh A. Blodget in Early Bakersfield,” and “Old Bakersfield: Sites and Landmarks, 1875 – 1915.”

Her Saturday presentation will focus on downtown Bakersfield from 1860 to 2010, and will include a rough architectural history.

Rudy was born and raised in Bakersfield, graduating from East Bakersfield High School in 1951. She earned a degree in art from Stanford University, pursuing a lifelong career as a biological illustrator. She and her husband, Jerry, a marine biology professor at the University of Oregon, lived for 20 years along the Oregon coast, traveling to various countries conducting research projects.

Upon their retirement, they returned to California, settling on a small coastal farm in Sonoma County, where she is a volunteer and history writer at Fort Ross State Park.

She credits her teenage years in Bakersfield, where she became her family’s genealogist, for her passion for history.

“I have always loved history,” she explained during a recent interview. She described the hours she spent pouring over tract maps and census data to piece together her family’s Kern County story.

Her relatives started moving to Kern County in the mid-1800s. Grandfather George Hay arrived on a train from Indiana in 1892 to work in the mines in the mountains east of Bakersfield. Tiring of eating beans, he moved to “the city,” where he worked first for the county treasurer and later went into real estate, she said.

The Hay Building, a prominent downtown landmarks that bore his name, was just one of Hay’s many holdings. The building was a department store, living quarters and offices complex. For several years, it was the home of artists’ studios. It is being converted into loft apartments.

Grandfather Hugh A. Blodget arrived on a train in 1874 as a 19-year-old boy with a certificate in bookkeeping. He pursued a career in banking, becoming the cashier at the Kern Valley Bank, one of many U.S. banks to fail in a 1912 crash.

Rudy said her grandfather Blodget “lost it all” and left Bakersfield in 1918, moving to San Francisco, where he was able to restore his career and a comfortable life.

During her Saturday presentation, Rudy will discuss several prominent and historically significant downtown Bakersfield buildings, including those tied to her family. She will discuss restoration efforts in Bakersfield and elsewhere, noting the challenges that confront most communities attempting a downtown renaissance.

The mother of three adult daughters, and grandmother to six, Rudy has maintained her close ties to Bakersfield, where her brothers, nieces and nephews live.

This article written by Dianne Hardisty appeared first in The Bakersfield Californian on Feb. 18, 2010.

ECONOMIST RESPONDS TO HARDISTY

Mark Evans, an economics professor at California State University, Bakersfield, criticizes both Dianne Hardisty and the column she wrote about former Congressman Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, about the reappointment of Ben Bernanke to head the Federal Reserve. You can read Evans' opinion column, which appeared in the Feb. 16, 2010 edition of The Bakersfield Californian, at http://tinyurl.com/yfvp99b/

Thomas, who now is co-chairman of the congressionally appointed Fiscal Crisis Inquiry Commission, was interviewed by The Californian's former editorial page editor, Dianne Hardisty, about the economy, its meltdown and the role of federal regulators, including Bernanke. Read Hardisty's column at http://tinyurl.com/ydy8svf/

Mark Evans claims Thomas' criticism and the Hardisty column unfairly blamed Bernanke. He also claims the deeply divided Senate confirmation vote on Bernanke's continued leadership of the Fed threatens that agency's independence.

SICKLE CELL: A BATTLE FOR LIFE

Not yet 30 years old and with pharmacy degrees in hand, Sanjay and Bhavana Patel moved to Bakersfield, Calif., to start new careers and a family. A promising future loomed ahead for the attractive young couple.


That was two decades ago. Bhavana became pregnant with the couple’s first child, a daughter they named Hina. But a routine blood test – one given to all newborn babies in California – headed the family down a tortuous life-and-death path.

Ten days after Hina was born, the pediatrician called. Hina had sickle cell anemia.

“I thought there had to be a mistake,” Bhavana now recalls. “We thought that was mostly an African American disease.”

But the couple, who are both of Indian descent, learned that the hereditary disease also is found in people living in Mediterranean countries, such as Italy, as well as India. Neither Sanjay, nor Bhavana knew they carried genes that could combine to inflict their beautiful baby daughter with a potentially fatal disease.

“At first we were in denial,” Bhavana said, explaining that Hina appeared and behaved as a healthy, normal baby. But as Hina approached her first birthday, she had her first “pain crisis.” Her feet and hands swelled up. “It was very painful. All she did was cry. Then we knew it was real.”

Initially common pain relievers, such as Tylenol, gave baby Hina relief. But as pain crisis followed pain crisis, stronger drugs were administered.

“The pain became so severe,” Bhavana said, recalling staying day and night at her daughter’s side. Trips to hospital emergency rooms and to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles began.

For the first three years, Hina’s treatment required frequent blood transfusions. But doctors at L.A. Children’s Hospital warned that these transfusions could cause a dangerous build-up of iron in the toddler’s system.

As the years passed and Hina’s condition worsened, Sanjay and Bhavana began investigating the option of a bone marrow transplant for their daughter. Her severe and repeated pain episodes and the availability of a matching donor would qualify her for the procedure.

Despite her medical struggles, Hina did well in school. New medicines provided periods when her pain was controlled and she could join in activities with classmates, including going to Camp KEEP, an outdoor environmental camp for area school children. As a teenager, she excelled in her studies at Stockdale High School. But medical complications in her senior year required her to leave the classroom and finish her studies with the help of at-home teachers. Still, she graduated with a 4.1 grade point average.

After a second consultation at Stanford Hospital, which indicated an 80 percent chance of success, a “family decision” was made in 2008 for Hina to have a bone marrow transplant at L.A. Children’s Hospital.

The procedure was successful and Hina’s sickle cell disease was believed to be cured, said Bhavana. But donor cells and Hina’s cells began fighting each other – a condition referred to as graft versus host disease.

Initially fearing the transplant had failed, Hina’s medical team, which expanded to include the staff at the Children’s Hospital in Seattle, Wash., once again began applying new therapies, which the family hopes will beat back the transplant threat. Hina and her family are now consulting with medical staff at the University of California, Los Angeles, hospital.

Sustaining her in this fight have been more than 80 units of platelets that Houchin Community Blood Bank donors in Bakersfield have provided.

“We owe her life to you,” Sanjay told platelet donors being honored at a recent Houchin dinner. “Because of you, we will see her get better.”

“Sometimes I ask, ‘Why me?’ But I know everyone faces bumps in the road,” Hina told donors. “I try to keep positive mentally and have hope. I have faith in God. … Finding my match for platelets is difficult. Houchin has been able to do that.”

Some of the donors honored at the Houchin dinner had given up to 630 units of platelets, a component critical to blood clotting. Donating platelets differs from donating whole blood in that the procedure takes longer. Based on medical considerations, fewer people are qualified to donate.

“Giving platelets to someone you don’t know is a sterling example of selflessness,” Sanjay told Houchin donors.

Just days after Hina and her family spoke to donors, Hina was admitted to Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, where once again she relied on platelets from Houchin to stay alive and fight off an infection. She has returned home to continue her recovery.

While Hina fights to keep her bone marrow transplant, she is taking online college courses through Bakersfield College. The 19-year-old honors student has been accepted into the University of Pacific’s pharmacy program. The university has promised to keep its admission offer open until Hina recovers.

She will be following in her parent’s professional footsteps, although Bhavana placed her career on hold after her daughter’s diagnosis. “If you have a child with sickle cell, you become a stay-at-home mom, you become an advocate, staying on top of her treatment,” Bhavana said, offering no regrets for her career decision.

And her advice for other parents: “Especially if you are African American, always test yourself. Otherwise, you can pass this along to your offspring.”

Following genetic testing, Sanjay and Bhavana had a second daughter, Amie, who is now 16 years old and a student at Stockdale High School. Bhavana said Amie carries her mother’s gene for the disease, but not her father’s. While Amie does not have sickle cell disease, Bhavana says her daughter will need to consider the risks when she marries and has children.

To learn more about sickle cell disease go to www.sicklecelldisease.org

This article written by Dianne Hardisty appeared first in The Bakersfield Californian on Feb. 14, 2010.

BLOOD PLATELET DEMAND INCREASES

Marci Hayes and Judith O’Brien are buddies. Before retiring, they taught school together at Walter Stiern Middle School. Leonard Zasoski and Daniel Reed work together at Colombo Construction. Florn Core and Gary Leary are neighbors.


They were among the many men and women sitting together at tables jammed into a banquet room at Hodel’s Restaurant on Knudsen Drive recently. They all were being honored for giving generously and compassionately of themselves. They were platelet donors being recognized by Houchin Community Blood Bank.

Many were buddies, coworkers, neighbors and classmates. Most became platelet donors after donating whole blood for years. And many became the backbone of Houchin’s donor network after a family member or friend experienced a medical crisis requiring a lifesaving transfusion.

Leonard Zasoski began donating blood two decades ago to help his father. Eventually he was urged to donate platelets, a more time-consuming procedure requiring donors to have well-structured blood veins and no limiting medical factors.

Zasoski has donated 169 units of platelets. The blood-clotting attributes of platelets help fight many diseases. Transfusions of platelets often are required in the treatment of cancer patients.

“Think about it. How would you feel if you had a loved one who needed a transfusion and no one would donate?” Zasoski said, explaining why he continued to donate long after his family’s immediate needs were met. “And you feel good about donating. You are helping someone out.”

Leary began donating blood when he served in the Marine Corps. In the years that followed, family and friends needed transfusions, and Leary generously stepped forward. Joking about his large, healthy veins, Leary eventually was asked to donate platelets. Leary, whose wife, Deborah, is active in the American Cancer Society, knows about the increasing local need for platelets and has donated 93 units, so far.

Platelets are among the several components found in blood donated at Houchin, explained charge nurse Bronny Mullen. Plasma also is a common component retrieved from donors.

An automated system draws blood from donors at Houchin’s Truxtun Avenue center. With whole blood donations, the procedure is basically a “gravity flow” and relatively quick. However, harvesting components can take about 90 minutes to process and separate blood though the automated system. This includes the time required to interview and screen donors before blood is taken.

The need for donations of whole blood, platelets and plasma continues to grow as the area’s population increases and advanced medical procedures, such as those for cancer treatment, become available in the community, said Mullen.

As an example, she noted that the opening of a burn center at San Joaquin Hospital increased the need for plasma, which is critical to healing therapies.

Information about donating whole blood, or components, such as platelets, can be obtained from Houchin Community Blood Bank’s website www.hcbb.com or by calling 323-4222.

This article written by Dianne Hardisty appeared first in The Bakersfield Californian on Feb. 14, 2010.

VYING FOR LATINO VOTES

The 20th Congressional District, which includes Kern, Kings and Fresno counties, was identified by last year’s “Measure of America” survey as the poorest in the nation. Represented by Democrat Congressman Jim Costa of Fresno, the district came in “dead last” for poverty, poor health and school dropouts.

Few who have worked with the poor in the southern San Joaquin Valley were surprised by the findings, which also explain why minority communities, where new immigrants often struggle just to survive, see little participation in the political process.

“It’s the hierarchy of needs,” said Kern County Supervisor Michael Rubio, whose 5th District includes some of the poorest neighborhoods of Bakersfield, Lamont and Arvin.

“The first thing many people think about is, ‘Do I have a job today? Am I making a living wage? Do I have health care?’ They don’t have time to read campaign material. The hierarchy of needs means they have to fend for themselves first,” he said.

“Many are too busy trying to survive and pay next month’s rent,” said Magda Menendez, administrator of the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation in Bakersfield.

Sen. Dean Florez, whose 16th state Senate district overlaps the 20th Congressional District, agreed. He also blamed confusing ballots, which are cluttered with complex and sometimes contradictory propositions, for discouraging widespread voter participation.

“People have to have a reason to vote, to come out and take the time to express their choices,” said Florez, who is running for California lieutenant governor. “I’ve spoken to people who simply feel that the ballot is too complicated and it feels like it’s somewhat of a test that you would get in school.”

“There are too many important issues affecting minority communities for people not to participate,” said Nicole Parra, who represented Kern County’s 30th Assembly District until she was termed out of office in 2008.

Now a Fresno-based government consultant, Parra noted that the Central Valley struggles with persistent poverty issues. The valley’s average per capita income is 32.2 percent lower than the rest of the state; college attendance is 50 percent below state average; and the unemployment rate is among the highest.

To mobilize “voters, people need to feel like they make a difference, they are part of a team,” said Parra. “Most importantly, voters want to know that the elected official cares about their needs and their concerns.”

The Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) has been meeting with Kern County activists in hopes of encouraging minority voters to participate in this year’s critical elections.

“It’s a matter of empowering people to get involved with their government at the national, state and local levels,” explained Danny Lee, president of APAPA’s Central Valley Chapter.

Les Fong, vice president of APAPA’s Central Valley Chapter, said his organization is planning to hold a May 2010 town hall meeting in Bakersfield to bring local and state candidates before Kern County voters. A voter education program also is being developed. Fong, a Stockton advertising executive, can be reached by e-mail at les@kenfongassociates.com.

According to estimated U.S. Census data, Latinos in 2008 comprised 47.1 percent of Kern County’s population, with non-Latino whites comprising 41.1 percent. Blacks were 6.4 percent, with the remainder of Kern County’s population of 800,458 being comprised of various other minority ethnic groups.

Yet, non-Latino white voters have the political clout in California. The Public Policy Institute of California reported last fall that while Latinos make up about 32 percent of the state’s adult population, they are only 17 percent of the registered voters most likely to turn out in elections. By contrast, whites constitute 47 percent of California’s adult population, but 68 percent of the state’s likely voters.

Many Latinos and other ethnic minorities are not citizens and therefore not eligible to vote. U.S. Census estimates for 2008 indicate about 68 percent of Kern County’s 155,938 foreign-born residents – and that population figure includes children and immigrants who are legally in this country -- are not U.S. citizens.

But even removing the citizenship factor, Latinos and most ethnic minority groups in California and Kern County have a low voter turnout rate, according to researchers and political observers.

Lee explained that many new citizens come from countries that have repressive governments. Voter participation is not understood or considered relevant. “They are not involved. They stay within their families. They keep to themselves.”

Recent gains by Latino politicians, who have been elected to local and state offices, should not be overestimated, warned Florez.

“Yes, you have Latinos who are taking on greater and more significant roles in government, but that was not always the case, even 10 years ago,” he said. “There is a nascent rise in political power among Latinos … [but the Latino community] is growing astronomically in California.

“We are entering a period where California will become the most integrated, multi-cultural population ever in the history of the world and it’s all been accomplished relatively peacefully,” he said. Minority participation in the political system is “a big deal because this integration is important to our survival as a society.”

Citing the findings of Bakersfield researcher Jesus Garcia, Menendez noted Kern County has 113,000 “high propensity voters” – people who have voted in three of the last five elections. Of these, 35,000, or about 32 percent, are Latino.

Of the 10,000 new voters in Kern County, 4,000 were Latinos – 43 percent registered Democrats, 20 percent Republican and “a whopping 30 percent were declined to state. [That sends] a big message to the Democratic and Republican parties, don’t you think,” she said.

Rubio suggests the political clout of minority communities could be awakened in 2010.

While people are focused on survival, “in times of great stress, as we currently are in, pressure builds for change,” said Rubio, who is running for the 16th state Senate seat and hopes to replace the termed-out incumbent. The 2010 elections could be about change.

This article written by Dianne Hardisty appeared first in Mas Magazine on Feb. 7, 2010.

MAKE IT COUNT!

Everyone – citizens, residents and undocumented immigrants -- will gain, or lose from the results of the 2010 Census.


Based on the count of people living in the United States in 2010, about $400 billion in federal funds will be distributed to communities. Public services, ranging from police protection to medical care, will receive federal support based on population estimates. And representation in federal congressional districts, as well as local government bodies will be determined.

For a variety of reasons, including fear of the government and the desire to make “political statements,” some people will not participate in this U.S. Constitution-mandated national population count.

Some of the very people who may be tempted to avoid the Census are the ones who will lose the most from not being counted, noted Reyna Olaguez, U.S. Census spokeswoman for Kern and Tulare counties.

These are the people who may be most in need of public services, or whose voices should be heard and heeded by elected government officials.

Latinos and Asian immigrants are among those most likely to avoid being counted.

Olaguez explained some fear information collected on Census questionnaires will be shared with other government agencies. But federal law prevents this from happening. Answers and other information about respondents are confidential.

The Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders has launched a boycott of the U.S. Census in an attempt to force Congress to reform immigration policies.

“We urge members of Congress to pass a fair, decent and humane comprehensive immigration reform bill. Though such efforts have been stalled, we must continue to preach and insist: legalization before enumeration,” the Rev. Miguel Rivera, the coalition’s president, said in a January press release.

This has sparked a reaction from other Latino leaders. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as well as representatives of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund held a press opposing the boycott and urging people to participate in the Census.

They called having an accurate count of everyone living in the United States – regardless of their immigration status, or ethnic background – a “civil rights issue.”

“A full count of immigrants will ensure that their communities get the resources they need to address the economic and educational needs of the residents,” said Rosalind Gold, senior director of policy research and advocacy for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

Census questionnaires will be mailed out in March and are to be mailed back by April 1, Olaguez said. Between April and July, Census workers will go door-to-door to households that did not return questionnaires and to seek responses.

This year’s Census questionnaire contains only 10 questions. It is much shorter than the forms used by the Census in 2000. That year, some households received a lengthy American Community Survey, which included lifestyle questions.

Hiring of part-time enumerators for the door-to-door phase of the Census will get into high gear in February, said Olaguez. Enumerators will work flexible and part-time hours from April until July, earning about $11 to $19 an hour.

Go onto the Internet at http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/ or call 866-861-2010 for hiring information.

This article written by Dianne Hardisty appeared first in Mas Magazine on Feb. 7, 2010.

BRAVO FARMS IS WORTH THE STOP

Likely you have driven by Bravo Farms, on the east side of Highway 99, about six miles south of Kingsburg, without giving it a thought. Maybe the 1950s Nash Metropolitan poking out from a rooftop caught your attention. But unless you needed gas, you probably never thought about stopping.


Well, think about it. If you stop once, you will make it a favorite “destination” on your trips north.

The Bravo Farms complex includes a gas station, market, restaurant, gift shop and gourmet cheese factory. But it’s much more.

It’s a jumble of antiques and collectables. It’s a petting zoo, private park, garden patio, meeting place and Old West town. Tomorrow it will be something else, as the visionary and eclectic owners add to their menagerie.

Like most people, I stumbled upon Bravo Farms on my way to someplace else. I left Bakersfield, driving north on Highway 99, heading for a conference in Lake Tahoe. About 90 minutes into the trip, I was already hungry and I needing to find a restroom. The Traver offramp looked promising.

My plan was to get quickly in and out. Instead, I spent nearly two hours savoring the house special – a Bravo cheeseburger – poking around the gift shop, sampling cheese and watching cheese being made through a factory display window.

It was so much fun that I didn’t mind being two hours behind schedule. Those traveling with small children would find this an entertaining place to let the kids blow off some steam.

Bravo Farms’ restaurant is not a mere hamburger joint. It has a large menu that includes a variety of American and Mexican dishes. And if you have a sweet tooth, there also is an ice cream and coffee house.

What began in the 1970s as a Highway 99 fruit stand midway between Bakersfield and Fresno has evolved into a “field of dreams” for an old-time Visalia dairyman and a young Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduate.

Jonathan Van Ryn, who grew up on his father’s Tulare County dairy, studied cheesemaking as a Cal Poly student. After he graduated about five years ago, he laid plans to build a cheese factory.

Bill Boersma operated a small dairy near Visalia, where he milked cows and produced handmade cheese he branded as Bravo Farms. With demand for his cheese increasing, Boersma needed a new, bigger location for his factory.

The young man with lots of ideas and the older man with years of experience became partners, moving Bravo Farms into a factory built at the former Traver fruit stand. Last year, the factory turned out 400,000 pounds of award-winning cheese. This year, Bravo Farms expects to produce and sell 600,000 pounds, according to Ryan Davis, who oversees business operations at the manufacturing and retail complex.

“If you are a big cheese lover, you know about Bravo Farms,” said Van Ryn, during a recent interview. Bravo Farms cheeses have won awards at national and international competitions. They are served in five-star restaurants, and sold in gourmet shops, farmers’ markets, chain supermarkets and over the Internet (www.bravofarms.com). “They are very well known in the Bay Area. You can find them in Bakersfield in Save Marts.”

Davis says the top seller is Bravo Farms’ Chipotle Cheddar cheese. This cheese and Bravo Farms’ Silver Mountain, a 13-pound clothe-bound wheel of cheddar, have won raves and awards at numerous competitions.

Van Ryn explains Bravo Farms cheeses are produced the “old fashioned way – all raw milk, nothing pasteurized and a lot of natural flavors.” The cheese is produced from milk that comes from a Pixley dairy operated by Van Ryn’s uncle, Gary de Graaf. It takes about a gallon of milk to make a pound of Bravo Farms cheese.

Visitors can watch cheese being made through a large viewing window or by arranging a tour by calling Davis at 559-897-4634. Bravo Farms cheese is made in three 500-gallon vats. After processing, the blocks are aged for up to nine months before being sold to customers.

Boersma brought his time-tested recipes into the partnership. Van Ryn brought his production knowledge and marketing ideas.

“In four years, we have quadrupled our business,” said Van Ryn. That business expansion has included opening a restaurant and cheese store at the Preferred Outlets Mall in Tulare last fall.

It’s a steady, cautious growth. The partners recently purchased an additional acre of land adjacent to their Traver complex, where a wine retail outlet may be added to complement Bravo Farms’ cheeses.

“We have a lot of dreams,” said Van Ryn. “But we have to make sure Tulare does well first. A lot of people want to do things with us.”

Van Ryn’s father, an antique collector who moved his Tulare County dairy to New Mexico, is credited with bringing many of the collectable items to the Traver complex.

“He doesn’t play golf. This is his hobby,” said Van Ryn, explaining his father collects nostalgic signs, statues, furniture and just plain “stuff” that are on display and for sale at Bravo Farms.

And what about the Nash Metropolitan on top of their building? There’s no deep meaning. Like a lot of the stuff at Bravo Farms, it’s just there for the fun of it.

This article appeared first in The Bakersfield Californian on Feb. 7, 2010.

BRAVO FARMS – TRAVER

Located – Along Highway 99, about six miles south of Kingsburg

Services – Restaurant, gift shop, petting zoo, Old West town, garden patio, gas station, cheese factory

Highlight – Watch cheese being made through a viewing window or call 559-897-4634 for a cheese factory tour.

Cheese – The factory produces award-winning Bravo Farms cheeses, which are sold at the Traver complex, as well as in gourmet shops, farmers markets, supermarkets and over the Internet at http://www.bravofarms.com/
 

HIGH SPEED RAIL 'PRIZE' AWAITS

In the Feb. 3, 2010 Bakersfield Californian Opinion Section, planning consultant and mediator John Hardisty (Jack) wrote an article urging community leaders to organize a campaign to compete for a test track and heavy maintenance facility for the high speed rail system. (See “High-speed rail prize awaits the valley community that has its act together,” http://tinyurl.com/HSRbakersfield/)


No doubt we can argue until we are blue in the face over the long-term future of high speed rail, and whether or not it should be built. But California getting $2.3 billion in federal economic stimulus dollars, combined with $9 billion in bonds voters approved in 2008, means at least some of the system will be built.


Part of that “some” will be a test track and heavy maintenance facility. It will be built somewhere in the Central Valley. Fresno leaders believe it should be built in Fresno. Merced leaders believe it should be built in Merced. So far, there are 15 sites being proposed, including two in Kern County – Shafter and Wasco. Attached to this post are pdf files containing both proposals.

But the bottom line is that construction and operation of a heavy maintenance facility and test track to support high speed rail will mean thousands of jobs and millions of dollars coming into the community that wins this “prize.”

Kern County needs to get its promotional act together before it’s run over by this high speed train.