Health

San Diego County Back in the Red and Schools Are Back in the Green

March 17, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, San Diego County is back in the Red, tier that is! And San Diego area schools have been given the green light to reopen.

Dr. Wilma Wooten on Tuesday announced that San Diego County has attained a case rate low enough to rejoin the red tier Wednesday, March 17.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune:

In a biweekly COVID-19 update to the Board of Supervisors, the county’s public health officer foreshadowed the contents of the state’s weekly tier report, listing the score at 6.8 cases per 100,000 residents.

Read the full article → 0 comments

SeaWorld Fireworks! Here We Go Again – But Why?

March 16, 2021 by Judi Curry

By Judi Curry

When you think of SeaWorld what do you think of? Shamu? Orcas? Dolphins? Seals? Sharks? Fish? What was the reason that Sea World started in the first place?

Let me give you some history:

“SeaWorld® opened its gates for the first time in 1964, founded by George Millay, Milt Shedd, Ken Norris and David DeMott. Originally planned as an underwater restaurant, the concept grew into a marine zoological park on 21 acres along the shore of Mission Bay in San Diego. With an initial investment of $1.5 million, 45 employees, several dolphins, sea lions, and two saltwater aquariums, SeaWorld drew more than 400,000 visitors its first year.

Read the full article → 41 comments

New COVID Strains Show Need for Bold Strategies in Addressing Public Health in America

March 8, 2021 by Source

By Roberto “Rob” Camacho

In the unprecedented global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States has been forced to take a hard look in the mirror and acknowledge societal ills and inequities which unattended have festered for decades.

Over the past twelve months COVID presented a chance to reimagine things such as housing, education, wage increases, access to technology, healthcare, and more. However, due to the actions of the economic elite, and a stubbornly complicit legislature, the lives of everyday people have been crushed to ensure that even in the midst of a deadly pandemic, the status quo has remained the same at all costs. Including the lives of more than half a million people in the U.S. who have died of COVID over the past twelve months.

Read the full article → 0 comments

Opening Schools Amid a Global Pandemic: Plan for a Marathon Not a Sprint

March 8, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Pace yourselves and brace yourselves. The pandemic is not going away anytime soon.

Another surge is coming. Look to Europe’s opening/closing and infecting scenario, caused by a new COVID variant, soon to be dominant here.

Germany, a disciplined country, announced they are in the middle of a “third wave.” Also, in the “third wave,” is the Netherlands, where infection cases rose by nearly 19 per cent over the past seven days. Add Stockholm to the list, with a 27 per cent rise in case numbers in recent weeks; again, all due to the new mutation.

So, candor is required. Faced with the latest wave, amid a newer, more efficient strain, the current attempts at mandatory school re-openings (with financial incentives) are near reckless.

One size does cannot and should not fit all students, teachers, schools, all districts or all states.

Read the full article → 5 comments

On the Path to Recovery – Part 2

February 24, 2021 by Judi Curry

By Judi Curry

During the past month when in the throes of Covid, I have been overwhelmed by the responses I have received from my friends, relatives, neighbors, strangers, etc.

I received over 100 get well wishes; I even received over 75 “Happy Birthday” wishes.

People that I do not know have sent me cards; a neighbor that I still don’t know sent me a long note telling me that he would be glad to anything for me that needed to be done during this time. (He sent me his address so that when I am finally able to go out I can see where he lives with his family.)

Al Nashashibi from Faurouz left me a huge of amount of his restaurants’ “Lemon Grass” soup by my front door;

Read the full article → 9 comments

Federal Watchdog Blasts San Diego VA’s Unethical Research on Vets

February 16, 2021 by Source

by Jill Castellano / inewscource / February 12, 2021

For the second time, a federal watchdog agency found that the Department of Veterans Affairs’ investigation into unethical liver research performed on San Diego veterans was “not reasonable.”

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel published new reports on Tuesday, Feb. 8, revealing more details about the mistakes and violations that occurred during the research and its dissatisfaction with the VA’s investigation into what happened. inewsource broke the story about the unethical study in 2018 as the first article in its Risky Research series.

The study at the San Diego VA was part of a $6 million international project to find new therapies for people with alcoholic hepatitis. Researchers around the world were supposed to collect these patients’ leftover liver tissue after they received biopsies and look for patterns.

But that’s not what happened in San Diego.

Read the full article → 0 comments

Blue-Collar Frontline Heroes Are Being Neglected in Vaccine Rollout

February 16, 2021 by Source

By Colleen E. Putzel / Times of San Diego / Feb. 16, 2021

Like most tragedies, the onset of the pandemic produced a call for unity with sentiments ensuring “we’re all in this together.”

Every outlet, from the daily news to hand-made window signs, offered appreciation for those on the front line: health care workers, grocery store clerks, public transportation workers, and truck drivers. My father, a truck driver, and my mother, a seamstress, suddenly became heroes.

My father goes to work every day delivering construction materials and my mother paused her Etsy sales to make masks for her local hospital. I feared, especially early on, that my father’s company would begin laying off workers. As that threat seemed less imminent, it was replaced by the fear that he would be exposed to the virus.

Read the full article → 0 comments

Charts of Hope

February 15, 2021 by Source

On the one year anniversary of San Diego County’s declaration of a local health emergency due to COVID-19, there are hopeful signs that the worst of the pandemic could be behind us. And these charts and graphs demonstrate the basis of that hope.

It was on February 14th, 2020, Valentine’s Day, that San Diego County declared a local health emergency to combat the coronavirus. At that time there were two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in San Diego County and several suspected cases.

One year later to the day, more than a quarter of a million people in San Diego County have tested positive for COVID-19 and 3,000 people have died. But because there is hope, it does not mean we stop or ease up on

Read the full article → 0 comments

Teachers Are Not the Problem, They Are the Solution – So Work With Them

February 10, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Time to be blunt. Teachers, students and children are the new electoral battering rams amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just as I wrote in June of last year, the 2020 Presidential election it was “not Biden v. Trump, but COVID-19 v. Trump).” And the GOP’s own confidential postmortem report (as quoted on Politico), confirms it.

“The autopsy says that coronavirus registered as the top issue among voters, and that Biden won those voters by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. A majority registered disapproval of Trump’s handling of the virus.

Read the full article → 3 comments

‘She’s Almost Among the Living Again’

February 10, 2021 by Judi Curry

The Saga of the Widder Curry’s Covid -19

By Judi Curry

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you that sent me prayers, positive thoughts, greeting cards, flowers, soups, foods, magazines, funny sayings, etc. during these past 22 days that I have been wiped out by Covid.

NEVER in my entire lifetime, which is substantial, have I ever been so weak, so indisposed as I have been the past three weeks.

When I say that I had no energy even to lift myself off the commode, that is no exaggeration. I needed help, each and every time. And do you want to know the strange thing about this disease? I had a “mild case.” I never had an elevated temperature; I never had low oxygen; my blood pressure remained normal throughout the entire 22 days.

I just had no energy. None. Nada. And one of the worst sensations I had in the 22 days was that my bones were on fire! Truly! They felt like there were flames emanating from them. All day. All night. For 18 days!

And how did it start?

Read the full article → 32 comments

February 6 – Then and Now

February 10, 2021 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

I got my first vaccine for covid-19 on February 6, 2021. One more to go for this old son of a gun.

But when I got back home after my shot I was reminded that this wasn’t the first time that February 6 was special to me, since on that day 61 years ago I took to the court with my teammates in Bear Down Gym at the University of Arizona and got to shaking and baking and whipping outlet passes to start fast breaks and shot the lights out all over the place, and came away with 46 points, a record that stands to this day.

The fun and glory of that will never go away.

And I couldn’t help but think, in those moments, what a difference six decades can make in one’s life. In so many ways. I was so strong back then physically, even with a bad back, something that’s plagued me since those days.

Read the full article → 3 comments

The San Diego Kaiser COVID-19 Chronicles: Robots, Earthlings and Angels

January 28, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

What keeps America together? See for yourself.

“Look at the people that are on the ground. That’s who represents America,” says Admiral William McRaven; the man who oversaw the Bin Laden raid.

Look at the great story of the Oregon health workers who got stuck in a snowstorm on their way back from a COVID-19 vaccination event and went car to car injecting stranded drivers before several of the doses expired.

That “impromptu vaccine clinic” is a prime example of who represents America. Those are the angels among us. As I discovered myself.

Starting from the beginning.

Read the full article → 8 comments

‘MyTurn’ Pilot Project Regarding COVID Vaccinations Available to San Diego County Residents

January 27, 2021 by Source

The State of California on Monday made a pilot project website regarding the COVID-19 vaccine available for residents in San Diego and Los Angeles counties on which people can sign up to receive alerts on when they’re eligible and then schedule an appointment.

The website, at MyTurn.ca.gov, allows people to input their basic information and learn if they are currently available to receive a vaccination and, if so, allow them to scheduled a shot.

People who aren’t yet eligible can provide information on age and occupation and register to receive an email or text alert about when they will be able to schedule a shot.

The MyTurn system is operating on a trial basis for residents of the two counties. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the system will hopefully be available statewide by early February.

Read the full article → 2 comments

City Extends Eviction Ban for Renters and Businesses

January 27, 2021 by Source

Reposted as a public service announcement.

Tenants would still need to pay back rent.

By Phillip Molnar / San Diego Union-Tribune / Jan. 26, 2021

San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to extend an eviction ban for renters and businesses hit hard by COVID-19.

The council unanimously approved the business eviction moratorium and voted 8-1 on the residential moratorium. Both laws were achieved by declaring a state of emergency. The actions were separate from a $42.3 million rent relief program the city is still working on.

Both moves by the council do not erase rent owed to commercial or residential landlords, and require proof of hardship related to COVID-19.

Read the full article → 5 comments

Open Letter to President Biden’s Chief of Staff Ron Klain

January 19, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

An American dies from COVID-19 every 33 seconds.

Repeat. Every 33 seconds an American dies from the COVID-19 virus.

With that in mind, I write this blunt message to you as President Biden’s Chief of Staff-to-be.

There is no time for festivities. No time for press conferences. No time for photographs. Repetitious speeches or platitudes.

This is war; albeit against an invisible enemy. As Sun Tzu, the famous Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher wrote: “Every battle is won or lost before it is even fought.” Plan, prepare, execute.

And most importantly, “Quickness is the essence of war.”

In order of priorities:

Read the full article → 0 comments

‘Tomcat’ – OB Blues Musician From the Seventies – Dies of COVID

January 13, 2021 by Source

This will hit die-hard OB blues fans hard. One of OB’s favorite blues musicians from the 1970’s, Tom “Tomcat” Courtney, has just passed after a battle with COVID-19. He was 91.

Here’s the report from NBC7:

Friends, loved ones and local music fans are mourning the death of Tom “Tomcat” Courtney, a Texas transplant and San Diego Music Award winner who was the longtime anchor of San Diego’s blues scene.

Courtney, who died Monday afternoon, was 91. He is survived by his longtime partner, Jojo Riegel, and a large extended family. Riegel told NBC 7 that his death followed a battle with the coronavirus that began in December.

Read the full article → 4 comments

It’s Still a Life or Death Situation

January 4, 2021 by Judi Curry

By Judi Curry

I realize that this article will tick off a lot of people. Some people will agree with me. At this point I really don’t care if you agree or disagree, but there is a tremendous problem out there that some are denying really exists.

Yes, I am speaking about the death rate of COVID-19.

Yesterday, at one of the larger shopping malls in the Los Angeles area, there was an “anti-masker” protest. It was an organized demonstration and a whole lot of people went to this mall, unmasked. They tried to get into many of the shops that were open for sales as they could. They coughed in people’s faces. They fought with the management; they fought with those people wearing masks; they put hundreds of people’s lives at risk because of their belief that COVID-19 doesn’t exist, that it is something that the fake media made up.

It is easier to forgive ignorance than it is stupidity. In this case, it is hard to forgive either. How many times have you heard people say that they didn’t believe this epidemic existed until they – or friends – or relatives came down with it?

Read the full article → 29 comments

2020 – the Year of the Great Refusal

December 31, 2020 by Staff

Read the full article → 0 comments

County Health: Avoid Coastal Waters for 3 Days After Tuesday’s Rain

December 30, 2020 by Source

General Rain Advisory in Effect

The Department of Environmental Health has issued a GENERAL RAIN ADVISORY for the coastal waters of San Diego County due to contamination by urban runoff following rain.

Swimmers, surfers, and other ocean users are warned that levels of bacteria can rise significantly in ocean waters, especially near storm drains, creeks, rivers, and lagoon outlets that discharge urban runoff.

Activities such as swimming, surfing and diving should be avoided for 72 hours following rain.

The most recent rain event occurred December 29, 2020.

The GENERAL RAIN ADVISORY for urban runoff contamination applies to beaches from San Onofre State Beach south to Border Field, including Mission Bay and San Diego Bay. While many coastal outlets are posted with permanent metal warning signs, additional temporary signs are not posted for General Advisories.

When a General Advisory is issued:

Read the full article → 0 comments

Active Covid-19 Cases in San Diego Jails Over 500

December 28, 2020 by Staff

The San Diego Sheriff’s Department reports that there are more than 400 active cases of the coronavirus among its inmates — or 11% of the total jail population, plus hundreds of staff members have also been infected.

Critics of how the Sheriff’s Department is handling outbreaks at its facilities include inmates, deputies and the head of the union that represents jail workers. And sheriffs are still arresting people for minor crimes and bringing them into the jails.

The total number of COVID-19 cases has exceeded 1,000, which includes more than 500 active infections among inmates and employees, according to data on the Sheriff’s Department website.

There’s been a total of 757 inmates infected with the virus so far in 2020. This includes 414 active cases. Another 114 inmates have been placed into isolation. Among deputies and staff,

Read the full article → 0 comments

Look What the ‘Star of Bethlehem’ Gifted Us

December 22, 2020 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

The amazing planetary “conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn, aka, the “Star of Bethlehem,” appeared Monday in the morning and evening sky. And will be visible for several more days.

Not seen for over 800 years, this vision portends amazing graces. Just as the Three Wise Men witnessed the Star and trudged for days, through the desert to meet the newborn Savior; so, too has the current apparition lifted the aspirations of many to a higher level.

Hope.

Just look at the gifts that have already been unwrapped.

No, not the thousands of telescopes and binoculars purchased and put to early, good use as an introduction to astronomy; all thanks to the “conjunction.”

Nor the “Zoom” apps or the new game toys, cookbooks or bicycles.

Read the full article → 1 comment

Tribute to a Special Friend Whom the Coronavirus Is Taking

December 22, 2020 by Judi Curry

Jaimee Dawson, Native of Spring Valley

By Judi Curry

In 1992 I went to work as the Vocations Manager for the San Diego Job Corps. For those of you that do not know about the history of Job Corps, it is a Federally funded program for males and females 16-24 that have not finished High School, and want to learn a Vocation.

It is an old program – both my husband and former husband worked at the Pleasanton Job Corps in 1964-5.

In addition to being an education program, the students enrolling in the program live, for the most part, on Center. They are fed three meals a day; their clothes are provided for them, and they attend classes all day long.

We had approximately 650 students living on Center, and if I remember correctly, we offered at least 12 vocational classes for them – solar, plumbing, painting, plastering, carpentry, culinary arts, auto mechanics, office skills, landscaping, security, computer repair, CNA, etc.

And we also gave them the opportunity to complete their high school diploma’s and/or obtain a GED. All classes were taught on Center. It was, and still is, a very viable program and our success rate was enormous. And what made it so successful?

Read the full article → 13 comments

Where COVID Has Struck in San Diego County and the Latest Grim Charts

December 21, 2020 by Source

Community outbreaks of COVID-19 have touched every corner of San Diego County and all types of establishments over the past nine months, but they are most prevalent in big box stores, restaurants and group living situations like nursing homes and jails, according to county outbreak records obtained exclusively by KPBS.

If you’ve gone out at all since the pandemic first struck, you quite likely walked into a place where an outbreak occurred, according to the KPBS analysis of 1,006 outbreak records dating from March through the end of November. For example:

  • At least 208 outbreaks have occurred in restaurants, with popular chains like Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, Denny’s and The Broken Yolk Cafe having multiple outbreaks each.
  • At least 205 outbreaks have occurred in businesses with services that run the gamut from car repair to pet care to banking and shipping.
  • At least 125 outbreaks have occurred in large retailers and grocery stores like Walmart, Costco, Target, Home Depot and Trader Joe’s.
Read the full article → 1 comment

Cruisin’ Through OB During a Pandemic Holiday Weekend

December 14, 2020 by Frank Gormlie

Under the new Southern California “lock-down” due to the continuing ravages of COVID, I wanted to check out how the business district of Ocean Beach was handling it. Especially during the holiday-time.

Cruising down the several blocks of OB’s main commercial avenue, Newport, and out along the waterfront, I could see many people with masks on. Most had them on, but not all.

Also, most businesses were open – although under limited capacities. Most of the restaurants had customers – there were even lines at a few. Eating was only allowed outside, of course, and there were a few folks having lunch at isolated tables.

Read the full article → 4 comments

America Attacked?

December 10, 2020 by Source

Read the full article → 0 comments

My Christmas Gift: My Brain

December 8, 2020 by Source

By Richard Riehl / The Riehl World / December 4, 2020

Today I agreed to donate my brain to medical science. (I’ll pause here to allow regular readers of my published opinion pieces to stop laughing.)

Twenty-two years ago, after an afternoon of heavy yard work, I reached for a cold beer and sat down to rest. As I brought the bottle up to my mouth I couldn’t keep my hand from shaking. I had to hold on with both hands to keep from spilling. That had never happened to me before. I refused to believe it was because of the onset of old age, chalking it up to the after-effects of unusually hard work on a hot day.

But at my next doctor’s appointment, when I was asked to hold a tongue depressor in front of me, I couldn’t hold it steady. I explained my older brother had been diagnosed with Essential Tremor, having undergone deep brain surgery to reduce the symptoms. The doctor told me this neurodegenerative disease is inheritable. He added ET to my medical record.

Read the full article → 0 comments

Pearl Harbor Day – Can We Muster the World War Two Strength to Combat the Third Wave?

December 7, 2020 by Frank Gormlie

Today – December 7th – is Pearl Harbor Day – it was 79 years ago today that the US fleet was attacked in Hawaii – an attack which pushed the country into World War II. It’s difficult for us to even remember the day; there’s hardly any veterans of the day still alive, there was absolutely no mention of Pearl Harbor in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune.

But the day is symbolic of a time when our nation mobilized to combat a common enemy. Our forebears had the courage and strength during the war years to give all, to make many sacrifices at a time when it was needed.

Today, we’ve faced with another common enemy – the coronavirus.

Read the full article → 5 comments

‘My Cancer Demands a Rematch’

December 4, 2020 by Doug Porter

By Doug Porter / WordsandDeeds / December 3, 2020

As of December 10th, I’ll be taking a break from my daily musings [writing at Words&Deeds].

To make a long story short, I’m going to have surgery at UCSD La Jolla on December 11th. All the preoperative appointments are crowding my schedule making it difficult to write a daily column, so I’ve missed a day or two recently.

This has been on the horizon for a while. A biopsy found cancerous cells. A CT scan didn’t find any tumors. A PET scan says, yes, there is localized cancer in my throat at the same location leading to the surgery that cost me my vocal chords in 2012. A sonogram says my tissues can take another round of surgery.

Read the full article → 5 comments

Retail Workers Demand Hazard Pay As Large Companies Reap Record-Breaking Pandemic Profits

November 25, 2020 by Staff

As large corporations like Walmart, Amazon, and Kroger and other major retailers reap record-breaking profits during the pandemic, the money does not trickle down to their front-line workers. And those workers are demanding hazard pay and upgrade safety procedures during the busy holiday shopping season.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), which represents 900,000 ry employees at chains such as Kroger, Safeway and Giant, urged retailers to do more to protect workers from the virus that has sickened more than 12.3 million Americans earlier this week. At least 131 grocery workers have died of covid-19,

Read the full article → 0 comments

What the Curfew and Its Enforcement Means to San Diegans

November 20, 2020 by Staff

What does the new curfew Gov. Gavin Newsom issued Thursday for counties in the purple tier — including San Diego — mean for San Diegans? And what does the new level of enforcement mean?

Basically, the new curfew will take effect at 10 pm on Saturday, November 21, and all nonessential work and gatherings must stop from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Right now, the curfew will remain in effect for a month, until 5 am on Dec. 21. It could be revised or extended.

Also on Thursday, San Diego County officials announced that law enforcement will step up COVID-19 compliance education and citations. Sheriff Bill Gore said four two-deputy teams will begin making “a full-time commitment” of the county’s 18 cities and unincorporated areas, ensuring compliance with public health orders. Several cities have already confirmed they will send officers to assist deputies in their duties, Gore said.

While residents are urged to be home by 10 p.m., there are still things they can do at night, including:

Read the full article → 0 comments

← Older Articles

Newer Articles →