Category: Health

The lines are being drawn for a ‘Grand Bargain’ and the Democrats’ continued willingness to give away role as defenders of safety net and earned benefit programs, say critics, is deeply worrying

By Jon Queally / Common Dreams

If U.S. citizens are increasingly concerned that the Democratic Party is no longer willing to fight off the right-wing attack on Social Security, Medicare, and other key social programs, Sen. Dick Durbin, President Obama and other party leaders have recently offered plenty of evidence to increase that worry.

Since the end of the government shutdown and standoff over the debt limit ended last week, Obama has repeatedly said that he wants to find a “balanced” solution to the ongoing budget debate with Republican lawmakers.

By Christian Cotroneo / Huff Post Canada

So long humans.

And thanks for all the jellyfish.

If the oceans are indeed in steep decline, it may just be a triumph of the brainless — namely, the humble jellyfish.

“The number of case studies is increasing,” Lucas Brotz of the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre told the Huffington Post, “And it certainly seems we are having a severe impact on the oceans that is making them less favourable for fish and more favourable for jellyfish in some places.”

So far, the most direct impact — aside from swimming into a cloud of the critters — is being felt at the world’s nuclear reactor sites.

Editor: The following is a report of the October 16 meeting of the Project Review Committee, a sub-committee of the OB Planning Board, chaired by Peter Ruscitti.

By Stephanie Denton / Special to the OB Rag

CVS Pharmacy Alcohol License

Tonight the OB Planning Board’s Project Review Committee agreed to recommend approval to the board of CVS’s ABC License Type 21 application at the proposed location at Santa Monica and Cable. This came about not without debate however as board members were not unanimously in favor of a second pharmacy entering the Ocean Beach community. The recommended approval was strictly regarding the ABC License however and was nominated for a recommendation at a 3 yays to 2 nays vote.

Board members expressed that a second pharmacy in a few block radius of OB is not a necessary or primary need in the community. The CVS representative retorted, “In the American market there is more and more demand for pharmacies.”

Local doc leaves OB practice, but won’t stop helping those in need

By Matthew Wood

After more than three decades with a local practice, Dr. Jeoff Gordon is getting back to his roots.

He is retiring and will be closing his Ocean Beach Medical Group on Friday, October 18, ending a run of more than 15 years in OB and more than 40 in the beach area.

“I want to live a little bit of life,” he said. “I’ve got two kids and a dog and a pile of books I want to read.”

But the good doctor is far from done helping people. He will work part-time a few days a week at the Family Health Centers, an offshoot of a group he helped organize in the 1970s.

Herbal products can work wonders, but sometimes the products on the shelf are overpriced, ineffective or even unsafe.

By Jill Richardson / AlterNet

You’re not feeling well, so you head to the grocery store for some herbal tea. Or perhaps you pass a booth at your farmers’ market, full of herbal concoctions to cure every ill. Thanks to a 1994 law known as DSHEA (the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act), herbal products cannot promise to actually cure you of anything. Rather, they offer to support or promote a specific body part or function.

To most of us, it’s all the same, whether a tea, tincture or capsule promises to help cure our cold or “support upper respiratory health and immune function.” You see the promise, you buy the product, but does it work? Did you get ripped off?

Public health officials are reporting that 22 San Diegans have fallen ill due to the salmonella outbreak from Foster Farms chicken products.

Consumer groups have demanded a recall of the California-produced chicken, but there haven’t been enough federal food inspectors to deal with the problem due to furloughed employees.

County’s Health & Human Services Agency reported to the press that the average number of salmonella cases in the area for this stage in the year is 324. We now have 354 cases.

10News says that “chickens processed at the three California plants may not say Foster Farms on the packaging. They are sold under a variety of names including Ralphs, Safeway, O Organics, Eating Right and Kirkland, among others.”

By Christian Cotroneo / The Huffington Post Canada / October 4, 2013

Last month, a UN-sponsored panel expressed “extreme confidence” that the world is in the throes of climate change — a situation that sees oceans bear much of the brunt.

And now, a review from an international team of the world’s leading scientists suggests emerging dead zones may be stirring up mass extinctions in the world’s oceans.

“We have been taking the ocean for granted,” a study from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) claims. “It has been shielding us from the worst effects of accelerating climate change by absorbing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.

“Whilst terrestrial temperature increases may be experiencing a pause, the ocean continues to warm regardless.”

Topic – “How Safe Are Your Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices?

The Pt. Loma/Ocean Beach LWV held their second meeting Monday, October 7th at the Pt. Loma Library. The topic, which should be of interest to anyone taking prescription drugs, had a very small turnout. Perhaps it was the time change – 1:00pm instead of the regular meeting at 10:00am, but those of us in the audience heard from two panel speakers – Jean Willson and Shirley Walkoe – and the chair of the group, Nancy Witt.

A short DVD was shown re: the FDA and their responsibilities, and then 14 questions were addressed by Jean and Shirley. It was interesting to find out that Jean was a family doctor, practicing primarily in rural Iowa before practicing in Arizona and retiring. A female doctor in the1950’s was a rarity, and many males refused to see her unless they were very ill or injured.

The Ocean Beach/Pt. Loma League of Women Voters is taking off in our area. For years we did not have any local meetings, and finally we have our own group meetings right here at the Point Loma Library, 3701 Voltaire St.

October 7th, (Monday), from 1:00-3:00pm there will be a 2 hour presentation about the FDA and how drugs are approved. Besides the short video, the following questions will be discussed along with questions from the audience:

What is a generic drug and a “me too” drug?; What is an “off-label” use of drugs? Does the FDA monitor manufactures worldwide? Why do we have drug shortages?

By Micaela Porte

When wildlife enthusiasts, researchers and professors met recently at UCSD Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Reserve, they had one thing on their minds: the microscopic parasites that inhabit Mission Bay.

The presentation was delivered by Ryan Hechinger, a UC Santa Barbara Marine Science Institute professor, who stated that trematodes, such as the common flatworm, frequently make their way from marsh bird feces into host organisms, like a horned snail, California Achilles fish and fiddler crab, among others. From there, they perform a key role in the regulation of marsh bio-systems.

“Beach Community Acupuncture”
4993 Niagara Ave., Suite 206,
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
619-224-2442

What does a porcupine, a pin cushion and a needle have in common?

That’s a pretty simple question. Of course you know the answer. But here is another question for you: What does a native of Maryland, a degree in English literature, and working in a non-profit domestic violence agency have in common? You don’t know the answer? Let me give you a hint by asking another question.

What does a Master’s fellowship in documentary film making, a developmental director for Alternet.org, and the Managing Director of “Baykids” have in common? A hint about “Baykids.” This is a group of hospitalized kids learning to express themselves through movie making. Does that help?

Hmmm. Well, how about a brief stint in Peace Corps in Vanuatu, Melanesia, a former pet care business owner or the mother of two. Does that help any?

Geez – maybe this will help. A Masters degree in Chinese Medicine; passage of the California acupuncture board exam in 2009, and the sole practitioner of the “Beach Community Acupuncture”.

By Matthew Wood

A potential new cell phone tower could be going up on the roof of the Newport Antique Center, at 4864 Newport Avenue.

Craig Gerwig, owner of the antique store between Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Cable Street, confirmed that he had plans to add the tower, but said no contracts were in place. A group of men were seen on the rooftop of the building late last week, presumably scoping out the site.

Gerwig refused to answer any questions about the possible addition to his business, but did say he had no concerns about any health issues that might arise from having a tower so close to a residential area.