International Women's Day was celebrated in Kern County this week with honors bestowed on seven local women for their contributions to their communities, science, business, education, health and arts.
The women honored for their achievements during a dinner at the Petroleum Club in Bakersfield included:
Sarwa Aldoori, science. An Iraq-born doctor, Aldoori provides medical services in Arvin with Clinica Sierra Vista and operates the Walk-in Medical Health for All clinic, which is focused on underserved patients, particularly those of Arabic, Hispanic and other descents. During her medical training, the war in Iraq and Iran broke out. A specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, she delivered babies by candlelight in a very poor area near Baghdad. Her medical research has related to fetal medicine, ovarian cancer and obstetrics.
Ann Choung, business. Choung was born in South Korea and moved to the United States when she was a young woman. She is a sales associate for Stroope Realtors, where she was the local office's top sales person for 24 out of 25 years. She is one of the founders of the Korean American Association of Bakersfield and has helped implement programs for Korean youth groups, senior citizens and scholarships for Korean high school students. She promotes the learning of Korean traditional music and dance.
Kip Glazer, education. Glazer was born in South Korea. She earned a master's degree in curriculum and instruction. When she taught at Arvin High School, she developed and coached a team to participate in various Health Occupation Students of America competitions. Last year, she was named the Outstanding HOSA adviser for the national organization. She now teaches at Independence High School.
Chiuyee Ho, community service. Ho was born in mainland China. After completing her university education, she came to the United States and settled in Bakersfield. Her community service includes helping the local Chinese population, particularly recent immigrants. She has provided interpretation in the courts, hospitals and other agencies. She was one of the founders of the Chinese Christian Church of Bakersfield and has served on the board of Hoffman Hospice of the Valley.
Aniko K. Matis, health services. A medical doctor, Matis was born in Hungary. After arriving in Bakersfield, she obtained specialty training in internal medicine at Kern Medical Center. Recently retired from the Kern County Department of Public Health, Matis promoted free mammograms for low-income women and the Community Action Partnership of Kern Family Health Center. Awarded for this service, she was instrumental in CAPK being recognized by Gayle Wilson, wife of former California Gov. Pete Wilson, for the organization's service to the community. Recognized as the Health Department's employee of the year, she also was twice named physician of the year by the Kern Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistants Association.
Nicole Saint-John, arts/entertainment. Saint-John was born in Germany, where she worked as a graphic artist. After arriving in Bakersfield, she opened an art gallery and was assistant curator at the Bakersfield Museum of Art. She has mentored local artists with developmental disabilities through her work for the Arts Council of Kern. During the Eye Gallery series, an annual celebration of art sponsored by The Californian and Bakersfield Museum of Art, she presented a painting and essay about growing up in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. She has received numerous honors and awards for her work.
Sharlu Myat Tusaw, community service. Tusaw was born in 1973 in Burma. She is a 2002 graduate of Cal State Bakersfield, where she earned a degree in political science. In 2007, she became a case worker for the International Rescue Committee in Bakersfield, helping resettle 150 refugees, mostly ethnic Karen from Burma. She has helped link the refugees to community services, find homes and feel at home in Bakersfield. Although the IRC's Bakersfield office closed last year, she continues to assist refugees and has written a book on the plight of the Karen refugees.
International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history. It is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing.
The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, a period of industrialization, expansion, turbulence, booming population growth and urban poverty, and humanist cries of hope and protest.
Like many things, this started in America. On March 8, 1857 women from New York City's clothing and textile factories protested poor working conditions and low wages. The protesters were attacked and dispersed by police.
The first National Woman's Day was observed across the United States in 1909. In 1975, the United Nations began sponsoring International Women's Day.
Bakersfield began celebrating International Women's Day in 2002, thanks to a collaborative effort by the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women.
This year's event was organized by Cal State Bakersfield, Kern Community College District, League of Women Voters, African-American Network, American Association of University Women, Bakersfield Korean American Association, Filipino Community of Bakersfield and Vicinity, Inc., Girl Scouts-Joshua Tree Council, Indo-Chinese Community, Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Latina Leaders of Kern County, Muslim Public Affairs Council, National Council of Negro Women, and Southeast Asian Community.
This article written by Dianne Hardisty first appeared in The Bakersfield Californian on March 10, 2010.

Bakersfield, Calif., pharmacist Kalpna Patel administers 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.
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.
Local 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.
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.
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Lynn Hay Rudy and her husband, Jerry, harvest a tree on their Sonoma County 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.


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