The Latest Stuff From Gerry 2/15/99 IT'S OFFICIAL - LIFE WEST WILL CONSOLIDATE AND RELOCATE TO NEW SITE IN HAYWARD=20 HAYWARD, Calif., February 9, 1999- "We look forward to a new era of the = college and our relationship with the City of Hayward," reported Life = Chiropractic College West President Gerard W. Clum, at 5:01 p.m., on = Monday, February 8. Dr. Clum and all of those involved with the college = had been waiting since the 29th of January to see if the college would = receive final approval from the City of Hayward for the institution's = relocation plan. The $23-million project, $10 million for the sale and $13 = million for renovations, will consolidate the college's two campus sites = and public clinic under one roof at 25001 Industrial Blvd., at Depot and = Clawiter Roads in Hayward. The plan had been unanimously approved (5-0) by = the Hayward City Planning Commission on January 28, pending a 10-calendar-d= ay- appeal period where the commission's decision could have been appealed for a Hayward City Council vote. The appeal period expired at the = close of business on Monday with no objections on appeals on record, so = the Planning Commission's approval became final.=20 The new complex, former corporate headquarters for the Mervyn's department = store chain, is located on 11.4 acres and has 189,000 square feet of = space, which will be adapted for classroom, laboratory, administrative, = and clinical purposes. The new campus represents an increase of 50% in = square footage over the combined current two campus sites and clinic, and = will readily accommodate the college's future growth projections. A short = relocation move - less than six miles from the current main campus in San = Lorenzo - will minimize the dislocation for existing students, faculty, = and staff and will keep the college in its San Francisco East Bay location = with excellent access to the area's transportation and metropolitan = amenities. "There remains much to be done, but now we have the green light = to move ahead," Dr. Clum remarked about Life West's ambitious plan. The = college plans to close escrow with the owners of the site, Simeon = Properties of San Francisco, on March 4. The construction and renovation = work will soon follow. Opening date of the campus is scheduled for July of = 2000, which is the beginning of Life West's summer quarter. The campus is = projected to open with approximately 200 staff and faculty members and a = projection of 1,000 students by the year 2002. In addition, the college's = public clinic expects to continue to receive close to 200,000 patient = visits a year. Life West has already reached agreement with Simeon = Properties, the current owner of the new site. The project will be funded = primarily through guaranteed tax-exempt educational bonds issued through the California Educational Facilities = Authority (CEFA). "The bonding and underwriting was already arranged, = pending the City of Hayward approval received Monday," said Dr. Clum. He = also noted that additional funds would be acquired from other lenders and = through college fundraising activities.=20 Since going through a remarkable growth phase in the mid-1990s when its = enrollment spurted to the present 800 students, the college has been = conducting a search for an appropriate new site. After finding an = appropriate site and funding sources, the college applied for its use = permit with the City of Hayward. Life West officials were surprised to = learn that there was initial opposition among some of the Hayward city = staff and political leadership. The city planners and administration had = argued that the new campus would reduce the available land for possible = future industrial- and business-park uses. In addition, they were = concerned that, by granting the use of the site to the non-profit = educational use, the city would lose future tax revenues. Over time, Life = West supporters were able to reassure the city leadership that college's = presence would more than compensate for any possible future losses. "Life = West presented very credible evidence to the [Hayward Chamber of Commerce's= ] Government Relations Council (GRC) that their overall economic impact is = equal to, if not greater than that which we might expect from a for-profit = use at that location," said Ed Mullins, chair of the GRC, which endorsed = Life West's proposal. On January 14, the City of Hayward Planning Commission met to vote on the = proposed use permit. Before the vote, the commission heard from Dr. Clum = and the testimonies of 35 supporters including clinic patients, residents, = non-profit spokespersons, commercial real estate agents, real estate = developers, educators, bankers, chamber of commerce representatives, and = neighbors who all spoke in favor of the application. It was estimated that = more than an additional 200 supporters were also on hand giving support to = the college.=20 After nearly two hours of input , the planning commission voted in favor = of the college's project 4 to 1. "Life Chiropractic offers an awful lot of = amenities to the city, not to mention the $23 million we would receive today," said Robert Williams, chair of the = Planning Commission, before voting to approve the project. On January 28, the planning commission was asked to give their final = authorization of the plan, which included 16 procedural conditions, such = as retrofitting, parking, fencing, lighting, plumbing, building improvement= s, and signs. After reviewing the conditions, the commission voted in = favor of the campus project 5-0. "We are very grateful for the support and = cooperation of everyone involved in this effort," said the very grateful = Dr. Clum, at 5:02, p.m., Monday February 8, 1999. In its presentations to = the city, Life West provided extensive documentation of its social and = economic value to its host community. According to Bay Area Economics, a = Berkeley based independent business research company, Life West's direct = economic benefit to the city would exceed $9 million annually. The = college's employees and students will generate approximately $76,000 = annually in direct fiscal benefit to the city of Hayward through sales = taxes, various city taxes, and operational and licensing fees. The college = clinic is also a proven vital health-care resource in the community, = providing more than $3 million in healthcare services at no cost or = reduced cost. The clinic provides health care to 1,500 to 1,700 patient = visits a week; more than 1,000 Hayward residents receive care on a = cost-subsidized basis. Additionally, Life West has an ongoing commitment = to local students through "America Reads," a $100,000 a year program that = provides tutors to assist the children of Hayward with reading and general = academic support.=20 "Life Chiropractic College West provides significant economic benefits, = including jobs, tax revenue, as well as health care and community = services. They have proven time and again that they are a good neighbor = through involvement in various community foundations and charitable = organizations," said Bart Butzer, president of Mervyn's California. Life = West, established in 1976, is one of only 16 accredited chiropractic = colleges in the U.S. It is the largest Chiropractic College on the West Coast. Currently, the college = enrolls close to 800 men and women from across the nation and abroad and = employs more than 200 full- and part-time employees while maintaining a = general operating budget of $14 million. More than 2,500 graduates of Life = West are now practicing throughout the world.=20 Architectural renderings of the new Life Chiropractic College West campus = are available upon request: via fax, postal mail, or e-mail. An Aspartame Avalanche In the June 15, 1999 edition of TLS, we ran a piece about aspartame and = asked if anyone had any more information on the potentially deleterious = effects of the ubiquitous sweetener. Holy Hanna, did you have info! From anecdotes to websites to books to full blown Oliver Stone conspiracy = theories did you have info! On the book side of the question, you might = want to consider The Liver Cleansing Diet or Boost Your Energy by Sandra = Cabot, M.D., available from Ten Speed Press at 888.75.liver. Other than = the texts we noted in our previous discussion the following are offered = for your consideration: Deadly Deception-The Story of Aspartame by = Stoddard, available at 800.969.6050, Bittersweet Aspartame-A Diet = Delusion, by Mullarkey available at 708.848.0116, Sweet'ner Dearest, by = Roberts, available from the Sunshine Sentinel Press of West Palm Beach = Florida. Organizations concerned about aspartame include Aspartame = Consumer Safety Network at www. web2.airmail.net or 800.969.6050 or = "Mission Possible" at P.O. Box 28098 Atlanta, Georgia 30358, e-mail = betty@pd.org There is a website for your consideration: www.dorway.com It has been = reported that there is an audio lecture from Dr. Blaylock on the effects = of aspartame. Correction: The piece I attributed to Nancy Markle was actually written by = Betty Martini at Betty@pd.org Keep An Eye Open Rumor has it that Donlin Long, M.D. of Johns Hopkins, will be publishing = an article based on an NIH funded longitudinal study involving over 5,000 = low back pain patients.=20 The results are expected to concur with the recent NEJM articles on LBP = and will assert conservative care (PT, chiropractic adjustments etc) add = little to the outcome of patients: 13% of patients ended up being surgical = cases, the best surgery window is 1-3 months after onset, after that = chronicity takes over and results are less positive. Their recommendations:= Short period of bedrest, return to activity, analgesics, forget everything= else seven of eight will improve; the other will be surgical.=20 As this one develops, we will keep you posted.=20 "Government-mandated Thalidomide for babies" The above stunning title is the headline on an article by Michael Belkin = that appeared on Monday, January 25, 1999 on the website of WorldNetDaily = at www.worldnetdaily.com The article is about the Hepatitis B vaccine and the consequences of this = new wolf in sheep's clothing. Belkin is an unlikely author for such an = article as his background is as a financial consultant. He did, however, = receive a crash course in vaccination-related damages with the death of = his five-week old daughter Lyla hours following a Hepatitis B vaccination. Belkin poses a series of questions that run from who is at risk for = Hepatitis B to why babies are being inoculated to the consequences of the = vaccination.=20 Reports following vaccination include: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome = (SIDS); multiple sclerorsis; lupus; Guillain-Barre Syndrome and other = demyelinating disorders including transverse myelitis and optic neuritis = and immune system responses including chronic arthritis. In a painful bit of irony, the New York City Medical Examiner refused to = even mention that Lyla's brain was found to be swollen on autopsy, a = cardinal sign of vaccination reaction, noting "Vaccines do a lot of good = things for people." Additional information on Hepatitis B vaccine related problems can be = obtained from the National Vaccine Information Center in Vienna, Virginia. New Internet Resource www.nowyouknow.net is the latest resource for you and your patients. The = free service "will include information, articles and tips to help = chiropractors*" The essential focus will be how you can use the Internet = to support your practice. The site offers a newsletter entitled "The = Information Age." Like most other Internet based activities you get something for free in = hopes that you will buy something while you are accessing the free stuff. = The cost elements of this effort involve a website creation and hosting = service for $40 a month, an e-mail patient newsletter for $30 and a month = and patient orientation CD-ROMs at no specified price. The easiest way to = contact the new service is by e-mail at nowyouknow@ nowyouknow.net "Brachioradial pruritis and cervical spine manipulation" In the January 31, 1999 edition of TLS, I offered the abstract of the = above entitled article. In the meantime, we have tracked down the full = article.=20 It is authored by Tuit et al. and appeared in the Australasian Journal of = Dermatology (1998) 59, 168-170. The element about which the most interest was registered had to do with = the type of manipulation referred to in the abstract. The technique used = was that of Cyriax as expressed in his 1980 Textbook of Orthopaedic = Medicine. The easiest way to look at it is a diversified technique supine = modified rotary break with a high level of rotation and extension. A = formula for CVA problems* The authors propose that the procedure is an "increase on outlet space on = the affected side, thereby relieving pressure on exiting nerves." The = authors conclude their article with the standard these results are = preliminary and more research is needed" statement. "We feel that a larger = prospective study, looking for evidence of cervical spine disease in this = group of patients, as well as assessing the effects of specific cervical = spine manipulation as a treatment modality, particularly in those patients = with known cervical spine disease, is warranted." JAMA Editor Axed Most of you have read in your local newspaper or heard on the evening news = that the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) = was fired for running an article addressing people's views of what = constitutes sex. The article that most of you probably didn't see was one that ran in the = Chronicle of Higher Education. In this article, additional elements of = discord between the 17 year veteran editor and the notoriously Republican = and conservative JAMA began to come to light. The AMA bosses saw George = Lundberg, M.D.'s effort to get an article published that supported the = President's view of sex as an intrusion into the impeachment process. The = article authors said it had gone through three rounds of review before = being published and it really wasn't anything out of the ordinary. A little more insight into the firing was gained with the following = comment: (Lundberg) irritated some members of the medical association when = he publicly criticized a decline of autopsies to investigate the death of = hospital patients. During his tenure, the journal also published a = controversial special issue on research into alternative medicine." Lesson: If you work for the JAMA, keep you politics in order and your = research along party lines. This one will make their little foray into = product endorsements with their heating pad debacle look like child's = play. I can hardly wait!!! NEJM and Asthma/ Manipulation Follow-up Appearing in the February 4, 1999 issue of the NEJM, pages 391-392 are a = pair of letters to the editor about the recent asthma and manipulation = articles. Both are good letters and serve to point up some of the = weaknesses of the original article and its related study. The first, offered by a North Dakota DC by the name of Brian Jongeward = focuses on the nature of the "simulated chiropractic adjustment" and the = effects that the described intervention could produce. His point was that = defining "adjustment" as a thrust with cavitation was an inappropriate = assertion- -Agreed. The second letter sought to bring to light some of the osteopathic = literature related to osteopathic manipulation and asthma. This letter was = offered by three parties out of Virginia--a Ph.D., an M.D. and a D.C. They = state the conclusions of the original article, conferring any and all = benefit of an adjustment on the placebo effect is wrong and that the = physiological response to the care administered in the simulation should = have been anticipated to be as reported. Balon et al. responded by saying the letters were wrong; they were right = and any effect from chiropractic care was placebo in nature. They do = attempt to assert that their simulated adjustment was not questioned--by = their funding source-FCER. I would bet a nice dinner that the nature of = the simulation described in the article was not presented to FCER and a = simple reference was made to a simulated adjustment with little or no = detail. I hope that was the way it was* Let's Imagine It's time to elect a world leader, and your vote counts. Here's the scoop on three leading candidates. Candidate A: * Associates with healers and consults with astrologists. * Has had two mistresses. * Has had sexual contact in his office and not with his wife. * Chain smokes. * Drinks 8 to 10 martinis everyday. * Is known to throw parties during worktime where staff members become drunk. Candidate B: * Was kicked out of office twice. * Sleeps until noon. * Used opium in college. * Drinks a quart of brandy every evening. * Rumors say he is a closet gay Candidate C: * Is a decorated war hero, twice having received the highest military award. * He's a vegetarian and always thinks about health issues. * Does not smoke. * Occasionally, will drink a beer. * Dedicated to one woman and is not known to have had any illicit affairs. * Has brought the greatest improvement to the country's economy in its history. * Industry and commerce have increased multifold. * Has made the government much more efficient. Which of these candidates is your choice? You don't really need any more = information, do you? Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt. Candidate B is Winston Churchill. Candidate C is Adolph Hitler. Things ain't always as simple as they seem! ------------------------------ End of lifechiro V1 #3