Asthma Workshops Offered Through American Lung Association of California

The American Lung Association of California is offering free workshops in the Central Valley to help reduce the impact of adult asthma throughout that area where the disease's rates are high.

The classes are for those in Fresno, Merced, Modesto, and Porterville cities.

For more information, contact Susie Rico at 559-222-4800 or srico@alac.org.

The Association has also joined forces with the American Cancer Society to spotlight the need to reduce and eliminate the unequal burden of cancer among the diverse communities in the Central Valley. The staff says increased awareness is needed because recent published reports have indicated that African-Americans and other medically underserved minorities have significantly higher cancer incidence and mortality rates than white Americans due to a lack of access to quality care, low enrollment in clinical trials, cultural barriers, and disproportionate numbers of medically uninsured or underinsured.

For information, contact Michelle Garcia at 559-222-4800 or mgarcia@alac.org.

The Two Rock Breathe Easy bike ride fundraiser is scheduled for some time in June in Rohnert Park.

For more details, visit breatheeasyride.org or for additional information, contact Trina Ramirez at 707-527-5864 or at tramirez@alac.org or Shirley Fee at sfee@alac.org.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) in California is considering regulations to cut diesel emissions and the Association is actively supporting new statewide rules to eliminate the emissions from construction and other of-road equipment currently under consideration by the board. According to the Association's literature, new regulations would achieve a 75-percent reduction in health-damaging diesel soot from off-road equipment covered by the rule and are desperately needed to protect public health.