B Sure, B Tested and B Free

By Angela Pang For the 2nd year in a row, the Asian Heritage Street Celebration will be hosting free Hepatitis B screenings courtesy of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University. The testing will take place at the third annual AHSC on May 19, 2007 and is part of the new San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign, a major collaborative effort by the city government, private healthcare and non-profit community organizations in a 2-year-long campaign to screen, vaccinate, and treat all API residents for hepatitis B (HBV). Last year at the 2nd AHSC on Irving St. 536 people were tested, marking the nation's largest one-day Hepatitis B screening at a street fair. The SF Hep B Free campaign, which launched on Apr. 25, will put San Francisco at the forefront of America in fighting chronic hepatitis and will be the largest healthcare campaign to target Asian and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Members of the SF Hospital Council and the SF Community Clinic Coalition, the Asian Liver Center, API Wellness Center and others will provide accessible and free or low-cost screenings and vaccinations via physician offices, health clinics, and street fairs. "Hepatitis B virus is a highly infectious disease that is affecting the health of our vibrant Asian and Pacific Islander community," said Mayor Gavin Newsom. "Fortunately, a vaccine exists that is safe and effective. San Francisco is committed to preventing the spread of this virus." Hepatitis B is responsible for 80% of all liver cancers among APIs. San Francisco's API residents comprise 34% of the city's population and bear a disproportionate burden of liver cancer and undetected HBV infection. "The hospitals in San Francisco are in full support of educating and providing hepatitis B health access to the Asian and Pacific Islander community," said Brenda Yee, CEO of Chinese Hospital. The campaign will spread its message of "B Sure, B Tested, B Free" with media outreach including Asian television, print, and radio as well as mainstream media outlets. In November 2006, Newsom signed a resolution authored by then Supervisor Fiona Ma establishing the goal of universal HBV screening and vaccination for API residents. The SF Hep B Free Steering Committee was also formed, comprised of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Asian Liver Center at Stanford University, and the AsianWeek Foundation. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, an HBV carrier, is honorary chairperson of the Steering Committee. "There are almost 400 million people in the world living with chronic HBV infection and 75% of them, about 300 million, live in Asia," said Dr. Samuel So, Director of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University. "This is a big problem for Asians and Asian Americans, because most Asian Americans are recent immigrants and their doctors have never tested them. For this reason, our SF Hep B Free campaign's main message to every API in San Francisco is: B Sure, B Tested and B Free." www.SFHepBFree.org Free Hep B Blood Testing Asian Heritage Street Celebration May 19, 11a.m. - 4p.m. 1025 Howard St. (Enter at Harriet St.) Provided by the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University

Entertainment Spotlight: Dee Jae

Walls dripping with paint, fill with stylized images of subjects as varied as cyber-techno Hindu gods and Organic futuristic Geishas and robotic Koi fish, springs from the mind of San Jose-based artist Dee Jae Pa'este,22. Born in San Jose, Calif. to an extended Filipino/Guamanian family of creative minds, Dee Jae was practically raised to be an artist. Inspired by his father's own work, hung on the walls of his home, Dee Jae was coloring and drawing before he could talk. Influenced by a wide number of sources, Pa'este's artwork is both personal and universal. Stylistically, Pa'este owes quite a bit to the graffiti scene. His work has a strong, graphic sensibility, and consists of powerful, primary colors and bold, thick lines. In order to convey his vision, Dee Jae dabbles with a wide variety of media, but most often finds himself comfortable with acrylic paints and spray cans. He likes the immediacy of it. "I feel the fast-drying spray paint and acrylics I use reflect the motion of my world," he notes. "I research a lot of different things," says Pa'este, "and it's not really religious or spiritual...I take bits and pieces of things I see on my travels and make it part of my world. Pa'este's art, an Organika-esque(Organic/Electronica) creation, shows a diverse iconography that, rather than espousing a particular philosophy, seems to embrace the best of several. Pa'este makes no statements, voices no opinions. What he does offer is an observation. Growing up in Silicon Valley, he couldn't help but notice the duality of nature and technology, and the need for a sense of balance. His artwork reflects a "mixture of old world aesthetics and new world consciousness." and a pursuit of finding a balance amongst the two elements. His work has appeared in a number of venues and walls from Los Angeles, the Philippines, San Francisco, Japan, Hawaii, and various gallery shows, and also on his own clothing line, Konscious Klothing which is just an extension of the art he already does. He uses the shirt as a canvas and the person as his walking gallery.    "I feel the need to translate the organic life of this world I live in being overtaken by technology, but still maintaining it's form, yet evolving as time progresses, which I ultimately apply to my way of living, no just my art."