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Not a subscriber? Sign up | | | | Daily Edition | | | California Tries To Crack Down On 'Tranq': Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced he will sponsor legislation to increase penalties for the trafficking of xylazine, the deadly and flesh-rotting animal tranquilizer drug known as "tranq." Read more from the Los Angeles Times. Whooping Cough Cases Jump In San Diego: San Diego County health officials are urging residents to get vaccinated for pertussis, also known as whooping cough, after the number of cases rose in October from 12 to 57. Read more from the Times of San Diego. Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline's coverage. For today's national health news, read KFF Health News' Morning Briefing. More News From Across The State The New York Times: DeSantis-Newsom Debate: What To Watch For At Tonight's Showdown
Ron DeSantis of Florida, 45, and Gavin Newsom of California, 56, two relatively youthful governors adept at seeking — and finding — the spotlight, will square off at 9 p.m. Eastern on Thursday in a nationally televised debate in Alpharetta, Ga., in suburban Atlanta. ... A Newsom spokesman suggested some of the main topics would be abortion, free speech and the right to vote. (Weisman and Nehamas, 11/30) Capitol Weekly: Amidst Morale 'Crisis,' CA Stem Cell Agency Could Take Months To Find New President
California's $12 billion stem cell and gene therapy program could be treading water for the next 12 months in the view of at least one of its leaders as it searches for a new president of the 19-year-old enterprise. The prediction came earlier this week at a meeting of the 35-member governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the agency is officially known. It is the largest regenerative medicine institution in the world and the largest state stem cell research program in the nation. (Jensen, 11/29) San Diego Union-Tribune: Sharp Healthcare Receives $10 Million Donation For New Medical Tower
A $10 million gift from local philanthropist Laurie C. McGrath will help Sharp HealthCare realize its goal of rebuilding a key piece of its medical campus in Serra Mesa. (Sisson, 10/28) CalMatters: New California Rules Target Flavors In Kids' Medication, Leading Pharmacies To End Service
More than 3,000 California pharmacies earlier this month ended a service they long provided to help the medicine go down, and it's unclear when they'll restore it. (Agrawal, 11/29) The Wall Street Journal: Cigna, Humana In Talks For Blockbuster Insurance Merger In Stock-And-Cash Deal
Cigna and Humana are in talks for a combination that would create a new powerhouse in the health-insurance industry. The companies are discussing a stock-and-cash deal that could be finalized by the end of the year, assuming the talks don't fall apart, according to people familiar with the matter. While the structure and terms under discussion couldn't be learned, a merger of the managed-care providers would be huge, and give rise to a company worth some $140 billion given Cigna's market value Wednesday morning of about $83 billion and Humana's of roughly $62 billion. (Thomas, Mathews and Cooper, 11/29) Los Angeles Times: Former O.C. Surgeon Pleads Guilty To Gun, Drug Charges
More than five years ago, Orange County's top prosecutor stood before the cameras and declared Grant Robicheaux a prolific sex criminal — a hand surgeon accused of weaponizing his looks and reality-TV celebrity to lure women, then drugging and assaulting them. More than a dozen accusers had come forward, the district attorney said, alleging that Robicheaux had left a trove of evidence by videotaping his crimes. The case that began in 2018 with a tabloid frenzy took a wild, twisting road to collapse, ending in a Fullerton courtroom Wednesday with a plea deal on non-sex-related charges that leaves Robicheaux free on probation. (Goffard, 11/29) The New York Times: Biden Administration To Require Replacing Of Lead Pipes Within 10 Years
The Biden administration is proposing new restrictions that would require the removal of virtually all lead water pipes across the country in an effort to prevent another public health catastrophe like the one that came to define Flint, Mich. The proposal on Thursday from the Environmental Protection Agency would impose the strictest limits on lead in drinking water since federal standards were first set 30 years ago. It would affect about nine million pipes that snake throughout communities across the country. (Davenport, 11/30) The Mercury News: Flaring Reported Wednesday Night At Martinez Refinery
Flaring was reported Wednesday afternoon at a refinery in Martinez, marking the second such incident at a Contra Costa County refinery this week. The flaring at a refinery operated by the Martinez Refining Company followed an "operational incident" around 4:30 p.m., according to the company. The company said it issued a Community Warning System Level 1 notification and contacted the appropriate agencies. A CWS Level 1 notification requires no action by the public. (Green, 11/30) Bay Area News Group: Martinez Residents Sue Refinery After A Year Of Accidents Shakes Community
The Martinez Refining Company, already facing a series of investigations after a string of industrial accidents, is now being sued by two Martinez residents in a proposed class action lawsuit that demands the company cease operating until it proves it can do so safely. (McCarthy, 11/29) Los Angeles Daily News: Cleanup Of Toxic 'Burn Pit' At Santa Susana Field Lab Will Start In The Spring
For decades, a 6-acre site known as the "burn pit" at the Santa Susana Field Lab near the crest of the Simi Hills at the western border of the San Fernando Valley was used by Rocketdyne workers who dumped large amounts of radioactive pollutants, chemicals and explosives into the open pit. At times, workers burned contaminated waste in the pit. Today state officials are pressuring Boeing Co., which now owns Area I where the burn pit is located, to remediate and clean up the site. (Grigoryants, 11/29) Los Angeles Daily News: UCLA Study Looks At Cancer, Births, ER Visits After 2015 Aliso Canyon Gas Leak
A massive natural gas leak in the hills above suburban Porter Ranch in 2015 spewed more than 110,000 metric tons of methane and other toxic chemicals into the San Fernando Valley atmosphere, the biggest natural gas leak in U.S. history. The blowout lasted more than 100 days, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate while Southern California Gas Co., which stored its natural gas in vast underground caverns, tried to cap the leak. The disaster set off demands that the gas company stop storing gas in another populated area, under Playa del Rey. (Grigoryants, 11/29) Voice Of San Diego: Knives Are Out For Mayor Gloria's Homelessness Tactics
Mayor Todd Gloria has repeatedly tangled with NBA giant Bill Walton and homeless advocates, including some who once supported him. (Halverstadt, 11/29) CapRadio: As Alzheimer's Cases Grow, Sacramento Wants To Make Communities 'Dementia-Friendly'
Carlos Olivas III was living in Ventura when he got the call from his dad's dentist in Sacramento. His dad, Carlos Olivas II, known as "Charlie," hadn't shown up for his appointment. When he'd finally arrived, after much coaching by office staff over the phone, he'd had a noticeable body odor and an infection in his gums was getting worse. (Wolffe, 11/30) CapRadio: Sacramento Region Eyes New Round Of Homeless Encampment Funds
Sacramento officials say they'll consider applying for some of the $300 million in homeless encampment funds made available this week by Governor Gavin Newsom. But the program by itself won't pay cities and counties to remove the vast tent communities that line streets and sidewalks across California. Instead, to secure any money, local governments must come up with plans for how to shelter or house people living in the camps and offer them as alternatives to life on the street. (Nichols, 11/29) The Oaklandside: Tenants Protest No Heat, Leaks, Cockroaches At Apartments Owned By KP Market Grocer
Renters in Uptown say their landlord—who also owns the nearby Koreana Plaza Market and several other properties—has long neglected the freezing temperatures, mold, cockroaches, and leaks that plague their building. The tenants recently picketed in front of the popular grocery store, also called KP Asian Market, and say they'll call for a boycott if the conditions in their homes aren't addressed. (Orenstein, 11/29) The Bakersfield Californian: City Rejects Appeals, Pushes Along New Veterans Clinic
The Bakersfield City Council unanimously rejected appeals that stood as the last hurdles to creating a new veterans clinic in the city. The city has since 2018 tried to pass plans for a new clinic, a single-story, 30,100-square-foot facility to be located at 5512 Knudsen Drive in northwest Bakersfield. (Donegan, 11/29) Politico: Tuberville Considers Dropping Some Military Holds 'Soon, But Not Today'
Tommy Tuberville said in an interview on Wednesday he's considering dropping his months-long holds on military promotions over the Pentagon's abortion policy "soon, but not today." The Alabama GOP senator said he and other Armed Services Committee members are "getting close" to a resolution and will be holding more meetings on the subject later Wednesday with Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and other members of the panel. (Everett, 11/29) Los Angeles Times: As Teen Suicide Spikes, School Policies May Be Making Things Worse
In the absence of meaningful access to care, an old superstition has taken root: that talking about suicide will cause kids in crisis to kill themselves. (Sharp, 11/30) Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Says Hate Crimes Surged In 2022
Hate crimes in Los Angeles County surged in 2022 to the highest level in two decades, according to a report released Wednesday by the county Commission on Human Relations. The report, which the county has produced annually since 1980, found that at least 929 people were victims of hate crimes in that year, an 18% increase over 2021. It is the largest total the county has reported since 2001, according to the report. (Ellis, 11/29) The Bakersfield Californian: Two Dogs At County Shelter Died Of Strep Zoo, Treatable With Antibiotics
Officials with Kern County Animal Services said Wednesday the two dogs that died in county care last week had fallen victim to strep zoo, or Streptococcus zooepidemicus, a pathogen that causes severe pneumonia. (Donegan, 11/29) Stat: FDA Chief Scientist Namandjé Bumpus To Replace Woodcock
The Food and Drug Administration's chief scientist will replace retiring Janet Woodcock as principal deputy commissioner of the agency next year, the FDA commissioner announced Wednesday. Namandjé N. Bumpus was named chief scientist in June of last year. The chief scientist works closely with the FDA's product centers, and Bumpus played a big role in the expansion of the agency's regulation of cosmetics. (Wilkerson, 11/29) Stat: Biden Health Officials Meet With Tobacco Lobbyists On Menthol Ban
A little-known group of Black law enforcement officers is getting significant access to the White House to talk about the FDA's proposal to ban menthol cigarettes — and it's bringing the tobacco industry along. (Florko, 11/29) CIDRAP: CDC Revamps Wastewater COVID Data Reporting
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently unveiled new wastewater data tracking dashboard to make it easier to track local and national trends, even by variant. Wastewater tracking is one of the early indicators health officials use to gauge the activity of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. Called the National Wastewater Surveillance Program, the main page says that, nationally, wastewater viral activity of COVID is high. (Schnirring, 11/29) Axios: Biden Admin Will Send Free COVID Tests To Schools
The Biden administration for the first time will allow all schools to order free COVID-19 tests from the federal government ahead of the holidays, officials told Axios first. Uptake of updated COVID vaccines has been sluggish, making other precautions like timely testing all the more critical as respiratory virus season heats up. (Reed, 11/29) Forbes: What To Know About Rapidly Spreading 'Pirola' Covid Variant BA.2.86—And If Vaccines Offer Protection
Pirola quickly spread across the U.S., with cases almost tripling in number from the previous two-week period. Some experts aren't so sure Pirola and its offsprings—most notably JN.1—will be very protected under the new vaccines. The authors of a bioRxiv study wrote in a pre-publication comment, which hasn't yet been peer reviewed, that the newer vaccines could spur the spread of the more recent Pirola viruses. (Johnson, 11/28) | | | | | |
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