05/23/2012
In the next few weeks, the California Senate Health Committee will begin debating a bill that would require parents to talk to a licensed health professional before opting out of immunizations for their children. The Assembly approved the bill on a party-line vote. KQED's "The California Report."
05/23/2012
Department of Public Health data show that California's infant mortality rate fell to 4.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010, a record low for the state. Officials attribute the decline in part to lower rates of premature births. U-T San Diego et al.
05/23/2012
Sacramento and Solano county and hospital officials have warned the parents of 35 newborns that their infants were exposed to tuberculosis. Officials say that an individual with TB visited neonatal intensive care units at two area hospitals in March and April. Sacramento Bee, Capital Public Radio's "KXJZ News."
05/22/2012
On Friday, CDC recommended that baby boomers -- U.S. residents born between 1945 and 1965 -- receive a one-time voluntary test for hepatitis C, which the department said could identify 800,000 new cases and prevent 120,000 deaths. Baby boomers make up more than two million of the 3.2 million U.S. residents who have hepatitis C. AP/New York Times, Washington Post.
05/17/2012
A Legislative Analyst's Office report finds that federal oversight of California's prison health care system could end without the state expanding certain health care facilities. LAO says California would assume $76 million in debt by completing construction. KPCC's "KPCC News."
05/17/2012
Certain San Joaquin County officials support the arrest of a Stockton man who stopped taking his tuberculosis medication, while some health law experts deride the prosecution. County officials say the arrest was made as a last resort, but certain experts say prosecution sends the wrong message. AP/Sacramento Bee.
05/17/2012
In a Sacramento Bee opinion piece, former California Department of Finance Director Michael Genest argues that Proposition 29 -- a June ballot initiative that would increase California's tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack to raise funds for cancer research -- "will not help" resolve the state's budget crisis. He writes that Proposition 29 would use tax revenue "to create yet another unaccountable, out-of-control bureaucracy." Sacramento Bee.
05/17/2012
On Tuesday, the Richmond City Council voted 5-2 to put on the November ballot a pair of soda tax measures that seek to curb the city's high child obesity rate. The first measure proposes a 1-cent per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, while the second would advise the city council to use the tax revenue for sports and health education programs for local youths. If approved, the soda tax would be the first of its kind in the U.S. Contra Costa Times, KQED's "State of Health."
05/16/2012
On Tuesday, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors unanimously endorsed Proposition 29, a June ballot initiative that would increase California's tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack to raise $855 million annually for cancer research and smoking prevention and cessation programs. Representatives of the American Cancer Society had urged the board to join other backers of the ballot measure. Contra Costa Times.
05/15/2012
A Modesto Bee editorial states that although "poverty is an overriding issue" in San Joaquin Valley, "it doesn't account for all the unhealthy people in our region," as determined by a recent report from the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State University. According to the editorial, the report found that the valley failed to reach 16 of 22 public health goals set by HHS. The editorial notes that the "health of valley residents has been on a decline over the past decade" and that most residents should "get much more active" and "eat healthier meals." Modesto Bee.
05/15/2012
Advocates are using nearly $420,000 in state grants to study the feasibility of a plan to combine Tulare County's Allensworth and Alpaugh Community Services Districts with the Angiola Water District to provide safe drinking water to residents. Elevated levels of arsenic have been found in the well water in the two rural unincorporated communities. Water policy experts say that such consolidations of rural community water districts could serve as a model for other rural communities. California Watch.
05/14/2012
While states have approved more than 100 tobacco tax hikes in the past decade, California has failed to pass such a measure despite ongoing budget woes. Because California requires a supermajority to pass tax hikes in the Legislature, tobacco tax hikes often are put the ballot. As a result, the tobacco industry is able to spend significant money fighting such measures. Proposition 29, on the June ballot, would increase the state's tobacco sales tax by $1 per pack to fund research on smoking-related conditions such as cancer, heart disease and stroke. Sacramento Bee.
05/11/2012
According to a San Jose Mercury News editorial, Proposition 29 -- a June ballot initiative that would increase California's tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack to raise funds for cancer research and smoking prevention -- "would raise an estimated $800 million in its first year and $700 million in subsequent years as smoking declines." It urges voters to "[v]ote yes" on the measure because it "will reduce smoking and save lives" and the money it generates "will be gravy." San Jose Mercury News.
05/11/2012
Gov. Brown has rescinded the appointment of a physician to a state health board after she appeared in a tobacco industry-funded advertisement criticizing Proposition 29, which would increase the state's tobacco sales tax. Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert."
05/10/2012
Over the past decade, the health of residents in eight Central Valley counties has improved slightly by some measures but worsened by others, according to a Healthy People 2010 report released Monday by the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State University. According to the report, the region met national standards for six public health goals but failed to meet 16 other goals. Findings show that many adults in the area are overweight and obese, while many adolescents do not get enough exercise. Fresno Bee.