Hospice Workers Forced To Intervene When Patients Refused To Leave Homes Despite Wildfires
“Some people were feeling like if they were going to die they wanted to die in their house, and [were] not really thinking that through very clearly,” said social worker Karna Dawson. “We’re not talking about dying of your cancer. We’re talking about dying in a fire. And those are two very different deaths.”
KQED:
Hospice Scrambled During Wildfires To Evacuate Patients Determined To Die At Home
Even when the fires threatened her home in downtown Sonoma, the elderly woman inside refused to leave. Smoke was everywhere. Her caretaker begged her to heed the mandatory evacuation order. Another woman on the outskirts of town said all the young people telling her to get out were just “making hay” over nothing. (Dembosky, 10/25)
In other news from across the state —
San Francisco Chronicle:
3 San Francisco Public Schools Show High Levels Of Lead In Water
Water samples from taps and drinking fountains at three San Francisco public schools contained elevated levels of lead, potentially exposing students to the toxic metal, district officials said Wednesday. District officials immediately shut down the taps and this week notified parents at West Portal and Malcolm X elementary schools and San Francisco International High School that water samples from at least one faucet or fountain at each site were too high - or above the recommended federal threshold of 15 parts per billion. (Tucker, 10/25)
Modesto Bee:
Family Of Waterford Woman, 82, Talks About Ordeal When She Went Missing
All Loretta Bowling wanted to do was take a short walk to visit a lifelong friend, Mary. Nearly seven hours later, well after dark, Loretta was found dehydrated, muddy, scraped, cut and bruised, and with a broken arm. What happened? The simplest answer is that Mary lives in Modesto, and Loretta, who suffers dementia, forgot they haven’t been neighbors for many years. She got lost. (Farrow, 10/25)
Los Angeles Times:
Activists Occupy City Hall Bathroom Stalls To Protest Skid Row Toilet Shortage
Protesters took graffiti-covered toilets to Los Angeles City Hall and occupied bathroom stalls on Wednesday to highlight what they called a severe hygiene shortage for homeless people on skid row. The activists tried to deliver the toilets, scribbled with slogans, to Mayor Eric Garcetti. But they were stopped at the security checkpoint by Los Angeles police, who cited safety concerns with hauling the ceramic thrones through the gilded Art Deco hallways and elevators of the landmark building. (Holland, 10/25)