The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Six Suspected Monkeypox Cases In Sonoma County, As WHO Declares Global Health Emergency
Sonoma County health officials announced Monday that three more suspected cases of monkeypox have been detected locally, bringing the total number of confirmed and suspected cases to six. (Espinoza, 7/25)

Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs Mayor Lisa Middleton Calls On Health Officials To Shift Strategy With Monkeypox Vaccines
Palm Springs Mayor Lisa Middleton is calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health to shift their strategy when it comes to acquiring and distributing monkeypox vaccines. (Sasic, 7/25)

KQED: Epidemiologists Warn The US Reaches A Critical Moment To Contain Monkeypox
On the heels of a public health emergency declaration from the World Health Organization, epidemiologists and public health experts warn the U.S. is running out of time to contain a monkeypox outbreak that has infected nearly 3,000 Americans. "We're losing daylight," UCLA epidemiologist Anne Rimoin, who has studied monkeypox for decades, told NPR. "Every day that we aren't continuing to push forward on all fronts, the less likely it is that we will be able to contain it." (Sullivan, 7/25)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Coronavirus Weekly Death Rate 70% Higher Than In Bay Area: Why So Much Worse? 
L.A. County’s weekly COVID-19 death rate is significantly higher than that of the San Francisco Bay Area. On a per-capita basis, L.A. County was recording 96 deaths a week for every 10 million residents, while the Bay Area was recording 56 deaths a week for every 10 million residents. (Lin II and Money, 7/25)

Los Angeles Times: Long COVID Fears Heightened By New Wave Of Super-Infectious Variants
As highly infectious Omicron subvariants continue to fuel a new coronavirus wave, there is growing concern about long COVID, in which symptoms or increased risk of illness can persist for months or even years. Efforts to understand the scale of long COVID’s effects have taken on additional urgency given the number of people who have come down with the virus since Omicron was first detected in California shortly after Thanksgiving. Some experts think this latest surge may exceed the record-high case counts seen over the fall and winter, leaving more people at risk of developing the condition. (Lin II and Money, 7/26)

Inside Higher Ed: COVID Is Surging In California. What's A University To Do?
Colleges and universities in L.A. County are responding with a range of mitigation measures, which include encouraging—and in some cases, requiring—mask wearing on campus. In late May, the University of California, Los Angeles, reinstated its indoor mask mandate after lifting it just over a month earlier. (Knox, 7/26)

San Francisco Chronicle: Oak Fire: Bay Area Air Quality Advisory Extended Over Smoke Near Yosemite
An air quality advisory for the Bay Area has been extended through Wednesday because of heavy smoke churning out of the Oak Fire near Yosemite National Park, though officials said conditions in the Bay Area should remain in the “good to moderate range.” (Parker, 7/25)

Bay Area News Group: Smoke From Oak Fire Prompts Bay Area Air Quality Advisory, Chokes Sierra Nevada
Smoke from California’s largest fire of 2022 prompted Bay Area air quality officials to warn that some people in the region with respiratory issues may need to take precautions in the coming days as a 17,241-acre blaze continues to burn west of Yosemite National Park. (Rodgers, 7/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: Will Laws Requiring California Doctors To Report Abuse Put Out-Of-State Abortion Patients At Risk? Here’s What We Know
Officials in California say state agencies wouldn’t share information about a minor’s abortion, though legal experts say mandated reporting in these situations could still be a concern because efforts to ban abortions across state lines are an active and untested area of the law. (Bollag, 7/25)

The Sacramento Bee: UC Davis Ranked As Top Hospital In Sacramento Area, 6th In CA
U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Davis Medical Center as the best hospital in the Sacramento region and sixth overall in the state of California in its 2022 evaluation of more than 4,400 institutions nationwide. Last year, Sacramento-based UC Davis also topped the local list but had tied for seventh place in the 2021 state ranking. (Anderson, 7/26)

The Bakersfield Californian: Labor Union Sees Breakthrough In Contract Talks With Kern Medical 
The labor union negotiating a contract with Kern Medical announced Monday it had reached a tentative agreement with the hospital that could avert a strike there next month. (Cox, 7/25)

San Diego Union-Tribune: To End Homelessness, Policies Must Align With Realities On Street, New Report Says 
Designated outdoor areas for homeless people to live, a shelter specifically for sober families and greater police protection of people living on the street are among recommendations Father Joe’s Villages made in a report on homelessness released Wednesday. (Warth, 7/25)

Bloomberg: How One LA Neighborhood Is Guarding Against Deadly Heat 
As temperatures hit triple digits on a blue-sky July day in the Los Angeles community of Pacoima, families escape the heat at a local park. Many of the surrounding homes lack air conditioning, and the neighborhood’s sparse stands of towering palm trees provide scant shelter from the sun. The streets are scorching, with the asphalt radiating 127° Fahrenheit of heat at noon, according to a temperature reading. An hour later, it rises to 141.8°. (Woody, 7/25)

CapRadio: City Of Davis Giving Away Free Gun Locks, Part Of Plan To Curb Accidental Firearm Deaths
Davis is giving away free gun locks at this weekend’s farmers market, part of the city’s new plan to prevent gun-related deaths and injuries. Last week, the Davis City Council approved a new ordinance that will require gun owners to secure firearms with locking devices and store them in containers at home and in vehicles. (Milne, 7/25)