‘How Many More People Need To Die?’ LA’s Catch-22 Over Speed Limits Angers Residents
An old law requires California cities to post speed limits that reflect the natural speed of traffic. If the limit is too low, or if it is years out of date, the police can’t use radar guns or other electronic devices to write speeding tickets there. But residents say the high limits are a public health hazard.
Los Angeles Times:
As L.A. Struggles To Reduce Traffic Deaths, Speed Limits Keep Going Up
Sheila Brown was shocked to learn, in the spring of 2009, that the Los Angeles City Council was planning to raise the speed limit on Zelzah Avenue, a few blocks from her home in Granada Hills. A few weeks before, a 60-year-old woman had been struck and killed in a crosswalk on Zelzah, Brown told the City Council in an impassioned letter. She said the frequent sounds of screeching tires as drivers narrowly avoided collisions were proof that allowing higher speeds would put residents and students in danger. (Nelson, 7/22)
In other public health news —
CALmatters:
Food For The Heart In A New California Health Program
[Sharon] Quenton is one of those enrolled in a $6 million pilot project authorized last year by the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown. Run by the state Department of Health Care Services, it was launched in seven counties for 1,000 congestive heart failure patients in Medi-Cal, the state’s version of federal Medicaid care for the needy. ...Patients recently home from the hospital get some nutrition counseling and 12 weeks of homemade, heart-healthy meals with lots of fresh ingredients delivered to their doorsteps. (Gorn, 7/22)
Ventura County Star:
Tuberculosis Infections Emerge After Oxnard Scare; Danger Seen As Low
Five people have tested positive for tuberculosis infections in an investigation that started last month after exposures of the contagious disease at a middle school and fitness center in Oxnard, a public health official said Friday. Two of the people were diagnosed with the latent tuberculosis infection, meaning they are not contagious and are not required to isolate themselves. The latent infection can develop into active tuberculosis but often does not. (Kisken, 7/20)