San Francisco Chronicle: Court Reinstates Mental Health Discrimination Suit Against Kaiser
Kaiser Permanente has been fined by California for its treatment of the mentally ill. Now a state appeals court says the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan can be sued for alleged discrimination against the mentally ill by three people, including two relatives of people who committed suicide. (Egelko, 5/18)

AP: California Lawmakers Block Bill Allowing People To Sue Oil Companies Over Health Problems
California lawmakers blocked two big environmental bills Thursday: One that would have ramped up the state’s emissions targets, and another that would have made oil companies liable for the health problems of people who live close to oil wells. They are among the hundreds of bills that did not survive the Legislature’s suspense file, a mysterious process where lawmakers decide — with no explanation — which bills will get a chance to become law later this year and which ones should not move forward. (Austin, 5/19)

CalMatters: Workers Push Cal/OSHA For Heat Rules For Indoor Jobs
Dozens of warehouse workers, delivery drivers, restaurant employees and advocates traveled to San Diego Thursday to urge the California Occupational Safety and Health Agency to take swift action implementing an indoor heat standard. The California Legislature first directed Cal/OSHA to take up the issue of adding indoor heat regulations to protect workers in 2016. An indoor heat standard would mirror state regulations that protect outdoor workers, including requiring employers to provide breaks, water and other safety measures when temperatures rise to a certain level. (Foy, 5/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Weighs How To Protect Indoor Workers From Warming Climate
The world is getting warmer. For Californians who work in some indoor settings where temperatures can soar, that poses a growing danger. Such risks are one reason the Cal/OSHA Standards Board heard from workers and business groups during a meeting Thursday in San Diego on whether to approve a proposed statewide standard to protect workers from indoor heat illness. (DiFeliciantonio, 5/18)

Voice Of San Diego: Ex-San Diego Homeless Czar Now Works For The Guv 
Hafsa Kaka, who recently departed her post as the top city of San Diego official focused on addressing homelessness, is now a senior adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Kaka announced on LinkedIn this weekend that she had just finished her first week as a senior adviser on homelessness to the governor’s office. (Halverstadt, 5/18)

Sacramento Bee: 200 People Could Be Left Homeless After Sacramento County Closes Two Emergency Shelters
Britt Macias felt something unfamiliar in a dingy motel room two years ago: hope. She had been homeless for months, but on July 13, 2021, she and her two beloved dogs moved into the Vagabond Inn and slept inside. She quickly got a job she could walk to, helping other homeless people; the hotel provided her meals, so she planned to save up her money. Her life had become a series of catastrophes. But finally — finally — here was something that seemed good. It seemed like progress. (Lange, 5/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Opens $110 Million Housing Complex For Homeless Veterans
Mike Bartell wakes up on Treasure Island every morning to a breathtaking view of the San Francisco skyline through the gaping window in his studio apartment. But for Bartell, the scenery isn’t the main attraction. For the first time since 2008, he has his very own place to sleep in — no roommates to steal his art supplies, food or whatever else that usually went missing in recent years. And the sparkling new building he’s living in is full of other military veterans like him, who can relate to spending years being homeless and feeling abandoned by their country. (Fagan, 5/18)

Los Angeles Times: Lead Found In Water At 1 In 4 California Child Care Centers
In test results that suggest thousands of California infants, toddlers and children continue to be exposed to brain-damaging lead, data released by the state Department of Social Services has revealed that 1 in 4 of the state’s child-care centers has dangerously high levels of the metal in their drinking water. (Pineda, 5/18)

Bay Area News Group: Amid Surging Demand For Bay Area School Meals, 'Keep Kids Fed' Money Is Ending
When the flood of students rushing into the cafeteria eased to a trickle, Maria Darnell — the kitchen manager at Alameda’s Lincoln Middle School — texted her boss.“524 lunches today!” Darnell wrote, along with a smiling, but sweating, emoji. It had been nine months since California began providing free meals for its public school students, no matter families’ income level. Even so, Darnell was still shocked by how much the program had changed demand. That day, her staff had served 230% more meals than their average before the pandemic, on top of a 530% jump in the number of daily breakfasts. (Miolene, 5/18)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Can $4,000 Lift A Family Out Of Poverty? New San Diego County Program Aims To Find Out
Take two families: same size, same income, same region. They’re both having trouble affording food and housing. One family gets a one-time $4,000 grant. The other does not. Which household will be better off in a year? An unusual San Diego County program operated by Jewish Family Service of San Diego will aim to answer that question on a large scale, through a grant and research study that will give a direct cash payment of $4,000 to 2,250 low-income San Diegans and no payment to another similar group. People in both groups will have access to short-term personal finance training. (Popescu, 5/18)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Despite Known Medical Problems, 67-Year-Old Was Ignored For Hours Before He Died In Vista Jail, Lawsuit Argues
Despite orders from a doctor that he be closely monitored, Gilbert Gil was placed in a holding cell at a Vista jail and ignored for 14 hours, argues a lawsuit filed this week in federal court. (Davis, 5/19)

Politico: The Debt Ceiling Deal Could Make America’s STD Problem Much Worse 
Senior Biden administration officials and public health leaders are warning that debt ceiling negotiations around clawing back unspent Covid-19 money would have an unintended consequence: increasing sexually-transmitted diseases. The potential cuts — one of the few seeming areas of agreement between House Republicans and the White House — could sap as much as $30 billion from state and local public health departments that are struggling to rebuild as Covid-19 wanes. Funding clawbacks would undermine work to slow the spread of syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV and hepatitis, and leave the country weaker in the face of future pandemics. (Ollstein, 5/19)

Politico: White House Negotiators Signal Concessions On Work Requirements In Debt Talks
White House negotiators are willing to make some concessions to tighten work requirements for federal cash aid as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling. The negotiators are narrowing in on possible changes that would further restrict access for low-income Americans to the emergency aid program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, according to two people familiar with the talks, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations. Republicans are also pressing the White House team to agree to expanded work requirements for some adults without children receiving food assistance, which Biden didn’t rule out in comments he made to reporters on Wednesday. (Hill, 5/18)

Reuters: Those At High Risk Of Mpox Should Get 2 Doses Of Bavarian Nordic Vaccine, US CDC Says
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging people at high risk of mpox to get two doses of Bavarian Nordic's (BAVA.CO) Jynneos vaccine, based on new evidence from a U.S. study showing that the regimen is more effective at preventing infection than one shot. The study, published on Thursday, offered some of the first evidence on the efficacy of the Jynneos vaccine, which was deployed last year during a global outbreak of mpox that affected more than 30,000 people in the United States. (Leo, 5/18)

CIDRAP: Case Study Details Mpox Spread Among Casual Heterosexual Partners
A letter published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine describes 16 adult cases of mpox seen in Bayelsa, Nigeria, among casual heterosexual partners, confirming that heterosexual intercourse plays a role in transmission of the virus, though not nearly to the degree that male-to-male sexual contact has. (Soucheray, 5/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: How Early COVID Stay-At-Home Orders Helped Moms Prolong Breastfeeding
When the Bay Area issued its COVID shelter-in-place order in March 2020, San Francisco resident Naomi Lau was just about to go back out into the world after having her second child, a son, two months prior. Instead, Lau, who was breastfeeding her son at the time, joined the millions of Bay Area residents — and soon the rest of the country — in staying home. Lau would go on to breastfeed her son for 18 months, four months longer than she did her daughter, who is now 6. (Ho, 5/18)

Reuters: WHO Recommends New COVID Shots Should Target Only XBB Variants 
A World Health Organization (WHO) advisory group on Thursday recommended that this year's COVID-19 booster shots be updated to target one of the currently dominant XBB variants. New formulations should aim to produce antibody responses to the XBB.1.5 or XBB.1.16 variants, the advisory group said, adding that other formulations or platforms that achieve neutralizing antibody responses against XBB lineages could also be considered. (5/18)

CIDRAP: Heart Transplants From COVID-Positive Donors May Increase Risk Of Death
Transplant patients who receive a heart from a COVID-19–infected donor may be at greater risk for death at 6 months and 1 year, finds a study published yesterday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. ... Donors were considered to have COVID-19 if they tested positive during hospitalization and then were subclassified as having active infection if they tested positive within 2 days of organ procurement or having recently resolved COVID-19 if they tested positive and then negative before procurement. There is no clear consensus on the evaluation and use of COVID-19 donor hearts for transplant, the authors said. (Van Beusekom, 5/18)

The Hill: Gorsuch Slams Pandemic Emergency Power As Intrusion On Civil Liberties 
Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch on Thursday slammed the use of emergency power during the pandemic as a mass intrusion on civil liberties. The high court on Thursday dismissed as moot a case seeking to preserve Title 42 after the pandemic emergency expired last week. The public health authority had allowed for the swift expulsion of migrants without allowing them to seek asylum. (Schonfeld, 5/18)

Military.Com: Guardsmen And Reservists Who Retire Early Could Get Cheaper Health Care Under Senate Bill
National Guardsmen and reservists who retire before age 60 would be eligible for low-cost military health care plans under a bill being introduced Thursday by a bipartisan pair of senators, potentially saving those retirees thousands of dollars per year. The bill, from Sens. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., would allow retired reserve personnel to sign up for some Tricare plans as soon as they begin receiving retirement pay, rather than having to wait until they're 60 years old, as is the case now. (Kheel, 5/18)

Military.com: Nearly 1 In 3 Female Recruits Were Injured In Army Basic Training Last Year 
Women are at least twice as likely as men to be injured in Army basic training, according to data collected over six years by the service. Most of those injuries were musculoskeletal -- meaning they affect the bones, muscles, joints and tendons of female recruits. Military.com obtained the injury data as the Army is looking for ways to boost recovery for men and women moving through boot camp. (Beynon, 5/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: She Had Multiple Abortions As A Child. Her Abuser Didn’t Expect What Came Later
Ruth Solorzano was sexually abused by her stepfather as a child in California. This is the harrowing story of how she overcame her abuser — and found herself. (Hosseini, 5/18)

Axios: House Panel Moves FDA Funding Bill With Abortion And Tobacco Riders
The House Appropriations subcommittee in charge of FDA funding easily approved a fiscal 2024 spending bill Thursday that would reverse the agency's decision to allow mail-order mifepristone. The bill would also prevent HHS from banning menthol in cigarettes and from setting a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes. (Goldman, 5/19)

Politico: Anti-Abortion Leaders Worry They May Have To Oppose Trump If He Doesn’t Back National Ban
Top anti-abortion leaders are continuing to lobby Donald Trump on a 15-week ban they believe should be the standard for the Republican Party. Their efforts come even as Trump has not only refused to embrace a ban but has framed some abortion legislation as electorally toxic. And it is being driven by a desire to avoid the politically uncomfortable spectacle of having to rebuke the man who not only delivered their movement its greatest win, but is likely to be the GOP’s presidential nominee. (McGraw and Allison, 5/18)

San Diego Union-Tribune: COVID-19 Changed Everything For School Counselors 
School counselors play a vital role in the lives of students, but their roles can sometimes be misunderstood. I am working towards being a school counselor myself, and I’ve had counselors who helped me and others who did not. Now I am applying my personal experiences and the knowledge I have gained in my studies at California State University Northridge and at three internships to support students academically and emotionally. (Ray A. Munoz, 5/17)

San Diego Union-Tribune: As Autism Diagnoses Soar, Acceptance By Peers Stressed 
The north San Diego resident has penned his first children’s book. It’s not the typical tale of adventure, solving a mystery or forging friendships. (Diane Bell, 5/18)

San Diego Union-Tribune: New Alzheimer's Drugs May Have Social Consequences 
Let’s say that the recent Food and Drug Administration approved Alzheimer’s therapies, lecanemab and aducanumab, do work. Let’s say that the data pans out and they do significantly decrease the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. And then, let’s say they’re given to a significant proportion of individuals with Alzheimer’s in the United States. (Naveen K. Reddy, 5/15)

Mercury News and East Bay Times: California Must Get Ahead Of The Deadly Fentanyl Epidemic
California needs a multi-prong attack on the rapidly escalating fentanyl scourge devastating families across the state. (5/6)

San Francisco Chronicle: What's The Point Of Those New ‘Fentalife’ Ads In SF's Tenderloin?
At first glance, the large sign wheat-pasted on the side of the Hartland Hotel on Geary and Larkin streets seemed like a public health notice. “Don’t forget to add Narcan to the family shopping list,” it read, accompanied by an image of a vending machine stocked with the life-saving overdose reversal medication. (Nuala Bishari, 5/18)

Sacramento Bee: Homelessness In Sacramento: What Can Be Done To Ease Crisis?
Our community’s most intractable problem is also painfully its most visible. The first-world shame that is homelessness is impossible to miss. Drive around Sacramento any time, any day and one will see any — and more likely all — of the following: An elderly man curled up on the sidewalk, trying to sleep and seemingly dead to all that is around him. (Alvie Lindsay, 5/18)