The San Diego Union-Tribune: Three San Diego Hospitals Fined For Patient Harm Incidents 
Three San Diego hospitals are among 10 across the state penalized Thursday for mistakes that severely injured, or killed, patients. The California Department of Public Health levied a total of $618,002 in penalties against the facilities, including $233,650 in financial pain for Sharp Coronado Hospital, Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns and Vibra Hospital of San Diego, for errors which included an attempted suicide, a sponge left inside a patient and a fall-related death. (Sisson, 8/31)

Fresno Bee: Valley Children's In Madera Fined For Patient Death
The California Department of Public Health has fined Valley Children’s Hospital $71,962.50 in the death of a patient two years ago. The state says a delay in communicating the results of a chest X-ray and scan resulted in a delay in medical treatment and surgery, resulting in the potentially avoidable death of the young man who died from a bleeding aneurysm. No information about the patient’s age or hometown was immediately available, but the state identified him as male and Valley Children’s identified him as a “young adult.” Valley Children’s treats patients up to 21 years of age. He died on Nov. 6, 2015. (Anderson, 8/31)

The Mercury News: California: Bill To Ease Permits For Cell Phone Towers Could Affect Health
A bill co-authored by a Bay Area assemblyman that would block the ability of cities and counties to control the installation of microwave radiation antennas is doing more than alarming many local officials. It’s also frightening grass-roots activists and scientists, who argue that if Senate Bill 649 becomes law, a projected 50,000 new cellular antennas will be installed on public buildings and utility poles in California neighborhoods, creating a risk to public health because of the possible dangers of radiation and electromagnetic frequencies emitted by cell towers. (Seipel, 8/31)

In other news from Sacramento —

Capital Public Radio: Drug Pricing Bill Faces Crucial Committee Vote
An ongoing drug pricing battle between Democratic Senator Ed Hernandez and the pharmaceutical industry comes to a head Friday in the California Legislature. Hernandez’s new measure, SB17, aims to create greater transparency between drug manufacturers, health plans and consumers. (Caiola, 8/31)

KPCC: New Crisis Text Line Identifies California College Student Homelessness As Big Issue 
Last May, the California Community College system partnered with Crisis Text Line – a free service funded by grants and donations – to give students an all-hours, anonymous counseling service for mental health emergencies. “We’ve had over 800 conversations with people in the California Community College system," said Libby Craig, the west coast director for Crisis Text Line. "The highest volume day of week is Wednesday." (Guzman-Lopez, 9/1)

In other public health news —

KQED: As Human Gene-Editing Advances, Doudna Says Ethical Discussions Can’t Wait
If you want to have a role in shaping the near and coming future of biotechnology, the time is now. ... This was the primary takeaway from Jennifer Doudna’s recent public remarks at CRISPRcon, a two day event at UC Berkeley, intended to get nonspecialists talking about the promise and potential peril of the fast-moving biotech landscape. (Venton, 8/31)

Orange County Register: Summer Flu Cases Higher Than Usual In Orange County, Vaccine Now Available 
Flu shots are now available in Orange County, as public health officials have seen a higher than usual number of summertime flu cases, including one death. Dr. Matt Zahn, the county Health Care Agency’s medical director for epidemiology, said Thursday, Aug. 31, that during this time of year flu cases typically range from 0 to 3 per week. But two weeks ago, there were 12 cases. (Perkes, 8/31)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Sanford Burnham Prebys Looks To The Future 
With the retirement of Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute’s CEO on Sept. 30 , Kristiina Vuori, M.D. is reprising a familiar role. For the second time in five years, the physician-researcher takes over on an interim basis until a replacement can be found for Perry Nisen, M.D., the outgoing CEO. And no, Vuori, the biomedical institute’s president says she is not considering taking the job permanently. Her commitment and focus remains on science, including her own work in studying cancer. (Fikes, 8/31)

In other news from across the state —

Capital Public Radio: Fires Bringing Heavy Smoke, Health Dangers To Sacramento Valley 
Heavy smoke from fires burning throughout Northern California and Southern Oregon is causing dangerous health conditions throughout the Sacramento Valley. The Sacramento Air Quality Management District issued an advisory today, warning of the smokey conditions. (White, 8/31)

The New York Times: Trump Administration Sharply Cuts Spending On Health Law Enrollment
The Trump administration is slashing spending on advertising and promotion for enrollment under the Affordable Care Act, a move some critics charged was a blatant attempt to sabotage the law. Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services, who insisted on not being identified during a conference call with reporters, said on Thursday that the advertising budget for the open enrollment period that starts in November would be cut to $10 million, compared with $100 million spent by the Obama administration last year, a drop of 90 percent. Additionally, grants to about 100 nonprofit groups, known as navigators, that help people enroll in health plans offered by the insurance marketplaces will be cut to a total of $36 million, from about $63 million. (Goodnough and Pear, 8/31)

The Washington Post: Trump Officials Slash Advertising, Grants To Help Americans Get Affordable Care Act Insurance
The announcement late Thursday afternoon, just nine weeks before the start of the fifth annual enrollment season, is the first indication of how an administration determined to overturn the health-care law will oversee the window for new and returning consumers buying coverage for 2018. In a conference call with reporters, three federal health officials extended the White House’s pattern of denigrating the ACA and its effectiveness. They also reversed a promise that Health and Human Services staff had made two months ago to nearly 100 organizations receiving “navigator” grants that their funding would be renewed. (Goldstein, 8/31)

The Wall Street Journal: Administration Cutting Ads And Grants Aimed At Boosting Affordable Care Act Sign-Ups
The administration is also cutting grants to organizations that help consumers understand their coverage and financial-aid options under the law. HHS will give $36.8 million in grants in 2017 to such groups, known as “navigators,” a drop of about 40% from the $62.5 million awarded in the previous enrollment period. Agency officials said they are basing that funding on the navigators’ ability to reach their enrollment goals. An organization that met 30% of its sign-up goal, for example, would get 30% of the grant it had previously received. (Armour and Wilde Mathews, 8/31)

Politico: Trump Administration Slashes Obamacare Outreach
Scaling back advertising and outreach is likely to depress enrollment in the marketplaces, particularly among healthier customers who, compared to sicker patients, are less likely to seek out insurance. Healthier customers are vital to balancing out the costs of sicker customers in the insurance marketplaces. “The Trump administration is deliberately attempting to sabotage our health care system," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "When the number of people with health insurance declines and costs skyrocket, the American people will know who's to blame.” (Pradhan, 8/31)

The Hill: Dems Blast Trump For Trying To 'Sabotage' ObamaCare
Top Democrats blasted the Trump administration on Thursday for moving to slash funding for ObamaCare advertising and enrollment outreach. "The Trump administration is deliberately attempting to sabotage our health care system. When the number of people with health insurance declines and costs skyrocket, the American people will know who's to blame," Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. (Delk, 8/31)

The Associated Press: Governors Urge Keeping US Health Law's Individual Mandate
A bipartisan governor duo is urging Congress to retain the federal health care law's unpopular individual mandate while seeking to stabilize individual insurance markets as lawmakers work on a long-term replacement. The recommendation is part of a compromise plan that's designed to be palatable to both parties. It was endorsed by six other governors. (Smyth and Anderson, 8/31)

The Washington Post: Bipartisan Group Of Governors Calls On Congress To Shore Up Elements Of Affordable Care Act
In a blueprint issued Thursday, the eight governors ask House and Senate leaders of both parties to take several steps to reverse the rising rates and dwindling choices facing many of the 10 million Americans who buy health plans on their own through ACA marketplaces. Specifically, the state leaders say Congress should devote money for at least two years toward “cost-sharing subsidies” that the 2010 health-care law promises to pay ACA insurers to offset deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses for lower-income customers. The House sued the Obama administration over the subsidies’ legality, and President Trump has repeatedly suggested that he might halt the payments — sending tremors through insurance companies in the marketplaces. (Goldstein, 8/31)

The Hill: Kasich, Hickenlooper Release Plan To Stabilize ObamaCare Markets 
The compromise plan, which is spearheaded by Govs. John Kasich of Ohio (R) and John Hickenlooper of Colorado (D), is meant to help lawmakers find common ground to help stabilize the insurance markets. The governors acknowledged that the mandate, which requires people to purchase health insurance or pay a fine, is unpopular. “[B]ut for the time being it is perhaps the most important incentive for healthy people to enroll in coverage,” they wrote to House and Senate leaders of both parties. “Until Congress comes up with a better solution — or states request waivers to implement a workable alternative — the individual mandate is necessary to keep markets stable in the short term.” (Weixel, 8/31)

The New York Times: New Hazard In Storm Zone: Chemical Blasts And ‘Noxious’ Smoke
A series of explosions at a flood-damaged chemical plant outside Houston on Thursday drew sharp focus on hazards to public health and safety from the city’s vast petrochemical complex as the region begins a painstaking recovery from Hurricane Harvey. (Turkewitz, Fountain and Tabuchi, 8/31)

The Wall Street Journal: Report Shows Hazard Posed By Damaged Chemical Plant
A chemical stored at a Houston plant that caught fire early Thursday morning presents an airborne danger to more than 1 million people if released in a worst-case scenario, according to a company risk management plan filed to the federal government. (Berzon and Matthews, 8/31)

Los Angeles Times: Harvey Pounded The Nation's Chemical Epicenter. What's In The Foul-Smelling Floodwater Left Behind?
The pounding rains of Hurricane Harvey washed over the conduits, cooling towers, ethylene crackers and other esoteric equipment of the nation’s largest complex of chemical plants and petroleum refineries, leaving behind small lakes of brown, foul-smelling water whose contents are a mystery. (Vartabedian, 8/31)

The New York Times: Short Answers To Hard Questions About Health Threats From Hurricane Harvey
The devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston has brought a host of health questions from residents of the area and concerned relatives and friends. Here are some answers to common questions showing up in Google searches and on Facebook. (Kaplan and McNeil, 8/31)

Sacramento Bee: Don't Sacrifice Cures For Drug Price Transparency
Cancer is frightening in the abstract, and even more so when it becomes your reality. Three years ago, I was diagnosed at a relatively young age with late-stage colon cancer and have since gone through extensive treatments. The love of my husband and three children, the dedication of health care professionals who treated me and the support of patient communities such as Colontown have helped me stay strong. (Deborah Goldberg, 8/25)

Sacramento Bee: CA Legislators Should Get Facts Before Passing SB 17
A one-size-fits-all approach to prescription costs will have the unintended complication of unsettling a generic drug market that works for Californians. SB 17 would place large regulatory burdens on generic manufacturers who produce hundreds of drugs. (Chester Davis Jr., 8/31)

Sacramento Bee: California Lawmakers Fight Over Drug Prices
In the debate over health care, employers, unions and many government officials agree on the need to provide affordable prescription drug coverage while increasing the quality of pharmacy benefits. The Legislature is considering Assembly Bill 315 by Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, which could lead to higher drug prices and reduce pharmacy benefit managers’ ability to offer the best services to employers. (Edmund J. Pezalla, 8/30)

Los Angeles Times: Prenatal Care Should Also Include Mental Health Screening, Treatment For Moms
If we care about the future of Orange County families and the economic engine of our county, we need to start asking a tough question about the mental health of mothers. Instead of wondering why a new mom is depressed or not feeling herself, we need to ask, “What’s keeping you from getting the treatment you need?” (Pamela Pimentel and Patricia De Marco Centeno, 8/28)

Orange County Register: Bring County Contracts Out Of The Shadows
Orange County voters are notoriously alert when it comes to watching out for their tax dollars. So voters here might be both surprised and dismayed to find out that our county has been a poster child for insider deals and rigged bidding processes that have awarded lucrative deals to campaign donors and cronies of high-ranking officials. (Jennifer Muir Beuthin, 8/25)

Ventura County Star: Congress Must Act Now To Stabilize Health Care Markets
With all of the distractions of the past few weeks, ranging from the obscenity of a domestic terrorist attack in Charlottesville to the specter of unstable leaders of nations with nuclear weapons, Americans are still nervously pondering the fate of our health care system. (Irving Loh, 8/26)

Orange County Register: A Welcome Approach To Opioid Treatment 
La Habra is the latest local city to start equipping officers with naloxone, a drug which can be administered via injection or nasal spray to reverse opioid overdoses. Communities across the country have proven that equipping police and other first responders with naloxone can save lives, and many more local cities should follow suit. (8/30)

Los Angeles Times: Bringing Parental Leave Benefits To More Workers 
California state law guarantees that new parents, biological or adoptive, can take 12 weeks off from work to care for their babies without worrying about losing their health care or having a job when they are ready to come back. ... Now, state lawmakers are considering a proposal that would extend the full benefits to about 2.7 million more California workers. (8/31)

Sacramento Bee: Don't Kill Bills To Fix California Housing Crisis
Democrats in the Legislature are right. What California is experiencing isn’t merely a housing crisis. It’s a housing “catastrophe” – and after years of stalemates and inaction, it’s encouraging that many at the Capitol are finally starting to treat it like one. Earlier this week, Gov. Jerry Brown, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon agreed on a package of bills that would deliver billions of dollars for affordable housing projects, and streamline the approval process for construction by eliminating some environmental and planning procedures. (8/30)

The East Bay Times: Trump Ignoring His Opioid Panel's Recommendations
The advice President Trump received from his commission on the nation’s opioid crisis wasn’t what he wanted to hear.So he seems to be ignoring it. Which denigrates not only commission members he appointed but also the addicted and their loved ones whom he promised during the campaign to help. (8/25)

Orange County Register: Disagreement On Restrooms Along Santa Ana River Trail A Worrisome Sign 
Anaheim had planned to consider the installation of portable restrooms along the river trail next to the North Net Training Center for firefighting and search and rescue operations. ... But a last-minute letter from a law firm representing the joint powers authority questioned the city’s ability to unilaterally allow portable toilets at the site, and expressed concerns “that the homeless will be attracted to the location,” and that the toilets will invite “incidents of vandalism.” (8/31)