Stat: A California Law That Bans Drug Coupons Failed To Increase Generic Use
A California law that banned coupons for brand-name prescription drugs failed to significantly boost greater use of cheaper generics during its first year, according to a new analysis. The law, which went into effect in January 2018, was one of many gambits by state officials to control the rising cost of prescription drugs. Coupons made an attractive target. Drug makers argue that they lower out-of-pocket expenses for consumers, but critics say coupons are slick marketing tools used to promote higher-cost medicines and eventually, cost the overall health system more money. (Silverman, 6/18)

Pasadena Star News: Bill Would Require Doctors To Disclose Payments From Drug, Device Manufacturers
New legislation inspired by a Studio City woman’s failed breast reconstruction surgery would force doctors in California to tell their patients annually about any money or gifts they receive from drug and medical device companies. The federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, a law signed in 2010, already requires the companies to report such payments to a public “Open Payments” database run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But proponents of Assembly Bill 1278 say the federal act has one major flaw: most patients have no idea the database exists. (Henry, 6/20)

Bay Area News Group: This Bill Was Meant To Protect California Workers From COVID. Some Counties Use It To Protect Employers Instead. 
In the thick of the pandemic, California adopted a law to tell workers of dangers their employers often kept secret: Which workplaces had suffered outbreaks of COVID-19, and how severe they were. Yet six months after the law took effect, most employees know scarcely more than before, a Bay Area News Group investigation has found. Only about one-third of the state’s 58 counties released specific information on workplace outbreaks in response to recent public records requests, and those specifics varied wildly. The state is now collecting detailed data, as required, but posts only numbers by broad industry categories that offer few useful insights on risk. (Kelliher, 6/20)

The San Diego Union-Times: 'Placeholder' Budget Would Fund Parks, Healthcare, Public Safety Projects In San Diego
The California legislature’s new $264 billion “placeholder” budget sets out funds for such San Diego projects as the UC San Diego Hillcrest medical center, as well as local libraries, parks and public safety, local assembly members said. The bill would provide $30 million for construction of a new hospital for the medical center, which must be replaced because of seismic safety issues. It also would add $2.4 million to improve the Logan Heights Library and $3.6 million for upkeep at Old Town State Historic Park. (Sullivan Brennan, 6/21)

CalMatters: Gavin Newsom Under COVID: The Governor Dishes On His Pandemic Life
Gov. Gavin Newsom spills on how he made it through COVID: Netflix, a new rooster, a date night planned by his kids and weekend hikes. (Hoeven, 6/18)

WSJM: Farmworkers Especially Vulnerable As Dangerous Heat Wave Scorches Wide Swath Of US
An unrelenting heat wave has been scorching the West and the Plains this week, and while many can hide inside and crank up the air conditioning, farmworkers have to endure the dangerous conditions. Heat kills farmworkers every year, according to Elizabeth Strater, director for strategic campaigns at United Farm Workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, recorded 43 deaths linked to heat exposure. (6/20)

Los Angeles Times: Sacramento Water Has 'Earthy' Taste Due To Drought: Officials
Droughts have the potential to affect our lives in ways we may not have imagined. That became clear recently to some Sacramento residents. After receiving calls from people about an “earthy” taste and odor to their drinking water, the city responded with a blog post saying that, although this happens every year, the state’s latest drought has caused the change in the water much earlier than usual. (Ray, 6/21)

Quartz: Climate Models Predicted Heatwaves Like America’s Record-Breaking Weekend
The US hasn’t seen anything quite like this. Over the weekend, temperatures soared to new triple-digit heights across the American West. The immediate cause was a “heat dome,” a mass of high-pressure air trapping heat beneath it, one far stronger and larger than normal. But what we saw this weekend is what climate scientists have been predicting for decades. And it’s a taste of what’s to come. “It’s surreal to see your models become real life,” Katharine Hayhoe, climate scientist and chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy, says in the Guardian. (Coren, 6/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: Next Heat Wave Coming Soon, Centering On Northern California
The Bay Area enjoyed a significant cooldown on the first day of summer as the first major heat wave of the year subsided Sunday — but forecasters are predicting another record-breaking hot spell by next weekend. (Hwang and Flores, 6/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Parents With Unvaccinated Children Unsure How To Navigate Reopened California
With the reopening of California last Tuesday, much of the state — along with the rest of the country — is embracing this more relaxed phase of the pandemic, with almost all public health restrictions lifted. But parents of young children say they’re feeling left behind, and even finding themselves trapped in a new conundrum: How do they keep kids too young to be vaccinated safe as the world around them reopens? (Allday, 6/21)

Bay Area News Group: COVID: Nearly Three-Quarters Of California Seniors Are Fully Vaccinated
About three-quarters of Californians 65 and older, who are the most vulnerable to complications from COVID-19, are fully inoculated against the virus and 92 percent have at least one shot, a significant milestone the week the state lifted most pandemic restrictions. Among Californians 12 and older — covering all those eligible for a shot — 70 percent have at least one dose and 56 percent are fully vaccinated. That’s according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, whose vaccination numbers differ from the state’s because of reporting lags and differences in population estimates. (Castaneda, 6/19)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Border Vaccination Plan With U.S.-Donated Shots Starts In Baja California 
Baja California has started administering over 1.3 million Johnson & Johnson single-shots donated to Mexico by the U.S. as part of a strategy that could lead to the reopening of the border. This border state became the first in Mexico to open COVID vaccination to people 18 years and over and is on its way to also become the first to reach herd immunity, according to Baja California’s secretary of health, Alonso Perez Rico. (Mendoza, 6/18)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Eight Chest Pain Cases Among Adolescent Boys Detected After COVID Vaccination In San Diego 
Rady Children’s Hospital has now admitted eight local boys suspected of suffering painful heart muscle inflammation called myocarditis after undergoing coronavirus vaccination. They are local examples of a growing worldwide suspicion that the condition, and another called pericarditis, are rare side effects of the mRNA vaccines that have proven highly effective at controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. (Sisson, 6/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: Masks On, Masks Off
In the past few days, people all over the Bay Area — at least those vaccinated against COVID-19 — faced an ostensibly simple choice as they approached the sliding doors of grocery stores: Do they finally shed their masks, as allowed under last Tuesday’s statewide reopening? Or do they keep their mouths and noses covered, still smiling with their eyes? Turns out, it was a real pickle: a personal health decision involving not only statistics and beliefs but also infinite emotional variables — trauma and comfort, guilt and confusion, familial relationships, self-image, and solidarity with still-masked workers. (6/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: Five Reasons You May Still Want To Wear A Mask
With California lifting nearly all COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks in most public settings — but health experts say there are some good reasons for continuing to do so. It is no coincidence that this year’s flu season was the mildest on record. Masks cut the spread of infectious respiratory particles, including those carrying influenza. (Vaziri, 6/19)

The Bakersfield Californian: With Low Vaccination Rates, California City Hasn't Used Thousands In Federal Funds Dedicated For COVID-19 Relief 
California City is one of the least vaccinated communities in the state, yet city leaders have not touched hundreds of thousands of dollars that could help address the issue. Last year, the Kern County Board of Supervisors allocated $6.9 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding to incorporated cities. The $2.2 trillion bill distributed funds to municipalities with populations over 500,000. (Morgen, 6/20)

Los Angeles Times: L.A.’s COVID-19 Death Rate Falls Below That Of Bay Area 
For much of the pandemic, the San Francisco Bay Area managed to limit the spread of the coronavirus far more dramatically than Los Angeles County, which ended up as one of the nation’s hardest-hit regions. But in a sign of its dramatic recovery, L.A. County reported about two COVID-19 deaths a day over the past week, down from a peak of 241 in January. By comparison, the Bay Area — comprising Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano and Sonoma counties — is reporting four deaths a day, down from a peak of 63. L.A. County has a population of 10 million; the Bay Area has 7.7 million. (Lin II, Money, and Greene, 6/19)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Volunteers’ Medical Mission Returns After Pandemic To Help Migrant Children 
The COVID-19 pandemic paused many operations over the last year, but once restrictions eased, a group of medical volunteers did not hesitate to resume their mission of helping those with limited access to health care. Volunteers with the Mercy Outreach Surgical Team (MOST) had not gathered for a medical mission in Mexico since the fall of 2019. But last week, 35 members carried out a free vision clinic for more than 600 unaccompanied migrant children who have been staying at the San Diego Convention Center. (Murga, 6/19)

The Bakersfield Californian: $1 Million Donation To Fund Simulation Lab For CSUB Nursing Students 
Cal State Bakersfield will have a new simulation lab for its Family Nurse Practitioner Program thanks to a $1 million donation from Dr. Uma R. Varanasi and Sita Varanasi. Simulation labs enable nursing students to practice their clinical skills in a safe environment. The donation will establish the lab named in the Varanasis' honor for students in CSUB's graduate program as well as fund equipment and operations. (Gallegos, 6/20)

The Bakersfield Californian: Patel Foundation Switches To A Pointed Emphasis On COVID Response 
The nonprofit Ravi and Naina Patel Foundation has long focused its charitable efforts in a wide variety of areas. But last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic became a global emergency, Drs. Ravi and Naina Patel began to reconsider where they were directing their charitable giving. The founders of Comprehensive Blood & Cancer Center in Bakersfield began to view the coronavirus pandemic as a new priority. (Mayer, 6/19)

inewsource: San Diego Doctor Faces Negligence Charge Over Diabetes Treatment
A San Diego doctor who was a key figure in a 2018 inewsource investigation into a diabetes treatment some called a scam is facing charges before the state medical board that could result in probation or the loss of his license and ability to practice medicine. The accusation was filed in May against Dr. James Novak and involves two diabetes patients treated at his medical office with the controversial four-hour IV insulin procedure. The treatment was being offered through a Trina Health clinic Novak previously told inewsource he established in August 2016 as part of his Pacific Beach family practice. (Plummer, 6/19)

AP: California Weighs Extending Eviction Protections Past June
Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will pay off all the past-due rent that accumulated in the nation’s most populated state because of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, a promise to make landlords whole while giving renters a clean slate. Left unsettled is whether California will continue to ban evictions for unpaid rent beyond June 30, a pandemic-related order that was meant to be temporary but is proving difficult to undo. (Beam, 6/21)

The Bakersfield Californian: 'These Are Both Vulnerable Communities': Plan To Serve Homeless In Delano From Building That Aids Developmentally Disabled Draws Concern 
A plan to provide homeless aid at a facility in Delano that serves the developmentally disabled has elicited concern from some of its clients and other city residents, who say the clients could be put at risk. The plan would see the Delano Association for the Developmentally Disabled turn over a building on High Street to a Bakersfield-based homeless services provider from 6 p.m. to midnight. The DADD, which closes at 3 p.m., says its operations would not be impacted and the building would be sanitized before clients returned at 8 a.m. (Morgen, 6/19)

Bay Area News Group: Bay Area Has Become More Segregated Over Decades, Report Says
The Bay Area has become more racially segregated since 1990, mirroring a long-running national trend of cities and neighborhoods dividing more starkly along ethnic lines, according to a new study by UC Berkeley researchers. Oakland, Fremont, San Francisco and San Jose are all among cities ranked as “highly segregated” by the university’s Othering & Belonging Institute. (Hansen, 6/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: Tipping In San Francisco Shot Up During The Pandemic. Now It's Coming Back Down
San Franciscans tipped generously during the pandemic, giving more often and in larger quantities, to help employees who faced riskier work conditions and lost income during lockdowns. But as restaurants reopen, data suggest tipping is getting closer to normal. The Chronicle examined tipping trends at quick-service restaurants in the San Francisco metropolitan area using data from Square, a digital payments company. The data encompass credit card transactions from hundreds of businesses that remained mostly active throughout the pandemic. (Sumida, 6/19)

CapRadio: ‘Deeply Destroyed My Sense Of Safety’: Sexual Assault Survivors Say Police Interactions Often A Second Trauma 
Many survivors who choose to report to law enforcement say their interactions with officers left them feeling blamed, dejected and angry. Some have described the experiences as a “second rape.” And some survivors are so distrustful of the police that they don’t report at all. Advocates and law enforcement experts say case outcomes often hinge on whether the officer believes the victim and treats them with respect during the process. They say there’s a culture shift underway to establish practices that better address survivor trauma. (Caiola, 6/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: Stern Grove Season Opens, Breaking Pandemic Lockdown After 15 Long Months
The gates at Stern Grove opened at noon on Sunday, and the first people through were Gavin James and Marlis Harris. They went down the hill like homesteaders with their world on their backs — two Tommy Bahama folding chairs, two blankets, one Table in a Bag and everything to put on it. In five minutes flat they were set up on the lawn in front of the stage. The opening act, La Doña, was still doing its sound check, but the concertgoers staking their turf had been so starved for live music they treated it like an encore. (Whiting, 6/20)