Orange County Register: Town Hall With Rep. Darrell Issa Draws Large Audience, Protesters
Rep. Darrell Issa faced cheers and jeers in about equal measure during a town hall with constituents Saturday morning, June 3, at San Juan Hills High School. The meeting, attended by about 500 people with hundreds more left outside to chant and protest, was the nine-term congressman’s third in-person town hall since February – rare among Orange County Republicans, who have largely shied away from public discussions with constituents. (Haire, 6/3)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Hundreds Of Constituents Grill Issa In Orange County 
Seven months since the tightest federal race in the country made Rep. Darrell Issa the most vulnerable member of Congress, the Vista Republican headed to a stronghold of his district for another raucous town hall meeting Saturday. ... Issa said he is not fretting next year’s midterm elections — the primary is 367 days away. ... Issa’s confidence came after he was asked how he feels about the American Health Care Act, a bill that will repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. According to a Congressional Budget Office study, it would cause 23 million people to become uninsured and increase premiums for people over 50. (Stewart, 6/3)

The New York Times: The Single-Payer Party? Democrats Shift Left On Health Care
For years, Republicans savaged Democrats for supporting the Affordable Care Act, branding the law — with some rhetorical license — as a government takeover of health care. Now, cast out of power in Washington and most state capitals, Democrats and activist leaders seeking political redemption have embraced an unlikely-seeming cause: an actual government takeover of health care. (Burns and Medina, 6/3)

San Francisco Chronicle: How A Single-Payer Health Plan Would Look In California
Imagine if any California resident could walk into a hospital or clinic — penniless — to see a doctor about whatever health condition was bothering them. That’s the scenario state senators envisioned when they pushed through SB562 this week, a bill that proposes a universal health system in California that would ensure that every resident would have access to health care, regardless of wealth or employment status, age or pre-existing medical condition. (Ho, 6/3)

The Bakersfield Californian: Universal Health Care For California: A Step Closer To Reality, But Big Hurdles Remain
Should state government become the health insurer for all Californians? With support for that idea growing amid federal efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, the state Senate passed a measure Thursday that would create a new state agency to oversee health care and pay providers directly, eliminating premiums and co-pays for patients. Similar proposals have been made before — even passed the full Legislature, then fell short of gubernatorial approval. Proponents hope this year will be different, given the new momentum for a health care overhaul and the support of powerful unions. But the measure has a long way to go, facing the same challenges that bedeviled earlier efforts: cost, a skeptical governor, deep-pocketed opponents and the need for certain federal approvals. (Aguilera, 6/5)

The Mercury News: In California Battles Over Product Labels, Industry Usually Wins
Nail polish and hair dye. Cleaning products. Plants and flowers for the garden. California lawmakers have been considering new labels for them, triggering an annual conflict in the Capitol over how much to tell people about what they buy at the store or use at work. The bills reflect a recurring tension in the statehouse: Environmentalists and consumer advocates argue that people have a right to know what’s in everyday products, while industry lobbyists say putting too much information on a label could harm sales by creating unfounded fear. In most cases, industry wins. (Rosenhall, 6/5)

The Mercury News: Right To Die Law: Patients Struggle To Find Doctors Who Will Help
It’s been nearly a year since California began allowing terminally ill residents to end their lives with the help of a physician. And for Ray Perman, the right-to-die law worked exactly as lawmakers intended. On Feb. 4, as his family gathered around his bed, the 64-year-old Piedmont resident ingested a lethal dose of sedatives and passed away peacefully — in his own home, on his own terms — after years of battling cancer. Other terminal patients have been known to add a flourish to their final moments of life: a last cigarette, a shot of vodka, a favorite pet curled up with them in bed. (Seipel, 6/3)

The Washington Post: Wild 'Death Cap' Mushrooms Sicken 14 People In California — And Often Kill
They sprouted up in abundance after heavy rains, poking up through California lawns and forests, appearing harmless to some of those who found them — as though they'd make a good meal. And so they do, at first. The “death cap” mushroom is said to be delicious. A new federal report detailed what came after consumption for 14 people who sampled the Bay Area's bloom of death cap — or amanita phalloides — last December: Violent nausea, in all cases. For some days later, organ damage as the death caps' potent toxins ravaged the liver. (Selk, 6/3)

USA Today: 'Death Cap' Wild Mushrooms Poison 14 In California
Lethal mushrooms picked in the California wilderness poisoned 14 people late last year, with three requiring liver transplants, including an 18-month-old girl. The cases were reported to the California Poison Control System over a two-week period in December, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) didn't announce the incidents until Friday. The poisonings were included in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The mushroom is known as the "death cap," or Amanita phalloides, a fungus responsible for more than 90% of the world's mushroom-related deaths. (Rossman, 6/3)

Sacramento Bee: Lawsuit: Redding Police Beat, Suffocated Mentally Ill Chico Man
Matthew Clayton Robinson was off his medications and in the midst of a breakdown. In the back of a vehicle transporting him from a hospital in Chico to a mental facility in Redding on a July night in 2014, he began shouting that someone was following him. He bounced and flailed inside the van, equipped with a “cage” that separated him from the front seat. He broke an interior light fixture and used shards of plastic to shred the car’s upholstery. By the time the van arrived at Restpadd psychiatric facility, the driver had summoned police for help in removing Robinson. Within minutes, he was beaten and bloodied, pinned to the ground with a fabric “spit hood” pulled over his head. A Sacramento native and graduate of California State University, Chico, Robinson wound up in a coma and died seven days later. (Hubert, 6/5)

In other news from across the state —

Ventura County Star: Camarillo Health Care District Board Makes Reforms After Billing Dispute
A Camarillo health care agency has tightened financial oversight in the wake of a lawsuit alleging fraud and deceit by its retired administrator. The Camarillo Health Care District sued ex-CEO Jane Rozanski alleging fraud last fall, claiming she collaborated with attorney Ralph Ferguson to inflate his billings and bilk the agency she headed for 22 years. While that matter is yet to be resolved amid strong denials from both of them, district officials have stepped up reporting of spending by the tax-funded district. Board President Rodger Brown said the board learned in the middle of 2014 that Ferguson's fees for the renovation of an adult day center totaled about $40,000 to $60,000.  (Wilson, 6/3)

Capital Public Radio: Small Downward Trend Seen In Number Of Norovirus Cases
Yolo County health officials say they're finally seeing a small downward trend in the number of Norovirus cases, which now total 4,000. The outbreak forced the closure of four schools at the end of last week. Schools shut down because their absence rate reached 30 percent. Kristin Weivoda heads up Emergency Medical Services for the County and explains why schools were so hard hit. (Sandsor, 6/2)

East Bay Times: Pleasanton Rotary Grant Helps Clothe Sick Homeless Patients
A grant will go a long way to help clothe homeless patients when they leave the emergency department at Stanford’s ValleyCare Center. The $2,000 grant was given to the ValleyCare Charitable Foundation in May by the Rotary Club of Pleasanton. The funds will help jump-start the new program aimed at buying clothes and shoes for adult homeless patients, said Shake Sulikyan, executive director of the foundation...Most of the patients who are living on the streets in the Tri-Valley are exposed to the elements in inadequate clothing, Sulikyan said. This doesn’t help those who are ill, sometimes making them worse. (Ruggiero, 6/4)

The Hill: Senate Returns More Pessimistic Than Ever On Healthcare 
Senators went into a recess skeptical over whether they could agree to legislation repealing and replacing ObamaCare. They will return on Monday more doubtful than ever. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), one of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) most loyal allies, said Thursday it’s “unlikely” the GOP will get a healthcare deal. (Bolton, 6/5)

Roll Call: Republicans Return From Recess Under Health Care Time Crunch
Republican senators return on Monday from a 10-day recess with immediate decisions to make on their quest to overhaul the 2010 health care law. ... Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas said in an interview with a local radio station last month that work on the effort would be done in the chamber by “July at the latest.” That aligns with the view of several GOP aides who say a vote on a bill would likely occur before the August recess, regardless of whether there are enough votes to pass it. Addressing the legislation in that time frame would allow the Senate to return from the August break and immediately tackle a number of impending deadlines. Aside from the Republicans’ ambitious legislative agenda, which includes an overhaul of the U.S. tax code, Congress must also soon turn to funding the government through fiscal 2018 and addressing the approaching debt ceiling deadline, among other funding cliffs. (Williams, 6/5)

The Washington Post: At Home, GOP Senators Voice Skepticism About Passing A Health-Care Bill
A pair of Republican senators voiced considerable skepticism this week about the prospect of passing a bill to revamp the nation’s health-care laws in the coming months, injecting fresh uncertainty into the GOP effort to fulfill a signature campaign promise. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) sounded a deeply pessimistic note when he told a local television station he believes it’s “unlikely that we will get a health-care deal.” Earlier in the week, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said he doubted a bill could pass before the August recess. (Sullivan, 6/2)

Politico: GOP Senators Offer Downbeat Predictions On Obamacare Repeal
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) made the most direct prediction on Thursday, telling a news station in his home state that “I don’t see a comprehensive health care plan this year.” Earlier in the week, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) suggested to home-state reporters that lawmakers might shift to a shorter-term plan that would keep insurance markets working, on the heels of negative comments from Iowa GOP Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst. (Schor and Conway, 6/2)

The Hill: Pence Presses Congress To Pass Healthcare By End Of Summer 
Vice President Pence urged lawmakers on Saturday to pass a healthcare reform measure by the end of summer. Pence arrived at Sen. Joni Ernst's (R-Iowa) "Roast and Ride" fundraiser in Boone, Iowa riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle before taking the stage and launching into a campaign-style speech reaffirming President Trump's key promises. "Iowa is facing a healthcare crisis under ObamaCare and it's high time we take action," Pence told a crowd at the Central Iowa Expo, about 40 miles north of Des Moines. (Greenwood, 6/3)

Politico: Insurance Companies Duck Obamacare Repeal Fight
The once-powerful health insurance lobby — the same one that killed Hillarycare a generation ago and helped usher in Obamacare — can't pick a side in the latest battle over America's health care system. Some major members of the sprawling trillion-dollar industry, like Humana and Cigna, have little at stake in the fight. Other insurers heavily invested in the Obamacare markets, like the regional Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, are urging Congress to fix the 2010 health law instead of shredding it. And then there’s Anthem, a rare industry voice supporting repeal. (Demko, 6/3)