California Healthline Daily Edition

Latest California Healthline Stories

Daily Edition for Monday, August 18, 2025

Unmasked Wildfire Fighters Struggle With Aftermath Of Toxic Blazes: Wildfire crewmembers used to be seasonal laborers, but they now work almost year-round — and many of them are getting sick with cancer, heart disease, and lung problems. The Forest Service has fought against equipping firefighters with masks. “I’ve been on eight of the 10 biggest fires in California history. Now I can’t even push a shopping cart without having chest pain,” said Brian Wangerin, a former crew boss whose heart problems put him out of work at 33. Read more from The New York Times.

Daily Edition for Friday, August 8, 2025

To Make Up For Federal Medicaid Cuts, Santa Clara County Aims To Raise Sales Taxes: Santa Clara County supervisors unanimously voted Thursday to add a ballot measure to November’s special election that would increase local sales tax by five-eighth cent (0.625%) for five years to try to backfill some of the projected lost federal revenue due to Medicaid cuts. If approved, it would generate an estimated $330 million a year, a fraction of the roughly $1 billion in estimated loss of federal funding over the next few years. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.