KQED: Workers At Oakland Children's Hospital Stage 1-Day Strike, Demanding Better Working Conditions And Services
Hundreds of workers at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland walked off the job Wednesday in a one-day strike over job security and protecting medical services in the East Bay, chanting, “UC, UC, you can’t hide … We can see your greedy side!” Vocational nurses, mental health staff, physical therapists and housekeepers were among the broad swath of workers represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, who formed an early morning picket line as the sun rose outside the North Oakland hospital — in what the union is calling the largest strike in the hospital’s history. (Green, 4/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: John Muir Hospital In Walnut Creek Told To Stop Unapproved Surgeries
A major Bay Area hospital now under investigation in the deaths of four children overstated its patient counts six years ago to win state certification for its fledgling pediatric intensive care unit and performed complex surgeries on newborns despite being barred from doing so, state records show. The California Department of Health Care Services, known as DHCS, is charged with ensuring high-quality medical care across the state. But it certified John Muir Health’s pediatric intensive care unit, or PICU, to participate in the state’s program to treat medically fragile children after ignoring evidence that the Walnut Creek facility hadn’t met the required minimum patient volume of 350 a year, documents show. (Gafni and Dizikes, 4/20)

Sacramento Business Journal: Sacramento County Awards WellSpace Health $4.75 Million To Build 13-Acre Health Campus
WellSpace Health is in the process of buying a 13-acre property somewhere in Sacramento County, on which it plans to build a new wellness campus. (Hamann, 4/19)

Becker's Hospital Review: An Employee Of A California Hospital Accidentally Leaks PHI
An error led to some patient information from John Muir Health Walnut Creek (Calif.) Medical to have been accessed by an unauthorized party, JDSupra reported April 18. According to a data breach notice the hospital filed with the California attorney general, an employee from John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical created a website that linked to an Excel file containing patient information. (Diaz, 4/19)

Politico: RJR Uses California As Test Market For Skirting Upcoming National Menthol Cigarette Ban 
Sales of cigarettes that mimic menthol are soaring in California after the state outlawed most flavored tobacco — a sign that the industry is undermining the new law and raising doubts about the Biden administration’s plans to ban menthol cigarettes later this year. R.J. Reynolds launched its “California compliant” cigarettes, which contain an artificial, flavorless cooling chemical, when the state’s ban went into effect in December. By March, sales of the new cigarettes were on pace to replace nearly half of menthol sales compared with last year, according to an expert who tracks cigarette sale trends. (Foley and Bluth, 4/19)

Reuters: Illumina Wins Fast-Track Appeal Of FTC Order To Offload Grail 
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday said it will accelerate reviewing Illumina Inc's challenge to a federal agency order requiring the biotechnology company to divest cancer diagnostic test maker Grail LLC. ... San Diego-based Illumina, which specializes in gene sequencing, is appealing an April 3 FTC order that said the company's $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail will curb competition in the cancer-testing market. Illumina has denied the allegations. (Scarcella, 4/19)

Capitol Weekly: California Researchers Vie For Millions In Stem Cell Dollars
Nine California research organizations will vie behind closed doors this week as the state’s stem cell agency scores their bids to kick off what would be a first-in-the-nation, $80 million manufacturing network to speed the development of revolutionary medical therapies. The effort is aimed at breaking down production bottlenecks and linking academia with business to “advance California as the world-class hub of cell and gene therapy manufacturing.” (Jensen, 4/19)

CalMatters: California Bills To Expand State Tax Credits Could Send $1 Billion To Low-Income Families
When Reyna Bonilla lost her job cleaning hotel rooms in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, she used tax credits and other pandemic relief to chip away at past-due rent so she and her two children could stay in their Koreatown apartment in Los Angeles.  This year things are different. Bonilla cleans homes a few days a week but only makes about $10,000 a year. Most of her pandemic aid has phased out, so she struggles to keep up with expenses. (Reyes-Velarde, 4/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: Gavin Newsom Makes Surprise Visit To SF's Tenderloin To Talk Fentanyl
Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta walked around the Tenderloin and SoMa on Wednesday morning, joined by Mayor London Breed’s chief of staff and others, in a previously undisclosed visit focused on the fentanyl crisis. The governor’s spokesman said the visit was a Cabinet meeting that Newsom conducts periodically. (Moench, 4/19)

Stat: FDA’s New Plan To Study Opioids’ Effectiveness Faces Resistance
A planned clinical trial, doctors and researchers argued on Wednesday, would not yield significant new information about whether opioids are effective as long-term treatments for chronic pain. The study, some charged, would be biased in favor of opioids’ efficacy — and by extension, biased in favor of painkiller manufacturers. (Facher, 4/19)

KPBS: Sen. Padilla Secures Millions In Funding To Tackle Homelessness, San Diego Is On The List
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced over $633 million in federal funding this week for programs to tackle homelessness and housing insecurity across California. The funding includes help for homeless youth, continuation of homelessness prevention programs, rental assistance, and housing vouchers for rural areas in the state. (Thorne, 4/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: Oakland COVID Eviction Moratorium To End In July
Oakland officials decided early Wednesday to end an eviction moratorium enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic — amid increased pressure from landlords who say they’re owed thousands of dollars in rent. After an eight-hour meeting, the Oakland City Council voted 7-1 at midnight Wednesday to approve a proposal that ends the moratorium on July 15 and also adopts new tenant protections. Those protections include providing legal defense for tenants evicted for nonpayment of rent due to COVID and prohibiting landlords from evicting a tenant who owes less than a month of what the federal government defines as “fair market rent.” Council Member Noel Gallo, who wanted the eviction moratorium to end at the end of May, voted against the proposal. (Ravani, 4/19)

Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles County Leaders Announce Revamped Homeless Settlement 
Months after a judge shot down their first attempt, Los Angeles County officials announced an agreement they hope will finally settle a long-running federal lawsuit over the region’s treatment of homeless people. The agreement, announced Wednesday, would commit the county to provide 1,000 additional beds for people with mental health issues and substance use disorders. (Ellis and Smith, 4/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: Plan Would Slash S.F. Affordable-Housing Requirements
The percentage of affordable housing that developers would be required to build in San Francisco would be lowered under a new proposal aimed at reviving the city’s comatose housing development industry. On Wednesday, the city’s Inclusionary Technical Advisory Committee — an eight-member group of affordable and market-rate developers and advocates known as the TAC — recommended that the Board of Supervisors slash the percentage of below-market-rate units that for-profit builders are required to include in their projects. (Dineen, 4/19)

VC Star: Oxnard Eyes 55-Room Hotel For Supportive Housing
Oxnard is planning to convert a 55-room hotel into a permanent supportive housing facility to address the city’s growing homeless population. (Varela, 4/19)

The Washington Post: House GOP Unveils Bill To Cut Spending, Lift Debt Ceiling. Here’s How.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday unveiled a bill to raise the debt ceiling into next year, slash federal spending by roughly $130 billion and unwind some of President Biden’s priorities and recent legislative accomplishments, including his program to cancel college student debt. ... The spending reductions probably would target federal health care, science, education, climate, energy, labor and research programs, while leaving untouched the Pentagon and services for veterans. But the bill does not specify the exact agencies or programs on the chopping block. (Romm, 4/19)

Politico: Biden Rejects McCarthy’s Debt-Limit Plan
President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a sweeping rebuke of House Republicans’ debt limit proposal, calling it a nonstarter that would impose deep cuts to critical programs across the board. “That’s the MAGA economic agenda: spending cuts for working and middle class folks,” Biden said, while speaking from a Maryland union hall. “It’s not about fiscal discipline, it’s about cutting benefits for folks that they don’t seem to care much about.” ... “They say they’re going to default unless I agree to all these wacko notions they have,” Biden said, singling out McCarthy for risking a default that would leave the nation “devastated.” (Cancryn, Scholtes and Ferris, 4/19)

Stat: PhRMA Slams Medicare's Handling Of Drug Price Bargaining
Executives for the brand drug industry’s biggest lobbying group painted a grim picture for the future of drug development under Medicare price negotiation. But others say the sector is fearmongering. Medicare last month provided details for how it will choose which drugs will be subject to price negotiation, and how it will calculate the government’s opening offers. (Wilkerson, 4/19)

CalMatters: Is California Ready For Abortion Pill Ruling?
Gov. Gavin Newsom and a cadre of Democratic lawmakers want to be clear: They will protect medication abortion in California no matter what the U.S. Supreme Court decides on the issue — they’re just not entirely sure how. In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and representatives from the Legislative Women’s Caucus and Future of Abortion Council banded together to reassert the state’s commitment to reproductive rights. (La, 4/19)

NPR: Supreme Court Delays Ruling On Mifepristone Restrictions Until Friday
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday extended until Friday at midnight an administrative stay in an ongoing lower-court fight over the FDA-approved use of the abortion pill mifepristone. The announcement kicks the can down the road on what the high court will do for another few days. (4/19)

AP: As Courts Weigh Abortion Pill Rules, Patients Ask: What Now? 
All the legal rulings lately on a key drug used in medication abortions may leave many women wondering: What does this mean for me? Various courts have recently ruled on mifepristone, which is used in the most common form of abortion in the U.S. On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily extended access to the pill until Friday while justices consider whether to allow some restrictions to take effect. Meanwhile, doctors, clinics and telehealth providers are taking steps to ensure they’ll still be able to offer abortion care in the future. (Ungar, 4/19)

Reuters: Abortion Pill Company GenBioPro Asks U.S. Court To Keep Generic Mifepristone On Market
GenBioPro Inc, maker of the only U.S. generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone, on Wednesday filed a lawsuit seeking to ensure that it can continue selling its pill amid ongoing legal challenges. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Baltimore, comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday whether to block a lower court order stemming from a separate lawsuit by anti-abortion activists that would effectively ban GenBioPro's generic. (Pierson, 4/19)

Military.com: Effort To Repeal VA Abortion Policy Narrowly Fails In Senate Vote 
An effort by opponents in the Senate to undo the Department of Veterans Affairs' decision last year to begin providing abortions fizzled out Wednesday after a resolution to repeal the policy narrowly failed to overcome a key procedural hurdle. The Senate voted 51-48 against advancing the resolution offered by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., that would have reversed the abortion policy the VA implemented following the Supreme Court's ruling last year that ended nationwide abortion rights. (Kheel, 4/19)

Military.com: Caregivers For Severely Disabled Vets Getting Expanded Mental Health Services As Part Of Biden Order 
An executive order signed Tuesday by President Joe Biden will expand mental health services via telehealth for some caregivers of disabled veterans and suggests that the Department of Veterans Affairs broaden veterans' access to its family caregiver program as well as home health services. Under the order, the VA must develop a new pilot program offering telehealth psychotherapy -- therapy provided over the phone -- for caregivers who are enrolled in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, also known as the Family Caregiver Program. (Kime, 4/19)

Military.com: Army Secretary Says She Wouldn't Want Her Daughters Living In Some Army Barracks 
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told lawmakers Wednesday that a chunk of the service's barracks are seemingly unlivable as senior leaders grapple with living conditions for the rank and file and a relatively small budget to quickly improve standards. "I've seen some barracks quite frankly I wouldn't want my daughters to live in," Wormuth said at a House hearing on the Army's budget. ... Mold problems have been at the center of the Army's barracks issues. Last month, the service conducted a service-wide inspection, finding 2,100 of its facilities have some degree of mold infestation, mostly concentrated in humid climates such as the South and Hawaii. Many of those barracks were poorly constructed, have shoddy ventilation and have half-century-old air conditioning units that are prone to leaking. (Beynon, 4/19)

KQED: CDC Approves Second Bivalent Booster For Some. Find Out If You're Eligible
For months, many people have been wondering, “When can I get a second bivalent COVID booster?” — especially if they got their first bivalent booster seven months ago, in September 2022, back when these shots were first authorized. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have announced that as of Wednesday, certain people who are at higher risk of severe illness, hospitalization or death from COVID can get a second bivalent booster shot from Moderna or Pfizer — specifically, people age 65 and older, and people who are immunocompromised. (Severn, 4/19)

Los Angeles Times: A Spring COVID Booster Is On The Way. What You Need To Know 
Another COVID-19 booster shot is on the way as federal health officials look to further augment protection for those at greater risk of developing severe disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday recommended the allowance of an additional updated booster for seniors 65 and older as well as those who are immunocompromised. The updated booster was first introduced last September. (Money and Lin II, 4/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: Second COVID Bivalent Booster Shots Set To Roll Out: What To Know
After much anticipation and waffling, federal officials have authorized another round of booster doses for the updated bivalent COVID-19 vaccines, aimed at older Americans and people with weakened immune systems. The Food and Drug Administration approved the move Tuesday. With Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, signing off on the plan shortly after a CDC vaccine advisory panel met and expressed support Wednesday, the additional shots could be available as early as this week. (Vaziri, 4/19)

Reuters: Biden's COVID Vaccine Rule For Federal Contractors Was Valid, US Court Rules
President Joe Biden had the power to require employees of federal contractors to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday, throwing out a judge's ruling that had blocked the mandate in Arizona. (Wiessner, 4/19)

Reuters: People Lost Faith In Childhood Vaccines During COVID Pandemic, UNICEF Says
People all over the world lost confidence in the importance of routine childhood vaccines against killer diseases like measles and polio during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from UNICEF. In 52 of the 55 countries surveyed, the public perception of vaccines for children declined between 2019 and 2021, the UN agency said. (Rigby and Farge, 4/19)

NBC News: House Republicans Poised To Pass Transgender Sports Ban For Schools
The House is expected to pass legislation Thursday that would ban transgender women and girls from competing in female school athletics — the latest GOP salvo in the intensifying culture wars over transgender rights in America. The bill, authored by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., would amend Title IX to bar schools that receive federal funding from allowing people “whose sex is male” to participate in sports designated for women or girls. (Wong, 4/20)

CNN: Twitter Removes Transgender Protections From Hateful Conduct Policy
Twitter appears to have quietly rolled back a portion of its hateful conduct policy that included specific protections for transgender people. The policy previously stated that Twitter prohibits “targeting others with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. This includes targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals.” But the second line was removed earlier this month, according to archived versions of the page from the WayBack Machine. (Duffy, 4/19)

Reuters: Pop Star Elton John Urges US Congress To Keep 'Foot On The Accelerator' In AIDS Fight 
British pop star Elton John urged U.S. senators on Wednesday not to ease up on the fight against HIV and AIDS, as Congress faces a September deadline for reauthorizing the multi-billion-dollar U.S. program to fight the disease. "There is no better symbol of American greatness than PEPFAR, and you should all be very proud of your extraordinary efforts," John, whose foundation has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to fight AIDS, told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on reauthorizing the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) via videolink. (Zengerle, 4/19)

The Hill: Theranos’s Elizabeth Holmes Appeals ‘Unjust’ Conviction
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has filed an appeal of her “unjust conviction” on four counts of wire fraud in connection with her now-defunct blood-testing company. Holmes in a Monday filing appealed her 2022 conviction, for which she was sentenced last year to more than 11 years in prison. (Mueller, 4/19)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Sonoma County Approves $250,000 To Fund New Student Mental Health Program
In an attempt to address a mental health crisis among youth after years of disruptions to their lives including fires and the pandemic, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a new $250,000 behavioral health program with the Sonoma County Office of Education. (Minkler, 4/19)

Orange County Register: Inmate Mistreatment, Dirty Conditions At LA County Jail Facility Prompts Contempt Hearing 
A federal court judge on Wednesday, April 19, ordered a contempt hearing against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for allegedly violating a court order to fix admittedly abysmal conditions at its jail intake center, marked by overflowing toilets and the chaining of mentally ill inmates to a bench for hours. (Saavedra, 4/19)

San Diego Union-Tribune: SDSU To Reopen Buildings Closed During Legionnaire's Disease Investigation
San Diego State University will reopen two buildings Monday that have been shuttered since Feb. 14, when a single case of Legionnaire’s disease surfaced among its faculty. (Sisson, 4/19)

CalMatters: Floods May Taint More Water In California Farm Towns 
When Kelli and Tim Hutten made an offer for a house in the quiet Monterey County town of Moss Landing last summer, they looked forward to mild weather, coastal views, trails along nearby wetlands and being a bit closer to family. Unfortunately, the Huttens also knew that something wasn’t right with the neighborhood’s groundwater. “We knew there were water contamination issues,” Kelli Hutten said. “During escrow we did as much research as we could, but there’s a lot to learn.” (Bland, 4/19)