Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Can a Monthly Injection Be the Key to Curbing Addiction? These Experts Say Yes
In California, where overdose deaths are on the rise, physicians say administering anti-addiction medication as a monthly injection holds tremendous potential. So, why aren’t more patients getting it? (Jenny Gold, )
Newsom Vows State Constitutional Amendment To Protect Abortion Rights: Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday pledged that a state constitutional amendment enshrining reproductive rights is in the works, while echoing fear that other rights may be at stake. “It’s a hell of a moment to live in. ... We will not be defeated,” Newsom said at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles Headquarters. “We will affirm the constitutionally protected right of women and girls and their reproductive rights and freedoms in California.” Read more from the Los Angeles Daily News and The Modesto Bee. Keep scrolling for complete abortion coverage.
‘We’re Now Into Our Sixth Wave’ Of Covid: Coronavirus cases are continuing to increase in California, prompting one health official to warn that the state is heading into the next wave of the pandemic. California’s covid case rate has increased 10% in the past week. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today's national health news, read KHN's Morning Briefing.
More News From Across The State
Los Angeles Times:
With Roe Vs. Wade Doomed, Newsom Urges Americans To 'Wake Up'
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday blasted a potential U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would overturn federal abortion protections under Roe v. Wade and urged Americans to “wake up.” “It’s just a remarkable moment in American history,” Newsom said, during an appearance in Los Angeles. “At a time when countries around the world are expanding liberties, expanding freedoms, expanding rights, here we are in the United States of America about to roll back rights.” (Mejia, 5/4)
The New York Times:
Newsom Accuses Democrats At The National Level Of Sleeping As Abortion Rights Are Eroded.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California on Wednesday vowed to protect the right to abortion in the state he leads and issued an impassioned “wake-up call” to the Democratic Party about what he described as a coordinated Republican-led effort to erode more rights that many Americans have for decades assumed were settled, such as the right to interracial marriage. “Don’t think for a second this is where it’s going to stop,” he said, speaking outside of a Planned Parenthood building in Los Angeles, flanked by women wearing pink shirts. “Pay attention, America. They’re coming for you next.” (Cowan, 5/4)
AP:
Newsom: Democrats Need 'Counteroffensive' In Fight To Protect Abortion And Other Key Rights
Gov. Gavin Newsom faulted his own political party Wednesday for setbacks in the nation's culture wars, urging Democrats to launch a vocal “counteroffensive” to protect what he called fundamental rights, including abortion and same-sex marriage. At an appearance at a Planned Parenthood office near downtown Los Angeles, Newsom warned that the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority was in a position to unravel decades of court rulings that could redefine what it means to live in America. He said the Democratic Party has been too passive in response. (Blood, 5/4)
Los Angeles Times:
Newsom Seizes On Abortion Fight In His Reelection Campaign
Two days after kicking off his reelection campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom replaced his opening upbeat message about California with a dire warning that his highest-profile Republican opponent “stands with Donald Trump” and “wants to roll back abortion rights.” It’s a pivot to a familiar strategy for the Democratic governor. (Luna, 5/4)
San Francisco Chronicle:
How Californians Feel About Roe V. Wade, According To One Survey
California has a reputation as one of the nation’s liberal bulwarks — and already there’s talk that the state could become a refuge for women seeking abortions if the Supreme Court follows through on overturning Roe v. Wade. Still, residents’ opinions on whether the case should be overturned vary by geography and income, according to a survey conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California in July 2021. (Kost, 5/4)
San Francisco Chronicle:
‘We Can't Go Back’: What Roe V. Wade Means To Readers
The unplanned pregnancy at 19. The nurse caring for women after illicit procedures. The parent terrified for a daughter. The abortion not had. The abortion not regretted. After a Supreme Court draft decision overturning the landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade leaked this week, we asked Chronicle readers to share their stories and reactions. Lightly edited for length and clarity, this is what they told us. (5/4)
Stat:
Telemedicine Abortion Services Prepare For Surges Where Still Legal
Federal protections around abortion will leap back half a century if the Supreme Court repeals Roe v. Wade, as a leaked draft opinion suggests it will. The reality of how people access abortions, though, has evolved in those 50 years. The majority of U.S. abortions are now induced with medication instead of done surgically, and telemedicine providers of these pills will play a crucial role in serving patients who live in states that sharply limit or ban abortions. It was only in December that the Food and Drug Administration made permanent a rule change allowing patients to receive abortion pills by mail instead of having to visit specially certified providers in person. Now telemedicine abortion providers will have to grapple with how to serve patients across the country as more states are expected to restrict and criminalize abortions. (Goldhill, 5/5)
The Washington Post:
White House Scrambles For Ways To Protect Abortion
In the hours after a leaked Supreme Court document signaled the court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade in the coming weeks, President Biden vowed to fight to protect access to abortion. “We will be ready when any ruling is issued,” Biden said in a statement Tuesday. But in marathon meetings and phone calls among White House officials, government lawyers, outside advisers and federal agency officials, a sobering reality settled in: There’s little the White House can do that will fundamentally alter a post-Roe landscape. (Abutaleb and Pager, 5/4)
Stat:
‘Lives Could Be At Stake’: CDC’s Walensky Warns Of Dire Stakes Surrounding Abortion Access
Alack of access to legal abortion services could directly lead to American deaths, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention argued Wednesday. “Women who are interested in accessing care, termination of their pregnancies, may not have resources to cross state lines,” Rochelle Walensky said. “Those who don’t may take matters in their own hands, and may not get exactly the care they need … I do think lives could be at stake in that situation.” (Facher, 5/4)
Politico:
Roberts Investigation Could Make The Supreme Court Very Uncomfortable
Now that Chief Justice John Roberts has ordered an investigation into the breach of an initial draft majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, what happens next is a total mystery. There are virtually no precedents for Roberts’ plans to identify the 98-page document’s path from the high court to the pages of POLITICO, a disclosure he termed a “betrayal” of the institution’s trust. Supreme Court leak controversies have occasionally sparked national intrigue and even calls for federal investigations, but those calls haven’t resulted in any significant investigation. (Cheney, 5/4)
Politico:
More Than A Show Vote? Senate Dems Weigh Their Roe Plans
Senate Democrats are gearing up for an abortion-rights vote next week in response to the breach of a draft opinion that showed a Supreme Court majority prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade. They fully expect it to fall short of even 50 votes. In the wake of POLITICO’s report on the draft opinion, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer teed up a bill that would enshrine federal protections for abortion access, despite nearly identical legislation failing in the Senate at the end of February. And even as progressives on and off the Hill clamor for action to codify Roe before the Supreme Court has a chance to eliminate it, no one is expecting a different outcome now. (Levine and Ollstein, 5/4)
The Hill:
Senate GOP Ducks Questions On Federal Abortion Bans
Senate Republicans are dodging questions about whether they would seek restrictions or bans on abortion at the federal level if the Supreme Court overturns the Roe v. Wade decision and the GOP wins win back congressional majorities. The strong possibility the GOP could get such a chance was signaled this week when a draft ruling by five conservative Supreme Court justices leaked to Politico. The draft did overturn Roe, though Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday said it did not represent the final views of the court. (Sullivan, 5/5)
Business Insider:
GOP Senators Won't 'Wade Into' Same-Sex Marriage Amid Abortion Debate
Insider spoke with nearly a dozen Republican senators at the Capitol on Tuesday, asking each of them whether they believed the draft opinion threatens marriage equality and whether they would support overturning Obergefell v. Hodges. None gave a clear yes or no answer, and several outright declined to comment. Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, who recently faced criticism for telling reporters in Indiana that he believes interracial marriage should've been left up to the states instead of decided by the Supreme Court, told Insider that he had "no idea" whether Obergefell could be overturned. He argued the case was "a narrow consideration just on an issue that's been contested for like 49 years." (Metzger, 5/4)
The Hill:
After Leaked Abortion Draft, Democrats Fear What’s Next
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), in a brief interview, pointed to Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 decision that struck down a state law that barred married couples from using contraceptives. Griswold, like Roe, rested on what the Supreme Court said was an individual’s right to privacy. “I think the most obvious one is Griswold just because it deals with that same kind of notion of privacy, which Alito seems to reject. … I think the scope of the rationale is incredibly sweeping,” Kaine said. (Carney, 5/5)
CapRadio:
UC Davis Law Professor On Impact Of Supreme Court Draft Ruling To Overturn Roe V. Wade
The leaked U.S. Supreme Court document that shows a draft ruling to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision is raising many questions. The Roe decision legalized abortion in the United States nearly 50 years ago. The language in this draft would overturn it, moving whether to legalize or criminalize abortion to the states. More than 20 states have laws that could restrict or ban abortion soon after the Supreme Court overturns Roe, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Lisa Ikemoto, a Martin Luther King Jr. professor at UC Davis School of Law, specializes in reproductive rights and health care disparities. She joined CapRadio’s Randol White to help us understand the opinion that's laid out in the document and how it might play out from here. (White, 5/4)
Contraception and Abortion Pills
Reuters:
U.S. Eyes Emergency Contraception Grants If Top Court Cuts Abortion Rights
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration was looking at grants to help fund expanding access to emergency contraception as a possible response if the Supreme Court overturns a 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. "What we have done to date ... where we have seen restrictions ... is created for example the dire need grant awards, which provide funding to expand access to emergency contraception," Psaki told reporters in a press briefing. (5/4)
Reuters:
Abortion Pill Provider Sees Spike In U.S. Interest After SCOTUS Leak
A provider of prescription pills that are used to terminate pregnancy at home has seen a spike in interest from U.S. women this week, following news that the Supreme Court would likely reverse a landmark 1973 decision ensuring abortion rights nationwide, nonprofit Aid Access said on Wednesday. The court confirmed that a draft opinion signaling a reversal of the Roe v. Wade ruling, published late on Monday by the news site Politico, was authentic. The court said it did not represent the justices' final decision, due by the end of June. (Aboulenein, 5/4)
The Washington Post:
Demand For Abortion Pills Will Soar If Roe V. Wade Is Overturned, Advocates Say
The end of a national right to abortion could trigger a surge of interest in a method of pregnancy termination that has become popular in states that already restrict the procedure: Abortion pills by mail. Many Republican legislatures have tried banning the pills from being shipped or prescribed. But some women have been able to circumvent the restrictions by getting their pills online from overseas pharmacies that can’t be reached by U.S. laws. The five-day regimen of tablets usually comes in an unassuming envelope, making it hard to police. With the Supreme Court possibly poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, people seeking abortions in the United States will probably flock to these sources, experts say. (Rowland, McGinley and Bogage, 5/4)
AP:
Next Battle Over Access To Abortion Will Focus On Pills
It took two trips over state lines, navigating icy roads and a patchwork of state laws, for a 32-year-old South Dakota woman to get abortion pills last year. For abortion-seekers like her, such journeys, along with pills sent through the mail, will grow in importance if the Supreme Court follows through with its leaked draft opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision and allow individual states to ban the procedure. The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she was concerned for her family’s safety, said the abortion pills allowed her to end an unexpected and high-risk pregnancy and remain devoted to her two children. (Groves, 5/5)
Politico:
Poll: Half Of Voters Support Maintaining Roe V. Wade
By a nearly 2-to-1 margin, voters oppose overturning Roe v. Wade, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted immediately after POLITICO published a draft opinion from the Supreme Court that would eviscerate the 1973 precedent guaranteeing federal abortion rights. Half of voters (50 percent) say Roe v. Wade should not be overturned — more than the 28 percent who say it should be overturned. More than 2-in-10 voters, 22 percent, are undecided, according to the poll. (Shepard, 5/4)
The New York Times:
Do Americans Support Abortion Rights? Depends On The State.
In the states poised to put in new restrictions on abortion, people tend to say that abortion should be mostly or fully illegal, based on a New York Times analysis of large national surveys taken over the last decade. In the 13 states that have enacted so-called trigger laws, which would immediately or very quickly outlaw abortion if Roe were overturned, 43 percent of adults on average say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, while 52 percent say it should be illegal in most or all cases. (Cohn, 5/4)
NPR:
Roe V. Wade Live Updates: Some U.S. Companies Assure Their Workers They’ll Help Them Access Abortions
While waiting for the Supreme Court to release its final decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, advocates and lawmakers across the country are preparing for a potential end to federal abortion protections. Such a ruling likely would make it much harder to access abortions in conservative states, and as a result liberal states may accelerate their efforts to become national havens for abortion rights. To learn more about what those actions look like in the wake of the draft opinion leak, Morning Edition's Leila Fadel spoke with Jackson, Miss.-based Brittney Brown of the Gulf States Newsroom and Danielle Venton with KQED in San Francisco. (Treisman, 5/4)
Bloomberg:
These U.S. Companies Are Supporting Workers On Abortion
The bombshell leak of a Supreme Court draft ruling overturning the right to abortion has put the issue to the forefront of the coming U.S. election battle, and will likely reverberate around boardrooms across the nation as well. The decision, reported by Politico, would see the half-century-old Roe v. Wade ruling axed, allowing individual states to decide on their own abortion restrictions. When Texas last year banned procedures after the six-week mark, some companies in the state condemned the move, arguing that it would deter top talent, and offering assistance to workers seeking abortions. (5/3)
The New York Times:
Corporate America Doesn’t Want To Talk Abortion, But It May Have To
Some political and cultural events set off a cascade of emails from brands — sneaker, makeup and food companies telling their customers that they stand with them in a stressful time, or reminding them to vote. But after a draft opinion obtained by Politico revealed the Supreme Court’s intention to overturn Roe v. Wade, the overwhelming reaction from corporate leaders was silence. “This is an issue that many companies have shied away from,” said Miriam Warren, Yelp’s chief diversity officer. (Goldberg, Gupta and Hirsch, 5/4)
The Washington Post:
After State Abortion Fights, Corporate America Braces For End Of Roe
The news this week caught corporate America off-guard, resulting in a barrage of worried emails and phone calls trailing into the night as corporate officials grappled with the realization that the slew of state abortion laws were simply dress rehearsals for a bigger, nationwide policy shift. “The communication with corporate parties has just been nonstop,” said Jen Stark, senior director at Tara Health Foundation, an investment firm focused on gender and racial equity. “Companies that were gearing up for impact in June are feeling the reality set in now.” (Frankel, Telford and Abril, 5/4)
NPR:
Canadian Abortion Providers Can Treat Americans If Roe Goes Away, Official Says
While it's not yet clear what resemblance the Supreme Court's leaked draft opinion will bear to the final version, its current form suggests Justices may soon reverse federal abortion protections. And if that does come to pass, at least one Canadian official says Americans who are able to travel across the northern border will be able access the procedure there. Karina Gould, the minister of families, children and social development, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday that Canada would allow Americans to obtain abortions. (Treisman, 5/4)
NBC News:
‘It’s Already Having An Impact’: LGBTQ People Fear Abortion Rights Reversal
Josiah Ramos, a Black transgender man, said he fears that a Supreme Court opinion that would overturn longstanding precedent protecting access to abortion would have a greater effect on transgender and nonbinary people, who already face barriers to care. “We all should have the right to decide what we want to do with our bodies,” said Ramos, 23, who is also the co-director of Black Trans Blessings, a trans-led organization in New York City. “I’m not ready to have a kid,” he added. “So if I, God forbid, was to get pregnant, and I wanted to have an abortion, you’re basically trying to strip my right … and that’s not fair.” (Yurcaba and Bellamy-Walker, 5/4)
Reuters:
Gay Marriage, Other Rights At Risk After U.S. Supreme Court Abortion Move
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's draft opinion that would end the recognition of a constitutional right to abortion could imperil other freedoms related to marriage, sexuality and family life including birth control and same-sex nuptials, according to legal experts. The draft ruling, disclosed in a leak that prompted Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday to launch an investigation, would uphold a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide. (Chung, 5/4)
The Boston Globe:
‘Everyone Who Is Vulnerable In Some Way’ Will Bear The Brunt If Court Overturns Roe, Specialists Say
Teenagers. People of color. Low-income workers. Undocumented immigrants. Victims of domestic violence. If the Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion, those and other marginalized groups will bear the brunt of the consequences, according to reproductive rights experts. “Everyone who is vulnerable in some way that makes leaving a state more difficult or impossible — that’s who this overturning is going to fall more heavily on,” said Shoshanna Ehrlich, a gender and sexuality studies professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston. (Pan, 5/4)
NBC News:
Almost Half Of LGBTQ Youths 'Seriously Considered' Suicide In Past Year, Survey Says
Nearly half of LGBTQ youths in the United States have “seriously considered” suicide in the past year, a survey released on Wednesday found, piling onto concerns for a vulnerable group of adolescents amid a nationwide culture war over LGBTQ issues. The survey, conducted by the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention group, polled 34,000 LGBTQ people aged 13 to 24. Among the report’s key findings is that 73 percent of respondents reported symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder and 58 percent reported symptoms of major depressive disorder. (Lavietes, 5/4)
NBC News:
Covid's Toll In U.S. Reaches 1 Million Deaths, A Once Unfathomable Number
The U.S. on Wednesday surpassed 1 million Covid-19 deaths, according to data compiled by NBC News — a once unthinkable scale of loss even for the country with the world's highest recorded toll from the virus. The number — equivalent to the population of San Jose, California, the 10th largest city in the U.S. — was reached at stunning speed: 27 months after the country confirmed its first case of the virus. (Chuck and Siemaszko, 5/4)
San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID In California: Los Gatos High School Reports Big Virus Outbreak
At least 65 Los Gatos High students and nine school staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus over the past two weeks, according to a letter sent to parents Tuesday by Principal Kevin Buchanan and obtained by NBC Bay Area. School administrators have sent out more than 2,000 exposure notices in that time, to nearly everyone at the high school. At least 50 of the students were potentially infectious while on campus. The school is increasing testing and strongly recommending that students wear masks indoors. (Vaziri, Beamish and Ho, 5/4)
inewsource:
San Diego County Scrambles To Continue COVID-19 Hotel Program
Guests of a COVID-19 hotel shelter will have to leave a month sooner than expected, potentially bringing an end to San Diego County’s troubled pandemic program that was designed to protect people with nowhere to go. County spokesperson Michael Workman has confirmed that the owner of an Old Town hotel, which has been used for more than a year to shelter people with underlying medical conditions, gave 30 days’ notice to terminate a contract with the county at the end of May. (Dulaney, 5/4)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Why Getting COVID Is Still Nothing Like Getting The Flu — Even If It’s Just As ‘Normal’
Health officials are saying it, friends are saying it: COVID-19 seems on track to become as common and familiar to us as influenza. But experts stress that there are still limitations to this comparison — COVID is still, and may always be, no ordinary flu.“ It is time to accept that the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is the new normal,” leaders at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration wrote in a paper published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “It will likely circulate globally for the foreseeable future, taking its place alongside other common respiratory viruses such as influenza.” (Echeverria, 5/4)
Reuters:
Omicron As Severe As Previous COVID Variants, Large Study Finds
The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV2 virus is intrinsically as severe as previous variants, unlike assumptions made in previous studies that it was more transmissible but less severe, a large study in the United States has found. "We found that the risks of hospitalization and mortality were nearly identical between periods," said four scientists who conducted the study based on records of 130,000 COVID-19 patients, referring to times in the past two years when different variants were dominant across the world. (5/5)
Bloomberg:
Pfizer’s Advice On Retaking Covid Drug Contradicted By FDA
There is “no evidence” that a second course of Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid will help Covid-19 patients whose symptoms return after an initial course of the antiviral, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said a day after Pfizer executives advocated the idea. Doctors and virologists have been struggling to understand a number of patient reports of viral rebounds after completion of a five-day course of the Covid treatment. In an interview Tuesday, Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said doctors could prescribe a second course of treatment to patients who suffer a rebound. (Langreth, 5/4)
Sacramento Bee:
Report Card: Sacramento County ‘B’ Grade On COVID Spending
Sacramento County received an overall B grade for its handling of the latest round of federal COVID-19 relief funding, but got poor marks for its slow distribution of money and its limited efforts to promote racial equity. It’s one of 11 county score cards the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network will release in an official report Thursday on how officials spent American Rescue Plan Act dollars. The statewide advocacy group reviewed four main criteria, including how well county officials engaged community members and whether financial records were accessible online.Each county reviewed received more than $100 million in federal pandemic recovery funding, with Sacramento County receiving more than $301 million. (Yoon-Hendricks, 5/3)
AP:
LA Hospital Sued For Racism In Death Of Black Mother
The husband of a Black woman who died hours after childbirth in 2016 sued Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Wednesday, saying she bled to death because of a culture of racism at the renowned Los Angeles hospital. Charles Johnson IV said he discovered the disparity in care women of color receive at Cedars compared to white women during depositions in his wrongful death lawsuit that is scheduled to go to trial next week in Los Angeles Superior Court. (Melley, 5/4)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Construction Starts On $66M, 33-Story Medical Building In Tijuana
A Tijuana developer has started construction on a $66 million medical building that looks to take advantage of the medical tourism trade. Cosmopolitan Group, known mostly for residential and hotel building in the city, said the 33-story building could be completed as soon as 2025. In addition to the medical facilities, the complex will include a hotel for visiting patients and families. (Molnar, 5/5)
The Washington Post:
Duke’s Klotman Is Under Consideration As The Next NIH Head
Mary Klotman, a Duke University scientist and senior leader, is a strong contender to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health, according to three people with knowledge of the selection. A physician known for her research into HIV, Klotman has served as dean of the Duke University School of Medicine since 2017. She has had conversations with several senior administration officials, said the three people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the selection. (Abutaleb, Diamond and Johnson, 5/4)
Los Angeles Times:
California Faces Summer Of Dangerous Heat, Extreme Drought
Heat waves. Severe drought. Extreme wildfires. As Southern California braces for unprecedented drought restrictions, long-range forecasts are predicting a summer that will be fraught with record-breaking temperatures, sere landscapes and above-average potential for significant wildfires, particularly in the northern part of the state. “The dice are loaded for a lot of big fires across the West,” said Park Williams, a climate scientist at UCLA. “And the reason for that is simple: The vast majority of the western U.S. is in pretty serious drought.” (Duginski and Wigglesworth, 5/4)
CapRadio:
Shasta County Board Of Supervisors Fires County Health Officer
The Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted to terminate county Health Officer Dr. Karen Ramstrom by a 3-2 vote during its closed session on Tuesday, and the announcement was made public soon after. In a letter addressed to the community and published in A News Cafe on Friday, Ramstrom wrote that she believed the board would consider her termination during this week’s meeting but that she had been given no notice that her performance was unsatisfactory. (5/4)
Bay Area News Group:
Former San Jose Woman Who Faked Cancer To Raise Funds Sentenced To 7 Years In Prison
A former Bay Area woman has been sentenced to seven years in prison for soliciting funds to help pay for cancer treatments she never needed or received, according to federal prosecutors. Amanda Christine Riley, 36, of Austin, Texas, was sentenced Tuesday in San Jose. (Green, 5/4)
Sacramento Bee:
Roseville Police Arrest Man Accused Of Sex Assault On Patient
Detectives arrested a man working as a nurse practitioner in Roseville on suspicion of sexually assaulting a patient he was examining, police said. The nurse practitioner, Anthony DeSouza, was arrested April 30 on suspicion of committing sexual battery, the Roseville Police Department announced Wednesday in a Facebook post. (Ahumada, 5/4)
Orange County Register:
La Habra Woman Gets Life Sentence For Dropping Infant Son To His Death From OC Hospital Structure
A La Habra woman who dropped her infant son to his death from a Children’s Hospital of Orange County parking structure more than a decade ago was sentenced Wednesday to 25-years-to-life in prison, ending a long-running criminal case that a judge described as a tragedy for all involved. Sonia Hermosillo, 42, in statement to Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger, said she was sorry for the death of 7-month-old Noe Medina Jr. and tearfully asked for a chance to be back with her family. (Emery, 5/4)
Pasadena Star-News:
On Split Vote, LA County To Form New Entity Tasked With Addressing Homelessness
Los Angeles County took the next step Tuesday, May 3, toward developing a new entity that will be entirely responsible for oversight of all homeless-related undertakings in the area. County leaders also agreed to allocate funding to a “streamlined set of strategies” that look to improve the regional rehousing system. A 3-2 vote Tuesday afternoon by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors paves the way for the creation of a central entity charged with overseeing and easing homelessness in the county, adopting recommendations from commissioners on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Homeless. (Dixson, 5/3)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Has 305 Affordable Housing Units Sitting Empty, Despite More Than 20,000 Applications From Potential Residents
Hundreds of San Francisco apartments set aside for low- and moderate-income families are sitting vacant, the result of a sluggish bureaucracy and pandemic-era leasing market that has become less predictable, according to a new report from the Board of Supervisors Budget and Legislative Analyst. For 30 years San Francisco has required that housing developers include a percentage of “below market rate” units in their projects, an effort to create affordable homes and mixed-income neighborhoods in a city that has steadily grown wealthier and less accessible to average families. (Dineen 5/4)