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California Healthline Original Stories
California Hospitals And Nursing Homes Brace For Wildfire Blackouts
Facing billions of dollars in legal claims for the role its equipment has played in a spate of deadly wildfires, California utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric plans to step up efforts to cut power to broad regions of the state during high-risk weather conditions. The potential for prolonged blackouts has prompted disaster preparations by hospitals, nursing homes and home care providers. (Barbara Feder Ostrov, )
Good morning! Here are your top California health stories for the day.
Protesters Swarm Calif. Capitol In Last-Ditch Effort To Stop Governor From Signing Controversial Vaccination Bill: But despite some 11th-hour hesitations over the past week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation cracking down on medical exemptions. Hundreds of protesters filled the hallways and drowned out legislative debate with their chants, but lawmakers in both chambers still passed the second of the two contested bills Monday. Protesters unfurled an upside-down American flag from the Senate's public gallery in a traditional signal of distress and chanted "My kids, my choice" and "We will not comply." Newsom’s signatures come after he publicly wavered about the main vaccine exemption bill, Senate Bill 276. He first voiced doubts about the bill in June, then said he would sign it after Pan agreed to amendments. Newsom reversed course again last week after lawmakers sent that bill to his desk, saying he wanted even more changes. Lawmakers scrambled to put together a second bill, Senate Bill 714, to make the changes Newsom sought, including reducing liability for doctors and preserving some existing exemptions. Read more from Sophia Bollag and Bryan Anderson of the Sacramento Bee; Katie Orr of KQED; and Alexei Koseff of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Bill To Provide Free Health Care To Low-Income Seniors Regardless Of Immigration Status Moving Through Calif. Legislature: The bill, authored by Los Angeles Democrat Maria Elena Durazo, would expand Medi-Cal—the state’s version of federal Medicaid for low-income residents — to undocumented immigrants age 65 and older starting next July. That would inch the state closer to providing health care to all immigrants in the state illegally. It faces a floor vote in the Assembly and then, if it passes, would return to the Senate for a final vote before landing on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Legislators are in a mad scramble this week to wrap up all bills by the Friday deadline. The governor hasn’t indicated whether he would sign this bill, despite his previous support for universal health care. Experts note that he might object to its attempt to lock him into new spending for next year’s budget. Read more from Elizabeth Aguilera of CalMatters.
Below, check out the full round-up of California Healthline original stories, state coverage and the best of the rest of the national news for the day.
More News From Across The State
Sacramento Bee:
Newsom Signs Bill Prohibiting Willful Defiance Suspensions
It is will soon be illegal in California for both public and charter schools to suspend disruptive students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed into law Senate Bill 419, which permanently prohibits willful defiance suspensions in grades four and five. It also bans such suspensions in grades six through eight for five years. The law goes into effect July 1, 2020. (Sheeler, 9/9)
The Associated Press:
NRA Sues San Francisco Over Terrorist Declaration
The National Rifle Association sued San Francisco on Monday over the city's recent declaration that the gun-rights lobby is a "domestic terrorist organization." The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses city officials of violating the gun lobby's free speech rights for political reasons and says the city is seeking to blacklist anyone associated with the NRA. It asks the court to step in "to instruct elected officials that freedom of speech means you cannot silence or punish those with whom you disagree." (9/9)
The New York Times:
Stores Could Just Ban Guns, But Open-Carry Foes Back Requests As A Step
David Amad, a gun rights activist and the vice president of Open Carry Texas, is not especially bothered by Walmart’s recent announcement that it is “respectfully requesting” that customers not openly carry guns into its stores. Mr. Amad said many of his group’s 38,000 members had carried their guns openly into Walmart stores since the retailer made the policy public last Tuesday. None have been asked to leave. “They are ducking the issue,” Mr. Amad said of Walmart. “They are trying to get the gun haters to leave them alone, while at the same time leave us alone when we carry in their stores.” (Corkery, 9/9)
The Washington Post:
White House Weighs Controversial Plan On Mental Illness And Mass Shootings
The White House is considering a controversial proposal to study whether mass shootings could be prevented by monitoring mentally ill people for small changes that might foretell violence. Former NBC chairman Bob Wright, a longtime friend and associate of President Trump’s, has briefed top officials, including the president, the vice president and Ivanka Trump, on a proposal to create a new research arm called the Health Advanced Research Projects Agency (HARPA) to come up with out-of-the-box ways to tackle health problems, much like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) does for the military, according to several people who have been briefed. (Wan, 9/9)
The New York Times:
Republicans Want Stricter Gun Laws. Republican Voters, That Is.
Vast majorities of Americans — Democrats and Republicans, men and women — support stricter gun laws, the polls found. They’re even open to the kinds of programs once considered dead on arrival in political circles, including banning sales of military-style assault weapons and creating a mandatory federal buyback program for those weapons. Perhaps most significantly, the issue is starting to scare people. (Lerer, 9/9)
Sacramento Bee:
ACLU Again Takes On Mercy San Juan Over Transgender Rights
The American Civil Liberties Union will square off once again against Mercy San Juan Medical Center in a San Francisco courtroom on Tuesday, asking that an appeals court overturn a lower-court ruling allowing the Carmichael-based hospital to deny hysterectomies to transgender patients. “It is illegal for hospitals that are open to the general public in California to turn away patients simply because they are transgender,” said Elizabeth Gill, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California. “Everyone should be able to get the care they need, even if their local hospital has a religious affiliation.” (Anderson, 9/9)
Capital Public Radio:
As Stevante Clark Graduates Mental Health Court, California Looks To Grow This Alternative To Incarceration
After Sacramento police killed his brother Stephon Clark in March 2018, he had a mental health breakdown, which included an incident involving property damage and death threats. Stevante Clark was charged with felony vandalism and assault, but his PTSD diagnosis made him eligible for Brown’s court, which he started attending last fall. (Caiola, 9/9)
The New York Times:
Ex-USC Doctor Charged With Sex Abuse Surrenders License
George Tyndall, a former University of Southern California gynecologist charged with sexually assaulting patients, has surrendered his medical license, the state medical board announced Monday. Tyndall surrendered the license effective last Thursday, the board announced. His license would have expired next Jan. 31. (9/9)
Ventura County Star:
Health Officials Urge People To Stop Vaping As Illness Reports Mount
Area public health officials urge people to stop vaping as reports of lung disease and deaths that may be linked to the practice grow. In Ventura County, four illnesses linked to vaping have been confirmed by state officials, said Dr. Robert Levin, the county's public health officer. A fifth case is still being reviewed by the California Department of Public Health. In Los Angeles County, public health officials are investigating a death they said is potentially related to vaping. It is one of at least five deaths, and more than 450 lung illnesses in the nation, that federal officials say could be linked to vaping. (Kisken, 9/9)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento CA Asks Supreme Court To Review Homeless Ruling Appeal
For nearly a year, city and county officials across the West have lamented a federal appeals court’s ruling last September barring municipalities from prosecuting homeless people for sleeping on the streets if there are no available shelter beds. Now, Sacramento County and the city of Sacramento have joined the fight to overturn the ruling. They will share the impacts of the ruling on its homelessness efforts in an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” brief to the U.S. Supreme Court later this month. (Yoon-Hendricks, 9/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Mayor, Supes Announce Plan To Help Save Residential Treatment Homes For City’s Vulnerable
As San Francisco’s residential care facilities rapidly disappear, Mayor London Breed and three supervisors announced a plan Monday that they hope will stem the closures. The plan comes amid increasing political pressure for elected officials to deal with the skyrocketing numbers of homeless people — many suffering from mental illness and addiction — on the city’s streets. (Thadani, 9/9)
Modesto Bee:
Modesto Could Provide $2.85 Million For Plan To Turn Motel Into Housing For Homeless
City officials Tuesday could give the Housing Authority $2.85 million so it can buy a 103-room Modesto motel and turn it into studio apartments with services for homeless people. City staff recommends the City Council award the Housing Authority of the County of Stanislaus the funding. The $2.85 million would come from money Modesto receives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (Valine, 9/9)
CalMatters:
PG&E Offers $18 Billion For Wildfires — Less Than Half Would Go Directly To Victims
PG&E Corp. offered $18 billion in wildfire payments as part of a reorganization plan filed Monday in bankruptcy court with less than half of the money going directly to the victims. The proposal calls for establishing two trust funds, one capped at $8.4 billion to pay wildfire victims and the other capped at $8.5 billion for insurers who had to pay out claims from a series of deadly Northern California blazes in 2017 and 2018. Local governments that have already settled with PG&E would receive $1 billion. (Lin, 9/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Family Files Claim Against Fremont, Alameda County In Death Of Man In Custody
The family of a 20-year-old man claims that law-enforcement officers with the city of Fremont and Alameda County ignored their son’s mental health needs and instead beat and left him unaccompanied in a restraint device, resulting in his death several days after being taken into custody. Christian Madrigal died on June 15, after his family sought medical assistance from the Fremont Police Department six days earlier, when he was suffering from a mental health crisis, according to a complaint the family’s attorneys filed Monday with the county and Fremont. (Ravani, 9/9)
San Jose Mercury News:
Parents File Excessive Force Claim For Mentally Ill Son Who Died In Fremont Police Custody
As he was being hauled away by police, Christian Madrigal’s last words to his mother were “Mom, help me” and “Mom, I love you.” Hours later, he would be hospitalized with injuries that led to his death.His parents of the mentally ill young man who died in police custody has filed a claim against Fremont police and Alameda County for excessive force and his wrongful death. (Ruggiero, 9/9)
USA Today:
Vape Maker Juul Under Fire For Safety, Teen Marketing Messages
Federal health officials warned electronic cigarette maker Juul Monday to stop saying vaping is safer than smoking because it hasn't complied with regulations that call on companies to prove that's true. The Food and Drug Administration also sent a letter to the company "expressing concern, and requesting more information" about the its outreach and marketing practices, especially to students, tribes, health insurers and employers,following congressional testimony this summer that included reported safety claims. (O'Donnell, 9/9)
The Washington Post:
Bloomberg To Spend $160 Million To Ban Flavored E-Cigarettes
Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire businessman and philanthropist who has financed efforts to combat tobacco use around the world for years, has a new target: e-cigarettes in the United States. Bloomberg Philanthropies announced Tuesday it would spend $160 million over three years to try to ban flavored e-cigarettes, which, it said, are specifically designed to entice kids to vape. (McGinley, 9/10)
The New York Times:
Bernie Sanders Went To Canada, And A Dream Of ‘Medicare For All’ Flourished
In July 1987, Bernie Sanders, then the mayor of Burlington, Vt., arrived in Ottawa convinced he was about to see the future of health care. Years earlier, as his mother’s health declined and his family struggled to pay for medical treatment, he was spending more time attending to her than in classes at Brooklyn College, suffering through what his brother called “a wrecked year’’ leading to her death. Over time, he had come to believe that the American health care system was flawed and inherently unfair. In Canada, he wanted to observe firsthand the government-backed, universal model that he strongly suspected was better. (Ember, 9/9)
Stat:
Steve Hahn, The FDA Frontrunner, Has A Knack For Confronting Controversy
Before he interviewed with President Trump last week to become Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn had only been here once in a formal capacity: to apologize to Congress. The veteran cancer researcher came to Capitol Hill in 2009 to take responsibility for years of botched care by a doctor under his supervision. Ninety-two U.S. military veterans had been implanted with radioactive “seeds,” meant to fight prostate cancer, at the wrong dose — or in the wrong organ entirely. (Facher and Florko, 9/10)