Posts Tagged: 65

Lawmakers must give high priority to Alzheimer’s care

An elderly patient is comforted by a young caregiver. (Photo: Ocskay Mark, via Shutterstock)

by CARLOS LUIS OLIVAS III posted 03.23.2021

OPINION: Every year, the Alzheimer’s Association releases a report providing national and state-level statistics on Alzheimer’s prevalence, mortality, cost of care and impact on caregivers. As a son caring for my father who is living with Alzheimer’s, these statistics simply cannot do justice to the huge emotional, physical and financial toll that this disease takes on families and society at large.

Prioritizing vaccines? Think of public transit workers

A worker gives directions as motorists wait in lines to get the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine in a parking lot at Dodger Stadium in L.A. (Photo: Ringo Chiu, via Shutterstock)

by ART AGUILAR and MICHAEL PIMENTEL posted 03.08.2021

OPINION: As the leader of the association representing California’s public transit agencies and the head of the state’s largest union representing public transit workers, we strongly urge Gov.  Newsom and state and local health officials to provide priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine to public transit workers.

A new era — politics and the coronavirus

The state Capitol in Sacramento, late in the day. (Photo: Adonis Villanueva, via Shutterstock)

by CHUCK McFADDEN posted 03.16.2020

In offices in and around the state Capitol, politicians, consultants, lobbyists, and the whole array of other political types have one thing on their minds: How do we conduct campaigns and politics in the face of the growing coronavirus pandemic? Will candidates make speeches wearing face masks? Are latex gloves going to be de rigueurat meet-and-greet events with supporters?

Health care workforce crisis: Need more diversity, access to care

Health care workers in a hospital corridor. (Photo: Pixel-Shot, via Shutterstock)

by DAVID M. CARLISLE posted 03.22.2019

OPINION: California has a healthcare workforce crisis. Over the next decade, this state’s 39 million residents face a health worker shortfall of 4,100 primary care physicians and 600,000 home care workers, and we will have only two-thirds of the psychiatrists and mental health providers needed.

Local roads, streets in sorry shape

California motorists in a traffic jam. (Photo: Shutterstock)

by JOHN HOWARD posted 10.25.2016

California’s 143,000 miles of local streets and roads are deteriorating rapidly, and the average local thoroughfare across the state is rated “at risk” because of its poor physical condition, according to a study commissioned by a coalition of local governments and their allies. A mix of state, local and federal funds – about $1.98 billion annually – is provided for California’s streets and roads, but the minimal amount needed to maintain the existing quality is $3.5 billion.

Better telecom rules help older adults, too

Using a cell phone at a California beach to capture an image of a pier. (Photo: DCornelius, via Shutterstock)

by GARY PASSMORE posted 04.13.2016

OPINION: The conventional wisdom, promoted by some advocacy groups when it suits their purposes, is that seniors are sad, helpless creatures who prefer to sit on the couch clutching their turntables and rotary phones, in front of black and white television sets, searching for reruns of Lawrence Welk. These demeaning attitudes are far from true.