Posts Tagged: public health

Opinion

Parks are a public health solution waiting on our doorstep

A section of the Rubicon Trail at D.L. Bliss State Park in South Lake Tahoe. (Photo: AJ9, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: It’s time to shift the conversation around parks in California. New data is illuminating the need to look at state parks in communities a bit differently. Rather than measuring their value by their undeniable beauty, new research illustrates a clear opportunity to measure parks by their impact on our public health and communities.

Letters

Letter: Live animal food markets

Letter California annually imports some two million non-native American bullfrogs and 300,000 freshwater turtles for human consumption.  All are diseased and/or parasitized, though it is illegal to sell such products. Released into local waters, the exotics prey upon and displace our native species.

News

California’s valley fever on the rise

Lab supervisor Marilyn Mitchell pulls samples during tests for Valley Fever at the Community Medical Center lab in Fresno. (Photo: Fresno Bee/Craig Kohlruss, 2014, via AP)

The first sign that Rob Purdie had valley fever was when he woke up one day with what felt like a hangover but he hadn’t taken a drink. He had a splitting headache that was so bad that he had to stay in dark room with the blinds drawn and his sunglasses on. He was eventually diagnosed with coccidioidomycosis meningitis, the most severe form of valley fever.

News

Diablo Canyon: To be or not to be?

The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County at Avila Beach. (Photo: Michael L. Baird, via Wikipedia)

A final decision looms on whether to close California’s last operating nuclear power plant. The California Public Utilities Commission will hear closing arguments tomorrow, Nov. 28, on the fate of the controversial Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County. The commission is expected to make a decision by the end of the year.

News

Court victory for Johnson & Johnson in talc cancer case

Talc from a container spilled across a table. (Photo: MIA Studio)

A California jury has rejected claims that Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier were responsible for the deadly cancer of a woman who blamed her illness on breathing asbestos fibers from contaminated body powders. On a 9-3 vote, the jury Thursday in Pasadena absolved J&J of negligence in the sale of Johnson’s Baby Powder and another talc product, Shower to Shower.

News

State writing new pot regulations

A marijuana plant growing in Northern California. (Photo: Shutterstock)

California authorities are crafting new rules governing both medical and recreational marijuana, and they hope to present them to the public in March. The move follows voter approval in November of Proposition 64, which legalized recreational pot use. It passed by 2 million votes out of nearly 14 million cast.

Opinion

Fresno can be model for climate-change projects

Vector illustration of Fresno skyline. (YurkalMMortal, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: With the recent landmark victories in our state climate policy, California has a unique opportunity to meet our ambitious climate goals with equity at the center.

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