A vaccination in progress. (Photo: Komsan Loonprom)OPINION: Before graduation, teens need to know what vaccine preventable diseases exist and the vaccines that protect them. Teens need to know their personal vaccination status and if they are up to date on recommended vaccines.
The Lime Complex fire in Northern California's Trinity Mountains. (Photo: Paul Higley)Analysis: California forests are threatened by a maelstrom of environmental drivers of change, which have intensified across four years of drought. Horrific recent events should inspire reform of not only wildfire management, but also of our overall forest-health stewardship and governance. We need a new vision for managing our wildlands with policies based on science and acting in the interest of the greatest public good.
OPINION: The Legislature had a critical opportunity to help increase access to medical services and reduce the wait times for patients who need ocular services. SB 492 would have allowed doctors of optometry to perform limited laser and minor procedures around the eye and freed up ophthalmologists to perform the complex surgical procedures only they are trained and educated to perform.
OPINION: California is the largest market in the United States and is among the largest in the world. It is estimated that more than a million Californians are gaming online through overseas sites, which we know to be dangerous for gamers. These black market sites for Internet gaming offer no consumer protections.
OPINION: Rather than focusing our attention on creating uber districts with special powers or buttressing the powers of cities and counties so they can manage groundwater, it would be better to focus our attention on some of the causes for our present failures and direct our efforts to giving local stakeholders the tools to complete the task.
It is estimated that 40 percent of 9th graders in the state are overweight. It is also estimated that 65 percent of adolescents aged 12-17 drink at least one soda or other sugar-sweetened beverage each day. Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages are the largest source of added sugar in the diets of both children and adults in the United States. Is there a correlation between sugary beverage consumption and obesity? You bet there is.