Posts Tagged: services

Opinion

Congested ports, crippling the supply chain, need a fix now

Freighters dock off the Southern California coast on a smoggy day. (Photo: Matt Gush, via Shutterstock) Freighters dock off the Southern California coast on a smoggy day. (Photo: Matt Gush, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California farmers lost an estimated $2.1 billion in export sales between May and September last year due to port congestions, according to a study by UC Davis. Farmers across the state are experiencing fallout from congestion at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, threatening the state’s economic viability.

Opinion

Now, more than ever, affordable broadband access is crucial

A computer user searches for housing using bro0adband. (Photo: Tada Images. via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Even as the internet has kept us connected – there is more work to do to close the digital divide – especially for rural and low-income families. During this time of great disruption to our daily lives and dramatic shifts in behavior, our state’s broadband networks rose to the challenge despite unprecedented demand and network traffic.

Opinion

COVID-19: Yet more pain for human trafficking victims

Photo illustration of a child victim of human trafficking. (Photo: 271 EAK MOTO)

As many Californians struggle with the effects of COVID-19, what this pandemic means for human trafficking victims is their abusers have yet another way to coerce and exploit. Before COVID-19, victims already faced extreme barriers to safety, health services, and employment; now, they are vulnerable to even greater unrelenting abuse.

News

Coronavirus and California’s rape crisis centers

A woman wearing a surgical mask for protection against the coronavirus. Photo: Maridav, via Shutterstock)

When a person who has been sexually assaulted or is trying to escape a domestic violent situation comes to either of Community Solutions’ two offices, they will notice two things. First, the doors are open. Second, the waiting room has no chairs. As is the case with all of California’s 84 rape crisis centers, Community Solutions is continuing to provide services to clients in need during the COVID-19 crisis.

News

A rape crisis detailed, step by step

A traumatized woman alone in her room. (Photo: ChameleonsEye, via Shutterstock)

At 10 p.m., Jane Doe is sexually assaulted in Springville, a small town of 1,100 in Tulare County, forty-five miles west of Visalia, at the edge of Sequoia National Forest. After a night working through shock and trying to process what happened, Jane calls the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, who dispatch an officer from Porterville. It is 10 a.m. The officer arrives 30 minutes later.

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.

Opinion

Human trafficking: Inspiration from the survivors

Photo illustration of a woman held captive, a victim of human trafficking. (Photo: Structuresxx, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: I’m a survivor of human trafficking. When I was 7, I was sold into trafficking by my abuser. A young woman just a few years older than me, who had also been trafficked, helped free me when I was 11 years old. I didn’t see myself as a survivor until I saw other survivors take ownership over what happened to them and transform their healing to action.

Opinion

Disputed legislation threatens hospital services

A hospital hallway and emergency room. (VILevi, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: AB 1250 would jeopardize access to care for millions of Californians by scrambling the current system, burying hospitals with new bureaucratic mandates, blizzards of paperwork and unnecessary red tape. Hospitals would be forced to divert limited financial and human resources from their mission of caring for patients.

News

Pro-choice license plates on California’s horizon

Suggested options for a California pro-choice license plate.

Twenty-eight states currently offer “Choose Life” license plates, but California may be the first state in the country offering solely pro-choice plates. The plate would join 14 other special-interest license plates that raise money for a number of agencies, including the California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Arts Council, California Coastal Commission and Lake Tahoe and Yosemite Conservancy.

News

A push for better dental care for low-income children

A youngster pays a visit to the dentist. (Photo: Wavebreakmedia)

California lawmakers are considering a bill that would double reimbursement rates for Denti-Cal providers in order to entice more dentists to accept the insurance that covers low-income residents. The hope is to get dental care to more people – especially children. According to recent reports by the state auditor and the Little Hoover Commission, less than 38 percent of the 5 million eligible children actually received Denti-Cal care in 2014.

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