Author's posts
California Speeds Up Indoor Heat Protections Amid Sweltering Summer Weather
Indoor workers who toil in hot jobsites in California gain immediate protection from this summer’s extreme heat. The state’s worker safety chief announced finalized rules Wednesday, capping a years-long push by workers.
California Health Care Pioneer Goes National, Girds for Partisan Skirmishes
Anthony Wright, a champion for Californians’ health care rights, will take the helm of Families USA in Washington, D.C., where he plans to campaign for more affordable and accessible care nationally. He leaves Health Access California, where he helped outlaw surprise medical billing, require companies to report drug price increases, and cap hospital bills for uninsured patients.
Heat Rules for California Workers Would Also Help Keep Schoolchildren Cool
Proposed state standards to protect indoor workers from extreme heat would extend to schools. The rules come as climate change is bringing more frequent and intense heat waves, causing schools nationwide to cancel instruction.
White House Enlists Doctors and Hospitals To Combat Gun Violence
As Congress remains deadlocked on gun policy, the Biden administration is calling on hospital leaders and doctors to gather more data about gunshot injuries and deaths and step up their violence prevention work.
After a Child’s Death, California Weighs Rules for Phys Ed During Extreme Weather
A California lawmaker wants the state to craft guidelines for how and when schoolchildren can play or exercise during extreme weather, including heat waves. The bill comes after a 12-year-old boy died after a physical education instructor told him to run as the temperature topped 90 degrees.
AC, Power Banks, Mini Fridges: Oregon Equips Medicaid Patients for Climate Change
Oregon is giving Medicaid patients air conditioners and other equipment to help them cope with soaring heat, smoky skies, and other dangers of climate change. Oregon health officials hope to show other states and the federal government that they can save lives and money.
Newsom Offers a Compromise to Protect Indoor Workers from Heat
After rejecting proposed rules to protect millions of workers in sweltering warehouses, steamy kitchens, and other hot workplaces, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has offered a compromise to allow the protections to take effect this summer. But state and local correctional workers — and prisoners — would have to wait even longer.
Move to Protect California’s Indoor Workers From Heat Upended by Cost Questions
A years-long process that would have created heat standards for California workers in warehouses, steamy kitchens, and other indoor job sites catapulted into chaos Thursday when Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration pulled its support. Regulators, saying they felt “blindsided,” approved the regulation anyway. It’s unclear what happens next.
California Takes Up White House Call to Toughen Gun Storage Rules
State lawmakers are weighing legislation that would require gun owners to keep their firearms locked up most of the time, a move advocated by the Biden administration.
Back From COP28, California Climate Leaders Talk Health Impacts of Warming
Three leading California officials who represented the state at the United Nations climate talks late last year reflect on climate change’s growing threat to human health — and explain what the state is trying to do about it.
