Category: California

California’s COVID Enforcement Strategy: Education Over Citations

Gov. Gavin Newsom said in July that California would target businesses that flagrantly violate public health orders. But the state’s strategy of education over enforcement means that businesses that don’t comply face few — if any — consequences.

‘Nine Months Into It, the Adrenaline Is Gone and It’s Just Exhausting’

A UCSF emergency room physician reflects on California’s response to COVID-19 and on lessons learned — or not — as the coronavirus makes its second devastating surge.

‘Nine Months Into It, the Adrenaline Is Gone and It’s Just Exhausting’

A UCSF emergency room physician reflects on California’s response to COVID-19 and on lessons learned — or not — as the coronavirus makes its second devastating surge.

No More ICU Beds at the Main Public Hospital in the Nation’s Largest County as COVID Surges

As some patients linger near death, staffers at Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center seek ways to expand capacity for a surge of cases that isn’t letting up.

Alzheimer’s Inc.: Colleagues Question Scientist’s Pricey Recipe Against Memory Loss

Dr. Dale Bredesen is a well-known, well-respected neurologist. But his colleagues think the comprehensive Alzheimer’s program he’s marketing through a private company is a mixture of free-for-the-asking common sense and unproven interventions.

How to Pull Off a COVID-Era Music Festival

One woman’s attempt to create a festival celebrating diverse music ran up against the reality of the pandemic this year. But it also yielded lessons in how to reimagine events in the COVID era.

High-Poverty Neighborhoods Bear the Brunt of COVID’s Scourge

COVID infection rates in California are consistently higher in low-income neighborhoods than more affluent areas, according to an analysis by ZIP code. Our findings underscore the heightened risks borne by millions of low-wage workers whose jobs are deemed essential.

With Becerra as HHS Pick, California Plots More Progressive Health Care Agenda

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he has already begun discussing California health care priorities with Xavier Becerra, tapped this week by President-elect Joe Biden to serve as his Health and Human Services secretary.

Dialysis Industry Spends Millions, Emerges as Power Player in California Politics

Over the past four years, the dialysis industry has spent $233 million on both political offense and defense in California. Most of it went toward protecting its revenues against ballot initiatives, but the industry also strategically worked the corridors of the state Capitol.

Xavier Becerra in His Own Words: ‘Health Care Is a Right’

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. As attorney general and during his 24 years in Congress, he has staked progressive positions on health care issues, fighting the Trump administration on contraception, suing a major California health system for monopolistic behavior and calling himself a supporter of single-payer health care.