Health:
*Combat leads to brain injuries in one-fifth of veterans -- While clinicians work with a sparse arsenal for treating largely invisible brain injuries, the Bay Area has a role as a hotbed of research and innovative treatments for combat-related neurological trauma. During a recent conference in San Francisco, more than a dozen experts in neurology, psychiatry and brain imaging described to an audience of nearly 100 scientists and journalists nascent efforts to develop effective treatments for brain traumas sustained by combat veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan. Inside Bay Area 5/24/08
*Federal ruling keeps $5 billion cut to Medicaid at bay for now -- Hospital officials around the Bay Area breathed a sigh of relief after a federal judge on Friday blocked a new Bush administration regulation trimming an estimated $5 billion over five years in Medicaid funds for public hospitals. The ruling came two days before a congressional moratorium blocking the Medicaid cuts expired Sunday, although it provides only short-term protection. If the cuts do take effect, 22 California public hospitals stand to lose $600 million annually. SJ Mercury 5/26/08
Turning cell phones into tools of medicine -- Three Bay Area research teams are using cell phones to stretch the power of diagnostic equipment and medical services by devising simple, inexpensive ways to avert, treat and rehabilitate people after medical crises. Already, researchers are putting cell phones in area ambulances to monitor heart attack patients, and they plan to use phones in developing nations to help spot internal bleeding among women who've just given birth. here are about 2 billion cell phones worldwide, making the communication devices ideal for delivering top-tier medical care in developing countries or rural locations hours from the nearest hospital. Inside Bay Area 5/27/08
State cuts to health and social services will hit some hard -- Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting $3.4 billion from health and social service programs, from a projected budget of $33.2 billion to $29.8 billion. State general fund spending is second only to education. Low-income would be particularly hard hit under the governor's plan because they receive assistance from different state programs. Under his plan, an estimated 84,000 seniors would lose help with daily chores like laundry, cleaning and bathing. Seniors and the blind and disabled would not receive a cost-of-living increase in their Social Security Income checks despite rising gas and food prices. Poor adults would lose basic dental and vision care. Sacramento Bee 5/27/08
Hospitals, patients clash on privacy rights -- When patients check into hospitals or doctor offices, they presume their information will be kept in strictest confidence, but often, amid the pile of papers, they overlook fine print describing how their personal information can be farmed out for fundraising. Hospitals and other health care organizations widely use patient information, without patients' explicit permission, to raise funds. To the dismay of privacy-rights advocates and some in the medical field, fundraising to benefit medical institutions is allowed under federal law. SF Chronicle 5/26/08
Health plan for all being fought by Bush administration, restaurants -- San Francisco, known for its progressive social policies, is addressing a problem that has proved too complex or difficult for nearly all state, federal and local officials: how to provide regular, effective care for the uninsured. But the city's 10-month-old program has provoked fierce opposition from the Bush administration and restaurant owners who have gone to court to strike down the employer fees that provide a crucial source of funding. They contend that the city ordinance violates a federal law that gives Congress some authority to regulate private-sector health benefits. San Diego Union Tribune 5/24/08
Food:
*Food banks face high costs but feeding more people -- To meet growing demand, America's Second Harvest-The Nation's Food Bank Network, pressed lawmakers for the past year to increase the annual level of funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program, commonly know as TEFAP, from $140 million to $250 million annually. A survey it conducted of 180 food banks in late April and early May found that 99 percent have seen an increase in the number of clients served within the last year. The increase is estimated at 15 percent to 20 percent, though many food banks reported increases as high as 40 percent. The money was included in the Farm Bill recently approved by Congress, but won't be available until the next fiscal year, which starts in October. AP 5/26/08
Parks and forests:
State bolsters firefighting efforts -- Californis is hiring an extra 1,100 seasonal firefighters, commandeering a super-size tanker that can release 12,000 gallons of fire retardant in a single drop, and imploring homeowners to do their part. To pay for the beefed-up firefighting, the governor has proposed a surcharge on homeowner insurance policies - 1.4 percent for homes in disaster-prone zones, 0.75 percent for homes elsewhere - that he says would generate more than $100 million annually. SJ Mercury 5/24/08
*Parks in peril: With money tight, repair needs mount -- This Memorial Day weekend, campsites are booked from Mount Shasta to San Diego. But California's state park system - once considered the best in the nation - is falling apart. Throughout the system, sewage pipes are crumbling. Roofs leak and thousands of scenic acres are padlocked for lack of rangers. The number of state park employees - 2,970 rangers, lifeguards and others - has remained unchanged since 1988. But during the same time, the number of park visitors has increased by 5.3 million people. SJ Mercury 5/25/08
Funding parks: How would you feel about 'Budweiser Beach'? -- Parks supporters have explored a wide range of ideas to bring the park system back to health, from higher fees to corporate sponsorship to new taxes. But most are controversial and have a downside as well as an upside. California's state parks department has tried to expand corporate partnerships in the past two years, for example, but when Gov. Pete Wilson's administration explored a plan in the mid-1990s to allow corporate logos into parks, the public and environmental groups protested vehemently and it was dropped. SJ Mercury 5/26/08
Count on a long Northern California fire season -- Fire season has arrived early in Northern California, with a number of major wildfires already popping up in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Sierra foothills. Although blazes aren't unheard of this time of year, fire officials are alarmed by what they've seen so far — not just fires breaking out in densely vegetated areas but dozens of homes burning down as a result. Inside Bay Area 5/24/08
Immigration:
Tougher Border Enforcement, and More Corruption -- A pattern has become familiar on the California-Mexico border: Customs officers wave in vehicles filled with illegal immigrants, drugs or other contraband. A Border Patrol agent acts as a scout for smugglers. Trusted officers fall prey to temptation and begin taking bribes. Increased corruption is linked, in part, to tougher enforcement, driving smugglers to recruit federal employees as accomplices. NY Times 5/27/08
Agriculture:
*Lofty Prices for Fertilizer Put Farmers in a Squeeze -- Fertilizer prices are rising faster than those of almost any other raw material used by farmers. In April, farmers paid 65% more for fertilizer than they did a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That compares with price increases of 43% for fuel, 30% for seeds and 3.8% for chemicals such as weedkillers and insecticides over the same period, according to Agriculture Department indexes. Those skyrocketing costs are making it harder for farmers to expand their harvests in response to the global food crisis that has sparked rioting, rationing and export controls in many countries. Wall Street Journal 5/27/08
Farmer recalls eminent-domain fight -- Bob Brocchini of Brocchini Family Farms recalled battling the city of Stockton for much of the 1990s over land next to the former Austin Road landfill. He spent all the money he received for the 95-acre property and more on legal and court costs. And what he was paid amounted to just one-third of a private offer he had on the land, but that was withdrawn once the city announced its intent to acquire the farmland through eminent domain. Stockton Record 5/26/08
Salmon:
Salmon resurgence in Butte County – Butte Creek now holds the largest population of wild spring-run chinook, or king salmon, in the Sacramento River system. The number of spawning fish returning from the ocean to Butte Creek increased 10 percent from 2006 to 2007. But the most dramatic resurgence occurred over the past 10 years, when an average of almost 10,000 salmon a year swam back up the creek, according to Harthorn, who co-founded Friends of Butte Creek in 1999 after years battling farming interests and Pacific Gas and Electric over its DeSabla-Centerville plant. SF Chronicle 5/26/08
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