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Around California - page 19

Freeway camps present major eyesores, safety issues

in Around California/People

Scattered along the stretch of Highway 99 between Service Road and downtown Modesto freeway off-ramps is a growing collection of homeless camps –marked by large piles of debris – offering visual blight impossible for motorists to ignore and shaking the heads of Chamber of Commerce folks.

One such camp south of the Hatch Road overpass – which the city’s code enforcement unit has cleared out a number of times – places occupants walking and camping dangerously just feet away from freeway traffic. Another camp with its makeshift living quarters and scattered debris greet motorists negotiating the westbound Hatch Road off-ramp.

Continue Reading on Ceres Courier

Fresno woman who was in coronavirus quarantine shares experience

in Around California/Health

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno woman who has spent the last month in quarantine is back home with her daughter.

Della Metzler was enjoying her vacation with her sister in Japan when a coronavirus outbreak seized their Diamond Princess cruise ship in early February.

Her sister, 81-year-old Sally Oberst, was one of the 46 infected Americans on board, forced to stay and recover in Japanese hospitals.

Metzler never tested positive for the virus, but health officials mistook her COPD symptoms for the coronavirus.

Continue Reading on ABC 30

Court hearing about coronavirus quarantine in Costa Mesa is canceled after feds drop plan

in Around California/Health

A federal judge has canceled a scheduled court hearing Monday about a hotly contested plan to place coronavirus patients in Costa Mesa, given that the federal government has dropped the proposal, the city said Sunday.

A check of U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton’s calendar for Monday doesn’t show the hearing.

In a court document Staton filed Friday, she acknowledged Costa Mesa’s objection to what it considers a “flawed, unreasonable decision-making process that wrongly excluded county and local professionals and government leaders.”

Continue Reading on LA Times

California’s losing its war on carbon

in Around California/Environment
Cathay Bank Corporate Center's employees charge their electric vehicles in the company's El Monte parking lot on Thursday, April 5, 2018. The bank center has over 30 employees that drive electric vehicles and Southern California Edison installed 17 EV chargers for the employees. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

For the last decade, California has waged a crusade to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases in the name of fighting climate change.

The state has set specific reduction goals, and spent many billions of dollars, in both taxes and added consumer costs, to achieve them.

Early on, we saw sharp reductions, but they were low-hanging fruit, achieved mostly by compelling utilities to replace carbon-based power generation such as coal and natural gas with “renewables,” chiefly wind and solar.

Continue Reading on The Orange County Register

Coronavirus: Gov. Newsom says Calif. is prepared for first COVID-19 case with unknown origin

in Around California/Health

SOLANO COUNTY, Calif. -- Gov. Gavin Newsom provided an update Thursday to the state's response to coronavirus. Officials say there are 33 confirmed cases currently in California, but officials reiterate the risk to the public remains low.

"The case yesterday understandably generated a lot of attention, but did not surprise any of the folks standing to my left or right," said Newsom. "We knew this was inevitable as it relates to the nature, the epidemiology and nature of these viruses that that information would occur."

There are more than 8,400 people in the state who are being monitored in 49 different jurisdictions after arriving on flights from Asia, state health officials said.

Continue Reading on ABC 7

Coronavirus Northern California: New case confirmed in Solano County, origin unknown

in Around California/Health

SOLANO COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- A new case of the novel coronavirus has been detected in Northern California in a resident who has not traveled overseas since the outbreak began.

This suggests the virus could be spreading locally, person-to-person, the CDC said.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed an infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 in California in a person who reportedly did not have relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient with COVID-19," the CDC said in a press release.

Continue Reading on ABC 7

Meet Dr. Kwane Stewart, ‘The Street Vet’ who treats homeless people’s pets across CA for free

in Animals/Around California/People

CALIFORNIA (KABC) -- For the last nine years, Dr. Kwane Stewart has spent his free time as a veterinarian treating pets on California's streets for free.

The 49-year-old drives around the state helping the animals of people experiencing homelessness, providing everything from flea treatments to vaccinations and more.

Before he eventually became known as "The Street Vet," Stewart ran an animal hospital and went on to be the county veterinarian for Stanislaus in Modesto, California, according to CCN. But when the financial crisis hit the U.S. in 2008, he was inspired to do more.

Continue Reading on ABC 7

California Candidates Go Head-To-Head On Health Care, Again

in Around California/Health

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY – The California Democrats who fought to flip Republican congressional seats in 2018 used health care as their crowbar. The Republicans had just voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act in the U.S. House — and Democrats didn’t let voters forget it.

Two years later, Democrats are defending the seven seats they flipped from red to blue in California. And once again, they plan to go after their Republican opponents on health care in this year’s elections.

But this time around, it’s not just about the Affordable Care Act, whose fate now rests with the federal courts. Democrats are highlighting the high costs of prescription drugs, surprise medical bills and cuts to safety-net programs.

Continue Reading on Published Reporter

Los Angeles County Eliminates Criminal Fees. Will California Follow?

in Around California

Los Angeles County will stop billing people millions of dollars a year for the costs of their incarceration in an effort to lighten the financial burden on former inmates.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to eliminate all criminal administrative fees over which the county has discretion after hearing  testimony from dozens of formerly incarcerated residents.

The county is the fourth in California to eliminate the fees. If a bill introduced in the state Senate is approved, the rest of California could soon follow.

Continue Reading on Cap Radio

California’s declining school enrollment doesn’t justify $15 billion Proposition 13 school bond

in Around California/Education

Declining school enrollment may have an enormous impact on California’s proposed $15 billion school construction bond, Proposition 13, on the March 3 ballot.

California Department of Education’s data show total K-12 enrollment has been dropping for several years.

And the Department of Finance projects further loss of 258,000 kids by 2027-28.

Most of that decline will be concentrated in the six Southern California counties from Ventura to San Diego as well as in Santa Clara County, the heart of Silicon Valley.

Continue Reading on Cal Matters

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