Check back here often for the latest news as delivered by the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce
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Troubled drug program for doctors shuts down
Jul 5, 2008 — The Sacramento Bee
He is also the author of Senate Bill 1441, which would set uniform standards by January 2010 to monitor health professionals in treatment programs.
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Professor takes the helm at local campus Brenda Latham steps in as interim dean
Jul 4, 2008 — Los Banos Enterprise
Given the new restrictions that prohibit anyone teaching a subject they weren't primarily educated in, it has been difficult, Latham said.
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Subway sketchers create an online community
Jul 4, 2008 — Los Angeles Times
He came across subway sketchers from Toronto, Berlin, Paris. She has no idea Velandria is drawing her. Velandria knows he may never see her again.
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Turlock homeless shelter permit denied
Jul 4, 2008 — The Modesto Bee
...homeless shelter west of Highway 99. The City Council in April voted to sell a building at 400 B St. that had served as a homeless shelter for four years, setting into motion an urgent search for a temporary shelter to open by Dec. 1. Commissioners said the proposed site on which to build the $900,000 temporary shelter, in an industrial area near the waste-water treatment plant on South Walnut Road, would put the homeless too far away from services they need in downtown Turlock.
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2 on council appeal panel approval of building Members dispute the design of 'green' medical complex
Jul 3, 2008 — Ventura County Star
He also plans to install low-flow toilets and waterless urinals.
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High Turnover and Fragmented Focus Plague Foster Care
Jul 3, 2008 — Santa Barbara Independent
Compounding this purported discontinuity is the way Child Welfare assigns caseworkers to monitor the progress of Santa Barbara foster kids placed in facilities outside of Santa Barbara County. Given an acute shortage of foster beds within Santa Barbara, roughly 25 percent of all Santa Barbara foster kids are located in homes outside the county. Frequently, CASA volunteers become mentors to their foster charges.
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Hwy. 65 bypass begins Lincoln project, traveling a long and winding road since the 1970s, finally breaks ground.
Jul 3, 2008 — The Sacramento Bee
Placer County officials adopted the idea of a bypass in the 1973 general plan, and by 1988 growth in the region prompted the state to allocate the first dollars for the project. But the funds were diverted to pay for seismic retrofit projects after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit the Bay Area in 1989 and again when the Northridge quake struck Los Angeles in 1994. It wasn't until the late 1990s that local officials renewed efforts to build the bypass.
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Logistics center in, homes out
Jul 3, 2008 — The Business Press
...square feet, Magness said. The largest structure would cover 1.1 million square feet; the smallest would occupy 106,000 square feet. Hillwood plans to seek a "green" certification for each of the buildings from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, Magness said. West Valley Logistics Center would be near Interstates 10, 15 and 215 and Highway 60, giving the project truck access. First, the property's zoning...
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Medi-Cal Doctors Take Pay Cut
Jul 3, 2008 — Santa Barbara Independent
However, Santa Barbara’s Medi-Cal physicians will get a reprieve as they are paid by the Medi-Cal-managed care program TEXTCenCal Health. Like other Medi-Cal managed care plans, CenCal Health gets more leeway from the state for its reimbursement systems. Santa Barbara dentists who treat Medi-Cal patients will not dodge the pay cut, as they are paid through a separate program known as Denti-Cal.
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New stent OK'd for marketing
Jul 3, 2008 — The Press-Enterprise
Abbott is the largest employer in the city. "We are launching immediately.
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Reopening foster youth program a team effort Agency, coach will mentor kids about to be out on their own
Jul 3, 2008 — Ventura County Star
The nonprofit has joined with Ventura College football coach Jon Mack to build community support. Mack, known for his winning record as the head coach at St. They often return to the troubled homes from which they were removed. Mack became involved in the project after Aspiranet board member Art Chaparro asked for his help. Bonaventure, Mack coached Chaparro's son David, who was a 7-year-old foster child when the family adopted him.
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Turlock to discuss shelter
Jul 3, 2008 — The Modesto Bee
Stanislaus, is working on a long-term homeless plan that likely will recommend a place for a permanent, year-round homeless shelter. When that shelter is built, or in two years, whichever comes first, the temporary cold weather shelter building on South Walnut would be turned over to the Municipal Services Department, according to city staff. The Turlock Planning Commission will meet today at 7 p.m. in the Yosemite Room, 156 S. Broadway. Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be...
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Atwater prison policies leave staff in grave danger, correctional officers say In the wake of Jose Rivera's death, his current and former co-workers say his murder could have been avoided
Jul 2, 2008 — Merced Sun-Star
Was he wearing a stab-resistant vest? So the Sun-Star interviewed six current and former USP Atwater correctional officers. They asked for anonymity because the Bureau of Prisons has instructed them not to speak with reporters. Four recently left the prison. Dennis Smith, the third warden to oversee USP Atwater since its opening, didn't return phone calls. Lappin, the director of the Bureau of Prisons, couldn't be reached.
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Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Gary Bogue column: Gary Bogue Did someone poison the dead mice in yard?
Jul 2, 2008 — Contra Costa Times
They can also be ordered by mail for $7.25 including tax and postage by writing to: MDIA, P.O. Box 346, Walnut Creek, CA 94597-0346. Checks should be made out to MDIA. Members of MDIA get a 10 percent discount. It looked like he was following a gopher or a mole tunnel.
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Movie Review 'Kit Kittredge' warms the heart with lessons of tough times past
Jul 2, 2008 — The Sacramento Bee
Troubled at first, she proves a trouper as the picture progresses. The Depression has walloped the Kittredges' upper-middle-class neighborhood. But there's never an indication in "Kit Kittredge" of the picture being product-based.
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No more room here for Medi-Cal As pharmacists worry over state's cutback, one store decides it can't afford to fill orders
Jul 2, 2008 — The Record - Stockton, California
If I filled everything, I would be digging into my pocket to pay the wholesaler. The Medi-Cal beneficiary of three years is ready to deliver her new baby any day now. "I'd be really upset. The ones on Medi-Cal we are going to have to refer to the clinic at the county hospital.
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Nurses protest staffing at hospital
Jul 2, 2008 — Ventura County Star
John's hospitals in Camarillo and Oxnard, as well as Northridge Hospital Medical Center. Contract negotiations began in February. Chris Slane, union representative for the Camarillo and Oxnard hospitals, said the picket was informational and not a work stoppage. Some of the nurses said staffing disparities have affected their ability to provide quality patient care. Debra Cardoza, a registered nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit, has worked at St.
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State again without budget Unpaid bills could hurt many businesses
Jul 2, 2008 — Ventura County Star
...fund shrinks. Last year, by the time a budget was signed on Aug. 24, the contingency fund had expired about 10 days earlier, forcing hospitals and other Medi-Cal providers to shift funds or borrow money to make up for millions in unpaid bills. Budget at least month away This year, with the fund expected to be depleted earlier and lawmakers predicting that a budget will likely not be negotiated until at least Aug. 1, some healthcare providers will be imperiled. ...
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'Kit Kittredge: An American Girl'
Jul 1, 2008 — The Fresno Bee
The movie didn't lose the actual mystery Kit (Abigail Breslin) must solve. Kit lives in Cincinnati at the height of the Great Depression. The possibilities continue to grow as her mother (Julia Ormond) begins to rent rooms in their home.
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Crews answer new kinds of alarms Today's firefighters do much more than battle blazes. Rescue and emergency medical calls make up the bulk of their work.
Jul 1, 2008 — The Sacramento Bee
In the city of Sacramento city, data from 1985 to 2006 show an overall increase in calls and an increase in emergency medical calls. However, neither mode provided adequate standards of pre-hospital emergency care. Firefighters took on the new task because, as many firefighters explain, they were simply available. Candidates with paramedic skills often stand a better chance of being hired. About 42 percent of Sacramento Metropolitan firefighters are also paramedics.
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EDITORIAL: Budget deal will do real damage to health care: The choice is clear Increase taxes or let the impact fall on children and the elderly
Jul 1, 2008 — The Sacramento Bee
As part of a 10 percent cut scheduled to take effect today, the state plans to reduce payments received by pharmacists who serve Medi-Cal patients. It will demand deep cuts, and the state's health care programs will have to shoulder a share of the sacrifice. But the level of cuts aimed at Medi-Cal, and the nature of those cuts, would have broad and dangerous impacts.
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Nurses' protest resumes Union says 20 percent of nurses have left Fremont-Rideout
Jul 1, 2008 — Appeal-Democrat
...the hospitals' 450 nurses have left for other facilities in the last 18 months. Union representatives also said many of those positions are going to traveling nurses. The administration needs "to show the commitment to nurses in the community rather than traveling nurses," CNA representative Glen Sharp said. Tresha Moreland, vice president of human resources at the hospital, said that the turnover rate cited by the CNA is incorrect. Moreland said 11 percent of RNs left...
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OPINION As fires rage, the law protects us from marijuana
Jul 1, 2008 — The Sacramento Bee
More dangerous than tobacco or alcohol, both of which (unlike pot) really do kill thousands of people and damage the health of many thousands more? Even with the acknowledged nuisance of pot growing, it was a close vote.
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S.J. sheriff worries over med center He fears potential hires will look to prison addition
Jul 1, 2008 — The Record - Stockton, California
STOCKTON -- San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore said Monday night that he worries that plans by state prison officials to build a medical center near Stockton for chronically ill inmates could further cripple his efforts to hire deputies. Moore's comments came Monday as state prison officials kicked off a campaign in San Joaquin County, trying to sell local officials on plans to build at least one of seven such medical centers here. They also sought input from residents. "If...
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Changes at Rose Garden landmark ANDY'S PET SHOP OWNER HOSTS RESCUED ANIMALS
Jun 30, 2008 — San Jose Mercury News
April, a red-eared slider turtle that wasn't getting along with her tankmates. An algae-eating plecostomus that got too big for his aquarium. Unlike the tiny jars the fish are usually kept in, "the proper size tank for a betta fish is six gallons.
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Doctor served the poor Chief of nonprofit Peach Tree Clinic leaving with sense of accomplishment
Jun 30, 2008 — Appeal-Democrat
Leticia Gutierrez Jun. 30, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Dr. She is currently executive director of the Sutter County Children and Families Commission. Dr.
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Ex-Fresno lawyer's trial set to go to jurors today
Jun 30, 2008 — The Fresno Bee
Rescuers took 11 hours to find the crash site, Serra said. Was he waiting for death?" After the crash, Morris descended into depression and closed all his law offices except his headquarters in Fresno, Serra said. As Serra spoke, Morris wiped away tears. Wilson told jurors that as horrible as the plane crash was, it was a decade before Morris started ripping off clients in 2002.
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Green centers for Coachella Valley
Jun 30, 2008 — The Business Press
We'll probably get a higher-caliber tenant who will stay in the building longer, and that would be one advantage for us. But mainly we think it's the responsible thing to do." The Shoppes of Rancho Mirage will consist of six buildings that collectively cover 51,000 square feet.
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Group knits bundles of love for others Warming of Fresno makes afghans, caps for the needy.
Jun 30, 2008 — The Fresno Bee
The group also makes lap- and twin-bed size afghans. "We're just working away," says Maria VanBuskirk, who joined the group shortly after moving to Fresno in 1996. "We enjoy it. We've gone through illnesses, husbands' deaths ... and we've lost members." Many group members work on projects both at meetings and at home. Others work solely from home and drop off items at Trinity Lutheran.
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Planned Medi-Cal cuts put squeeze on Pomona, Calif., health services
Jun 30, 2008 — Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
...300 are on Medi-Cal. Just down the street at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, spokeswoman Kathy Roche said hospital officials are carefully monitoring the budget process in Sacramento. The hospital's 2008 budget depends on $87 million in revenues and reimbursement from Medi-Cal, which amounts to 25 percent of the hospital's net revenue. Roche said the medical center is the area's "safety net" hospital, serving a disproportionate amount of Medi-Cal, uninsured and...
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Serious patient errors at California hospitals disclosed in state filings
Jun 30, 2008 — Los Angeles Times
State investigators found some errors occurred because hospitals failed to follow safeguards designed specifically to prevent harm. Overcrowded emergency rooms are another factor behind patient injuries. Doctors and hospitals warned against equating all adverse events with mistakes.
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EDITORIAL: Doctor's stroke, community's tragedy All of us must be concerned about law enforcement's response to Dr. Mohamad Harb's accident scene and the failure to recognize a medical emergency.
Jun 29, 2008 — The Bakersfield Californian
Mohamad Harb had swerved off the road, coming to a stop on the sidewalk. A witness reportedly kept Harb from leaving the scene. Recognizing the doctor and alarmed by his appearance, she stopped. The nurse identified herself. Police officers are required only to have first aid and CPR training. Personnel with higher medical skills are dispatched to emergency scenes by other departments, Lynn said.
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Homeless veterans losing their Hope Founder leaving Stand Down event
Jun 29, 2008 — Ventura County Star
I don't know who is going to stand up and take over." Recent Stand Downs have attracted 120 to 180 homeless veterans to the armory. It's always been her baby." Ventura attorney Roger Myers, another longtime volunteer, said he was sad to see Hope go. An estimated 55,000 homeless veterans live on the streets and in shelters in California.
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How California budget deadlock affects health care
Jun 29, 2008 — The Sacramento Bee
Advocates say tighter credit rules due to the mortgage meltdown have hit providers as well. One operator said he can last one month. Jim MacDonald, owner of Robertson Adult Day Health Care in east Sacramento, said he is applying for a $100,000 loan through Union Bank.
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Medi-Cal providers bracing for pay cut
Jun 29, 2008 — The Modesto Bee
In San Joaquin County, the changes would leave 7,884 adults and 8,570 children without coverage.
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Reporter's dream of energy-efficient home becomes a reality
Jun 29, 2008 — The Record - Stockton, California
We wanted green construction in a small home. We also sealed the plywood with a nontoxic finish and used nontoxic interior paints. We ordered a small refrigerator from Vestfrost, a Danish company.
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Saint Agnes tension festers Cardiac doctors got into a shoving match.
Jun 29, 2008 — The Fresno Bee
Overall, Saint Agnes has an infection rate below the state average. The state credited Saint Agnes for swift action. Valley Cardiac doctors were assigned to observe the new Stanford doctors to ensure competency. Valley Cardiac surgeons deny they impeded the process.
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Desert Manna looking for new director
Jun 28, 2008 — The Desert Dispatch
I think they're making a huge mistake." Desert Manna board members were reluctant to talk about the reasoning behind letting Gilman go. At the end of the period, Ziegler said, the board decided to look for someone else. Layden said Gross' role and presence at the shelter have been hard to fill.
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Hospital to mark 80th anniversary, residents' graduation 80 hours a week on job Ventura County Medical Center training program state's largest
Jun 28, 2008 — Ventura County Star
Joe Esherick, a silver-haired Yale graduate who went through the residency program and now teaches in it. The residents also rotate in shifts through obstetrics, intensive care and outpatient clinics. It's when you stop." The hours are substantial and so is the care residents provide to the county, said Esherick.
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