California's landmark, complex efforts to make the federal health care reforms a reality are taking shape. Questions remain but the picture is coming into focus as Oct. 1 nears
From HealthyCal's Daniel Weintraub: "The big question is whether the coverage the health exchange is offering will be attractive enough – and affordable enough – for millions of uninsured Californians to take the plunge."
"Federal law says they must. But consumers can still opt out and pay a tax instead, starting at $95 per adult in 2014 and rising to $695 in 2016, or 2.5 percent of family income, whichever is greater. And since people will be able to buy insurance later if they get a serious illness and the coverage begins to look like a better deal, many will likely do the math before they buy."
"Covered California has now released enough information to make those calculations possible for most people."
Speaking of health care, when it comes to coverage, the new system is going to need to enroll people from a group that traditionally resists getting covered -- the young and healthy.
From the LAT's Ann Gorman: "Arsine Sargsyan is 23 years old, healthy and uninsured. She chooses to forgo coverage for one simple reason: "I never get sick."
"Despite her reluctance, Sargsyan is exactly the type of person insurance plans, states and the federal government are counting on to make health reform work."
"As the clock ticks toward the 2014 launch of the Affordable Care Act, health leaders across the nation are embarking on a tough task: persuading young adults like Sargsyan to enroll. Their participation will be critical to balance out older, sicker patients more likely to sign up for health insurance as soon as they are able."
Bob Filner, a former Freedom Rider, college professor and congressman, is the mayor of San Diego -- a liberal mayor for a pleasant Navy town that isn't used to anything but Republican mayors.
From the LAT's Tony Perry: "Under a pro-business Republican mayor, it was a no-brainer: allocating millions of dollars each year to buy national advertising for the tourism industry — a major economic driver in this vacation mecca."
"Then Bob Filner got elected, and he had questions: Why couldn't Sheraton and Hilton buy their own advertising? And why should the cash-strapped city lavish funds on an industry that pays low wages to bottom-rung employees like maids and bellhops?"
"The new Democratic mayor also thought the city attorney should provide him with legal guidance on the matter in private, not in front of reporters. So he crashed Jan Goldsmith's news conference."
Emboldened by a court decision and ballot measures, authorities across southern California are bearing down on marijuana dispensaries.
From the LA Daily News' Dana Bartholomew: "The crackdown against medical pot shops across Southern California began as soon as the state's highest court ruled last month that cities could enforce their dispensary bans."
"Police have raided a legion of medical marijuana dispensaries across the Southland, while legal threats have been issued to hundreds more. From Santa Ana to San Bernardino, cities that had put the kibosh on the pot shops now had potent legal ammunition in which to shut them down."
"By late last week, San Bernardino had shuttered all but 10 of its 33 banned dispensaries — including two the city raided Wednesday — and was gunning to finish off the rest. Burgs from Beaumont to Anaheim have followed suit."
Jerry Brown, who is winning more political battles than he is losing, may be on the verge of another victory -- an overhaul of public education funding.
From LAT columnist George Skelton: "California is close to making the most sweeping change in how it spends money on schools since Ronald Reagan was governor four decades ago."
"And Gov. Jerry Brown is on the verge of a monumental personal triumph — a legacy builder, for better or worse. Nobody really knows."
"It's an example of landmark legislating with one-party rule. The governor pretty much gets his way while being restrained by the Legislature, led by fellow Democrats."
Finally from our "Tie Me Down, Sport" file comes the Florida tale of the wandering kangaroo who was on the loose and enjoyed an early morning jaunt.
"I bounced it off of a chain link fence and it went to the ground and I decided it wasn't going to get up," he explains. "I was mainly worried about its back legs, and then another deputy jumped on it from there, and it was just a big dog pile after that."
"The kangaroo was taken to a veterinarian and is now being looked after by someone in the area who knows how to care for them, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office."
"It was a pretty big and extremely strong animal," Smith says. "It wasn't until I grabbed those legs that I realized just how strong they were. It doesn't look like that on TV."
It never does ...