As many digested Thursday’s SCOTUS decision upholding challenged portions of the Affordable Care Act, California public health advocates cheered passage of a bill that would eliminate most exemptions for vaccination of school children. SB 277, the most contentious bill of the year, has passed the Assembly and now heads for concurrence in the Senate. Rong-Gong Lin II at the Los Angeles Times:
“Physicians said immunization levels have fallen too low to keep Californians safe from disease.
“A mother who lost her son nine years after measles infected his brain as a baby said more vaccinations will save lives.
“’We went through hell and back, and nobody, no child, no family member, should have to deal with that,’ said Marissa Cortes-Torres of northern San Diego County. ‘If we stop the disease … nobody would have to endure that situation.’”
Opponents of the bill protested outside, vowing to recall legislators who supported the measure. Covering the protests, one reporter found herself sprayed with an unknown substance. Kurt Chirbas, LAT:
“Kaitlin Lewis, a reporter and weekend anchor at NewsRadio KFBK, said she felt fine after being sprayed by a demonstrator, but was upset by the personal violation….
“While reporting on the demonstration, Lewis noticed a female protester standing about four feet from the steps who was spraying liquid into the air from a bottle. Lewis asked the protester what the liquid was, she said. The protester said it was a ‘mood changer,’ Lewis said.
“When Lewis asked again about the bottle, the protester put the bottle two inches from Lewis’s face and sprayed it, she said.”
The County Medical Services Program board Thursday extended health care coverage for undocumented immigrants and other low-income residents of 35 counties. Hudson Sangree, Sacramento Bee:
“[The] eight board members voted unanimously on the undocumented immigrant addition to the program, which generally provides last-resort indigent health care in many of the state’s least populated counties.
“The program’s expansion would add several doctor visits and about $1,000 of prescription drugs to the list of services available to undocumented immigrants and to legal residents who meet eligibility criteria but don’t qualify for other aid programs…
“They said it’s unclear how many undocumented immigrants might sign up for health care, but program consultant Lee Kemper said the figure is ‘probably in the low thousands.’”
House Republicans introduced an ambitious water bill Thursday, following an earlier attempt at a bill foundered in the Senate. Michael Doyle, McClatchy:
“After whiffing last Congress when Democrats controlled the Senate, GOP lawmakers are hoping the political climate is more congenial for their 170-page package that once again includes hot-button items like scaling back a San Joaquin River restoration program.
“’Congress cannot make it rain,’ said Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., the bill’s chief author, ‘but we can enact policies that expand our water infrastructure, allow for more water conveyance, and utilize legitimate science to ensure a reliable water supply for farmers and families.’”
Meanwhile, in California, State Water Resources Control Board chair Felicia Marcus is navigating hundreds of years of history as she attempts to oversee the state’s water policy. Rich Ehisen has a great profile at Capitol Weekly:
“Since being appointed in April 2013, the Los Angeles-raised and Harvard-educated Marcus has been spent a lot of time trying to make sense of a seemingly infinite number of perspectives on California’s historic drought. As the chair of the agency tasked with overseeing Gov. Jerry Brown’s calls for major statewide water use restrictions, she suffers from no lack of daily feedback, including from Brown himself. She also hears regularly from others affected by those cuts, from farmers to water agencies to perplexed homeowners, all of whom have fierce opinions about what the state should and should not be doing. It can sometimes make her feel more like a ringmaster than the person Brown calls the state’s water czar.
“’I used to call myself an environmental therapist,’ she says through another small laugh. ‘But these days I might be more of a social worker.’”
The California Arts Council is celebrating an $8.3 million boost in funding this year. (For those keeping track, that’s almost exactly the amount Sacramento and the Kings organization recently paid for Jeff Koons’ controversial “Coloring Book” sculpture.) Well, good for art!
A new report from the Census Bureau finds that minority groups make up over 61% of California’s population – a diversity unequaled anywhere in the country. John Howard has those and other numbers at Capitol Weekly.
The past months have seen a steady drip-drip-drip of bad news for the new Bay Bridge project, and this week simply piled more bad news on top: more cracks, more broken rods. Michael Cabanatuan and Jaxon Van Derbeken at SFGate:
“Brian Maroney, Caltrans’ chief engineer on the bridge project, said the microscopic cracks found on at least two rods lead him to believe that the problem could be widespread and that the rods could be repaired or even replaced if necessary. Nearly all the rods have been exposed to water, and about a quarter of them have sleeves that routinely flood with bay water within days of being drained.
“’As an engineer, if I have these micro-cracks I have to assume they exist in every rod,’ Maroney said.
No bueno.
So, the question now is, how much worse can it get? We’re guessing that pressure has to be mounting at the Caltrans head office – fixing this mess could ultimately cost billions, and someone is going to take the heat, eventually.
Our guess is that that someone will be Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty, our nominee for #WorstWeekinCA politics this week.
Dougherty was already raked over the coals at a Senate Transportation and Housing Committee hearing last year over the ‘lack of transparency’ on the project – and at the time, no one knew just how bad the problem was.
The buck stops at Dougherty’s desk on this one, and he’s earned his right to sing the Golden State Blues this week.
