California Assisted Death Law Re-Enabled As Appeals Court Ends Lawsuit

AP: Lawsuit Briefly Blocking California Assisted Death Law Ends
An appeals court has formally ended a lawsuit that in 2018 temporarily suspended a California law that allows adults to obtain prescriptions for life-ending drugs, a gap that advocates blamed Thursday for a significant drop in its use that year. California lawmakers made the lawsuit moot last month when they reauthorized and extended the law until 2031 while reducing the time until terminal patients projected to have six months or less to live can choose to be given fatal drugs. (Thompson, 11/5)

In mental health news from Kentucky, Florida and Colorado —

AP: Federal Grant To Aid Mental Health Efforts In Rural Kentucky
A federal grant awarded to Kentucky will support initiatives dealing with stress, mental health and suicide prevention in rural communities, state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said. The $500,000 grant, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will allow Kentucky’s agriculture department to work with several partners to expand its efforts on those issues. (11/5)

WFSU: Florida Faces A Shortage Of Mental Health Counselors. Joining A Licensing Compact Could Help 
Florida is facing a shortage of mental health counselors. To help, state Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Doral, is pushing a bill she says would make it easier for counselors to move to Florida or remotely work with clients in the state. Under her measure, Florida would join the Professional Counselors Licensure Compact. The agreement would allow counselors in participating states to apply to have their qualifications extended to another participating state. (11/4)

AP: Denver Police Hope Therapy Dog Will Break Down Barriers
The Denver Police Department’s first therapy dog was originally trained to be a guide dog, but she turned out to be too friendly to focus on helping one person. Now the department is counting on the Black English Labrador Retriever’s outgoing nature to help it break down barriers and start conversations with people in high-crime areas and those wary of the police. (Slevin, 11/4)

In news from Texas, Delaware and Michigan —

Houston Chronicle: Texas Extends SNAP Food Stamp Program In November As Food Prices Rise
Texas has boosted funding for a key food assistance program, the latest effort to combat soaring food prices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and related, global supply chain issues. On Thursday, the state announced an additional $310 million in funding for the emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for November. The move maxes out the allowable amount of benefits for recipients based on family size and, according to officials, will give recipient families a minimum $95 extra by the end of the month. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission said it expects the funding will help more than 1.5 million households in the state. (Downen, 11/4)

AP: State Says Disabled Not Entitled To Reasonable Accommodation
A Delaware judge is weighing whether a medical facility violated the state’s equal accommodation law by refusing to complete a sports physical for a boy with Down syndrome who wanted to compete in Special Olympics. The judge heard arguments Thursday in an appeal filed by the boy’s parents after the State Human Relations Commission determined that businesses do not have to provide reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities under Delaware’s Equal Accommodations Law. (Chase, 11/4)

AP: Michigan City On Edge As Lead Water Crisis Persists
Shortly after sunrise on a recent Saturday in Benton Harbor, Michigan, residents began lining up for free bottled water so they could drink and cook without fear of the high levels of lead in the city’s tap water. Free water distribution sites are a fixture of life in the majority Black city in the southwestern corner of Michigan, where almost half of the nearly 10,000 residents live below the poverty line. For three years, tests of its public water system revealed elevated levels of lead. (Phillis, 11/4)