California Virus Laws Protect Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Health Care Workers

AP: California Governor Signs Laws To Protect Workers From Virus
California companies must warn their workers of any potential exposure to the coronavirus and must pay their employees workers compensation benefits if they get sick with the disease under two laws that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Thursday. Newsom, a Democrat, signed the laws over the objections of business groups, who have said they are “unworkable.” (Beam, 9/17)

Dallas Morning News: Bars Still Closed In Texas, But Abbott Eases COVID Limits On Businesses, Elective Surgeries And Nursing Home Visits
Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday eased his coronavirus restrictions on many businesses and allowed a resumption of elective surgeries in North Texas and most other parts of the state. He also announced that, starting next Thursday, the state will allow more visitors at nursing homes that meet certain protocols. The Republican governor, though, did not reopen bars. They’ve been closed since late June, when a spike in COVID-19 cases forced Abbott to backtrack on relaxing restrictions. (Garrett, 9/17)

AP: COVID-19 Outbreak Reported At South Dakota Women's Prison
More than 100 inmates have tested positive at a minimum-security women’s prison in Pierre, according to the Department of Corrections. Mass testing of inmates resulted in the Department of Corrections found 102 active cases at a women’s prison called the Pierre Community Work Center, according to an update released late Wednesday. There were 140 women held at the prison, according to an Aug. 31 count. Four staff members have also tested positive, with one fully recovered. (9/18)

WBUR: About 1 In 5 Households In U.S. Cities Miss Needed Medical Care During Pandemic
A poll of households in the four largest U.S. cities by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health finds roughly one in every five have had at least one member who was unable to get medical care or who has had to delay care for a serious medical problem during the pandemic (ranging from 19% of households in New York City to 27% in Houston). (Neighmond, 9/17)

CNN: Idaho Pastor, Paul Van Noy, Skeptical Of Masks Lands In The ICU For Covid-19 
A pastor in Idaho who called himself a "no-masker" during a service and repeatedly questioned the veracity of coronavirus case reporting is in the ICU after contracting Covid-19. Paul Van Noy, senior pastor at Candlelight Church in Coeur d'Alene, has spent two weeks in the hospital with a Covid-19 diagnosis, ministry coordinator Eric Reade confirmed to CNN. Five other church staff were infected with coronavirus, too, but they've all recovered, he said. (McNabb and Andrew, 9/17)

In wildfire news —

NPR: Agricultural Workers In Oregon Harvest Wine Grapes Through Fire Smoke 
Wildfires are ravaging large swaths of the West in the middle of the wine grape harvest, sending hazardous smoke through picturesque vineyards. It's forcing many agricultural workers to make a stark choice: Should they prioritize their health or earn badly needed money? "The truth is that I have to work," said Maricela, 48, a team leader at a vineyard near Medford in southern Oregon. There are multiple fires blazing close to the town. (Penaloza, 9/17)

Kaiser Health News: Wildfires’ Toxic Air Leaves Damage Long After The Smoke Clears  
When researchers arrived in this town tucked in the Northern Rockies three years ago, they could still smell the smoke a day after it cleared from devastating wildfires. Their plan was to chart how long it took for people to recover from living for seven weeks surrounded by relentless smoke. They still don’t know, because most residents haven’t recovered. In fact, they’ve gotten worse. (Houghton, 9/18)

In news about policing and public health —

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Police Use Of Tear Gas Is Now Restricted In New Orleans, But What Cases Are The Exceptions? 
In response to widespread rage over the New Orleans Police Department's use of tear gas to move protesters off the Crescent City Connection in June, the City Council on Thursday approved a proposal aimed at severely restricting use of the chemical irritant. The council also asked the department to bar officers from serving a warrant on a home without first announcing themselves, an action that led to the now-infamous police killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. (Adelson, 9/17)

NBC News: Colorado Officer Who Pointed Gun At Doctor's Head On His Own Property Suspended 1 Week
A police officer in Aurora, Colorado, who pointed a gun at an Indian American doctor trying to park at a refugee center he owns and operates has been suspended for 40 hours without pay. Officer Justin Henderson will also be required to attend de-escalation training, Aurora Police Department spokesman Matthew Longshore said Thursday. (Griffith, 9/17)

In other news —

Houston Chronicle: Houston Residents Pursue Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Union Pacific Where Cancer Cluster Identified 
Regina Martin-Morgan, 51, has spent the last decade taking care of her family. First, it was her mother: colon cancer diagnosed in 2011. Then, her father: prostate cancer. Her brother: Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She has been the primary caretaker — driving family members to chemotherapy appointments, making end-of-life arrangements and all the while, maintaining the house she grew up in on Russell Street. (Douglas, 9/17)

The Washington Post: Overlooked In Flawed 911 Response To Drowning: A Precise Map
As authorities in two D.C.-area counties investigate a flawed emergency response to a June drowning, new documents show the 911 center in Montgomery County had an automatically generated map that showed precisely where the call for help had come from. Emergency dispatchers in Maryland sent firefighters to the Potomac River after a teen called to say her friend had slipped underwater while the group was swimming in a “river.” The caller went on to say her group had been in an “inlet” off the river and that they were in Virginia. (Morse, 9/17)