Overdose Deaths Are Soaring; Rhode Island Tries Legalized Injection Sites

Philadelphia Inquirer: As U.S. Overdose Deaths Soar, Rhode Island Legalizes Supervised Injection Sites. Philly’s Effort Remains In Limbo
Rhode Island’s decision to allow sites where people in addiction can use drugs safely has sparked new optimism that momentum for the movement may be building despite Philadelphia’s own stalled bid to open a supervised injection site. The facilities, where medical workers can revive those who overdose and connect people to treatment, already exist in dozens of countries. But Rhode Island is the first state whose legislature approved a two-year pilot to open sites around the state. The governor recently signed the bill into law. (Whelan, 7/19)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Overdose, Relapse Hit Cincinnati: Funding, Narcan, Treatment Needed
A new survey shows just how much people in the Cincinnati region were afflicted with active addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic, as staggering overdose deaths nationwide were announced. One in 12 local adults had a family member or friend who overdosed during the pandemic in 2020. And 1 in 12 said they had a family member or friend who relapsed, the new poll shows. Put another way, the survey result translates to roughly 135,000 of the region's 1.7 million adults – or a little less than half of the population of the city of Cincinnati. (Demio, 7/18)

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: CDC: Overdose Deaths Rise In Arkansas
Overdose deaths in Arkansas are estimated to have increased by more than 40%, or 152 deaths, in 2020 according to data released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics. It estimates 515 people died because of overdoses in Arkansas during 2020, with 363 people dying in 2019. While nearly all states' overdose deaths increased during the pandemic, Arkansas sits higher than the national average, the report shows. It says the nation saw about 93,331 overdose deaths in 2020, a 29.4% increase from the 72,151 deaths in 2019. (Moss, 7/18)

In updates on the deadly heat wave in the West —

The Wall Street Journal: Heat Waves, Wildfires Intensify In The West
Intense heat engulfed the Northern Rockies and High Plains, while high temperatures and dry air made matters worse for firefighters working to control dozens of wildfires burning across the parched West. State leaders had issued emergency orders activating resources before the weekend, while some local communities said the blazes were complicating plans for a resurgence of tourism and local events after an interruption during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Levitz and Lovett, 7/18)

Fox News: US Heat Wave Sparked Surge In Emergency Department Visits, CDC Report Finds
An intense heat wave affecting the Northwest caused a spike in emergency department (ED) visits for heat-related illness, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Oregon and Washington were most affected by the record-breaking heat, the CDC wrote, with temperatures in Portland climbing to 116 degrees Fahrenheit, over 40 degrees hotter than average monthly highs. While the country sees some 700 deaths due to heat illness each year, the agency warned that climate change will spur increases in fatalities in the years to come in the northwestern U.S. (Rivas, 7/17)

In news from Vermont, Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Nevada —

AP: Vermont Marking Return Of Amtrak Service After COVID
Celebrations are planned at Amtrak stations across Vermont to note the return of passenger rail service to the state. Both the Vermonter train and the Ethan Allen Express are scheduled to resume passenger service on Monday. The service was suspended last year at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. (7/19)

Louisville Courier Journal: How The National Blood Shortage Is Impacting Kentucky
The national blood shortage brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has left Louisville facing a "scary" situation as health officials urge donations. The Kentucky Blood Center, a nonprofit that has donor centers in Somerset, Pikeville, Louisville and Lexington, collected 12,000 fewer donations from March 2020 to February 2021 than from March 2019 to February 2020, according to external relations vice president Mandy Brajuha. “For mobile blood drives, which prior to COVID accounted for 70% of our blood supply, that decrease was 46%,” Brajuha said in an email. “We collected 22,000 less red cells on mobiles this past year.” (Ladd, 7/19)

AP: Food Program Cards Can Be Used At Some SC Self Checkouts
Families who use a supplemental program to help get healthy foods for pregnant women and children can now use the self-checkout at two national chain stores in South Carolina. Walmart and Kroger are now taking electronic cards for the state Women, Infant, and Children program at their terminals without cashiers, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a statement. (7/18)

Oklahoman: Oklahoma Schools Are Hiring More Mental Health Staff. Counselors Say It's 'A Long Time Coming'
Oklahoma school counselors are hopeful extra investments in student mental health support could be a silver lining from a devastating pandemic. The Oklahoma State Department of Education dedicated $35 million of its COVID-19 stimulus funds to establish a grant program, the Oklahoma School Counselor Corps, to hire more counselors and other mental health professionals to work in schools. (Martinez-Keel, 7/19)

AP: Henderson Water Usage Increased By 1B Gallons After COVID-19
The study found the shift to more people being at home during that time led to roughly 1.1 billion additional gallons of water being used in the city, according to the newspaper. Nicholas Irwin, an assistant professor of economics at UNLV and one of the authors of the study, said “the increase in residential water usage was so large that it overwhelmed that offsetting effect from schools being closed and from commercial buildings being closed. Increased handwashing due to the coronavirus likely contributed to the spike in water usage, according to the study. (7/18)

In news from California —

San Francisco Chronicle: West Nile Virus Found In Contra Costa County Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus have been discovered in Contra Costa County several times this month, prompting officials to warn residents. The disclosure comes one week after California recorded its first West Nile virus death of the year in San Luis Obispo County. Mosquitoes with the virus have been collected from traps in agricultural areas near Byron and Brentwood at the eastern edge of the county, according to the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District. Entomologists tested insect samples for the disease, which is transmitted to humans by a bite from an infected mosquito. (Mishanec, 7/18)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Casino Smoking Ban Advocated By California Group
The battle to ban smoking in casinos is heating up again. Americans for Nonsmokers Rights, a California-based advocacy group seeking to ban smoking in casinos nationwide, has jumped on the record and near-record revenue performances of the nation’s casinos since full reopenings began a few months ago to push for smoke-free casinos. When Atlantic City casinos reported an all-time revenue record in the month of June, Americans for Nonsmokers Rights President and CEO Cynthia Hallett jumped to the conclusion that revenue and operating smoke-free are connected. (Velotta, 7/18)

Los Angeles Times: Center Opens To Help Victims Of South L.A. Fireworks Explosion
A second resource center will open Monday to assist the victims of a June 30 explosion in South Los Angeles, where police detonated a cache of illegal fireworks, casting debris across several blocks, damaging multiple structures and leaving more than a dozen people injured. The 27th Street Incident Community Resource Center will open starting at 3 p.m. at 1006 E. 28th St., officials said. It will be housed in a YMCA with staff ready to assist victims who need to access mental health and wellness referrals as well as other urgent services. (Do, 7/18)

KHN: Grab Your Mask And Notepad, We’re Headed Back To California’s State Capitol
The best part about returning to the pandemic-besieged state Capitol is that the elected officials are so unused to seeing us reporters after more than a year that some are occasionally extra chatty. The bad part is that the masks make it harder to eavesdrop on the rest of them. Much like the rest of the state — which is navigating ever-changing covid rules, such as whether vaccinated people should wear masks or how far apart schoolkids should be (3 vs. 6 feet) — the building is subject to a tangle of shifting requirements. All of us — the lawmakers, their staff, the press and the tourists — are making mistakes. (Bluth, 7/19)