State Highlights: Activists Seek To Overturn New California Vaccine Law By Starting Referendum; Mass. Health Official Declares Mosquito-Borne Virus Serious Health Threat

Sacramento Bee: California Voters Could Get A Chance To Overturn New Vaccine Law
California’s new law restricting medical exemptions for vaccines has a challenge from a group of protesters who want voters to overturn it. Three women who protested the vaccine law, Senate Bill 276, at the Capitol this year on Wednesday submitted a petition for a referendum on it, according to an announcement from the Attorney General’s Office. They submitted a separate petition for a referendum on Senate Bill 714, which is a companion law that Gov. Gavin Newsom requested to narrow the vaccine law. (Ashton, 9/11)

The Boston Globe: Mass. Is At A ‘Critical Time’ For EEE, Health Commissioner Says
Though the calendar has flipped to September and daytime temperatures are a bit cooler and people may no longer have mosquitoes on the mind, Eastern equine encephalitis remains a “serious concern” in Massachusetts, Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said Wednesday. ... Risks have been flagged in more than half of the state’s 351 communities: 36 are at critical risk for EEE, 42 are at high risk, and 115 are at moderate risk, according to the DPH. (Lannan, 9/11)

Georgia Health News: Hospitals Anxious As State Crafts Rules On Disclosing Their Finances
Nonprofit hospitals in Georgia soon will face tough new financial transparency rules, under a law passed earlier this year by the General Assembly. The new law will require disclosure of data on executives’ compensation and the financial holdings of hospitals. The state is developing regulations on how it will be implemented, and there is considerable anxiety among Georgia hospital executives as they await the deadlines and rules about the disclosures. (Miller, 9/11)

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Hundreds Of Jobs, Programs, Would Be Slashed From Georgia Budget
Hundreds of state jobs would be eliminated and positions frozen — from consumer protection staffers and drivers license workers to school safety coordinators — under plans drawn up to meet Gov. Brian Kemp’s demand to cut spending. ... Not everything will be cut equally across state government. Some massive enrollment-driven programs — such as K-12 schools, universities and Medicaid, the health care program for the poor and disabled — are exempt. ... Grants to local domestic violence shelters and sexual assault centers would be cut $1.3 million over the next two years. The Department of Public Health would cut grants to county health departments by $12.6 million and trauma care would take a $1.67 million hit. (Salzar, 9/11)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Mayor ‘Wary’ Of Trump’s Offer For Homeless Aid. But Says CA Cities Should Listen
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and other California elected officials are skeptical as the Trump administration focuses attention on homelessness in California cities, but are hopeful more federal funding could be on the way to address the growing crisis. ... “Homelessness is our most serious problem and deserves a serious response,” Steinberg said in a statement. “I am wary of any such offer from an administration that consistently demonizes vulnerable people. And yet, if the federal government wants to offer resources to help bring people indoors and to offer federal facilities to shelter and house people, we should readily listen. We cannot afford to politicize an issue which needs real thought and real commitment.” (Clift, 9/11)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Kept Beds For Mentally Ill Empty Out Of Concern For Patient Safety, Officials Say
The Department of Public Health told The Chronicle that it decided to stop admitting people into a long-term care facility for mentally ill patients last year — and instead leave more than 20 beds empty every night — because the facility was unsafe due to staff negligence and errors. Officials said that decision, made in 2018, was spurred by years of anonymous complaints filed with the state regarding the Adult Residential Facility, a long-term treatment site located on the San Francisco General Hospital campus. The complaints, state records show, include a staff member allowing a patient to walk naked to the bathroom in front of others and medication mismanagement. (Thadani, 9/11)

CT Mirror: Longtime CEO Of Connecticut Health Foundation Will Retire In 2020
Patricia Baker, a founding member of the Connecticut Health Foundation and the group’s leader since its 1999 inception, said Wednesday that she will retire next year. ... In the foundation’s early days, Baker focused the group’s efforts on tackling children’s mental health issues, addressing gaps in oral health care and taking on racial and ethnic health disparities. Its work included early intervention strategies and public support for children at risk of mental health issues, funding and advocacy to confront untreated dental problems, and data-driven studies of health inequalities. (Carlesso, 9/11)

The Associated Press: Florida Businessman Faces Sentencing In $1B Medicare Fraud
A Florida health care executive is facing sentencing following his conviction on 20 criminal charges in what prosecutors described as a $1 billion Medicare fraud scheme. A Miami federal judge Thursday is set to sentence 50-year-old Philip Esformes in one of the biggest such cases in U.S. history. Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year prison term, while Esformes' lawyers as asking for a lenient sentence. (9/12)

Los Angeles Times: Forest Thinning Projects Won’t Stop The Worst Wildfires. So Why Is California Spending Millions On Them?
Four months after the town of Paradise was incinerated in the most destructive wildfire in California history, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an emergency proclamation, ordering agencies to thin trees and clear shrubs near some of the state’s most fire-threatened communities. Saying the $32 million in projects were vital “to protect the lives and property of Californians” he swept aside environmental reviews and competitive bidding requirements to speed the work. (Boxall, 9/11)

San Jose Mercury News: When Depression Kills: Son’s Suicide Moves San Jose State Alum Reggie Burton To Help Other Parents
One in four college students suffers from depression. The suicide rate among Americans, ages 15 to 24, has reached its highest level since 1960, and suicide is the second leading cause of death for this age group. [Author Reggie] Burton thinks these statistics should resonate at this time of year, as the school year ramps up at Stanford, UC Berkeley, San Jose State and other schools. (Ross, 9/11)

CT Mirror: School Food Service, Another Divide Between Rich And Poor
Since 2006, every school district in the nation has been required to have a school wellness policy. Whether that means a few words on a paper that gets pulled out at inspection time, or real efforts to make healthy changes, however, is entirely up to each district. Over the past several years, Marlene Shwartz, a professor at UConn’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, has analyzed the wellness policies at each school across Connecticut. “We thought the wealthier districts would have stronger policies, but we found the opposite,” Shwartz said. “Wealthier districts thought they didn’t have a problem. They kind of blew it off. We found the best policies in the cities, with New Haven being the best.” (Werth, 9/12)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Series Of Inspections Finds Ongoing Problems At Behavioral Health Division'S Hospital In Wauwatosa
The Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division has signed a multi-year agreement with federal regulators to correct problems at the Mental Health Complex in Wauwatosa after a series of inspections found ongoing problems with documentation at the psychiatric hospital. The agreement was signed last month with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and requires the Behavioral Health Division to take steps, including hiring an outside consultant, to address violations of federal regulations. (Boulton, 9/11)

Los Angeles Times: Nearly 3,000 Illegal Marijuana Businesses Found In California Audit, Dwarfing Legal Trade
California’s black market for cannabis is at least three times the size of its regulated weed industry, according to an audit made public Wednesday, the latest indication of the state’s continued struggle to tame a cannabis economy that has long operated in legal limbo. The audit, conducted by the United Cannabis Business Assn., found approximately 2,835 unlicensed dispensaries and delivery services operating in California. By comparison, only 873 cannabis sellers in the state are licensed, according to the Bureau of Cannabis Control. (Queally and McGreevy, 9/11)

Modern Healthcare: Temple University Health System CEO To Step Down
Temple University Health System CEO Dr. Larry Kaiser will step down at the end of the year, capping an eight-year tenure at the institution. The academic health system's chief restructuring officer Stuart McLean will become the acting CEO on Sept. 30 as Kaiser focuses on the transition, Temple announced Tuesday. Emeritus Dean John Daly will replace Kaiser at the university's medical school as the interim dean of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. (Kacik, 9/11)

Sacramento Bee: A Utah Firefighter Was Killed By An Air Retardant Drop. His Widow Is Suing Cal Fire
One year after a Utah firefighter was killed when a supertanker dropped nearly 20,000 gallons of fire retardant near his position, his widow is suing Cal Fire and the aircraft company for alleged negligence. Matthew Burchett, a 42-year-old battalion chief from Draper, Utah, was killed Aug. 13, 2018, when a modified Boeing 747-400 owned by Global SuperTanker Services LLC dropped its load of retardant from only 100 feet above the treetops and knocked an 87-foot-tall Douglas fir directly onto Burchett and three other firefighters, the lawsuit and a Cal Fire report say. (Stanton, 9/11)

The Associated Press: Concerns Rise Over Tainted Sewage Sludge Spread On Croplands
For more than 20 years, the eastern Michigan town of Lapeer sent leftover sludge from its sewage treatment plant to area farms, supplying them with high-quality, free fertilizer while avoiding the expense of disposal elsewhere. But state inspectors ordered a halt to the practice in 2017 after learning the material was laced with one of the potentially harmful chemicals known collectively as PFAS, which are turning up in drinking water and some foods across the U.S. (Flesher and Casey, 9/11)

The Associated Press: Cal State San Bernardino student diagnosed with TB
Health officials say a California State University, San Bernardino, student has been diagnosed with tuberculosis and they're urging about 400 students and employees to be tested. San Bernardino County health officials say they're contacting those who may have been exposed to the illness from April through August. However, authorities say the risk of infection is low. (9/11)