State Highlights: Denver, D.C. Clear Homeless Camps; Utah Governor Abruptly Ends Distribution Of Condoms With Suggestive Phrases On Wrappers

Colorado Sun: “Where Are We Going To Go Now?” Denver Closes Park Near Capitol, Clears Homeless Camp Citing Rats, Health Hazards
Denver health officials see Lincoln Park across from the Colorado Capitol as a rat-infested, disease-harboring public danger they need to clean up. The few dozen people experiencing homelessness, who have been living there in tents, some for weeks, see it as home. On Wednesday morning the city used its public health authority to shut down the highly trafficked park and clear out a growing encampment. (Paul, 1/15)

The Washington Post: D.C. Clears Longtime Homeless Encampment Near Union Station
As the wind picked up Thursday morning, the District government had a message for those living in tents beneath a railroad underpass near Union Station: Whatever had brought them there and wherever they were headed, it was time to go. As 10 a.m. approached — the hour set for the closure of a homeless encampment in the 100 block of K Street NE — city officials, police and sanitation workers gathered while advocates checked tents and residents tried to secure their possessions. (Moyer, 1/16)

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Governor Stops Distribution Of Risqué State-Themed Condoms, Created To Raise Awareness Of HIV 
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has ordered state health officials to stop distributing condoms with suggestive Utah-themed packaging, created with federal funds as part of a new HIV awareness campaign. The wrappers riff on various Utah memes, with labels such as “Greatest Sex on Earth,” “SL,UT,” an image of a highway sign that displays the number of miles to towns “Fillmore” and “Beaver,” and “This is the Place” over a drawing of a bed.“ It’s really just to destigmatize HIV in Utah, and get everybody talking about sexual health,” said Erin Fratto, of the Utah Department of Health’s Prevention Treatment and Care Program, in an interview on Wednesday before the governor’s action. “If the condoms are fun, relatable, sex positive — people are more apt to talk about them, which we’ve already seen.” (Alberty, 1/17)

State House News Service: Mass. Senate Approves Sex Education Bill
The Senate voted Thursday to require comprehensive sex education curriculum in schools that teach the topic, easily advancing a bill that has proved controversial in the past. Under the bill, which passed 33-2, schools offering sex education would be required to provide medically accurate and age-appropriate information, including LGBTQ-inclusive material and discussion of consent, while allowing parents to opt their children out. (Lisinski, 1/16)

The New York Times: Yosemite National Park Says 170 People Ill In Possible Norovirus Outbreak
Some 170 people who have spent time in Yosemite National Park in recent weeks have suffered from a gastrointestinal ailment "consistent with norovirus" and two have been diagnosed with the illness, park officials said on Thursday. Most of those who became ill spent time in Yosemite Valley during or around the first week in January, park spokesman Scott Gediman said in a written statement, while the number of new cases reported has declined in the past several days. (1/16)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Ruling Deals Blow To Georgia Liver Transplant Hospitals, Patients
Georgia liver patients may see fewer livers and organs of lower quality available for transplant within weeks following a significant legal ruling over how the U.S. allocates donated livers. There are not enough liver donors to supply all the patients who need them, and different regions of the country fight over whether the government is fairly distributing the scarce livers available. (Hart, 1/16)

Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee TANF Surplus: New Questions Emerge From Lawmaker Hearing
State lawmakers came ready to make decisions Wednesday about how to spend a $732 million surplus in federal anti-poverty funds. They left instead with fresh, unanswered questions about financial oversight of the program run by the state Department of Human Services. There is "confusion" about financial data provided by DHS to the federal government about the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, Russell Moore, an official with the state comptroller's office, told lawmakers. (Wadhwani, 1/16)

Iowa Public Radio: Republican Senators Want Iowa Constitution To Say It Does Not Protect Abortion Rights
Republican senators renewed their effort Thursday to amend the Iowa Constitution to say it does not protect a right to abortion. Originally proposed around this time last year, the amendment is an attempt to undo a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court ruling that protects a fundamental right to abortion in the state. (Sostaric, 1/16)

Argus Leader: South Dakota Legislature: Bill Would Punish Doctors Who Perform Sex Reassignment Surgeries On Children
Rep. Fred Deutsch and 44 other lawmakers are proposing to make it a felony for medical professionals to treat transgender children with hormones and sex reassignment surgery in South Dakota.Deutsch, R-Florence, filed House Bill 1057, which he's calling the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, on Tuesday that would make it a Class 4 felony for a medical professional to conduct several practices on children, including emancipated children, in an attempt to change or affirm the child's "perception" of their sex "if that perception is inconsistent with the minor's sex."  (Kaczke, 1/5)

The CT Mirror: Young Children Would Be Removed From Juvenile Court System Under New Proposal
Members of the Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee will recommend to lawmakers that children younger than 12 not be tried in the juvenile court system. Currently, minors as young as 7 who commit crimes can be referred to the juvenile courts. Under the new proposal, which would take effect in 2021 if passed by the General Assembly, children under age 12 would be spared from criminal proceedings. (Lyons, 1/16)

Health News Florida: Parental Consent Measure One Step Away From Florida Senate Vote
A day after Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed the issue in his State of the State address, Republican lawmakers Wednesday continued moving forward with a proposal that would require parental consent before minors could have abortions. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 to approve the measure (SB 404) which is now one step away from going to the full Senate. A similar House bill (HB 265) is ready for a vote in the full House. (Saunders, 1/16)

Austin Statesman: 1st Case Of Rubella Since 1999 Confirmed In Travis County, Officials Say
Austin Public Health officials are investigating Travis County’s first confirmed case of rubella since 1999. The rubella case comes less than a month after the county’s first case of measles in 20 years was reported. A person contracted rubella, likely overseas, earlier this month and was being quarantined at home, Austin Public Health spokeswoman Jen Samp said. The person, whom officials did not identify except to describe as an adult, became contagious Jan. 3 and will be contagious for about another day. (Bradshaw, 1/16)

Health News Florida: Changes To Disability iBudget Program Draws Concern
A Senate panel on Wednesday took the first steps toward overhauling a complicated and expensive program designed to help thousands of Florida residents with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The proposal (SB 82), sponsored by Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, would represent a significant change to what is known as the iBudget program, which receives state and federal money to provide an array of Medicaid services so people with disabilities can live at home and outside of institutions. (Sexton, 1/16)

Dallas Morning News: Schools In D-FW Aren’t Being Hit Hard With The Flu, But It’s Too Soon To Know If The Season Has Peaked
While this flu season got off to an early start around Dallas-Fort Worth, school districts say they are thankful their students and staff haven’t been hit hard with the illness — at least so far. Campuses around the region said they haven’t seen spikes in absences related to cases of the flu, but health authorities throughout North Texas warned it’s too soon to know whether the worst of the flu season is still to come. Schools may notice fewer flu cases after a break, they said, but flu activity could rise once students have spent more time around each otherJennifer Finley, director of health services at Dallas ISD, said the timing of winter break with a rise in cases of the flu may have coincidentally kept kids from contracting the illness at school. (Branham and Keomoungkhoun, 1/16)

The Wall Street Journal: De Blasio Unveils $95.3 Billion Preliminary Budget With Eye On State Deficit
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday introduced a $95.3 billion preliminary budget for the coming fiscal year, nearly $1 billion more than the current year’s funds, even as officials expected tax revenues to grow at a slower pace and a state budget shortfall imperils the city’s health-care programs. The growth in the budget was lower than in previous years, with the increase in spending stemming from labor settlements, debt service and education and criminal justice mandates, including bail reform, city officials said. (Honan, 1/16)

Kansas City Star: Nurses Say They Paid Premiums For Months But Had No Coverage
Employees of a Johnson County hospital company say they made health care premium payments for months only to find out that their employer pocketed the funds, leaving them uninsured. Two nurses at Pinnacle Regional Hospital in Boonville, Missouri, filed a class action lawsuit against their employer Wednesday. That’s the same day the hospital announced it would abruptly close its doors within hours, citing a series of challenges with state regulators. (Hardy, 1/17)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Health-Care Cuts Coming For 500,000-Plus Retired Ohio Public Employees
Retired public employees will have to pay more for their health care starting in January 2022 following a 9-2 vote Wednesday by the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System board.“The basic problem is we have no money to fund health care,” OPERS Executive Director Karen Carraher said. The health care trust fund, which is separate from the pension fund, will last 11 years with no additional funding. But OPERS’ analysts estimate it will be at least 15 years before the pension fund can resume setting aside money for the health fund. (Staver, 1/16)

Sacramento Bee: CA Wants To Post “No Smoking” Signs At Parks, Beaches
The State of California wants to spend $2 million to remind you that it is against the law to smoke in state parks and beaches. The California Department of Parks and Recreation issued a budget request in order to bring the state into compliance with Senate Bill 8, which bans smoking and vaping at state parks and beaches. If you’re caught, it’s a $25 fine. (Sheeler, 1/15)