State Highlights: Polluted Drinking Water Plagues Coal-Fueled County In Kentucky; Officials Probe Salmonella Outbreak In 7 States

The Washington Post: A Crisis In Kentucky Shows The High Cost Of Clean Drinking Water
When the well water here turned brown and started tasting salty, Heather Blevins’s parents hooked their property on Dead Man’s Curve into the municipal supply. It seemed like a blessing until new hazards emerged: Today, Blevins says, the tap water smells of bleach, occasionally takes on a urine-colored tinge, and leaves her 7- and 8-year-old children itching every time they take a bath. “The way the water is now, I’d rather have well water,” said Blevins, 44, who keeps a constant eye on the county water district’s Facebook page to watch for pipe breaks and boil-water advisories. Blevins, who says her water rates rocketed recently from $19 to almost $40 a month, sets aside money from her $980 Social Security check for bottled drinking water and chemical-free baby wipes to keep her allergy-prone children clean. (Stead Sellers, 4/16)

Reuters: U.S. Health Officials Probe Multi-State Salmonella Outbreak
U.S. federal health officials said on Tuesday an investigation is underway over a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections linked to frozen ground tuna, which were imported into the United States by seafood retailer Jensen Tuna. No deaths were reported so far, but seven people have been hospitalized, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement. (4/16)

The Associated Press: Oregon Foster Care System Targeted In Federal Lawsuit
Oregon's foster care system has failed to shield children from abuse and they are sometimes forced to stay in refurbished jail cells and homeless shelters, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. The 77-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court details stories of foster children being neglected or harmed while under Department of Human Services care, including a 16-year-old girl sent to a juvenile jail after she had previously tried to kill herself. (4/16)

The CT Mirror: State Reviewing Nursing Home Strike Contingency Plans
State health officials have begun their own preparations in advance of threatened strikes planned for May 1 at 20 Connecticut nursing homes. The Department of Public Health announced Tuesday it has begun reviewing the targeted facilities’ contingency care plans, as well as the credentials of potential replacement workers. (Phaneuf, 4/16)

North Carolina Health News: NC’s Long-Term Care Residents Would Get More Spending Money Under Proposed Laws 
Costs of prescription meds, medical copays, grooming, transportation and other needs pile up quickly for residents of North Carolina’s homes for older people and those with disabilities. Bills filed Monday in the North Carolina House of Representatives, which have bipartisan backing, would increase the cash available for those whose income pays for their stays, but who are otherwise allowed few resources. Called the personal needs allowance, the spending money would increase from $30 for nursing home residents, and from $46 for those in assisted living up to $70 per month. In addition, assisted living residents would get $20 in an income set-aside. (Goldsmith and Hoban, 4/17)

The New York Times: Stanford Clears Professor Of Helping With Gene-Edited Babies Experiment
Stanford University has cleared Stephen Quake, a bioengineering professor, of any wrongdoing in his interactions with a Chinese researcher who roiled the scientific world by creating the first gene-edited babies. “In evaluating evidence and witness statements, we found that Quake observed proper scientific protocol,” said a letter from the university to Dr. Quake, obtained by The New York Times on Tuesday. Referring to the Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, by his nickname, JK, the letter said that Stanford’s investigators concluded that Dr. Quake did not “directly participate in any way in JK’s research, including in the conception or performance of the work.” (Belluck, 4/16)

KQED: Despite Warnings Of Contaminated Water, Some Paradise Residents Are Moving Back
The extent of the latest crisis unfolding in Paradise is yet unknown: The deadly fire may also have contaminated up to 173 miles of pipeline in the town's water system with cancer-causing benzene and other volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Preliminary results have shown contamination in about a third of the lines tested, though only about 2 percent of the entire system has been sampled. (Siegler, 4/16)

Sacramento Bee: California Owes $7 Billion For Pensions Next Year
California state government’s bill for public employee pensions is set to rise by $676 million.CalPERS on Tuesday advanced a scheduled increase in employer contribution rates, bringing the state’s total bill for the 2019-2020 budget year to about $7 billion. That money comes out of taxes and fees collected by the state and is part of the compensation promised to state workers. (Venteicher, 4/17)

Concord (N.H.) Monitor: Cases Of Hepatitis A Are Growing In N.H.
New Hampshire is continuing to see a growing outbreak of hepatitis A, a disease that harms the liver and can in extreme cases be fatal but which is prevented by vaccination. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services says the state saw 33 hepatitis A diagnoses in March, which is three times the number that usually happen over an entire year. (Brooks, 4/16)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Hepatitis A Outbreak Spreading In NH Has Already Claimed A Life 
New Hampshire usually sees six or seven new hepatitis A cases per year, but just since November the state has identified 79 new cases. One of those cases has even claimed the life of an adult in Merrimack County, according to the state Division of Public Health Services, which declined to provide any further information about the victim. (Feathers, 4/16)

Detroit Free Press: Pharmacies Expand Health Services, Offering Dental, Acne And Sick Care
Meijer, CVS and Walgreens are among drugstores across metro Detroit that are expanding their health care services, offering much more than prescriptions.  Pharmacists, nurse practitioners and technicians are now in stores to help with everything from acne treatment to teeth straightening to eyelash lengthening, along with strep tests, rapid influenza screenings, vaccines, and HIV testing and treatment. (Wisely, 4/17)

Georgia Health News: Georgia Women Doctors To Take Over Top Posts At National Physician Organizations
The Association of American Medical Colleges reported in 2017 that for the first time ever, women made up a majority (50.7 percent) of those enrolling in medical schools. That trend continued last year, with 51.6 percent of enrollees being women. (Miller, 4/16)

Denver Post: Colorado Teenage Suicide: As Numbers Rise, Kids Say Adults Need To Catch Up
Suicide has become a reality teenagers face across Colorado, as the number of youths killing themselves has increased, solidifying it as the leading cause of death in this state for individuals between the ages of 10 and 24. Between 2015 and 2017, there were 533 suicides by teens and children, up from 340 such deaths between 2003 and 2005, according to a report by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. But even as multiple high school students in the Denver area have died by suicide in recent weeks, and many students can name friends or classmates who have died or tried to harm themselves, teenagers say they struggle to find people to talk to as openly as they would like to about mental health. (Seaman, 4/14)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Is This The Beginnining Of The End For Ohio's Death Penalty?
After 27 years of lawsuits and appeals with three cases pending at the county, state and federal level, Wogenstahl was granted an indefinite stay of execution by the Ohio Supreme Court last fall due to open questions about his case. Since then, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has suspended all executions in a continuing struggle for the state to find a painless way to kill death row inmates.With drug suppliers refusing to allow their products to be used to kill people and botched executions making headlines, Ohio's death penalty is on life support. (Knight, 4/16)

Los Angeles Times: To Steer Her Child Away From Obesity, A Mother Turns Her Life Upside Down
Early childhood obesity is one of the most intractable health issues facing Los Angeles County, where about 20% of 3- and 4-year-olds are obese. Among school-age children, 45% are overweight or obese by the time they reach fifth grade — higher than the percentage of Californians as a whole. (Boyd-Barrett, 4/16)

ProPublica: Cook County Judge Loosens Unusual Restrictions On Publishing Details Of Child Welfare Case
A Cook County judge Monday lifted part of her previous order prohibiting ProPublica Illinois from publishing some details of a child welfare case it has been investigating, conceding that the restriction was “overbroad.” At the same time, Patricia Martin, the presiding judge of the Cook County Juvenile Court’s child protection division, continued to block the news organization from publishing the names or pictures of the minors involved in the case. While acknowledging the constitutional right of ProPublica Illinois to publish, the judge ruled that her restriction on disclosing the identities is necessary to protect the children. (Dumke and Mills, 4/15)

The Washington Post: D.C. Housed The Homeless In Upscale Sedgwick Gardens Apartments. It Hasn’t Gone As Planned.
The SWAT team, the overdose, the complaints of pot smoke in the air and feces in the stairwell — it would be hard to pinpoint a moment when things took a turn for the worse at Sedgwick Gardens, a stately apartment building in Northwest Washington. But the Art Deco complex, which overlooks Rock Creek Park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is today the troubled locus of a debate on housing policy in a city struggling with the twin crises of homelessness and gentrification. (Jamison, 4/16)

Austin American-Statesman: Austin's Fringe Benefit Group Buys North Texas-Based Health Care Firm
Austin-based Fringe Benefit Group, which creates employee benefit packages, said Tuesday that it has acquired North Texas-based Century Healthcare. Century Healthcare, which will keep its name under the deal, specializes in customized medical plans for employers. Fringe Benefit Group said the acquisition will double the company’s limited benefit medical plan premium, bringing it to roughly $100 million. (Cobler, 4/16)

WBUR: Colorado's Oil And Gas Regulators Must Now Consider Public Health And Safety
After years of tension over expanded oil and gas drilling, including a deadly explosion that galvanized critics, Colorado is moving to tighten regulations on the booming industry. In a sweeping overhaul the governor is expected to sign, regulators will now have to consider public health, safety and the environment in decisions about permitting and local land use. (Hood, 4/16)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Opens A Homeless Shelter In Hollywood. But Those Still Outside Are Facing A Crackdown
A new shelter has opened in Hollywood, sweeping 72 people off the aging entertainment district’s sidewalks. But the opening has triggered a crackdown on street camps that advocates warn is criminalizing homeless people. The $3-million Schrader shelter, between Sunset and Hollywood boulevards, is the second facility to open its doors under Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “A Bridge Home” initiative. (Holland, 4/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Compromises — Slightly — On Embarcadero Navigation Center After Month-Long Backlash
San Francisco officials signaled a willingness Monday to compromise — slightly — with residents of Rincon Hill, South Beach and other waterfront neighborhoods who are staunchly opposed to a plan to bring a Navigation Center to the Embarcadero. After more than a month of divisive, sometimes vitriolic debate, Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Matt Haney jointly announced changes to the city’s proposal meant to make the center’s arrival less jarring for its future neighbors. (Fracassa, 4/15)

Boston Globe: ‘Huge Case Of Bitter Grapes’: Marijuana Community Divided Over Proposed Crackdown On Pot Dealers
With sales of $14 million, Northern Herb was one of the biggest Massachusetts marijuana operations shut down in recent memory. But even now with recreational pot legal in the state, the size of Northern Herb and its many competitors shows that the illegal market continues to thrive — undercutting the legal trade, and filling a need for many consumers. (Martin, 4/16)