SACRAMENTO — A study released this week has found that a law aimed at boosting vaccination rates across California had the greatest effect in high-risk areas where the vaccination rates were the lowest. The peer-reviewed study published in the journal PLOS Medicine on Monday shows that the 2016 legislation contributed to a...
Scrutiny of Vaccine Exemptions Banishes Some From Schools
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Carl and Kerri Schwartz say they have good medical reason for not vaccinating their disabled 11-year-old son, Thorn, and until recently his local public school went along with their family doctor's advice. That changed, the Schwartzes said, when New York state did away with religious exemptions for...
California Lawmaker, Governor Reach Deal on Vaccine Bill
SACRAMENTO — The author of a California bill limiting medical exemptions for vaccinations is accepting Gov. Gavin Newsom's demand for additional changes. Sen. Richard Pan on Friday amended a companion bill to reflect the governor's wishes, days after lawmakers sent Newsom a bill cracking down on doctors who sell fraudulent...
Newsom’s California Vaccine Bill Change Surprises Backers
SACRAMENTO — Medical groups and a lawmaker behind California legislation to crack down on vaccine exemptions said Wednesday they were surprised by Gov. Gavin Newsom's last-minute call for changes to the bill, a move that inserted fresh uncertainty into one of the year's most contentious issues. It was the second...
Walters: Deadly Force Law Finally and Rightfully Changed
The record of the 2019 legislative session – Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first – is still a work in progress, but his signature on Assembly Bill 392 this week makes it a success, no matter what else happens. The measure, creating a tighter standard for use of deadly force by police, was long...
Walters: Deadly Force Law Finally and Rightfully Changed
The record of the 2019 legislative session – Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first – is still a work in progress, but his signature on Assembly Bill 392 this week makes it a success, no matter what else happens. The measure, creating a tighter standard for use of deadly force by police, was long...
Vaccine Exemptions: Do Health Officials Want to Override MDs?
Do local health officials want the responsibility for reviewing medical exemptions for required childhood immunizations? A proposed state law has put the debate over government involvement in personal health care decisions and parental rights back in the spotlight. Fresno County Public Health Director David Pomaville has mixed feelings. “It becomes...
Freedom of Information Act Under Assault By Government at All Levels
Just over a year ago, a Freedom of Information Act release by the National Park Service demonstrably proved that the President of the United States was lying about the size of his inauguration crowd. That he was even elected president was, in part, because his opponent had improperly stored federal...