In the 2019 American economy, the big are getting bigger. Mergers are everywhere — the number of mergers and acquisitions exceeded 15,000 in 2017, a record for a single year, with 2018 a close second.

A prior story about Liz Salmi ended on a hopeful note, with the long-term brain cancer patient quitting her job and flying to Austria to participate as a fellow in an annual conference on topics of global importance. 

California is facing a growing shortage of primary care physicians, one that is already afflicting  rural areas and low-income inner city areas, and is forecasted to impact millions of people within ten years.

California recently approved a longer paid family leave, allowing workers whose blessed events fall on the right side of the new law to take up to eight weeks off with partial pay to bond with a new baby. How’s that going to work? 

Now that it’s upending the way you play music, cook, shop, hear the news and check the weather, the friendly voice emanating from your Amazon Alexa-enabled smart speaker is poised to wriggle its way into all things health care.

After Bethany Sasaki became certified as a lactation consultant about a decade ago, she took a break from her hospital nursing job to earn some cash consulting while caring for her newborn son. She drove all over the Sacramento region to meet with moms struggling to breastfeed. And her phone kept on ringing.

Last year, California passed legislation that made it the first state to establish voluntary standards for workplace mental health. Companies like Sutter Health, Walgreens and Bank of America quickly signed on to address mental health wellness in the workplace. Will others follow suit?

Federal lawmakers are responding to a trend of increasing temperatures with a new push for better workplace safety. Some are looking to existing laws in California as a template.