Some of California’s most prized rivers, beaches and streams are indeed contaminated with levels of fecal bacteria that exceed state limits, threatening the state’s reputation as a bastion of environmental protection.

The agreement includes the appointment of a jointly approved special monitor who will be charged with ensuring that Sutter is following the terms of the agreement for at least the next 10 years.

Even though mental illness affects one in five adults – and depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide – secrecy and stigma around the issue continue.

Living in rural America certainly comes with a number of benefits, including less crime and a lower cost of living. But rural Americans also face disparity in health care, exacerbated in part by insurance carriers and the networks they put together for their consumers.

“Warmlines,” phone lines or electronic chat options for people who are not having a full-blown mental health crisis but who could use support to stave off one. are a growing trend in mental health outreach to supplement existing hotlines. One successful warmline recently expanded to cover all of California.

Physicians say the law’s constraints on what insurers now pay has given the companies an unfair advantage in negotiations with doctors, which is leading to major changes that may affect patients.

Students are being lured by full-ride scholarships to medical schools, and full-fledged doctors are being offered loan repayment programs to serve low-income residents or work in underserved areas.

Across California, low-income households faced hunger and financial crisis as the food in their refrigerators spoiled during October’s unprecedented, deliberate blackouts. 

Experts recommend children be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their lives. But many mothers return to work well before that and often have trouble finding a suitable place to pump and store their breast milk.

Starting in January, young adults can sign up for California’s Medicaid program regardless of immigration status.

But a fundamental question looms: Will they?

Some young people already say they won’t enroll in public coverage because they fear federal immigration policies could later penalize them for participating — though that fear might be unfounded.