After case numbers decreased during the COVID pandemic, syphilis cases are back up. At least in Sonoma County. There’s been 144 cases of early-stage syphilis recorded this year, compared to 116 cases and 120 cases in 2020. The increase this year is concerning to health experts who say they’re mostly concerned about expectant moms at risk of infecting babies when they’re born. The Sonoma County Public Health Dept. says the cases are always up and down, but more people are getting tested now than they did during lockdown, so that could account for the small spike in new cases. The department reports it’s similar across the nation, and in Calif. Syphilis going untreated can cause serious health problems.
Kaiser Permanente Nurses and nurse practitioners have voted for a new four-year contract with some of the largest salary increases in about 2 decades. The California Nurses Association represents over 21,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners across Northern California. The union president says the new contract, which includes a 22.5% increase, will help them recruit new nurses and retain RN’s, but most importantly, she says, it will help them provide patients with improved care. Kaiser had been talking to the union since summertime. They announced a tentative deal last month, just ahead of an intended strike and after a 10-week strike by mental health workers earlier this year.
An elderly man in a 2007 Cadillac has died after a car crash near Fort Bragg. The Sheriff’s Office and CHP reported the crash Friday night on SR-20, east of Fort Bragg ended after the driver left the road, rolled down an embankment and crashed into several trees, resting on its roof. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators say he was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. The 81-year-old man’s name was withheld until next of kin could be notified.
Governor Newsom has convened a special session of the Legislature to consider a cap on excess oil and gas profits – money the Governor says is straight up – price gouging. According to Triple-A, gas in California is way higher than the national average. Alexander Walker Griffin is vice mayor of the city of Hercules and praised the move.
:07 "We've seen the record-breaking prices at the pump, $6-, $7-a-gallon gas prices at our local gas stations, which is why have to do something."
Tag: The oil and gas industry cites multiple reasons for the price hikes, blaming reduced capacity at refineries due to maintenance, plus the state’s moves to phase out fossil fuels, and supply issues related to the war in Ukraine.
Second Cut: Igor Tregub is a Ukrainian immigrant who chairs the environmental caucus for the California Democratic Party. He says the continued dependence on foreign oil is fueling Vladimir Putin’s war.
:13 "The nerve of oil and gas corporations to use the war in my homeland to make exorbitant profits is inhumane. The Legislature must see this as a national security issue and get it done. "
Third Cut: Former San Luis Obispo mayor Heidi Harmon says the state needs to hold the fossil-fuel industry accountable – and plow excess profits into programs that mitigate the effects of global warming.
A new study says the wine industry has a major impact on the state’s economy. The report put together by a pair of wine industry groups says the wine industry contributes over 73-billion-dollars a year to California. One official with the California Association of Winegrape Growers says the report shows that California vineyards are “cradles of economic growth and pillars to many communities around the state. The study also shows that the economic impact of the wine industry has grown by almost 30-percent in the last six years.
As Fentanyl continues to be used nationwide, a bill has been introduced in the Calif. Legislature to help prevent children from overdosing on drugs. The senator from San Jose officially introduced the bill that would give more school districts the reversal medication Narcan and train staff how to administer it. Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Most people dying from it across the state are under the age of 24.
More inflation relief payments are going out this week. The Middle-Class-Tax-Refund by way of direct deposit or debit cards have been sent out to millions across the state already. This week another bunch of debit cards went out. But most have already received their money by direct deposit. The state Franchise Tax Board says 95-percent of all payments will be made before the first of the year. Last week we reported 21-million people had already received their payment to help offset high gas and cost of living prices.
The continued strike by 48-thousand University of California workers has entered the fourth week. There are plans to continue the protest until officials resume bargaining talks. There was a report of a group staging a sit-in for three hours at the UC Office of the President in Oakland then disrupted a meeting. And In Sacramento, about 17 people were cited for trespassing at another office, while about two-thousand workers rallied outside the Capitol building.
A request has been made for emergency protection for the Clear Lake hitch. The Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians, Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake and the Scotts Valley Band of Pomos with the Center for Biological Diversity is making the request under the Endangered Species Act. They say the fish’s numbers have gone off a cliff over recent years and that it’s possible, if something’s not done soon, they’ll be extinct. The chair of the Big Band of Pomos said state and federal agencies need to try harder and should welcome Tribes to co-manage their land and waters. And a lawyer for the Center says the hitch cannot take another year of failed spawning, and says the Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to protect the hitch and only” emergency protections can correct this grievous error and give the hitch a fighting chance.”
Longer hours in place over at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley’s Pediatrics clinic. This week the pediatrics team announced they’ll have an after-hours clinic Mondays and Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This is for parents who have been seeing the doctors with their children already, and who may need additional help during the surge of respiratory disorder cases in Mendocino County. They’re mostly seeing children with cold, flu, RSV or COVID symptoms. They are also accepting same-day appointments for sick children and ask for parents to schedule appointments during normal operating hours for services like prescription refills, wellness visits and physicals.
