Governor Newsom is headed to the East Coast for tomorrow’s presidential debate. He’ll get an up close look as President Biden and former President Trump square off on stage in Atlanta. It’s reported he’ll serve as a surrogate for the Biden campaign, talking to journalists after the debate. This follows Newsom’s State of the State speech yesterday where he said this year, voters “are presented with a choice between a society that embraces our values and a world darkened by division and discrimination.”
California is taking action to prevent another pandemic. Health officials plan to use new technologies and tools to prepare for future outbreaks. The focus will now be on precision medicine which can analyze vast amounts of data to better understand diseases. This will lead to more targeted diagnostics, therapeutics and prevention measures. Essentially, Governor Newsom says it will help with early detection and faster response.
The state is expanding health care for the youngest of patients. Governor Newsom says “For the children suffering from the worst and most serious illnesses, we must support the hospitals that give them a fighting chance to live and thrive.” A new agreement will provide more funding for the Department of Health Care Services to support California children’s hospitals now and in the future.
Two more California measures are being kept off the November ballot. Both are related to health care. One would have created a new agency to oversee research in detecting future outbreaks of diseases. The second aimed to put more money towards lower-priced prescriptions, among other things. Governor Newsom says state legislation can accomplish the same goals with different sources of funding.
A new report from a civil grand jury is critical of the mental health care system and other conditions in Sonoma County Jail. The report, released Tuesday, names several issues, including chronic understaffing, inmates’ prolonged confinement to cells, and a lack of adequate medical care and substance abuse treatment. The civil grand jury says the jail is ill-equipped to manage and care for its inmates. The report also says nearly half of the inmates being held at Sonoma County’s Main Adult Detention Facility have been diagnosed with a mental health issue.
Fire retardant may be a bigger concern for grape growers in the Dry Creek Valley than smoke taint. Harry Merlo Junior, who owns a vineyard near the site of the Point Fire, tells the Press Democrat some of his grapes are covered in fire retardant. He believes 20 of his 100 acres of planted vines are coated with the red liquid dropped by firefighting planes last week. Very little of Merlo’s vineyard was damaged by flames, but he is still bracing for a total crop loss this year. The Sonoma County wine region’s trade group says full damage estimates from the Point Fire are not expected for weeks.
Crews have stopped the forward progress of another wildfire in Sonoma County. The Preston Fire started north of Cloverdale at about 4:30 Tuesday afternoon. It burned eleven acres of land before crews got a handle on it in about an hour and a half. There are no reports of injuries or property damage.
The Preston Fire near the Mendocino / Sonoma County line flared up yesterday afternoon. The vegetation fire is burning near Highway 101 and Geysers Road on the east side of the Russian River, north of Cloverdale according to Cal Fire. As of the last update around midnight, forward progress had been stopped, the fire was 60% contained and crews were on scene securing control lines and mopping up.
The Chief of the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit is retiring. Chief Mike Marcucci made the announcement yesterday. His last day with the department will be this Friday. CalFire says Assistant Chief Kirk van Wormer will step in as acting unit Chief until they can permanently replace Marcucci. The Marcucci name has been a staple in California fire service. Someone from the family has served since 1923, starting with his grandfather who was a decorated fire fighter in Marin County. Marcucci spent 34 years in fire service, the last 27 with Cal Fire.
