By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Cristiano Ronaldo with twin son and daughter, via Instagram; Ronaldo via Real Madrid

July 9, 2017 (La Mesa) – He’s been hailed as the greatest soccer star of all time by the Los Angeles Times and multiple international media outlets.  Now soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is the proud father of twins, born recently at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, according to British press reports. (The hospital has declined comment).

Ronaldo announced the birth of his twin son and daughter, Mateo and Eva Maria Dos Santo, on Instagram last month.  He also has a 7-ear-old son, Cristiano Junior.

Source: San Diego Blood Bank

July 6, 2017 (San Diego) - The San Diego Blood Bank, primary supplier of blood to the majority of hospitals in San Diego County, and the County of San Diego are teaming up once again to present the Live Well San Diego 5K benefitting the San Diego Blood Bank on Sunday, July 30, 2017.      

East County News Service

July 4, 2017 (La Mesa) – William (Bill) Bodry, founder of the Challenge Center in La Mesa and long-time champion of the disabled, died at his home of heart failure on his 72^nd birthday, June 15^th 2017.  A celebrate of life to honor his memory will be held on July 15 at 12 noon at the Challenge Center in La Mesa.

Bodry founded the Challenge Center in 1987 after suffering a spinal cord injury from botched surgery that left him paralyzed at age 27, with no adequate facility for long-term rehabilitation.  The center has had amazing results helping patients with severe brain and spinal cord injuries, as ECM reported back in 2008, enabling many severely disabled patients to walk, talk and achieve independence.  In his interview, Bodry shared his dream:  for the program he founded at Challenge Center to someday become a national model replicated nationwide.

Originally built in 1972 with 12 beds, the expanded emergency department will nearly double its patient capacity with space for future expansion

East County News Service

June 30, 2017 (San Diego) -- San Diego-based general contractor Pacific Building Group raised the final beam Thursday to complete or “top out” the steel structure of Alvarado Hospital Medical Center’s expanded emergency department while 100 guests looked on. Hospital staff and community members signed the beam, now situated within the structure.

June 28, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Three more GOP Senators announce opposition to healthcare bill (The Hill)
• New study links recreational marijuana to increase in car crashes (CS Monitor)
• Cardiologist: Breast implants skew heart attack test (BBC)
• Ebola virus burial teams may have 'saved thousands of lives' (BBC)
• Skin patches may be the future of flu vaccines, study suggests (CNN)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Google faces years of EU oversight on top of record antitrust fine (Reuters)
• Princeton-Trained Computer Scientists Are Building a New Internet That Brings Privacy and Property Rights to Cyberspace  (Reason)
• Facial Recognition May Boost Airport Security but Raises Privacy Worries (NPR)
• Jellied sea creatures confound scientists, fishermen on U.S. Pacific Coast (Reuters)
• Many firms hit by global cyber-attacks (BBC)
• Mark Zuckerberg explains why he just changed Facebook’s mission (CNN)
• Moth Eyes Inspire Glare-Resistant Coating for Cellphone Screens (NPR)
• Our Sun Probably Grew Up with a Sibling (Smithsonian)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Cost is key concern, though measure could advance with reforms in 2018

By Miriam Raftery

June 26, 2017 (Sacramento) – Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon has pulled the plug on the Healthy California Act, or Senate Bill 562, which would have provided free universal healthcare to all Californians.

By James Kecskes, County of San Diego Communications Office

June 22, 2017 (San Diego) - When Angela and her husband were facing difficulties, they did not know where to turn for help. But one organization stepped up and gave them all the support they needed, and more.

June 21, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting-edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Johns Hopkins researchers say they’ve unlocked the key to cancer metastasis – and how to slow it (Baltimore Sun)
• Trump ‘simply does not care’ about HIV/AIDS, say 6 experts who just quit his advisory council (Washington Post)
• Cholera Ravages Yemen (NPR)
• In Italy, parents can now be fined for skipping kids’ shots (Newsweek)
• A Good News Story About Diarrhea — With One Surprising Exception (NPR)
• Need to Fix a Heart Attack? Try Photosynthesis (Smithsonian)
• Cardiologist: Breast implants skew heart attack test (BBC)
• Survivors of Childhood Diseases Struggle to Find Care as Adults (NPR)
• Eating fried potatoes linked to higher risk of death, study says (Fox 5)
• Coconut oil 'as unhealthy as beef fat and butter' (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Coffee under threat: will it taste worse as the planet warms? (BBC)
• A Republican voter database firm likely exposed your personal information for days –and you don’t have much recourse (Los Angeles Times)
• Is the Concern Artificial Intelligence — Or Autonomy? (NPR)
• Silicon Valley giants outrank many nations, says first 'techplomat' (Reuters)
• China's quantum satellite makes breakthrough in secure communications (Reuters)
• Dams could 'permanently damage Amazon' (BBC)
• Trump’s divided desert: wildlife along the border wall (BBC)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

East County News Service

June 18, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – A new state program authorizes school districts to work with local water districts to provide free lead testing of drinking water at all school sites.  The results are in for Cajon Valley Union School District campuses, which draw water from three water agencies: Helix Water District, Otay Water District and Padre Dam Municipal Water District.

By Miriam Raftery

June 16, 2017 (La Mesa) – Dr. James Veltmeyer, Chief of the Department of Family Medicine at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, has proposed a new Medical Association Membership (MAM)  direct-payer health reform plan.   He has previously been named “Top Medical Doctor in San Diego,” for 2012, 2014, and 2016 according to his colleagues in the San Diego Medical Society,

He recently sat down for an interview with East County Magazine on KNSJ, which you can hear by clicking the audio link.

Dr. Veltmeyer has been a vocal critic of  the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare based in part on his wife, Laura, and her battle with breast cancer. 

By Joey Collado, General Manager at The Montera 

June 14, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - WESTliving, the organization that operates our senior living community, is a private family business founded through the efforts of Gary and Mary West. The Wests are also philanthropists and committed to successful aging. They have established a nonprofit institute that funds research into successful aging and develops solutions to support seniors and their quality of life. The Gary and Mary West Health Institute recently shared some interesting findings about aging.

East County News Service

June 13, 2017 (La Mesa) – The Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host “Qigong: Meditation in Motion,” a free program on Qigong, an ancient breathing technique originated in China, from 10 to 11 a.m., Wednesday, June 28. The program is part of the library’s “Wellness Wednesday” series, normally held on the fourth Wednesday of the month. Admission is free. Light refreshments will be served. Advance RSVP is not necessary. Handouts will be available.

By Yvette Urrea Moe, County of San Diego Communications Office

Image credit via PhotoSpin

June 9, 2017 (San Diego) - The County and City of San Diego will receive $6 million to provide substance abuse and mental health services to hundreds of people cited or charged with misdemeanor drug and property crimes across the region.

By Dr. James Veltmeyer

Dr. Veltmeyer is Chief of the Department of Family Medicine at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, La Mesa.  In 2016 he was a Republican candidate in the 53^rd Congressional District.

June 8, 2017 (La Mesa) -- Have you or a loved one ever been refused medical treatment because your insurance company refused to pay? Would you feel better if it was a government bureaucrat refusing to pay for your treatment, instead of an insurance company commissar? Of course not. Yet, this is the alternative that the misguided advocates of “single-payer” health care are offering Americans.

June 6, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting-edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• End of fillings in sight as scientists find Alzheimer’s drug makes teeth grow back (Telegraph)
• Major insurance company’s payment decision angers ER doctors (NBC)
• Americans sure seem to like universal healthcare  (Bloomberg News)

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Apple’s plan to kill autoplay could leave publishers in the dust (CNN)
• Trump’s blocking of Twitter uses violates U.S. Constitution: rights institute (Reuters)
• U.S. contractor Reality Winner arrested after NSA leak report (BBC)
• U.S. Congress plans self-driving car legislation to speed roll-out (Reuters)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.