By Karen Pearlman

Nov. 4, 2025 (East County) – The Grossmont Healthcare District has a new Chief Executive Officer. 

Santee resident James Sly was unanimously approved by the five-member GHD board to be the Grossmont Healthcare District CEO and lead the organization on Tuesday afternoon.

Sly, who has been the CEO of the East County Economic Development Council since December 2020, will start as the GHD CEO on Dec. 15. His salary will be $270,000 a year with a yearly $5,000 stipend.

Aaron Byzak, who has been the interim CEO for the Grossmont Healthcare District since March 2025 following the GHD board's decision to not renew the contract of Christian Wallis, will stay as interim director until Dec. 19, and he will continue to be the communication strategy consultant for the GHD.

By Yvette Urrea Moe, County of San Diego Communications Office

October 23, 2025 (San Diego) - The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office is urging people to check their homes and collect unused or expired prescription medications and turn them in on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

October 20, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• California company recalls nearly 245,000 pounds of pasta tied to listeria outbreak (AP)
• Officials confirm first US cases of more severe mpox strain with no travel history
• The CDC says people must consult a health professional before COVID shot (NPR)
• GOP senators urge RFK Jr. to crack down on medication abortion (The Hill)
• Psychiatrists call for RFK Jr. to be replaced as health secretary (NPR)
• RFK Jr. fires NIH vaccine whistleblower Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo (CBS)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Coral reefs become first environmental system on Earth to pass climate "tipping point," report says (CBS)
• Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity (BBC)
• California just passed new AI and social media laws. Here's what they mean for Big Tech  (CNBC)
• Amazon's AWS struggles to recover after major outage disrupts apps, services worldwide (Reuters)

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

By Paul Levikow

Photo via Alliance of Healthcare Unions 

October 15, 2025 (San Diego) -- A five-day strike by health care workers at  Kaiser Permanente facilities entered its second day Wednesday affecting three hospitals in San Diego County.

The strike is part of a walkout statewide in California and Hawaii involving 31,000 members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care professionals. Members include registered nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, rehab therapists, dietitians, speech-language pathologists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives and other specialty health workers.

October 2, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH 

• What the shutdown means for Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs (NBC)
• American Health Insurance Providers issues statement on vaccines (AHIP)
• How Trump Boosted Bizarre ‘Medbed’ Conspiracy Theory With Deleted Post (Forbes)
• Scientists create human eggs in the lab, using skin cells (NPR)
• RFK Jr. 'rejects' a U.N. declaration on non-communicable diseases   (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Trump DOE bans words including climate change and green  (NPR)
• How a major DOE report hides the whole truth on climate change  (Politico)
• A massive telecom threat was stopped right as world leaders gathered at UN headquarters in New York(AP)
• NPR cuts $5 million as public radio stations struggle to pay bills  (NPR)
• AI just created a working virus. The U.S. isn’t prepared for that. (Washington Post)

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By Alexander J. Schorr

Miriam Raftery contributed to this report

September 28, 2025 (Washington D.C.) -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just approved a version of Leucovorin for autism treatment of children. This action comes after President Donald Trump claimed that Tylenol taken during pregnancy can cause autism, despite the fact that numerous studies have found Tylenol safe to take during pregnancy to reduce pain and fever—conditions that left untreated can damage an unborn child.

Source:  Alex Padilla

September 26, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), co-founder of the bipartisan Senate Mental Health Caucus, and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) announced that the Senate unanimously passed their bipartisan legislation to strengthen the cybersecurity protocols for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in response to previous outages that resulted in a day-long outage for those in crisis. The 9-8-8 Lifeline Cybersecurity Responsibility Act passed as part of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes key public health programs focused on prevention, treatment, and recovery for patients with substance use disorder.

September 18, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• West Coast states issue joint vaccine guidelines in shift away from CDC (ABC)
• CDC panel votes to push back MMRV vaccine recommendation to 4 years old  (The Hill)
• A common nasal spray may block Covid infection, trial results indicate (CBS)
• RFK. Jr's family members say he is a 'threat' to Americans' health and call for his resignation
• Ghost viruses in our DNA can come back to haunt us (KPBS)
• Poll: Amid multi-state measles outbreak, 79% of Americans support routine childhood vaccine requirements (Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health)
• Rural hospitals band together instead of selling to big networks  (NPR)
• Whatever happened to mpox? Is it still a threat? (NPR)
• What causes stuttering? It might be in your DNA
• TB deaths projected to rise due to aid cuts, study says  (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Trump Is Targeting Broadcast Networks. The FCC Is Poised to Help Him. (NOTUS)
• Anthropic to pay authors $1.5 billion in settlement over chatbot training material  (NPR)
• After 10 years of black hole science, Stephen Hawking is proven right (NPR )
• In a major antitrust ruling, a judge lets Google keep Chrome but levies other penalties (NPR)

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

By Alexander J. Schorr

“My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant. I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.” — Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Human Health Secretary. 

September 6, 2025 (Washington D.C.) -- The future for vaccines and access to them in the U.S .is shaky at best after a clash between the Health and Human Services secretary and members of Congress in a bipartisan grilling. Following a mass firing at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), access to vaccines guarding against the newest COVID-19 strain is a point of concern, especially with the leadership consisting of mainly loyal anti-vaxxers.

Recent federal policy changes have led to a confusion among healthcare providers and could cause issues with vaccine availability and insurance coverage for children and adults under age 65. A key question from the hearing was whether anyone could still get a COVID shot now if they wanted to. The short answer is ”no.”

The future availability of COVID-19 vaccines for children, including newborns, is uncertain due to recent policy changes at the federal level contrasting with health and state authorities’ medical advice, as well as the consensus among doctors’ professional organizations. Vaccine availability may depend on factors such as your location, healthcare provider, and potential insurance or program coverage.

By Paul Levikow

September 2, 2025 (East County) – California Attorney General Rob Bonta and health care activists from the nonprofit Protect Our Care California held a virtual news conference Tuesday regarding the “ongoing Trump-GOP health care emergency,'' which they say puts 28 hospitals and 15 nursing homes at risk of closure statewide. 

Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley in Imperial County is the closest facility to East County that was identified by Protect Our Care California as at risk of closing due to healthcare funding cuts in Trump's "Big Beautiful" budget bill, according to Bonta.

“Since Jan. 20, Trump has flooded the zone with a deluge of unlawful, unconscionable and un-American acts. He’s broken the law, he has violated the constitution, he’s reached far beyond the bounds of the presidency,” Bonta said. “Sadly, Republicans in Congress have been all too willing to stand by and let him. Republicans in Congress are sitting cozy in Trump’s back pocket and together they’re demolishing so much of what makes our country great, including the hard-fought progress we’ve made to provide affordable, accessible healthcare for all.”

September 3, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Medicare Will Require Prior Approval for Certain Procedures (New York Times)
• New CDC chief picked without medical credentials as vaccine panel faces shake-up (AP/Scripps News)
• Sen. Cassidy calls for vaccine advisory meeting to be postponed amid CDC departures  (CBS)
• Trump and RFK Jr. to Ban COVID-19 Vaccine 'Within Months' (Daily Beast)
• San Diego County loses $40M in funds just before new public health lab opens (Fox 5)
• Meat, dairy allergies from tick bites "skyrocketing" on Martha's Vineyard, expert says (CBS News)

SCIENCE-TECH

• Dredging Mobile Bay in Alabama has found unlikely allies 
• These brain implants speak your mind — even when you don't want to (NPR)

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

Source: San Diego River Park Foundation

August 28, 2025 (San Diego) – Water samples collected last week at Old Mission Dam in Mission Trails Regional Park have tested positive for a cyanotoxin that can be harmful to people and pets.

The San Diego River Foundation has posted caution signs, in cooperation with the California Water Boards San Diego Region and rangers from the park owned by the city of San Diego.

This was detected at the lowest tier of the three tiered levels, but visitors should:

* avoid touching algae/scum

* do not drink the water

* do not let pets enter or drink the water

* keep children away from algae in the water and shore

* do not eat shellfish from the water