By Miriam Raftery

February 26, 2015 (San Diego)--Alaska has become the 3^rd state to legalization the recreational use of marijuana, with limits similar to those in place in Colorado and Washington state, the other states where marijuana is now legal for adults to own in small quantities for personal use.

February 21, 2015 (Jamul) – The Helen Knoll Foundation, which has a mission to prevent breast cancer in women ages 18 to 40, will host an open house on Thursday, February 26^th from 5 to 8 p.m. at California Sol, a new restaurant at 12891 Highway 94 in Jamul.

February 16, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - The Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD) is soliciting nominees for its 2015 Healthcare Hero Awards. Now in its ninth year, the Healthcare Heroes is GHD’s annual awards program that honors volunteers who help advance the delivery of quality healthcare in the East County region. Nomination forms are available at www.grossmonthealthcare.org. Deadline for submission of entries is 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, at the GHD offices, 9001 Wakarusa St., in La Mesa.

Free Blood Pressure Screenings Around County On Feb. 13

East County News Service

February 13, 2015 (San Diego)--County officials and community partners kick off Love Your Heart Day to help residents take charge of their health by offering free blood pressure screenings throughout San Diego County on Friday, February 13. The blood pressure screenings will be offered to adults at more than 200 locations. For a list of locations, call 2-1-1 or visit www.loveyourheartsd.org.

February 15, 2015 (San Diego)--Southwest Airlines announced Tuesday it will provide over $3.2 million in free transportation to patients seeking medical treatment and to their caregivers.  Grants will be made through Southwest’s Medical Transportation Grant Program, which will have a 14% increase over last year.

Photo credit: iStock courtesy UC news service

By Miriam Raftery

February 8, 2015 (San Diego)--The University of California  has announced that it will require incoming students to be  vaccinated for measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, meningococcus, tetanus and whooping cough.  Students must show proof of these vaccinations and also be screened for tuberculosis, starting in 2017. However individual campuses can choose to begin implementation earlier, a press release issued by the UC system states.

By Miriam Raftery; Kristin Kjaero contributed to this report

February 6, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The current measles epidemic  has focused attention on concerns over parents who decline to vaccinate their children.  In East County and San Diego’s inland region (East of I-15) the rate of unvaccinated children in local kindergartens is as high as 90% (at Holy Trinity, a private school in El Cajon)  down to just 1% unvaccinated at Mt. Vernon Elementary in Lemon Grove.

Countywide, the rate of kindergartners who are unvaccinated or not current on vaccine boosters  is 7.6%.

Proposed legislation would eliminate California's personal belief exemption for vaccinations

February 5, 2015 (Sacramento)--California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) has joined State Senators Dr. Richard Pan and Ben Allen to propose legislation that would eliminate the personal belief exemption for vaccinations in California.

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

It’s February, put your Heart into it!

February 2, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - Heart disease kills over a half million people every year. It’s no surprise February is Heart Awareness month. Together, we all can prevent and cardiovascular disease (CVD), one step at a time says Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna.

By Hayden Parsley

January 28, 2015 (San Diego) - The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted this week to implement involuntary treatment for mentally ill patients. The legislation that would allow this is known as Laura’s law. This motion was passed 4 to 1 on Tuesday. Staff now has 90 days to develop a plan to implement the law countywide.

January 28, 2015 (San Diego) - Doctors at University of California student health centers went out on strike Tuesday, including physicians who picketed at UC San Diego.

By Miriam Rafttery

January 21, 2015 (Sacramento) – Babies and people of all ages who have not been vaccinated for measles should temporarily avoid Disneyland and all public places likely to have many foreigners, due to a growing number of measles cases linked to the amusement park in Anaheim.

January 18, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)-- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Promising Cancer Vaccine May Work On 90% Of All Cancer Types (JWR)
• Eat Whole Grains If You Want To Live Longer (JWR)
• Bite Back At Bad Cholesterol: Eat An Avocado A Day (NPR)
• Most cancer is bad luck, study finds (U-T)
• Medical lessons learnt in Afghanistan and how they can help improve physical-injury care (Daily Mail)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Utilities Fight For Revenue Lost To Solar Power (NPR)
• Can scientists clone a rhinoceros? (U-T)

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

By Hayden Parsley and Miriam Raftery

January 17, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – A bill pushed forward by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives seeks to ban abortions after 20 weeks—five months-- except in cases of rape, incest, or a serious danger to the mother.

10 confirmed cases countywide including 9 in East County:  exposures at public locations in Alpine, El Cajon, La Mesa, Julian and San Diego

East County News Service

January 15, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The County is confirming 10 cases of measles locally related to an outbreak at Disneyland, including 9 in East County.  You may have been exposed if you visited locations that include pharmacies, gyms, markets, an urgent care center, a shopping mall, and a city of San Diego building. 

Here is a list of San Diego County locations and times of possible exposures to measles: