Photo: Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox

June 18, 2015 (San Diego)--On the eve of a special conference in San Diego on aging, groundbreaking initiatives aimed at helping the county’s oldest and most vulnerable residents gained national recognition.

East County News Service

June 15, 2015 (Washington D.C.)--The House of Representatives will soon be considering the 21^st Century Cures Act (H.R. 6), important legislation that will accelerate the process of translating scientific advancements into new treatments and therapies. The bill would support efforts to develop potential treatments and interventions for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, childhood leukemia, Down’s syndrome, congenital heart disease, autism spectrum disorders, sleep apnea and epilepsy, to name a few.

"I will support this in honor of my sister, and my mother and my father-in-law," -- Councilman Bob McClellan (photo, left), who lost all three family members to smoking-related illnesess.

"The American Revolution was about individual liberty...doesn't freedom to make a decision include freedom to make a poor one?" --Eric Anderson (photo, right), Rock Church and Caucus Chair for the San Diego Republican Party Executive Committee

By Juwan Armstrong and Miriam Raftery

June 12, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon’s City Council voted 3-1 on Wednesday to send a letter asking Assemblyman Brian Jones and Governor Jerry Brown to support Senate Bill 151, which would raise the minimum legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21.

Jones has taken over $25,000 in campaign contributions from the tobacco industry.  East County’s State Senator, Joel Anderson, took nearly $40,000 and voted against the bill when it passed the Senate.

June 10, 2015 (La Mesa) -- The Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host a free program on  “Dispelling the Myths of Hospice,” from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 24. The program is part of the library’s “Wellness Wednesday” series, normally held on the fourth Wednesday of the month.

By Miriam Raftery

June 1, 2015 (El Cajon)—Last week, we reported that parents in El Cajon have filed a lawsuit Ametek Aerospace & Defense, alleging that the company’s underground toxic waste dumping  is causing illness among children at Magnolia Elementary School next door. 

Now the Cajon Valley School District Board has voted unanimously to close down the school for the current school year.  All students and staff will be relocated to Bostonia Elementary School.

By Miriam Raftery

May 30, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – There’s a new wrinkle to consider before signing up for those wrinkle-plumping injections of soft tissue fillers, also called derma fillers or injectible face implants. The substances that have gained popularity with cosmetic surgeons and other healthcare providers to reduce the appearance of wrinkles on the face or to augment lips and cheeks.

East County News Service

May 26, 2015 (Sacramento) – The California Assembly has passed a controversial measure, Assembly Bill 775, that would require crisis pregnancy centers to disclose if they have no licensed medical provider on staff and to provide women with a list of options including public programs offering free or low-cost prenatal care for those wishing to carry pregnancies to term and abortions for those who don’t.

The bill comes in response to a year-long undercover investigation of the centers by the National Abortion Rights League, which claims the centers are mostly set up by anti-choice groups and that women are given misleading information. 

But opponents call the measure a “bully bill” that they contend threatens the existence of abortion-alternative clinics and violates constiutionallly protected religious freedoms.

May 26, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

NATURE

• They brought wolves to Yellowstone, but they had no idea this would be the result. (The Shrug)
• Pink Poison, the Surprising New Trend That’s Saving Rhinos (takepart)
• Scientists praise US government plan to help bees, butterflies (CS Monitor)
• First warm-blooded fish discovered (USA Today)
• Galapagos Island volcano erupts first time in 33 years (AP)

TECH

• A Desk That Can Take A Ton Of Earthquake Rubble (NPR)
• Plane safe? Hacker case points to deeper cyber issues (Reuters)
• Pew poll: Americans value digital privacy (U-T)

HEALTH

• 'Right to try' helps evade the FDA logjam (U-T)
• Maternal Obesity Linked To Babies' Weakened Immune System (KPBS)
• Drug-resistant typhoid ‘concerning’ (BBC)
• FDA warning on new class of Type-2 diabetes drugs (Reuters)
• Teen obesity 'link to bowel cancer'(BBC)
• Dyslexia 'not linked to eyesight' (BBC)

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

Source: County News Service

May 23, 2015 (San Diego)--Seven San Diego residents and two visitors to the county have been diagnosed with infections with Salmonella Paratyphi B after eating raw fish or sushi, the County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) announced today.

East County News Service

Photo: 20-week fetus (public domain image)

May 16, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – The House of Representatives has passed a bill to ban virtually all abortions after 20 weeks.  The bill has an exception only for rape victims, after a 48 hour waiting period.

May 13, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Rubella (German measles) eradicated from Americas (BBC)
• Scientists Crack A 50-Year-Old Mystery About The Measles Vaccine (NPR) 
• Seasons affect 'how genes and immune system work' (BBC)
• Ebola Hides In The Eyes Of A Man Who Was Considered Cured (NPR) 
• Short On Sleep? You Could Be A Disaster Waiting To Happen (NPR)

TECH

• Planetary Society Set To Launch Solar Sail Experiment (NPR)

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

May 11, 2015 (El Cajon) - The Home of Guiding Hands (HGH), an El Cajon-based non-profit organization that provides services, training and advocacy for people with developmental disabilities, will present its 41st annual Home of Guiding Hands Gala from 6 to 11 p.m., Saturday, June 6, at the Hotel Del Coronado. Proceeds will benefit programs and services HGH provides to more than 1,000 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout San Diego and Imperial Counties. Former Padres pitcher Randy Jones, a National League Cy Young Award winner, will be the master of ceremonies.

May 9, 2015 (Santee) - The Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD), a public agency that supports various health-related community programs and services in San Diego’s East County region, has sent a letter to the Navy stating its opposition to the pending closure of a health clinic in Santee.

May 7, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH


• Tyson Foods plans to cut human antibiotics in U.S. chicken flocks by 2017 (Reuters)
• Why the conventional wisdom on hospice care was wrong (APM Marketplace)

TECH


• Measuring Earthquakes With More Than Just One Scale (NPR)
• EU to require cars to have automatic emergency call systems(AP)
• EU looks to cut use of flimsy plastic bags by 80 percent (AP)

NATURE


• Amazon: 1% of trees store 50% carbon (BBC)
• VIDEO: New York turns lights off for birds (BBC)
• Man-made Global Warming Likely to Be Moderate, Says Study (Reason)
• The green movement heads underground (APM Marketplace)

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

May 5, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - The Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD), a public agency that supports various health-related community programs and services in San Diego’s East County region, recently presented $16,000 in scholarships to eight local college students planning a career either in nursing or in the healthcare technician field.