La Mesa Council holds hearing Nov. 5 on proposal to erect cell phone tower in Lake Murray area

By Miriam Raftery

When Mom asked me to look into possible health hazards posed by cell phone panel antennas that a church in her neighborhood wants to put up, I expected to find reassuring facts to allay Mom’s concerns.  Instead, I found deeply disturbing data that makes me wonder why the public is not being informed about health risks—and why our government seems intent on covering up troubling truths.

Governor Vetoes Health Reforms, Terminates Consumer Protection Bills

By Senator Sheila Kuehl

On
September 30, the Governor finished wielding his veto pen and, in one sweeping
move, eliminated virtually every health reform measure that would have regulated
the health insurance company monopoly.

Health reform was not alone,
bill after bill that would have benefited consumers, drivers, people
who breathe, people who drink water, and just people who rely on their state
government to protect them, had its throat cut.

September
29, 2008 (BURLINGAME, CA) - The California
Department of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are urging consumers
not to eat White Rabbit Candies sold in California.  Queensway Foods Co.
of Burlingame, California is recalling White Rabbit Candy after tests revealed
that some of the products are contaminated with melamine--the same deadly toxin
in infant formula that has hospitalized 50,000 children in China since September,
killing several infants. Melamine in pet foods also killed thousands of U.S.
cats and dogs in 2007.  

HUMAN WEST NILE VIRUS CASES REACH FIVE TOTAL

SAN DIEGO August 18, 2008 -- Another
confirmed locally-acquired human case of West Nile virus (WNV) brings the year-to-date
total to five—including one patient in East County, according to the
County Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA).

Community Leaders Call for New Hospital in East County:
Long Waits in Grossmont ER, Patient Deaths Heighten Urgent Need

By Sara McInerney, Staff Writer

September 18, 2008 (La Mesa)--Government investigations into at least three preventable patient deaths at Sharp Grossmont Hospital have raised serious questions about the facility’s capacity to service the needs of East County’s growing population.

Closure of the El Cajon Valley Emergency (full service) Hospital and a Kaiser facility, both in El Cajon, have exacerbated pressures on Grossmont, East County’s only remaining hospital.  In addition, Grossmont ceased being a designated trauma center in the 1980s, leaving East County with no trauma center.  Designated trauma patients are now transported via helicopter or ambulance to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego.