Science
Monday, April 10, 2023
What Can California Do About Abortion Pill Ruling? Not Much
Posted By Kristen Hwang/CalMatters on Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 11:05 AM
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk suspended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone more than 20 years ago, arguing that it was flawed and invalid. Kacsmaryk issued a temporary stay on his ruling for seven days to allow the Biden administration to appeal. The ruling is likely to pull the drug from pharmacy shelves unless a higher court intervenes while the case moves through the appeal process.
But just hours later, a district judge in Washington state issued a conflicting ruling in a separate case, prohibiting the FDA from taking the drug off the market. Despite the confusion caused by these dueling decisions, legal experts say even the threat of a legal gray area is likely to cause providers to stop distributing the drug.
Mifepristone is the first of a two-drug regimen that makes up the majority of abortions in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research and policy center. It blocks the pregnancy hormone progesterone and is also used to manage miscarriages.
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision last June rescinded federal abortion protections, it left intact states’ ability to set their own abortion laws. California legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom jumped at the chance to make the state a beacon for progressive politics, even approving financial assistance for people in other states seeking abortions in California.
But Kacsmaryk’s ruling addresses the FDA’s authority nationally, and leaves little room for states to mitigate the fallout.
“We’re in uncharted territory,” Lisa Matsubara, an attorney for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and vice president of policy, told CalMatters a day after Kacsmaryk heard arguments in the case in mid-March. “It will take some time to understand how this will play out in California.”
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
UPDATED: Preliminary 4.6 Quake Hits Near Ferndale
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Tue, Mar 21, 2023 at 4:30 PM
The temblor struck at a depth of 9.6 miles, the initial report states. The quake is one of the largest to hit our actively seismic area since the 6.4 Dec. 20 quake and 5.4 New Year's Day aftershock.
"Today's M4.6 is an aftershock of the Dec 20 M6.4 Ferndale earthquake. It is the third largest aftershock recorded to date. It is not unusual for aftershocks to continue for months and to die down and then pick up again," a post on the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group's Facebook page states.
Find more information here.
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Humboldt Sees Another COVID Death
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Wed, Jan 18, 2023 at 6:27 PM
One new hospitalization was also reported and, according to a state database, nine people are currently hospitalized with the virus locally, including three receiving intensive care. The death reported today is Humboldt County's 167th since the pandemic began.
Find the full public health press release, which includes a schedule of upcoming vaccination clinics, including for booster shots that now combative Omicron sub variants BA.4 and BA.5, and information on flu testing, by clicking here.
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Humboldt County Sees Another COVID Death
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Wed, Dec 28, 2022 at 3:30 PM
Nine new hospitalizations were reported and, according to a state database, five people are currently hospitalized with the virus locally, including one receiving intensive care. The death reported today is Humboldt County's 163rd since the pandemic began.
Find the full public health press release, which includes a schedule of upcoming vaccination clinics, including for booster shots that now combative Omicron sub variants BA.4 and BA.5, and information on flu testing, by clicking here.
Monday, December 19, 2022
NWS Citizen Science Network Needs Your Help
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Mon, Dec 19, 2022 at 10:52 AM
The Eureka office of the National Weather Service is looking for volunteers to join the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow network, or CoCoRaHS, to gather data about local conditions.
“This grassroots effort is part of a growing national network of home-based and amateur rain spotters with a goal of providing a high density precipitation network that will supplement existing observations,” a NWS release states.
According to NWS, the network was spurred by a flash flood that hit Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1997, causing $200 million in damage, after a thunderstorm poured down more than a foot of rain over the course of several hours in certain areas while other portions of the city only saw moderate rainfall.
“CoCoRaHS was born in 1998 with the intent of doing a better job of mapping and reporting intense storms. As more volunteers participated, rain, hail, and snow maps were produced for every storm showing fascinating local patterns that were of great interest to scientists and the public,” the NWS release states. “Recently, drought reporting has also become an important observation within the CoCoRaHS program across the nation. In fact, drought observations from CoCoRaHS are now being included in the National Integrated Drought Information System.”
Find more information on how to become a volunteer here.
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Two More California Condors Set to Fly Free
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Tue, Nov 8, 2022 at 12:48 PM
The birds set to try out their wings are A6 and A7, the last of the four in a second cohort of condors that arrived in mid-August. A7, a young female, recently returned from the Oakland Zoo after recovering from minor surgery by vets there to remove what appeared to be an embedded bone fragment that caused an infection in her jaw.
Those two will join four others — Ney-gem' 'Ne-chween-kah (She carries our prayers, A0), Hlow Hoo-let (Finally, I/we fly, A1), Nes-kwe-chokw' (He returns/arrives, A2) and Poy'-we-son (The one who goes ahead, “leader,” A3) — that took their historic flights in May and July, becoming the first of massive birds with a nearly 10-foot wingspan to do so locally in more than a century — as well as Cher-perhl So-nee-ne-pek' (I feel strong, A4); and Neee'n (Watcher, A5) that were released last month.
After A6 and A7 fly the coop, they, too, will receive Yurok names.
Monday, November 7, 2022
'Blood Moon' Lunar Eclipse Starts Just After Midnight
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Mon, Nov 7, 2022 at 1:10 PM
That red hue, according to NASA, is “because the only sunlight reaching the moon passes through Earth’s atmosphere.”
“The more dust or clouds in Earth’s atmosphere during the eclipse, the redder the moon will appear,” the space agency stated in a post on the event. “It’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the moon.”
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Halloween Forecast: Light Rain and Sneaker Waves
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Sun, Oct 30, 2022 at 1:23 PM
According to the Eureka office of the National Weather Service, a cold front will push through on the spookiest night of the year, bringing rain and nighttime temperatures in the 40s on the coast and inland, so bundle up.
Sunset is set for 6:14 p.m. with complete darkness setting in by 6:42 p.m. The moon is at the first quarter mark but will likely be mostly hidden by clouds, making for an even darker night, according to NWS.
In addition, a beach hazard statement has been issued for Monday between 3 a.m. and 9 p.m. due to a threat of sneaker waves along the North Coast, with “larger and unexpected waves expected along the coast during the morning hours” and the afternoon and evening seeing “larger breaking waves from 15 to 20 feet.”
Friday, October 28, 2022
CDC’s Move Paves Way for California to Require School COVID Vaccines — But Lawmakers Have Given Up for Now
Posted By Elizabeth Aguilera, CALmatters on Fri, Oct 28, 2022 at 12:01 PM
The addition of the COVID-19 vaccine to the CDC’s recommended vaccines for kids is not a mandate for states’ school attendance requirements. Any additions to California’s list must be made by the state Legislature or the state Department of Public Health. In the last 12 months, the Newsom administration and the Legislature separately tried to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for kids to attend school, and both failed.
People involved in those efforts said they do not expect the Legislature to consider a mandate for children again next year, barring a big spike in hospitalizations or deaths.
“Our goal should be getting the immunization rate up,” said Sen. Richard Pan, a pediatrician Sacramento Democrat, whose bill last session would have mandated the vaccine for children to attend school, with only a medical exemption. “We have work to do on outreach, making sure people have access and educating people about the vaccine.”
Since the federal government approved vaccines for children on an emergency use basis, children have received the COVID-19 vaccine at much lower rates than adults. So far, 67 percent of 12-to-17-year-olds have received the first series of the vaccine, 38 percent of children 5 to 11 have received the first series and of those under 5 years of age, 5 percent have received the shots, according to state data.
Sunday, October 23, 2022
UPDATED: 4.1 Quake Shakes Fortuna
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Sun, Oct 23, 2022 at 11:29 AM
The USGS initial report states the temblor struck at a depth of nearly 15 miles.
There is no danger of a tsunami being generated, the National Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement.
Editor's note: This story was updated to correct the depth and to reflect a change in magnitude made by USGS.
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