Kristin Brinks, the county’s new director of Health and Human Services hired last month and slated to begin in January, has decided she doesn’t want the job. Brinks notified the board of supervisors Dec. 1 in a brief, awkwardly phrased letter that she would be declining the position just a couple of weeks after accepting it. […]
Medical / Health
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GMO Salmon Spawns Huffman’s Ire
Congressman Jared Huffman is not having the fish. According to a press release, Huffman is “deeply concerned” about the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of genetically engineered salmon. He cites the engineered salmon’s potential to damage wild salmon populations, ecosystems and the fishing industry, as well as the lack of labeling requirements for producers. The […]
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Congressman Introduces Bill to Abort Essure
A Pennsylvania congressman has introduced legislation that would ban Essure, the controversial permanent birth control device that has women across the country complaining of horrible side effects. This week, Republican Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick introduced a bipartisan bill that would revoke the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s premarket approval status of the contraception device and require […]
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Overdose Antidote Available Over the Counter…But Not In Humboldt
A life-saving opioid antidote — Naloxone — has been approved for distribution over the counter since April of this year, but not a single pharmacy in Humboldt County is currently offering this option. Naloxone is available as an injection or nasal spray. Also known as Narcan, it can save the life of a person who […]
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Anti-Vax Measure Won’t See the Ballot
Efforts to repeal California’s new mandatory vaccination law have failed. Signed into law in June by Gov. Jerry Brown, the new law requires that all children be vaccinated for a variety of infectious diseases before attending school, closing a long-standing exemption for families that opted not to vaccinate due to religious or personal beliefs. The […]
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UPDATE: Gov. Brown Approves Right-to-Die Bill
Local doctor Michael Fratkin, who began the palliative care program ResolutionCare featured in the Journal here, emailed the following response to the news that Gov. Brown had signed the bill. Gov. Brown has signed in to law the ‘End of Life Options’ bill. That’s quite something and reflects an electrified social conversation that is transforming […]
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Humboldt Revs up the Style
If you think Humboldt’s all Carhartt and hoodies, and bikers are all leather, all the time, well, you should have caught the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride on Sunday. If you had seen the dozens of dapper folk on motorcycles weaving their way through Eureka, the Samoa Peninsula and out to Blue Lake, you’d know Humboldt’s got […]
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HSU Gets Sexual Assault Funding
Humboldt State University announced recently that it won a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to reduce sexualized violence on campus. It’s part of a $8.5 million nationwide effort at 27 colleges. The funding will allow the university to expand its Check It program, which the Journal wrote about in February, as well […]
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Right-to-die Law Goes to Gov. Brown
The California Senate and Assembly passed legislation this week that will allow terminally ill people to end their own lives with a doctor’s assistance, so long as Gov. Jerry Brown signs the bill. The bill will allow doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to people who’ve been told they have six months or less to live, […]
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St. Joseph Nurses Allege Understaffing, Departure from Values
Representatives from the local chapter of the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United convened in front of St. Joseph Hospital last week to discuss concerns over the health system’s proposed merger with Providence Health & Services, as well as what they call a “shift in values” from its founding principles. The union rolled out […]
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UPDATE: New National Report on Suicide Rates in Jails
The Bureau of Justice Statistics has released a report on mortality in jails and state prisons. Its findings offer some perspective on the recent spike in suicide attempts at the Humboldt County jail, which saw 12 attempts in the last year, three times the amount of the previous two years.The statistics in the report do […]