Artist v. Scientist Podcasts

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The classic battle between the Artist and the Scientist is played out in podcast form. Who will win? Who will lose? For the answers to these questions and more you'll have to tune in to the "Artist v. Scientist" podcast. Primary Format : Language : en Also Listed as: User Tags: art artist canadian comedy episode exploitation glory god gun guns listener lizard news one part people podcast rolling science scientist skankle talk tapes two v vibrator User Votes: RSS Feed Website People found this Podcast Searching for: View this Podcast on a Google Map. Podcast iTunes Link Text Only listing of Artist v. Scientist Podcasts Methings.com listings of Artist v. Scientist Podcasts If you like this podcast, you might also like:

Need heats up at OC Rescue Mission For many people, summer is a time for vacations and slowing down. But for organizations serving Orange County’s homeless and hungry, summer’s no time to take a break — especially when the economy’s struggling. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Democratic lawmakers urge court to allow Medicaid recipients to sue in case of cuts On Monday more than half a dozen Democrats filed papers urging the U.S. Supreme Court to oppose the White House's stance that poor people cannot sue California for cuts to Medicaid. The Obama administration says recipients can’t sue the state, even if cuts to Medicaid rates make it difficult for them to find a doctor. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 3 face charges for producing, selling raw goat milk in Venice Raids yesterday resulted in the arrests of three people on charges of running an illegal farm and selling its unpasteurized goat milk, cheese and other products without a license. Sharon Palmer, who runs Healthy Family Farms in Santa Paula, her employee Eugenia Bloch and James Stewart who runs Rawesome Foods in Venice face multiple charges. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dozens line up for whooping cough vaccinations in the Valley A new state law requires that middle and high school students get whooping cough shots before the school year begins. Public health workers in the San Fernando Valley are offering free vaccinations for kids who need booster shots. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA clinics to begin use of online peer consulting system L.A. County health clinics serving the poor and uninsured will start using a new online system called eConsult to cut costs and streamline care. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Orange County to get first nurse-managed medical facility UC Irvine has landed a federal grant to help pay for Orange County's first nurse-managed medical clinic. Santa Ana charter school El Sol Science and Arts Academy and the non-profit Share Our Selves will operate the clinic with UCI’s nursing program. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website DWP seeks 15-year delay of Clean Water Act provision State water regulators again must decide whether to grant L.A.'s Department of Water and Power more time to phase out a cooling process at coastal power plants. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Relatives say California inmates on hunger strike getting sick, weak Advocates say California prison inmates on a hunger strike are getting sicker and weaker, with some nearing severe dehydration. Inmates in a number of California prisons began refusing food 12 days ago. Prison officials say they’re concerned - but, they say, no inmates have reached a “crisis” stage. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The history and legacy of the Betty Ford Center A memorial service for former First Lady Betty Ford will be held Tuesday afternoon at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert. She and late President Gerald Ford worshipped there after he left office in 1977. She died Friday at age 93. While she was First Lady, Betty Ford championed breast cancer awareness, abortion rights and the Equal Rights Amendment. But she also endured a very public battle with addiction to alcohol and pain killers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website First school air filtration contract awarded 3 years after TraPac settlement Harbor-area schoolchildren will get air filtration systems in their classrooms as part of the first grant project from a new South Bay foundation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inglewood Oil Field neighbors get more protections, fewer wells with settlement A new legal agreement has settled a long-simmering fight among community groups, Los Angeles County and an oil company over exploration at the Inglewood Oil Field. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Orange County officials remind parents of pool safety Pools and beaches are attractive places to be this hot holiday weekend, and that’s one reason Orange County officials want parents to prevent drowning with extra vigilance. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California restaurant workers must be licensed to handle food starting July 1 A new state law will require restaurant workers to obtain food-handling licenses, beginning Friday. The law is designed to prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses. But bakers, baristas, bartenders and others still have time to get licensed before they face penalties. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 405 shutdown: Hospitals concerned about July freeway closure The representative of four hospitals on the Westside gave a dire warning Thursday night at a public forum: next month’s weekend closure of the 405 Freeway could endanger the health of current and pending patients. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Coachella Valley triple digit temperatures arrive a little late Heat warnings are in effect for the Coachella Valley. The temperature spike’s arrived a little later than usual, but people should get ready for it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UC Irvine medical students wrap up year of learning from senior mentors The first year of a program that teams up first-year UC Irvine medical school students with senior citizens has wrapped up. The students and seniors celebrated the end with a recent luncheon in Santa Ana, where they talked about what they learned together. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website USC gets $150 million gift from Keck Foundation for medical programs The Keck Foundation is giving a $150 million gift to the University of Southern California and its medical programs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Loma Linda University to examine health of residents near San Bernardino rail yard Researchers from Loma Linda University plan to examine the health of people living near the sprawling Burlington North Santa Fe railroad yard in San Bernardino. Residents and city leaders have long complained about the noise and air quality around the site. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Porn film performers speak out on tougher condom regulations on California film sets More than 100 adult industry performers and public health officials jammed into a downtown Los Angeles conference room Tuesday. There, they discussed proposed state regulations to enforce worker safety on film sets. Many entertainers complain the effort infringes on their right to free expression. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Study suggests that many California teens get no physical education in school Home isn't the only place that many teen just sit around. A new study indicates that more than one-third of California’s public high school students don’t get physical fitness during the school day, either. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Malibu's fecal bacteria problem could have many sources, geological survey says People in the Southland crowd Surfrider Beach and Malibu Lagoon; local lore advises them to close their mouths in those waters so they’ll avoid eye infections and sickness. Preliminary findings from the U.S. Geological Survey are shedding new light on the sources of that pollution. That's clouding plans for cleanup. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Study finds Inland Empire region among most dangerous for pedestrians If you’re in the mood for a walk, you might want to steer clear of the Inland Empire. A new report lists it among the country’s most dangerous urban areas for pedestrians. The survey comes from an organization called Transportation for America. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UCLA opens world's first infectious disease lab UCLA today opened a new Global Bio Lab that will train researchers how to test and analyze infectious diseases and respond to pandemics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Feinstein wants to regulate health insurance rate hikes The health insurance overhaul Congress passed requires insurance companies to spend 85 percent of their budgets on medical care. But the law doesn’t give anyone the authority to call out companies if they steeply raise their rates. A new bill aims to put a Band-Aid over that particular owie. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hundreds of LA County workers rally to protect their jobs Hundreds of custodial employees and their supporters oppose a potential deal between Los Angeles County and a large maintenance contractor. County workers say the move would jeopardize their jobs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Children’s Hospital Los Angeles honors Bel Air donors who gave $50 million Administrators at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles honored a Southland couple who donated millions of dollars to the center’s new medical facility. The institution’s gratitude is etched in stone. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dreier says Medicare must be part of budget negotiations Vice President Joe Biden plans to meet with the so-called “gang of six” – a bipartisan group of congressional leaders – to try and hammer out a budget agreement. Their biggest disagreement is over the senior health care program known as Medicare. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Charles Drew University names new president Charles Drew University of Medicine may itself soon be coming off the critical care list. The Willowbrook medical school created to train minority doctors was on the brink of closure. Its financial health was in trouble and its reputation took a beating after it was put on academic probation. Now the university announced it’s bringing in a new president. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County Supervisors unite to fight for Medicaid funding It’s not often that Democrats and Republicans agree on anything. But during their annual visit to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles County Supervisors from both parties delivered with the same message: leave Medicaid alone. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California stem cell agency funds stem cell clinical trial The California agency in charge of distributing money for stem cell research has approved funding for a clinical trial of a human embryonic stem cell treatment. It’s the first time the agency has underwritten a human clinical trial of a stem cell treatment. The treatment has roots at UC Irvine. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County Supervisors fight for Medicaid funding The House of Representatives voted last month to change the way the federal government pays for health care for the poor. LA lawmakers say the change will “short change” local communities. They’re making that case in Washington, D.C., this week. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Warmer weather brings rattlesnake season in Southern California When the temperature goes up, the rattlesnakes come out in Southern California. The snakes like the heat as much as we do, so there’s a good chance you might see one if you’re out and about in local wilderness areas. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Yuba City mom looks forward to doing the 'little things' again Last month, surgeons at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center carried out the first hand transplant on the West Coast. It’s now six weeks since the operation and on Tuesday the woman who got the hand talked about the surgery and her outlook. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Synthetic drugs under US Senate investigation A dozen midshipmen have been kicked out of the US Naval Academy for using the synthetic marijuana known as “spice” or "K2." More than 150 Navy sailors have also been accused of using the drug, which is banned in the military. Now, a US Senate hearing is investigating the growing use of “spice” and the fake cocaine known as “bath salts.” Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website GOP proposes cuts to Medicaid About one in five Californians relies on MediCal, the state’s version of Medicaid, to pay for their health care. On Tuesday, US House Republicans unveiled their budget proposal for 2012. It includes hefty cuts and major structural changes to the federal Medicaid program. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Assembly committee considers bill to reject medical insurance rate hikes A Southern California lawmaker is trying to line up support in the state legislature for a bill to crack down on excessive rate hikes for medical insurance plans. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website South LA welcomes new medical center Elected officials, hospital administrators and health care activists are celebrating a new medical center in South Los Angeles. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website USC gets $15 million for new campus health center A future student health center at the University of Southern California will bear the name of donors who contributed $15 million to the project. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Health advocates praise citations against Flynt’s porn productions Health activists gathered in front of the Hustler Hollywood Store today to praise state officials' efforts to issue multiple safety citations against adult entertainment mogul Larry Flynt. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Riverside County DA seeks $400,000 federal grant to fight elder abuse Riverside County is seeking a $400,000 federal grant to combat elder abuse. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Erin Brockovich testifies to US Senate about pollution, cancer A Senate panel looking at a bill on pollution and cancer heard today from environmental law activist Erin Brockovich. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Drug-resistant germ strikes Southland health care facilities A stubborn, drug-resistant bacterium is wreaking havoc on some Southland health care centers. Researchers say medical staff have reported more than 350 cases of the dangerous bacterial strain in Los Angeles County. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Calif. kids still fall below fitness standards If you can run a mile and do 16 sit-ups and 24 curls without getting too sore or winded, you’re probably fitter than a fifth-grader. Here's more on what California officials plan to do about that. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Health advocates mark 1st year anniversary of health care law Federal and state leaders met in Los Angeles Wednesday to commemorate the first anniversary of the Obama Administration’s health care reform law. Health care activists say the plan is working. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Advocates hail 1st year anniversary of Obama health-care reform The Obama Administration’s health care reform bill turns a year old today. Congress signed the Affordable Care Act into law last March 23. Supporters of that law threw it a birthday party at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Loss of Elizabeth Taylor felt in DC AIDS advocacy community News of Elizabeth Taylor’s death came about the same time that Congressional staffers were at a briefing about federal support for AIDS care. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Advocates celebrate health care reform's 1st birthday Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the health care reform law that President Barack Obama initiated. Advocates held a pre-birthday event this morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Southland med students get linked to residencies in annual Match Day festivities Graduating Southland medical students are making plans, now that they know where they’ll begin their residencies. For months, these excited UCLA med school graduates - along with some 17,000 others across the country - waited eagerly for a computerized program to spit out results that would help shape their future medical careers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bringing symphonies to Skid Row - playing a concert for LA's Downtown Mental Health Center Last week on Skid Row, the melodies of Mozart, Bach and Handel filled the air. L.A. Philharmonic first violinist Robert Gupta performed an exclusive concert for clients of the Downtown Mental Health Center. It's part of his continuing effort to combat mental illness with music. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Serena Williams suffers pulmonary embolism, recovers in LA hospital Tennis star Serena Williams is recovering in a Los Angeles hospital following emergency treatment for a pulmonary embolism. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Children’s Hospital of Orange County receives $30 million donation A retired Garden Grove investment banker has made a generous bequest to Children’s Hospital of Orange County. It’s the largest single gift the hospital in Orange has ever received. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Laker Ron Artest lobbies for mental health funds on Capitol Hill Basketball and politics are team sports. Today in Washington, D.C., Lakers forward Ron Artest teamed up with a Southern California congresswoman to rally for mental health services in schools. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Aging baby boomers mean busy future for eye doctors This year, the first of the baby boomers turn 65. The medical community expects a giant wave of older patients over the next two decades. One of the busiest docs will be the ophthalmologist. That’s because glaucoma, cataracts and other eye diseases are common with age. Eye specialists are getting ready for a flood of new patients. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website DEA warns of synthetic drugs 'bath salt' and 'spice' They’re called “bath salt,” “spice,” and “K-2.” But they’re not designed for soaks in the tub, cooking or mountain climbing. They're actually dangerous designer drugs that federal agents warn are headed to a retail store near you. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Health care reform requires coverage of mental health, substance abuse by 2014 In Sacramento Tuesday state lawmakers held a briefing on the ways federal health care reform will affect mental health services in California. Most Californians will get some type of coverage in about three years - but the details are still in the works. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California cap on insurance for kids with pre-existing conditions expires March 1 Children’s health care advocates in California are urging parents to give children a Valentine’s Day gift of health insurance. They want parents to take advantage of a state law that caps premiums costs for children with pre-existing conditions. The cap expires on March 1. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Study shows California hospitals may face shortage in allied professions Along with generating green jobs, health experts say California also needs to take the lead in broadening the appeal of health science education. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario has more on a new study that reveals a serious potential personnel shortage for state hospitals. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County Health Department holds demo inspection on Grilled Cheese Truck Food truck fans can expect to start seeing grades as they step up to order. Public health inspectors have examined about 100 mobile food vendors since the beginning of the year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Orange County DA’s investigation finds no wrongdoing in county jail inmate death The Orange County District Attorney has found no wrongdoing in the death of a jail inmate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LaLanne's Hollywood connection shines at his memorial Family, friends, celebrities and people who never met Jack LaLanne are remembering the man who seemed to be immortal. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UCLA health policy researchers weigh in against cuts to in-home care The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research is taking aim at one of Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed budget cuts. Center officials are arguing against a big budget cut for in-home support services. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Reports shows California hospitals lack policies to help mothers breastfeed A new report says California hospitals could do more to support mothers who want to breastfeed their babies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Enrollment for discounted children's health insurance closes March 1 Uninsured children have until March 1 to obtain discounted health insurance from private companies. State lawmakers urge working parents to take advantage of the open-enrollment period. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Democrat Lofgren, Republican Issa disagree about malpractice reform In his State of the Union address, President Obama elicited cheers from Republicans when he said he was willing to “look at” medical malpractice reform. Democrats sat on their hands. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Remembering Jack LaLanne - American fitness, exercise, and nutritional expert Workout junkies of all ages are crediting TV exercise guru Jack LaLanne with bringing fitness to the masses. LaLanne died Sunday at his Morro Bay home after a brief battle with pneumonia. He was 96. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA City Council approves new medical marijuana law The Los Angeles City Council Friday capped the number of pot shops at 100, with only those that opened on or before September 14, 2007, qualifying to enter a new lottery system that will determine who may continue to operate. The urgency ordinance approved on a 12-0 vote follows a judge's December ruling that struck down L.A.'s old ordinance as arbitrary and capricious. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website L.A. County flu season kicks up Flu season is here and public health officials say cases are on the rise in Los Angeles County. If you haven’t gotten your vaccination yet, KPCC’s Patricia Nazario says you can still take steps to stay healthy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Repeal of health care could short circuit California's health insurance exchange Congress has begun to debate whether to repeal the federal health care reform law. The US House of Representatives expects to vote on the matter this week. But what effect would the repeal have on California’s efforts to start its own health insurance exchange? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Disabled Californians urge no more cuts to in-home services To help get the state’s budget out of the red, Gov. Jerry Brown plans to cut the hours of in-home supportive care for some disabled Californians. That’ll save about $490 million. Brown projects the state’s shortfall at about $26.5 billion over the next 18 months. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Among cuts to shrink California deficit: Mental health Governor Jerry Brown is scheduled to unveil his budget proposal this morning in Sacramento. Insiders expect his plan will propose eliminating voter-approved accounts like the one that covers mental health services for kids and adults. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario visited an after-school treatment center to see how cuts might affect families. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services annual report on national spending The official estimates for total healthcare spending in America are out this morning. The annual report on National Health Expenditure Accounts has measured the same information for the past 50 years. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mental health experts watch Governor Brown, worry Brown may eliminate CalWorks CalWorks is designed to get families off welfare and back to work. Former Governor Schwarzenegger proposed eliminating the program entirely to help close California’s budget gap. Public health advocates are worried that new Governor Jerry Brown may go through with that idea. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Senator Feinstein to have knee surgery Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein is getting off to a slow start in the Congressional session that begins tomorrow. That’s the day California’s senior Senator is scheduled to undergo knee replacement surgery. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website As temperatures dip, concerns rise over home safety Forecasters predict overnight temperatures to dip into the 40s for the rest of the week in the Southland, and the frigid outdoor temperatures are causing families to get creative about staying warm. That can get dangerous. Experts caution that when misused inside, ovens, ranges, and outdoor barbeques consume oxygen. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Compton man makes plea agreement with prosecutors over steroid distribution A Compton man has agreed to plead guilty to possession and distribution of illegal steroids over the internet. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced the agreement Monday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Most California employers required to provide paid leave to bone marrow, organ donors A new law in California makes it easier for more people to donate bone marrow or an organ. Starting this week, most employees can get paid leave to do it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Long Beach seeks volunteers to count homeless people Long Beach is preparing to survey its homeless population. But in order to make sure everyone counts, the city will need help. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Letter grades will have nursing facilities following in restaurant's footsteps Selecting a nursing home could get a little easier in the New Year, as a new state law requiring nursing homes to display quality ratings is set to go into affect. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Play jewelry for children may contain carcinogens Earlier this year California lawmakers voted to ban the use of a toxic metal used in children’s jewelry—but that doesn’t take effect for another year. The play jewelry people give to children this holiday season may contain carcinogens. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Nurses at three Southern California hospitals threaten strike this week A nurses’ strike is looming in the Southland this holiday week. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UC Irvine medical students team up with older people In the next decade, aging baby boomers will account for four in every 10 doctor’s office visits. UC Irvine’s medical school is trying to gear up for that. It wants its first-year medical students to learn how to be comfortable with an older patient population. To make that happen, the students are teaming up with senior mentors. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Southland reactions to new federal child nutrition legislation Southland school districts welcomed the new federal child nutrition funding signed into law on Monday by President Barack Obama. For LA Unified, it means an extra $6 million a year for its school lunch program. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Lake Elsinore likely to extend moratorium on medical marijuana stores The city of Lake Elsinore could extend a moratorium on the establishment of medical marijuana outlets. The city council will take up the issue at a hearing tomorrow night. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Riverside opens mosquito disease research lab A nanotechnology company has just opened a new research lab in San Bernardino. The scientists there will look for ways to curb the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Porn actor steps forward to criticize adult film industry after being diagnosed HIV positive A 24-year-old porn actor recently diagnosed with HIV is stepping forward to criticize the adult film industry and call for greater enforcement of safety regulations on sets. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County Supervisors approve recommendations for rave policies The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted a set of recommendations Tuesday to create a policy for electronic music festivals, or “raves,” that take place in LA County. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New medical center begins major development at Riverside air base Demolition crews will start to clear the way for a new medical center at March Air Reserve Base this week. The Riverside airfield is the future home of what some call the “Mayo Clinic of the West.” Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Report says LA County needs to give kids on probation more help A report issued Thursday says Los Angeles County needs to offer much more help to kids who end up in juvenile hall and probation camps. The report arrives as L.A. County’s probation department is the target of federal scrutiny for the way it treats kids. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website State fines 7 health providers for late, improper claims payments Too little, too late — or both. That’s how a state agency says California’s seven largest health plan providers pay some claims filed by doctors and hospitals. Now, those providers have to pay nearly $5 million in fines. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bladder Pacemaker, Part 4 - Patient says it changed her life It can be tough to live with an overactive bladder, or one that just doesn’t work properly. In this last installment of a four-part series, we meet a woman who got a bladder pacemaker in an effort to return to a normal life. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bladder Pacemaker, Part 3 - Stimulates bladder and brain A small device known as a “bladder pacemaker” is helping out people who can’t go to the bathroom, or who have the urge to go too often. The implant regulates the bladder with electrical stimulation. But in this third installment of a series about the device, we find out that how it works is still a bit of a puzzle to researchers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bladder Pacemaker, Part 2 - Nerve stimulation can regulate bladder A device that works much like a heart pacemaker is helping out people with certain bladder problems. In this second installment in a series of reports, we take a quick look at how it's implanted. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bladder Pacemaker, Part 1 - Help for people with overactive bladders It’s estimated that about 13 million people in the United States deal with urinary incontinence. For many, standard treatments don’t work. In the first of a series of reports, we take a look at treatment that’s gaining acceptance: a “bladder pacemaker.” Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA Councilman Reyes introduces new prescription discount card Uninsured and underinsured Angelenos may have an easier time from now on when they pay for medications at the pharmacy. Los Angeles City Councilman Ed Reyes has introduced a new prescription discount card at St. Barnabas Senior Center in the Westlake District. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UC Irvine med students delve into new medical simulation center Not everyone gets to work with a bunch of dummies. But UC Irvine medical students do. The university recently unveiled its new $41 million Medical Education Simulation Center. It gives med students a chance to practice on some life-like dummies before moving on to real patients. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California prison inmate's family wins jury award after his death A Los Angeles jury has awarded the family of a deceased prison inmate almost $2 million. His survivors had sued claiming that the man’s cancer went untreated while he was in custody. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Task force report: Los Angeles can end homelessness in five years Nearly 50,000 people are homeless in Los Angeles County – a population that’s about the same size as Azusa. A new report by a task force commissioned by the United Way and the L.A. Chamber of Commerce says we can cut the number of homeless by 70 percent or more in only five years. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Study suggests many older people have bleeding in brains A new study out of UC Irvine suggests that older people often have bleeding in their brains, even if they don’t have a stroke. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Report finds OC kids fatter, more involved in gangs The Orange County Board of Supervisors will get a new report this week that spells out how children in the county are faring. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Advocates push for tougher safety guidelines for high school football players The high school football season is coming to a close. Parents and coaches will root for wins but pray for an injury-free ending. This season, tougher pro football rules about blows to the head have put a focus on head injuries. When a teenaged player suffers a blow to the head, it can be downright scary. It could mean a concussion or something far worse. Safety advocates are pushing for tougher high school guidelines. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hundreds of SoCal women obtain free health, financial services Throughout the weekend, hundreds of Southern California women will converge on Long Beach to receive what many of them can’t afford — health care services. The free three-day women’s fair is a precursor to California First Lady Maria Shriver’s annual women’s conference that begins Sunday night. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Benefit tonight for CoachArt, organization that offers classes to children with serious illnesses CoachArt, an organization that helps young people with chronic illness, will benefit from a fundraiser tonight. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County supervisors agree to hire local workers for MLK Hospital construction People who live near Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital in South Los Angeles will get construction jobs as building starts on the new facility. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors agreed on a mandatory hiring policy for local workers Tuesday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County hires San Francisco health director Los Angeles County has been trying to lure San Francisco’s health director south for two years. He’s finally on his way. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Food truck vendors may get final decision on new grading today Mobile food vendors could get final word today that their trucks will have to conform to the same health inspection grading system as restaurants. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to cast its final vote on the pending ordinance. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Group looks to give political voice to homeless, mentally ill in Santa Monica The November 2 election is two weeks away. And in Santa Monica, there’s been an effort underway to get out the vote among the mentally ill and homeless. They recently hosted a voter registration drive at the non-profit, Step Up On Second. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Irvine scientist works on transplant to help diabetes patients A stem cell scientist at UC Irvine hopes in the next few years to be able to test a new type of transplant for Type-I diabetes patients. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UC Riverside gets $10 million for future medical school California’s new state budget includes $10 million for the future School of Medicine at UC Riverside. It's money the school was counting on to keep construction on track. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Kaiser Permanente doctor sues Kaiser for denying care to thousands A former Kaiser Permanente doctor is suing the health care provider. He claims the non-profit organization denies adequate care to thousands of chronically-ill patients to save money. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Westminster’s Measure AA would end fireworks ban Westminster voters will get a chance to decide in November whether to end the ban on fireworks in their Orange County city. Measure AA would bring back "safe-and-sane" fireworks in Westminster for the first time in two decades. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bi-National Health Week kicks off in Los Angeles In a move to educate working-class Latinos in Los Angeles, consular offices of nearly a dozen Latin American countries are promoting Bi-National Health Week. The announcement was made at L.A. City Hall Tuesday morning. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UC Irvine scientist to study staph infection prevention A UC Irvine researcher has nabbed a major grant to study how to prevent antibiotic-resistant infections in discharged hospital patients. The $10 million federal grant will cover a three-year study. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UCLA doctors train military physicians UCLA doctors have developed a self-study course they expect to serve several purposes: save lives in Afghanistan, better train domestic first responders for potential terrorist attacks and improve patient care at hospitals in this country. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Orange County public health officials host free whooping cough vaccination clinics Orange County and the rest of California have been hit with 4,200 whooping cough cases. That's the highest number in nearly 50 years. Orange County health officials are hosting free vaccination clinics to try to stem the number of cases and potential deaths. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Health care reform policies kick in; insurers plan to counter expenses The first of many federal healthcare reform policies went into effect yesterday. This one allows children as old as 26 to remain on their parents’ medical insurance policies. Major health insurance providers have said they plan to counter the added expense. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California Endowment raises awareness for health care overhaul Parts of President Obama’s national health care reform will take effect in California on Thursday. A private health foundation is starting an ad campaign to let you know what’s coming. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County to get new health chief The “L.A. Times” says L.A. County may have found someone willing to take over the Department of Health Services. The job is maybe the toughest in county government. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Thousands of patient records breached at MLK Hospital If you’ve seen a doctor at the Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center, expect a letter in the mail pretty soon. Public health officials have disclosed that the center may have leaked personal information from thousands of patients. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Food trucks may begin carrying letter grades Before long, curbside taco or gourmet food trucks might carry letter grades that’ll signal now clean and safe their kitchens are. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario attended a meeting Tuesday with traditional truck operators who wanted to learn about new requirements Los Angeles County may impose. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA Mayor Villaraigosa appoints his former chief of staff to Harbor Commission Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has named his former chief of staff to the city's Harbor Commission. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Study finds liver may be part of Alzheimer’s puzzle One piece of the Alzheimer’s disease puzzle could turn out to be your liver. That's what a new study out of UC Irvine suggests. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Study: 17 percent of ER visits unnecessary SANTA MONICA — About 17 percent of visits to emergency rooms are unnecessary and have cost the U.S. $4.4 billion in health care costs, according to a study released today by Santa Monica-based RAND Corp. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Activists push for permanent fast-food restaurant ban in South LA The Los Angeles City Council made history last year when it approved a temporary ban on fast-food restaurants in South L.A. Activists are pushing to make that ban permanent. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New opportunities ahead for Charles Drew University The new Martin Luther King Hospital in South L.A. is scheduled to open in three years. An independent board will run it, and contract with the University of California for physician services. Leadership at its former medical training partner, Charles Drew University, spoke with KPCC about new opportunities that may lie ahead. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County officials advise public of whooping cough epidemic As kids get their back-to-school vaccinations, it’s a good idea for older siblings, parents and grandparents to get booster shots for whooping cough. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Quitting smoking legislation awaits Schwarzenegger's approval Nicotine patches and gum and addiction counseling could become routine expenses for medical providers, if Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs a bill into law. Here's more about how it’ll work. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Charles Drew University's new nursing school faces financial troubles Class is in session at the new nursing school at Charles Drew University in South Los Angeles. But students are not allowed inside the state-of-the-art research facility. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Legislature has until midnight to vote on pending bills; still no budget The state legislature has until midnight to vote on a pile of pending bills. The ones they pass eventually will land on the governor’s desk. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New Irvine hospital makes adjustments for local cultures When the new Hoag Hospital Irvine opens this week, it’ll be filled with all sorts of high-tech medical equipment. But the building is missing something — on purpose. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Medi-Cal clinics on shaky ground amid state deficit Families with little or no health insurance soon might find it more difficult to get care at community clinics. State money that supports the clinics is frozen until lawmakers hash out a new budget. KPCC looks at what will happen if that budget slashes Medi-Cal programs in the process. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Most Los Angeles marijuana dispensaries ineligible to remain open The Los Angeles City Clerk’s office has determined that about 75 percent of the medical marijuana dispensaries that want to stay open under the city’s new ordinance will have to shut down. The city clerk surveyed the paperwork from 169 dispensaries that already operated under the city’s interim ordinance. Only 41 of them met the requirements of the new ordinance. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Federal receiver downsizes turnaround plan for prison medical care Nearly a decade ago, one state prison inmate a week died because medical care inside prisons was so poor. A federal judge decided to stop that – so for the last few years a court-appointed receiver has been working to improve the quality of prison medical care in California. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Vacaville's Central Medical Facility: The 'gold standard' for prison medical care in California The federal receiver in charge of prison medicine considers one facility the gold standard for inmate care. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Curbing food trucks - LA city officials debate parking regulations Gourmet grilled cheese, red velvet pancakes, or handmade ice cream sammies - what’s been your latest curbside pleasure? L.A.'s ever-expanding fleet of gourmet food trucks has sparked calls for more regulation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California inmates still suffer from lapses in prison medical care Changes ordered by a federal receiver have brought better doctors and better care to inmates in California state prisons. But, as KPCC reports, inmates continue to suffer from misdiagnosis and delays in treatment. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Chino prison sees some improvements in medical care The federal receiver in charge of improving prison medical care brought in better doctors – and added prison staff to make sure inmates get to see those doctors. KPCC toured the California Institution for Men in Chino to see whether those changes improved conditions there. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fontana company recalls thousands of eggs A Fontana company is voluntarily recalling about 300,000 eggs linked to possible salmonella poisoning. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California’s budget woes thwart improvements to prison medicine Today, California spends $1 billion more on medical care for inmates than it did in 2005 when a federal judge found that care so flawed that he seized control of the system and appointed a receiver to improve it. Prison officials say the problem’s now fixed – and it’s time to put them back in charge. But as KPCC reports, California's prison medical system still lacks critical reforms. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UCI scientists use stem cells to reverse paralysis in mice UC Irvine researchers have figured a way to use human stem cells to restore movement in paralyzed mice. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Study finds sex-specific ethnic groups in U.S. are getting fatter A new study reveals that American children and teenagers have become fatter over the last decade and are more likely to develop diabetes or heart disease. Social and ethnic status is a factor. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Brain may help scientists diagnose Alzeimer's earlier Scientists at UC Irvine have discovered a pathway to the brain that may help them diagnose Alzheimer’s disease earlier. That pathway is how we retrieve memories. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA supervisors approve MLK Hospital board The seven board members who’ll oversee Willowbrook’s new Martin Luther King Junior Hospital not only have extensive professional experience, they also have practical knowledge about how boards work. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New hospital in Irvine prepares to open A new hospital opens in Irvine next month. The new Hoag Hospital Irvine takes the place of Irvine Regional Hospital, which occupied the same building before it closed a year-and-a-half ago. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California closer to getting nearly $2 billion in federal Medicaid money The U.S. Senate is practically out the door to its summer recess. But late this afternoon, Senators found enough votes to avoid a filibuster on a measure that includes nearly $2 billion to help plug California’s budget gap. There’s money in the bill for teachers and firefighters, too. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UCLA launches hand transplantation program UCLA is launching the first hand transplantation program on the West Coast. The program is designed to help those who have lost their hand or forearm. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Congresswoman Linda Sanchez introduces bill to help home care workers When Congress tackled health care, it didn't reform working conditions for people who care for more than 13 million Americans everyday. A California Congresswoman has introduced a measure that would ensure that federal labor laws apply to home health care workers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sen. Feinstein pushes for ban of BPA California lawmakers have already passed a measure to ban the chemical BPA from food containers for children. But a federal measure is stalled in the Senate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Southland suicide prevention hotline adds 24-hour Spanish language service A Southern California suicide prevention hotline has become one of fewer than a dozen in the country to offer 24-hour assistance in Spanish. Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services just launched the effort. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County parks kick off summer lunch program Children in Los Angeles County will be able to grab a free lunch while they play at dozens of county parks. The L.A. County Department of Recreation and Parks just began its annual summer lunch program. At Ladera Park in Los Angeles, about 50 kids tested and approved the menu. “It was awesome… the flavor was yummy,” some shouted. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Los Angeles County parks begin summer lunch program today The annual summer free lunch program for kids and teens begins today at some Los Angeles County parks and recreation centers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website State lawmakers, green chemistry fans place BPA ban in their sights The state assembly has voted to ban from baby bottles and children’s products a chemical that’s been linked to medical conditions including infertility and asthma. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Former porn actresses sue clinic for releasing patient records Two former adult film actresses are suing the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation. They allege the Sherman Oaks-based foundation that tests adult film performers for sexually transmitted diseases violated their privacy by releasing their health information online. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Safe and sane fireworks go on sale today In the municipalities that allow them, state-approved fireworks go on sale beginning today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Law professor says legal challenges to health care law won't stand Ninety days ago, President Obama signed health care reform legislation into law. Attorneys general from more than a dozen states have filed lawsuits to challenge its constitutionality. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Stem cell researchers inch toward treatment for Huntington’s Disease People with Huntington’s disease face an awful future - perhaps 20 years as it slowly strips away brain cells. But there’s a chance that in the next 20 years, researchers at UC Irvine could develop treatments that could arrest Huntington’s – and other brain and nervous systems disorders – thanks in part to a girl from Fountain Valley. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Governor Schwarzenegger asks Washington for money for health care for poor Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came to Washington, D.C. yesterday to ask Congress to boost funding for health care for the poor. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Imperial County air cleanup plan needs work, EPA says Federal regulators say California’s plan to clean the air in Imperial County doesn't go far enough. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County health officials dispel allegations medical staff endangered babies Los Angeles County’s health department is downplaying allegations that workers put babies in danger at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. A number of anonymous complaints accused employees at the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of serious negligence. Some said staff dropped babies and gave infants the wrong milk. Another allegation — made to an accreditation agency — said workers risked babies’ health by running a makeshift beauty salon inside an intensive care unit for ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Harvard health study suggests stressful environment worses effects of dirty air Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health say that rats under chronic stress may be more vulnerable to the health effects of air pollution. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cal State mental health services need improvement A new study by the California State University system indicates higher-than-average incidences of depression and anxiety among Cal State students who seek mental health services. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Disability rights advocates split over closure of Lanterman center The Lanterman Development Center in Pomona cares for people who are developmentally disabled. It’s named for Frank Lanterman — the Republican lawmaker who was the driving force behind changes in California’s care of the mentally disabled in the 1960s. He fought to improve care at state-run facilities. Now the one that bears his name is due to close. At a recent Sacramento hearing, advocates for the disabled were split over the closure. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County officials investigate Olive View-UCLA neonatal unit Los Angeles County's Department of Health Services is investigating whether babies received substandard care in Olive View-UCLA Medical Center's neonatal intensive care unit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California, LA County make case for more federal dollars L.A. County supervisors met at the White House this afternoon to talk about more federal money for health care. Their effort may bear fruit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website State and LA County officials compete for federal health care dollars The halls of Congress are crowded with Californians this week. All five Los Angeles County Supervisors are meeting with Congress members and White House officials to lobby for health care dollars. So are the state’s top two lawmakers. Both groups are asking for their share of the same money. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Remote Area Medical ends weeklong clinic in Los Angeles Today marked the final day of the week-long Remote Area Medical, or RAM, clinic at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Lung association report gives California air mixed reviews The American Lung Association released its 2010 “State of the Air” Report on Wednesday. The annual report looks at ozone and particle pollution in California and across the country. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Medical volunteers work to provide free services This week, thousands of people will head to the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena to take advantage of free medical and dental services. The Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps is organizing the clinic in L.A for a second time. To get in, you will need a wristband. Organizers passed out about 6,000 on Sunday. A few, like 72-year-old Cora Russell, tried their luck after arriving too late. Cora arrived in her motor-operated wheelchair to get a wristband that would get free medical, den ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bill to parole medically incapacitated prisoners in California advances A bill to put some medically incapacitated inmates on parole cleared a key State Senate committee today in Sacramento. The measure could save California hundred of millions of dollars each year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Consumer Watchdog wants Congress to add rate regulation to health care law The presidential signature on the health care reform bill doesn’t mean the battle’s over. A consumer group is calling on Congress and President Obama to fix what it calls “dangerous loopholes in the new law.” Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UC Regents consider takeover of California prison health care The University of California Board of Regents meets in San Francisco this week. Today, the regents will consider a proposal to take over health care in California’s prisons. The Schwarzenegger administration has pushed hard to convince the UC to sign on to the plan — and there’s more than a little interest on the university’s part. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Free health clinic coming to the LA Sports Arena An international relief agency is coming back to Los Angeles Sports Arena next month to provide health care for anyone who needs help. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Southern Californians react to passage of health care reform Southern Californians are reacting to Tuesday's signing of a massive health care reform bill by President Obama. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website EPA's Jackson announces new strategy on environmental chemicals Federal environmental officials say they're working on new strategies to clean up drinking water. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Southland reacts to health bill The impending passage of health insurance reform stands to affect the vast majority of people in the United States — regardless of whether they’re citizens. Patients at some Orange County clinics offered mixed reactions to the changes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Schwarzenegger warns the healthcare bill could cost California billions more Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday issued a tepid response to Congressional passage of health care reform. Earlier this year he warned the federal plan could cost California an extra $4 billion a year to implement. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Updates on historic health care bill UPDATE: States are already lining up to sue the federal government over the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Officials in at least 10 states have agreed to file a lawsuit challenging the legislation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Congressman Xavier Becerra reflects on health care battle Democratic leaders in the US House say they now have the 216 votes they’ll need to pass the Senate version of a health care bill and a second bill of amendments. They don’t expect a single Republican to vote for it. One Democratic House leader from California shares his experience of the battle. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Searching for Food in the Land of Plenty The number of Californians fighting to ward off hunger, already at a crisis level, is worsening in the face of the lingering recession and high unemployment. Now, the problem may grow as the state faces a new round of budget cuts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website AIDS Healthcare Foundation calls for mandatory use of condoms for porn industry At a hearing in Los Angeles today, an AIDS advocacy group will call for the mandatory use of condoms among adult film actors. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California’s prison medical czar wants to parole sick inmates The man in charge of improving medical care in California’s prisons unveiled plans today to lower the costs of that effort. One proposal would be to parole inmates who are medically, physically or mentally incapacitated. KPCC’s Julie Small reports the federal receiver says the plan could save California $200 million a year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Republican Congressman David Dreier accuses Democrats of abusing House rules A California Congressman says Democrats are playing fast and loose with House rules to improve the prospects of their health care reform bill. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website AIDS Healthcare Foundation continues push for condom use in porn The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has filed an appeal in its quest to require condom use on adult film sets. The Foundation filed a lawsuit last July against the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cuts to drug and alcohol treatment could send more addicts to California prisons The California State Assembly held a special hearing today in Sacramento on budget cuts for addiction treatment programs. The hearing looked at how those cuts will affect public safety. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Steam building up against California's anti-global warming laws Two Texas-based oil companies are supporting a campaign to suspend California's landmark anti-global warming laws. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Anthem Blue Cross executives to testify, justify proposed rate increases Anthem Blue Cross leaders will testify this afternoon before state lawmakers in Sacramento. The company announced in November it would increase premiums by as much as 39 percent and it quickly became a flash point in the national debate over health care reform. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UC Irvine scientists help create 'flightless mosquito' to fight disease Scientists at UC Irvine have helped to develop "flightless mosquitoes" that might help fight disease. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Democrats to introduce anti-trust legislation aimed at health insurance companies Comprehensive health care reform legislation has stalled in Congress. The House and Senate each passed versions, but they haven’t been able to reconcile the two bills. Now that Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown has been sworn in, Senate Democrats no longer have a fillibuster-proof majority. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Staffers protest mandatory furloughs at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk About a dozen psychiatric technicians at Norwalk's Metropolitan State Hospital protested state-imposed furloughs during their lunch break today. Staffers said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to close California's budget gap by forcing state employees to take off three days a month doesn't work at this residential hospital. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Health care workers at Kaiser Permanente's SoCal facilities drop SEIU, join upstart union Health care workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in Southern California have voted to give their union the boot. The massive Service Employees International Union is out, and the small upstart National Union of Healthcare Workers is in. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website State health officials fine Southland hospitals for lapses in patient care California public health officials have fined 13 hospitals for not complying with licensing requirements. Ten of the medical facilities are in the Southland. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Kingdom Day Parade float promotes African American organ, tissue donation in LA The 25th Kingdom Day Parade begins Monday morning at 10:15 in South Los Angeles. Among the 300-plus entries set to proceed along Martin Luther King and Crenshaw boulevards is a float from Donate Life California. The float is part of an outreach campaign that has helped organ and tissue donation gain acceptance among African Americans in the Southland. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Kingdom Day Parade float promotes African American organ, tissue donation in LA The 25th Kingdom Day Parade begins Monday morning at 10:15 in South Los Angeles. Among the 300-plus entries set to proceed along Martin Luther King and Crenshaw boulevards is a float from Donate Life California. The float is part of an outreach campaign that has helped organ and tissue donation gain acceptance among African Americans in the Southland. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Scientists at UC Irvine begin to develop new stroke therapy If you suffer a stroke but miss the three-hour window to get clot-busting drugs, it could mean brain damage and disability. But UC Irvine researchers have discovered a new treatment that could give doctors another option. The treatment appears to work in rats. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Scientists at UC Irvine begin to develop new stroke therapy If you suffer a stroke but miss the three-hour window to get clot-busting drugs, it could mean brain damage and disability. But UC Irvine researchers have discovered a new treatment that could give doctors another option. The treatment appears to work in rats. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website House, Senate still negotiating health care bill This week, members of the House of Representatives officially return to Washington after their holiday break. But Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have been working since the new year began, trying to find agreement on a health care bill. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website House, Senate still negotiating health care bill This week, members of the House of Representatives officially return to Washington after their holiday break. But Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have been working since the new year began, trying to find agreement on a health care bill. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Schwarzenegger's critique of Dem's healthcare bill could prove costly to state Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered his State of the State address on Wednesday. He had a tough message for members of Congress: fix the healthcare bill to California’s satisfaction — or vote against it. The message was not well received on Capitol Hill. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Schwarzenegger's critique of Dem's healthcare bill could prove costly to state Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered his State of the State address on Wednesday. He had a tough message for members of Congress: fix the healthcare bill to California’s satisfaction — or vote against it. The message was not well received on Capitol Hill. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Californians play major role in health care negotiations California can’t complain that it doesn’t have a seat at the negotiating table as the House and Senate work out differences in the health care bill. California has four “big dogs” negotiating for the House of Representatives. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Californians play major role in health care negotiations California can’t complain that it doesn’t have a seat at the negotiating table as the House and Senate work out differences in the health care bill. California has four “big dogs” negotiating for the House of Representatives. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Octomom's fertility doctor may lose his license The California Medical Board will decide whether to suspend or revoke the license of the fertility doctor who helped a woman conceive octuplets a year ago. KPCC’s Steve Julian reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Octomom's fertility doctor may lose his license The California Medical Board will decide whether to suspend or revoke the license of the fertility doctor who helped a woman conceive octuplets a year ago. KPCC’s Steve Julian reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Senator Dianne Feinstein reacts to passage of Senate health care bill The US Senate met on Christmas Eve for the first time since 1963 . Early this morning, they passed a historic health care measure. Now they fly home to face the voters. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Senator Dianne Feinstein reacts to passage of Senate health care bill The US Senate met on Christmas Eve for the first time since 1963 . Early this morning, they passed a historic health care measure. Now they fly home to face the voters. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Healthcare bill gets 60-39 Senate aproval Two US Senators from California were among the 60 who voted this morning in favor of the President’s healthcare bill. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde was in the Senate when the historic vote was cast. Kitty, who couldn’t find a taxi and had to hoof over snow and ice, told Steve Julian what she found once she got inside. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Healthcare bill gets 60-39 Senate aproval Two US Senators from California were among the 60 who voted this morning in favor of the President’s healthcare bill. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde was in the Senate when the historic vote was cast. Kitty, who couldn’t find a taxi and had to hoof over snow and ice, told Steve Julian what she found once she got inside. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Christmas party at Santa Monica YWCA for transitional housing alumni Former foster care girls currently at the YWCA - and others who’ve moved on - hang out, cook, and make festive ornaments. The transitional housing program aims to help girls land on their feet, after they age out of foster care. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Christmas party at Santa Monica YWCA for transitional housing alumni Former foster care girls currently at the YWCA - and others who’ve moved on - hang out, cook, and make festive ornaments. The transitional housing program aims to help girls land on their feet, after they age out of foster care. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Senator Dianne Feinstein votes yes on health care bill, addresses Medicaid shortfall The Senate worked again this weekend, voting to end debate on a health care bill. The 60-40 vote squeaker came after a snowstorm closed down much of the region. The bill’s moving forward, but California’s Governor has some concerns. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Senator Dianne Feinstein votes yes on health care bill, addresses Medicaid shortfall The Senate worked again this weekend, voting to end debate on a health care bill. The 60-40 vote squeaker came after a snowstorm closed down much of the region. The bill’s moving forward, but California’s Governor has some concerns. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Snowed in Senate to burn midnight oil to pass health care reform Its a winter wonderland in Washington DC. If you are flying east to meet friends or family this holiday week, you will want to call the airline ahead of time to check for delays. As much as two feet of snow has fallen in some areas. Most of the nation's capitol is shut down because of the snow. But US Senators are working all night on health care reform. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Snowed in Senate to burn midnight oil to pass health care reform Its a winter wonderland in Washington DC. If you are flying east to meet friends or family this holiday week, you will want to call the airline ahead of time to check for delays. As much as two feet of snow has fallen in some areas. Most of the nation's capitol is shut down because of the snow. But US Senators are working all night on health care reform. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Statewide survey indicates higher medical insurance premiums A study out today indicates that Californians who get their medical insurance through their jobs are paying far more in premiums than they did seven years ago — about 117 percent more a year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Statewide survey indicates higher medical insurance premiums A study out today indicates that Californians who get their medical insurance through their jobs are paying far more in premiums than they did seven years ago — about 117 percent more a year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA firefighters' union president says cutbacks costing lives The leader of the union that represents Los Angeles city firefighters blames budget cuts for two recent deaths. The charge arises as the union negotiates a new contract with the city. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA firefighters' union president says cutbacks costing lives The leader of the union that represents Los Angeles city firefighters blames budget cuts for two recent deaths. The charge arises as the union negotiates a new contract with the city. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Senate health care bill could mean less coverage for Californians As the U.S. Senate inches closer to a vote on the Democratic health care reform bill, a consumer advocate warns that the measure could lead to less coverage for Californians. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Senate health care bill could mean less coverage for Californians As the U.S. Senate inches closer to a vote on the Democratic health care reform bill, a consumer advocate warns that the measure could lead to less coverage for Californians. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Senate health care deal does not include public option Senate Democrats say they’ve agreed on a health care proposal. It doesn’t include a government-run public health insurance option, like the one in the bill that passed the House. A House member who backs the “public option” says he’s open to a different approach. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Senate health care deal does not include public option Senate Democrats say they’ve agreed on a health care proposal. It doesn’t include a government-run public health insurance option, like the one in the bill that passed the House. A House member who backs the “public option” says he’s open to a different approach. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA medical pot dispensaries capped at 70, but 137 to stay open The new medical marijuana rules in Los Angeles will cap the number of pot dispensaries in the city at 70. But 137 will be allowed to do business under the L.A. City Council's revamped regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA medical pot dispensaries capped at 70, but 137 to stay open The new medical marijuana rules in Los Angeles will cap the number of pot dispensaries in the city at 70. But 137 will be allowed to do business under the L.A. City Council's revamped regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Black women, nonsmokers near busy roads face higher miscarriage risk A new study from state environmental health scientists indicates that more miscarriages occur among African-American and nonsmoking women who live near busy roads. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Black women, nonsmokers near busy roads face higher miscarriage risk A new study from state environmental health scientists indicates that more miscarriages occur among African-American and nonsmoking women who live near busy roads. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dentists and CareCredit Credit Cards When dental patients sign off on CareCredit, dentists pay a bank fee and get paid, up front, for whatever amount they bill for. That can easily add up to thousands of dollars. One Inglewood woman says her dentist misused the system to rip her off. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dentists and CareCredit Credit Cards When dental patients sign off on CareCredit, dentists pay a bank fee and get paid, up front, for whatever amount they bill for. That can easily add up to thousands of dollars. One Inglewood woman says her dentist misused the system to rip her off. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Despite fewer new cases, California health officials say get a swine flu shot The number of new swine flu cases has dropped slightly in the last couple of weeks. But that doesn't mean H1N1 is going away. One of the state's top health officials still wants you to get your swine flu shot. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Despite fewer new cases, California health officials say get a swine flu shot The number of new swine flu cases has dropped slightly in the last couple of weeks. But that doesn't mean H1N1 is going away. One of the state's top health officials still wants you to get your swine flu shot. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County Supervisors ratify plan to run King Hospital with University of California The coast is clear for the University of California and Los Angeles County to reopen King Hospital in Willowbrook. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors has ratified an agreement with the university system. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County Supervisors ratify plan to run King Hospital with University of California The coast is clear for the University of California and Los Angeles County to reopen King Hospital in Willowbrook. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors has ratified an agreement with the university system. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California senators fight for money to reimburse hospitals for caring for the poor Senate debate over a Democratic-backed health care bill is underway and will continue until Christmas. The measure is supposed to cover the uninsured - eventually. California’s two senators are trying to come up with extra money to help pay the hospital bills for those without insurance today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Orange County to open its cold weather homeless shelters Orange County opens its cold weather homeless shelters tomorrow. And as the doors open, officials have a plan to deal with swine flu in the shelters. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dangerous toys list released for 2009 Each year the U.S. Public Interest Research Group releases a list of dangerous toys. This year's list includes Creative Wood Stacking Rings, the FurReal Baby Bird from Hasbro, and the Worky tool set from Nemmer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Charles Drew University closes its Urgent Care Clinic Fourteen months after the state-of-the-art diagnostic and testing center opened, Charles Drew University officials say it costs too much to maintain. Leaders of the Community Health Councils say it’s also possible that the closing may be part of the university’s strategy to play a bigger role at the new MLK Community Hospital, if University of California regents decide to partner with Los Angeles County and vote for the project. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Steady flow of people moves through free H1N1 vaccine clinic in Carson Today’s free H1N1 vaccination clinic at the Home Depot Center in Carson was expected to be one of the largest so far in Los Angeles County. By midday, the turnout was steady, with a pretty constant flow of people. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA City Council begins debate on regulating medical marijuana Two Los Angeles City Council committees begin Monday to debate a proposed new ordinance that would regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. In the last couple of years, the number of those outlets has exploded in the city. As many as a thousand operate in L.A. – more than in any city in the nation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California health officials unable to predict when they’ll have enough H1N1 vaccine California’s top health officials said Thursday the state has far fewer doses of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine than it needs. The state can’t predict when more doses will become available. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Some communities prepare for, others ditch swine flu vaccination clinics Torrance is gearing up for its first swine flu vaccination clinic next month. That's the next H1N1 clinic in the South Bay. Turnout at earlier ones in the South Bay has been enormous. That's convinced other cities to postpone their clinics - or skip them altogether. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Thousands attend free H1N1 clinic in Monterey Park Free H1N1 vaccine clinics across Los Angeles County are on the calendar through Thanksgiving, 2009, but thousands of people in Monterey Park aren't putting it off. The free clinic line stretched around Barnes Park on Thursday and took some people four hours to get inoculated. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New congressman John Garamendi joins health care debate California’s newest congressman is heading to Washington today to join the health care debate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California sues Amgen for alleged kickbacks to boost anemia drug sales California has joined New York and 13 other states in a federal lawsuit filed Friday against biotechnology giant Amgen. The suit alleges that the Thousand Oaks company gave kickbacks to health care providers to boost flagging sales of its anemia drug. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Governor Schwarzenegger doesn't join GOP criticism of House health care bill House Democrats unveiled the health care bill they plan to take to the floor next week. No Republicans are expected to vote for it, but one prominent California Republican does support health care reform. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Orange County begins free swine, seasonal flu shot clinics Orange County hosts its first free swine flu vaccine clinic this weekend. But it’s kicking off the flu season with free seasonal vaccine clinics first. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UC Irvine study suggests bad driving sometimes genetic A new study suggests bad driving may be in your genes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website CA stem cell institute gives $200M in research grants California’s Institute for Regeneratiave Medicine Wednesday awarded more than $200 million in research grants. Officials with the agency targeted research projects that could yield potential treatments for chronic and deadly diseases within the next four years. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Something else to worry about in a pandemic - Internet overload Doctors advise people who suspect they have the flu to stay home. But a congressional subcommittee wondered whether that advice could lead to an unintended online crisis. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Los Angeles County opens first H1N1 vaccine clinic Los Angeles County public health officials today opened a free clinic at Encino's Balboa Sports Complex. It is the county's first such clinic to help combat the virus that has struck around the world. Around the country there are big delays in getting the H1N1 vaccine. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website First swine flu vaccination clinic opens in Los Angeles County Hundreds of people stood in line at Encino’s Balboa Sports Complex this morning. They waited to get free H1N1 flu vaccinations. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UC Irvine scientists look to eyes to diagnose, treat Alzheimer’s disease A new UC Irvine study suggests the eyes might give doctors a clue about whether someone has Alzheimer’s disease. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California nurses threaten to strike Thousands of nurses in California will strike later this month if certain protections aren’t made available from the swine flu. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Judge sets aside LA’s moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries On the day the U.S. attorney general released new guidelines for prosecuting medical marijuana distributors and users, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that the city of L.A.’s moratorium on new pot dispensaries is invalid. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LA County DA pledges to prosecute medical marijuana distributors Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley apparently had tough words for medical marijuana dispensaries at a conference of narcotics officers in Montebello today. The Los Angeles Times quotes the DA as saying all of the county's hundreds of dispensaries are illegal, and that he intends to prosecute their operators. Later in the day, the D.A. sent out a toned down news release. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California health officials roll out H1N1 vaccine The H1N1 “swine flu” vaccine is available now in Los Angeles and more is on the way. County public health director Dr. Jonathan Fielding is distributing 92,000 doses now of the FluMist nasal spray. Dr. Fielding says by the end of the month, the county will have 1.3-million doses in nasal spray and flu shot form. Dr. Mark Horton of the state Department of Public Health says the H1N1 virus has killed 206 Californians since its initial outbreak last April. Another 2,700 people have bee ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website San Bernardino County reports 3 more Swine Flu-related deaths San Bernardino County is reporting three more deaths related to the H1N1 or “Swine Flu” virus. The deaths include a 4-month-old baby. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has more on the victims, and what the county is doing to prevent more flu-related fatalities. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Congressman Xavier Becerra ready to battle for health care This week, the health care debate shifts to the Senate, where the Finance Committee examines a bill by Max Baucus. The Democratic senator from Montana worked closely with Republicans to craft his bill – but none of them stood with Baucus when he unveiled his plan. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde says Senate Democrats may need to worry more about House Democrats than Republicans in the Senate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UC considers proposal to reopen MLK Medical Center The University of California Board of Regents met in San Francisco Thursday to examine a proposal to reopen South L.A.’s Martin Luther King Junior Medical Center. L.A. County wants UC doctors to staff the South L.A. hospital. The county would provide the money. KPCC’s Julie Small has more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website State board lifts freeze on enrollment in Healthy Families program The state board that manages California’s Healthy Families medical insurance program for low income kids voted Wednesday to lift the freeze on enrollment. KPCC’s Julie Small reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hospitals face short supply of respirators to protect staff from swine flu About 800 members of the California Hospital Association met in Sacramento Tuesday to prepare for a possible swine flu epidemic this fall. One key issue the state’s hospitals face is how to protect their workers from contracting the virus as they treat sick patients. The state’s recommending that those workers wear respirators. KPCC’s Julie Small reports that across the country, those masks are in short supply. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California House Democrats determined to keep public option The health care debate has shifted to the Senate where the Finance Committee is expected to tackle its version of a reform bill next week. But House Democrats from California are determined to keep their health care plan on the table. KPCC's Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tragic high school athlete death not uncommon Doctors say while tragic, Friday night’s on-field death of a Garden Grove high school football player does not appear to point to a trend. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website California lawmakers divided over malpractice reform In Wednesday night’s speech on health care, President Obama offered a concession to Republicans. He said he was willing to consider reforming malpractice laws. California adopted a big reform more than 30 years ago. State lawmakers capped “pain and suffering” awards in medical malpractice cases. Did it cut down the cost of medicine in California? And could it cut medical costs nationally? KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde says those are very good questions. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Rep. Jane Harman reacts to president's health care speech One of the members of Congress who took in the president’s health care overhaul speech last night is South Bay Democrat Jane Harman. Steve Julian asked her about the divide over how the speech was received - almost as if Republicans and Democrats heard two different speeches. Harman told KPCC's Steve Julian what she disagreed with in the speech. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Reaction to President Obama's healthcare speech. President Obama spoke to a joint session of Congress last night on his health care proposal... perhaps we should call it a “disjointed” session. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde was in the gallery. Kitty tells Steve Julian what the atmosphere was like after South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson called out “you lie” when the President said undocumented immigrants wouldn’t be covered under his health care plan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Congressman Joe Wilson catcalls president during address to Congress President Obama made his pitch for healthcare reform before a joint session of Congress last night . KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde was in the House gallery last night when one member called the President a liar. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Congresswoman Waters expects Obama to support public option Tomorrow night, President Obama will speak to a joint session of Congress in an effort to jumpstart the health care debate. One L.A. congresswoman expects to hear the president come out strongly for a public health insurance option. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hearing aids evolve into the world of wireless communications Tell the truth: after a lifetime of rock 'n' roll, you're not really surprised that sometimes you don't hear everything, are you? It might be time for a hearing aid. But KPCC's Susan Valot says it's okay. Today's hearing aids are actually kind of cool! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Funds for state's health insurance for kids replenished State lawmakers passed a bill today that restores funding for California’s Healthy Families Program. Over 600,000 children rely on the low-cost medical insurance. Thousand more are waiting to enroll. KPCC’s Julie Small reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website State officials urge Californians to prepare for swine flu epidemic Governor Schwarzenegger toured a public health lab in Richmond today that conducts tests for H1N1, the virus that causes “swine flu.” Up to a quarter of Californians could end with the swine flu this fall. KPCC’s Julie Small says from a podium in a microbiology lab, the governor urged Californians to get ready. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website March planned in favor of public health care option Supporters of a public option in federal health care reform legislation have scheduled a march in south Orange County today. KPCC’s Debra Baer reports that they’re targeting a congressman. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 'Healthy Families' co-pays, premiums raised to keep program afloat The state board that manages California’s medical insurance for children from low-income families adopted cost-cutting measures today to cope with severe budget cuts. KPCC’s Julie Small reports that even with today’s actions the board still plans to dis-enroll half a million children from the Healthy Families program this year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hoag breaks ground on new Irvine hospital Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian is moving into Irvine. The non-profit health care company officially broke ground today on its new Hoag Hospital Irvine facility. It’s actually the old Irvine Regional Hospital and Medical Center, which closed earlier this year. KPCC’s Susan Valot went to the groundbreaking to find out why Hoag thinks the middle of a recession is the right time to rebuild a hospital. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Free health clinic at Forum winds down The non-profit Remote Area Medical treated the last of thousands of patients at its temporary clinic in Inglewood. KPCC’s Brian Watt says the free clinic at the Forum is winding down. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Free clinic at Forum open through Tuesday The massive temporary free clinic set up at the Forum in Inglewood is open for another couple of days. Organizers are closing it down at the end of the day tomorrow. KPCC’s Shirley Jahad talked with some of the doctors and organizers there. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Leading LA civil rights and health care advocate dies A leading L.A. civil rights activist and health care advocate has died. Mary Henry was 82. KPCC's Shirley Jahad tells us more about her life. 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