San Joaquin County Health Articles

Two proposals that would usher in single-payer health care have divided former allies in the fight for reform.

After weeks of negotiations, the governor and top Democrats in the Legislature say they have a budget deal. Legislators will start voting today on bills related to the agreement, which sets spending and policy across a wide range of issues …

As climate change continues to drive temperatures to new extremes, employees in many jobs face increasing risk of injury and death. Here’s what California is doing to take the heat off workers.

The population of transgender inmates in California prisoners surged by 234 percent in the years since the state adopted a first-in-the-nation policy allowing gender-affirming health care.

You have to be 18 to get divorced in California, but there’s no minimum age to get married. Child marriage survivors protested at the state Capitol, but the Legislature likely won’t act until next year.

California legislators have passed a slew of laws to protect abortion rights. But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, many fear attempting to regulate “crisis pregnancy centers” is legally risky.

As extra pandemic benefits end, food banks say that they're becoming long-term supermarkets for Californians facing food insecurity. Several bills to boost CalFresh are before the Legislature, but the state budget deficit may get in the way.

Almost one million California residents are forced to drink from contaminated water supplies, or pay for bottled water. Economic inequality makes the crisis worse. What is the state doing to fix it?

Life expectancy in California exceeds all but three other states, but how long you live depends on which county you live in. They're not all equal. Why? The answer may lie in political policies.

2022 was a year that needed a lot of explaining. And California Local was there. Here are our 10 most important explanatory journalism stories from the year gone by, from immigration to cryptocurrency to wealth inequality and more.

The Supreme Court is keeping in place, for now, Title 42 — the pandemic policy that OK’d migrant expulsions. California has yet to figure out how to meet the needs of an influx of migrants when it does go away.

Amoxicillin, the most widely prescribed antibiotic, is suddenly in short supply just as a wave of respiratory illnesses is sweeping California. What is causing the sudden shortage?

California’s goal of zero traffic fatalities remains distant. Here are some common causes of deaths on the road that can be fixed, but haven’t been.

Homicide rates remain high in some of California's most Republican, Trump-voting counties. Are law-and-order policies against crime a bust? Here’s why political voting patterns are a strong indicator of violent crime in states and counties.

California is headed for a new COVID surge as BA.5, the most contagious variant of the virus yet discovered, arrives in the state, apparently causing an uptick in hospitalizations and deaths.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that after overturning Roe v. Wade SCOTUS must now overturn decisions allowing same-sex marriage and contraception. Here's why.

California may soon shut down its last nuclear power plant, but Gov. Gavin Newsom who once championed the closure has had a change of heart. Federal funds may now keep the plant running.

Abortion rights will remain protected, even expanded in California after the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, Gov. Gavin Newsom vows after a leaked SCOTUS opinion reveals the court plans to abolish the right to choose.

California has a new plan for dealing with COVID as the disease becomes endemic. But does that mean the pandemic is over? Here’s what Gov. Newsom is proposing.

Thinking about making a change in your relationship to drugs and alcohol? Here are some things to consider.