Statewide Region Local News: Health


All Local Health News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: A smoky blanket of particulate matter hovers over San Francisco’s skyline.
Getting Acquainted With AQI

Learn what's getting into Californians’ lungs and why it matters.

Image caption: The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here

How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.

Image caption: From nitrates to arsenic to “forever chemicals,” California’s water supply faces a serious pollution threat.
Dirty Water: California Faces a Water Contamination Crisis

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?

Image caption: Though life expectancy has declined in recent years, Californians still live longer than most Americans.
Want to Live a Long, Healthy Life? Move to California

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.

Image caption: Access to abortion in California is limited in many areas, though state laws protect a woman’s right to choose.
Abortion Rights in California, Explained

California has historically been ahead of the rest of the country in expanding the legal right to abortion services. Here’s what state laws say today, and how we got here.

Image caption: Mosquitos kill about 725,000 people every year, worldwide.
Taking a Bite Out of the Mosquito Population

The pesky mosquito can be deadly as well as annoying. Here’s how local governments in California have been waging war on mosquitoes for more than a century.

Image caption: California will soon be getting a new hotline number as an alternative to 911 for mental health crises.
988, the New Mental Health Emergency Number, Explained

California will soon add a new emergency hotline service with the number 988. Here’s the story behind that new service, and the original 911 number.

Image caption: States have expansive powers to protect the health of the general public.
The State’s Broad Power to Protect Public Health, Explained

Since long before the COVID-19 pandemic, states have possessed broad authority to protect public health, even to suspend laws and commandeer private property. Here’s why, and how it works.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/27/2025
The Trump administration clawed back hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to California health agencies, likely affecting investigations into disease outbreaks and other public health services.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/19/2025
The ports of LA and Long Beach are the biggest sources of air pollution in the LA basin. Air quality officials have drafted new rules to help electrify the ports. But community groups representing 400,000 residents say they don’t go far enough or fast enough to clean up their dirty air.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/19/2025
‘Everybody’s been denied some form of care,’ said one California mental health advocate. Now, lawmakers are advancing new bills on behavioral health coverage.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

03/17/2025
Image for display with article titled California’s Agriculture Commissioners and Sealers of Weights and Measures, Explained

Introducing the people who keep the food supply safe, make sure consumers get what they pay for, and protect the public from invasive pests.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/17/2025
California is spending billions more than planned for Medi-Cal. Some of the cost drivers include higher enrollment among immigrants without legal status as well as pharmacy costs.

California Local Pin Marker From Daily Democrat...

03/15/2025
"From Labs to Lives" is a new website and video series launched by UC Davis highlighting the impact of research funded by the federal government. Read on for details.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

03/14/2025
A statement issued March 14 by the Association of Bay Area Health Officials urged residents to get a measles vaccination if they've never received one or need an updated one. Read on to learn more.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/14/2025
To cover a budget gap in Medi-Cal — which provides health insurance for roughly 15 million disabled and low-income Californians — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is borrowing $3.4 billion from the state’s general fund.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/13/2025
California is spending more than it expected on Medi-Cal and Republican lawmakers are pointing to coverage expansions that benefited immigrant households.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/13/2025
California public health officials are closely monitoring two residents who recently tested positive for measles. Officials are on high alert given ongoing measles outbreaks in Texas, New Mexico and abroad.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/05/2025
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to see tangible results from the $6.4 billion mental health bond voters approved last year. Moving fast carries a risk of neglecting under-resourced communities.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/04/2025
In 2022 California declared itself a refuge for transgender health care after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law ensuring gender-affirming care for California minors and those living outside the state.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/02/2025
Two years ago, California made a bold announcement that it would manufacture a state-branded, low-cost insulin. Drug manufacturers, insurers, economists and diabetics took notice. It had the potential to disrupt the market, bring down drug costs and save patients’ lives.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

02/27/2025
Almost 15 million Californians have health care coverage through Medi-Cal, a program that stands to lose billions of dollars if Republicans follow through on proposed cuts.

California Local Pin Marker From Local News Matters...

02/22/2025
A new bill by a Bay Area state senator aims to create a special fund to help clean up so-called forever chemicals in California’s water supply. Senate Bill 454 was introduced by Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, on February 18 and, if passed by the state Legislature and signed by the governor, would create the PFAS Mitigation Fund.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

02/17/2025
Image for display with article titled Little Santa Cruz Beats Big Sugar

SC Vice Mayor Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson on centering health in policy making, and her path to politics.

California Local Pin Marker From Local News Matters...

02/15/2025
AS HOST TO the largest battery storage facility in the world, on a site that just had its fourth fire in four years, the people of Monterey County have grown to realize that Moss Landing is a learning laboratory for California’s green energy transition.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

02/06/2025
Bird flu was detected in a stray cat in San Mateo County. Read on for more information.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

02/06/2025
A local backyard poultry flock has been confirmed by San Mateo County health officials to have been infected with H5N1 bird flu. Read on for more information.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

02/05/2025
Good. Because it's flu season and cases are surging. Read on to learn more.