When first responders answered roughly 10 calls from a long-term care center in Kirkland, Washington, over the course of a week, they did not expect to become patients themselves. Entering the Life Care Center of Kirkland last month exposed them to the novel coronavirus that sickens people with an illness known as COVID-19. Because the emergency calls came before authorities realized the virus was circulating…
Escondido student Juan Reynoso is about to step into largely unchartered territory. When he graduates this spring, he’ll be only the second person to have completed a new joint Master in Public Health (MPH)/Master in Urban Planning (MUP) degree program. Launched in 2016 by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), the program allows students to pursue a…
It may seem counter-intuitive considering the rapid decline of newspapers, but New York Times columnist Dave Leonhard told UC-Riverside students that “In terms of high-quality, ambitious journalism, we are living in a golden age right now.” Leonhard made that comment, and others, on Feb. 27 as he gave the 51st Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture on Feb. 27 at the UC Riverside Extension Center, 1200 University Ave, Riverside,…
In coastal communities prone to hurricanes and tropical storms, people typically turn to engineered solutions for protection: levees, sea walls and the like. But a natural buffer in the form of wetlands may be the more cost-effective solution, according to new research from the University of California San Diego. In the most comprehensive study of its sort to date, UC San Diego economists show that…
(Editor’s Note: A statewide panel of pest control experts says San Diego and other urban areas in California are experiencing a rat infestation that threatens public health. A report released by Reform California last year said a survey of 23 rodent control companies across the state showed a sharp increases in rat populations everywhere. More than 78 percent of the companies reported an increase of at least…
Gov. Gavin Newsom made a bold move Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. In his second State of the State address, an annual speech that usually focuses on political wins or the state’s booming economy, Newsom dedicated 35 of 42 minutes to the urgent but unsexy issue of homelessness. By proclaiming homelessness the most “pernicious crisis in our midst,” the first-term Democratic governor staked his political reputation…
For the first time ever, Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego has bred and successfully hatched two rare Weedy Seadragons. This is a first for Birch Aquarium, now one of the few aquariums in the world to hatch this unusual fish. The inch-long babies display the characteristic camouflaging appendages of the elaborate adult Weedy Seadragons in miniature, and have already had…
The number of influenza deaths in San Diego County increased to 57 after seven more fatalities were reported last week, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today. The ages of the new flu deaths ranged from 60 to 89 years of age and all had underlying medical conditions. A total of 1,548 lab-confirmed influenza cases were reported last week, compared to 1,689 cases…
As California contends with drought, wildfires and other impacts of climate change, a small yet passionate group of residents are attempting to lessen these effects and reduce the state’s carbon emissions. They are ranchers – but not the kind that most people picture when they hear that term. These first-generation ranchers are young, often female and ethnically diverse. Rather than raising beef cattle destined for…
(Editor’s Note: The San Diego Union Tribune recently ballyhooed a documentary it created based on that newspaper’s coverage of California’s 50th Congressional District’s disgraced former representative Duncan Hunter, R-Vapeville. The 5-part series, accessed through this link ,debuted on Jan. 22 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. An hour-long version of “The 50th” first played on Jan. 26 on Cox Cable and Spectrum Cable in San Diego. Episodes are…