Stat: Private Equity Owned Hospitals Target Of New Senate Investigation
The two leaders of the Senate Budget Committee on Thursday launched a bipartisan investigation into private equity ownership of hospitals in the United States, citing concerns that such arrangements are bad for both health care providers and patients. ... The hospitals are in California, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. (Trang, 12/7)

CalMatters: From Pediatrician To Reporter: This California Doctor Became A Journalist To Make An Impact
For more than three decades during her work as a pediatrician, Dr. ChrisAnna Mink was grateful that she could call Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services when she suspected a child was unsafe in their home. And as director of Harbor-UCLA’s Medical Center clinic for children in foster care, she was haunted by the toughest cases she saw – children beaten, neglected, exposed to drug use, domestic violence and worse.  (Almendrala, 12/7)

Los Angeles Times: Bass: L.A. Has Put 21,000 Homeless People In Interim Housing
Over the past year, Los Angeles city and county agencies have moved more than 21,000 unhoused Angelenos into interim housing — motel rooms, shelter beds, tiny home villages and an assortment of other sites, Mayor Karen Bass said Wednesday. Bass, marking the end of her first year in citywide office, said the figure showed the strides that her administration, working closely with many other government officials, have made in getting homeless residents off the street and under a roof. (Zahniser, 12/7)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento County Approved $1.3M To Help A Homeless Encampment. How Did It Vanish? 
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted in November to spend $1.3 million on a North Highlands parking lot for 30 homeless people. An official said the lot would help those who were “currently living in vehicles” on Roseville Road. But they aren’t there. Many of the residents meant to benefit from the parking lot at 4837 Watt Avenue were evicted from their encampments over the summer, months before the board’s vote. (Lange, 12/7)

Los Angeles Times: Group Sues L.A. Over Westside Homeless Housing Project 
A Westside nonprofit group sued the city of Los Angeles this week over a 33-bed homeless housing facility, arguing city officials failed to study the environmental effects of the project and didn’t follow a competitive bidding process. The lawsuit by Fix the City alleges violations of state and city law over the planned housing project at Midvale Avenue and Pico Boulevard. (Smith, 12/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: Here's Where Housing Costs Burden Bay Area Residents The Most
For many households in the Bay Area, the region’s relatively high income isn’t making up for its intense cost of housing. About one in three of the region’s households are considered “cost-burdened,” according to new American Community Survey data released this week by the Census Bureau. That means they spend more than 30% of their gross income on rent, mortgage payments, utilities and other housing costs. (Leonard and Devulapalli, 12/8)

Reuters: US CDC Issues Health Alert For Subtype Of Mpox Virus In Congo
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health alert on Thursday to notify clinicians and health departments about a deadly type of the mpox virus spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The CDC said it was alerting about the possibility of a subtype of the mpox virus called Clade I in travelers who have been in DRC. (12/7)

CIDRAP: Study Highlights Complications Of Mpox, Chickenpox Co-Infections
Almost 30% of mpox patients described in a retrospective study from Nigeria were co-infected with chickenpox. The study was published yesterday in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Previous mpox outbreaks in endemic countries in Africa have involved co-infections with chickenpox, resulting in more severe symptoms and presentation. The authors of the study say the burden of chickenpox is not well-known in Nigeris, as it is not a notifiable disease and the vaccine is not included in the national immunization program. (Soucheray, 12/7)

Axios: Congress To Require DOD To Review Troops Removed Over COVID-19 Vaccine Rule
Congress may require the Department of Defense to review the reinstatement of former U.S. troops discharged for refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a draft of the annual defense bill released earlier this week. The mandate, if passed in the final version of the bill, could see thousands of troops return to the armed services. (Knutson, 12/7)

Fox News: COVID Vaccination Rates ‘Alarmingly’ Low Among Nursing Home Staff, CDC Says: ‘A Real Danger’
Despite the higher risk that the coronavirus poses to older adults, a surprisingly low share of nursing home staff and residents are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations. Only six states are indicating that over 10% of staff members are updated on their vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Overall updated vaccination rates are higher among residents — but still fall short of the CDC’s recommendations. Only three states have more than 50% of residents with a fully updated vaccination status. (Rudy, 12/7)

Reuters: US Urges Makers Of Infant RSV Shots To Meet Winter Demand 
U.S. officials met with manufacturers of the infant and toddler RSV immunization Beyfortus this week seeking to boost access to the shot, the White House said in a statement on Thursday after senior Biden administration officials met with the companies last week. The officials on Tuesday met with representatives of Sanofi, AstraZeneca and Thermo Fisher "and urged them to work expeditiously to meet demand for immunizations this winter season through the commercial market," the White House said in a statement. (12/7)

Bay Area Reporter: Bay Area Blood Centers Encourage Gay, Bi Men To Donate 
Two of the Bay Area's main blood centers are asking eligible gay and bisexual men to donate during the holiday season when they usually see a dip in donations. Their appeals come after they implemented new rules covering when men who have sex with men can donate blood that took effect earlier this year. "We welcome all those now eligible to donate to donate," said Kevin Adler, a spokesperson for Vitalant, which has two blood donation centers in San Francisco. (Bajko, 12/6)

San Francisco Chronicle: Radioactive Objects Turn Up At S.F. Site Slated To Become Huge Waterfront Neighborhood — Again
For the second time in five years, a massive retesting effort has turned up radioactive objects at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, in areas that were already swept of radioactive contamination and earmarked for redevelopment years ago. (Waxmann, 12/7)

Los Angeles Times: ‘Coolio-Style Hair’: LAPD Union Official’s Column Sparks Backlash And Debate
The Los Angeles Protective League's Jamie McBride wrote a recent column in the union's monthly newsletter accusing the department of lowering its standards on beards and hair. But one officer says he was granted a medical exemption to grow facial hair after being diagnosed with pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB, a skin condition. (Jany, 12/8)

Times Of San Diego: UCSD, No. 7 In World For Top Number Of Highly Cited Researchers, Leads UC System 
UC San Diego has the highest number of influential voices in the University of California system and ranks seventh among universities worldwide. This is according to Clarivate’s 2023 Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) list, which includes 71 UCSD researchers in disciplines ranging from neuroscience to economics. (12/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: I Just Saved Someone’s Life On S.F.’s Streets. I Wish I Didn’t Have To
Earlier this week, as I was leaving the San Francisco Chronicle building, I saw a woman slumped in an uncomfortable position on steps across the street. I called out, “Hello!” as I walked up to her, but got no response. Something was wrong. Her face was ashen, and when I shook her and asked her to wake up, I realized she wasn’t breathing. As the gravity of the situation hit me, I tried not to panic. Only one other person had bothered to stop, and he looked nervous. (Nuala Bishari, 12/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘The Invisible Population’: How SF Is Failing Homeless Families
For years, San Francisco has struggled to respond to its growing homeless family population. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing’s 2017 five-year plan to end family homelessness by 2021 fizzled and died. The department’s new five-year plan, released earlier this year,  only promised to “significantly reduce family homelessness and end unsheltered homelessness.” (12/8)

CalMatters: After One Year, Karen Bass Still Focused On L.A. Homelessness
As Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and I discussed her first year in office and the tension between goal-setting and responding to crises, she was interrupted with an update from an aide: The Los Angeles Police Department was analyzing a string of recent murders, and officials suspected that a serial murderer might be responsible. (Jim Newton, 12/7)

San Diego Union-Tribune: State's Mental Health Laws Leave Local Governments Dangling In The Wind
Efforts to reduce homelessness increasingly have focused on mental illness and substance abuse among those living on the street. New state laws have created high expectations that those problems will be addressed, but in some cases the resources to make headway fall short. (Michael Smolens, 12/8)

East Bay Times: American Culture Around Aging Men Needs To Change
The nation’s suicide rate has steadily climbed since the turn of the century. A few years ago research that included these “deaths of despair” was recognized with a Nobel. The numbers are out there to diagnose the problem. But it’s much harder to treat. (LZ Granderson, 12/8)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Pain-Relieving Kratom Can Help Many Disabled Vets 
Kratom is a plant from Southeast Asia that has been used for hundreds of years to boost energy, relieve anxiety and help with pain relief. It has gained significant traction over the past 40 years in the United States, but its use can be a polarizing subject. Kratom is used by millions of people in the U.S. for energy and occasional stress and anxiety but is also distrusted by some due to a lack of awareness, widespread misinformation, and outdated and unfounded regulatory restrictions. (Kelley Guidry, 12/6)

Los Angeles Daily News: Anti-Smoking Zealots Want A New War On Drugs. The FDA Should Not Ban Menthol Cigarettes. 
Over the last few decades, public health messaging about the risks of smoking tobacco cigarettes has successfully informed everyone about the dangers of lighting up. As a consequence, Americans smoke far less than they used to, protecting many from the higher risks of cancers, cardiovascular problems and other health issues that have obviously been well-established. But some in the federal government aren’t satisfied with allowing people to make their own choices. (12/6)