California
At Least 16 People Died in California After Medics Injected Sedatives During Police Encounters | KQED
It was impossible for the AP to determine the exact role injections may have played in many of the 94 deaths involving sedation that reporters found nationally during the investigation’s 2012–2021 timeframe. Few of those deaths were attributed to the sedation and authorities rarely investigated whether injections were appropriate, focusing more often on the use of force by police and the other drugs in people’s systems.
The idea behind the injections is to calm people who are combative, often due to drugs or a psychotic episode, so they can be transported to the hospital. Supporters say sedatives enable rapid treatment while protecting frontline responders from violence. Critics argue that the medications, given without consent, can be too risky to be administered during police encounters.
California was among the states with the most sedation cases, according to the investigation, which the AP did in collaboration with FRONTLINE (PBS) and the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism.
Midazolam was given in 15 of the 16 California cases, all by paramedics outside of a hospital. The drug can cause respiratory depression, a side effect experts say may be dangerous when mixed with police restraint tactics that restrict breathing — or with alcohol or certain drugs that a person may already have consumed.
The 16th case involved a man injected with a similar class of drug, lorazepam, while police restrained him at a hospital in San Diego.
Two emergency room doctors in San Diego told the AP they have discussed switching to ketamine, which supporters say is safer and works faster than midazolam. But the doctors said negative headlines about ketamine, especially after deaths and misuse in Colorado, stalled that idea.
California
Artful rebellion: California man thwarts city officials with boat mural
Sunday, May 12, 2024 2:03AM
A California man was told by city officials he needed to up a fence to hide his boat from public view. The man did just that, but with a twist.
SEASIDE, Calif. — A California man was told by the city of Seaside he needed to put up a fence to hide his boat from public view. That’s exactly what he did, but with a twist.
The man had a friend, who is an artist, paint a realistic picture of his boat on the six-foot-tall fence.
Instead of seeing a boat in the man’s yard, you now see a large mural of the boat on the fence.
The boat owner said he is happy with how the mural turned out, and perhaps he got the last laugh.
The internet appears to love his stoke of genius, too, since the mural has gone viral.
Copyright © 2024 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
California
Lakers News: Schedule, Location Determined for LA in California Classic
The timing and locale for the Los Angeles Lakers’ participation in this year’s impending California Classic Summer League have been revealed.
Per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors are set to co-host the event this year. The California Classic happens ahead of the bigger Las Vegas Summer League.
12 total contests will be played between July 6-10, all told. Three of the four California teams will attend (the L.A. Clippers will sit out). The Lakers, Warriors and Kings will be joined by the Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, and Miami Heat. The Warriors, Lakers and Heat are all scheduled to suit up in San Francisco, while the other clubs will play in Sacramento, before a Warriors-Kings game in San Francisco concludes the festivities.
Last year, Los Angeles selected former Indiana Hoosiers point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino with the No. 17 pick in the draft, plus ex-Pepperdine forward Maxwell Lewis with the No. 40 pick. Neither contributed meaningfully to the club’s win-now roster. This season, L.A. possesses the No. 17 selection once again, plus the No. 55 pick in the second round.
More Lakers: LA Reportedly To Interview Coach Still in Postseason For HC Gig
California
Newsom’s latest insurance move could help Californians avoid cancelled policies — but they’ll have to pay
As some Californians continue scrambling for ways to affordably insure their homes, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced a push to expedite how quickly insurance companies can increase rates.
Speedier approvals for rate hikes is one of the key reforms insurers say is necessary for them to stay afloat amid a growing number of costly claims in the Golden State, especially tied to recent wildfires and other mounting costs of climate change.
Newsom said he is drafting a “trailer bill” that could cut the current approval process down to 60 days — legislation he hopes will quell an exodus of insurers bailing their business out of California and soothe residents’ financial anxieties around canceled policies.
The current process allows the Department of Insurance up to 84 days to approve filings for insurance rate increases, but that timeline can take substantially longer if a public hearing is requested by consumer advocates or other groups.
“We need to stabilize this market,” Newsom said during a Friday press conference about his revised budget proposal. “We need to send the right signals, we need to move.”
While this change may temporarily usher in more expensive bills for consumers, proponents argue the changes will make home insurance more available. In turn, more options may also allow residents to avoid taking their chances with California’s “FAIR Plan,” the state’s “insurer of last resort,” which offers exorbitant premiums compared to regular insurance, and is also inching towards insolvency.
Denni Ritter, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association’s department vice president for state government relations, praised the news about expedited approvals Friday afternoon.
“Expediting the rate review process is a vital component to addressing California’s insurance crisis,” Ritter said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the Administration, Legislature and Department of Insurance on this crucial reform and other reforms necessary to fix our broken regulatory system and increase the availability of insurance for California homeowners, drivers, and businesses.”
The governor said he opted to work with state lawmakers on this “trailer bill,” rather than pursue an executive order to move the process along.
California’s Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara, started working with Newsom last fall to modernize and overhaul three decades of state’s regulations, including efforts to allow insurance companies to use catastrophe models to set rates, as well as bill consumers for the costs of reinsurance, which is insurance for insurers.
Lara said that ongoing work, however, isn’t expected to materialize until December.
That timeline isn’t fast enough in the governor’s eyes. If Newsom’s bill is passed within the state’s budget for 2024-25, it may take effect as early as July 1.
“(Lara’s) team is working their tails off, I know how concerned the legislature is on this,” Newsom said. “But December? I don’t think we have that much time.”
Rather than push back on Newsom’s announcement of his new bill, Lara thanked the governor’s support of his own effort, which has been dubbed the Sustainable Insurance Strategy.
“Newsom is right: time is of the essence,” Lara posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday. “Our partnership with the Governor and Legislature are essential to stabilizing our market. We’ve taken significant steps forward, but there is more to do.”
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