California Connected Newsroom

The San Jose Mercury News’ Mark Emmons files part three of a five-part series on traumatic brain injuries suffered by Iraq War soldiers and the long, painful road to recovery. Today’s piece focuses on Michelle Sandoval, the wife of veteran Frank Sandoval. “There are pivotal moments in the recovery of every severely wounded service member, […]

The San Jose Mercury News’ Mark Emmons files part of a five-part series today on traumatic brain injury, the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Yesterday, Emmons focused on the story of survivor Frank Sandoval. Today, Emmons delves deeper into the medical science behind treating Sandoval’s injury.
“Military and VA doctors describe a […]

Mercury News video of Frank and Michelle Sandoval at Ward 7D.
The San Jose Mercury News ran part one of a five-part series today on an Iraq War veteran struggling to recover from a traumatic brain injury at Acute Care Ward 7D in Palo Alto. The subject, Frank Sandoval, was one of the patients featured in […]

The Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News report that a federal judge has given California six more months to properly accommodate its bulging prison population. But if matters do not improve after that time, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton says he may be forced to impose a […]

Wired’s Rob Beschizza reports on a new debate between scientists and people who say they suffer from health problems caused by electro-magnetic frequencies beamed across wireless networks. Previous fears about cellphones and inconclusive links with cancer have caught the popular imagination. “Sufferers report headaches, nausea, stomach upsets, tinnitus, brain fog and short-term memory among the […]

The Stockton Record ran a touching and informative feature Sunday on a mother’s story of her son’s tragic fate as a methamphetamine addict. Once a straight-A student, her son David Johnston became addicted to meth as a teenager. In recent years he became a petty theft and on Nov. 13th after being released from jail […]

The Los Angeles Times’ Janet Wilson filed another strong story today on air pollution and public health, reporting that according to outside experts the Environmental Protection Agency has reduced the influence of its scientific advisory in determining the impact of dangerous pollutants. She reports that the EPA is replacing independent, scientific recommendations with those prepared […]

The Associated Press reports that health officials have linked the E. coli outbreak in the Northeast to Taco Bell scallions that were grown in an Oxnard farm. The exact point of contamination has not yet been confirmed, but experts already see serious implications for California agriculture. Earlier this year, a deadly E. coli outbreak was […]

The Los Angeles Times’ George Skelton, Sacramento Bee’s Daniel Weintraub, Los Angeles Daily News, and San Jose Mercury News comment and report on a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California that finds a clear majority of voters want the bipartisan tone at the state capitol to continue. “Voters really are heaping praise […]

A NASA image of Planet Plankton, aka Earth.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports on a new NASA study that shows global warming’s negative impact on marine life. Satellite data show an ebb in the oceanic food chain as global temperatures rise, beginning with reductions in tiny phytoplankton that generate more than half of the world’s oxygen. […]