County implements Laura’s Law for treatment of the mentally ill

Contra Costa became the eighth county in California to begin implementation of AB 1421, also known as Laura’s Law, which allows for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment of the mentally ill. Its supporters believe that while treatment should first be offered as a choice, mentally ill people who pose a threat to society and resist medical help should be ordered into treatment by a court.

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First measles case of 2015 confirmed in Contra Costa County

Alicia Trost of BART, Erika Jenssen with Contra Costa Public Health, and Tomas Aragon with City & County of San Francisco, from left to right, brief reporters on the first measles case confirmed in Contra Costa County in 2015. (Photo by Larry Zhou)

The first measles case in the recent national outbreak was confirmed in Contra Costa County today. According to county officials, the person with measles travelled by BART between the Lafayette and Montgomery stations between the dates of February 4 and 6 during commute time. “It’s low risk if people have been vaccinated to get measles…

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Asthma hospitalization rates for children in Contra Costa County

Environmental health advocates have often linked asthma rates in Richmond to nearby industrial polluters like the Chevron refinery. But while science has established some strong correlations between air pollution and asthma episodes — such as in studies conducted by the California EPA Air Resources Board or published in scientific journals such as Current Opinion on Pulmonary Medicine —…

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Cut down on salt, sugar and fat

Picture of a apple juice bottle, Mountain Dew bottle and a Sunkist bottle labelled with the amount of sugar each drink contains.

Drinking juice sounds healthy. But even a small bottle of apple juice can contain 10 teaspoons of sugar, a nutritionist told seniors at the Healthy Eating Event at the Richmond Auditorium Wednesday morning. About 50 people attended the free event, organized by the Richmond Commission on Aging and aimed at educating the elderly in Richmond…

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Air Quailty District hosts informative session on refinery fire

A dozen Richmond residents, most donning shirts that read ‘Clean Air for All,’ rode a bus to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District office this morning to hear from the various agencies investigating the Aug. 6 Chevron refinery fire. Spectators filled the chairs and lined the wall of the quiet, wood-paneled room as each…

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