Obesity rates keep climbing in US

A record number of US adults are now obese, with 2 million more people crossing that unhealthy weight threshold between 2007 and 2009, according to new numbers released by the US Centers for Disease Control. California’s obesity rate is 24.8 percent, which is below the US average but higher than 16 other states.

Megan Baier

LA cancer screening center closes doors

The Elizabeth Center for Cancer Detection in Los Angeles — one of the oldest cancer screening clinics in California — plans to shut down today after treating its last patients. The center is a victim of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to freeze enrollment in a cancer screening program for low-income women on Jan. 1 and pay for routine mammograms only for women after the age of 50. Those moves caused an abrupt drop in the Elizabeth Center’s patient load and revenues, which had already been strained as its costs exceeded what it was earning from the state.

Schwarzenegger: No budget til he leaves office?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger caused a stir in the Capitol Monday when he told reporters he wouldn’t sign a budget that didn’t include long-term reforms, even if it means the state goes without a new spending plan until he leaves office in January.

CeaseFire tries to quell gang violence

The CeaseFire program is bringing law enforcement, government and community leaders together to stop the cycle of gang violence by focusing intensely on the small number of individuals who are responsible for most of the violence. At-risk youth and ex-cons are surrounded by support and services to help them join mainstream society and abandon their violent ways.

Megan Baier

Cancer screening clinics might shut down

Hundreds of California clinics that provide low-income women with free mammograms and cervical exams are fighting to stay open this summer because of changes in patient eligibility rules and a state budget that is already weeks late with no deal in sight. HealthyCal correspondent

Sacramento office focuses on youth development

Sacramento’s Office of Youth Development — created as the only standalone city department dedicated to youth in the Sacramento region — has been folded into the city’s Parks Department to save money in tough economic times. But city officials and community members say they think the office can remain effective if it continues the kind of work that has been typical of its first three years in business.

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