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California Watch

News stories in this section spotlight activities in California, including actions by the state Assembly and state Senate; proposed legislation; regulators like the Department of Managed Health Care and Department of Insurance; and the state ACA exchange, Covered California.

$85 Million in Tax Credits Available for California Businesses

This year’s California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC) application period is underway and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) has up to $85 million in tax credits available to award businesses that want to locate in California or stay and grow in the state. The tax credit program has a total of $304,727,233 ...

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Citing a Mental Health Crisis Among Young People, California Lawmakers Target Social Media

Karla Garcia said her son’s social media addiction started in fourth grade, when he got his own computer for virtual learning and logged on to YouTube. Now, two years later, the video-sharing site has replaced both schoolwork and the activities he used to love — like composing music or serenading his friends on the piano, ...

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L.A. County Coronavirus Weekly Death Rate 70% Higher Than In Bay Area: Why So Much Worse?

L.A. County’s weekly COVID-19 death rate is significantly higher than that of the San Francisco Bay Area. On a per-capita basis, L.A. County was recording 96 deaths a week for every 10 million residents, while the Bay Area was recording 56 deaths a week for every 10 million residents.

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Updated Cal/OSHA, EEOC COVID-19 Guidance

While COVID-19 guidance, orders and regulatory changes haven’t been as frequent as they were in the past two years, employers should review a couple of recent updates, including clarification of “indoor air space” and new limits to an employer’s ability to require viral COVID-19 testing. First, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) ...

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California’s Public Health Tax Is Dead for the Year

A ballot initiative that would have raised taxes on California millionaires and billionaires to fund public health programs and pandemic prevention is dead — at least for this year.

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Comic-Con Issues A Mask Mandate, Not The Costume Kind, For Event In San Diego.

Comic-Con International, which considers itself the oldest pop-culture convention in the world, is returning to San Diego for its first major in-person event since before the coronavirus pandemic began, and masks will be mandatory.

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Gavin Newsom Says California Has ‘Universal Access To Health Coverage’

Is California Gov. Gavin Newsom exaggerating when he says Golden State residents now will have “universal access to health coverage” as a result of a budget deal that will open Medi-Cal to 700,000 undocumented immigrants ages 26 to 49?

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Dial 988: State’s New Mental Health Crisis Hotline Debuts

Starting Saturday, people experiencing mental health crises need to remember just three numbers to dial for help: 988. The new federal number — debuting in California and across the country this weekend — is billed as an alternative to 911 for people experiencing mental health emergencies. Here, advocates say the shortcut will make it simpler ...

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California Will Make Its Own Insulin To Fight Drug’s High Prices, Newsom Says

California will start making its own affordable insulin as part of an effort to combat high drug prices for a lifesaving medication that has been made inaccessible for some Americans living with diabetes, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Thursday.

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COVID In California: First Case Of BA.2.75 Subvariant Detected In The State

The spring coronavirus swell that’s turning into the summer coronavirus surge is starting to result in more hospital admissions, although the amount of serious illness is still far less than before widespread vaccination.

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