State Highlights: LA Mayor Works With Trump Administration To Pave Way For Homeless Beds; Baltimore Mayor Kept Reselling Same ‘Healthy Holly’ Books For Profit In Illegal Scheme

Los Angeles Times: Trump Officials And Mayor Garcetti Team Up To Fix L.A. Homelessness
Taking the next step in months of negotiations over ways to combat L.A.’s homelessness crisis, Mayor Eric Garcetti and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson on Thursday announced the formation of a joint working group. Although much about the collaboration remains unknown, the mayor and secretary said their staffs would be working together to identify red tape and other impediments to getting people off the streets and housed quickly. (Oreskes, 2/13)

The Baltimore Sun: Just How Many ‘Healthy Holly’ Books Were There? Memo Offers Most Detailed Account Of Baltimore Mayor’s Fraud Scheme
Disgraced former Mayor Catherine Pugh possessed just 8,216 copies of her self-published “Healthy Holly” children’s books ― but resold those repeatedly, netting $859,960, federal prosecutors wrote in a new sentencing memo. In the most detailed accounting yet of Pugh’s fraud scheme, assistant U.S. attorneys Martin J. Clarke and Leo J. Wise laid out in the Thursday filing how the onetime Baltimore mayor “methodically expanded her illegal scheme and managed to conceal it.” (Broadwater, 2/14)

Al.com: Alabama Lawmaker’s Bill Would Force Men To Get Vasectomies At 50
A state representative from Birmingham filed a bill Thursday that would require Alabama men to get a vasectomy once they reach 50 years old or father three children, “whichever comes first.” The legislation by state Rep. Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham, says that a man will have to pay for the vasectomy “at his own expense.” (Koplowitz, 2/13)

Health News Florida: Health Professionals Aided On Loan Defaults
With no discussion, the Florida Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would shield health-care providers from disciplinary action if they default on student loans. The Senate voted 35-1 to pass the bill (HB 115), with Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, opposed. The House unanimously approved the bill last month, meaning it is now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis. (News Service Of Florida, 2/13)

New Hampshire Public Radio: DHHS Employee Files Whistleblower Lawsuit Over Child Protection Services
An employee of the state Department of Health and Human Services, Anna Carrigan, has filed a lawsuit alleging the state is failing its legal responsibilities to protect children from abuse and neglect in New Hampshire. The lawsuit also alleges Carrigan was retaliated against by supervisors at DHHS for speaking publicly on the issue. “[Carrigan] been subject to inconsistent and arbitrary directives and other conduct that have suppressed and chilled her ability to speak to the public and the press about DHHS’s dysfunction,” the complaint reads. (Moon, 2/13)

The Star Tribune: Minnesota Doctors Are Now Being Graded On Women’s Bone Health
MN Community Measurement has released its 2019 clinic ratings, and for the first time it ranked medical groups by the percentage of their elderly female patients who received recommended osteoporosis management after suffering broken bones. An annual report card on clinic quality is now evaluating Minnesota doctors on their efforts to prevent osteoporosis — a rare area of medicine in which the state’s doctors appear to be performing worse than their peers nationally. (Olson, 2/13)

Boston Globe: Massachusetts Law Meant To Protect People With Mental Illness May Make Them Sicker
The law that remains most problematic in the treatment of these illnesses is the Rogers Guardianship statute. This law requires a separate adversarial court proceeding in order to treat a patient with antipsychotic medication outside of emergency situations, even after that patient has been found dangerous enough — to themselves or others — to be civilly committed by the court to a hospital. The intention of the statute — to preserve a patient’s right to refuse medication — is well-meaning. However, in practice, it falls short in recognizing that a patient’s refusal of medication may reflect their underlying disease state. (Biswas, 2/13)

Arizona Republic: A Rape At Hacienda HealthCare In AZ Has Inspired A Congressional Bill
The rape of a patient at Hacienda HealthCare in Phoenix was the catalyst for a proposed federal law that is set to be introduced Thursday in Congress. The bill aims to improve transparency by giving the public easily accessible information about quality problems and substantiated complaints at facilities such as Hacienda. (Innes, 2/13)

The Washington Post: Joey Hensley Worried About Women Buying Tampons Tax Free
A Tennessee lawmaker is concerned that women would buy feminine hygiene products in bulk if the items were approved for an upcoming three-day, tax-free weekend. The legislation is part of a long effort to get rid of the “tampon-tax” on menstrual-related items, the Associated Press reported. (Beachum, 2/13)

CNN: Oklahoma To Resume Executions Now That It Has ‘Reliable Supply’ Of Lethal Injection Drugs 
Oklahoma state officials announced Thursday that the state will resume executions by lethal injection, having found a “reliable supply.” The state hasn’t executed a death row inmate since January 2015, when Charles Warner was put to death by lethal injection. Another inmate, Richard Glossip, was scheduled to be executed in September of that year but then-Gov. Mary Fallin called for it to be postponed. A ban on executions was put in place several days later as the state investigated whether the wrong drug was mistakenly used and a grand jury reviewed the execution protocol. (Almasy, 2/14)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Advocates Want Gov. Tom Wolf To Declare Philadelphia Schools A ‘Disaster’ Area Because Of Asbestos
A group of federal and local officials is preparing to ask Gov. Tom Wolf to issue a formal disaster declaration for the Philadelphia School District, citing the growing number of school closures because of potentially toxic asbestos exposure. Their push, detailed at a Thursday news conference, came as district officials closed two more city schools — Barton Elementary in Feltonville and Sullivan Elementary in Frankford — because of damaged asbestos. So far this school year, nine schools and an early childhood program have been shut because of the potential danger to children and staff. (Graham and Ruderman, 2/13)

Tampa Bay Times: Former Moffitt Cancer Center Director Sues Over Forced Resignation
A top official at Moffitt Cancer Center who resigned under pressure amid a controversy over exploitation of American-funded research by China has filed a lawsuit, alleging he was unjustifiably forced to leave his job. Thomas Sellers, a vice president and director of cancer research at Moffitt until his resignation late last year, says in the lawsuit that he was not part of the now-contentious “Thousand Talents” program, an initiative designed to recruit experts from the U.S. and elsewhere to collaborate with researchers in China. (Ross, 2/13)

The Oregonian: Oregon Baby’s Death In State Care Under Investigation, Officials Say
A 4-month-old infant died in the state’s custody Sunday, Oregon child welfare officials have confirmed. The Department of Human Services disclosed the baby’s death Tuesday, under a 2019 transparency law that requires state leaders to tell the public when a child on their radar dies by possible abuse or neglect. (Young, 2/12)

CNN: Mentally Ill Woman Dies In Custody, Lawsuit Alleges Deprivation Of Medical Care 
A lawsuit filed by the family of a Washington woman who died while in jail in 2018 alleges inhumane confinement and deprivation of adequate medical care where she was held. The death of Damaris Rodriguez, who was suffering from symptoms of psychosis, followed four days of “inexcusable neglect and appalling conditions at the South Correctional Entity Jail,” the lawsuit says. (Riess, 2/14)

The Oregonian: Concordia University’s Sister School Offers Help For Nursing Students
Two days after Concordia University-Portland announced the 115-year-old institution will close in May, its sister school in Minnesota is planning to accept students from the Portland college’s popular nursing program. Concordia University-St. Paul officials announced they’re working on a program that would allow Portland-based nursing students to graduate on time and remain in Portland. The program, which would require regulatory and accreditation approval, would also be open for future students, according to a press release. (The Oregonian/OregonLive Politics Team, 2/13)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Grand Jury Investigators Are ‘Dead Serious’ About Revealing Sexual Abuse Cover-Ups Among Jehovah’s Witnesses
The existence of a Pennsylvania grand jury investigation into the Witnesses’s handling of child sex abuse cases — the first of its kind in the country — was only disclosed a week ago, in a story by USA Today, which was met with a no comment from Attorney General Josh Shapiro. But The Inquirer this week interviewed five ex-Witnesses who have already testified for the grand jury, including Chase, and their recollections paint a portrait of an investigation focused on shattering the wall of silence that has long surrounded the religion’s reclusive leaders, and unearthing secretly-maintained records about suspected pedophiles. (Gambacorta, 2/14)

The Oregonian: Are Oregon’s Hot Springs Safe? Forest Service Doesn’t Warn Of Health Dangers
Is it always safe to go soaking in Oregon’s natural hot springs? It’s a question worth asking this winter following two medical emergencies, including one death, at rustic hot springs located in Cascade Mountain forests. (Hale, 2/12)