Author: Heather Gilligan

My plate, the USDA's new food icon, suggests that fruits and vegetables should comprise half of a healthy meal.

Eating red meat linked to higher mortality risk

The American diet, heavy in protein but light in fish, lean meats, legumes and whole grains, has long been faulted by experts for our expanding waistlines and increasing rates of preventable disease. A study released today is further confirmation of the health risks of one element of that diet – red meat.

Progress on teen pregnancy imperiled

Teen pregnancy rates in the US have decreased dramatically in recent years, and California’s rates of teen births are as low as they’ve been in the last two decades. But the news about teen pregnancy isn’t uniformly good, advocates say. Latinas and African Americans have much higher teen birth rates than white teens in California, mirroring a national trend, and state budget cuts threaten the state’s prevention programs.

In 100 blocks, a history of violent crime in Oakland

Most of Oakland’s crime happens in 100 blocks, Mayor Jean Quan explained to city residents at a recent neighborhood safety summit. Concentrating efforts there will change the story of violence in Oakland, she told a sometimes frustrated audience. But how different is the city’s new safety plan from what’s been tried in the past?

Don’t call it a prison release – or a panacea

California’s prison realignment is a confusing process, but state officials want to make one thing clear. While the prison population is being reduced starting next week, California isn’t actually releasing any prisoners early. Instead, they are shifting responsibility for “low level offenders” to the counties, which have historically had responsibility for this type of inmate. But that doesn’t mean that prison realignment has solved California’s criminal justice problems. “In the old days,” one expert says, “we used to call this ‘put the money on the stump and run.’”

After realignment, fewer women expected in prison

Half of women in California prisons are there for non-violent crimes – the kind of offenses that will be managed on the county level after prison realignment starts Oct. 1. Women’s needs are different from men’s and so are the reasons behind their brushes with the law. San Francisco County is already developing help tailored to women who commit crimes. Should other counties follow their lead?

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