By Bay City News

In response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s declaration of a state of emergency, California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned consumers that price gouging during the state’s series of storms is illegal.

On Wednesday, Bonta issued a consumer alert reminding residents that it is against the law for sellers to increase prices by over 10%. The law applies to sellers with food, emergency or medical supplies, building materials and gasoline for sale.

Also prohibited are extreme price spikes for reconstruction services, cleanup services, transportation services and rental housing and hotel accommodations.

Sellers are exempt from the prohibition if the price of labor, goods or materials have increased.

Violators are subject to fines up to $10,000 or a one-year county jail sentence, and civil penalities.

Californians who believe they were a victim of price gouging are urged to report the incident to local authorities or to Bonta’s office at oag.ca.gov/report.

Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

By Olivia Wynkoop
Bay City News

In an effort to address a growing need for mental health and addiction care, a bill was introduced on Monday in the state assembly to develop a minimum staffing requirement for behavioral health emergencies in California hospitals.

Introduced by Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, Assembly Bill 1001 would reportedly ensure there is enough qualified staff available in all units of a hospital to promptly assist those experiencing mental health and addiction crises.

The bill would require hospitals to have the following immediately available for hospital patients outside of psychiatric units: at least two psychiatric registered nurses and one trained staff member, as well as a staff member capable of caring for a patient’s psychosocial needs.

The California Department of Health Care Access and Information cited that in 2020, people with behavioral health diagnoses made up one-third of all inpatient hospital admissions.

But despite the need, there is currently no mandate on the amount of behavioral health staff members available to care for these patients, which has often resulted in long wait times.

Members of the California Nurses Association, a union comprised of over 100,000 nurses in the state, said that California hospitals are increasingly unprepared and lack specialized nurses to respond to the growing number of patients with behavioral health care needs.

“For patients who are suffering from an emergency, it could be a matter of life or death,” said Yvette Bassett, a registered nurse in the emergency room at Saint Francis Hospital. “Having an appropriately skilled behavioral health team would not only save the life of our patients, but also provide the necessary support for staff and nurses to appropriately care for the patient.”

On Monday, union members and Haney gathered outside San Francisco’s St. Mary’s Medical Center to stress the need for appropriate staffing in hospitals.

“It is very difficult to see a patient suffering from a behavioral health emergency and not have trained professionals available to treat them,” said Amy Preble, an ICU nurse at St. Mary’s Medical Center. “The lack of expertise and resources not only hurts our patients, but puts nurses and other staff at risk for violence. We know when nurses aren’t safe, none of our patients are safe. Passage of this bill would indicate our respect for those who are suffering from behavioral health crises, all of our patients, and signal that nurses deserve protection at work.”

Haney said that not only does understaffing prevent patients from receiving the care they deserve, but also exacerbates already overworked hospital workers. The inability to care for patients is partially the reason why the state’s licensed nurse population are leaving the profession, he said.

“Instead of treating people with mental health and addiction issues, we’re pushing them back onto the street,” said Haney, who also serves as chair of the Fentanyl and Opioid Overdose Prevention Select Committee.

His office reports that out of the 500,000 licensed nurses in California, 348,000 are currently working in hospitals.

Haney added that the bill would fund a mental health and addiction staff training program with pre-existing behavior health care funds, so workers can learn how to de-escalate crises and better care for patients.

“If we don’t invest in this workforce, we’ll continue to see more nurses leaving the field and fewer patients getting the help they desperately need.”

By Olivia Wynkoop
Bay City News

In response to series of violent incidents that recently occurred on and off school campuses, the San Francisco Unified School District and city officials introduced a slew of proposals on Tuesday to mitigate youth violence in San Francisco.

Last week, the school district was hit with reports of a gun at a middle school campus and a stabbing at another.

And off campus — a 12-year-old was arrested last week for allegedly stabbing a 15-year-old highschooler on a MUNI bus, and police said they are adding more patrols at Stonestown Galleria on Monday after several large teen fights broke out at the mall.

“There are no excuses for violence, but there are steps we can take to prevent this kind of behavior from taking hold in our schools and our City,” said Mayor London Breed. “As City leaders, we are committed to working together with the School District to make sure our kids are safe and have the support they need, especially after the incredible strain on our young people caused by the last few years.”

The nine proposals released on Tuesday would beef up pre-existing city and school programs, like adding more MUNI transit ambassadors, expanding a school violence interrupter program to identify at-risk youth and coordinate rehabilitation programs for youth involved in crime in the city’s district attorney and public defender offices.

“As SFUSD’s superintendent and a parent, I recognize how challenging the last few weeks have been,” said Superintendent Matt Wayne. “I am grateful that SFUSD and City leaders have come together with a sense of urgency to find solutions, and deepen our partnerships so that we can better support SFUSD students and families.”

The school district also said it intends to improve mental health support, resource-sharing and coordination techniques in school violence incidents.

“Our youth are still recovering from the devastating effect of the pandemic, and we know that it will take the entire City family, which includes leveraging the expertise of our community-based organizations, to help them build up their social-emotional resilience,” said Dr. Maria Su, Executive Director of the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families.