Insights

<p>In Lake County, Calif., the top health risk factors are underage drinking, accidental death and smoking. But why those and not others, like obesity or heart disease?</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Wildfires are a yearly occurrence in the Sierra Nevada. Low fuel moisture, high temperatures and human impacts in the wildland-urban interface combine into the ideal conditions for fast-moving fires. At the same time, ozone pollution levels regularly approach unhealthy levels. The area itself does not generate the pollution, but prevailing winds push pollution out of the Bay area and Sacramento corridor against the foothills and peaks of the region. U.S. EPA and the American Lung Association have consistently ranked Nevada County among the dozen most ozone-polluted counties in the nation.</p>

<p>In recent years it has become apparent that the poor quality of processed food is driving an epidemic of ill health in the U.S. and&nbsp;disproportionately affecting&nbsp;low-income Americans. As a local food bank official put it, "We have gone from the Cold War of too few calories to the terrorism of too many calories." A consortium of community groups, rooted in Central California's farming community, has become a leader in the search for solutions.</p>

<p>A columnist calls for a more "humane" health care spending plan, a seventh-grader tries to start a lunch revolution, and food prices are going up for lots of unexpected reasons as we close out the week in the <em>Daily Briefing</em>.</p>

<p>The idea of telling health care workers they should not wear their scrubs outside the hospital lit up the social media world this week. Dr. David C. Martin, a retired Sacramento anesthesiologist who abhors the too-casual practice of scrubs on the street, has hit a nerve.</p>

<p>It’s happening several times a day now. “My friend may have a brain tumor.” “I have been short of breath.” “What do you think I should do?” I am not a doctor, but people are increasingly looking to me as if I were one. It’s a little daunting.</p><p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG /> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves /> <w:TrackFormatting /> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF /> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidT--></p>

<p>In today's&nbsp;<em>Daily Briefing</em>, we are looking at the effects of proposed budget cuts, the hurdles for mobile apps and foreign doctors, and the pay of mental health professionals. What are you reading? Share in comments.</p>

<p>San Francisco's City Clinic has been dishing out frank talk about sex for 100 years. The shocking thing is not how much things have changed, but how much they haven't.</p>