Insights

<p><em>We have a guest post today from <a href="http://www.reportingonhealth.org/users/daniel-weintraub">Daniel Weintraub</a>, a veteran California journalist and editor of <a href="http://www.healthycal.org">HealthyCal.org</a&gt;, a nonprofit news site that is supported by The California Endowment, which also funds Center for Health Journalism Digital. Especially if you live in California, HealthyCal.org is worth checking out as a resource for health-related story ideas and background information. - Barbara Feder Ostrov, deputy editor, ReportingonHealth<br /></em></p>

<p>Newsdesk and Spot.us are organizations intent on giving journalists financial support for in-depth reporting as mainstream media continues to shrink. They are seeking proposals for their "<a href="http://newsdesk.org/2010/10/the-los-angeles-toxic-tour-request-for-prop… Angeles Toxic Tour,</a>" stories that will be told in text and multimedia to highlight environmental concerns in this sprawling city.</p>

<p>Happy Halloween! Don’t eat too much candy, or you’ll wind up like this poor pumpkin. Here's what we're checking out today:</p>

<p>Dr. Kristen Peterson liked to get good and drunk, regardless of how many patients she was going to be seeing.</p> <p>And the only people who knew were the members of the North Dakota Board of Medical Examiners. When the board members found out, they didn’t think it was information that should be shared with the public: people who might be treated by Peterson at a hospital or clinic.</p>

<p>For the last week I have been mulling over the name <em>heart failure</em>, questioning why the collective conditions that bear its name ever got such a name, and looking into the very murky area of heart failure death statistics.&nbsp; Many, many of us who were shocked to get the frightening diagnosis “heart failure” do not have hearts that have failed.&nbsp; We got treated, some more quickly than others, and went right on with our lives.&nbsp; Others are not so lucky and die of heart failure, sometimes suddenly and sometimes after years.&nbsp; Trying to discuss what heart failure is g

<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>“Liberal” Gene?</strong> Researchers are suggesting that the gene DRD4, which had previously been linked to risk-taking behavior, <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2010/10/is_there_a_gene_for_li… makes people more likely to be liberal</a>, the Washington Post’s Rob Stein reports.&nbsp; Admit it: biology, not free will, is driving you to the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-stewart-rally-20101029,0,727… rally</a> this weekend.</p>

<p>Most of the time, when we are talking about television and other media influencing body image, we are talking about the pretty, skinny women. In this case, a controversy was started by a new television show on CBS called "Mike and Molly," about an overweight (I don't have their BMI stats, but they could very well be obese) couple who met at their Overeaters Anonymous group.</p>

<p>After my story about the $2,391 per month health insurance premium, I got an email from a teacher in the Mountain School District. She writes, "Teachers in Santa Cruz County are facing similar increases.&nbsp; At many districts in Santa Cruz County, including Mountain School, San Lorenzo Valley and Soquel, teachers have seen unimaginable and unsustainable increases to our premiums.&nbsp; I am one of these teachers and no one seems to have solutions for us.

<p>It's a bit afield from our usual reporting, but a dead body in Los Angeles' landmark Millennium Biltmore Hotel, dozens of cops and hundreds of singing and dancing would-be celebs swirled through my life last weekend. But so far, nothing I've seen has mentioned a historical piece of the mystery at the Biltmore.</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>Heart Health:</strong> More American adults are taking medication to lower their blood pressure, but the number of <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/27/AR20101… with hypertension is holding steady</a>, according to new CDC data, reports the AP’s Mike Stobbe.</p>