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<p>At 364 pounds, Dawn Walton found her breaking point, literally, when she sat down for a meet and greet at her son's kindergarten class. "I felt the chair start to break beneath me," Walton, 35, said. "I knew it would kill him if I broke that chair." She made a bargain with God that day
<p>In Salinas, organic farmers struggle to build businesses in the epicenter of industrial agricuture.</p>
<p>Some lawmakers say they're disappointed that Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin slashed funding to fight substance abuse and to improve end-of-life health care.</p>
<p>Administrators of a hot line that helps West Virginians find treatment for prescription drug abuse are worried the program will be forced to close. The Mountain State has the nation's highest rate of fatal drug overdoses, and most of those deaths involve prescription drugs. But officials with the <a href="http://www.wvrxabuse.org/" target="_blank">West Virginia Prescription Drug Abuse Quitline</a> say state leaders have not shown concern for their funding problems. The hot line launched in September 2008 with the help of $1 million from a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, maker of the painkiller OxyContin. That money will run out next year, said Laura Lander, the program's clinical supervisor.</p><p> </p>
<p>In the past few years, in fact, school lunch reform has become a cause célèbre in many school districts in the Bay Area as concerns mount about children’s health. And the Oakland school district, along with the West Contra Costa County Unified School District, is among the pioneers in injecting healthier food choices into their menus despite a paucity of resources and the challenges of re-educating taste buds.</p>
<p>Studies show that residents living in neighborhoods near the Dumawish River are highly susceptible to illness and lower life expectancy, especially compared to those living in other areas of King County.</p>
<p>Environmental justice is an old mandate getting a new life under Lisa Jackson, the first African-American head of the Environmental Protection Agency.</p>
<p>Contaminated waters mean exposure to 42 chemicals for people who consume fish from the Duwamish River, despite posted warnings. For those who depend on the river as a primary food source, this frightening possibility is not enough of a deterrent.</p>
<p>The head of the House of Delegates health committee is calling on Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin to increase funding to fight drug and alcohol abuse.</p>
