Our fellows and grantees produce ambitious, deeply reported stories in partnership with the Center for Health Journalism on a host of timely health, social welfare and equity topics. In addition, the center publishes original reporting and commentary from a host of notable contributors, focused on the intersection of health and journalism. Browse our story archive, or go deeper on a given topic or keyword by using the menus below.
<p>The people of Lincoln Heights live among three city dumps. This is the story of their war on trash.</p>
<p>What is air pollution doing to our kids? If you live in L.A. County, and especially if you’ve driven back to the Los Angeles basin from somewhere else, you’ve seen it. A steely brown haze hangs over us for much of the year. We live in the smoggiest region in the United States (according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District), but for those raising children here it may not be top of mind. In some parts of the county, moms claw their way onto waiting lists for the “right” preschool while they are still pregnant. Concerns about finding the right neighborhood, the right school, about keeping kids away from gangs and drugs or getting them to turn off the Xbox and do some homework tend to take center stage. The air we breathe gets plenty of media coverage, but we tend to consider it more of an inconvenience than an emergency.</p><p>Yet at every stage of children’s lives – from their time in the womb until they’re ready to leave the nest – the pollution in the air impacts their health. 2010 California Health Journalism Fellow Christina Elston reports.</p>
<p>Making smokers pay $1 more per pack for cigarettes would help West Virginia save lives, rein in medical costs and could raise revenue for substance-abuse services, public health advocates told lawmakers Wednesday.</p><p>UPDATE: The state Legislature did not pass the bill this year.</p>
<p>West Virginia lawmakers want Florida's governor to reconsider his plan to drop a prescription monitoring program they say would cut down on pill trafficking. </p>
<p>West Virginia officials say they're disappointed that Florida's governor wants to kill a planned prescription drug monitoring program in the Sunshine State, which is a destination for people who deal pills.</p>
<p>West Virginia children with autism would have a much easier time getting treatment under legislation passed Thursday by the House of Delegates. </p>
<p>In a remarkable shift in public perceptions about children's health, unhealthy eating and obesity are now seen as the greatest threats to California's kids, according to the latest statewide voter survey from the Field Poll. In years past, illegal drug use was named as the biggest health risk but after concerted public health campaigns at the state and federal level, public awareness about childhood obesity has spread widely.</p>
<p>West Virginia smokers would pay $1 more per pack in taxes under a bill state lawmakers are considering.</p>
<p>West Virginia's Catholic bishop is calling on the state of West Virginia to devote more attention and money to help people struggling with addiction and mental illness.</p>
