Rita Beamish

Journalist

Rita Beamish is a veteran journalist, who worked for 20 years with The Associated Press in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. She currently works as a freelance reporter, editor and author. During her AP career, she was a White House reporter, and also covered politics, environmental policy and foreign policy, and worked as a national investigative reporter. She was part of AP's team in New York covering the aftermath of the 9-11 terror attacks. She taught for six years at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She began her career in California newspapers, with the Ventura County-Free Press and the Los Gatos Times-Observer. She is the author of "Perils of Paradise," a non-fiction adventure book. Her freelance work has appeared in numerous  publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, the Boston Globe, Smithsonian magazine and others. She has a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Santa Clara.

Articles

How green are state governments?

State governments have trumpeted many greenhouse-gas and energy reduction targets for their own state operations — "leading by example" while urging similar change in the private sector. And state agencies have employed an array of energy-saving programs and fleet requirements toward these goals.

Medi-Cal at 50: Strains on the safety net

"It's not your grandmother's Medi-Cal any more." California's version of Medicaid now provides health services for more than 12 million people, almost a third of all Californians. Medi-Cal insures more people than the populations of all but six states.

Elder abuse: 'A huge, expensive and lethal' problem

Elder abuse is a huge and growing problem, but it gets no where near the budgetary or political recognition of child abuse and domestic violence. It's underreported and government resources are scarce.

Older Americans Act limps along at 50

It's been half a century since Congress passed the Older Americans Act, providing services to help people age in their homes. But Washington seems to have overlooked the need for funding to keep up with the skyrocketing growth of the older population.

Hydrogen Hypocrisy?

Republicans say a big reason to vote for them is that they want to "end corporate welfare" by getting the government out of the business of choosing which clean energy technologies to nurture. But by quietly, but repeatedly, pressing to bet taxpayer money on hydrogen fuel cells, they may have elimna

Preterm Birth and Adult Illness

Premature birth is a global killer. Leaving the womb too early accounts for more than 1 million infant deaths each year, the latest data reveals, almost half of all newborn mortality worldwide. But it’s not just the toll on newborns that increasingly concerns health experts.

Rethinking Healthy Aging

Rethinking Healthy Aging

<p>There was a time when menopausal hormone therapy was seen as a near-panacea for the ills of the aging woman. That was before Marcia Stefanick and her Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) colleagues put the theory to the test and upended the medical world.</p>