Darryl Lester was at his mom’s place in Tacoma, Washington, when a letter he’d been waiting for arrived in the mail. At 40, he was destitute, in pain and out of work.
Environmental Health
Cheetos. Oreos. Capri Sun. That's just a sampling of the items that can be found on the menu every day at city-operated rec centers in Los Angeles, despite a high prevalence of childhood obesity in the county and a nutrition policy that the city adopted in 2005.
Talking about our personal experiences with mental illness can be difficult, even when it’s just among family and friends. But without these stories, how can we begin to understand an issue that is affecting every community across our state?
This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Gary Walker, a participant in the USC Center for Health Journalism's California Fellowship....
How an agency charged with protecting public health gave talking points to the lead-battery industry.
This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Courtney Teague, a participant in the 2019 California Fellowship....
More than half of female homicides in the U.S. are linked to intimate partner violence. And one out of 10 victims experienced some form of violence in the month before their death, which suggests there were opportunities for intervention.
He had called her stupid and dumb. And she made herself believe the belittling and degrading were tolerable — it would pass. Little did she know it would get worse.
This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Gary Walker, a participant in the USC Center for Health Journalism's California Fellowship....
I first became interested in jail suicides when I was reporting on the state prison in Montana, where I found that murders were quite uncommon inside the prison — but suicides were not.