New law aims to make donor milk more accessible for babies

Good Morning, I’m Katie Hyson, in for Debbie Cruz…. it’s Monday, October 7th.

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A new law aims to make donor milk more accessible for mothers who can’t produce enough breast milk. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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Today (Monday) marks one year since the Hamas attacks on Israel.

To commemorate it, San Diego Jewish organizations are holding a vigil and memorial.

The event starts at 6 this evening, at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla.

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We are less than a month away from the election.

Starting this week, registered voters in the county should keep an eye out for their ballots in the mail.

Early voting at the Registrar’s office also begins this week, and starting tomorrow (Tuesday), you can also drop off your ballot at any of the Registrar’s official ballot drop boxes.

For more information about the election, visit our newsroom’s Voter Guide, at K-P-B-S-dot-org-slash-voter-hub.

It launches today (Monday) in English and Spanish.

There you can find information on voting locations, election explainers and more of our newsroom’s coverage.

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The Heat Advisories and Excessive Heat Warnings for our county’s inland, mountain and desert areas expire at 8 tonight.

Today (Monday) in the inland areas, temps will be in the 90s, in the mountains, it’ll be in the 80s, by the coast, it’ll be in the 70s, and in the deserts, temps are expected to reach 109 degrees.

After today (Monday), temperatures will slightly drop each day, but we still won’t be feeling fall weather just yet.

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From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

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When mothers can’t produce enough breast milk, pasteurized donor milk is the best alternative for premature babies.

But it isn’t always accessible or affordable.

Health reporter Heidi De Marco looks into a new law that seeks to simplify the process.

Theresa Culver’s son, Joseph, was born 5 weeks early. He was sent to the NICU right after birth. THERESA CULVER From the time he was born, he was on the donor milk immediately. I was only producing maybe 0.1ml. But even when prescribed, it can cost up to $5 per ounce if not covered by insurance. And some hospitals may not even have it in stock. A new law is aiming to change that. ALLISON WOLF So AB 3059 really helps eliminate some of the barriers for equitable donor access. One is to ensure commercial coverage of donor milk. Allison Wolf is the executive director of the UC Health Milk Bank. She says the new law ensures that donor milk is recognized as an essential health benefit, aligning it with Medi-Cal coverage. ALLISON WOLF And then the second part is eliminating the tissue bank license for hospitals. And so some of the small rural safety net hospitals that don't have a donor program in their NICU will now be able to have one. The law will take effect in January 2025. Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.

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Californians will vote on 10 statewide ballot propositions this fall.

Proposition 35 would put new guidelines around Medi-Cal spending… to help secure better pay for doctors who serve low-income Californians.

Kristen Hwang (Wong) with our partner, CalMatters, has this explainer…

Prop. 35 would require the state to use money from a tax on health insurance plans to boost payments to doctors who serve Medi-Cal patients. Over the last few years, the state has expanded Medi-Cal to cover more Californians than ever…now around 14-million people. But the amount that doctors get paid to treat Medi-Cal patients has not kept up with inflation. And…as a result…many providers won’t treat them…according to the California Health Care Foundation. Supporters say Prop. 35 will encourage doctors to serve more low-income patients because they’d be getting paid more for their services. Opponents worry putting restrictions on how the state spends this money could mean cuts to other Medi-Cal programs.

TAG: That was CalMatters reporter Kristen Hwang (Wong).

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Learning about climate change is a new graduation requirement for UC-SD students.

Reporter Katie Anastas says it’s the first school in the U-C system to implement the policy.

One of the first classes Mutale Malama [moo-TA-le ma-LA-ma] is taking at UCSD is called The Oceans. It fulfills the new climate change requirement the university is rolling out this year. Malama says she’s glad her school has it. MUTALE MALAMA, UC SAN DIEGO STUDENT I think, if you care about yourself and others, you know, then you should care about the science concerning this earth and where we are right now. A group of faculty from several different fields helped develop the requirement. Wayne Yang, who led the group, says they considered requiring all students to take the same class. Instead, they wanted to show that hope for addressing climate change lies in every student. We don't want a whole class to say, ‘Things are bad, see you later.’ I think that's what we've done to this generation, right? We've left this generation in kind of a bad place. And instead the faculty realize that what we want is to give this generation, the next generation, all the tools to combat climate change. There are more than 40 classes that meet the requirement. Scripps Institution of Oceanography offers several of them. Others are in departments like urban planning, anthropology and economics. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.

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San Diego's department of animal services is celebrating furry friends that have crossed the rainbow bridge with a Dia de Los Muertos altar.

Reporter Tania Thorne says the celebration could present an adoption or foster opportunity.

Pictures of dogs and cats fill the ofrenda at the Carlsbad Department of Animal Services. Johnna Duty with the department says staff had the idea to celebrate the pets that once warmed their owners hearts and laps. Its a way for our staff, our volunteers and the community members to come and bring photos of their beloved pets… and hopefully they can come and visit us as well and see our available animals available for adoption. Similar to many shelters throughout the County, Duty says they are experiencing a high volume of animals up for adoption. We just took a look at our inventory and we have over 150 dogs and well over 200 animals, and a lot of them have some really great personalities Duty adds the Department will be waiving adoption fees by mentioning their Dia De Los Muertos pet celebration. The public is invited to bring in pictures of their pets that are no longer with them at the Carlsbad and Bonita locations through the end of the month.  TT KPBS News. 

TAG: KPBS is organizing a digital community altar where you can share a memory of someone you wish to remember.

Visit KPBS dot org slash Day of the Dead to fill out our form.

You can share an audio clip, a video, text and a photograph.

The deadline to submit is October 23rd.

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The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance will once again have a float in the Rose Parade on New Year’s day.

The 20-25 parade float will commemorate Asia's diverse eco-systems, with designs of the zoo's newest residents… two giant pandas from China.

They’re the first pandas to enter the U-S in more than 20 years.

The float will also feature San Diego Zoo’s red pandas, a Malayan tiger, plants, flowers and bamboo.

The San Diego Zoo received top honors for its float last year

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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Join us again tomorrow for the day’s top stories. I’m Katie Hyson. Thanks for listening and have a great Monday.