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Health Action is the framework for a community engagement effort to get people involved in creating a healthier Sonoma County. It starts at home with a personal commitment. It continues at work and school with wellness-focus policies and opportunities that encourage healthy living. It culminates in the community with a shared vision for overall good health.
Sonoma Health Action
Science & Health News
October 10, 2019Two Fire Survivors Remember Lost Mothers and Seek Support
Tuesday October 8, 5 pm. Santa Rosa Courthouse Square. A small group gathers to commemorate lives lost two years ago in the Sonoma Complex fire. News director Steve Mencher sought out two women who were moving through the crowd with purpose – Catharine Merkel seems almost serene. But she’s feeling…
October 09, 2019Sonoma County Ridesharing Service Aims to Help Women Feel Safer
A Sonoma County company wants to make ridesharing safer. “Women Driving Women” is based in Healdsburg and serves customers in both Sonoma and San Diego County. KRCB’s Steve Mencher spoke with founder Renee Cooper about how driving for Uber and Lift inspired her to start her own company. (Image:…
September 14, 2019Educators Use Poetry to Help Kids Talk About Trauma
Kids at Schaefer Elementary write their poems. Credit: Margo Perin. Third grade teacher, Tracy Henry, points to an American flag hanging in her classroom at Schaefer Elementary. The flag is melted along the edges, it shows just how hot the classroom got when the Tubbs fire swept through Santa Rosa…
September 03, 2019Housing Insecurity Is Taking a Toll on Youth’s Health
Miranda Hernandez and her mom, Adelina, stand inside their new home. Credit: Adia White Standing in the Fountaingrove neighborhood, you can see the scar of the Tubbs fire stretch across the hillside. Two years later, the trees are still charred and the sounds of reconstruction are constant. Among…
August 23, 2019October 2017 Wildfires Are Affecting Crucial Health Programs
Image: Ashley Vejar and son Angel. Photo courtesy of the subject “It just chokes me up every single time,” says Kemberly Mahiri, the supervisor for Sonoma County’s Teen Parent Connections Program. She’s showing me one of the hundreds of thank you cards she and other counselors for the program have…
August 01, 2019Officials Address Safety Along SMART Train Corridor
Five people have been killed by the SMART train since June, three are believed to have died by suicide. County leaders are now looking for ways to improve safety for a complicated problem. Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane has served on the SMART train board for ten years. KRCB’s Adia White…
Jul 30, 2019Grand Jury Commends Sonoma County Jail Mental Health Program
In Sonoma County, as elsewhere, jails increasingly serve as mental health facilities. In its yearly report, the Sonoma County Grand Jury commended a…
Jun 29, 2019Summer of Space!
NorCal Public Media brings you the universe with SUMMER OF SPACE, a multiplatform experience that includes a month full of science and history…
Jun 29, 2019Teenage Vaping on the Rise in Sonoma County
In 2018 the U.S. surgeon general declared teenage vaping a national epidemic. Local publisher Sonoma West published an investigation into the growing…
Jun 05, 2019Opioid Maker Insys Admits To Bribing Doctors, Agrees To Pay $225 Million Settlement
GABRIELLE EMANUEL NPR Article Therapeutics, an opioid manufacturer, has agreed to pay $225 million to settle the federal government's criminal and…
May 07, 2019Kaiser CEO Tyson Meets with Families on Mental Health
In late April, Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane traveled to Kaiser Permanente headquarters in Oakland. She was there with a group of family…- May 03, 2019
Opioid Epidemic in the Bay Area
The opioid epidemic is devastating communities throughout the country. Northern California Public Media partners with regional public health agenies… 
Apr 30, 2019New Health Officer Tackles Measles and Other Top Concerns
Sonoma County has a new Health Officer, responsible for overseeing the Department of Health Services. Dr. Celeste Philip started the job on April 9th…
Apr 24, 2019San Mateo County Jail Struggles With A New Role For Opioid Detox
Eric Westervelt NPR News(Redwood City, California) Felipe Chavez, who's doing time at the San Mateo jail for selling fentanyl, is taking part in the…
Apr 17, 2019Family Turns Grief to Activism After Daughter's Suicide
Editor's Note: On April 25, Kaiser CEO Bernard Tyson met with the Brown family and Shirlee Zane, and with several others seeking improvements in…
Mar 19, 2019San Jose says NO to incentives
LISTEN TO THIS STORY ON NPR Jasmine Garsd February 15, 2019 3:25 PM ET A mayor from another city that tried to land big tech companies might be…
Mar 05, 2019Sonoma County Emergency Manager Speaks on Flood Recovery
Although the Russian River has receded below flood stage, those affected are still struggling to get their lives back in order. At a community…
Mar 04, 2019Sonoma County Residents Search for Flood Recovery Assistance
1,900 homes and 578 businesses were damaged by the Russian River flooding and record rainfall last week. Sonoma County officials estimate the total…