MediterraneanGrocery Wholesalers in Sacramento, CA

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) of the California Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the release of a second draft document for public review describing proposed Public Health Goals (PHGs) for the five regulated haloacetic acids (HAAs) found in drinking water as a result of disinfection methods: monochloroacetic acid (MCA), dichloroacetic acid (DCA), trichloroacetic acid (TCA), monobromoacetic acid (MBA), and dibromoacetic acid (DBA).

A PHG is the level of a drinking water contaminant at which adverse health effects are not expected to occur from a lifetime of exposure. The California Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996^[1] requires OEHHA to develop PHGs based exclusively on public health considerations.^[2] PHGs published by OEHHA are considered by the State Water Resources Control Board in setting drinking water standards (Maximum Contaminant Levels, or MCLs) for California.^[3]

The second draft technical support document, available for download below, presents the scientific information available on the toxicity of the HAAs and the calculation of the proposed PHGs. The proposed PHGs of 0.2 parts per billion (ppb) for DCA, 0.1 ppb for TCA, and 0.03 ppb for DBA are based on carcinogenicity and are set at a level of risk of one additional cancer case per one million persons exposed over a 70-year lifetime. The proposed PHGs of 53 ppb for MCA and 25 ppb for MBA are based on noncancer health effects. The draft document also presents health-protective drinking water concentrations for noncancer health effects for DCA, TCA, and DBA.

The draft technical support document was originally released for a 90-day public comment period in January 2020, and underwent an external scientific peer review that was completed in September 2020. The draft technical support document has been revised per public and peer review comments and is being released for a second public comment period that begins August 19, 2022 and ends September 18, 2022.

The public is encouraged to submit written comments via OEHHA’s website, rather than in paper form. Comments may be submitted electronically through the following link: https://oehha.ca.gov/comments.

Hardcopy comments may be mailed, faxed, or hand-delivered to the address below. Any written comments concerning this draft PHG document, regardless of the form or method of transmission, must be received by the PHG program on September 18, 2022 to be considered.

Following the second public comment period, OEHHA will evaluate all the comments received and revise the document as appropriate. After any subsequent revisions, the final document will be posted on the OEHHA website along with responses to the external peer review comments and to major comments received during the two public comment periods.

If you would like to receive further information on this announcement or have questions, please contact Hermelinda Jimenez at [email protected] or at (916) 324-7572. Written inquiries can also be addressed to:

Pesticide and Environmental Toxicology Branch Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment California Environmental Protection Agency P.O. Box 4010, MS-12B Sacramento, California 95812-4010 Attention: PHG Program

^[1] Codified at Health and Safety Code, section 116270 et. seq.

California’s capital experienced its hottest day ever observed Tuesday — hitting an unprecedented 116 degrees and exceeding previous September records by a landslide of seven degrees. This latest peak, amid a historic heat wave torching the state, follows a year of significant extremes in Sacramento: In the past 12 months, before this record hot day, the state capital experienced its wettest day on record last October, an event bookended by a record-long dry stretch that wreaked havoc on agriculture throughout California’s Central Valley.

The most recent heat has fueled dangerous wildfire weather, and there’s continued risk of power shortages. Rolling blackouts have been a constant threat in the Golden State in the past several days, as the state’s grid operator experiences record demand.

It’s all part of a past year that’s been meteorological hell for the Central Valley — and Sacramento has been the scene of a bingo card of climate-fueled weather hazards. The extreme droughts and deluges are two sides of the same coin — all of these records made more probable by a warming planet.

The average early-September high in Sacramento is about 90 degrees — hot but manageable in a climate of low humidity. Highs have warmed about 1.4 degrees since the late 1940s, and despite little change in overall yearly rainfall, Septembers are trending drier.

Before this ongoing heat wave, downtown Sacramento had never logged a temperature higher than 109 degrees during the month of September. Then it hit 113 degrees Monday and a staggering 116 degrees Tuesday.

“Obviously we’re starting to see temperatures like this happening in September and October, but it’s more like what we’d see in July or August,” said Emily Heller, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

Beating a monthly record by 7 degrees is virtually unheard of — it hasn’t happened there since the 1940s, and back then it was possible only because many records were “younger” and easier to surpass. It’s analogous to running a marathon and winning by 10 minutes or more.

Here's one way to visualize just how extreme this CA heatwave is - Sacramento has a GHCN station with data back to 1877.In these 145 years, Sacramento never recorded a September temperature at/above 110F. Today's all-time record heat also broke the Sept record by a big margin! https://t.co/WuFIca1PaO pic.twitter.com/4mskFqY4l8

— Tomer Burg (@burgwx) September 7, 2022

It goes without saying that a hotter world will lend itself to more frequent, intense and long-duration heat extremes. Sacramento hasn’t set a monthly cold-temperature record since 1999 but has logged 10 monthly high temperature records since then.

The graph below illustrates the intersection of weather and climate quite well. There will always exist an inherent degree of natural variability in weather, but human-caused climate change is skewing things hotter. The blue curve marks the distribution of high-temperature observations from 1950 to 1980, and the red curve represents 1991 to 2021.

Notice the trend — the red curve is just a bit further to the right, which suddenly translates to considerably more days in the 94 degree-plus range. That’s the crux of climate change — it’s nonlinear. In other words, a subtle warming of a degree or two translates to perhaps exponentially more high-end extremes. Sacramento is seeing that firsthand.

A favorite false talking point among some who reject climate science is that opposites such as drought and flood cannot both be caused by the same phenomenon. But in fact, drought and flooding — both of which have had major effects in Sacramento over the past year — are intimately linked by a premise called Clausius-Clapeyron.

Here’s what the premise says: For every degree Fahrenheit the air temperature warms, the atmosphere can hold about 4 percent more water. It’s an exponential relationship. When moisture is available, as in a saturated environment, i.e. a rainstorm, precipitation rates and totals tend to be more extreme. In the absence of moisture, the air can more efficiently evaporate what little remains in the ground, depleting moisture from the landscape and reinforcing drought. That allows the air to warm further, which entrenches the cyclical process even more.

It comes as no surprise that the past year has included Sacramento’s longest drought on record and most severe one-day rain total. Between March 20 and Oct. 17, 2021, not a drop of rain fell on Sacramento — a streak of 212 days. The previous longest dry spell had stretched 194 days and ended in November 1880.

The state’s 2021 dry streak ended with flooding. Moderate rain fell Oct. 21, 22 and 23, but then 5.44 inches came down on the 24th alone. It was Sacramento’s wettest day on record — especially bizarre considering September averages only 0.93 inches. Another 0.37 inches fell the next day.

Some research suggests that slower west-to-east movement of the jet stream is in part contributing to weather patterns that get “stuck,” making it easier for the same conditions — for example, prolonged rainfall — to linger before the weather changes abruptly.

No single weather event is caused by climate change — but the intensity, frequency, duration and coverage of many extremes are boosted by human influence.

On a typical day, most of us won’t notice things are a degree or two warmer than they were 50 years ago. But suddenly that degree or two manifests in more broken records when outlier events are shifted into unprecedented territory.

There is evidence to indicate the fundamental patterns of our atmosphere are shifting, resulting in myriad hazards that are challenging communities. Sacramento is proof. And as precipitation and temperature extremes become even more pronounced and dramatic, the impact on communities and everyday life may continue to grow more quickly than society can adapt to.

By Kacie Williams

SACRAMENTO, CA – California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed an amicus brief last week in the Natomas Unified School District v. Sacramento County Board of Education, urging an appellate court to overturn what the brief called the unlawful expulsion of an elementary school student.

Bonta’s brief argues California law states students have a constitutional right to education and only students who “pose the greatest threat to safety” will undergo mandatory expulsion. And school districts must follow proper legal procedures before deciding to expel a student.

Students who have discipline issues should have their behaviors corrected without having their educational rights stripped of them, so long as it can be done in a way that is also safe for other students. In the case at hand, the school district failed to follow California’s standards for school discipline, AG Bonta said.

“Every child in California has the right to go to school and get an education,” said Bonta, adding expulsion should only be used as the absolute last resort, not a measure that we default to. Removing children from school can have strong lasting effects and consequences on that student.

In 2019, the Natomas Unified School District had a student who brought “unloaded, orange-tipped airsoft guns and a sealed bag of white plastic pellets” to school.

While the behavior of this student was concerning, the Natomas Unified School district disregarded the legal process necessary to follow before expelling a student, claims Bonta’s amicus brief.

The California Legislature later enacted a detailed statutory framework to govern student discipline, which entails non-punitive classroom discipline that has been shown to be more effective and efficient than suspension or expulsion.

It was also found that suspensions and expulsions disproportionately affected students of color, students with disabilities, LGBT students and other vulnerable student populations.

Moving forward under new law, expulsions must only be carried out after providing students to be able to form a defense for their actions.

Bonta’s brief notes the school district did not follow the law and the Sacramento County Board of Education then reversed the order. The case is currently on appeal before the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District.

The amicus brief charges disruption of school activities is not a reason for expulsion, and before expulsion a school district must provide supported findings and afford students the process set out in the Education Code, among a few other items.

AG Bonta also said, “I urge the appellate court to protect the rights of all of California’s students and erase this unlawful expulsion from the record.”

Wednesday is set to be another hot triple-digit day — although not nearly as hot as Tuesday when the Sacramento area shattered all-time records for heat.

Downtown Sacramento reached 116 degrees, the hottest temperature ever recorded for the area. Stockton reached 115, matching its previous record, while Modesto hit 112, just under its record of 113.

Meteorologist Tamara Berg says Wednesday will be in “record territory” again, although there aren’t as many records expected to fall as the day before.

“It is going to be continuing to be hot, as this ridge of high pressure is close to us for the most part, but once we get into Friday, it does look like we’ll take some of the edge off the heat as the ridge travels a little farther to the east,” Berg said.

Make use of the cooler morning hours for any strenuous activities and try to limit your outdoor exposure between 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

She added that as some tropical moisture comes up from the south through the weekend, we could start to see temperatures that are closer to average for this time of year.

How to tell if your sunscreen has expired

Weather Impact Days are still in place for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, as temperatures stay in the triple digits. This alert is in place when you should take steps to keep yourself safe from the weather. In this case, the heat could be threatening to sensitive groups.

Wednesday is expected to see a high of 110, while Thursday is set at 111, and Friday is back to 110 degrees. Wednesday is also the eighth day in a row of Flex Alerts for California.

By the start of the weekend, the Sacramento area could have temperatures back in the mid-90s.

Find the full forecast here:

Increased Fire Risk

The hot weather will dry fuels, meaning fires can start quickly and spread faster.

If you are going to be camping this weekend, be very careful with any campfires and do not leave them unattended.

Be aware of your surroundings and be ready to move if you see or smell smoke.

Fire officials across the region are worried that the high heat, paired with the dry conditions, will spread fires easier. Sacramento Metro Fire Captain Parker Wilbourn said that it is especially concerning with many people expected to grill outside, including in the wildland areas, during the holiday weekend.

"With the conditions being so hot, we are on edge," Wilbourn said. "Sometimes it just takes that small spark, whether it be from a barbecue or a chain hitting the ground from a trailer or any open flame at a campsite, a small spark can create a very large wildfire that threatens our communities and threatens our homes.”

KCRA's Fire Threat Index

KCRA 3’s weather team has developed a tool the team will be using to keep you informed as fire conditions change. It’s called the Fire Threat Index. This will give you an idea of the fire risk on any given day in different areas of our coverage region so you can plan ahead.

Toggle below to see the Fire Threat Index for different parts of Northern California over the next few days:

The Fire Index will stay in the High category until cooler weather arrives next week.

Here's how to find NorCal cooling centers

Cooling centers across Northern California are open to allow some residents to get a break from the forecasted week of triple-digit heat.

| Read More | Here are the cooling centers opening Thursday amid forecast triple digits in NorCal

| VIDEO BELOW | What to know about heat-related illnesses

Flex Alert extended: California residents urged to ease power usage

California's grid operator is asking people to conserve power for the seventh day in a row as it extended its Flex Alert into Tuesday. Residents are urged to conserve electricity from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. Cal ISO also on Monday issued an Energy Emergency Alert Watch on Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. With an EEA Watch, energy deficiencies are expected and the grid manager will seek to get additional energy from other sources to help avoid the risk of a rolling blackout.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District, or SMUD, is also asking customers to conserve electricity from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Officials say that if people don't dramatically ramp up conservation efforts, the state may be forced to turn to rotating outages.

This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order meant to ramp up the state's energy supply temporarily.

Customers can help ease pressure on the grid by easing power usage during the afternoon and evening:

| Video Below | California residents asked to ease power usage as temperatures rise in coming week

Sacramento County officials recommend canceling outdoor events

The Sacramento County Division of Public Health and Office of Emergency Services in a release Wednesday that it recommends outdoor events between noon to 8 p.m. from Saturday to Tuesday be canceled.

This includes youth sports, community gatherings, parades, marches or any events that could involve children, older adults, or any people with compromised immune systems that may be sensitive to the heat.

| VIDEO BELOW | Event organizers make changes to account for weekend heat

What is a heat dome and why is it popping up on social media?

As the name suggests, a heat dome is a region of very warm or hot air that can linger in the same general location for several days to a couple of weeks. This is a fairly common weather pattern in the U.S. West during the summer months.

The "dome" effect is created when a strong area of high pressure lingers over an area for an extended period of time. The stronger the high, the more likely it is to trap air underneath it.

The longer that air remains trapped in place, the more the sun works to heat the air, producing gradual warming day after day.

Any area of high pressure, whether a "heat dome" or not, forces air to slowly sink. Sinking air compresses as it reaches the ground and that forces the air to warm up even more.

Air also gets drier as it sinks. Drier air can heat more dramatically than air that is moister, so this can even further amplify warming.

| Read More | What is a heat dome and how is it impacting Northern California heat?

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Kaiser Permanente reached out to striking mental health clinicians to request bargaining sessions on Thursday and Friday, saying the company remains “committed to reaching a fair and equitable agreement that’s good for our therapists and our patients.”

The National Union of Healthcare Workers represents a little more than 2,000 psychologists, social workers and counselors providing behavioral health services to Kaiser members. They have been on strike in Northern California since Aug. 15.

“In the days leading up to the decision by NUHW leadership to go forward with their strike, Kaiser Permanente was working hard to reach agreement on a new contract,” company leaders said in a statement released Tuesday. “Our last offer, presented the weekend before the strike, includes an economic proposal that NUHW had previously agreed to, with competitive annual wage increases, a lump sum cash payment and a retroactive cash payment of up to $6,300.”

The company also said its last proposal had addressed the union’s concerns about working conditions. Kaiser had offered to allow the clinicians to spend 18% of their time on tasks other than seeing patients, up from 15%. Kaiser officials said they extended the deadline on their last offer.

NUHW President Sal Rosselli said the union’s bargaining team would meet with Kaiser on Thursday.

“Our members have shown incredible resolve and remain determined to strike for as long as it takes to make Kaiser meet the mental health care needs of its patients,” he said. “We had already agreed to Kaiser’s wage proposal. This strike is about patient care, and the settlement offer that Kaiser made prior to the start of the strike would not have addressed the severe understaffing of Kaiser mental health clinics that forces patients to wait months for mental health therapy sessions in violation of state law and has resulted in therapists leaving Kaiser in droves over the past year.”

Kaiser’s behavioral health workers had told The Bee in interviews over the phone and on the picket line that their main concern was not pay. They said they are determined to improve working conditions that have caused many of their colleagues to leave the company, high turnover that they say results in burnout for the clinicians who remain.

Ken Rogers, a Kaiser psychologist who practices in Elk Grove, said the 3% increase in what Kaiser is calling administrative work would be an “incremental change” that would do little to attract and retain behavioral health clinicians.

“Even if we write the notes by hand in the session, we have to record them in the computer and they have to be a certain format,” Rogers said. “Sometimes we have to check ... their behavioral health statistics: the numbers on questionnaires, things they filled out. We have to ask them about that. My job is actually pretty involved when it comes to those sorts of things. It’s really not: You come in. You sit on the couch. We have 50 minutes, and then we’re done.”

Because the insurer does not have enough therapists, Rogers and others have said patients are waiting two or three months for follow-up appointments that they should get within 10 business days. All too often, Rogers said, he and his colleagues are scheduling patients into their lunch hours and into time set aside for that “administrative work.”

Kaiser has said that turnover in its behavioral health services unit is no greater than the national average for all health care workers.

“Over the past five years we have added hundreds of new mental health clinicians to our workforce,” company leaders said in an earlier statement. “We’ve worked hard to expand the number of therapists in California and are investing $30 million to build a pipeline to educate and train new mental health professionals across the state. We have significantly expanded our ability to provide virtual care to patients who want it, increasing convenience and access.”

The California Department of Managed Health Care has launched an investigation into whether the company is providing timely access to behavioral health care amid the strike. Consumers can reach the DMHC at 888-466-2219 or at www.healthhelp.ca.gov.

This story was originally published September 6, 2022 4:37 PM.