Doctors Rally Against Bad Medicine?

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More than 500 medical doctors in lab coats with stethoscopes turned into rallying demonstrators yesterday in Sacramento. They were organized by the California Medical Association to sound a "code blue" warning about an impending health-care crisis and demand that the State Legislature do something about it. Elizabeth McNeil, of the California Medical Association, says that without immediate attention the prognosis for the state's health system is grim. Newsmaker #1: FERC to Impose Price Controls - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has finally agreed to wholesale electrical price controls. But UC Irvine economics professor Peter Navarro says the FERC's ideological hostility moved it to create caps riddled with loopholes and exemptions. He forecasts a continuing drain the state's budget that will harm other important programs. Newsmaker #2: Court Finds Coastal Commission Unconstitutional - A superior court judge has curtailed the authority of the Coastal Commission, which has regulated construction projects along California's 11,000-mile coastline since 1976. Coastal Commissioner Shirley Dettloff explains the events that led to the surprising decision that may affect 100 projects currently under consideration. Reporter's Notebook: US Navy's 'Whale' of a Dilemma - The National Marine Fisheries Service is considering a US Navy request to be exempted from the law that forbids the killing of whales. The Navy has asked permission to use new low-frequency sonar to detect super-quiet submarines. Marine mammalogist Kenneth Balcomb objects, citing several whale deaths as the result of early testing.
More than 500 medical doctors in lab coats with stethoscopes turned into rallying demonstrators yesterday in Sacramento. They were organized by the California Medical Association to sound a "code blue" warning about an impending health-care crisis and demand that the State Legislature do something about it. Elizabeth McNeil, of the California Medical Association, says that without immediate attention the prognosis for the state's health system is grim.
  • Newsmaker #1: FERC to Impose Price Controls - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has finally agreed to wholesale electrical price controls. But UC Irvine economics professor Peter Navarro says the FERC's ideological hostility moved it to create caps riddled with loopholes and exemptions. He forecasts a continuing drain the state's budget that will harm other important programs.
  • Newsmaker #2: Court Finds Coastal Commission Unconstitutional - A superior court judge has curtailed the authority of the Coastal Commission, which has regulated construction projects along California's 11,000-mile coastline since 1976. Coastal Commissioner Shirley Dettloff explains the events that led to the surprising decision that may affect 100 projects currently under consideration.
  • Reporter's Notebook: US Navy's 'Whale' of a Dilemma - The National Marine Fisheries Service is considering a US Navy request to be exempted from the law that forbids the killing of whales. The Navy has asked permission to use new low-frequency sonar to detect super-quiet submarines. Marine mammalogist Kenneth Balcomb objects, citing several whale deaths as the result of early testing.

California Coastal Commission

California Medical Association

Center for Whale Research

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

US Navy

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney

Producer:

Frances Anderton