The Brief

The nation’s largest physician group has backed a near complete ban on the most popular countertop material, which is linked to an aggressive lung disease disabling and killing stoneworkers in California and other states.

The American Medical Association has adopted a new policy opposing the manufacturing, importation, distribution, sale, fabrication and installation of high-silica engineered stone products across the U.S. Doctors in California hope that the declaration by the AMA, which counts more than 250,000 physicians and medical students as members, will spur greater regulation of the factory-made material and promote the use of safer alternatives.

“Workers are developing an incurable lung disease that can progress to respiratory failure and sometimes, death, often at a young age among workers,” AMA Board Member and radiation oncologist Sheila Rege said in a statement. “Silicosis is preventable, and the most effective way to prevent silicosis is to use safer countertop materials containing less than 1% crystalline silica with appropriate dust control measures.”

The move could boost a push by California regulators to phase out the use of engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica to make countertops and other construction surfaces. A state workplace standards board is poised to vote on a first-in-the-nation emergency regulation next month. Australia was the first country to ban engineered stone slabs in 2024.

More than 680 stoneworkers in California have contracted silicosis after inhaling toxic silica dust generated when cutting or polishing engineered stone, also known as artificial stone or quartz.

Most of them are Latino men who say they didn’t know about the hazards of handling artificial stone until they or co-workers felt shortness of breath and other worsening symptoms.

Dozens of workers have died, while 75 have undergone lung transplants since 2019, according to the California Department of Public Health. Physicians in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Texas and other states have reported cases as well, though California is the only state systematically tracking the disease in the industry.

“Having personally gone through the illness caused by artificial stone, I believe that eliminating the use of artificial stone would be a good decision,” said Lopez, a former stoneworker in the Bay Area who underwent a double lung transplant in March after years at a job cutting engineered stone into kitchen and bathroom countertops.

“Health must take precedence over commercial interests,” the father of four added. KQED is not using Lopez’s full name, as he fears losing vital medical care if arrested by immigration authorities.

Major manufacturers of high-silica artificial stone have sought to place the blame for rapidly rising silicosis cases on countertop fabrication employers who fail to follow safety precautions. Cambria, the largest U.S.-based producer of the material, has pushed for a bill in Congress that would immunize manufacturers and distributors from hundreds of lawsuits by sick workers seeking damages.

Meanwhile, the International Surface Fabricators Association, which is supported by Cambria and other manufacturers, has petitioned California regulators to require countertop fabricators to be certified to do business, instead of restricting their use of artificial stone.

ISFA CEO Laurie Weber doubted that a ban would benefit most workers, since “unlicensed, uninspected operators who cut stone unsafely today would continue to cut whatever comes next the same way.”

“ISFA respects the medical community’s concern for workers and calls for a solution that protects them now, licensing and verified compliance for every shop that cuts stone,” Weber said in a statement. “Silicosis is real, it is devastating and it is preventable. We respect the physicians and researchers who have treated these workers and sounded the alarm. Our disagreement is not with the medicine. It is with the idea that a product ban on fabrication, by itself, will protect the people doing this work.”

California, which has more protective silica regulations than federal standards, already requires fabricators to cut the material under a layer of water to reduce airborne dust, and provide workers with sophisticated masks and ventilation systems.

But the rules are expensive and difficult to implement, and Cal/OSHA inspectors have found most fabrication businesses they’ve visited had violations. In addition, mounting evidence shows that workers can get sick even at sophisticated shops complying with the current regulations. Within the next decade, between 1,000 to 1,500 stoneworkers in California could develop silicosis, leading to roughly 285 deaths, according to Cal/OSHA. The state is home to about 5,000 countertop fabrication workers, predominantly Latino immigrants.

Dr. Robert Blink, a San Francisco-based occupational medicine physician urging California to ban high-silica artificial stone, said AMA’s resolution will help increase awareness about its hazards, and increase potential regulation by federal OSHA, other states and even Congress, which is expected to tie or break a record number of physician representatives next year. The material is safe for consumers once installed.

“This is recognition by the larger house of medicine that the material cannot be safely used.” said Blink, a former president of the Western Occupational and Environmental Medical Association. “We’ve certainly been trying to raise the alarm because this is a deadly epidemic that is killing people.”

This story first appeared on Long Beach Post.

Long Beach’s speed cameras are now online at 18 locations throughout the city, and they’re here to stay until at least 2031. They started issuing warnings on Oct. 7, and they will start giving out tickets on Dec. 7.

It’s a big change. Many people have questions about how they work. Many others hope the cameras can finally slow down a stubborn surge in fatal crashes.

If you have a burning question, email jacob@lbpost.com. He might be able to find the answer.

Frequently asked questions

Where are the speed cameras?

The cameras are watching for speeding vehicles at 18 locations throughout Long Beach, with two in each City Council district.

Half of the cameras are on streets where deadly or severe crashes have occurred most often. The other half are in school zones or in areas where street racing is a problem.

How will the cameras work?

Tickets ranging from $50 to $500 start going out on Monday, Dec. 7. The cameras capture only the rear license plates of vehicles. Based on the license plate information, a citation is then sent to the car’s owner at the address where the car is registered.

If you don’t receive a warning during the 60-day warning period, then your first violation will be a warning instead of a citation.

Here’s how the cost of each ticket breaks down.

Payment is due within 30 days, but payment plans and diversion programs are available.

You can find more info on those here.

Where will the money go?

Long Beach officials estimate that citations will generate roughly $5 million in revenue in the first year, with half of that money going to cover the costs of administering the camera program.

The rest will pay for traffic-calming measures in neighborhoods where traffic studies have found they’re needed most. Those safety measures could include things like crosswalks, no-turn-on-red signs and speed humps.

The cameras are allowed as part of a state-approved pilot program that forbids the money from being spent on anything else.

Why does Long Beach have speed cameras?

Long Beach has been fighting a rising tide of deadly crashes in recent years. Last year saw the city’s highest total – 53 – in more than a decade. This year, there have been 41 fatal crashes, which is more than double the number of homicides.

Local officials see the cameras as part of the solution and lobbied for state authorization to install them under a pilot program. That program also authorizes them in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Glendale, Malibu and San Jose.

Citations are already being issued in San Francisco and Oakland.

Long Beach also got approval to install two more speed cameras on Pacific Coast Highway next year thanks to another state bill.

What other questions do you want answers to? Email jacob@lbpost.com to give us suggestions.

This story first appeared on Long Beach Post.

Long Beach families can soon send their children to a free Westside dual-language preschool offering groceries, mental health support and special education services to students and their families.

The new school is housed in the West Facilities Center, a resource hub operated by the city’s Department of Health and Human Services. The center already includes a family health clinic and a Women, Infants, and Children office, and the preschool will augment those by offering wraparound services for the whole family in addition to early education for about 50 students. It’s an effort to invest in families on the Westside, an area of the city where existing providers can meet only 30% of the demand, according to a city press release.

The preschool, operated by the nonprofit Un Mundo de Amigos, is expected to open later this fall, but families can join a waitlist for the new preschool or immediately enroll at one of Un Mundo’s two other sites, according to the program director Yolanda Silva.

All families are welcome to apply, she said — Un Mundo de Amigos has no income requirements — but those with the highest need will be prioritized. That includes low-income families, families seeking employment and those with open court cases. Higher-income families can enroll if space allows, but they may pay a small fee.

Families interested in enrolling in the Westside preschool (or other sites) can contact Silva directly at yolanda@unmundodeamigos.com or by phone at 562-472-8099. They can also book a tour through the preschool’s website and specify that they are interested in the Westside location.

Why it’s opening now

Renovations to the Westside site were recently completed (to the tune of $1.8 million thanks to grants and state assistance Un Mundo received), but the project has been long in the works.

More than 15 years ago, Laurie Petersen founded Un Mundo de Amigos as a way to “give back to the community,” she said. She’d read research about the critical foundations preschool establishes for young children, and she wanted to direct resources toward the greatest need.

“I looked for the poorest ZIP code in the county of Los Angeles with the least number of preschool spaces per capita for four-year-olds,” she said. Central Long Beach came up, she said.

Six members of the Un Mundo team, from left to right: Etney Johnson, Xochilt Hurtado, founder and president Laurie Petersen, Program Director Yolanda Silva, Lessly Ramirez and Arely Castro.

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Photo courtesy of Yolanda Silva

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Petersen bought two used car lots on Long Beach Boulevard between 14th and 15th streets and built the first Un Mundo de Amigos “from the ground up,” she said. Since then, she has founded a nonprofit, donated the school to it and opened a second location downtown.

In recent years, she began exploring options for opening a third location on the Westside, which she called “a desert of resources.” A space at the West Facilities Center, which had been vacant for years, was a perfect option, she said.

It’s especially needed, Petersen said, because of how she has seen the preschool population change. Families are navigating economic challenges and a high cost of living, fears of immigration enforcement, impacts from COVID on young children’s language and development and a larger population of students with disabilities who may not be getting the services they need, she said. Those challenges mean many arrive to kindergarten and aren’t ready to be there, she said.

The interior of Un Mundo de Amigos in West Long Beach. The city of Long Beach celebrated the school’s opening at a ribbon-cutting in October.

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Photo courtesy of the city of Long Beach

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Un Mundo de Amigos aims to fill those gaps by building whole-family support into the school’s approach. Un Mundo preschools have food pantries on site, stocked with fresh organic fruits and vegetables as well as pantry staples and supplies like diapers. Mental health support for families is available twice a week, and they have access to medical clinics and dental care, Petersen said.

The new Westside school will offer early intervention, evaluation and services for students with disabilities — helping fill a critical gap for families, some of whom have to choose between going to work and taking their child to speech therapy, Petersen said.

Un Mundo staff and their partners offer programs and services onsite, since many families are fearful of seeking resources in public, Silva said. She emphasized that the Un Mundo team has worked to build strong relationships with the families they serve.

“It takes a lot for somebody to ask for help,” she said. “We built those relationships where they don’t hesitate if they’re going through a family emergency. They come to us,” she said.

The 61-year-old driver of a minivan that killed three people when it crashed outside a Los Angeles metro station during rush hour was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and three counts of murder, a police spokesperson said Wednesday.

Police have said the driver was taken out of the vehicle and was able to talk, but he appeared in shock after Tuesday’s crash. Officials were not immediately able to determine the cause or whether he acted intentionally.

Police identified the driver as Ihor Demianenko, a resident of the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, Officer Norma Eisenman said. She didn’t know whether he was still at a hospital early Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear if Demianenko had a lawyer who could respond to the allegations.

The crash at a busy intersection in the North Hollywood neighborhood also critically injured two women. The vehicle ended up under a food vendor’s tent, and Mayor Karen Bass said the victims included street vendors and pedestrians.

Investigators will go through video of the crash frame by frame, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said.

“It will be probably a prolonged but a very deliberate investigation to determine what happened here,” he said.

Luis Luna-Guzman was working at a burger stand nearby when he heard a loud boom and saw people on the ground along with food and cups. People nearby started running toward the crash.

As he moved closer, he found an injured woman lying near the bike racks, her face, arms and legs bloody, he said, recalling her eyes were closed as she moaned in pain.

“I told her, ‘Don’t move, help is coming,’” Luna-Guzman said, adding that he saw a woman’s body nearby, while another woman was lying unmoving on the stairs leading to the station.

Adrin Nazarian, a Los Angeles City Council member whose district includes North Hollywood, described the area as a close-knit community where there is always commotion and activity.

The minivan was on the sidewalk surrounded by debris Tuesday night with its driver’s side door open and an air bag deployed. Fire engines and emergency crews worked nearby as a helicopter flew overhead.

One entrance to the metro remained closed Tuesday night, but otherwise the property wasn’t impacted and the stations for the bus and subway were open, according to Jose Ubaldo, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Thanawala reported from Atlanta.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

Last week’s election was full of surprises, especially for California school districts seeking to fix leaking roofs and broken air conditioners.

Although election officials are still counting votes in many parts of the state, the preliminary results show that nearly half the school bonds on California ballots are failing.

“It’s a shocking outcome,” said Sara Hinkley, director of policy and research at UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities and Schools. “This leaves some school districts with very few options. I’m sure they’re sweating.”

Eighty-six school districts put bonds seeking to do school repairs and modernization on last week’s ballot, totaling $12.4 billion, a relatively low amount of money compared to other big election years. Two years ago, school bonds totaled almost four times that and most of them passed.

As of late Tuesday, 50 bonds had either passed or were leading, with the rest failing. Bonds need 55% to pass.

Painful cuts

School district officials blamed the shaky economy.

“Everyone wants what is best for the kids, but when gas, groceries and utilities are cutting into people's budget, they have to find places to save,” said Mays Kakish, superintendent of Beaumont Unified School District near Banning in the Inland Empire. “In the short term, this loss of funding will be painful.”

Beaumont, one of the few districts in California where enrollment is increasing, desperately needs the $86 million the bond would have brought in. Last year, its schools had 138 roof leaks, district spokesman Thomas Guzowski said. In addition, the district needs to replace 81 portable classrooms.

A 2024 state bond — Proposition 2 — that provided $10 billion for school construction, is an alternative source of money for some school districts. But districts need to provide matching funds to get Prop. 2 money, and if the bond fails Beaumont will not qualify, Guzowski said.

Regardless, most of the Prop. 2 money set aside for school repairs is already spoken for. There’s still money available for new construction projects and emergencies, but there’s a long waiting list for the remaining money to fix leaky roofs or make other maintenance repairs.

Rich get richer

John Affeldt, managing attorney at the public interest law firm Public Advocates, said he wasn’t surprised at the outcome of the school bond elections. Many bonds in wealthier areas like the Bay Area and Orange County tend to be for more money and usually pass, enabling those districts to get Prop. 2 money using matching funds. Bonds in lower-income areas, meanwhile, tend to be for less money and fail.

“Those who have more, get more,” Affeldt said. “It’s an unfair system, and part of a long pattern of the state’s failed system of financing facilities.”

Affeldt’s firm sued the state over the alleged inequities in Prop. 2 and is awaiting a judge’s decision on whether to grant the state’s request to throw out the case. Earlier this year, a judge denied the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction but said they had a “reasonable chance of succeeding” on at least part of the case.

Windfall in San Diego

San Diego Unified is on the other end of the school bond fortunes. Voters said “yes” to its $3.4 billion bond, the largest in California, ushering in a windfall for swimming pools, new performing arts venues, staff housing, new air conditioners, security systems and other upgrades. Homeowners will pay an average of $294 a year.

“It was a great night. I’m still on a high,” said school board vice president Sabrina Bazzo. “This means that all students in our district — not just those in wealthy neighborhoods — will get access to high-quality facilities.”

Basso attributed the bond’s success to plenty of community support. Labor unions threw their weight behind the measure, in part because the district agreed to hire local union workers for much of the work, Bazzo said. Even the local taxpayers association supported the bond, largely because it wasn’t a new tax; it replaced a previous bond from 2022.

Repair and replace

Visalia Unified near Fresno doesn’t look to be so lucky. Its bid for a $158 million bond is trailing and expected to lose.

“The economy is challenging right now for a lot of folks,” said Superintendent Kirk Shrum. “I’m disappointed, thinking about what we could have done — upgraded bathrooms, new furniture — and now we have to wait.”

More than 70% of the district’s buildings are 50 years old or older, and are in dire need of repairs, Shrum said. A few years ago, the district assessed the condition of its buildings and the total for repairs came to $600 million. That seemed too high for a bond, so the district went with $158 million, the amount needed for only the most urgent projects.

Without the bond money, the district will shift funds around to pay for repairs when needed, but “we’ll never be able to get ahead of it,” Shrum said.

“You get stuck in a cycle of replace and repair when things break,” Shrum said. “But you can patch a roof only so many times.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.