Guillain Barre
A couple of folks from the CDC have been in Arizona this week to help us (and Sonora) to investigate an unusual number of cases (8 in Arizona and 8 in Sonora) of Guillain Barre syndrome . The Arizona cases are in the Yuma area. It’s a rare condition that rarely (but occasionally) happens several days after a person has been sick [...]
New Medical Marijuana Memo from Justice
The U.S. Department issued new guidance for federal prosecutors last week. We had been anticipating a new memo from Justice for some time- hoping that it would clarify whether the dispensary portions of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act are legal under federal law (the Controlled Substances Act). We were also hoping it would help us figure out how risky it would be for [...]
Exceptional Dust Storm
This week's giant dust storm (technically called a haboob) blew through the valley leaving dust hovering in the air for days. The ADEQ said one Phoenix testing station recorded an astronomical reading of over 6,000 micrograms per cubic meter (of PM 10) on Tuesday evening (the federal EPA standard is 150 averaged over a day). PM 10 is a measurement of the concentration of particles [...]
Gettin’ to School
If you’re my age, you probably walked or biked to school- it was a basic part of our culture. Unfortunately the tradition has been lost (for now). In 1969 half of all kids walked or bicycled to and from school and almost 90% of kids that lived within a mile of school walked or biked. Today only 15% of kids walk or [...]
State Lab Energy Efficiency
A couple of years ago (when the financial crisis was just starting), we brainstormed about how we could bring down the utility bills in our State Laboratory. The Lab has always been electricity intensive, partly because of the workplace safety requirements etc. (e.g. the “hoods”) require more air exchange than a normal building. That means constantly bringing in 115 degree air [...]
Kid’s Teeth in AZ
The Pew Children’s Dental Campaign released the State of Children’s Dental Health Report that grades each state’s policy responses to the crisis in dental health among America’s children. Arizona raised its grade to a “B” for 2011. We made improvements in the share of high-risk schools that participate in the school-based sealant program. This can partly be attributed to our [...]