THURSDAY 8-18-22 KAHI MORNING NEWS

By BStigers on August 19, 2022.

The Placer County District Attorneyas Office reported on Wednesday that rainbow-colored fentanyl, possibly focused on minors, has been found in Placer County.

The DAas office said that while all forms of fentanyl are dangerous this newly designed one has a focus of getting minors to use the drug. Between 2018-2021 Placer County has seen a 450% increase in fentanyl deaths and nearly half of the countyas fentanyl deaths have been people under the age of 25, according to the DAas office. Tik Tok and Snapchat have shown to be where most sales are occurring as people buy off-market vape pens and marijuana from the apps, according to the DAas office. aOur biggest tool we have against this epidemic is to open the lines of communication,a DA Gire said. aWe need to remove the stigma surrounding issues that are affecting our kids today and what mechanisms they are using to cope with those issues. Fentanyl has changed the landscape a what was once considered harmless experimentation can lead to death.a

-0-

The Placer County District Attorney filed murder charges against a man who was involved in a fentanyl death of a 15-year-old girl.

The Placer County District Attorneyas Office arrested 20-year-old Nathaniel Ca-ba-cun-gan for afurnishing a controlled substance to a minor, and meeting with a minor for the purpose of engaging in lewd behavior,a on June 21, 2022. The arrest was made with collaboration from the Placer County Special Investigation Unit, the California Department of Justice, Placer County Sheriffas Office, Roseville Police Department, Rocklin Police Department, Auburn Police Department, the Placer County Probation Department, and the Placer District Attorneyas Office.  Cabacungan appeared in the Placer County Superior Court on Friday afternoon. The arraignment will continue Aug. 19, 2022.  Currently, Ca-ba-cun-gan is being held in the Placer County Jail without bail.

-0-

A powerful labor union and Californiaas hospitals are closing in on a deal that would allow hospitals to put off meeting seismic safety standards, that will cost them tens of billions of dollars,  in exchange for significant boosts in minimum pay for certain health care workers. The proposal has set off alarm bells for five unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers in the stateas health care industry. They quickly assembled a coalition that fired off a letter Tuesday to state leaders to strongly oppose a legislative deal that would extend seismic safety standards set to go into effect for Californiaas hospitals in 2030. A spokeswoman for the California Hospital Association did not respond to a request for comment, but a document on the groupas website said: aCHA a at the direction of its board of trustees a and Service Employees International Union are together advancing a proposal to create long-term stability and predictability for hospitals and a path toward higher wages for Californiaas health care workforce.a SEIU-UHW spokeswoman RenA(C)e SaldaA+-a told the press that widespread support and momentum for a minimum wage for health care personnel is growing after four city councils in Southern California a Los Angeles, Downey, Monterey Park, and Long Beach a voted to raise the minimum wage for these workers and protect public health in their communities. The opposition unions have been told that the SEIU-UHW deal with the hospital association would set minimum pay at $25 an hour, an especially large gain for janitors and other low-wage workers who work in non-union shops at companies that subcontract with hospitals, said one union representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, because he had not been authorized to share the information.

-0-0-