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• Trump Clawed Back Billions in Federal Health Grants. Here’s How Much California is Losing

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Earlier this week the Department of Health and Human Services abruptly canceled more than $12 million in federal grants that states were using to help track infectious diseases and cover mental health services, addiction treatment and other urgent health issues. 

While the funding was awarded during the COVID pandemic, Congress allowed states to use the money for other public health investments.

Earlier this week the Outpost reached out to the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services to see how the cuts will impact local services. At the time, a department spokesperson said staff was aware of the cuts but still working to understand the local implications.

Today, the county was notified that federal COVID funds intended to last for the next year have instead been terminated, effective this past Tuesday, March 24. 

“The abrupt end to this funding means we are letting go of seven extra help staff, including two Public Health Nurses, two Community Health Outreach Workers, one Medical Office Assistant and two Communicable Disease Investigators,” Public Health Director Sofia Pereira said via email. “Their last day will be April 4.”

The county will also lose another $1.2 million in funding that was intended to go toward its new public health laboratory. Pereira said, “[W]e will no longer be able to upgrade our old lab equipment with new, needed equipment that would save staff countless hours and strengthen our regional response to diseases. “

[UPDATE: DHHS Public Information Specialist Christine Messinger followed up after this post was published to clarify that the cancellation of this federal funding will actually result in more than $3 million in cuts to the county’s Public Health branch right off the bat. “The $1.2 million was planned just for the construction of the new lab, not including other equipment, salaries of permanent staff, etc., and more cuts may be coming,” Messinger said.]

State health departments were taken by surprise early this week when they received notices saying the funds were being terminated, effective immediately. State health officials predicted that thousands of health department employees and contract workers across the county could lose their jobs, according to the New York Times. “Some predicted the loss of as much as 90 percent of staff from some infectious disease teams,” the paper reported.

Pereira said such cuts will be costly here in Humboldt County.

“Public Health has been historically underfunded, and while this funding came about during COVID, we’ve been able to use these COVID dollars to bolster and help maintain public health infrastructure,” she said. “This funding has helped support responses, not only to COVID, but other infectious diseases as well, including our measles exposure in May and the Shigella outbreak in September.”

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The Blue Lake City Council this week rejected recommendations from its own staff and planning commission, and potentially invited enforcement actions from the state, when, with a 3-2 vote, it chose not to adopt its own housing element update for its general plan.

Like all local governments in California, Blue Lake is required to accommodate population growth by planning for its share of housing development, known as its regional housing needs allocation (RHNA).

For the city’s current planning cycle, which covers the period from 2019 through 2027, Blue Lake was allocated a RHNA of 23 dwelling units across various income levels. The city also has a carryover of 11 units from the prior planning cycle because the housing element update from the previous planning period (2014-2019) was never certified. 

So, in order to comply with new laws and requirements from the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), Blue Lake needs to submit an updated housing element showing it can accommodate at least 34 new dwelling units.

Development plans in Blue Lake have largely been focused on a mixed-use affordable housing project in the Powers Creek District, proposed by Danco. This controversial project was a primary focus in Blue Lake’s recent contentious election and has featured prominently in recent combustible public meetings. When the race for the third and final available spot on the city council ended in an exact tie, the balance of power on the council came down to a name pulled blindly from an envelope, with challenger Kat Napier emerging victorious to unseat incumbent Mayor Adelene Jones.

As with much of the nation in this political moment, Blue Lake is home to an ascendant political contingent that suspects its government of nefarious intent and its entrenched functionaries of wanting to subvert public participation to achieve their own goals.

On Tuesday night, assigned City Planner Garry Rees (on loan from SHN) informed the council that while their main decision was whether or not to approve a mitigated negative declaration (a legal document stating that the city’s housing element update will not have any significant environmental impacts), they also had the option of adopting that updated draft that very evening. And doing so would please HCD officials.

“They keep prompting us, asking when we’re going to adopt the housing element update,” Rees said.

Part of the urgency, he explained, is that Blue Lake completed its work on that update with funds from a state-funded Local Early Action Development (LEAD) grant.

“That’s the only way the city could afford it,” Rees said. “And I believe, in order to close out the grants, they’re waiting for adoption to occur.”

However, three of the newest members of the council, including Napier, Mayor John Sawatzky and Mayor Pro Tem Elise Scafani, remain skeptical of the city’s development plans generally and the Danco project in particular. Sawatzky and Scafani questioned whether the city’s wastewater treatment plant can accommodate the planned population growth. Both Rees and City Manager Mandy Mager assured them that it can.

Mager also told the council that they can’t block the city’s planned developments by refusing to adopt the housing element update.

“The housing element is not preventing or hindering development in the Powers Creek District … ,” she said. “The high-density development can happen there already, based upon our zoning. … Not adopting this [update] is not a tool to prevent development.”

“Yeah,” Rees chimed in, “if you were not to adopt this [housing element update], you’d basically be in violation of state housing law, and those projects could happen anyway.”

Napier said she took offense at that, saying, “My issues with this housing update are more relevant to overall growth, not a particular project.”

But Rees sought to reinforce his point. He said he’s heard community members insist that if the new housing element isn’t approved, it will inhibit Danco’s ability to get the funding necessary for its development. Such statements have been made at Planning Commission meetings and City Council meetings, and the state is aware, he added.

“If you’re attempting to use your housing element update to prevent affordable housing projects, they actually have laws on the books now that will go after cities for that type of action,” he said. 

The California Attorney General can sue jurisdictions that don’t meet their obligations under state housing laws, and such lawsuits may result in court orders, hefty fines and/or loss of local land use authority. Cities can also lose eligibility for state grants and funding for housing, transportation and infrastructure projects.

During the public comment period, local resident Julie Christie suggested that the city stick with its old housing element, saying that document is “core to realistic ethics for this community.” She also said it was “inappropriate” to shove this item into the night’s crowded agenda and voiced skepticism about the process leading to this point. Has anyone even read the 140-page document? Has anyone seen the supposed letters to the city from HCD? Why hasn’t the public been shown the changes made from one draft to another?

Scafani echoed these doubts and asked why the city council hasn’t been provided copies of earlier drafts.

Rees said any implications of a cover-up are “just untrue.” He said city staff and the planning commission have followed the same iterative process used by any other jurisdiction in the state and that copies of the drafts are on file at city hall, have been presented to the council and made available to the public throughout the update process. 

Scafani then wondered aloud whether public feedback during this process has been an exercise in futility. 

However, her council colleague, Michelle Lewis-Lusso, was prepared to enact the planning commission’s recommendation. She made a motion to adopt the resolution to update and implement the housing element for the 2019-2027 planning cycle. Fellow council member Christopher G. Firor quickly seconded them motion. But they proved to be the only “yes” votes.

“Unbelievable,” remarked a demonstrably annoyed Firor. He asked for the vote to be taken again so there’d be a record of who voted “no” and who abstained. Again the vote failed, with Sawatzky, Napier and Scafani voting against the resolution.

Rees offered to bring back any supporting documentation the council may want to see and suggested scheduling a joint meeting with the planning commission. Did the council wish to provide any direction to staff?

“We’ll get back to you on that,” Sawatzky said.

Napier added that the council has a lot of work on its plate right now.

The Outpost emailed each council member on Thursday seeking comment and requesting an interview. None had responded by the time this post was published.

Mager, the city manager, responded to an email with one of her own, saying there’s not much she can add regarding the events of the meeting.

“I think we’re all aware of the State’s position on certification and there’s plenty of available information on HCD’s website explaining the enforcement mechanisms available,” she said. “I don’t believe that Blue Lake is immune to any of the actions/tools available to the State to enforce compliance.”

The relevant deliberations from Tuesday’s meeting can be watched via the YouTube video below.

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The City of Eureka and the Wiyot Tribe are moving ahead with plans to turn two city-owned downtown parking lots into affordable housing developments. If everything goes as planned, the two projects — one at Sixth and L streets, next to Eureka City Hall, and the other at the corner of Fifth and D — would add 93 income-restricted units to the city’s affordable housing stock.

At a community meeting on Wednesday, the project’s developers — Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust, a component unit of the Wiyot Tribe, and Travois, an Indigenous-focused affordable housing developer based in Kansas City, MO — unveiled the latest architectural renderings for the proposed projects, as seen below.

This project has been a long time coming, said Wiyot Tribal Administrator Michelle Vassel. The Tribe has spent the last two years assessing local needs to develop an affordable housing project for Humboldt County’s most vulnerable communities, Vassel said. 

“Care and love is the first component,” she continued. “We’re building things that people want to live in … that have components that people that live there need. … We’ve [incorporated] child care into family housing and elder care into elder housing. We’ve [included] program space for these programs that already operate in our community to do the work right in the middle of the buildings … where these families live.”

Laquilh Hou Daqh

Plans for the Sixth and L Street project — Laquilh Hou Daqh, or “where the elders are” in the Wiyot language, Soulatluk — include 52 low-income apartments designed to serve independent seniors. The five-story building will host a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, with a community dining hall, commercial kitchen and laundry facilities located on the ground floor and an outdoor community patio on the second floor. 

Travois architect Laura Herron noted that the project was designed to follow state accessibility standards, which require specific design features like wider doorways for wheelchairs, lever-style door handles, low countertops and grab bars. Half of the units will have some of these features built in, while “every other” unit will be adaptable, Herron said, with adjustable counter heights and blocking in place for grab bars.

The design plans do not include on-site parking for residents, though there will be a separate, enclosed parking garage on the ground floor with 20 spaces for the city’s vehicle fleet.

The project is expected to cost $26.7 million and is slated for completion in 2027.

Gou’wik Hou Daqh

The project at Fifth and D streets — Gou’wik Hou Daqh, or “where the families are” — includes a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units designed to accommodate multigenerational and young families. The six-story building will host an 8,000-square-foot child care center on the ground floor, with classrooms for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, offices and a communal lobby. The plans also include an outdoor community space on the top floor, with a terrace overlooking Fifth Street and a semi-covered playground. The plans do not include on-site parking for residents. 

The project is expected to cost $27.3 million and is slated for completion in 2027.

Both projects will be funded through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, a federal tax credit that subsidizes the acquisition, rehabilitation and construction of affordable housing for low- to moderate-income tenants. 

“[This is] through a public-private partnership through tax credits,” said Travois Director of Housing Development, Trent Rogers. “It’s not a direct investment [from the federal government] into these projects. … There are major syndicators [and] investment organizations that facilitate the sale of these tax credits. … The Tribe will sell their tax credits [and] receive the benefit of the equity to fund construction. The state is not putting dollars into this project.”

“We are a long-term partner with the Tribe to make sure that we are in compliance with the IRS under our federal funding guidelines, as well as any state gap financing tools as well,” Rogers added.

Given the fact that both housing projects are being developed through the Wiyot Tribe’s Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust, a few meeting attendees asked if non-tribal members would be able to rent at either site. Vassel said Wiyot tribal members would be prioritized for housing but emphasized that anyone who meets the income criteria can apply. People applying for senior housing must be at least 55 years old.

Vassel | Screenshot

“When there’s a waiting list, people go to the top of the list if they meet the priority,” Vassel said. “Wiyot tribal members are listed first, but any units that are available after those folks are served are [for] anybody in the community.”

Several local business owners and residents expressed concern about the loss of downtown parking. Linden Tyler Glavich, owner of the Linden & Company Salon & Spa, said he “heavily relies on” the lot at Sixth and L streets for customer parking and asked the Tribe and city to reconsider the design of the project.

“Where are these people going to park?” he asked. “We’ve been fighting for parking for years, and now that [lot is] going to be removed. Why are we pushing away the people that shop down there [and] the people that actually work down there? It seems kind of tone deaf to say, ‘Hey, we know there’s a parking issue, we’ve already gone over that but we’re going to ignore that.’ Is there a way that the parking on the ground level could be increased to accommodate more parking spaces and be open for public use?”

Development Services Director Cristin Kenyon pushed back on the assertion that there isn’t parking available in that part of the city, noting that city staff doesn’t have any issue finding parking within two blocks of City Hall. 

“There are certain areas — like around the courthouse — where there’s high [parking] utilization, but then there’s spots within a few blocks that have empty spaces,” Kenyon said. “We have more of a parking management issue than a parking supply issue in downtown and Old Town, and we have a multitude of strategies that we’re working on to address that. … We are looking at the feasibility of a parking structure as well.”

Another speaker, Jessica Gomez, shared Glavich’s concerns but suggested that the project at Fifth and D streets be relocated to a long vacant lot at Fifth and K streets, on the north side of Eureka City Hall. That parking lot has sat empty, with its driveways blockaded, since it was purchased by Rob Arkley-founded financing firm Security National, which tried to use the site as a bargaining chip in a property swap with the city.

“There is a proposed property swap offer on the table,” Gomez said, noting that the lot of Fifth and K streets is conveniently located on the same city block as the senior housing project. “It’s just that the other lot [at Fifth and K] is not being used for public parking, so it wouldn’t cause any kind of impact on on the community. It just seems … that it could lead to a better long-term outcome for our community, and that just really seems worth considering.”

As many of our readers will recall, both Dishgamu Humboldt projects have been involved in litigation with Citizens for a Better Eureka, an Arkley-funded special interest group. Last year, Arkley poured over $1.6 million into Measure F, a failed ballot measure that sought to protect downtown parking lots by halting the city’s housing development plans. The parking lot at Fifth and D streets is of particular concern to Arkley as it is just a half block away from Security National’s Eureka headquarters.

The city is still tied up in litigation over claims that the city failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). However, the ongoing lawsuit was not discussed at Wednesday’s meeting.

Gomez also expressed concern about the height of the proposed projects and asked if the buildings would exceed the 100-foot height limit in the downtown zoning district. Herron said the overall height of the building will be closer to 80 feet. Kenyon added that state density bonus law allows affordable housing projects to “go higher than what’s allowed by our code.”

Chris Larson, owner of North Coast Audio, which is located next door to the project at Fifth and D streets, also expressed concerns about potential parking impacts but said he was supportive of the project.

“I am concerned as a business owner who relies on all every single bit of parking we get,” he said. “I’m not gonna lie, parking is a big issue, and I’m scared to death about what this project is going to do to my business. Again, I’m a supporter and we need housing in this town, but I don’t feel like there’s been anything [done] to address businesses in this plan.”

Larson also expressed concern about the location of the loading area, where children would potentially be getting on and off buses. Herron said the project’s contractor is “already worried” about the location of the loading zone and said it would likely be addressed at an upcoming design review committee meeting.

Several other speakers spoke in favor of the project and, like Vassel and city officials, underscored the importance of enhancing walkability in the city. 

“I don’t know if you guys have ever had to walk from this end of town to the other, but it’s a long walk,” said Elizabeth Howton, noting that she didn’t have a driver’s license when she first moved to Eureka. “Seeing this building designed around our families and our community’s needs, I think it’s not only going to help grow the Wiyot community and the City of Eureka, but it’s going to provide opportunity for every single local business to grow their clientele and make Old Town a more family-centered community.”

The city’s design review committee will review the proposed projects during a public hearing later this year. In the meantime, you can find more information on Dishgamu Humboldt at this link.

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

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More than 17,400 high school seniors last fall got the sweetest news any anxious student can get: Congratulations, because of your high school GPA, you’re automatically admitted to one of 10 California State University campuses of your choice — and they’re all relatively affordable.

Even with less than a week to go before the campuses wrap their final decisions about whom to admit, a pilot program focusing on Riverside County is already showing that more students have been admitted from the county than last year, about 10,600 so far in 2025 compared to last year’s roughly 9,800.

The pilot builds on Cal State’s efforts to enroll more students and works like this: High school seniors receive a notice in the mail that they’re automatically admitted as long as they maintain their grades, finish the 15 mandatory courses necessary for admission to a Cal State, and complete an admissions form to claim their spot at a campus. Cal State was able to mail the notices because it signed an agreement with the Riverside County Office of Education that gave the university eligible students’ addresses.

Now in the program’s first year, Cal State joins other public universities across the country in a growing national movement to automatically admit eligible students. From November through January, Cal State informed students they were accepted to the 10 campuses. To claim a spot, students needed to go online and pick at least one campus.

If past admissions and enrollment trends hold, Cal State as a system will educate hundreds of more students, all from Riverside, than they would have without the pilot. That’d be a boon for a system that prides itself on its affordability and motto that it’s the people’s university; Cal State admits a far higher percentage of students than the University of California. It also could serve as a much-needed budget boost from the extra tuition revenue those students bring, especially at campuses with sinking enrollment.

Eight campuses — Channel Islands, Chico, East Bay, Humboldt, Maritime Academy, Monterey Bay, San Francisco​, and Sonoma — are so under-enrolled that Cal State is pulling some of their state revenues to send to campuses that are still growing. Cal Maritime is soon merging with another campus because of its perilous finances. The pilot also includes the two closest campuses to the county, San Bernardino and San Marcos.

The system chose Riverside County because all of its public high school students were already loaded onto a state data platform that can directly transmit student grades to Cal State — a key step in creating automatic admissions. Riverside is also “ethnically and economically representative of the diversity of California — many of the students the CSU is so proud to serve,” a spokesperson for the system, Amy Bentley Smith, wrote in an email.

At Heritage High School, a public school in Riverside County, the pilot encouraged students who previously didn’t even consider attending a public four-year university to submit the automatic admission forms to a Cal State.

Silvia Morales, a 17-year-old senior at Heritage, got an automatic admissions letter. “I was pretty set on going to community college and then transferring, because I felt like I wasn’t ready for the four-year commitment to a college,” she said.

Even with a 3.0 GPA, higher than the 2.5 GPA Cal State requires for admission, she nearly didn’t submit the forms to secure her admission until early January. That’s well past the standard Nov. 30 admissions deadline.

It wasn’t until her counselor, Chris Tinajero, pulled her into a meeting that she decided to opt into the pilot. “I went through the sales pitch like, ‘Hey, you get this guaranteed admission, you’re an amazing student,’” he recounted. The pitch worked. Though Cal State sent a physical pamphlet and her high school also emailed her about the pilot, “I wasn’t really paying attention,” Morales said. She needed an adult she trusted at the school to persuade her that the applications were worth the effort, she said.

Morales applied to three Cal State campuses in the pilot plus two outside the program that were still accepting late applications — Chico, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Northridge and San Bernardino. She got into each one, she said.

Her parents are “proud of me because I want to go to college,” Morales said. Neither went to college, she added. Final enrollment figures won’t be tallied until August, including how many of the students admitted through the pilot attended one of the 10 campuses. But the system’s chancellor’s office is already planning to replicate the pilot program in a Northern California county, which will be named sometime in April, Cal State officials said.

A bill by Christopher Cabaldon, a state senator and Democrat from Napa, would make automatic enrollment to Cal State for eligible students a state law. The bill hasn’t been heard in a committee yet.

A boost in application numbers

Of the 17,000 students who received an invitation to secure their automatic admissions, about 13,200 submitted the necessary forms. That’s about 3,000 more students who applied from the county than last year.

Those who otherwise wouldn’t have applied to a Cal State include students who were eyeing private colleges, said Melina Gonzalez, a counselor at Heritage who typically advises students who are already college-bound.

Nearby private colleges offer all students application fee waivers; at Cal State, typically only low-income students receive fee waivers. But the pilot provided each Cal State student one fee waiver worth $70, which was a draw to students and their parents who don’t qualify for the fee waiver but might struggle to pay.

Last year, 10 of the 100 senior students Gonzalez counseled didn’t apply to a Cal State. This application season, all her students submitted at least one Cal State application, she said.“It was big, it was really cool, their eyes, they were so excited,” she said of the automatically admitted students. “They would come in and show me their letters.”

Parents called her asking if the pamphlet from Cal State was authentic. With guaranteed admission, some parents ultimately decided to pay for additional applications to campuses in the pilot, knowing it wasn’t in vain.

At Heritage, high school counselors reviewed Cal State’s provisional list of students eligible for the pilot to add more seniors, such as those who hadn’t yet completed the mandatory courses but were on track to do so.

Tinajero was also able to persuade some students who hadn’t completed all the required courses for Cal State entry to take those, including online classes. Still, others with qualifying grades didn’t apply because they weren’t persuaded that a four-year university was for them. Tinajero sees program growth in the coming years, assuming Cal State continues with the pilot. Younger high school students who witnessed the fanfare of automatic admissions may take more seriously the need to pass the 15 required courses to be eligible for a Cal State or University of California campus, he said.

That’s part of Cal State’s vision for this pilot, said April Grommo, the system’s assistant vice chancellor of strategic enrollment management: Begin encouraging students to take the required courses in ninth grade so that by 11th and 12th grade they’re more receptive to applying to Cal State.

Pilot leads to more applications

The automatic admissions pilot is likely what explains the jump in overall applicants, said Grommo. “If you look at the historical numbers of Riverside County students that have applied to the CSU, it’s very consistent at 10,000, so there’s no other accelerator or explanation for the significant increase in the applications,” she said.

Some campuses in the pilot are probably going to see more students from Riverside County than others. The eight under-enrolled Cal State campuses each enrolled fewer than than 100 Riverside students as freshmen, a CalMatters review of 2024 admissions data show. Two enrolled fewer than 10 Riverside students as freshmen.

Cal State isn’t solely relying on past trends to enroll more students. Grommo cited research that suggests direct admissions programs are associated with increases in student enrollment, but not among low-income students, who are less familiar with the college-going process or have additional economic and family demands, like work and child care.

Even after students are admitted, some don’t complete key steps in the enrollment process, such as maintaining their grades in the second semester, completing registration forms to enroll, and paying deposits. Others, especially low-income students, have a change of heart over summer about attending college, which scholars call “summer melt.” Then there are the students who got into typically more selective campuses, such as at elite private schools and the University of California, and choose instead to go to those.

To prompt more students to actually enroll, Cal State officials in early March hosted two college fairs in Riverside County for students admitted through the pilot. About 2,600 students signed up to be bussed from their high schools to large venues, including the Riverside Convention Center, where they met with staff, alumni and current students from all 10 Cal State campuses participating in the program. Those were followed by receptions with students and parents.

Grommo said they maxed out capacity at both venues for the student events. While it’s common for individual campuses to host events for admitted students, it was a first for Cal State’s central office.

The event costs, physical mailers to students about their admissions guarantee, invitation to the college fairs and another flyer about the relative affordability of a Cal State cost the system’s central office around $300,000, Grommo estimates. But if the event moves the needle on students agreeing to attend a Cal State, the tuition revenue at the largely under-enrolled campuses alone would be a huge return on investment.

The effort is a far more targeted approach than another admissions outreach effort Cal State rolled out last fall to inform students who started but didn’t finish their college applications that they’re provisionally accepted, as long as they complete and send their forms. The notification went to 106,000 students and was the result of a $750,000 grant Cal State won from the Lumina Foundation, a major higher education philanthropy. The system will know by fall if this notification resulted in more students attending a Cal State.

But that was aimed at students who already applied. The Riverside pilot brings in students, like Morales, who wouldn’t have applied without the mailers and entreaties from counselors. She’s leaning toward picking Cal State San Bernardino for next fall. It’s close to home and an older cousin recently graduated who had a good experience there, she said.

Her next task? Working with her parents to complete the federal application for financial aid by April 2, the deadline for guaranteed tuition waivers for low- and middle-income students.It’s possible that Cal State may take the direct admissions pilot statewide. All counties are required by state law to join the state-funded data system that Riverside is already a part of to electronically transmit students’ high school grades to Cal States and UCs. Doing so removes the need for schools to send campuses paper transcripts. The deadline for all counties to join the state data system is summer of 2026.

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

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California may lose more than $1 billion in public health and mental health funding as a result of new federal budget cuts that target COVID-19 pandemic response grants, according to the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency website.

The federal Department of Health and Human Services terminated $12 billion intended for infectious disease response, mental health services and other public health issues, according to national reports.

Most of the money came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while $1 billion was cut from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

California officials are still tallying up the money because the Trump administration clawed back additional health-related grants that went to counties and the University of California.

Dr. Erica Pan, the state’s top public health officer, confirmed in a statement that the CDC notified California officials that it intends to “immediately end” pandemic-era funding, which was scheduled to last in some cases until 2027.

The money currently supports services such as respiratory virus testing and monitoring and childhood vaccinations. It is also used to improve public health data systems and to address health disparities, Pan said.

In an interview with the news website Fierce Healthcare, the state health department said the public health grant terminations total $709 million. The health department did not immediately confirm that number for CalMatters.

Separately, The California Department of Health Care Services also had five grants terminated this week totalling more than $700 million, according to the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency website. Officials for health care services, which oversees the state’s mental health programs and Medi-Cal insurance program for low-income residents, did not immediately respond to questions about the canceled funding.

COVID grants lasted several years

The federal government awarded billions of dollars in emergency relief to state health departments during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the federal public health emergency ended in 2023, Congress allowed states to use the money for other public health investments.

“All Californians deserve to live in healthy and thriving communities, which is the role of public health,” health officer Pan said. “CDPH remains committed to seeking the resources required to support the critical, lifesaving infrastructure needed to keep people healthy and protect them against infectious disease, vaccine-preventable diseases and health emergencies.”

A representative for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defended the cuts.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” HHS Director of Communications Andrew Nixon said in a statement to NBC News, which first reported the cuts.

California is using the money to address a number of persistent public health challenges, including record rates of sexually transmitted infections, the emerging threat of bird flu and a deadly flu season.

Hundreds of dairy herds in the Central Valley have been decimated by bird flu, or H5N1, in the largest outbreak in the country. At least 38 people have also been infected, including a child with no known contact with cattle or other wild animals.

The most recent influenza season was the deadliest in years. More than 1,400 people have died, including 24 children and teens, according to state data.

Michelle Gibbons, executive director for the County Health Executives Association of California, said local health departments’ ability to carry out vital functions will be severely diminished by the funding loss. Many have come to rely on the money for daily operations after decades of underfunding at the state and federal levels.

As a result of the cuts, laboratories will have less testing capacity and investigations into disease outbreaks will slow, Gibbons said. Data systems that were created with federal money to automatically report test results and track vaccine availability will revert back to manually-maintained spreadsheets, and health agencies will likely have to make difficult decisions about laying off personnel, she said.

“Helping people understand the role and the value of public health is challenging, because when public health is working, you don’t actually see it,” Gibbons said. “(But) we’ve already seen what happens when we take funding out of our public health infrastructure.”

DOGE health cuts to UC and California counties

The Department of Government Efficiency website lists another $103 million dolled out directly to California counties that also has been eliminated. The money was intended for Riverside, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Bernardino, San Diego and Tulare counties, among others.

An additional $169 million in health funding has been terminated from California universities this week, including six University of California campuses, according to the website.

The University of California is part of an ongoing lawsuit aimed at stopping the Trump administration from halting billions of research funding allocated by Congress.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials said in an unsigned statement that a grant related to epidemiology and laboratory capacity has been rescinded by the federal government. The state health department has also given the county informal notice that funding for the county’s vaccine services will likely be terminated as a result of federal action.

In total the department expects to lose “more than $45 million in core LA County Public Health funding.”

“Much of this funding supports disease surveillance, public health lab services, outbreak investigations, infection control activities at healthcare facilities, and data transparency,” officials said in the statement.

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Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

Michael Charles Coragliotti
July 12, 1943 - March 4, 2025

Michael was born on July 12, 1943, in Concord, California to Bernice and Donald Coragliotti. He grew up in a lovely rural part of Concord, with his family’s fruit, almond and walnut orchards as his backyard. Michael was the center of attention amongst his many friends, enjoying life and holding court around the backyard pool.

After graduating from St. Mary’s High School in 1961 Michael received a BA Degree from Cal State Hayward in 1969. After this accomplishment he went on to obtain his Real Estate License and then became a Paralegal in 1992. In addition, Michael joined the American Society of Notaries in 2000. Michael was always involved in his community from an early age, collaborating closely with his grandfather, Frank Rose, a prominent Concord resident. He carried this commitment with him when he moved from Concord to Lake County, becoming involved in local issues and always lending a helping hand to those in need.

Michael made friends everywhere he went and always had treats ready for his companions of the four-legged variety. He was a curious individual, a voracious reader who sought to expand his knowledge through travel and conversation with those of differing views. He traveled extensively, both in the United States and abroad. Michael enjoyed learning about different cultures and had a large, diverse group of friends.

Michael was a real inspiration; he loved his life and cheated death many times. Roaring back, setting new goals, buying and selling real estate and driving his family to distraction with his harebrained schemes - which somehow seemed to turn out. He was especially enthusiastic about two things - politics and debate, the latter being his favorite pastime. As much as Michael loved pushing people’s buttons, he was a kind, compassionate person who was more than happy to extend a helping hand. He was a listening ear, a loving son, partner, brother, uncle, and friend.

Michael was preceded in death by his long-time partner Douglas Westly Gaunt, his parents Bernice and Donald, and his beloved grandparents Frank and Louise Rose. Michael is survived by his siblings Ginger McClain, Timothy Coragliotti (Regina), Roberta Coragliotti (Kirk Terrill), Ginger’s sons Henry and Donald, Timothy’s four children Tony, Anna, Patricia and Michelle and Roberta’s son Will (Bekah) and his first cousin, Bobette Geraldi Benn.

Michael was truly one of a kind and will be dearly missed, though we take comfort in believing that he is attending heavenly Lion’s Club meetings with Pa and taking Grama to the swankiest lunches Heaven has to offer.

A wake will be held in Eureka at a later date. Notice will be forthcoming. In lieu of flowers please donate to your local animal rescue or favorite charity in his name.

The family would like to thank the staff at St Joseph’s Progressive Care Unit for their exceptional care and kindness.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Fortuna is Losing Its Police Chief

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Press release from the Fortuna Police Department:

The City of Fortuna has unanimously approved the appointment of Lieutenant Matthew Eberhardt as the Fortuna Police Department’s Interim Chief of Police, effective March 29, 2025. Chief Eberhardt, a dedicated public servant, has been a member of the Fortuna Police Department since March 1998, steadily advancing through the ranks to serve as the department’s second-in-command under Chief Casey J. Day. Prior to joining the Fortuna Police Department, Chief Eberhardt served the Ferndale community, contributing to a distinguished career spanning over 28 years in public safety. Additionally, he is a veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard.

The appointment of an interim chief ensures a seamless transition of leadership, allowing the department to continue its mission of protecting and serving the community without interruption. Chief Eberhardt’ s extensive experience, operational expertise, and deep understanding of departmental functions make him well-equipped to lead during this period of transition.

Chief Eberhardt has played a pivotal role in several key department initiatives, including officer training, community engagement, and operational enhancements. Under his leadership, the department remains committed to proactive policing, crime reduction, and strengthening relationships with residents, businesses, and community partners.

The City of Fortuna and the Fortuna Police Department encourage the community to support Chief Eberhardt in his new role. Public safety is a shared responsibility, and continued collaboration between law enforcement and the community remains essential to maintaining a safe and thriving city.

The Fortuna Police Department extends its gratitude to Chief Casey J. Day for his years of dedicated service and exemplary leadership. His unwavering commitment to public safety and operational excellence has significantly strengthened the department and the community it serves. The department also acknowledges the City Council for its support in ensuring a smooth leadership transition. The department congratulates Chief Eberhardt on his appointment.