Looking for an alternative to the Monday workday routine? Grab your wheelbarrow and join other park lovers as we mulch the trees of McKinley Park. Why are we adding mulch to the trees? • Mulch suppresses weeds, which reduces maintenance costs by reducing the need to apply herbicides around the trees (a common practice in Sacramento area parks) • Mulch increases nutrient and water retention in the soil (which means less watering) • Mulch enhances soil structure • Mulch encourages favorable microbes and worms Ken Decio, California Integrated Waste Management Board says, “Not only does mulch keep green material out of landfills. It also controls weeds, reduces erosion, conserves water, adds

There are more than 100 tobacco retailers located less than 1,000 feet from local K-12 schools in Sacramento, and City Council members say that’s too close for comfort – so they are proposing tighter restrictions for retailers to keep kids safe. “Tobacco sales so close to kids in school? It doesn’t seem like its a good match,” City Councilman Kevin McCarty said Tuesday. The new ordinance was initiated by McCarty and Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy in 2010, and it reached the full council for consideration after first being reviewed by both the Law and Legislation committee and the city Planning commission earlier this year. The City Council unanimously passed the ordinance for publication Tue

Many members of our community have called Sacramento County Public Health with concerns regarding the risk that the nuclear accidents in Japan might pose to the health of Californians. To address these concerns, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has developed a "Frequently Asked Questions" document that will be updated as circumstances require it. The link to this document is here: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/RadiationFAQS2011.aspx The California Department of Public Health also has a telephone number for members of the public who have questions. Call the CDPH Information Line: (916) 341-3947 Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sacramento County will follow the recommendat

(From the blog Touched by Lyme on the website of the California Lyme Disease Association) When the eight-year-old Folsom boy bent his head down, his mother noticed an odd bump under his hair. Looking more closely, she realized it was a tick. “We live near wetlands,” she explained to me. “We pull ticks off our dog all the time. No big deal.” She plucked out the tick with tweezers, threw it away and forgot about it. About a week later, the boy fell ill with fever, aches and pains. He had lymph nodes in his neck the size of golf balls. The doctor, diagnosing flu and ear infection, gave antibiotics. The boy got sicker. Mother took her son back to the doctor and this time told him about the

The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District announces the Spring 2010 Fight the Bite "Design a Calendar Page" Contest for students in grades K-12!  To further educate and inform our community about mosquitoes and West Nile Virus, the District is hosting a contest encouraging students to create a calendar page that urges you to practice any or all of the D's of Mosquito Prevention.  All students have to do is draw a picture showing us how they FIGHT the BITE and keep safe from mosquitoes using one or more of the District D’s: DRAIN standing water around your home, avoid outdoors during DAWN and DUSK because these are times of peak mosquito activity, DRESS in long sleeves and

On November 21, 2009, the Sacramento Building Healthy Communities collaborative hosted two events in Oak Park and South Sacramento, designed to educate communities on the 10-year Building Healthy Communities (BHC) process. Earlier this year, the California Endowment awarded funding to 14 communities over ten years as part of their Building Healthy Communities program. This effort was designed to infuse at least $10 million into each community to bring about systemic change. The efforts are to be driven by four goals: • Health systems are family-centered and prioritize prevention. • Schools anchor communities, promote healthy behaviors and are a gateway for resources and services. • Human