Fresno Cancer Patient Testifies For Affordable Chemotherapy
Bren Flowers of Fresno is fighting breast cancer for the second time in six years. She says the long battle has tapped out her insurance, and the costs of her treatment are putting a financial strain on her family.
Flowers spoke in Sacramento in support of AB219. The bill is authored by valley assemblyman Henry T. Perea and would limit the cost of oral chemotherapy for insured cancer patients.
Valley lawmakers, residents call electric rates flawed
California's electricity rate structure is badly flawed, saddling Valley residents with unfairly high costs, speakers said Friday at a legislative hearing in Fresno.
Assembly members Henry T. Perea, a Fresno Democrat, and Kristin Olsen, a Modesto Republican, held a bipartisan briefing at Fresno City College to hear from utility company officials, consumer advocates and community members about the problem and ways to solve it.
Perea wants to streamline water funding for small towns
After years of delays and confusion over state funding to fix dirty drinking water, a lawmaker says it's time to make this easier for rural San Joaquin Valley towns.
Assemblymember Henry T. Perea, D-Fresno, introduced Assembly Bill 145 Friday, aimed at having the State Water Resources Control Board take over. It's a streamlining move, Perea says. The state water board already is a water policing agency.
Viewpoints: State needs to guarantee clean drinking water
A pregnant woman carries a bucket of drinking water from a neighborhood well into her home so she can make dinner.
A community waits anxiously as its only source of drinking water, a weekly truck, is delayed.
A small child drinks contaminated tap water and gets sick.
Earth Log: Lawmakers focus on fixing water
Impoverished, rural towns are stuck for years with tainted drinking water as they wade through a cryptic state process for public funding to fix the problem.
That must stop, say two frustrated lawmakers. Assembly Members Henry T. Perea, D-Fresno, and Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, this week will start a streamlining effort that probably will result in several new bills next year.
Facebook holds small business boost workshop in Fresno
FRESNO, California (KFSN) -- Representatives of Facebook made a stop in Fresno Wednesday. It was all a part of the social media giant's small business boost program.
For some Valley companies, Facebook has become a way to do business and meet new customers.
One life saved; two lives honored
Reedley firefighters Nelson Alvarado and Andrew Rios helped save a heart attack victim in April, and now they’ve received an award from Assembly Member Henry T. Perea.
Reedley Fire Chief Jerry Isaak nominated Alvarado and Rios for the Hispanic Heritage Awards given by Perea. He represents Reedley in the state Assembly and he presented the award to the Reedley men last week in Fresno.
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Governor signs policy to encourage High-Speed Rail Authority to buy in California
Gov. Jerry Brown signed several bills late last week to boost business and job creation in the state, including a bill to encourage the builders of a high-speed rail train to buy rail cars made in California.
“Simply put, these bills make it easier for people to do business in California,” Gov. Brown said in a news release.
Cancer drug cost equity sought by bill
Out-of-pocket costs for cancer drugs can vary dramatically depending on whether the medications are administered through pill form or intravenous infusion.
Newer oral drugs, which can be taken at home and often have fewer side effects than older drugs, can cost patients thousands of dollars a month, while receiving chemotherapy through an IV in an infusion center typically amounts to a standard co-payment for an office visit.
S.D consumer group triggers audit of state program
The investigation into business practices at the Utility Consumers’ Action Network has sparked an audit of the state program that pays millions of dollars to groups that fight rate hikes proposed by utilities.
Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno, sought the review after learning that former UCAN executive director Michael Shames applied to receive $330 an hour under the California Public Utilities Commission’s Intervenor Compensation Program.
Capitol Office:
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