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California workplace safety regulators announced Thursday that a state prison rocked by one of the nation’s worst coronavirus outbreaks has been hit with by far its largest pandemic-related fine yet against an employer. The $421,880 fine against San Quentin State Prison is several times higher than any others levied by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly known as Cal/OSHA. Only a few others exceed $100,000, and most are several thousand dollars. (Thompson, 2/5)

KHN: California’s Rural Counties Endure A Deadly Covid Winter

Covid-19’s fierce winter resurgence in California is notable not only for the explosion in overall cases and deaths in the state’s sprawling urban centers. This latest surge spilled across a far greater geographic footprint, scarring remote corners of the state that went largely unscathed for much of 2020. In the past two months, covid-related infection and death rates have jumped exponentially in California’s least populated counties. (Reese, 2/5)

Somerville in January became the first jurisdiction in Massachusetts to move toward decriminalizing plant-based psychedelic drugs, with city leaders voting unanimously to recognize the medical uses of natural entheogens — including psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms” — and make them among the lowest enforcement priorities for local police. Fresh off that victory, advocates for decriminalizing such drugs are now bringing their fight to Beacon Hill. State Representative Mike Connolly, whose district includes large swaths of Somerville and Cambridge and who has been working with the reformers, told the Globe he is planning to file a preliminary bill that would create a committee of public officials, scientists, criminal justice experts, and others to study whether Massachusetts should decriminalize natural psychedelics and legalize their administration in therapeutic settings statewide. (Adams, 2/4)

Amy Acton, the former director of the Ohio Department of Health, said Thursday she was stepping down from her position at a nonprofit and will “carefully consider” her future amid speculation that she may run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Rob Portman (R). (Axelrod, 2/4)

KHN: As Demand For Mental Health Care Spikes, Budget Ax Set To Strike

When the pandemic hit, health officials in Montana’s Beaverhead County had barely begun to fill a hole left by the 2017 closure of the local public assistance office, mental health clinic, chemical dependency center and job placement office after the state’s last budget shortfall. Now, those health officials worry more cuts are coming, even as they brace for a spike in demand for substance abuse and mental health services. That would be no small challenge in a poor farming and ranching region where stigma often prevents people from admitting they need help, said Katherine Buckley-Patton, who chairs the county’s Mental Health Local Advisory Council. (Volz, 2/5)