Others have criticized hostility toward the Israeli contestant. Israel’s public broadcaster KAN complained to Swiss police about an alleged threatening gesture made toward Raphael by a pro-Palestinian protester during the opening Eurovision parade on Sunday.
Community organizers from Public Health Advocates praise the health department for starting up a health and racial equity unit. But they are frustrated by the lack of outward-facing progress.A year ago, the organization confronted the county board of supervisors during a meeting over concerns that the county was too focused on internal diversity, equity and inclusion as opposed to racial justice. They were frustrated that the county spent
on an out-of-state consultant and didn’t put community members on the DEI cabinet — which was established in May 2023, three years after the declaration.The county also lagged in hiring a DEI chief to oversee the action plan. The Civil Service Commission, which runs the process for choosing and retaining county employees, initially didn’t approve the job description because the commission was concerned it would be redundant.Cephoni Jackson eventually was hired in January. She shared a draft of the yet-to-be-finalized plan, which outlines goals of creating a “culture of belonging,” building more inclusive leadership, and coming up with strategies to retain and develop talent. She wants to establish a committee made up of community members by 2025.
The goals don’t have a timeline, and various county leaders are tasked with “championing” each step. Jackson said she’s seeing high energy from employees to begin implementing the action plan, adding: “It’s like the conditions are right for the culture to shift.”It’s progress that’s “more than the bread crumbs they’ve given us,” said Kula Koenig, the chief program officer at Public Health Advocates.
And Phil Serna, the county board member who brought forth the declaration, said it’s important to recognize what has been done — and what still lies ahead.
“I think in many respects dealing with racism, addressing racism responsibly, is kind of like painting the Golden Gate Bridge, right?” he said. “As soon as you think you’re done, you’re not. You have to go back and start painting again.”“We do find that it could function a little bit in a human being,” Wang said. He speculated that would be enough to help support a failing human liver.
In the U.S. last year, surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania attempted that sort of “bridge” supportto a brain-dead human body to filter blood, much like dialysis for failing kidneys. U.S. pig developer eGenesis is studying that approach.
In China, Wang’s team didn’t remove the deceased person’s own liver, instead implanting the pig liver near it.That “clouds the picture,” said Dr. Parsia Vagefi, a liver transplant surgeon at UT Southwestern Medical Center who wasn’t involved with the work. “It’s hopefully a first step but it’s still, a lot like any good research, more questions than answers.”