Latest from Food Politics: Congratulations Berkeley: 76% of voters approve soda tax!

Me with Anna Lappé at a Yes on AA fundraiser in Berkeley October 14.   Let’s start this week with some good news:   Berkeley voters passed a higher soda tax by a vote of 76%. According to the press release, Berkeley voters reaffirmed their ...

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By Marion Nestle November 10 2026 Congratulations Berkeley: 76% of voters approve soda tax! Me with Anna Lappé at a Yes on AA fundraiser in Berkeley October 14.   Let’s start this week with some good news:   Berkeley voters passed a higher soda tax by a vote of 76%. According to the press release, Berkeley voters reaffirmed their commitment to community health by approving Measure AA strengthening the nation’s first tax on sugary drink distributors. As of 8 a.m. today, Measure AA has received 76.3% of the vote, according to the Alameda County Election Office. The measure increases the tax from one cent to two cents per ounce and guarantees funding for children’s health, nutrition and community programs. The history: Measure AA builds on Berkeley’s groundbreaking 2014 sugary drink tax, the first in the nation, which voters renewed in 2024…Since Berkeley passed its first sugary drink tax in 2014, studies have documented significant declines in sugary drink consumption, including reductions of more than 50% in some communities during the first three years. A 2024 study also found that the percentage of Berkeley youth classified as overweight or obese declined by 4.4% compared with similar cities without the tax. What the tax does: In addition to increasing the tax, the measure includes a cost-of-living provision to help funding keep pace with rising costs. The measure is expected to generate approximately $2.2 million annually. Of that funding, 42.5% will support Berkeley Unified School District nutrition and gardening programs, and another 42.5% will support community-based nutrition education, health services and improved access to drinking water. Administrative costs, public oversight and annual reporting are limited to 15%. Learn more about it here: the site explains how the tax works, what it funds, and why it matters.  It also provides an FAQ along with:​ Measure AA Fact Sheet Evaluation Report: Changing Culture & Building Power Comment: I use the Berkeley soda tax vote as an example of food advocacy at its most effective. The Yes on AA contingent did door-to-door campaigning to explain to community members why the tax would not only improve health but also support their schools and food environment.  Yes it’s Berkeley, but it’s also a model of how to do advocacy so it works.  Congratulations are due to everyone involved in this campaign. Full disclosure: I did a fundraising event for Yes on AA. The post Congratulations Berkeley: 76% of voters approve soda tax! appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle      Related Posts Happy July 4: Santa Cruz gets to keep its soda tax Industry-funded study of the week: artificially sweetened drinks vs. water Industry-funded study of the week: the American Beverage Association at work   Now Available: What to Eat Now My new book, What to Eat Now, is officially out! It's both a field guide to food shopping in America and a reflection on how to eat well—and deliciously. For more information and to order, click here. You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs. Visit the Site » ​​​​​​​ Marion Nestle Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, Emerita © Marion Nestle. You're receiving this email because you've signed up to receive updates from us. If you'd prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe. Safely Unsubscribe • Archives • Preferences • Contact • Subscribe • Privacy

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Build the practice your patients deserve and your career can sustain. COMMUNITY JOB BOARD RESEARCH BRIEFS Hard truth: "Your patients will never love your practice more than your team does." You can have the best membership model in your city. Same-day availability. Long visits. Your cell number on the fridge. Doesn’t matter. If your front desk is burned out, your patient experience is broken. Period. Here’s why. Patients don’t meet you first. They meet your team. And that’s exactly where practices are bleeding. In a May 2025 MGMA Stat poll, practices with rising turnover pointed first to medical assistants and reception. The first faces patients see. The first ones to quit. The math is simple: Happy team + happy patients = a practice that lasts. Harvard’s James Heskett called it the service-profit chain. A Health Affairs study of 430 hospitals and nearly 21,000 nurses found better work environments were linked to better patient scores on all ten HCAHPS measures. So here’s your play. Three moves. This week. 1. Ask before they leave. Run a 10-minute stay interview with every team member. “What keeps you here? What would make you leave?” Act on one answer. 2. Sunset the worst task. Find the one thing your front desk hates most. Usually phones or paperwork. Automate it, delegate it, or delete it. 3. Say thank you in ink. One handwritten note a week. Costs nothing. Remembered forever. Remember this: You don’t build a great patient experience. You build a great team. They build the patient experience. 👉 [Read the Research Brief: The Employee Experience Comes First] Lead your team. Your team will lead your patients. Michael Tetreault Editor-in-Chief, Concierge Medicine Today P.S. Planning your 2027 patient outreach? Use our free Community Marketing Planner and bring your staff into it. [Open the Planner] Educational content only. Not medical, legal, or financial advice. IN THIS ISSUE | NOVEMBER JOBS IN CONCIERGE MEDICINE More New Jobs and Positions In Concierge Medicine Practices: CA, FL, IL, MA, MO, NC, PA and more Browse All Job Listings Marketing, Strategies, Retention, Attrition and Patient Growth: "Your patients aren't one audience. They're four different people looking for four very different things." Read the full published research article → Latest Research Briefs (Released Weekly) What do you need help with? Pick a topic and the library below shows only those briefs. Browse 80+ industry specific research briefs on various topics Latest Podcast (Released Weekly) - Medical school taught you medicine. Nobody taught you how to build a practice. Latest episode Legal context, not legal advice, from attorneys who work with membership-based practices: Medicare and insurance rules, HSAs and tax, pricing, partnerships and practice transitions. Each comment is dated and reflects the contributor's view at the time. Where the law has changed since, a CMT editor's note says so. https://conciergemedicinetoday.net/legal-commentary Read latest Legal & Op Ed Commentary  JOIN the CMT/CMF Community Online (Live Streams, Connection, Jobs) Building a better practice shouldn't be a solo project. Building a relationship-driven practice is hard work. And too often, physicians and care teams do it alone. You've got questions about staffing, systems, and patient experience. The people who understand those questions are scattered across the country. That's why we created the CMT/CMF Community. It's a year-round space where physicians, administrators, PAs, NPs, RNs, and healthcare innovators keep learning from each other. Inside, you'll find: Live streams with physicians and practice leaders Role-specific spaces for you and your team Practical conversations and resources you can use right away A job board for membership-based practices Stop figuring it out alone. Join colleagues who are building better medicine, together. JOIN the CMT/CMF Community Unsubscribe Concierge Medicine Today LLC 4080 McGinnis Ferry Road Building 800, Suite 801 Alpharetta, Georgia 30005 United States +17704551650