ALSO: Californians who use the next couple of weeks to finish signing up for health insurance may get help from an insurance agent or enrollment counselor… but they’ll have to ask for it.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Today's reporting by Max Pringle and Pauline Bartolone.

A local ad campaign is out to combat the big budgets of soft drink makers , using basic math to reveal just how much sugar those beverages contain.

  Although they are also often very sweet, fruit juices can be a healthier choice than sodas or energy drinks. But Jasmine Hunt cautions, you have to check carefully to be sure you’re getting real fruit, not just added sugar.

Another alternative for some, are diet sodas. They don’t contain the unhealthy amounts of sugar, says nutritionist Nora Bulloch, but they may pose other problems.

  A deal between the US Postal Service and the Staples office supply store chain is coming under fire from the American Postal Workers Union, which is coordinating a series of protests at stores where that new partnership is being tested. The actions reached the North Bay this week, so KRCB’s Bruce Robinson talked with one of the workers involved to find out more about the issue.

Post office workers were out protesting at the big Staples store in Novato yesterday afternoon. They’re planning to be at the store in San Rafael this afternoon, with additional protests around the east bay through next week.

  Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is one-third of what it should be this time of year. Despite that, state and federal water managers say they will take advantage of recent precipitation and send more water to central and southern California.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Today's story written by Amy Quinton.