USA City loses battle to keep fluoride out

Watsonville loses fluoride appeal in precedent-setting case
By Donna Jones
Sentinel Staff Writer
Fluoride could flow from city taps within a year.
The city's nearly 3-year-old fight to keep the chemical out of its water supply may have come to an end Wednesday when an appeals court ruled a state fluoridation law trumps local voters.
The ruling by the Sixth District Court of Appeals sets a precedent for cities statewide, though the Watsonville City Council could decide to take its defense of the 2002 voter-approved Measure S to the state Supreme Court.
"They should save their money and just go ahead and fluoridate the water supply," said Jim Jacobson, a Watsonville orthodontist and president of Dientes Community Dental Clinic. "The need for community water fluoridation is incredibly great."

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