I’m a born and bred New Yorker but I’ve been a West Coaster for a lot of years now. Being on the “other coast” means I’m always one step behind when it comes to the news of the day (my colleagues love it, I’m sure, when I post a link to a story I’ve just “discovered” that they’ve already been discussing for hours).

But starting today I get my own round-up!

Each day, we’ll post an afternoon quick set of links to those stories we didn’t have time to blog about or cover in-depth that day. It’s for anyone who’s interested of course but I’m giving a special shout-out to my “other” coast peeps who are still trying to be productive while our East Coast friends are planning their evening cocktail spot or wondering what they’ll make for dinner…

So, without further ado, here are the afternoon stories we’d like to share:

• The iPhone “Hollaback” app is here! Report street harrassment, ladies – don’t be silent!
• In “Making It Explicit: Condoms, Porn and Cal/OSHA (Part II),” Lindsay Beyerstein, writing on the blog Working In These Times, gives the low down on the meetings between Cal/OSHA and members of the adult film industry. After a male film actor tested positive for HIV, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has strongly pushed to require condoms on film sets.
• The final days of the 111th Congress begins on November 16th. The Paycheck Fairness Act still has a chance of being passed by the Senate – it’s already passed the House. You can help the National Women’s Law Center get it passed.
• The #ihadanabortion mini-campaign on Twitter continues to garner media coverage. Politics Daily writer Bonnie Erbe calls it the “the abortion-rights’ movement’s technological answer to the sonogram” and says it may help young women not feel so alone. 
• Reason reports that Texas is considering getting out of the Medicaid business. Yep. Far-right Republicans are saying those damn children, pregnant women, seniors and disabled residents are bankrupting the state!
• Jill at the Unnecesearean blogs about Venezuela’s decision to adopt “Obstetric Violence” as a new legal term. 
• Research presented at the American Public Health Association Meeting today, in Denver, shows that girls are more likely than boys to have unprotected sex for their first sexual encounter. The Guttmacher Institute reminds us, however, that 80 percent of first-time sexual intercourse contraception is condoms so boys may have a lot to do with what the research uncovered. There’s a lot more to the information though so go forth and read!

I’m sure there’s lots we missed so send those links to me if you’d like to see them mentioned!