Measles is spreading. Are you protected?

• March 13, 2025

Measles, a highly infectious and preventable disease considered eliminated in the U.S. a quarter century ago, is now spreading in at least two states. Here are some answers to common questions about the disease, from how it presents to the durability of vaccinations.

Q: What is measles and why are we hearing about it now?

A: The World Health Organization identifies measles as one of the most contagious diseases, killing up to three out of every thousand children globally. The disease has been preventable since 1963, when American researchers developed a vaccine. In 2000, measles was considered eliminated in the U.S., though occasional cases and outbreaks impacted mostly unvaccinated people. Currently, there are outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico.

On March 6, an unvaccinated man in New Mexico died of measles. An unvaccinated school-aged child in West Texas died of the virus last month.

The Texas state health department reports that 90% of non-immune people become infected just by being near someone with the airborne sickness. The rubeola virus that causes measles can linger in midair for up to two hours.

Q: What are the symptoms of measles and when do they appear?

A: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that measles symptoms — fevers of 104 degrees Fahrenheit or above, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes — appear within 14 days after an infection. Next come tiny white “Koplik spots” on the inside of the mouth, and a rash that starts at the hairline and spreads down the body.

Medical complications can include pneumonia, deafness, blindness, encephalitis (brain swelling) and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a progressive neurological disease. Children 5 and under, adults over 20, pregnant women, and immunocompromised people such as chemotherapy patients and those living with leukemia or HIV are most vulnerable to complications.

Q: What are the vaccine requirements?

A: Federal requirements for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) shots don’t exist, but all 50 states enforce some form of measles inoculation for children before they enter childcare or public schools. Some states, such as Texas, allow vaccination exemptions for religious and personal beliefs. California had a similar exemption until it was eliminated in 2016.

A CDC-recommended measles vaccination includes two shots delivered at 12-15 months and 4-6 years of age. Together, the doses are 97% effective against measles infections. By contrast, unvaccinated people represent about 94% of the 222 measles cases in the U.S. this year, and one in five unvaccinated people with measles requires hospitalization.

But these statistics have not deterred a persistent anti-vaccination movement that expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers in Texas and numerous other states continue pushing bills to dislodge routine vaccination from public health policy.

A February meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has been indefinitely postponed and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is stoking skepticism and confusion around vaccines.

Q: If I got vaccinated as recommended, am I OK? Isn’t the MMR vaccine good for life?

A: MMR vaccinations or natural immunity after a measles infection theoretically lasts a lifetime, according to Dr. Monica Gandhi an infectious disease doctor at UC San Francisco.

But Gandhi said there has been no way to test this in the absence of the disease. “We haven’t put an 80-year-old in the situation where they’re in the middle of an outbreak in 2025,” she said.

Q: Should older vaccinated adults, and those born before 1957 and presumed immune from the widespread infections of the pre-vaccination era, get another MMR vaccine?

A: Gandhi said those vaccinated decades ago should consider a measles booster if they live near an outbreak, are 65 or older, or are preparing to travel internationally, especially for the first time.

The Yale School of Medicine recommends that at-risk people vaccinated prior to 1968 (57 or older) might also want a new shot, because they received doses that are less effective than vaccines that became the standard after that year.

Q: Should people who work in childcare or early education get boosters?

A: This depends on local risk levels, Gandhi said. Vaccination rates at more kindergartens have been dipping below the 95% level previously recommended (and in California, currently enforced) for herd immunity.

Q: Can children be vaccinated ahead of schedule, and can the gap between the two doses be shorter?

A: In the event of an outbreak, Gandhi said, the first dose can be given to infants under a year old. They must be re-vaccinated on or after their first birthdays with two more doses of MMR vaccine separated by 28 days or more, or two more doses of the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine separated by 3 months or more. The CDC has additional guidance for infants traveling internationally.

Q: Is there anyone for whom vaccination is unsafe?

A: Severely immunocompromised people and pregnant women should not receive the live vaccine, Gandhi said. If exposed to measles, this population receives immunoglobulins — protein antibodies that help the immune system fight off harmful agents.

Q: Kennedy has been touting vitamin A and cod liver oil as alternatives to combating measles. Scientists have debunked these suggestions, but is there any credence to claims that vitamin A or other nutrients can help reduce susceptibility to severe measles?

A: “I really want to downplay vitamin A as a treatment. Prevention by vaccination is the best way to combat severe measles,” Gandhi said.

“Two deaths in this country over the last month are a very big deal for a preventable infectious disease,” she said. “It’s a very big deal to lose someone in your family — it’s a lifelong tragedy. There’s simply no reason not to get the vaccine.”

​ Orange County Register 

Five years ago, COVID gripped the world in fear. Now scientists, doctors warn Trump’s policies are weakening public health

• March 13, 2025

CHICAGO — The patient wasn’t initially worried when she first caught COVID-19.

Fully vaccinated and relatively healthy at the age of 41, Johanna Claudette of the Irving Park neighborhood thought the positive test in February 2022 wouldn’t be a big deal.

But within days, her memory became spotty. Her heart raced and she became fatigued. Today, she said, she’s still grappling with blurry vision, chest pain and brain fog — all symptoms of the chronic condition called long COVID, which can linger for months or even years after an initial infection and which has afflicted millions worldwide.

Five years ago, reports of the new and mysterious virus emanating from China gripped the globe in terror and uncertainty.

As infections spread across continents, humanity raced to better understand the novel coronavirus and prevent its proliferation, with case counts, hospitalizations and deaths climbing rapidly.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, the first in over a century. The international agency urged everyone around the globe to work together to alter the course of the virus, which had already touched 114 nations and ended more than 4,000 lives.

“Some countries are struggling with a lack of capacity. Some countries are struggling with a lack of resources. Some countries are struggling with a lack of resolve,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that day. “All countries must strike a fine balance between protecting health, minimizing economic and social disruption, and respecting human rights.”

Days later, President Donald Trump proclaimed the virus a national emergency. Later that month, Gov. JB Pritzker issued a statewide stay-at-home order aimed at limiting viral transmission and protecting the health care system from becoming overwhelmed.

Across Illinois and the nation, school buildings were empty. Normally bustling highways and downtown corridors were barren. Restaurants, shops and entertainment venues went dark, some to never reopen.

And everyone tried to adapt to the “new normal,” as life with COVID-19 became commonly known.

As the five-year anniversary of the pandemic approaches, the threat of the virus has been drastically reduced, with low rates of transmission and hospitalization across much of the nation.

COVID-19 tests — once near impossible to find or take — are now sold at drugstores and shipped via mail. Billions have been vaccinated against the virus, an intervention Trump lauded as “one of the greatest achievements of mankind” during his first term.

Yet local medical experts and scientists caution against letting down the nation’s guard against the ever-evolving virus as well as other health epidemics — and even another potential pandemic — that might emerge in the future.

As the second Trump presidency unfolds, various local leaders and public health experts are sounding the alarm about dramatic shifts in health care policy under the new administration, from threats to cut Medicaid to attempts to slash funding for research to anti-vaccination rhetoric coming from high-level federal officials.

The state’s top health leader recently voiced grave concerns about the president’s January decision to cut ties with the World Health Organization; it was the second time Trump has done so, following his 2020 withdrawal during the height of the pandemic.

“The U.S. may lose internal access to WHO’s global surveillance system, which provides the United States, including Illinois, with early warnings of outbreaks by monitoring disease activity in more than 150 countries,” said Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, in a January letter. “Without access to this network, Illinois could lose critical time detecting threats like new COVID-19 variants, Ebola, avian influenza and more.”

The five-year battle against COVID showed the strength and ingenuity of American medical professionals and scientists, who worked quickly with others around the world to learn to detect, trace, treat and prevent the virus.

At the same time, COVID also revealed the fragility and numerous weaknesses of the nation’s public health system. Early COVID testing debacles slowed the pace of detecting and learning about the virus. Long-standing health care inequities made it harder to treat and prevent COVID. Supply chain disasters spurred a shortage of critical tests and personal protective equipment.

The pain of the pandemic is ongoing for the loved ones of the millions whose deaths have been attributed to the virus worldwide. In the first year alone, roughly 2.6 million deaths internationally were due to COVID, with more than half a million in the United States and roughly 20,000 in Illinois.

For those suffering from long COVID, the consequences of the pandemic continue today.

Claudette said she never imagined the many ways the virus would transform her life, work and relationships.

“They couldn’t understand what was happening, despite me trying to explain it to them. … It brought me to bouts of depression and frustration,” said Claudette, whose health has improved somewhat due to treatment from various physicians, therapy and rehabilitation at the Chicago-based Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. “My frustration would turn into anger and my sadness would turn into bouts of crying for a while.”

Many medical professionals will never forget how the virus ravaged their patients and threatened to collapse the health care system not so long ago.

They urge the nation to remain vigilant against emerging threats — and to not dismantle the public health strides of the past five years.

Dr. Marc Sala was working in the intensive care unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital when the pandemic began. Terrified, he and his wife, who is also a doctor, printed off copies of their living wills “in preparation for the fact that we were going to do our jobs at any cost and we wanted to make sure our family was taken care of.”

“We just went through hell,” said Sala, who is now co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive COVID-19 Center. “Let’s not forget all the lessons we took from this. This needs to be a learning experience for the next pandemic. If you’re thinking this is a once-in-a-100-years thing, you’re not paying attention.”

Lessons learned

Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she’ll always remember Dec. 15, 2020, the day the first COVID shots went into the arms of Chicago health care professionals. Some were moved to tears, she recalled.

“These health care workers were under extraordinary pressure and were experiencing firsthand trauma of an unprecedented nature,” said Lightfoot, who lost her reelection bid in 2023.

While the vaccine marked a turning point in the fight against the virus, Lightfoot recalled in an interview that its rollout was difficult, with local and national leaders trying to get initial doses to the most vulnerable populations as soon as possible while also combatting vaccine hesitancy.

In recent years, public health experts have been increasingly troubled by low uptake for both the COVID shot and the seasonal flu vaccine locally as well as across the country.

Lightfoot believes this problem will worsen under the new presidential administration, which includes “a bunch of vaccine skeptics and deniers in charge of public health.”

Prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in last month as the nation’s health secretary; FBI Director Kash Patel has used anti-vaccine rhetoric in promoting a supplement line on social media, encouraging followers to “Mrna detox, reverse the vaxx n get healthy.”

“They devalue the truth,” Lightfoot said. “So I can’t sound this alarm any louder than what I am: We have a potential to have an unmitigated disaster on our hands as a result of decisions that are being made already.”

Vohra, the state health department director, said Illinois has increased its preparedness to handle public health emergencies, in part due to knowledge gained during the pandemic.

In May, the state released a 33-page playbook chronicling measures to be taken in the event of a future health crisis, informed by lessons learned from COVID. The plan covers various health emergencies including infectious disease outbreaks and natural disasters, as well as chemical, biological or nuclear calamities such as accidents or acts of terrorism.

“Following a once-in-a-century event like the COVID-19 pandemic it is critical that we take the time to thoroughly study how our state responded to the emergency and seek to learn lessons that will put us in a stronger position the next time such an all-of-government response is required,” Pritzker said at the time.

But Vohra also worries about Trump administration decisions affecting public health, from severing ties with WHO to moves toward mass firings of federal employees, including those in public health.

“The public health workforce was already reeling before COVID,” he said. “Losing even more individuals is a concern.”

‘Catastrophic effects’

In March 2021, the Chicago Department of Public Health and Rush University Medical Center launched the Regional Innovative Public Health Laboratory, which focused on genome sequencing to track and trace COVID variants in Chicago.

“The vaccine strains have changed every year, and that’s informed by the sequencing data and which variants they are. That’s sort of on a population scale,” said Hannah Barbian, a virologist with the lab. “It can help on…. a finer scale too if you’re investigating an outbreak.”

The lab’s work has since expanded to analyze other pathogens, including Mpox and Candida auris, a fungus that can spread in hospitals. In 2022, the lab began a pilot project testing air samples to detect viruses, including COVID and other respiratory illnesses; the scientists also found some skin infections and gastrointestinal illnesses, Barbian said.

The partnership with the city health department means funding for the lab will likely be stable for a while, said Stefan Green, director of core lab services.

But he’s concerned about broader threats to public health funding.

“The time to maintain public health investment is when you don’t have an obvious epidemic. You want to use your resources in a way that you can detect as early as possible the next pandemic or the next epidemic,” he said. “It’s like if you have a soldier guarding a base and he’s there all day. And you’re like, well nobody invaded.… But you need somebody there all the time. Because when you do get attacked, you need someone there.”

The Trump administration has attempted to drastically slash federal funding for medical and scientific research; Rush University President Dr. Robert Higgins warned during a news conference last month that these cuts would have “catastrophic effects on research studies nationwide.”

A federal judge Wednesday blocked the cuts; lawsuits filed by a group of 22 states — including Illinois — and organizations representing universities, hospitals and research institutions across the country have argued that stripping the funding would cause “irreparable harm.”

Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious disease specialist at University of Chicago Medicine, said she is “terrified” about the nation’s ability to handle another pandemic.

She became a prominent voice in Illinois in the early days of the COVID crisis, speaking alongside the governor during a March 20, 2020 press conference when he announced the stay-at-home order for Illinois.

The nation made mistakes in the months leading up to that order, Landon said. One of the biggest, she thinks, was that U.S. leaders didn’t take big enough steps to address COVID-19 early enough; they were reactive rather than proactive.

Now Landon says she hears echoes of that same attitude, citing reactions to the ongoing measles outbreak in Texas.

Last month, Kennedy Jr. commented that measles outbreaks are “not unusual,” despite the recent death of an unvaccinated child from measles — the first U.S. measles death in a decade. His stance on vaccines, however, might have softened: In a recent Fox News opinion piece, Kennedy Jr. hailed vaccination to protect children from measles.

“They need to be able to say: ‘This is a real threat to children and immunocompromised adults. You need to take action now, and here is the action you can take,’” Landon said. “I see some evidence that we maybe haven’t learned that lesson.”

Landon first realized the potential magnitude of COVID-19 a couple months before the Illinois stay-at-home order. University of Chicago has a relationship with Wuhan University’s medical school, in ground-zero of the outbreak, and Landon saw photos sent by doctors there in which they were wearing full-body protective suits. She knew then that Chinese doctors were worried about person-to-person transmission.

But she’s concerned about the nation’s ability to understand the nature of illness outbreaks in other parts of the world going forward.

The Trump administration’s recent cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, which delivers humanitarian funding overseas, threatens America’s understanding of what’s happening on the ground internationally, Landon said.

“We don’t have the same information that we usually have about what’s going on elsewhere in the world,” she said. “If we can keep outbreaks contained where they start, instead of letting them spread unfettered in places where they just don’t have the resources to contain these things, that protects Americans.”

The Associated Press contributed.

eleventis@chicagotribune.com

lschencker@chicagotribune.com

​ Orange County Register 

Update: Winter storm warning in place for Los Angeles County until early Saturday morning – up to 6 inches of snow

• March 13, 2025

Los Angeles County is under an updated winter storm warning which was issued by the National Weather Service on Thursday at 10:04 a.m. The warning is in effect until Saturday, Mar. 15 at 5 a.m.

“Additional snow accumulations up to 6 inches. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph,” can be expected according to the NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA. “A second, and much weaker system will move into the mountains Friday into Friday night generating much lighter accumulations.”

“Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the Thursday evening and Friday morning commutes. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches,” according to the NWS. “If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.”

The full list of affected locations includes:

• 5 Freeway corridor near Santa Clarita
• Santa Barbara County Interior Mountains
• Southern Ventura County Mountains
• Northern Ventura County Mountains
• Western San Gabriel Mountains/Highway 14 Corridor
• Eastern San Gabriel Mountains
• Western Antelope Valley Foothills
• Eastern Antelope Valley Foothills

Emergency alerts in Southern California

For “considerable or catastrophic” hazards, emergency alerts will be sent to all enabled mobile phones in the area. To monitor lesser risk, residents are advised to sign up for county alert systems and to monitor agencies’ social media. How to sign up for alerts in your area:

LA County

Orange County

Riverside County

San Bernardino County

Staying safe on winter roads: Winter driving tips from the NWS

Winter’s icy grip often turns roads treacherous, leading to over 6,000 weather-related vehicle fatalities and more than 480,000 injuries each year. When you find yourself on snowy or freezing rain-slicked roads, your top priority should be safety. Slow down and exercise caution. In temperatures near freezing, it’s prudent to assume icy patches on the road and adjust your driving accordingly. Be on alert for ice accumulating on power lines and tree branches, as they may break and fall. If possible, avoid driving in these conditions altogether. But if you must venture out, choose routes with fewer trees and power lines, and never touch a downed power line. If you encounter one, dial 911 immediately. Here are additional winter driving tips from the NWS:

Share your travel plans:

When venturing out of town in hazardous winter weather, be sure to inform family or friends of your destination, your intended route, and your estimated arrival time.

Prepare your vehicle:

Ensure your gas tank is full and equip your vehicle with essential winter supplies such as a windshield scraper, jumper cables, a small shovel, flashlight, cell phone, blanket, extra warm clothing, drinking water, and high-calorie non-perishable food.

Stay calm when stranded:

If you become stranded, remain composed. Inform someone about your situation and location. Avoid attempting to walk to safety. Indicate that you need assistance by attaching a cloth to your car’s antenna or mirror, and make your vehicle more visible by using the dome light and flashers

Be aware of snow plows:

Keep an eye out for snow plows and provide them with ample room to pass. Only overtake a plow when you have a clear view of the road ahead.

Check road conditions:

Before embarking on your journey, check the latest road conditions to make informed travel decisions.

These winter driving tips from the NWS are your key to a safer journey on snow-covered roads. By following these guidelines, you can significantly reduce the risk of accidents and ensure your well-being during challenging winter weather.

​ Orange County Register 

China is taking issue with Trump’s move to link tariffs to fentanyl

• March 13, 2025

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump threw a curve ball at China by linking the fentanyl issue to his tariffs on imports. The Chinese government is swinging back.

First it issued a report detailing its efforts to control the illegal trade in fentanyl, specifically the ingredients for the opioid that are made in China. Then, the Chinese foreign minister blasted the U.S. for responding to Beijing’s goodwill with tariffs. And this week, Chinese officials expressed their indignation at a rare background briefing with journalists.

“In the spirit of humanity, China assisted the U.S. in various ways,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi told journalists last week in an annual appearance before the media. “The U.S. should not meet good with evil or even impose arbitrary tariffs. No responsible major country should do that.”

Trump cited the fentanyl issue as the reason for imposing a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports in early February, on top of any existing duties. He doubled that to 20% earlier this month. He also has cited fentanyl, along with other reasons, for imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

What Trump is saying

In his executive order on the first 10% tariff, Trump accused China of subsidizing chemical companies to export fentanyl and related “precursor chemicals” and of providing a safe haven for Chinese criminal organizations that launder the revenues from the opioid trade.

It’s not unusual for the Chinese government to subsidize industries, and the precursor chemicals are also used to make legal painkillers. But some of the production finds it way to Mexican drug cartels who make fentanyl and send it to the United States.

“Despite multiple attempts to resolve this crisis at its root source through bilateral dialogue, PRC officials have failed to follow through with the decisive actions needed to stem the flow of precursor chemicals to known criminal cartels,” the statement said, referring to China by the acronym for the People’s Republic of China, its official name.

China’s response

The Chinese government hit back both times Trump imposed tariffs with its own duties on selected U.S. products and other measures aimed at American companies. Analysts have described the response as a measured one designed to try to avoid an escalation of the trade war, which could deal a blow to an already sluggish Chinese economy.

The government’s report on its fentanyl-related actions said that China and the U.S. have held multiple high-level meetings since early last year to promote cooperation, and that its Narcotics Control Bureau holds regular exchanges with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

China is committed to cooperation, the report said, “but firmly opposes the U.S. imposition of unlawful sanctions and unreasonable pressure on China on the pretext of responding to fentanyl-related issues.”

From Biden to Trump

Under former President Joe Biden, cooperation on fentanyl was relaunched in early 2024 after falling victim to geopolitics in 2022. In August of that year, a visit to Taiwan by a top U.S. legislator, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, angered China, and the government responded by cutting off talks on a range of issues including drug control.

A rapprochement in late 2023, negotiated over several months, led to a meeting on fentanyl in January of last year. Drug enforcement, like climate, was held up as an area where the two countries could cooperate despite growing differences and their military, economic and technological competition.

Now Trump, back in the White House after a four-year hiatus, is trying to shift the playing field in the U.S.-China relationship. So far, China has indicated it won’t blink.

“If the American side goes further down this wrong path, we will fight to the end,” Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said last week.

​ Orange County Register 

People with disabilities rely on Uber. Could a federal rule limit access?

• March 13, 2025

By Shauna Muckle, Tampa Bay Times

TAMPA, Fla. — None of Andrew Boisen’s initial options for commuting from his Florida home in Tarpon Springs to Pinellas Technical College looked pretty.

Boisen has a disability that prevents him from driving a car. He could hop on the county’s fixed-route bus system — but the ride would require 30 minutes of walking and a bus transfer, lasting two hours if everything went seamlessly.

He could wake his mom up at 6 a.m. for the 30-minute drive. Or he could pay at least $30 each way for an Uber or Lyft.

For most car-free Pinellas County residents, other options are scarce. But Boisen’s disability, epilepsy, gave him another opportunity: registering for the county’s paratransit system, which allows him to hail rides from his home to school or work for just $4.50 each way. The transit agency covers the rest.

Before 2016, paratransit — a door-to-door service required by the Americans with Disabilities Act for people who can’t use a regular bus route independently — had one limitation. Riders had to hail rides a day in advance, limiting their ability to access spontaneous events or change plans.

But Pinellas County was one of the first transit agencies to coordinate with Uber and Lyft on a new program: mobility on-demand. The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority contracts with rideshare companies to service immediate trips that paratransit otherwise wouldn’t accommodate.

“Traditionally, paratransit programs have been next-day services,” said Jen Shepherd, global head of Uber transit, which coordinates partnerships with local agencies. “Now it’s a same-day service.”

But a proposed rule from the Federal Transit Administration, drafted weeks before President Donald Trump took office, could threaten those partnerships, which have since expanded to more than 80 cities, from New York City to Phoenix.

The rule would require rideshare companies to drug test their drivers if they are to partner with transit agencies.

For Uber, which relies on more than 7 million gig workers in the United States, requiring drug tests would diminish driver supply and raise prices, Shepherd said. Uber wouldn’t ask that of its drivers when the company already screens workers for impaired driving and violent offenses yearly, she said.

“Conceptually, it’s a good idea,” said Gloria Lepik-Corrigan, a wheelchair user and disability advocate who occasionally uses mobility on-demand services in Pinellas. “Don’t we all wish that every Uber and Lyft driver was not on drugs?”

But the policy isn’t worth it if it’s used to pare back paratransit options, Lepik-Corrigan said. Instead, she advises riders who feel unsafe to say “no thank you” and request a different driver.

Rideshare companies have safety records that mimic or are better than those of traditional paratransit services, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority CEO Brad Miller said.

In 2023, more than three million Uber trips were conducted via transit agency partnerships, averaging more than 8,000 riders per day, according to the company. In August, more than 16,000 disabled riders in Pinellas scheduled paratransit services through rideshare companies.

Without Uber as a paratransit option, “I would basically have to schedule my life 24 to 72 hours in advance,” Boisen said. “If something pops up or I have to cancel it, there’s nothing I could do.”

Pinellas’ transit agency wants the partnership to stay in place, as well. Contracting with rideshare companies is less expensive than manning a traditional paratransit van, Miller said. If the partnership is canceled, the transit agency estimates it would have to spend at least $1 million more on paratransit services.

When the rideshare partnership was implemented, “customers, especially people with disabilities loved the increased mobility that Uber and Lyft offered them,” Miller wrote in a letter to the federal government opposing the rule. “Now customers were choosing to ride to lunch with a friend, or the movies or to a baseball game.”

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority does not currently contract with rideshare companies. But a conservative board member, Commissioner Josh Wostal, suggested last year that the bus service should offer more subsidized rideshare services.

The Pinellas transit authority also contracts with rideshare companies to provide late-night rides for workers whose job begins or ends between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. for $3 each way. The Tampa Bay Times reported in 2017 that Tampa Bay’s bus services already connect workers to fewer jobs than most metro areas of a similar size in the U.S. — making point-to-point services a critical lifeline.

The federal government ended public comment on its proposed rule in mid-February. It’s not clear when the rule may advance. Some members of Pinellas’ transit agency board have suggested the new administration may dismiss the proposed rule.

But until the rule’s fate is clear, Uber and transit agencies around the country are rallying to preserve these partnerships that plug gaps in service, Shepherd said.

©2025 Tampa Bay Times. Visit at tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Anaheim briefs: Poetry contest to celebrate the voices of Anaheim

• March 13, 2025

Celebrating the Voices of Anaheim is a poetry contest scheduled for April 12.

Everyone is encouraged to submit a poem for the contest by March 15.  Anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Anaheim is encouraged to submit a poem.

Winning poems will be published in a zine for the Anaheim Public Library collection. And there will be a special program for the contest at the Sunkist Branch Library at 2 p.m. on April 12.

For more information, call 714-765-1880

Easter extravaganza in the planning for Anaheim community

A family friendly, fun-filled happening will be presented by Mondragon Family Market and Wings of Kindness next month in celebration of Easter and bringing people together.

There will be free Easter baskets for kids, photos with the Easter Bunny and special appearances by Anaheim Fire, Anaheim Police Association and city of Anaheim Community Services.

The event is free and scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. on April 18 at the Mondragon Family Market, 407 E. North St.

If you would like to volunteer, contact wingsofkindnessalasdebondad@gmail.com, and if you want to be a vendor or participate as a nonprofit, use the same email. The event is a collaboration with District Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava, local nonprofits and community partners dedicated to giving back. Contact Marina Porras Mondragon at mmondragon1322@outlook.com

Mystery writers to talk shop

The Anaheim Public Library Foundation is presenting its 28th annual Mystery Authors Luncheon on May 6.

Guest authors Gary Phillips, Adam Sikes and Terry Shames will be featured guest authors at the luncheon fundraiser to be held at the Sheraton Park Hotel beginning at 11 a.m.

Tickets are $90 per person or $850 for a table of 10.  For more information visit anaheimlibraryfoundation.com.

Be a Muzeo member

Don’t miss your opportunity to “be a star.”

Your name can be featured in the newest exhibit at the Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center, “Painted for the Pictures.” Support the arts with a custom vinyl star at the new exhibit area.

Put your name, your family’s name, your grandchild’s name or such in the limelight with a contribution.  Visit muzeo.org for more information.

A membership with the Muzeo includes year-round benefits such as unlimited free admission, exclusive access to programs and previews and discounts on downtown dining.

Annual Children’s Festival is in the planning

The Anaheim Children’s Festival will be celebrating 34 years this spring.

Everyone is invited to this free event and Anaheim and Orange County organizations are encouraged to have a booth at the May 17 festival to be held at Pearson Park.

Nonprofit and for-profit groups are encouraged to join the Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center in bringing the arts to our Anaheim and Orange County families. Easy sign up is available on the  muzeo.org website. Entertainers are also encouraged to sign up and join the fun onstage.

Call Andrea, 714-815-3885, with any questions.

Taste a bit of what Orange has to offer

The Taste of Orange is scheduled for May 4.

The Orange Blossoms Auxiliary of Assistance League of Orange is presenting the annual event from 3 to 7 p.m. at 124 S. Orange St., in Orange.

Taste of Orange will feature samplings of food, beer, and wine from top local restaurants, plus drawings, live entertainment and more. For tickets, visit freshtix.com.

Mills Act/historic home workshop coming up

The Anaheim Planning Department and the Historic Preservation Committee will host a community meeting on May 28 for historic homeowners.

The Mills Act will be explained and discussed, so if you have a home with a Mills Act agreement (particularly if you purchased your home with the Mills Act already in place and want more information on what that entails) or if you are interested in finding out if your home qualifies for the Mills Act, you don’t want to miss the 6 to 7 p.m. meeting.

Learn more about the Mills Act at anaheim.net/748/Mills-Act-Program and watch for more information on the workshop.

Andrea Manes shares with her neighbors events and news about the Anaheim community. If you have an event to share, contact her at andreadeemanes@gmail.com or 714-815-3885.

​ Orange County Register 

Tribes, Native students sue feds over education cuts

• March 13, 2025

By Alex Brown, Stateline.org

A coalition of tribal nations and students is suing the federal government over major cuts to a pair of colleges and a federal agency serving Native American students.

The staffing cuts, part of President Donald Trump’s effort to reduce the federal workforce, have slashed basic services on the campuses of ​​Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, known as SIPI, in New Mexico. The lawsuit says the feds failed to notify or consult with tribal nations prior to making the cuts.

The lawsuit notes that those schools — as well as the federal Bureau of Indian Education — are part of a system that fulfills the federal government’s legal obligation to provide education for Native people. Tribal nations secured that right in a series of treaties in exchange for conceding land.

“The United States government has legal obligations to Tribal Nations that they agreed to in treaties and have been written into federal law,” Jacqueline De León, staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, the legal group leading the lawsuit, said in a statement announcing the case. “The abrupt and drastic changes that happened since February, without consultation or even pre-notification, are completely illegal.”

Three tribal nations and five Native students have joined the lawsuit. Asked about the case, federal officials told media outlets they do not comment on pending litigation.

According to Haskell student Ella Bowen, cuts to custodial staff have left bathrooms with overflowing trash cans and no toilet paper. SIPI student Kaiya Jade Brown said that school’s campus has suffered from power outages because of a lack of maintenance workers.

Both schools lost roughly a quarter of their staff last month after Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency task force ordered major cuts across a slew of federal agencies. While the schools have since been able to hire back some instructional staff, “[i]t is not even close to enough,” Native American Rights Fund Deputy Director Matthew Campbell said in the statement.

Thirty-four courses at Haskell lost their instructors in February, according to the statement.

Some students have reported delays in their financial aid, and SIPI students are dealing with brown, unsafe tap water, with repairs put on hold due to the cuts, the statement said. And the school did not have enough faculty to administer midterm exams.

The Pueblo of Isleta; the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation; and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are suing the feds.

“Despite having a treaty obligation to provide educational opportunities to Tribal students, the federal government has long failed to offer adequate services,” Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Lieutenant Governor Hershel Gorham said in the statement. “Just when the Bureau of Indian Education was taking steps to fix the situation, these cuts undermined all those efforts. These institutions are precious to our communities, we won’t sit by and watch them fail.”

©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Pope receives hundreds of well-wishes on the 12th anniversary of his papacy, marked in the hospital

• March 13, 2025

By COLLEEN BARRY

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has marked the 12th anniversary of his pontificate in the hospital as he received increasingly positive medical news on his recovery and hundreds of messages wishing him well.

The pope spent the morning in physiotherapy, followed Lenten spiritual exercises of the Roman curia and stopped to pray at the chapel in the Gemelli Hospital, where he has been under treatment for a complex lung infection since Feb. 14, Vatican sources said.

A chest X-ray has confirmed improvements in his condition, the Vatican said on Wednesday, just two days after doctors declared he’s no longer in imminent danger of death.

The latest medical bulletin said that the 88-year-old pope’s condition remained stable but indicated a complex picture considering his overall fragility, which includes his age, limited mobility often requiring a wheelchair and the removal of part of a lung as a young man.

Francis was elected on March 13, 2013 as the 266th pope — and the Catholic Church’s first Latin American pope. The Holy See hasn’t said how the anniversary of Francis’ election might be commemorated.

It is a public holiday at the Vatican, and a Mass is planned in his honor later at the Argentine church in Rome. No medical bulletins will be issued.

Francis received hundreds of drawings and messages from children and young people from around the globe wishing him a full recovery, the Vatican said.

Gemelli Hospital, located about a 15-minute train ride from the Vatican, has become a stop for pilgrims visiting Rome as part of Jubilee Year celebrations.

The Rev. Enrico Bortolaso, who led a group of pilgrims from northern Veneto, offered prayers near a statue of Pope John Paul II outside of the hospital. He said they made Gemelli their first stop.

“We wanted to come here to pray for him and for his recovery,’’ said one of the Veneto faithful, Alberto Jerbonato. “We are aware that he is 88 years old, and we are fully aware of what he is facing.”

John Paul, who spent 55 days in Gemelli in the longest hospital stretch by a pope to date, used to quip that it was ’’Vatican 3,” following the Vatican itself and Castel Gandolfo, long used as a papal retreat by popes until Francis.

‘’It’s a sort of a seat of fragility, from where he continues his ministry,’’ Cardinal Marcello Semeraro was quoted as saying in L’Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, on Thursday.

The newspaper underlined that Francis is the first pope, at least in modern history, to spend the anniversary of his pontificate in the hospital.

Francis this week has been following a Lenten spiritual retreat that has been a mainstay of his papacy, with updates on his condition omitting reference to work as earlier in his hospital stay.

He continues to receive high flows of oxygen through nasal tubes during the day and a non-invasive mechanical mask to aid his rest at night. He also is undergoing physical therapy, key to avoiding further repercussions from his hospitalization.

The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected on the fifth ballot of the 2013 conclave, which was called after Pope Benedict XVI resigned.

While Francis has praised Benedict’s humility in stepping down and said he might follow in his footsteps, more recently he has said the papacy is a job for life.

Another milestone comes Friday, when Francis marks four weeks of hospitalization.

AP video journalist Srdjan Nedeljkovic contributed.

​ Orange County Register