Alexander: Which Bruins will we see Saturday night?

• March 7, 2025

The world according to Jim:

• As of Thursday afternoon, ESPN’s “Bracketology” projection of the NCAA men’s basketball bracket had UCLA as a No. 6 seed, and opening the tournament in Providence, R.I., against Georgia. Friday morning, Joe Lunardi’s forecast had UCLA still a No. 6, but opening in Milwaukee instead and facing – are you ready for this? – UC San Diego, which is such a surprise in the Big West that it’s talked of as a possible at-large selection if it doesn’t win next week’s conference tournament. (More on that below.) …

• Bracketology changes with each day’s results and the Bruins (21-9, 12-7) still have opportunities to improve their status, Saturday night at home against USC and again in next week’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

And while it may be too soon to project where they’ll go and what they’ll do when they get there, what we can say is that they can be a maddening team to watch. There are times, when shots are falling and they look efficient, that the Bruins appear capable of a deep run through March and maybe even into April. Then there are times that they just can’t seem to get out of their own way. Too often, those conflicting spells occur in the same game. …

• One thing that is apparent: Aday Mara, the 7-foot-3 freshman from Spain, has the potential to be a force. But it’ll take time and some patience – this is an issue with this team and this coach – and he’ll need to get stronger. And if Mick Cronin and his staff haven’t already had the opportunity to do so, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to arrange for Mara to have an extended conversation with the best big man ever to wear a UCLA uniform, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. …

• Yes, I know the late Bill Walton is in the conversation, and deservedly so. But they changed the rules for Kareem, outlawing the dunk (for nine seasons) in 1967 before his junior year. …

• As for Saturday night’s opponent in Pauley Pavilion? The Muss Bus, as featured in USC’s pre-game hype video at Galen Center, has sputtered. Right now USC (15-15, 7-12) is in a five-way tie for 11th place, and only 15 of the conference’s 18 teams go to Indianapolis for next week’s men’s Big Ten tournament. …

• This was a worse-than-anticipated result in Eric Musselman’s first season, but consider: He had to scour the portal after being hired in early April to build an almost totally new roster, and his team – like UCLA – was affected adversely by the often ridiculous Big Ten schedule, necessitated by (a) multiple trips to the Eastern and Central time zones and (b) the demand$ of the conference’s TV partner$.

USC was 5-5 in conference after knocking off (eventual regular season champ) Michigan State on Feb. 1, then lost seven of eight before beating Washington Wednesday night at home. That rough patch included trips to Northwestern and Purdue (lost both) and to Maryland and Rutgers (lost both), plus home losses to Minnesota and Ohio State and a defeat at Oregon last Saturday. …

• This is the time of year we look for Cinderella candidates, and UC San Diego – in its first year of tournament eligibility after entering Division I in 2020 – may already qualify for that glass slipper. Tritons coach Eric Olen has obviously built his program with this season in mind; UCSD is 27-4 overall, and 17-2 in the Big West and a game ahead of UC Irvine going into Saturday’s final regular season games. The Tritons were an astounding 36th in the NCAA’s NET rankings as of Friday morning, though their Quad 1 record is a skinny 2-1. …

• Quiz No. 1: Which teams have beaten UCSD this season? And Quiz No. 2: When was the last time the Big West sent a second team to the NCAA Tournament? Answers below.

• Item: Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is contemplating lifting the late Pete Rose’s permanent suspension from the game, which would restore his eligibility to be considered for the Hall of Fame.

Comment: No.

I realize baseball, like our other sports, has embraced legal gambling as a business decision, as annoying as all those betting ads are. But it remains the third rail of sports for those who actually are involved in the games: You don’t bet on your own sport, period. Rose acknowledged, well after the fact, that he did. Thus, his status should not change posthumously. …

• And if it does, I’d think the descendants of Shoeless Joe Jackson would like a word. …

• ABC’s telecast of Saturday’s Lakers-Celtics game in Boston should be appointment viewing. The rivalry is back, and it very well could be a preview of another chapter of this long-running passion play in June. …

• HBO, which aired the treatment of Jeff Pearlman’s book, “Winning Time,” in 2022, is back with a documentary series called “Celtic City,” and the co-creator and executive producer is The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, noted Boston honk. The Lakers’ mini-series was way, way over the top (and was canceled before they even got to the groundbreaking victory in the 1985 Finals in Boston Garden). This one sounds more like a love letter to New England. If you’re a Lakers fan, our advice is to skip this one. …

• Let’s see: The Dallas Mavericks trade Luka Doncic to the Lakers and spark an uproar among their fans, new Mav Anthony Davis immediately gets hurt, the team announces it’s raising ticket prices for 2025-26, and then Kyrie Irving wrecks his knee. Maybe they should, y’know, rescind that price hike. …

• Quiz answer No. 1: UCSD lost at San Diego State and to Seattle within 10 days at the very start of the season and to conference foes UC Irvine and UC Riverside in January, and has won 12 straight since. Quiz answer No. 2: The Big West last sent multiple teams to March Madness in 2005 – Pacific and Utah State, neither of which is still in the conference. Before that you have to go back to 1993: Long Beach State and New Mexico State.

jalexander@scng.com

​ Orange County Register 

Citing ‘tremendous task,’ California’s congressional delegation makes bipartisan push for wildfire aid

• March 7, 2025

In a show of solidarity, every member of California’s congressional delegation, regardless of party affiliation, signed onto a letter on Friday, March 7, urging senior congressional leaders to support additional federal disaster aid for the victims of the January wildfires in Los Angeles County.

U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, both Democrats, along with the chairs of the state’s Republican and Democratic congressional delegations — Reps. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, and Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose – led the bipartisan push for more federal funding.

“The tremendous task of rebuilding is well underway with Phase 1 removal of household hazardous materials from properties destroyed or heavily damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires. However, the road to full recovery is long, and while the response from the federal government has been incredibly helpful to date, additional funding and resources will be needed,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter was addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota; House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York; and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York.

In their letter, the lawmakers from California noted that the wildfires, fueled by hurricane-force winds, burned more than 40,000 acres – an area nearly three times the size of Manhattan. The fires destroyed more than 16,000 structures, killed over two dozen people and forced tens of thousands to evacuate.

In addition, California mobilized more than 15,000 personnel, including firefighters, guard service members, Highway Patrol officers and transportation workers, to respond to the disaster. The fires caused “widespread damage,” including to federal and state highways and roads, public infrastructure, homes and buildings, the lawmakers noted.

“The historic destruction caused by these wildfires requires additional federal funding and support,” they wrote. “Just as the federal government has come to the aid of communities impacted by wildfires across the western United States, tornados in the Midwest, ice storms in Texas, or hurricanes in the Southeast, we should once again support the recovery of the impacted families, businesses, and communities in Los Angeles County. Therefore, we urge you to ensure Los Angeles County has the resources it needs to recover and rebuild in an upcoming disaster relief bill.”

Two weeks ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom asked Congress for nearly $40 billion in additional relief aid.

President Donald Trump and some Republicans, including the House speaker, have suggested that aid to California should come with certain conditions. Trump previously floated the idea of mandating the state to require voter ID or change its water management policies.

Ric Grenell, a top Trump administration aide with ties to Southern California, has suggested cutting funding from the California Coastal Commission, a state agency that regulates land use and public access along the coast. Supporters view the agency as a critical environmental watchdog, but opponents say the commission’s strict rules hamper development.

But Southern California lawmakers largely agree that federal disaster aid shouldn’t come with conditions. This includes Republicans like Calvert, the House member from Riverside County who co-led Friday’s letter to senior congressional leaders, and Rep. Young Kim of Orange County.

In addition to Friday’s letter calling for more federal aid, the entire California congressional delegation signed another letter earlier this week urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, to extend the deadline for L.A. County wildfire victims to apply for aid. The current deadline for most federal disaster assistance programs is Monday, March 10.

​ Orange County Register 

Oklahoma schools chief seeks donations to put Bibles in classrooms

• March 7, 2025

By SEAN MURPHY

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s top education official said he’s teaming with country music singer Lee Greenwood in seeking donations to get $59.99 leather-bound “God Bless the USA” Bibles into classrooms throughout the state, after a legislative panel rejected his $3 million request to fund the effort.

State Superintendent Ryan Walters said this week that he’s partnering with Greenwood to help ensure the Bibles, which have been endorsed by President Donald Trump, get to Oklahoma schools.

“The Bible is indispensable in understanding the development of Western civilization and American exceptionalism, history, and all similar subjects,” Walters said in a statement. “The ongoing attempts to remove it from our classrooms is an attack on the foundation of our country.”

Walters’ push to require public schools to begin incorporating the Bible into lesson plans for students in grades 5 through 12 led to a lawsuit from a group of public school parents and teachers. Many schools simply ignored the mandate.

The directive is the latest salvo in an effort by conservative-led states to target public schools. Louisiana has required them to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, while others are under pressure to teach the Bible and ban books and lessons about race, sexual orientation and gender identity. Last year, the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked an attempt by the state to have the first publicly funded religious charter school in the country — a case that is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

A former public school teacher who was elected to his post in 2022, Walters ran on a platform of fighting “woke ideology,” banning books from school libraries and getting rid of “radical leftists” who he claims are indoctrinating children in classrooms.

There are signs that even his Republican colleagues are growing tired of Walters’ divisive brand of politics. Besides the legislative committee denying Walters’ $3 million request to pay for the Bibles, Gov. Kevin Stitt recently rejected Walters’ proposal to require schools to collect the immigration status of children.

When asked this week about Walters’ Bible mandate, Stitt mentioned a free, popular Bible app created by Oklahoma pastor Bobby Gruenewald, and said: “I’m sure most kids have the Bible app on their phone.”

​ Orange County Register 

What to know about Social Security office closures driven by Musk’s DOGE

• March 7, 2025

By MEG KINNARD

Across-the-board cuts at the Social Security Administration are prompting questions about how the benefits of millions of recipients may be affected.

Among the potential changes are layoffs for more than 10% of the agency’s workforce and the closure of dozens of offices throughout the U.S. It’s all part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency, inspired by President Donald Trump’s adviser Elon Musk.

Some of the public-facing locations listed for closure were already slated to be shuttered due to lack of use. The SSA says work in other non-public sites up for closure is being consolidated.

Here’s a look at cuts to the agency, which serves more than 70 million Americans, and potential effects for recipients:

Will the Social Security office near my home close?

On its website, DOGE lists 47 Social Security Administration field offices set for closure across the U.S., with many concentrated in the South and across the Southeast.

An agency spokesperson said last week that most of the leases not being renewed were for spaces used for in-person hearings, sites no longer necessary due to the majority of hearings now being held virtually. In the 2024 fiscal year, according to SSA, 20% of those offices held no in-person hearings.

Some of the other properties had already been set for closure, or were being consolidated anyway, the spokesperson noted, saying the agency was working with the General Services Administration “to review our leases and ensure they are used efficiently.”

According to the Social Security Administration, the agency has about 1,200 field offices across the U.S.

Will my Social Security benefits be cut?

Not necessarily, but advocates have claimed that agency reductions will result in diminished services.

The 72.5 million Social Security beneficiaries across the country include retirees and children who receive retirement and disability benefits.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has characterized Musk’s cuts to the agency as efforts to “attack the bedrock of America’s social safety net.”

Social Security is one of the nation’s largest and most popular social programs. A January poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that two-thirds of U.S. adults think the country is spending too little on Social Security.

The program faces a looming bankruptcy date if it is not addressed by Congress. The May 2024 Social Security and Medicare trustees’ report states that Social Security’s trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035. Then, Social Security would be able to pay only 83% of benefits.

What about Social Security employee layoffs?

Earlier this week, a person familiar with the agency’s plans but not authorized to speak about them publicly said that the Social Security Administration was preparing to lay off at least 7,000 people from its workforce of 60,000.

According to the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, administering the program amounts to less than 1% of the revenue that funds it.

Advocates and Democratic lawmakers have warned that layoffs and agency cuts will reduce the agency’s ability to serve recipients in a timely manner.

In a letter last month to acting Social Security Administrator Michelle King, Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York wrote that the White Plains hearing office in her state has 2,000 pending cases, saying “beneficiaries will be required to travel between 24 and 135 miles” to get to another office if it closes.

What has the Trump administration said about Social Security?

In an episode with podcaster Joe Rogan airing last month, Musk called Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.”

But Trump, who during the presidential campaign vowed to make no changes to the program, has consistently said there would be no changes to benefits. Since his election in November, the Republican has reiterated those comments, saying Social Security benefits “won’t be touched” and “will only be strengthened.”

Associated Press reporter Fatima Hussein contributed from Washington.

Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.

​ Orange County Register 

Trump administration throws hundreds of affordable housing projects into limbo after contract cuts

• March 7, 2025

By JESSE BEDAYN

The Trump administration has stalled at least $60 million in funding intended largely for affordable housing developments nationwide, throwing hundreds of projects into a precarious limbo, according to information and documents obtained by The Associated Press

The move is part of a flurry of funding freezes, staffing cuts and contract cancellations by the Trump administration at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, changes that have instilled widespread uncertainty in the affordable housing industry.

The some $60 million is intended to go to small community development nonprofits in small grants. The money is often used as seed funding for affordable housing projects, turning a concept into a viable development and consequently drawing in more public and private investment.

Congress chose three nonprofits to distribute the grants, but HUD said in letters that it was cancelling contracts with two of the organizations which together were to distribute the $60 million. That’s pushed millions in funding already promised to small nonprofits, or yet to be awarded, into the twilight zone.

“Many of those organizations have already committed funds to pay workers, such as HVAC technicians, local contractors, homeownership counselors,” said Shaun Donovan, CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, one of the two groups whose contract was cancelled.

“They will have to stop that work immediately. That will cost local jobs, hobble the creation of affordable homes, and stall opportunity in hundreds of communities.”

A spokesperson for HUD said the program, called Section 4, will continue and is not being cut, but that “the department is consolidating some grants, while others remain.”

It remains unclear how or when the funding will arrive to the small nonprofits, which has thrown their work into disarray.

“Not knowing for me means we assume that the money is not coming, and that means that I have to pivot,” said Jonathan Green, executive director of a nonprofit in Mississippi that’s building a 36-unit affordable housing development in Biloxi.

Green said about $20,000 in grant dollars are now in limbo, money that was meant to pay for an environmental review that could cost upwards of $10,000, and licenses and permits. That threatens discussions Green is having with potential partners and investors who want to see all the up-front work done first.

“My fear is that, if the project stops altogether, we may never get it started again,” he said.

The development is supposed to be in East Biloxi, where lots still remain empty after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Before an ounce of dirt has been moved on the project, Green’s organization has received enough calls from people eager to become tenants that they’ve started a waiting list.

That’s the position hundreds of other small nonprofits have found themselves in, with not just their grant funds in question but investments on the line. For every dollar in grants disbursed by Enterprise Community Partners, the local nonprofits leverage another $95 in other capital, CEO Donovan said.

Congress gave the national nonprofits the job of administering the grants, fielding and assessing hundreds of applications, so that the government doesn’t have to, Donovan said.

In one of the contract termination letters obtained by the AP, HUD said the contracts were cancelled at the direction of the Department of Government Efficiency. It said the group’s operations “were not in compliance” with Trump’s executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The letter also allows the organizations to appeal the termination.

The Local Initiatives Support Corporation is the other group whose contract was cancelled.

“Without access to this seed capital, housing projects for hardworking, families will stall, worsening shortages and pushing distressed neighbors into overcrowded conditions or homelessness,” it said in a statement.

Habitat for Humanity International is the third nonprofit disbursing the grants, but the organization has not responded to repeated requests for comment or said if their contract was cancelled.

Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

​ Orange County Register 

Out of the lab and into the streets, researchers and doctors rally for science against Trump cuts

• March 7, 2025

By SETH BORENSTEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Researchers, doctors, their patients and supporters ventured out of labs, hospitals and offices Friday to stand up to what they call a blitz on life-saving science by the Trump administration.

In the nation’s capital, a couple thousand gathered at the Stand Up for Science rally. Organizers said similar rallies were planned in more than 30 U.S. cities.

Politicians, scientists, musicians, doctors and their patients were expected to make the case that firings, budget and grant cuts in health, climate, science and other research government agencies in the Trump administration’s first 47 days in office are endangering not just the future but the present.

“Science is under attack in the United States,” said rally co-organizer Colette Delawalla, a doctoral student in clinical psychology. “We’re not just going to stand here and take it.”

“American scientific progress and forward movement is a public good and public good is coming to a screeching halt right now,” Delawalla said.

Health and science advances are happening faster than ever, said former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, who helped map the human genome. The funding cuts put at risk progress on Alzheimer’s Disease, diabetes and cancer, he said.

“It’s a very bad time with all the promise and momentum,” said Collins.

“I’m very worried about my country right now,” Collins said before breaking out into an original song on his guitar.

Emily Whitehead, the first patient to get a certain new type of treatment for a rare cancer, told the crowd that at age 5 she was sent hospice to die, but CAR T-cell therapy “taught my immune system to beat cancer” and she’s been disease free for nearly 13 years.

“I stand up for science because science saved my life,” Whitehead said.

Friday’s rally in Washington was at the Lincoln Memorial, in the shadow of a statue of the president who created the National Academy of Sciences in 1863. Some of the expected speakers study giant colliding galaxies, the tiny genetic blueprint of life inside humans and the warming atmosphere.

“We’re looking at the most aggressively anti-science government the United States has ever had,” astronomer Phil Plait told the booing crowd that carried signs that were decidedly nerdy and attacking President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Signs included “Edit Elon out of USA’s DNA,” “In evidence we trust,” “science is the vaccine for ignorance” and “ticked off epidemiologist.”

Nobel Prize winning biologist Victor Ambros, Bill Nye The Science Guy, former NASA chief Bill Nelson and a host of other politicians, and patients — some with rare diseases — were scheduled to take the stage to talk about their work and the importance of scientific research.

From 7 million miles away from Earth, NASA proved science could divert potentially planet-killing asteroids, Nelson said. On his space shuttle flight nearly 40 years ago, he looked down to Earth and had a “sense of awe that you want to be a better steward of what we’ve been given,” he said.

The rallies were organized mostly by graduate students and early career scientists. Dozens of other protests were also planned around the world, including more than 30 in France, Delawalla said.

“The cuts in science funding affects the world,” she said.

Protestors gathered around City Hall in Philadelphia, home to prestigious, internationally-recognized health care institutions and where 1 in 6 doctors in the U.S. has received medical training.

“As a doctor, I’m standing up for all of my transgender, nonbinary patients who are also being targeted,” said Cedric Bien-Gund, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Pennsylvania. “There’s been a lot of fear and silencing, both among our patients and among all our staff. And it’s really disheartening to see.”

Isabella O’Malley contributed from Philadelphia.

Follow Seth Borenstein on X at @borenbears

Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

​ Orange County Register 

Ex-Olympian, accused in drug ring tied to Southern California, added to FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list

• March 7, 2025

A former Olympic snowboarder from Canada, charged in a drug-trafficking operation for allegedly shipping hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl through Southern California to elsewhere in the U.S. and to Canada, has been added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list, authorities said on Thursday, March 6.

Ryan James Wedding, 43, was believed to be hiding out in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa drug cartel or in South or Central America, federal authorities said at a press conference.

Wedding represented Canada in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and was charged in the drug-trafficking operation in October. His partner, Andrew Clark, was arrested in Mexico last year and brought back to the United States this week, said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally.

Officials also announced a reward up to $10 million from the U.S. State Department for information leading to Wedding’s arrest and conviction. They said the drug ring’s co-leader should be considered armed and dangerous.

“This sends a strong message to individuals abroad that if you operate criminal organizations outside of the United States that harm us, we will be aggressive in pursuing you beyond our borders, and we will use our full resources to find you,” McNally said.

“This $10 million reward … reflects our efforts to wipe out these organizations so they cannot harm the United States,” he continued.

As part of the operation, the drugs would be shipped from Mexico to Los Angeles, where they would be stored in stash houses before being taken north by long-haul semi-trucks, according to an October indictment charging Wedding and 15 others with international cocaine trafficking and murder. The operation was run from at least January to August 2024, federal officials say.

The indictment says the group resorted to murder, with Wedding and Clark accused of ordering the Nov. 20, 2023, murders of two members of a family in Ontario, Canada in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment. They also allegedly ordered the murder of another victim on May 18 over a drug debt.

Clark and another defendant were charged with the April 1 murder of another victim in Ontario, Canada.

Wedding, also known by aliases “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy,” is charged with eight felonies: two counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to export cocaine, one count of leading a continuing criminal enterprise, three counts of murder, and one count of attempt to commit.

“Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada,” said Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man.”

Davis said Wedding’s addition to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, along with the reward, “will make the public our partner so that we can catch up with him before he puts anyone else in danger.”

Authorities asked anyone with information on Wedding’s whereabouts to call the FBI at 424-495-0614.

Wedding is described as 6-feet, 3-inches tall and weighing 240 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. But on Thursday, officials said, he may have altered his appearance.

​ Orange County Register 

More than hot flashes: Women raise awareness about menopause symptoms and work

• March 7, 2025

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — It took five years for Crystal Burke to put a name to the symptoms that haunted her.

Heart palpitations. Insomnia so severe she slept only two to four hours a night. A newfound struggle to make decisions in her job as a nurse. Confusion when dealing with statistics, which she used to handle with ease.

“It affected my work, it affected my relationships, it affected everything,” Burke said. “I felt lost. I didn’t talk to anybody about it.”

Then Burke saw an advertisement about a face cream which contained estrogen, one of the two hormones ovaries produce less and less of with aging. She began talking with friends about her symptoms. And she connected the dots: menopause.

At just 38, Burke had thought she was too young to be going through the life stage when menstrual periods stop and women no longer can become pregnant. But menopause is more than the pop culture stereotype featuring women in their 50s having hot flashes. Symptoms can start much earlier — during perimenopause, the time leading up to menopause — and go well beyond hot flashes.

The many manifestations include insomnia, migraines, brain fog, loss of concentration, memory problems, mood swings, depression, anxiety, heart palpitations, hair loss and weight gain. If that wasn’t enough, some people experience heavy, painful periods or recurring urinary tract infections.

Chronic insomnia can make it difficult to concentrate. Brain fog leaves the afflicted struggling to find words during meetings. But social stigma and a lack of information have left menopausal people dealing alone with severe symptoms that may impact their work. Many stay silent, fearing they’ll be viewed as underperformers or weak.

Some women in senior leadership positions leave their jobs or reduce their hours as a result of debilitating side effects from menopause, said Lauren Redfern, executive director of Hormonally, a nonprofit that provides workplace training and education about women’s health. But those who feel supported by employers during the transition are more likely to remain at work, she said.

“When you open up a space to talk about these things, people are desperate to have a conversation,” Redfern said. “The symptoms are so diverse and so far-reaching and so prolific they impact every area of someone’s life.”

Promoting changes around ‘the change’

Menopause affects about half the world’s population at some point in life. Yet due to the epidemic of silence around it, women, nonbinary people and transgender individuals often don’t recognize the onset of unpleasant physical and emotional changes as side effects of declining hormone levels.

Finding health care providers who are trained to identify and treat their symptoms can be challenging. Some startups have sought to change that by providing access to referrals or telehealth appointments with doctors or therapists who specialize in treating menopausal patients.

“When you don’t know that something can get fixed, it’s very scary,” said Midi Health founder Joanna Strober, whose company connects women with professionals who understand menopause. ”If you think, ‘For the rest of my life I’m going to have brain fog and not remember anyone’s name, and I’m going to keep losing my car in the parking lot and I’m going to keep gaining weight,’ then it’s very demoralizing.”

Burke found relief when she began hormone replacement therapy. Inspired to help others, she co-founded The Menopause Clinic in Louisiana to offer telehealth services focused on menopause.

“The biggest thing is for women to know what perimenopause is, what menopause is, and that there are options,” Burke said. “The suffering isn’t necessary.”

Hormone replacement therapy is not an option for those with certain medical histories, and some doctors are unwilling to prescribe it. Some experts recommend acupuncture, dietary changes and exercise to help manage symptoms.

The Mayo Clinic estimates that menopause symptoms lead to $1.8 billion in lost work time per year in the U.S. About 5% of employers offer menopause benefits or accommodations such as the ability to work from home or a cool room, according to benefit consulting company NFP.

Here are some steps you or your employer can take to make the workplace more hospitable for people experiencing menopause.

Start a support group

Finding supportive colleagues can help bridge knowledge gaps. If your organization doesn’t have a menopause support group, you can start one. Once established, the group or human resources department can bring in facilitators to teach the entire workforce — not just women — about menopause.

Sarah Daniels, a communications manager, started a support group called “Menopause Matters” at Arriva Group, a U.K.-based public transportation company. The male-dominated company already had a gender inclusion group, so Daniels joined and organized the menopause group as an offshoot.

The group’s monthly meetings are held online during business hours. Participants swap notes on supplements, teas, treatments and beauty products. Daniels believes the group improves productivity because it gives members a sense of belonging within the organization.

“I know how lonely it is when you are going through these things, because you think, ‘Is this just happening to me?’” she said. “I had a UTI (urinary tract infection) that was so severe that I fainted on a train. My periods were so heavy that I couldn’t leave the house.”

Arriva has a policy that says bosses must listen to and make reasonable adjustments for employees struggling with menopause. That could mean more restroom breaks, uniform adaptations to help with hot flashes or flexible working hours, Daniels said.

Push for benefits

People working for employers who do not subsidize menopause-related care and programs can model requests for similar benefits after the small percentage of companies that do.

When Shevonya Noble joined biotechnology firm Genentech as a principal quality and compliance leader, she was connected with a care advocate who helped her find a nutritionist, wellness coach, career coach, mental health provider and physical support coach to address her menopause symptoms.

Appointment costs were covered through a benefit provided by Maven, which partners with employers and health plans to deliver care targeted to women. Genentech’s benefits also include menopause-specific classes and support groups.

At a former employer, Noble felt she had to hide the hot flashes that interrupted her sleep and disrupted her concentration while giving presentations because she didn’t see anyone else furiously fanning themselves at their desks.

“The conversation about menopause needs to be broadened to include men, not just men in our lives but in the workplace as well,” Noble said. “It’s important that we not shy away from the topic but include it in our conversations and to just take the mystique away from what goes on with women at this stage in life.”

Take ownership

Speaking up about symptoms also may help. When women experience hot flashes and brain fog at work, they’re often seen as less competent, but if they say, “It’s menopausal, I’m getting treated for it,’” the discrimination goes away and they’re seen as powerful leaders again, according to Midi founder Strober.

“You have to call it out. You have to say, ‘Oh, that’s a hot flash,’ not just look sweaty in a meeting, because then they just discount you,” she said. “But if you call it out, you can take your power back.”

Have you overcome an obstacle or made a profound change in your work? Send your questions and story ideas to cbussewitz@ap.org. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at https://apnews.com/hub/be-well.

​ Orange County Register