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Associated Press
17 minutes ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Chicago risks severe cuts to transit. Its poorest suburbs could be hit even harder
HARVEY, Ill. (AP) — Winfred Wilson was struggling to make ends meet on less than $700 a month, so he moved in with his daughter, gave up his car and started relying exclusively on public transit to take him wherever he needed to go across Chicago's southern suburbs. As he waited for a bus connection in his hometown of Harvey on a recent trip to the grocery store, Wilson waved at familiar travelers who regularly pass through the key transportation hub serving one of the region's poorest areas. Many, he said, encounter little resistance from drivers when they board without paying. 'People in affluent neighborhoods, they have cars and personal transportation, but they don't want to get caught up in the rush hour,' so they use transit, Wilson said. 'We couldn't live without it.' Public transit agencies across the U.S. have been grappling with a fiscal cliff spurred by declining ridership and the impending sunset of federal COVID-19 relief funding. The Chicago area faces particularly bleak service cuts that officials warn could be set in motion as early as Saturday if Illinois legislators adjourn without plugging a $770 million hole in the transportation budget. The big city's commuters would be hit hard, with the Chicago Transit Authority poised to shut down four of eight elevated train lines and 74 of 127 bus routes under the worst-case scenario. But perhaps no place illustrates the range of potential outcomes more vividly than Harvey, whose mayor, Christopher Clark — a lifelong resident — says was once 'the metropolis of the Southland' before plants and factories closed and disinvestment took hold. Suburb at a crossroads Already the busiest station for PACE, the region's suburban bus system that also serves paratransit customers, Harvey recently won state and federal grant money for a state-of-the-art facility that would put the buses under the same roof as the Metra commuter rail stop a block away. Plans eventually call for a high-speed bus line connecting the Harvey station to the Red Line L train that cuts through the downtown Chicago Loop. Such an upgrade could be an economic boon for Harvey, where now-vacant businesses are found on almost every downtown block and where more than 1 in 4 residents live below the poverty line. But even if the new station is built, ending or severely cutting the buses and trains that pass through could send the city reeling in the opposite direction. 'It would be chaos for us in the suburbs,' said Cheyane Felton, after finishing her shift at a coffee stand in the basement of Harvey's City Hall. 'It would cut us off.' Without additional state funding, PACE could be forced to halt buses in Harvey and elsewhere on weekends and after 8 p.m. on weekdays, executive director Melinda Metzger said. 'The downside for this is disastrous,' she said in an interview at the Harvey stop. 'You would be cutting back your service by at least 40%, not giving people viable rides. They might get to work, but they might have a late-night shift and can't get home, so ridership also would plummet to match the service cuts.' Transit's nationwide funding crunch Major public transportation agencies across the country have had varying degrees of success lobbying their legislatures for more support with the federal emergency funding set to expire at the end of the year. Perhaps no place mirrors Chicago's current situation more than Philadelphia, which faces a $213 million transportation budget deficit next year, even after Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro authorized redirecting some of the state's highway money to mass transit. Absent more funding, riders could see a 20% spike in fares, a 9 p.m. curfew, and the elimination of 50 bus routes and five of eight regional rail lines, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has said. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bailout package in 2023 to help fund New York City's subway and buses. She also opened a major new source of transit revenue by implementing congestion pricing for drivers in Manhattan, but it remains to be seen whether the new tolls will survive threats from President Donald Trump's administration to shut them down. Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and numerous other transit-dependent cities have also been scrambling to avert major cuts. A moving deadline? 'No funding without reform' has been a common mantra among Illinois legislators working to hash out a solution for Chicago's transit crisis before leaving Springfield on Saturday at the end of their regular session. Technically, the money doesn't run out until the end of the year, and there will likely be a veto session that could provide another shot at an 11th-hour rescue. But transportation officials say they'll have to start laying out the specific cuts next week if the funding doesn't come through by then. 'It's not a light switch we can just turn on or off,' said Leanne Redden, executive director of the Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees planning and funding for the area's transit agencies. 'Even if we find funding at a future point, it's a slow process to kind of unwind the unwinding.' So far, there have been no major breakthroughs on funding, although a compromise surfaced this week to create a new umbrella organization that, among other things, would ensure the various agencies work in unison rather than as competitors for the same customers. 'They should just be able to get on and go where they want to go, and that has not been happening with the governance that we've had up to now,' Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. Chicago's transit agencies argue they're more efficient than their peers in other states and get by with a smaller portion of state funding. Clark, the Harvey mayor, said he still envisions his community benefitting from the economic promise of a new transit facility rather than enduring disappointment once again. 'I guess some people want me to paint a picture that it's a nuclear Armageddon or something like that,' he said. 'I can't paint that picture because I have to remain ever hopeful that we will get what we need to get in due time. Government is a long game.'
Hindustan Times
17 minutes ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Chicago risks severe cuts to transit. Its poorest suburbs could be hit even harder
HARVEY, Ill. — Winfred Wilson was struggling to make ends meet on less than $700 a month, so he moved in with his daughter, gave up his car and started relying exclusively on public transit to take him wherever he needed to go across Chicago's southern suburbs. As he waited for a bus connection in his hometown of Harvey on a recent trip to the grocery store, Wilson waved at familiar travelers who regularly pass through the key transportation hub serving one of the region's poorest areas. Many, he said, encounter little resistance from drivers when they board without paying. 'People in affluent neighborhoods, they have cars and personal transportation, but they don't want to get caught up in the rush hour,' so they use transit, Wilson said. 'We couldn't live without it.' Public transit agencies across the U.S. have been grappling with a fiscal cliff spurred by declining ridership and the impending sunset of federal COVID-19 relief funding. The Chicago area faces particularly bleak service cuts that officials warn could be set in motion as early as Saturday if Illinois legislators adjourn without plugging a $770 million hole in the transportation budget. The big city's commuters would be hit hard, with the Chicago Transit Authority poised to shut down four of eight elevated train lines and 74 of 127 bus routes under the worst-case scenario. But perhaps no place illustrates the range of potential outcomes more vividly than Harvey, whose mayor, Christopher Clark — a lifelong resident — says was once 'the metropolis of the Southland' before plants and factories closed and disinvestment took hold. Already the busiest station for PACE, the region's suburban bus system that also serves paratransit customers, Harvey recently won state and federal grant money for a state-of-the-art facility that would put the buses under the same roof as the Metra commuter rail stop a block away. Plans eventually call for a high-speed bus line connecting the Harvey station to the Red Line L train that cuts through the downtown Chicago Loop. Such an upgrade could be an economic boon for Harvey, where now-vacant businesses are found on almost every downtown block and where more than 1 in 4 residents live below the poverty line. But even if the new station is built, ending or severely cutting the buses and trains that pass through could send the city reeling in the opposite direction. 'It would be chaos for us in the suburbs,' said Cheyane Felton, after finishing her shift at a coffee stand in the basement of Harvey's City Hall. 'It would cut us off.' Without additional state funding, PACE could be forced to halt buses in Harvey and elsewhere on weekends and after 8 p.m. on weekdays, executive director Melinda Metzger said. 'The downside for this is disastrous,' she said in an interview at the Harvey stop. 'You would be cutting back your service by at least 40%, not giving people viable rides. They might get to work, but they might have a late-night shift and can't get home, so ridership also would plummet to match the service cuts.' Major public transportation agencies across the country have had varying degrees of success lobbying their legislatures for more support with the federal emergency funding set to expire at the end of the year. Perhaps no place mirrors Chicago's current situation more than Philadelphia, which faces a $213 million transportation budget deficit next year, even after Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro authorized redirecting some of the state's highway money to mass transit. Absent more funding, riders could see a 20% spike in fares, a 9 p.m. curfew, and the elimination of 50 bus routes and five of eight regional rail lines, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has said. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bailout package in 2023 to help fund New York City's subway and buses. She also opened a major new source of transit revenue by implementing congestion pricing for drivers in Manhattan, but it remains to be seen whether the new tolls will survive threats from President Donald Trump's administration to shut them down. Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and numerous other transit-dependent cities have also been scrambling to avert major cuts. 'No funding without reform' has been a common mantra among Illinois legislators working to hash out a solution for Chicago's transit crisis before leaving Springfield on Saturday at the end of their regular session. Technically, the money doesn't run out until the end of the year, and there will likely be a veto session that could provide another shot at an 11th-hour rescue. But transportation officials say they'll have to start laying out the specific cuts next week if the funding doesn't come through by then. 'It's not a light switch we can just turn on or off," said Leanne Redden, executive director of the Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees planning and funding for the area's transit agencies. "Even if we find funding at a future point, it's a slow process to kind of unwind the unwinding.' So far, there have been no major breakthroughs on funding, although a compromise surfaced this week to create a new umbrella organization that, among other things, would ensure the various agencies work in unison rather than as competitors for the same customers. 'They should just be able to get on and go where they want to go, and that has not been happening with the governance that we've had up to now,' Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. Chicago's transit agencies argue they're more efficient than their peers in other states and get by with a smaller portion of state funding. Clark, the Harvey mayor, said he still envisions his community benefitting from the economic promise of a new transit facility rather than enduring disappointment once again. 'I guess some people want me to paint a picture that it's a nuclear Armageddon or something like that,' he said. 'I can't paint that picture because I have to remain ever hopeful that we will get what we need to get in due time. Government is a long game.'
Hindustan Times
17 minutes ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Karnataka reports second COVID-19 death in a week as elderly patient dies in Belagavi
Karnataka reported its second COVID-19 fatality in just over a week, after a 70-year-old man from Benakanahalli village in Belagavi district succumbed to the virus late on Wednesday night, health officials confirmed. The patient, who had multiple pre-existing health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease (IHD), was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Belagavi when he died due to acute cardiorespiratory arrest with encephalopathy and seizures, the state's health department said in a press release. Also Read - 'No apology, no release': Karnataka stands united against Kamal Haasan's Kannada comment Principal Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, Harsh Gupta, confirmed the death to PTI earlier in the day. The health department detailed that the man had experienced a seizure and lost consciousness on May 26, following which he was admitted to a private hospital. A neurologist attending to him diagnosed focal seizures with encephalopathy, in addition to severe anaemia and low platelet count (thrombocytopenia). With his oxygen saturation measured at 88%, a throat swab was taken for COVID-19 testing, which returned positive. Despite advice from doctors, the family moved the patient to Belagavi Medical College and Hospital on May 28. There, he was admitted to the Department of Respiratory Medicine and treated as per COVID-19 protocol. Also Read - AP CM Chandrababu Naidu clarifies stance after HAL relocation pitch sparks row with Karnataka leaders "Despite best efforts, his condition deteriorated and he passed away on the same day," the official release stated. This marks the second COVID-19 related death in Karnataka within a span of 11 days. On May 17, an 84-year-old man with serious comorbidities had died at a private hospital in Whitefield, Bengaluru. His COVID-19 test returned positive posthumously. Meanwhile, Karnataka's COVID-19 bulletin on May 29 reported 148 active cases across the state. A total of 42 new cases were added on Thursday, with 513 tests conducted (including 463 RT-PCR and 50 RAT). The day's positivity rate was recorded at 8.18%, while the fatality rate stood at 2.3%. Health authorities have urged the public, especially the elderly and those with comorbidities, to remain vigilant as sporadic COVID cases continue to emerge across the state.
Sydney Morning Herald
29 minutes ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
New COVID variant emerges as vaccinations hit five-year low
A surge of COVID cases and the emergence of a new variant ahead have raised concerns from health authorities, with doctors warning vaccination rates in Queensland have fallen to a five-year low. Figures show more than 15,000 COVID cases have been reported in Queensland since January, with nearly 3000 people hospitalised with the virus. At the same time, fewer than 250,000 Queenslanders have received their free booster jab this year, which Mater hospital's director of infectious diseases Professor Paul Griffin said was the lowest since COVID vaccines were introduced five years ago. 'We have dropped the ball with COVID-19 vaccinations, but this disease is still very prevalent in the community and poses a serious threat to high-risk patients,' Griffin said. The figures arrived as NB.1.8.1 – a sublineage of the Omicron variant – emerged, which Griffin said was driving up infections and hospitalisations, particularly in Asia and Western Australia. Loading 'The best way to protect yourself and your family, is to get the newest booster which provides very good coverage, is safe, and will reduce the severity of your symptoms if you contract COVID-19.' Griffith University virology and infectious diseases expert Associate Professor Lara Herrero said preliminary data regarding NB.1.8.1 – designated a 'variant under monitoring' by the World Health Organisation last week – suggests the virus can attach to host cells and evade antibodies slightly 'stronger' and 'better' than other variants. 'From other places that have sequenced this variant, we can see that there are mutations that are accumulating in the virus's spike protein – that's the outer shell protein that the virus uses to attach to our cells,' Herrero said.
The Age
32 minutes ago
- Health
- The Age
New COVID variant emerges as vaccinations hit five-year low
A surge of COVID cases and the emergence of a new variant ahead have raised concerns from health authorities, with doctors warning vaccination rates in Queensland have fallen to a five-year low. Figures show more than 15,000 COVID cases have been reported in Queensland since January, with nearly 3000 people hospitalised with the virus. At the same time, fewer than 250,000 Queenslanders have received their free booster jab this year, which Mater hospital's director of infectious diseases Professor Paul Griffin said was the lowest since COVID vaccines were introduced five years ago. 'We have dropped the ball with COVID-19 vaccinations, but this disease is still very prevalent in the community and poses a serious threat to high-risk patients,' Griffin said. The figures arrived as NB.1.8.1 – a sublineage of the Omicron variant – emerged, which Griffin said was driving up infections and hospitalisations, particularly in Asia and Western Australia. Loading 'The best way to protect yourself and your family, is to get the newest booster which provides very good coverage, is safe, and will reduce the severity of your symptoms if you contract COVID-19.' Griffith University virology and infectious diseases expert Associate Professor Lara Herrero said preliminary data regarding NB.1.8.1 – designated a 'variant under monitoring' by the World Health Organisation last week – suggests the virus can attach to host cells and evade antibodies slightly 'stronger' and 'better' than other variants. 'From other places that have sequenced this variant, we can see that there are mutations that are accumulating in the virus's spike protein – that's the outer shell protein that the virus uses to attach to our cells,' Herrero said.
