BALTIMORE — A new study by 12 medical sites found that up to a third of children who were hospitalized because of COVID-19 experienced persistent symptoms one to two years after they were released.

The research, published earlier this month in Frontiers in Pediatrics, analyzed the post-hospital quality of life for children previously diagnosed with COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children — a rare condition associated with COVID where body parts like the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin and eyes become inflamed.

Researchers found that 30% of the families participating in the study reported that their child had not fully recovered from COVID or the syndrome also known by its initials as MIS-C.

Of the children who hadn’t recovered following their hospital discharge, the majority — 87% — had neurological symptoms, the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore said in a news release this week. About three in five children continued to struggle with headaches and just under half experienced weakness.

These numbers “speak volumes” about the lasting effects that COVID has on some children, said Dr. Beth Slomine, co-director at Kennedy Krieger’s Brain Injury Clinical Research Center and one of the study’s co-authors.

“Our findings highlight the urgent need for better monitoring systems and care strategies to address the long-term effects that the pandemic made on pediatric health,” said Slomine, who is also Kennedy Krieger’s assistant vice president of psychology.

The study included 79 children from 12 medical centers across the country and lasted from January 2020 to July 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic. It is part of a global research effort to better understand how often people hospitalized with COVID experience neurological problems once they are released.

Other important findings from the study included that of the children who had not recovered from COVID, 40% had at least one return emergency visit and 24% were readmitted to the hospital. These children also had increased signs of inflammation when they were admitted to the hospital, compared to those whose parents reported them being recovered.

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Researchers also noted that children in the “not recovered” category were more likely to be from families who had reported changes in their routines, stress, food access and access to mental health treatment during the pandemic.

“More research is needed to better understand the relationship between pandemic-related social stress and prolonged symptoms,” Slomine said in the news release.

Also in the news release, Dr. Ericka Fink — lead author of the study and a critical care pediatrician at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh – said the next step for researchers is to dig deeper into understanding factors that could help predict which patients are at risk for persistent symptoms.

In the future, she said, scientists may be able to develop a screening tool to help doctors identify those children more likely to require longitudinal, multidisciplinary care.

Most children diagnosed with COVID and long COVID — a collection of ongoing, returning or new symptoms experienced after an initial COVID infection — don’t require hospitalization, according to Kennedy Krieger’s news release. However, Slomine emphasized the importance of equipping families with information about the risks associated with the illness so they can make the best decisions for their children.

“As we continue to learn about COVID-19, education and awareness remains at the forefront at Kennedy Krieger and around the world,” Dr. Slomine said. “Collaborative endeavors such as these are pivotal in guiding our research and ensuring the best care possible for children affected by the virus.”

Everyone is giddy for the new White Sox ballpark in the South Loop, even without the team or the city announcing any details about their plans.

Kudos to the Sox for getting fans excited for opening day, even if it’s Opening Day 2030, and to Mayor Brandon Johnson, who figures to be long gone before the first shovel hits the ground on the ballpark construction.

If we’re rushing toward an agreement to make Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf’s new pet project come to fruition, we might as well start thinking about the naming rights.

Guaranteed Rate Field, the name of the current ballpark, never has caught on since replacing U.S. Cellular Field, which was widely known as “the Cell.” U.S. Cellular Field replaced “new Comiskey Park,” the original name in 1991 which honored the demolished ballpark across the street. Former owner Charles Comiskey named the ballpark after himself, an idea that Reinsdorf assuredly won’t copy.

No matter what name it went by, many fans still referred to the Sox’s home as “Sox Park,” an easily remembered name that spans generations.

While we anxiously await Reinsdorf and Johnson’s plan, here are 10 suggestions for the name of the new South Loop ballpark:

1. Manny’s Cafeteria & Delicatessen Stadium

The South Loop’s most beloved restaurant deserves dibs for the new stadium name.

The classic Jewish deli is only a three-minute drive down Roosevelt Road from the proposed stadium site, and figures to be as popular for pregame dining as McCuddy’s once was for pregame drinking.

2. Rat Hole Park

The Rat Hole Preservation Society, our nickname for those anonymous do-gooders in Roscoe Village who helped save the city’s latest tourist attraction from vandalism, needs to set up a GoFundMe page for the naming rights.

The Rat Hole is a rodent-shaped crater in a sidewalk that somehow became as famous as the Bean. The Sox could even get creative and design a park with the same imprint. Rat Hole Park would be a perfect destination for a ballgame in Chicago and would honor both our favorite rodents and our history of corrupt politicians.

The only problem might be that some Sox fans already refer to Wrigley Field as “the rat hole.”

3. The 78

The area around Clark Street and Roosevelt Road is already called “the 78″ based on someone’s idea that it eventually would become the 78th neighborhood in Chicago.

“The 78″ could also be seen as an homage to the 1978 White Sox, a team that had the misfortune of following the popular ‘77 group known as the “South Side Hit Men.” Without “rent-a-players” Richie Zisk and Oscar Gamble, the stars of the Hit Men, the Sox plunged to a 90-loss season. They did however manage to acquire Claudell Washington in a trade for Bobby Bonds, and the outfielder’s inability to play hard inspired the famous banner in right field: “Washington Slept Here.”

4. Obama Yards

The world’s most famous Sox fan is former President Barack Obama, though he once called Comiskey Park “Comiskey Field” in an interview with Bob Costas.

Obama’s presidential library currently is under construction in Jackson Park and could use a bookend a few miles north. One Sox fan publicly pleaded with Reinsdorf in a Chicago Tribune op-ed to sell the team to Obama, but first things first. Naming the stadium after Obama might even convince him to attend some games.

5. Loop Park

Getting people to go back to the Loop again might be easier if it meant going to a ballpark by the same name, and the former classic rock radio station called “the Loop” would be an appropriate tie-in for nostalgic Sox fans.

A statue of Steve Dahl blowing up disco albums would look nice in center, commemorating one of the most celebrated moments in Sox history.

6. Second City Stadium

The Second City improv theater includes some of the most recognized names in comedy over the years, from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd to Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert.

In the mid ‘90s I asked Second City alum George Wendt, a South Side Sox fan who played Norm on “Cheers,” to give his theory on the team’s attendance issues in the new Comiskey Park.

“Maybe you could’ve put it on the free TV versus cable TV thing a few years back,” Wendt replied. “But now they’re on WGN sometimes, so I don’t know. It seems like emigres to Chicago, the postgraduates who settle here in the suburbs, north or south, become Cubs fans. It seems like to be a Sox fan, you have to be born and raised on the South Side.”

That might still be true today.

7. This Space for Rent Field

A temporary solution while the Sox try to find a sponsor from the cryptocurrency world.

8. Ozzie Guillen Field

The manager of the only Sox team to win a championship since 1917 doesn’t have a statue in Guaranteed Rate Field. To make amends, the Sox could name the new ballpark after Guillen, who currently works as an analyst for NBC Sports Chicago and provides unfiltered commentary on the team’s issues.

“Meet you at ‘the Oz’” sounds like a good way to start a day.

9. Taylor Swift Stadium

Being associated with the world’s biggest pop star seemed to work well for the NFL. The Sox could use the boost in attendance, even if Reinsdorf has to pay Swift for the use of her name.

10. Sox Park

Well, this is what it will eventually be called no matter what it’s named, so why not just cut to the chase?

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By Eliza Haverstock | NerdWallet

More than 150,000 borrowers who signed up for the newest student loan repayment plan — Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) — just found out President Joe Biden will forgive their remaining debt. If you weren’t one of the lucky borrowers, it’s not too late to join their ranks.

“This is the first announcement, hopefully, in a slew of announcements,” says Amy Czulada, outreach and advocacy manager of the Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit student loan borrower advocacy organization, of the forgiveness email affected borrowers received.

The Education Department has not shared a timeline for future SAVE forgiveness announcements but said it will discharge eligible loans on a “rolling basis” going forward.

You must enroll in SAVE and meet two key criteria to qualify for debt forgiveness now:

Borrowed $12,000 or less in federal student loans.
Spent at least 10 years in repayment, including the pandemic pause and other time counted under the IDR account adjustment.

If you meet these requirements, Czulada says, “Please enroll — this could really change your life in a matter of minutes.” Private student loans are not eligible for the SAVE program or federal student loan forgiveness.

Each additional $1,000 in federal student loans you borrowed above $12,000 adds an extra year to your SAVE repayment, up to 20 or 25 years, depending on loan type. Your SAVE forgiveness timeline hinges on the original sum of all federal student loans you borrowed, not the amount you currently owe or the amount you owe on a single loan.

For example, if you took out between $12,001 and $13,000, you must spend 11 years in repayment instead of 10 before SAVE will forgive your remaining balance.

The SAVE plan offers other benefits, like reduced or $0 monthly payments, based on the borrower’s income. As of Feb. 21, more than half of the 7.5 million borrowers enrolled in SAVE have $0 payments. And starting in July, those who do owe money each month may see their already-reduced bills slashed in half.

You can sign up for SAVE at any time, but the sooner you do so, the sooner your monthly payments — even the $0 payments — will start counting toward SAVE’s forgiveness threshold.

Watch for upcoming White House email

This week, the White House plans to start emailing borrowers who — if they switch to the SAVE plan — could qualify for loan forgiveness now.

If you began repayment in early 2014, and you originally borrowed $12,000 or less, you may get an email encouraging you to enroll in SAVE.

Keep an eye on your inbox and be wary of student loan scams. Official Education Department messages will only come from one of three senders: noreply@studentaid.gov, noreply@debtrelief.studentaid.gov or ed.gov@public.govdelivery.com.

Consolidate your FFELP, Perkins or HEAL loans

Most borrowers can directly enroll in SAVE and automatically get credit toward forgiveness for past months spent in repayment, under the IDR account adjustment. However, a small group of borrowers with the following discontinued loan types must consolidate their loans to qualify for both the IDR account adjustment and the SAVE plan:

Commercially held FFELP student loans.
Perkins student loans.
Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL).

You must begin the consolidation process by April 30 to get credit for past repayment periods under the IDR account adjustment. If you consolidate after April 30 and sign up for SAVE, you’ll start with zero months toward forgiveness — potentially adding years or decades to your repayment timeline.

“If they had been paying for 10 years and consolidate on May 1, there’s a chance that all of that will basically be erased and they’d have to start all over again, so we’re encouraging as many folks as possible to apply for consolidation if they need to by April 30,” says Sabrina Calazans, managing director of the Student Debt Crisis Center, a nonprofit group that aims to advance student debt relief.

To verify which types of loans you have, log into your StudentAid.gov account, navigate your dashboard and select “My Aid” from the dropdown menu. Under the “Loan Breakdown” section, you can click “View Loans” and “View Loan Details.”

Sign up for Fresh Start if you have defaulted student loans

Borrowers with defaulted federal student loans must sign up for the Fresh Start program to get their loans into good standing before they can enroll in SAVE. Remember, SAVE can also give you $0 monthly payments if your annual income is at or below $32,800 as an individual or $67,500 for a four-person household.

If you sign up for Fresh Start before October, you’ll receive credit toward SAVE forgiveness for any months spent in default from March 2020 through the month you exit default, plus any other months when your loans were in good standing.

Enroll in SAVE on StudentAid.gov

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There’s no income limit to qualify for SAVE. Most federal student loans are automatically eligible for the plan; parent PLUS loans are ineligible.

The easiest way to sign up for SAVE is on StudentAid.gov, Calazans says. Alternatively, you can call your servicer or submit a paper IDR application.

Before choosing SAVE, use the Education Department’s loan simulator tool to estimate your monthly payments, payoff timelines and potential forgiveness under different plans.

SAVE isn’t a good fit for everyone. “The higher your income is, the less likely it is that SAVE makes sense,” says Kristen Ahlenius, director of education and advice at Your Money Line, a workplace financial wellness company that works with student loan borrowers. A high income could leave you owing more on SAVE than you would on the regular 10-year repayment plan.

 

The article Biden Just Erased $1.2B in Student Loans. Yours Could Be Next originally appeared on NerdWallet.

Prosecutors charged a former St. Paul police officer Thursday with arson at the building that houses his wife’s St. Paul restaurant.

Law enforcement reviewed video from several cameras and saw a person, later identified as 55-year-old Tou Mo Cha, exiting Checker Board Pizza and then repeatedly entering the apartment entry to the building in Payne-Phalen, according to a criminal complaint. Cha walked away and the apartment entry started on fire.

When Cha was a St. Paul police officer, he was charged in 2004 with lending his department-issued handgun. The gun was used in a pair of drive-by shootings that targeted members of the Hmong community; no one was injured. Cha pleaded guilty to making terroristic threats in 2005 and resigned from the police force.

Reached by phone on Friday, Cha said he was unaware he’d been charged in the fire and said he was surprised.

“I had no intention or anything to do with it,” Cha said. “… I had no knowledge, I had no desire, I had no motivation to do anything like that. That’s my only income, my only job.”

The business remains closed — there was smoke damage “upstairs somewhere,” Cha said. The bar and upstairs portion of the building had been undergoing renovations for years, Cha said, adding that he still opened the kitchen for takeout and delivery before the fire.

Property records indicate the building at 992 Arcade St. is not owned by Cha or his wife.

The business, owned by Cha’s wife, has also been called Checkerbar Food & Liquor. She voluntarily relinquished the last city licenses at the location in 2020, according to St. Paul’s Department of Safety and Inspections. The business had a license for food service from the Minnesota Department of Health.

Arson charge: Fire started at apartment entryway

The Ramsey County attorney’s office charged Cha, of Little Canada, with second-degree arson of a building. Prosecutors gave the following information in a complaint:

Tou Mo Cha in a 2019 mugshot. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

On Aug. 9, there was a fire at 990 Arcade St., a convenience store, and subsequently across Jenks Street at the building that houses Checker Board Pizza. That fire was at 1:25 p.m.

Video from the area showed Cha’s wife coming out of Checker Board Pizza and going to their vehicle. Cha went between the pizza shop and the doorway of the apartment, and the fire started a few minutes after he drove away.

Cha told police he had not gone to the apartment entryway where the fire started, “however, the video shows him to be there,” the complaint said.

Fire examiners concluded the fire began in the entry staircase of the apartment portion of the building. It was possibly ignited with gasoline.

The fire caused extensive damage to the building, costting more than $100,000.

Cha’s first court date wasn’t listed in court records as of Friday.

Past cases connected to bar

Cha was sentenced in 2019 to 90 days in jail for his involvement in an assault outside Checker Board Pizza the year before. The case was at the center of an incident that resulted in the firing of five St. Paul police officers.

Cha admitted in court to hitting a man he described as his wife’s nephew in the head with a club outside Checker Board Pizza. The man was hospitalized and needed 24 staples to close the gash in his head.

The police department said five officers failed to intervene and lied about what happened, leading to then-St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell firing them.

Before that case, police had received reports about Checker Board Pizza.

In 2014, 34-year-old Nicholas James Keilen died a couple of months after he said bouncers assaulted him outside the bar and restaurant. The Ramsey County medical examiner’s office ruled the manner of Keilen’s death as undetermined, and no one was arrested or charged.

Other men told police in 2011 and 2014 that security guards assaulted them. And in 2013, a group of people reported to police that Cha had pepper-sprayed them. No bar employees were charged in those cases.

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