Celebrity Doodles, a charity event, to benefit Desert AIDS Project with auction of celebrity "Doodles", Art and Memorabilia.  Click here for more information. (jl)

Tuesday, April 5, 6:30 PM

Positive Life Series

The next Positive Life Program will be Tuesday, April 5, at the Sinatra Auditorium at Desert Regional Hospital, Palm Springs (on the corner of Tachevah & Miraleste).  Dr. John Stansell MD, well-known HIV specialist, and activist Jeff Taylor, will give an update on all the new drugs and treatments presented at the 18th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston.  A light supper is served at 6:00 PM, and the program begins at 6:30 PM.  ASL translation provided. Program sponsored by Jewish Family Service of the Desert.  Contact Jeff Taylor at jefftaylorps@gmail.com or 760.835.1926 for more information. (rv)(jl)

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California pressures Gilead over AIDS drug price

In an effort to control spiraling ADAP expenditures, California State Controller John Chiang has, for the second time in recent months, written a drug maker asking for a reduction in the price of a key AIDS medication. This time, Chiang wrote Gilead Sciences to lower the price of its Atripla drug, which costs about $21,900 a year per patient and accounts for about 20% of all expenditures made by the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP) nationally.  Read more. (jl)

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New EEOC regulations include HIV as a disability

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency responsible for enforcing laws against workplace discrimination, has released the final revised version of its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations, according to an EEOC statement. The EEOC's new regulations clarify that impairments of major bodily functions - such as being HIV positive - qualify as disabilities under the law. The revisions were triggered by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which overturned a number of Supreme Court rulings that defined "disability" narrowly, reinforcing the inclusive intentions of the original legislation. To read the EEOC statement, click here. (jl)

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The Golden Rainbow Center is offering a six-session workshop focusing on living with chronic conditions beginning Wednesday, April 13th through May 18^th, 9:30 AM - Noon.  This program is an award-winning workshop developed by Stanford University to help you better manage chronic health conditions and live a healthier, happier life. It's free to members, $30.00 for non-members; limited to 20 persons. Participants must attend all six sessions. Please contact the Center at 760.416.7790 to sign-up for this program. (jl)

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Call 211 for essential human services in Riverside County

2-1-1 is a toll-free service for residents looking for information about essential human services such as affordable housing, food pantries, help for an aging parent, free or low cost health services, addiction prevention programs, employment, support groups, volunteer opportunities, and 1700 additional services! (jl)

Medicare rise could mean no Social Security increase

Millions of retired and disabled people in the United States had better brace for another year with no increase in Social Security payments. The government is projecting a slight cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits next year, the first increase since 2009. But for most beneficiaries, rising Medicare premiums threaten to wipe out any increase in payments, leaving them without a raise for a third straight year.  Read full article here. (jl)

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"Winning a pair of Oscars may have been an achievement, but when I saw the face of this disease I knew I was also put on this earth to speak out and work as hard as I could to conquer AIDS."  - Elizabeth Taylor

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