As gas prices skyrocket, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System Wednesday released a commute cost calculator to show motorists how much money they could save by riding public transit.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County rose Wednesday to its highest amount since Oct. 20, 2023, increasing 2.7 cents to $5.635. The average price has risen for 28 consecutive days, increasing $1.028, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

“With gas prices rising so quickly across the region, families are feeling the financial strain,” MTS Board Chair and San Diego City Councilman Stephen Whitburn said. “MTS offers a reliable and affordable option that helps people keep money in their pockets. We want riders to know they have transportation choices that can make a real financial difference.”

The agency uses as an example the commute from the Chula Vista neighborhood of Eastlake to Westfield UTC in San Diego’s University City. According to the calculator, that costs more than $40 a day by car, whereas the trolley and bus would cost $5.

According to Google Maps, the driving route is somewhere around 30 minutes to go 27 miles in light traffic, where the transit option is more than 2.5 hours with two transfers and 18 minutes of walking. The driving route would likely increase significantly during rush hour traffic, and the transit route would to a lesser extent.

Still, the MTS said commuters traveling “as little as 5 miles each way can save more than $980 annually by switching from driving to transit.”

Other examples without a time frame attached include:

— Chula Vista to downtown (10 miles), $15.40 per day by car, $5 roundtrip by transit;

— El Cajon to downtown (15 miles), $23.10 per day by car, $5 roundtrip by transit; and

— Rancho Bernardo to downtown (25 miles), $38.50 per day by car, $5 roundtrip by transit.

The calculator is available at sdmts.com/commute. It factors in information such as commuting miles, estimated miles per gallon, parking costs, number of days commuting and price per gallon of fuel.

The MTS also has more than 8,000 free parking spots at dozens of transit stations across the system.

A major California children’s hospital is facing a legal firestorm after pulling the plug on transgender care for minors, leaving families scrambling and triggering dueling lawsuits.

Four families are suing San Diego-based Rady Children’s Health, accusing the hospital of abruptly cutting off gender-affirming treatments and throwing nearly 2,000 young patients into limbo.

The fallout was immediate: canceled appointments, disrupted care and panicked parents racing to find new doctors.

And the families aren’t alone in taking legal action.

They join California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who already filed his own lawsuit, alleging the hospital’s move isn’t just harmful, it’s illegal.

At the center of the fight is a binding merger agreement requiring Rady to keep offering gender-affirming care through 2034,  a promise the state says the hospital broke when it shut down services for patients under 19. 

Hospital officials insist their hands were tied, pointing to mounting federal pressure, funding threats and even a federal investigation into transgender care programs. 

But critics aren’t buying it.

They argue California law clearly bans discrimination based on gender identity, and treats gender-affirming care as medically necessary, meaning the hospital can’t just walk away.

The controversy is part of a wider national battle, as federal officials ramp up scrutiny of transgender care for minors, putting hospitals across the country in the crosshairs.

For now, a judge has stepped in to temporarily block a full shutdown of services, but the broader fight is just getting started.

And with kids’ healthcare caught in the middle, the outcome could ripple far beyond one hospital.