One bill that is especially personal to me is H.B. 763, which aims to combat human trafficking through education. This bill would require the State Board of Education and certain nonpublic schools to incorporate human trafficking awareness and prevention into the health curriculum for students in grades six through eight. By raising awareness and providing education, we can better equip our students to recognize and prevent human trafficking and sex trafficking.

Another important piece of legislation is H.B. 768, which addresses the issue of “taxation without representation.” Currently, there are areas in our state where residents are subject to taxes without proper representation or advocacy. The bill allows these areas to incorporate as municipalities, giving them control over development, finances, government services, grant applications and the ability to elect local leaders who can advocate on their behalf. It is known that the municipal population is growing at a greater rate than non-incorporated areas (1.2% vs. 0.3%). And after incorporation, land value rises higher than it would otherwise. Also, a third of all sales tax is collected in municipalities, which occupy about 5% of the state’s total land mass. It is time for these communities to have a say in their future.

Finally, I remain committed to fully funding education so that every student, no matter their zip code, can succeed. Importantly, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is not contributing to the current general fund deficit. Any potential changes to the Blueprint will be part of a separate conversation as we work through these budget challenges. Thanks to the foresight of the House last session, the Blueprint Fund is secured through fiscal year 2026.

As we move forward this session, my commitment to the people of my district and all of Maryland remains unwavering. These pieces of legislation and budgetary priorities are not just about addressing immediate challenges — they are about ensuring a better, more equitable future for all Marylanders. I will continue to advocate for the issues that matter most to our communities, whether it is protecting vulnerable populations, empowering local governments or ensuring the economic stability of our state. Together, we can make Maryland a place where every citizen has the opportunity to thrive.

Del. Steve Johnson is a Democrat representing District 34A in Harford County. He can be reached at (410) 841-3280 or steve.johnson@house.state.md.us.

This session, I’ve been primarily focused on 10 bills, some of which will be highlighted in the rest of this article. My top priorities this year have been continuing to combat human trafficking, promotion of community incorporation, and expansion of access to affordable healthcare. 

One bill I’ve submitted is HB 0620, the Human and Sex Trafficking prevention program bill, a piece of legislation that I’ve worked tirelessly to get passed for years. Human trafficking and sexual assault are serious issues in our state, to the point where Maryland’s human trafficking hotline is one of the most called in the entire country. This bill would require that schools enact a program within health classes that address the prevention of sexual abuse and human trafficking, between grades six and eight.

Nobody is spared from this crisis; regardless of gender, race, social class, or any other demographic, anyone can be a victim if they don’t know or understand the signs. What makes this crisis worse is how human traffickers see our state as a “gold mine” due to our easily accessible infrastructure, such as airports, bus stops and interstates. We can collectively fight against this crisis if we teach our youth how to be actively vigilant against traffickers.

Another bill I’ve been working on is HB 1436, the Municipal Incorporation bill. This bill would allow our unincorporated communities to organize and request a referendum which, if passed, would allow those communitites to begin the incorporation process. 

Why is this important? Without incorporation, a town has very little autonomy or control over its own affairs. An unincorporated town doesn’t have the right to decide land usage, nor does it have its own emergency services or local governance which could respond to its needs more directly. 

In trying to give the people the right to incorporate towns, it is my hope that newly incorporated towns can thrive with tax dollars being spent more locally to improve living conditions and strengthen the identity of communities while allowing citizens more say in their local governance.

Aside from these two bills, I’ve been diligently working to pass legislation to expand equity and access to healthcare here in Maryland. 

HB 0879 outlines a plan to make healthcare more affordable, limiting how much healthcare operators can spike expenses while also requiring providers to engage in cost-sharing on high deductible health plans. 

In a time when Americans everywhere are struggling to deal with these rising prices, I have been taking the initiative to combat the unfair rise in healthcare prices in our state.

These bills, as well as the many others I’ve chosen to support during this legislative session, demonstrate my commitment to serving the interests of all Marylanders equally. 

With such little time left in the legislative session, I will be striving to ensure that every remaining day counts, and that no time is left unutilized. Even though it can be difficult to balance the needs of everyone, it is my intention to continue pushing bills that ultimately support Marylanders and my constituents in District 34A, and in doing so, to make our communities safer and more equitable for everyone.

Del. Steve Johnson is a Democrat and one of two delegates representing District 34A in Harford County. He can be reached at (410) 841-3280 or steve.johnson@house.state.md.us.

This session, I will be working on 13 total bills — four of which will be highlighted in detail. My priority has been to initiate a series of bills that espouse the fundamental principles of safeguarding the rights of workers, combating the issue of human trafficking, promoting the incorporation of local communities and ensuring unfettered access to medical cannabis.

One of the bills I introduced early in the session is House Bill 65, which would create a legal pathway for workforce members to unionize if they choose. This bill would give authorizing employees of public libraries the ability to form, join and participate in an employee organization and engage in certain other activities related to collective bargaining.

Another important bill I introduced is House Bill 461, a human trafficking education bill that would require schools to teach children in grades 6 through 8 about the red flags and terms to be aware of in human trafficking. This initiative will be developed and implemented by the state Board of Education, which will provide instruction on the awareness and prevention of human and sex trafficking using existing resources.

By educating young people about this important issue, Maryland can help prevent exploitation of vulnerable individuals and promote a safer society. Human trafficking is a serious problem in Maryland and it is important to take steps to educate young people about this issue.

I also introduced House Bill 688, which would prevent counties from blocking areas that wish to incorporate. Upon presentation of a valid petition by at least 40% of registered voters in the unincorporated area, the county commissioners or county council must approve the referendum request for municipal incorporation.

This bill would make it easier for communities to form ocal governments, giving them greater control over their own affairs and ensuring their voices are heard in the political process. This bill seeks to address an issue that has long plagued Maryland, where some communities have been prevented from incorporating because of opposition from county governments. The only opposition on this bill was MACo (Maryland Association of Counties).

Lastly, I introduced House Bill 1135, which would allow those who are prescribed medical cannabis to have continued access to their medicine even when hospitalized. The bill requires certain healthcare facilities to allow a qualifying patient with written certification to consume medical cannabis within the facility if the patient is receiving related medical care at the facility. This would insure continuity of care while at a health facility and result in better health outcomes.

I have also introduced several business-friendly bills, medication bills and disability rights bills.

These bills demonstrate a commitment to protecting the rights and well-being of Maryland residents. By addressing these issues, I am working to make Maryland a safer, more equitable and just place for its residents.

I remain unwavering in my dedication to serve the people of Maryland, and I will continue to advocate for bills that espouse their best interests, and thereby enhance their quality of life.

Even though it can be difficult to balance what is best for everyone, I believe these bills will provide relief and support for my constituents, and I am looking forward to continuing to represent District 34A.

Del. Steve Johnson is a Democrat and one of two delegates representing District 34A in Harford County. He can be reached at (410) 841-3280 or steve.johnson@house.state.md.us.

Between last session and this session, I have been very busy helping people with their unemployment, Motor Vehicle Administration, and E-ZPass issues. I have also brought back bond bill funding to get good projects off the ground.

One of those projects is the Leading Edge Training Center in Edgewood. Working with partners like Harford Community College and the Boys and Girls Club, we have set up a state-of-the-art training facility for students who may want to go into a trade rather than traditional college classes. This is not only for students but anyone who wants to get a better job. This training program has now become a national model for the Boys and Girls Club.

Other projects included refurbishing the Havre de Grace American Legion docks, and repairs to the Aberdeen swimming pool operated by the Aberdeen Boys and Girls Club. These and several other projects are good for my district Harford County.

I am proud to have introduced bills this legislative session to help families and businesses alike. The people of Harford County have struggled through a pandemic and global unrest. It is our responsibility as legislators to help ease the burden and stimulate business development. It is for these reasons, I have introduced several bills that will do exactly that.

For families, I sponsored HB492, the Oral Hygiene Tax Exemption that eliminates the sale of oral hygiene products from the sales and use tax; products families use every day such as tooth brushes and tooth paste are now tax free. I also sponsored HB1486, creating a tax-free period for motor fuel. This bill provides for a 30-day period in which motor fuel taxes do not apply and requires the state comptroller to pay a refund advance of motor fuel tax to qualifying retailers under certain circumstances.

Finally, HB165, introduces middle schoolers to terms and tactics of human trafficking. This is very important since the average age of a trafficked child is between 11 and 14.

All bills will have an immediate and lasting positive effect on the people of Maryland.

For businesses, I sponsored HB465, establishes a resort complex license that authorizes the holder to sell beer, wine, and liquor at certain outlets in the resort complex in Harford County. HB 493 repeals the requirement that beer, wine, and liquor served under a Harford County stadium license only in plastic, Styrofoam, or paper containers. Now glass can be used for special events. Also making its way through the House was HB1179, which changes the commission businesses receive on lottery sales from 5.5% to 6%.

Finally HB0049 authorizes registered nurse practitioners to prescribe and dispense auto-injectable epinephrine to certain certificate holders who operate youth camps.

These bills will bring improvements to the small business owners throughout the entire district.

While it can be difficult to balance what is best for everyone, I believe these bills provide relief and support to my constituents and I look forward to serving District 34A in the future.

Johnson is a Democrat delegate representing district 34A.

A partir del sábado, habrá 26 obras de Kahlo y mucho material relacionado a la vista en el Museo de Arte Cleve Carney de la Universidad de DuPage, la colección más grande de su trabajo que se exhibirá en el área de Chicago desde una exhibición del Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de 1978.

Es un tremendo concentrado de la artista mexicana, tal ícono en este punto que una de las camisetas en oferta presenta solo un contorno de su cabeza, un rostro dominado por flores en el cabello y esa uniceja reconocible al instante.

Las obras no estarían en el museo de Glen Ellyn en absoluto si no fuera por la amistad entre Alan Peterson, un fundador de Glen Ellyn de una empresa de consultoría y donante de COD desde hace mucho tiempo, y Carlos Phillips Olmedo, el director e hijo del fundador del Museo Dolores Olmedo de la Ciudad de México

Y esa amistad no habría sucedido, según Mark, el hijo de Peterson, si su padre no hubiera notado que aproximadamente la mitad de los condominios de la asociación de la ciudad de esquí que compró en 1977 eran propiedad de mexicanos y la mitad de estadounidenses.

“Teníamos como 29 unidades, no un edificio grande”, dijo Mark Peterson. “Y él dijo, ya sabes, si vamos a hacer algo, tenemos que estar unidos, no podemos ser muy diferentes. Así que rápidamente se hizo amigo de Carlos, y luego ambos estaban en la junta, en la asociación de propietarios, y de alguna manera intercambiaron la presidencia.

“Sabes, mi papá sería presidente durante cinco, seis años. Y luego Carlos sería presidente durante cinco, seis años”.

La amistad se forjó no solo en el negocio de administrar un edificio, sino también en el hecho de que las familias se vieran socialmente durante los inviernos de Colorado y en que Alan Peterson ayudara a los hijos de Phillips Olmedo a ingresar a la escuela de negocios en Northwestern, su alma mater, dijo Mark Peterson.

“Sin duda se apoyaron el uno al otro”, dijo el hijo. “Y pudieron hacer muchas cosas como resultado de eso”.

Seguramente la más grande de esas cosas es “Frida Kahlo: Timeless”, una exposición que originalmente se suponía que se inauguraría en junio pasado, pero que tuvo que posponerse debido a la pandemia. Su pieza central son las 26 obras de Kahlo, 19 pinturas y siete dibujos, que posee el Museo Olmedo. Aunque solo unas pocas, especialmente “The Broken Column” (‘La columna rota’), el autorretrato de Kahlo con su columna vertebral fracturada visible en medio de su cuerpo desnudo y encorsetado, se cuentan entre las pinturas más famosas de Kahlo, es una selección idiosincrásica y convincente de su trabajo, en parte porque fue ensamblado por un ávido coleccionista.

“Hay una hermosa historia detrás de esta exposición”, dijo Adriana Jaramillo, directora de comunicaciones y relaciones institucionales de Olmedo. “Eventualmente, solo un día, el Sr. Peterson le preguntó al Sr. Phillips, ‘¿Qué necesitamos hacer para que su colección se muestre aquí?’ Y él dijo: ‘Bueno, solo pídala, primero. Y, segundo, veamos si cumples con las condiciones”.

“Este fue su último gran sueño”, dijo Mark Peterson sobre su padre, quien murió el pasado mes de abril a los 90 años, después de haber hecho toda la planificación, pero antes de que pudiera ver las obras en la pared. “Él dijo, ‘Quiero llevar el arte de Carlos al College de DuPage’. Y yo le dije: ‘¿No te refieres al Instituto de Arte o al Museo de Arte Contemporáneo?’ Él dijo: ‘No, al College de DuPage'”.

La universidad hizo algunas mejoras para cumplir con las condiciones necesarias para albergar obras de renombre internacional, aproximadamente el 10% de toda la obra pictórica de la artista del siglo XX. Agregó 1,000 pies cuadrados de espacio de galería y mejor seguridad y calidad del aire, al tiempo que cambió el nombre de Carney Art Gallery por el más ambicioso “museo”.

The Carney anunció la muestra por primera vez en noviembre de 2018, por lo que verla finalmente colgada frente a la gente durante una vista previa para la prensa fue “gratificante”, dijo Justin Witte, creador y director de la galería. “Es estresante y también un alivio. Y es genial ver finalmente a la gente mirando el trabajo, pasando tiempo con el trabajo”.

El museo hizo todo lo posible para convertirlo en una exposición completa. Tan grande como las galerías que contienen las obras de arte, el espacio introductorio detalla la desgarradora biografía de Kahlo: nació de padre alemán y madre indígena, alcanzó la mayoría de edad durante la revolución del país, sufrió un accidente de autobús devastador y casi fatal en su adolescencia, la fuente de dolor de por vida, muerte a los 47 años.

La lista del historial médico de Kahlo ocupa una pared entera y, con total naturalidad, defiende una especie de heroísmo en el artista que logra hacer algo sustancial.

“Hay muchas personas que tienen una idea de quién creen que es Kahlo debido al nivel de Fridamanía que existe”, dijo Witte. “Y no siempre está alineado con la historia real. Y creo que hay aspectos de su historia que es importante compartir: su activismo, sus diferentes relaciones, también la importancia de la Ciudad de México y el México posrevolucionario. Creo que es muy importante que los espectadores lo comprendan”.

Dentro y alrededor de la información biográfica, y muchas fotos gigantes de Frida, el museo ha colocado una selección de vestidos de Kahlo recién fabricados, una réplica de su cama e incluso la interpretación de un artista de los corsés que Kahlo usó para ayudar con sus problemas de columna.

La exposición incluye mucho sobre el pintor Diego Rivera, dos veces esposo de Kahlo, incluido el famoso comentario de su madre de que lo suyo fue la unión de un elefante y una paloma. También aparece en muchas de las fotografías familiares íntimas de la muestra, y también de Olmedo.

En la parte de atrás, detrás de lo que se espera que sea un bar de margaritas cuando las restricciones de COVID-19 se relajen en las próximas semanas, hay una réplica del jardín en la famosa Casa Azul de Kahlo. Y una zona infantil ofrece actividades y una interpretación de Kahlo dirigida al público más joven.

Pero la clave, por supuesto, es la obra de arte en sí, que Dolores Olmedo adquirió después de la muerte de Kahlo de un ardiente coleccionista de Kahlo. Por esa razón, dijo Witte, las obras no solo abarcan el rango de su carrera, sino que también son más personales.

Hay, por ejemplo, un retrato encargado del horticultor Luther Burbank representado casi como uno con la tierra en una especie de realismo hiper o mágico, que la familia Burbank rechazó.

También se exhibe “Henry Ford Hospital”, un autorretrato crudo que marca el aborto espontáneo que Kahlo tuvo mientras ella y Rivera estaban de visita en los Estados Unidos.

“‘Henry Ford Hospital’ es una de esas pinturas que no solo para Kahlo la ayudó a definir realmente su voz, sino que también se destaca como algo nuevo en ese momento, una nueva voz, un nuevo lenguaje visual que habla problemas de los que la gente simplemente no hablaba”, dijo Witte.

Aunque también hay retratos más estándar en la exposición, incluido el coleccionista de Kahlo antes mencionado, el ingeniero Eduardo Morillo Safa, es imposible alejarse de él sin pensar en cuán conectadas estaban la vida de Kahlo y su arte.

Hay una pequeña pintura, “The Circle” (“El círculo”), de 1954, el último año de la vida de Kahlo, que subraya el vínculo, dijo Marcela Andrade Serment, creadora asociada de la muestra.

“Es tan diferente de sus otras piezas”, dijo. “No solo nos estamos volviendo mucho más pequeños ahora, sino que también es como perder mucha de la delicadeza y los detalles en la pintura, como habrías visto de otra manera en algunas de sus piezas anteriores. Y creo que realmente te muestra cuánto se estaba deteriorando su cuerpo en ese momento.

“Creo que si no fuera por la pintura, no sé si ella hubiera vivido tanto como lo hizo. Creo que su pintura realmente sirvió como una salida para mucho de lo que estaba experimentando. Y realmente le proporcionó una salida y una forma de terapia para que realmente lo diera a conocer”.

Exhibición hasta el 6 de septiembre, la muestra cuesta $23 por un boleto de adulto con entrada programada antes de las tarifas de servicio, y los boletos se han estado vendiendo rápidamente, según los funcionarios del Museo Carney.

-Traducción por José Luis Sánchez Pando/TCA

The 2021 session has been quite different without the human interaction. I am not a fan of the public having limited access, however in the interest of safety for the public and legislators it couldn’t be helped. Hopefully, next year we can get back to normal. It has been harder to track bills that are not in your committee, talk over the content of bills and get a good sense of what the bills are trying to achieve. In a COVID-free environment this is done over dinner, in lobbies and by having conversations with colleagues. A lot of the passion and emotion is lost when having all electronic meetings. I will have to say being split up into three locations — the floor, the balcony and the annex in the House building — the electronic voting process has gone smoother than I thought it would.

This year I submitted two bills that I feel strongly about. First is House Bill 138 Human and Sex Trafficking Education. Human trafficking is a pressing public health concern which transcends all races, social classes, demographics and gender. No population is exempt from the threat of traffickers. The average age of entry into the commercial human trafficking trade ranges between the ages of 12 to 14. Education will play a vital role in shaping how our children perceive these dangers. Maryland is gold mine for human trafficking with easy access to airports, main interstates, bus stops and waterways. It is the second-largest grossing criminal activity in the world.

Secondly, House Bill 970 Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact or PSYPACT, is an interstate compact designed to increase access to mental health care services through the use of telepsychology. COVID-19 has demonstrated the importance of telehealth in continuity of care for mental health and substance use treatment. PSYPACT allows people who move between states, temporarily or permanently, as a result of illness, family, financial, education, business or other reasons to maintain consistent mental health and substance use treatment. It also benefits residents who live near bordering states and Washington, D.C.; those in rural areas, those who lack access to specialty care, those with transportation or mobility issues and individuals with time constraints such as caregivers and those concerned about seeking treatment due to potential stigma of mental health care. Currently, Maryland is the only jurisdiction in our region which is not yet included in PSYPACT; D.C., Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia are all active members. This is an important piece of legislation to assure continuity of care for Marylanders.

Finally, this session, the House of Delegates took a historic step with the bipartisan passage of the Recovery for the Economy, Livelihoods, Industries, Entrepreneurs, and Families (RELIEF) Act, which provides over $1.5 billion in pandemic relief. The RELIEF Act includes additional assistance to help citizens and small businesses through these unprecedented times. The Act will infuse Maryland’s economy with $509 million in spending and provide over $1 billion in tax relief and credits making Maryland the highest state in the nation for its earned income tax credit. Other benefits include the exemption of unemployment insurance payments from the state income tax, as well as forgives Maryland taxes on COVID loans and grants.

There are approximately 30 days left in Session 2021 but it is the busiest 30 days. This week is crossover; a time when the Senate bills come to the House and the House bills go to the Senate. Leadership has already started calling for double floor sessions, double committee hearings and voting sessions and floor sessions on Saturdays. There will be many late nights and long weekends but we stand committed to getting the work done for the citizens of Maryland.

Steve Johnson is a Democrat representing District 34A in the Maryland House of Delegates.

Se espera que el dinero sin restricciones, la subvención más grande en la historia del museo gratuito de Pilsen, tenga un gran impacto debido al presupuesto típicamente modesto de la institución. Los ingresos y gastos de NMMA para el año que finalizó en junio de 2018, por ejemplo, fueron poco menos de $5 millones, según documentos fiscales.

“Estamos encantados de recibir este financiamiento como reconocimiento a las contribuciones de las comunidades de color”, comentó Carlos Tortolero, fundador y presidente del museo de 33 años. “El personal del Museo trabaja incansablemente para presentar las ricas historias, pasadas y presentes, dando voz a la comunidad mexicana en todo el país y el mundo”.

“Nuestro agradecimiento a la Fundación Ford por el reconocimiento del Museo Nacional de Arte Mexicano como un ancla para la equidad artística y cultural en Chicago y Estados Unidos”, dijo Tortolero.

En una entrevista, agregó que es probable que el dinero se destine a reservas de efectivo o una dotación, fondos para tiempos difíciles que el museo ha tenido dificultades para construir a lo largo de los años.

“Cuando se trata de finanzas, siempre hemos sido muy conservadores. Realmente cuidamos el dinero”, dijo Tortolero.

El programa nacional de subvenciones está destinado a ayudar a las organizaciones artísticas vitales que sirven a las comunidades minoritarias a sobrevivir a la pandemia de COVID-19, que ha reducido drásticamente la capacidad de las organizaciones para obtener ingresos.

El museo de arte mexicano ha estado cerrado desde mediados de marzo debido a la pandemia. El mes pasado, reabrió solo para montar su exposición anual del Día de los Muertos por primera vez como una experiencia solo en la web.

La exposición de este año se titula “Sólo un poco aquí”, en honor a un poema del “poeta-rey” del siglo XV Nezahualcóyotl, que aborda la intransigencia humana.

Debido a su modelo de entrada gratuita, el museo de arte mexicano no fue tan golpeado como algunos de sus pares por la pandemia, dijo Tortolero, pero está muy preocupado por lo que sucederá con las estructuras tradicionales de financiamiento en los próximos años.

sajohnson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @StevenKJohnson

Aquí puede leer esta nota en inglés

Este texto fue traducido por Leticia Espinosa/TCA

“He still needs quite a bit of help with his breathing,” she said of the musician raised in Maywood, a two-time cancer survivor. “Like many patients currently in ICU beds all around the world, John has pneumonia in both lungs. He has also developed some peripheral issues that are being treated with meds, including antibiotics.”

She said Prine, 73, “is receiving excellent medical care and being treated with kindness and compassion by the entire team looking after him day and night. I cannot be with him which makes this nightmare all the more distressing…”

On Monday of this week the Tribune reported the following:

John Prine, the postman from Maywood and Army mechanic who became one of the most revered American songwriters of the past half century, is now in stable condition after being intubated while being treated for COVID-19-type symptoms, his wife, Fiona Whelan Prine said Monday.

But later in the day, she followed up in apparent reaction to people reading too much into the word “stable.”

“I need to clarify what I mean by ‘John is stable,'” Whelan Prine, who is also John’s manager, wrote on Twitter. “That is not the same as improving. There is no cure for Covid-19. He needs our prayers and love – as do the thousands of others who are critically ill.”

Prine’s medical challenges became public when his family on Sunday announced on Twitter that he was in critical condition “after a sudden onset of COVID-19 symptoms.”

“Please continue to send your amazing love and prayers,” Fiona Prine said in Monday’s more encouraging tweet. “Sing his songs. Stay home and wash hands. John loves you. I love you.”

The news, both Monday and Sunday, was greeted with an outpouring of well wishes from fans and from fellow musicians, including Seth Meyers, Jason Isbell and the band Dawes. Joan Baez responded with a video of her playing Prine’s song “Hello In There” from her kitchen.

Prine, who rose to prominence through the Chicago folk music scene in the early 1970s, “was hospitalized on Thursday. He was intubated Saturday evening, and continues to receive care, but his situation is critical,” said the note “From the Prine family” Sunday on the @JohnPrineMusic Twitter feed.

Intubation is a stage of treatment that can precede going on a ventilator. The coronavirus sweeping the globe attacks people through their lungs to the point where the most ill need mechanical breathing help, and the virus is most dangerous to those with underlying medical conditions.

The 73-year-old singer-songwriter has “had a lot of different health issues over the years and he is definitely in that vulnerable population they’ve been talking about,” his wife Fiona Whelan Prine said in an Instagram video post March 17 announcing she had been diagnosed with coronavirus the week before, after she and her husband returned from a European trip.

But as for her husband, after an “indeterminate” COVID-19 test, “so far he’s fine,” she said at the time.

In their Nashville home, the couple was “being really diligent about all the protocols” to keep from spreading or catching the disease, Fiona Prine said in the video. In the past few days, she has posted two short Instagram videos depicting burning candles, flowers and blocks spelling out a message about family and love.

Prine battled cancer in his neck and in his left lung, in the late 1990s and the early 2010s, and has had other health issues. “This would not be a good virus for him to get,” his wife said, “or anyone like him in his age group and with the underlying health conditions.”

Just last month he received a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys, his fourth honor from the Recording Academy, one each decade since his “The Missing Years” album won as contemporary folk album in 1992.

The honor in 2015 came when his self-titled debut album, from 1971, was put into the Grammy Hall of Fame, honoring “recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old.” On the strength of that debut he was nominated for best new artist in 1973, along with the Eagles, but the band America (“Horse with No Name”) won.

Prine’s 2018 album “Tree of Forgiveness,” his first of original material in 13 years, included guest appearances by Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Amanda Shires, and earned wide critical praise.

“Sending our love to each of y’all,” Isbell first tweeted in response to the Prine family news. “Hoping for the best.”

Monday, after Fiona Prine’s tweet about her husband being “stable,” Isbell responded with heart emojis.

“Sending every positive thought I have left your way,” said the NBC late-night host Seth Meyers.

“So many of you have loved and supported John over the years,” the family Twitter post said. “We wanted to let you know and give you the chance to send on more of that love and support now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

sajohnson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @StevenKJohnson

The first is House Bill 575, which is human trafficking education. This bill would require the state board of education and certain nonpublic schools to incorporate human trafficking education on the awareness and prevention of human trafficking and sex trafficking. This would provide instruction on the awareness and prevention of human trafficking and would be incorporated into the health curriculum for students in grades 6 through 12. Because this issue is impacting the people of Maryland it should be addressed. Time was limited as we had to cut session short this year, however, I will continue fighting for this bill next year.

Another bill that I introduced is HB1050 which would require hospitals to pre-authorize the prescriptions they write for their patients so that the patient can receive their medicine when they are released. Too often in Maryland, people abandon post-hospital prescriptions when a pre-authorization is needed but not completed. This makes it hard for patients to get the medicine that the doctors have said they need, as well as putting undue pressure on our families, when the solution is a simple one.

I also introduced HB0685. This bill is important to providing equal benefits to Harford County deputy sheriffs and detention officers in regards to workers compensation. This bill puts Harford County deputy sheriffs that are working as detention center workers on the same tier workers comp as the rest of the Sheriff’s officers.

Additionally HB1279 expands the rights of pharmacists to authorize a one-time refill of prescriptions essential to the maintenance of life in emergency situations. For instance, insulin, a medication necessary for individuals with diabetes. In emergency situations when a prescriber cannot be contacted, people who use insulin have to go without. HB1279 is crucial to ensuring the uninterrupted use of maintenance medications, resulting in better health outcomes.

As well as HB1073 that would allow those who retired from active duty military and went into law enforcement to use up to a five-year military credit towards their law enforcement retirement.

And then there was the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. Three-fourths of Marylanders have said we need better education, better teacher pay to retain quality teachers and wrap around services for kids in school. We made that commitment to Maryland’s students; to give Maryland a state of the art education system that will ensure our kids can compete on a global scale, to put Maryland back on top when it comes to national rankings and to provide more trades training for students to go into the trades instead of a college career path if they so choose. And to make sure there is accountability as the Blueprint is implemented, to guarantee the investment is going to the students in the classroom.

Through all of this, we have been thrown a curve ball that no one could have foreseen, the coronavirus. The saying that “we are all in this together” could never be truer than now. We are working together with the Governor to make sure that everything that can be done for the safety of Marylanders is being done. I am committed to continue working together to save as many lives as possible and to make sure people and businesses are given the assistance necessary to make it through this global epidemic and I look forward to seeing our citizen’s lives return to normal.

I am working to ensure that the people of the state of Maryland are given the care they need in order to live healthier and happier lives and will continue to do so. I went to Annapolis to address the concerns of the constituents in my district and to make Maryland a better place to live. These are tough issues but by working with my delegate and senator colleagues, along with input and support from the public, we can get a lot of things done.

Steve Johnson is a Democrat member of the House of Delegates representing District 34A.

‘Why is she gray?’ ‘It doesn’t look like her.’ They came up again as the artist appeared in a public forum last week at the Stony Island Arts Bank. At the sold-out event to unveil the new book “The Obama Portraits,” one of her questioners even brought up the instant, sharp reaction of Black Twitter, which, like most Twitter demographics, is not shy in its judgments.

“I feel like anything that comes along with something that’s very public is going to bring along some criticism,” Sherald told people at the old bank that Chicago artist Theaster Gates has turned into a kind of community art clubhouse. “So I was ready for it. I thought I was ready for it. But after 48 hours…. I was like, ‘People are crazy.'”

She has heard the complaints and she is not budging.

“Some people like their poetry to rhyme. Some people don’t,” was her most succinct summary. “That’s fine. It’s cool.”

Still, she “saw a lot of opportunity” in the reaction, she said. “When I had time to respond to the emails, a lot of the people just had not engaged with art at all. And they’re like, ‘You have a First Lady who is a black woman, and she should have black skin.’ To me when you see brown skin, it tends to codify something. So through the gray you’re almost allowed to look past that into the real person.”

Then, too, there is the live impact of the painting, monumental at 6 feet tall by 5 feet wide, versus a little snapshot of it seen on a screen. The cool colors warm up, as does the subject itself, famous for her ability to project vivacity in public settings. At the same time there is a guardedness in her face, a sense of the private person she has been holding back, of the work it has taken to be a Beloved First Lady.

And then, against a wall that appears beige, as in the famous photograph of Parker Curry, the young African-American girl staring up at the portrait as a museum guard watches, Obama’s skin, those famously toned arms, do begin to take on shades of brown, at least from a certain angle.

“A lot of people were like, ‘I didn’t like it and then went to go see it.’ And they wrote me back to say, ‘It made me cry,'” Sherald told the South Side crowd. “Because it has a visual effect that it does not carry on Instagram.”

Sherald also knows that the criticism is just one subset of the reaction. She has also gone into the room where it hangs at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., seen the enthusiasm for hers and Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of President Barack Obama, still, some two years after they were unveiled. They have roughly doubled attendance at the museum, according to NPG officials.

“It’s become something that’s almost really sacred,” she said in an interview before the public forum. “I’ve kind of invisibly hung out there while people were looking. It’s almost like when you walk into one of those spaces where you’re like” — she moves to a whisper — “‘I’m whispering, but I’m not sure why I’m whispering.’ But you kind of feel like you should, like you’ve entered into a different space.”

She was talking not only about the continued warm reception for the works but for her hopes when they begin their recently announced and first-ever tour, which, like the launching of the Smithsonian book, will begin in Chicago, the city that started the Obamas’ political career, at the Art Institute in June, 2021.

“As long as it continues to hold its historical value and weight, I think it’s a great idea,” she said of the tour.

Asked if going to see the public reacting to the paintings was like a filmmaker slipping into the back row at one of her movies, Sherald said, “I mean, I would have to be there for other stuff, but I would just kind of go up and stand around because, I don’t know, I’m nosy. But it was nice to see people really enjoy it and hear what they were saying sometimes.”

Those paintings, it is fair to say, are the most famous and far-reaching contemporary art works made in America this century.

And they exist, Duke University art history professor and South Side native Richard Powell told the Stony Island crowd, because their subjects had the courage to go for something beyond standard presidential portraiture.

They chose Wiley, already well known for his aggrandizing portraits of pop culture figures, and Sherald, growing in art-world stature for her incisive, cool-toned portraits of every day African Americans, because they wanted more than just likenesses of themselves, said Powell, whose essay in the book attempts to place the paintings in art history.

Wiley’s Barack Obama, of course, is immediately warmer, seated, looking presidential, in a suit but not a tie, but — surprisingly — amid, almost one with, a fore- and background of ivy decorated with flowers representing his biography.

“It speaks volumes that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama chose Kehinde and Amy,” Powell said, “because what it says is that not only did they want really, really accomplished portraits, but they also wanted important works of contemporary art.”

Powell thanks the rise of the ubiquitous phone-based camera for some of the resonance the Obama portraits have had. “I think perhaps it’s the popularity of photography that has made these paintings special and extraordinary in many people’s eyes,” he said in a subsequent interview. “Unlike a very, very flat, shiny photograph, with something on canvas you can see the paint, and sometimes it’s high gloss and sometimes it’s matte, and sometimes you can see the brushstrokes, and the sheer scale and the framing devices, the painters’ compositions — all of that I think really captured people’s imaginations, along with the mystique of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.”

Among the art historical essays and the many, many images, the book details Sherald’s first meetings with the Obamas, as recounted by Michelle Obama in a transcript of the unveiling ceremony.

“I had seen her work, and I was blown away by the boldness of her colors and the uniqueness of her subject matter,” Mrs. Obama said at that NPG event in February of 2018. “She walked in and she was fly and poised, and I just wanted to stare at her for a minute…

“And within the first few minutes of our conversation, I knew she was the one for me. And maybe it was the moment she came in and she looked at Barack and she said, ‘Well, Mr. President, I’m really excited to be here, and I know I’m being considered for both portraits,’ she said, ‘but, Mrs. Obama’ — she physically turned to me and she said — ‘I’m really hoping you and I can work together.’

“And after that, she and I — we started talking — and Barack kind of faded into the woodwork.”

Obama empathized too with the heat the portraits would bring, even in the moment that they were being made public. “To paint a portrait of Michelle and Barack Obama is like cooking Thanksgiving dinner for strangers. Everybody has an idea of what Thanksgiving dinner is supposed to taste like,” the former First Lady said. “(Sherald) has handled it all with remarkable poise and grace, which I think tells you a lot about who she is.”

Hearing Sherald, now 48, describe her life since Michelle Obama is like hearing about an unending walk on a treadmill, one that involves making new paintings and speeches and school appearances and dealing with a new level of celebrity. She was based for most of her career in Baltimore, but has since relocated to New York City and has left the Chicago-based Monique Meloche Gallery for Hauser & Wirth, described in Artnet News as a “megagallery.”

“I haven’t had a lot of downtime to really digest it,” she said. “You’re kind of thrown back into what you were doing already, which is already overwhelming, in addition to the new life that came along with that. It’s been about meeting commitments and making myself available to, mostly, educators and other people that didn’t know who I was prior to the unveiling of the portraits, showing up for schools and things like that.”

She called it “a blur, a positive blur,” but said she remains thrilled with the painting’s reception.

“It was really exhilarating,” she said, ” and the continued excitement around it really speaks to the power of portraiture. I feel like all of art history is a moment for portraiture, and then there was the break for abstract expressionists. And for me as a black artist, portraiture is important because there’s been a lot of art history without representation of the black figure.”

In bringing one of the planet’s most famous black figures into the museum, Sherald said, “I wanted to produce something that was really about the interior versus the exterior… something that alluded to the nuances of who she really is versus who she has to be, right?

“It was really important for me just to take pause and there kind of bubble up a little mystery around her and around the portrait. Something that would draw you in, but for different reasons. Not because she was smiling or because she, I don’t know, had on a beautiful outfit, but just because her eyes were speaking to your soul. I know it sounds corny, but…”

She trailed off and then answered, yet again, a question about the painting possibly being misunderstood. “The conversations that were being had around art and around painting among people who had never even really probably considered going to a museum, I found that to be really exciting,” she said. “So if there was misunderstanding, then I think that, for me, signifies that the work is a good work.”

You wouldn’t necessarily want to make something that’s universally loved?

“No,” she said. “No, that would be Mickey Mouse.”

sajohnson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @StevenKJohnson