IN BRIEF

RENO

Tax revenue declines threaten bus service

Officials with the Reno area's main bus service say despite near record ridership, tax revenue to help pay for the service has fallen dramatically.

And that means they will have to take a hard look at either increasing fares for RTC Ride or cut service.

Fares paid by the nearly 9 million riders every year cover only about 28 percent of the money needed, with sales tax providing the vast majority of the rest.

Sales tax revenue dropped 3 percent between 2007 and 2008, and transportation officials expect another 1 percent decline in 2009.

To offset the loss, transit planners said a 5 percent cut in bus service or a 15 percent increase in fares will be necessary.

The RTC will hold an open house on March 29 to gather public comments.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.

Medical tests go well for former first lady

Medical tests on former first lady Nancy Reagan, who spent the night at a Santa Monica, Calif., hospital after falling in her Bel-Air home, were completed Monday and went well.

"I am pleased to report that doctors have concluded their tests, all results are good and they intend to release Mrs. Reagan from the hospital tomorrow," said Reagan spokeswoman Joanne Drake in a statement.

Reagan, 86, fell Sunday morning.

She was at St. John's Health Center, where doctors determined that she did not break a hip as feared, Drake said.

Reagan spent the night in the same room where her husband former President Reagan stayed after he broke his hip at home in 2001. He died June 5, 2004. The two were married for 52 years.