Is it a Bird? A Plane? No, It’s the Annual Celebration in Superman’s Hometown

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Jun 12, 2015

A volunteer on beach patrol who was looking for sea turtles, instead found a bag of money — and launched a week-long search to find its owner.

Meanwhile, a homeless man who’d received an inheritance from a relative, was hoping to use the cash to return home to friends and family in Pennsylvania.

The bag, discovered at a Florida bus stop bench, only contained half of his inheritance. A deputy sheriff spotted the other bag and together they contained nearly $10,000.

Police believed it belonged to the same person, but finding him would take some detective work.

5 Year-old Sings Grace for Homeless Man in Diner, Brings Tears (WATCH)

A receipt in one of the bags led them to a shopping mall. Security camera footage from one of the stores gave them a picture of who they were looking for — a homeless man police identified as “Joe.” But after days of searching, Detective Danny Mursell still couldn’t find him.

A week after the money was lost, and while Mursell was working on something else, he just happened to spot Joe drinking coffee and reunited him with his traveling money.

(WATCH the video below from WFOR News) – Photo by 401(K) 2013, CC

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Four Diverse Cities Working to Eliminate Landfill Garbage

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Jun 11, 2015

How can we possibly move to a “Zero Waste” society when, worldwide, we are currently dumping hundreds of millions of tons into landfills every year?

A few places can give us hope that maybe the goal is not so far out of reach.

On three different continents, special measures are being implemented to bring us one step closer to living on a no-waste planet.

San Francisco, California

San Francisco has promised to divert 100% of its waste from landfills by 2020.

Thanks to policies that create a culture of recycling and composting, including bonus incentives for residents who skip waste collection days, the city has the highest diversion rate of any major city in North America, with 80% of its trash being recycled, according to SF Environment.

The city uses a 3-bin system, where homeowners and businesses separate their waste into blue bins for recyclables, green bins for compostables, and black bins for landfill-bound material.

Sweden (Cities Big and Small)

Sweden’s approach to zero waste is a bit different– but has become the most successful example in the world.

The country uses trash for fuel, burning about 2 million tons of garbage each year in waste-to-energy plants. These plants, while heating the nation, have also managed to cut their emissions by 99% since 1985, according to officials at Swedish Waste Management.

Less than 1% of Sweden’s household garbage ends up in landfills today. In fact, Sweden has become so efficient at recycling and reducing waste that they’re actually importing garbage from neighboring countries to supply their fuel needs.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Recycling works in Buenos Aires because of the cartoneros, or waste pickers, who sort through trash in the streets. In the last decade, these impoverished workers have organized into cooperatives and are now working in city-built warehouses where the conditions are clean and safe – much like the waste pickers in Bangalore, India.

Despite some setbacks, the city is once again on track to meet its target goals of diverting 75% of waste from landfills by 2017 and 100% by 2020, according to an online report by Citiscope.

Capannori, Italy

A small town in Italy is leading the way in Europe’s continent-wide, zero-waste initiative. Back in 1997, local activists proposed a tax that would be waived for residents who could reduce their non-recyclable waste.

By 2010, other rural villages in Tuscany had followed Capannori’s lead by instituting a new ‘Pay as You Throw’ waste tax, where people were given garbage bags with codes on them to track each household’s waste production. According to Zero Waste Europe, the new fee prompted recycling rates to reach up to 90%.

Capannori officials expect to attain their goal of zero-waste by 2020. The original model for their effort? San Francisco.

(READ more at Fast Company) – Photo (top) United Nations, epSos.de, CRI Video (CC)

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Kids Volunteer to Mow a Stranger’s Field to Keep Her Out of Trouble

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Jun 11, 2015

Four brothers loaded up their mowers to help a stranger after hearing about an elderly woman who was in trouble with the law because her grass was too high.

It was a sweltering hot Texas day, but that didn’t deter the four Reynolds boys from pushing mowers through waist high grass over more than an acre of property she owns in Riesel.

“We haven’t met her yet but she’s 75 years old and she needs some help mowing,” Blaine Reynolds told KWTX News. “That’s the least we could do.”

“I really wouldn’t want her coming out here and doing it or paying someone else to when we could have just done if for free,” Brandon Reynolds added.

When Gerry Suttle saw what they’d done she was speechless, and hugged their sweaty frames with thanks.

A warrant had been issued for her arrest after she failed to appear in court for violating the law that restricts grass to 18 inches high. She said she never received the summons to appear and will be trying to reverse the warrant.

We think these boys should be issued a citation, too, for outstanding community service.

Photos: KWTX video

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Waitress’ Simple Act of Kindness Touches Grieving Parents

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Jun 11, 2015

When small talk accidentally brought up a family tragedy, a waitress touched the hearts of her customers who later spread the news about her good deed.

Waitress Kayla Lane recognized two regular customers of the West Side Cafe in Fort Worth, Texas, and asked them about their newborn daughter. The couple told her their baby passed away at just nine-days-old.

Lane felt terrible, and at the end of the meal, handed them a note that read: “Your ticket has been paid for. We are terribly sorry for your loss. God Bless. – The West Side.”

Even though she told Shaun and Debbie Riddle the restaurant had paid for their meal, it was Lane, herself, who picked up the check.

It was a simple act, but the Riddles say it touched them deeply in a time of grief.

It’s touched other people, too. Debbie Riddle posted the story to her Facebook page and it’s been shared more than 10,000 times.

(WATCH the video below or READ it from KTVT News)

Photos: KTVT video and Facebook – Story tip from carilyn

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Inmates Grow Along With the Gardens They Tend Behind Bars

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Jun 11, 2015

When a correction officer set out a small garden at the prison where he worked, he may have planted the seeds of a brighter future for the inmates in his charge.

That small plot at Maryland’s Eastern Correctional Institution has grown to nearly an acre, yielding fresh fruits and vegetables tended by prisoners and destined for families in need from surrounding communities. The project delivered five tons of fresh produce last year.

It’s hard work, but there’s a waiting list of inmates eager to join them, to toil in the summer heat and humidity, turning rock-hard soil into crops of strawberries and cabbages. Inmates are not paid for the work, but they consider it a privilege to serve in the garden. Some don’t understand how difficult it is until they win that privilege.

“They see the fruits of our labor,” prisoner Edward Carroll told the Washington Post, “but they don’t see our labor.”

The Eastern Correctional garden is part of a trend among American prisons to grow food, either for the community or to feed inmates.

Non-profit groups such as the Insight Gardening Program believe such gardening not only helps cut prison food costs but also rehabilitates offenders. The group points to a California study reporting fewer than 10% of gardening convicts returned to prison — far below the 60% national average.

Prison Program Produces Business Savvy Inmates And Huge Success Rates

As this crop of prison farmers work toward their release dates, many of them have taken to watching gardening shows in their cells during their downtime. Their work is growing on them.

(WATCH the video below and READ more in the Washington Post) – Photo: Maryland Dept. of Public Safety video

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Teacher Sells Prized Toy Collection to Buy Wheelchair for Boy He Didn’t Know

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Jun 11, 2015

A 4-year-old disabled boy is getting a specialized wheelchair, thanks to a generous stranger with an eBay account.

Logan Roninger, who has spinal muscular atrophy, loves to accompany his parents, who are biologists, on outdoor nature hikes while in his wheelchair. But as he gets older, the ability to travel off roads with Logan will become more difficult without a power wheelchair.

37 years After Graduation, Student Sends High School Teacher $10,000

Since insurance won’t cover the cost, local businesses and schools in Klamath Falls, Oregon came together to raise some of the $17,000 needed for the new wheelchair. Klamath Union High School was one of several schools that held fundraisers and collected at least $11,000.

One donation was particularly poignant. Nat Ellis, the school’s business and marketing teacher, decided to sell his 25-year collection of more than 1,000 fast food restaurant toys on eBay. He had been saving them to sell when he retires.

“Life’s not about us. It’s about other people. So the best thing you can do is help as many people as possible,” Ellis told ABC News.

Ellis had never met Logan or his family before this year and said he just wanted to help the cause adopted by his school. He also had his students write a press release and spread the word on social media to help raise even more money to reach their goal.

(WATCH the video below or READ more from ABC) – Photo via Logan’s Lions FB

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Chipotle Offers New Benefits to Hourly Workers, Including Tuition Payments

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Jun 11, 2015

A popular American natural fast food restaurant is extending its worker benefits to part-time employees by giving them sick pay, paid vacation time, and even helping pay their college tuition.

Salaried workers with Chipotle Mexican Grill already receive those benefits, but the package will be a huge boost for the company’s roughly 48,500 employees who are paid by the hour.

Chipotle expects the change, which takes effect July 1, to bolster their efforts to recruit high school and college students to work for them, and encourage existing employees to pursue a full-fledged career within the company.

CEO Who Set Minimum Wage at $70K is Swamped With Business Now

It’s the latest announcement in a positive trend for U.S. chain restaurants and other companies responding to public pressure for improved pay and better benefits.

Starbucks announced a program last year, with Arizona State University that allows its workers to go to college online and McDonald’s announced in April it would raise employees’ pay to $1 above local hourly minimum wage requirements at company-owned restaurants starting July 1. In April, Wal-Mart raised salaries for 500,000 workers and insurance company Aetna raised the company’s minimum wage to $16 an hour.

(READ more at CS Monitor) – Photo by JeepersMedia, CC – Story tip: Julia

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NFL Team Signs Youngest Player Ever, Makes 9-yo’s Wish Come True

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Terese Schlachter

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Jun 11, 2015

The Cleveland Browns’ fan base, known as the “Dawg Pound,” traditionally has lots to growl about –with their football team not winning a playoff in 50 years– but a recent move by Head Coach Mike Pettine really sent their tails wagging.

Pettine signed 9-year-old Dylan Sutcliffe to a one-day contract with the team and sent him on the practice field with the Browns for some huddles, plays, and a touchdown.

Hollywood Superheroes Visit Children’s Hospital After Super Bowl Bet

The new tiny linebacker has a rare genetic disorder called ataxia-telangiectasia, which affects his ability to coordinate his movements. But now Dylan is the happiest he’s been in a long time.

When asked how he felt about becoming a “Brown,” Dylan, whose speech is often delayed, replied smoothly, “I think it’s awesome.”

There was loot waiting for him in a locker right next to the one for quarterback Joe Haden, including a hat and a team jersey featuring his own name–and the number 7, which no other player wears.

His favorite player is the biggest guy on the team, defensive lineman Phil Taylor, who weighs in at 335 pounds. On the field, Taylor lifted Dylan, who is in a wheelchair, up in the air while the team huddled around him and gave the Browns cheer (see the Vine video below and click for sound).

Dylan’s dream to meet his favorite team was made possible by the Make-A-Wish Foundation and included an official signing ceremony in front of the news media where he was flanked by Pettine and Browns General Manager Ray.

Watch This Sassy 6-Year-Old Dance to Aretha’s “Respect”

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Jun 10, 2015

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Eagle-Eyed Trucker Saves Bald Eagle’s Life

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Jun 10, 2015

A truck driver just happened to notice something on the side of the road and ended up saving a bald eagle’s life.

Mario Giorbano was driving through upstate New York when he spotted the eagle struggling on the ground, almost hidden in tall grass.

He stopped and ran to help the bird, thinking it was stuck in mud. But when he got closer, he realized it was injured, possibly after a car hit the raptor.

Endangered Species Day: 9 Success Stories to Make You Cheer Today

Giorbano called State Police who stayed with the bird until a pair of wildlife wildlife rehabilitators arrived to recover the eagle and take care of it.

The bald eagle, which is America’s national bird, is no longer an endangered species, and this one is a lot less threatened thanks to a truck driver with eyes like an eagle’s.

(MORE images in slideshow below or READ more at WNYW News) – Photos from New York State Police

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Snapshot Serengeti Lets You Tag “Animal Selfies”

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Jun 10, 2015

Given the chance, some animals are eager to take a selfie, like this playful lemur and a camera-stealing macaque (pictured right).

Another kind of animal self-portrait is created by a camera trap – hidden cameras that take pictures whenever animals get near them. “Snapshot Serengeti” has collected 5.7 million of those animal selfies.

A carnivore researcher named Alexandra Swanson led a team that placed 200 camera traps across 1,100 square miles of the Serengeti in Africa. Now they’ve set up up a website where you can help identify the animals in the pictures. Think of it as tagging your friends.

Like many Facebook photos, there were pictures of wild times…

Swanson sometimes had trouble keeping the cameras working. Elephants would rip them off trees and toss them into the brush.

Hyenas would chew on them…

…until there was nothing left.

Big cats, apparently sniffing a human scent on the cameras, would spray them to mark their territory.

“I’ve seen very intimate photos of cheetahs and servals,” Swanson told the New Yorker.

Her team has published the results of their photo-gathering research in the journal Scientific Data this week.

The millions of pictures her team captured using camera traps between 2010 and 2013 are now online, with some of the best posted to their Facebook page. The photos are stored at the University of Minnesota and you can help “tag” the animal selfies at Serengeti Snapshot’s Zooniverse page.

(READ more at the New Yorker) – Photos by Snapshot Serengeti

23 Famous Failures to Inspire You to Persevere

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Brad Aronson

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Jun 10, 2015

Don’t be afraid to fail. In fact, failures often lead to success.

Take the case of Jack Andraka, the young teen who set out to create a diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer that was better than any doctor’s diagnostic tool.

After Jack wrote a proposal to develop his idea, 199 research labs rejected him. Good thing he didn’t give up after 199 rejections. The 200th time he submitted his idea— to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore — he was accepted.

At the lab Jack developed a test that was 100 times better and 26,000 times cheaper than the current method for detecting pancreatic cancer, and his innovation will save tens of thousands of lives.

Take inspiration from both the famous and the lesser known failures listed in the inspiring article below.

(READ more in Brad Aronson’s blog) – CC Photo from James Duncan Davidson

First Latino U.S. Poet Laureate Named, Weaves English, Spanish into Poems

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Jun 10, 2015

The son of migrant farmworkers, who fled the 1910 Mexican Revolution, has been named the first Latino Poet Laureate of the U.S.

As he announced the selection of Juan Felipe Herrera, the Librarian of Congress, James Billington, compared Herrera’s poems to Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.”

“The honor is bigger than me,” Herrera said in a statement. “It is a miracle of many of us coming together.”

Herrera has published 14 poetry collections and seven other books including short stories, novels, and children’s works – most recently, Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes (2014), recommended for grades 4-8. His poems frequently weave English and Spanish words throughout.

Children’s Book Grows Into a Tree When You Plant It

“I see how (the poems) champion voices, traditions and histories, as well as a cultural perspective, which is a vital part of our larger American identity,” Billington said.

The Library of Congress selects the Poet Laureate, based solely on poetic merit, to serve a one year term. Laureates have few responsibilities with the title, but have held readings and started programs to grow audiences for poetry in the U.S.

Herrera says he wants to use the resources of the Library of Congress to develop “everything I have in me…with the heart-shaped dreams of the people.”

Previously appointed California’s poet laureate in 2012, the author retired in March from the University of California Riverside where he taught creative writing for ten years.

In an excerpt from Let Me Tell You What a Poem Brings, Herrera describes his art in a few lines:

Before you go further,
let me tell you what a poem brings,
first, you must know the secret, there is no poem
to speak of, it is a way to attain a life without boundaries,
yes, it is that easy, a poem, imagine me telling you this. . .

(READ more, w/ photos, at the Los Angeles Times) Photo by slowking, GNU license

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Marathon 18-Patient Kidney Swap Saves Nine People

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Jun 10, 2015

Nine patients received new kidneys from nine living donors in a marathon, 36-hour transplant session.

The carefully coordinated procedure included specially equipped medical vans ferrying donors’ kidneys between two hospitals in San Francisco, California.

The “transplant chain” allows people who are not a compatible match, but who want to donate a kidney to a family member or friend, to effectively trade with someone in the same situation.

World’s First Blood Test To Diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Doctors at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center and California Pacific Medical Center used kidney matching software to connect willing donors with strangers awaiting a new organ.

The donors and patients were matched until there were enough kidneys for all the people joining the chain.

(WATCH the video below or READ more at the Orange County Register) Photo by Scott Maier, USCF Medical Center

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Tesco Grocers to Offer Unsold Fresh Food to British Charities

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Jun 9, 2015

The giant British supermarket Tesco is launching a pilot program to give away the fresh food it can’t sell to those in need.

Tesco officials said nearly 30,000 tons of perishable food like produce, bread and sandwiches were trashed from stores and distribution centers in the last year. That wasted food is now slated to go to women’s and homeless shelters, and school breakfast programs.

“This is potentially the biggest single step we’ve taken to cut food waste, and we hope it marks the start of eliminating the need to throw away edible food in our stores,” Tesco Chief Executive Dave Lewis told Reuters.

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In a statement, Tesco says they’ve partnered with UK food redistribution charity FareShare and Irish non-profit FoodCloud to help with collection and delivery. Store managers will use the FoodCloud app to alert charities to the amount of surplus food available each day.

Rival British stores Sainsbury’s and Morrisons already have similar programs.

Going even further last month, France passed legislation banning big supermarkets from destroying unsold edible food.

(READ more from Reuters) – Photo by Fruitnet.com

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New Green Overpass Will Let Wildlife Cross 6 Lanes of Highway

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Jun 9, 2015

A rendition of the Price Creek crossing site.

Why did the wildlife cross the interstate? Because it had a lush landscaped bridge to do so.

On Tuesday, Washington State Department of Transportation crews broke ground on the state’s first animal overpass, a 150-foot wide-bridge surrounded by native trees and planted with vegetation designed to let bears, elk, otters and even mice pass over the ever-busy I-90 expressway.

The $6 million critter crossing will be the first of more than 20 planned overpasses and underpasses spanning the landscape along Washington’s central Cascade Mountains, designed to let wandering animals get across a 15-mile stretch while 28,000 cars whiz by every day.

Baby Tortoises Survive on Galapagos Island for First Time in 100 Years

Four underpasses are already open and game cameras have caught video of animals from river otters to deer crossing under the highway.

Florida, Montana and other states have built similar animal crossings and America’s northern neighbor built 44 of them along the Trans-Canada Highway. The number of collisions with animals dropped by 80% by the time the Canadian project was finished.

The National Forest Service manages the land and has been pushing for something like this for years–as have state conservationists. Forest Rangers say the project will reunite wildlife populations divided by the highway, allowing animals to more easily find food, homes and even mates, which would broaden the gene pool for rare species.

(WATCH the video below or READ more at the Seattle Times) Image – WSDOT rendering

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Why Is Severus Snape Checking Tickets for American Airlines?

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Jun 9, 2015

We will now Severus you at Gate Nine and Three-Quarters. #SnAApe #AATeam #HarryPotter #LGA pic.twitter.com/dnUJpMplW5
— American Airlines (@AmericanAir) June 5, 2015

David Dolci looks remarkably like Severus Snape from the Harry Potter movies.

Or rather, he looks like Alan Rickman portraying Severus Snape.

Either way, American Airlines finally revealed that Snape is not, in fact, dead, but currently taking boarding passes at this New York airport, and shared some photos on Twitter and Facebook.

Muggles everywhere are delighted:

@AmericanAir YOU FOUND HIM!!!!
— Henry Heming ✈™ (@FOHeming) June 5, 2015

@AmericanAir AA is reducing costs w/ an innovative new "Hire a Wizard" program. Who needs fuel when you've got #SnAApe & Wingardium Leviosa?
— Polkabecky (@polkabecky) June 5, 2015

@AmericanAir There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations on this flight.
— Henry Heming ✈™ (@FOHeming) June 5, 2015

Photo courtesy of American Airlines on Facebook

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Asthma Could Be Cured Within 5 Years With This New Breakthrough

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Jun 9, 2015

asthma-CC- Kathryn Doran-thumbs-up — Asthma sufferer by Kathryn Doran, CC license

Asthma could be cured in five years now that scientists have found the ‘switch’ that can turn off triggers that cause the condition in tens of millions of people worldwide.

Researchers at UK’s Cardiff University and King’s College London identified which cells cause the airways to narrow when exposed to irritants like pollution. Experiments showed that calcium-sensing receptor cells – which detect changes in the environment – become overstimulated in asthmatics, causing airway twitching and inflammation.

Drugs already exist that can deactivate those cells. They are known as calcilytics and are used to treat people with osteoporosis. Researchers found that, when the drug is inhaled, it deactivates the cells and stops all symptoms.

Go Ahead and Let Dogs Lick You, It’s Good for Your Health

“This hugely exciting discovery enables us, for the first time, to tackle the underlying causes of asthma symptoms,” said Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Policy at Asthma UK. “If this research proves successful we may be just a few years away from a new treatment.”

Scientists are hopeful that patients can take the drug to prevent asthma attacks before they start – ending the need to constantly carry an inhaler to end symptoms once an attack has started.

Furthermore, Walker added, “Five percent of people with asthma don’t respond to current treatments, so research breakthroughs could be life-changing for hundreds of thousands of people.”

The discovery could also lead to new treatments for chronic bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease that kills tens of millions of people every year – and for which there currently is no cure.

When Kids Can’t See the Chalkboard – Eye Doctor Donates 100,000 Glasses

Researchers say if clinical trials start soon, and it can be proven that calcilytics are safe when administered directly to the human lung, the treatment that could effectively cure asthma would be available in the next 5 years.

The research, funded by Asthma UK, the Cardiff Partnership Fund, and a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council award, was published in the Science Translational Medicine journal in April.

(WATCH the Cardiff University video below) – Photo by Kathryn Doran, CC

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Kittens on Loan Leads to Happier Workplace For This Office

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