The bright lights of New York attract millions of people to the big city, but they’ll be attracting fewer birds–which is a good thing for endangered songbirds that travel up America’s East Coast every year.
New York’s state government buildings are officially joining the National Audubon Society’s Lights Out initiative to help migrating birds bypass the city and its dangers. The state order follows decisions made at some of the most famous landmarks in The Big Apple — including Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building — to dim their lights. Other cities, including Baltimore, Washington, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Chicago, are also doing their part to dim the lights for birds passing through town– helping annual migratory flocks in the Midwest, too.
Migrating birds often suffer from “fatal light attraction,” a condition that draws them to bright lights and leads them off their flight paths, often causing casualties when they fly into tall buildings in Spring and Fall.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered that non-essential lights be turned off between 11:00 pm and dawn during peak migration times until May 31, then again from August 15 to November 15.
New York leaders have also launched an I Love NY Birding website, highlighting the 450 different species of birds which live inside New York’s state borders.
While the bright lights are a threat to some species, others — like this peregrine falcon seen soaring near the Chrysler Building — thrive in them, nesting atop skyscrapers and soaring on the updrafts created by the city’s man-made canyons.
SHARE (below) with other bird lovers… / Photo credits: (top) dolbinator, CC; (falcon) Terry Turner
This woman is celebrating five years of being diagnosed with a rare disorder.
Why?
Because for thirty years, she thought she’d been living with something else, something a lot more serious.
When she was four-years-old, Jean Sharon Abbott, now 38, was told she had a form of cerebral palsy which caused painful muscle spasms and tremors. What she actually has, as she found out in 2010, is a rare disorder called Dopa-Responsive Dystonia, which can be treated with just a single pill.
Within two days she was able to walk. Now she enjoy simple pleasures like cooking dinner, walking with her children to the bus stop, and driving them to their after-school activities.
Jean is the poster child for gratitude, saying, despite the pain and incapacitation, she still had a “fantastic childhood” – thanks in large part to the support of her family and real friends – and says she has no regrets. “My life experiences made me who I am today – and I like me,” she told the Daily Mail.
According to the National Institutes of Heath DRD is frequently misdiagnosed, since it also causes involuntary muscle movements.
Abbott is now an advocate for raising DRD awareness through social media, YouTube and blog posts. Her followers say she’s helped them recognize the symptoms in themselves and others.
As he prepares to end his 16-year run as host of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart has spent some money and time on greener pastures of the farm variety. He and his wife Tracey bought a farm in New Jersey that will soon provide a new home for rescued farm animals.
On the Daily Show, Jon has shown some disdain for the worst practices of the livestock industry. He devoted an 8-minute comedy segment to the absurdity of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s refusal to sign a bill that would end the lifelong confinement of pigs in crates so small they can’t even turn around. And in an April episode, he interviewed the president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, a national group dedicated to changing the way society views and treats farm animals. They discussed his new book, Living the Farm Sanctuary Life: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Mindfully.
In November, Tracey Stewart purchased Farm Sanctuary sponsorships for all of the family’s Thanksgiving guests. She also brought their children to meet the animals at one of the three shelters run by the group.
The animal loving Stewart household includes four dogs, two horses, two pigs, three rabbits, two guinea pigs, two hamsters, one parrot and two fish. Even with all those pets, “promises of animal shelter visits in exchange for completed homework” are motivational gold for the parents.
For all of these reasons and more, Farm Sanctuary named a pair of rescued sheep in their honor. Jon and Tracey gave birth to a lamb, too, which was named Hazleton in honor of the couple’s son.
Learn more about Farm Sanctuary, which operates three shelters in New York and California providing lifelong care for nearly 1,000 rescued farm animals, and their efforts to change laws to promote compassionate, visit farmsanctuary.org.
(WATCH Jon Stewart’s interview with Gene Baur below)
Instead of dumping more CO2 into the environment through its tailpipes, this German car company is recycling carbon dioxide to make green fuel.
Audi has successfully created a high-quality diesel fuel by combining water and C02 and started producing it earlier this week at their research facility in Dresden.
“If we can make widespread use of CO2 as a raw material, we will make a crucial contribution to climate protection and the efficient use of resources, and put the fundamentals of the “green economy” in place,” said Federal Minister of Education and Research Professor Dr. Johanna, who put the first five liters into her own Audi A8 3.0 yesterday.
The Dresden energy technology corporation sunfire, Audi’s project partner, operates according to the power‑to‑liquid principle, using green power to produce a liquid fuel.
The science of it all breaks down like this: water is heated up to form steam, then broken down into hydrogen and oxygen by means of high-temperature electrolysis. Then, the hydrogen reacts with the CO2 in synthesis reactors, creating a reaction product made from long‑chain hydrocarbon compounds known as “blue crude.”
The CO2 used is currently supplied by a biogas facility. In addition, initially a portion of the CO2 needed is extracted from the ambient air by means of direct air capturing, a technology of Audi’s Zurich‑based partner Climeworks. The synthetic e-fuel is free from sulfur and aromatic hydrocarbons, and tests show it is suitable for mixing with fossil diesel or, prospectively, for use as a fuel in its own right.
“In developing Audi e-diesel we are promoting another fuel based on CO2 that will allow long‑distance mobility with virtually no impact on the climate,” said Reiner Mangold, Head of Sustainable Product Development at Audi. “Using CO2 as a raw material represents an opportunity not just for the automotive industry in Germany, but also to transfer the principle to other sectors and countries.”
(READ more from Audi) – Story submitted by Jéan van wyngaardt
The staff at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital used to be known for wearing baseball jerseys touting the building’s legendary namesake, but their new uniform has a giggle factor that brings out the best in young patients.
Not only the nurses, but even the parking valet, in this Hollywood, Florida medical center proudly don tutus once a week to make little patients forget their woes.
The fun started last summer when operating assistant Tony Smith wore a multicolor tutu over his scrubs to entertain a young patient heading to surgery. Before he knew it, a photo of him clad in a zany skirt became a social media hit and “Tutu Tuesdays” was born.
More than 150 employees–from doctors to administrators– waltz weekly down the hallways in colorful tulle. Even Nutmeg the therapy pooch has a custom pink tutu.
“I never knew I would have that much impact. I didn’t expect it to go viral,” Smith told WTVJ.
Where are all of these tutus coming from? They are supplied by the resident clown, of course.
(WATCH Associated Press video below, or READ more from WTVJ)
What could a man do if the entire banking industry suddenly made it impossible for him to continue doing business because they stopped giving loans to his customers? David Fishwick, a short, balding powder-keg of a man, decided he would simply create his own bank — the “Bank of Dave.” It was an instant success, with hundreds of people in Burnley, England lining up down the block to give him $1.8 million worth of business the first day. But it took a lot of scrappy fighting to get there.
Railing against the big banks, Fishwick’s public rants – sometimes profane, always amusing – led to his own Channel 4 TV series called, “Bank of Dave.” The series followed his frustrating efforts to open a community bank in his hometown, 200 miles north of London. The show made fun of the rules and regulators in the UK– and made Dave into a national hero.
Though Fishwick cusses like a sailor, he exudes movie star charisma and can instantly sum up populist anger over banks and their tight-fisted policies.
“[Bankers] gambled away billions of pounds of our money and we bailed them out with billions more,” Fishwick told the Daily Mail. “And they still pay themselves obscene bonuses and refuse to lend money to businesses fighting for their lives. It’s disgusting.”
By selling minibuses, Dave became a self-made millionaire before his 30th birthday. Happy to run his small business, Fishwick never set out to become a banker or a celebrity. But that all changed when the recession hit in 2008.
His customers couldn’t get loans to buy his buses because big banks were sitting on their money, afraid to take the risk of offering loans. It made no sense to Fishwick, who knew his customers and knew they would make good on their debt. The banks were essentially damaging his business, so he thought, ‘Why don’t I just lend the money myself.’
When he tried to get a banking license, regulators told Fishwick he didn’t have the right education, or even the right parentage, to qualify, and said he would go to prison if he used the words “bank” or “deposit” in his business plan. A ‘Dave and Goliath’ showdown was in the making.
By challenging the policies and layers of red tape, Fishwick’s crusade finally led to changes in banking regulations. He was allowed to set up Burnley Savings and Loans in 2011 and he cheekily avoided prison for his use of the word ‘bank’ by using it as an advertising slogan, “You can Bank on Dave.”
One-upping the English financial institutions in almost every way, his S&L pays 5% return on savings accounts. He offers lower interest rates on loans–– from 8.9% to 14.9%, instead of the typical 17.4% to 29%. Most definitely, he doesn’t pay himself bonuses. In fact, all profits from his Savings and Loan go to charity.
Politicians are finally coming around to Dave’s way of thinking. In Parliament, MP Steve Baker told RT News, “In his comical, kind of crazy way he is showing the way to a better banking system, which is responsible, local and in touch with entrepreneurship — which could actually be the basis for going forwards.”
Thanks to Fishwick, it is now easier for such community institutions to crop up in other towns and cities around the UK. Nearly seven years after he launched his bid to open a bank, he’s been told he’ll actually receive his license sometime later this year. Then, maybe he’ll change the name to simply, “Bank of Dave.”
Yet, he is not done crusading on behalf of the little guy. He’s now going after predatory lenders and pay-day loans in a new TV series, “Loan Ranger” and he’s working on yet another series with Channel 4 that will focus on property law in the UK.
Back in the 1970s, comedian Steve Martin joked that if you’re going to start a bank, “You’ve got to give it the right name. It’s gotta be something big and strong like ‘Security First Trust and Federal Reserve’ … because nobody’s gonna put their money in ‘Fred’s Bank.’”
But in the UK, people fed up with High Street bankers now have good reasons to be confident in a bank simply called, Dave’s.
(WATCH an RT news report, and Dave’s own clip below) / Story tip from Men In Blazers
A clever Louisiana firefighter used his mobile ringtone to assist in a unique rescue last Saturday evening.
After a neighbor reported seeing ducklings fall down a storm drain in Slidell, firefighter Cody Knech used the duck-call on his iPhone to impersonate the Mallards’ mother and draw them out.
An exercise in patience, it took an hour and a half for the guys from St. Tammany Fire District 1 to rescue four of the six siblings. The last two were lifted out a bit later. The brood was reunited with their mother in the canal behind the home where the rescue took place.
According to KPLC, this is the second duck rescue in less than a week. Louisiana public official Randy Cheaney rescued 14 ducklings from a storm drain in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
(WATCH the rescue via Facebook below or READ more from NBC News) – Story tip from Denny Hall
Fire Chief – Chris KaufmannFor Immediate Release April 26, 2015Baby Ducks Rescued from Storm DrainSlidell, LA. – On Saturday, April 25, 2015 at approximately 5:24 pm, St. Tammany Fire District #1 responded to a call for baby ducks trapped in a storm drain. The incident occurred on Oak Tree Dr. in the Fairways subdivision in Slidell. A neighbor reported seeing a number of baby ducks fall into a storm drain. Upon arriving on the scene, firefighters verified that several baby Mallard ducks were trapped in the storm drain. Firefighters removed the top cover of the drain to gain access to the ducks. Firefighter Cody Knecht got down in the drain to try and capture the ducks. Captain Chuck Davis, Fire Operator Jason Theriot, and Fire Prevention Officer Billy Dekemel assisted from above. With the help of a duck call ringtone on his iPhone, Firefighter Knecht was able to lure the baby ducks to him. It took about an hour and a half to rescue four of the six baby ducks. Unable to capture the other two baby ducks, the crew went back to the fire station to give the ducks a chance to calm dawn. They returned about an hour later and rescued the two remaining baby ducks. All of the baby ducks were reunited with their mother in the canal behind the home where the incident took place.St. Tammany Fire District #1 responds to numerous public service calls such as these each year. This is the second duck rescue call in less than a week. Firefighters are always eager to help and enjoy giving back to the community. Fire Chief Chris Kaufmann has stressed to our citizens, “If you don’t know who to call for help, call us”.For more information about St. Tammany Fire Protection District #1 visit us at www.slidellfire.org or follow us on Facebook - St. Tammany Fire District #1 and Twitter - @SlidellFire_PIOChad DuffautChief of Fire Prevention/PIOcduffaut@slidellfire.org
An experimental drug combination dissolved a cancerous tumor so fast, it caught researchers completely off-guard. The two-drug combo completely eliminated a woman’s melanoma — and left her completely cancer-free — in just three weeks.
Researchers were surprised at how well the drug combination worked, shrinking tumors at least 80% in more than half of the 142 patients in the trial. And the combination completely eradicated tumors in 22% of patients.
In the rapid recovery case, a 49-year-old woman was given the drugs to treat a large tumor on her chest. Doctors continued to monitor her after the treatment and she remains cancer-free. (The image on the left shows the cancer mass with an asterisk* and the photo on the right is magnified)
“I was astonished; I’d never seen anything like that,” Dr. Paul Chapman, head of the melanoma section at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York told Live Science. “She said the tumor had just kind of dissolved.”
Chapman was lead author of the research report published in the New England Journal of Medicine about the trial, part of research needed for the FDA to approve combined use of the drugs.
The woman, and others in the trial, were treated with a process called immunotherapy — using drugs to boost a person’s own immune system to fight cancer. It’s a relatively new approach to treating deadly melanoma.
The patients were given two FDA-approved melonoma drugs already being used to treat the cancer, but not used in combination before — ipilimumab (sold under the brand name Yervoy) and nivolumab (brand name Opdivo).
Ipilimumab allows the body to override part of the immune system, turning loose waves of immune cells to kill cancer cells. Nivolumab strengthens certain immune cells, called “T cells,” preventing them from dying and allowing them to continue attacking cancer longer.
Chapman says the tests confirm a suspicion doctors and researchers have had for a long time that the immune system can fight cancer. This research may open new doors in unleashing that potential.
Armed with brooms and trash bags, volunteers have marched into the streets of Baltimore, turning out in force to clean up “Charm City” after protests left shops damaged and debris in the streets. Nearly 3,000 people have signed up for impromptu events running through May 5.
“Let’s get together and help affected communities/businesses remove debris,” reads the description on the Baltimore clean-up effort Facebook page. “Bring heavy duty trash bags, gloves, brooms, dust pans, trash cans, containers, and anything else that would help.”
Local news reports show large groups of people, scattered around the city, already sweeping sidewalks and clearing streets.
The Facebook group has posted meeting locations and trash drop-off sites and has a spreadsheet of addresses that need to be cleaned up. It invites people to post links to groups heading up efforts and asks people to let them know of places in town that need volunteers.
Dozens of people have posted to the page offering to help — one man saying he’d bring his pickup truck within an hour, and offering to bring pizza, too.
Still other posts reflect Baltimoreans’ fierce prided in their city and loyalty to one another above all their differences.
“It’s a different Baltimore today, “ Ric Lee commented. He posted the photo above, showing his friends and himself joining the clean up. “We didn’t know each other. Now, we do.”
Shana Peeples, who teaches advanced English at Amarillo’s Palo Duro High School, has done wonders for kids who might normally remain invisible, both inside and out of the classroom.
Viet Tran, 21, a former student now studying neurobiology on a scholarship to Harvard, who came to the U.S. in 1998, told the AP that he wouldn’t be where he is today without Peeples’ help. Peeples has a history of personally convincing immigrant families like Tran’s to allow their children to stay in school instead of forcing them to quit and work instead. She has also encouraged teens to pursue college education instead of settling for “dead-end jobs.”
Additionally, her experience growing up with an often dysfunctional family has also helped her connect with children who have come to Texas from war-torn countries like Somalia, Ethiopia and Iraq.
Peeples will spend the next year attending 150 events and speaking about how poverty affects education in America.
“A lot of Americans don’t understand how hard it is to try to learn when you’re hungry, or when you’re sick and can’t afford to go to the doctor, or when you have to move out of your home in the middle of the night because you can’t afford the rent,” she told the AP.
Shana Peeples said on CBS This Morning, the most exciting thing about being a teacher is that “you can help write the end of the story for every kid.”
(WATCH the video below from CBS or READ more from AP)
On Monday, Chipotle Mexican Grill became the first major American restaurant chain to swear off the use of genetically engineered ingredients.
Steve Ells, founder and co-chief executive of Chipotle said, “Just because food is served fast doesn’t mean it has to be made with cheap raw ingredients, highly processed with preservatives and fillers and stabilizers and artificial colors and flavors.”
‘In 2013, Chipotle was the first restaurant chain to indicate which items contained genetically modified organisms,” according to the NY Times.
The Food and Drug Administration maintains that GMOs are safe. Most of the country’s corn and soybean crops are genetically modified to be able to resist plant diseases, says a CBS news report about Chipotle’s decision.
Known for his amazing vocals, Boys II Men member Nathan Morris is now lending his voice and celebrity to a great cause.
After hearing about Charles Gladden, a Washington, D.C. man who works in the Senate cafeteria, but has lived on the streets for eight years, he launched a crowd-funding initiative to help him out.
CNN reports that Gladden, who suffers from diabetes, has juggled two jobs, as a janitor and dishwasher, giving most of his $360 a week pay to his children and grandchildren.
Morris set an initial fundraising goal of $10,000, an amount that he’s promised to match with a donation from his Boys II Men House Foundation.
Since the campaign launched on Sunday, he’s already raised $21,000 from strangers who want to give Gladden a new life.
“Even if you are unable to donate anything, just take a minute to let this man’s story rest in your heart,” Nathan wrote on the Go Fund Me site.
(WATCH the video below or READ more at WGHP-TV 8) – Photo by Luis Avilesortiz, CC
The second Nala’s paws touch the floor, she’s off in search of those who need a visit.
The pup has free run of the Lyngblomsten care center in St. Paul, Minnesota, and makes her own schedule in terms of who she’ll see and when.
After a nursing home gave up the five-year-old poodle because she was “whiny,” Doug Dawson scooped her right up and brought her to Lyngblomstem. Here, she is literally considered to be a perfect little Angel, sent from above.
”I was like, where did this little bean come from? She’s here for a purpose,” Dawson, who dispenses medicine at the home, told KARE-TV. “She’ll pick out the person with Alzheimers. She has a way of picking the sick.”
If she needs to get to the second or third floor, someone will push the buttons for her, and off she goes, alone.
Nala may not be a trained therapy dog, but she knows when someone needs extra comfort.
24 hours before the video above was posted, she sought out and stayed with a woman who passed away later that day.
(WATCH the video above or READ the story at KARE-11– NOTE* auto playing page so adjust your speakers)
His mother said he’d do the same thing even if no one were watching, but someone was –– and now the whole world is looking.
Last week, 18-year-old Christian Trouesdale left the Aldi food store where he worked so he could walk home an elderly man named Bob. Christian toted his groceries and held Bob’s hand, while Samantha-Jayne Brady snapped a photo.
Brady posted it on Facebook and wrote that while Bob wasn’t very agile or fast, Christian was patient and kind.
“It was a lovely thing to witness and they seemed to be having a good chit-chat along their way,” she said. “I desperately want this lad to get some kind of recognition from his workplace so if this gave you a little more faith in mankind.”
The social media universe went crazy for the photo. Fans sent messages of support and called for other youth to follow the good-neighbor example. The quarter-million Likes on her Facebook page also spurred Samantha to set up a non-profit elderly grocery service, something she’s always wanted to do.
Christian’s father, Darren, posted a follow-up photo on Facebook as well, and wrote that Christian has since called Bob to make sure he’s ok and to share the news about their viral photo.
“Bob was delighted with his new found fame at his old age. He was saying we should be proud to have a caring son like him. It really made our day and are proud to have him now as a friend,” he wrote.
On Sunday, Christian and his manager showed up at Brady’s home with flowers and wine, thanking her for her help in spreading the love.
Vegas is a lucky horse, but it wasn’t always that way.
After suffering abuse by her previous owner, she had a hard time learning to trust again. When the SPCA of Texas adopted her out to new mom Jordan Henderson, there was a lot of work to do.
Thanks to a ton of tender loving care, Vegas became a well-adjusted horse. She loved giving trail rides, eating Sonic tater tots, and her new boyfriend, Fuego.
“Vegas and Fuego had an instant connection as soon as we turned her out in the pasture with him,” Henderson said. “He is the dominant horse in the pasture, but never ran Vegas around like he does the others. “
They even travel as a couple to get their hooves trimmed and balanced.
“They noticed the first time the farrier stopped by that Vegas became very anxious and talkative when left by herself. The day Vegas was introduced back into the pasture after a 2-and-a-half week period by herself, they were so happy to be reunited that they couldn’t even wait until I got the gate open to be nose-to-nose.”
To boot, Vegas never goes out trail riding without “whinnying something to Fuego,” with a glance back at her lover in the pasture.
Here’s hoping for eternal blue skies as they ride off into the sunset.
A biotech company Friday announced phase III clinical trial results for a drug that was shown to decrease the progress of Multiple Sclerosis, and in some cases led to a “significant improvement” for sufferers.
“This is the first time that a drug has been able to decrease the rate of disease progression in addition to improving a significant proportion of patients with progressive MS,” said Frederic Sedel, CEO of MedDay Pharmaceuticals.
154 patients suffering from primary or secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis participated in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
The study demonstrated evidence of the efficacy and safety of MD1003, a highly-concentrated pharmaceutical-grade biotin administered at a dose of 300 mg per day.
MD1003 was designed to address a major area of unmet medical need and was “well tolerated” by patients. The overall incidence of adverse events was similar across the two groups.
A neurology professor, Ayman Tourbah, principal investigator of the study, said, “We are encouraged by the outcomes of this pioneering and stringently designed MS-SPI trial. The fact that no patient in the placebo group met the primary endpoint indicates that the study bar was designed to be very high. The significant proportion of patients showing improvement at twelve months, coupled with the decrease in risk of disease progression demonstrated here, makes MD1003 a potentially important new therapy for patients and clinicians in the field of MS.”
Further analyses is planned, as well as MRI studies which might provide additional data about the mechanism of action. A second Phase III placebo-controlled trial is underway looking at the effect of MD1003 in MS patients with permanent visual loss. Results from that trial are expected later this year and MedDay is likely to file for licensing approval with the relevant drug agencies.
The data was presented for the first time on Friday at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in Washington DC. The detailed data is expected to be published in a peer review journal.
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The brilliant Stephen Hawking told a laughing audience Saturday that he’s finally been asked a question about “something important”. Millions of heartbroken teen fans would agree.
While appearing in the form of a hologram streamed from Cambridge, England, Hawking, 73, was asked to reveal the cosmological effect of Zayn Malik leaving the best-selling boy band, One Direction. Without a beat, Hawking reminded the audience to pay close attention to theoretical physics. Dry those tears because Zayn may, in fact, still be a band member–in a parallel universe.
The celebrated English scientist, whose story of being struck with Lou Gehrig’s disease at age of 21 was immortalized in an Oscar nominated film, The Theory of Everything, was speaking to a group at the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
Zayn Malik left the superstar pop band last month after five years saying, “I’d like to apologize to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but . . . I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.”
This young man literally has his best friend’s back.
For the past three years, Xie Xu, 18, has carried his best friend Zhang Chi, 19, to school every single morning and throughout the day as they travel to classes together. Zhang has muscular dystrophy, a disorder that weakens the muscles over time.
Xie, who is 5’7, has offered his back to Zhang nearly a dozen times daily throughout the school year. The task is entirely a volunteer job, like bringing him all of his meals. But Xie loves it. The partnership extended into their schoolwork, as both of these young men are the top students in their class.
“The story of the two students is so inspiring and touching. They aren’t family, but [Xie] has been doing this for three years. He’s the most beautiful student,” said Guo Chunxi, the vice headmaster of Daxu High School told local media. “He also exerts positive influence on other students, who readily help Zhang. With their assistance, Zhang has never missed out on one single class.”
A 60-year-old homeless woman named Smokie has been sleeping outside in the dirt a few doors down from a man named Elvis Summers.
Most mornings, she stops by Elvis’s Los Angeles apartment and asks if he has any recyclables for her. Through these conversation, they struck up a friendship.
One morning, Elvis saw a news article about a man in Oakland who has been making tiny houses out of discarded material. He was inspired to put off paying a few bills so he could buy the lumber and hardware to make Smokie a brand new shelter. It took him five days to build, and now, for the first time in ten years, Smokie has a place to hang the sign, ‘Home Sweet Home.’
“I had nowhere to really build it, so I just built it in the street outside of my apartment,” he told Good News Network. “The local LAPD cops have been super cool, and have told me they support it–as long as we move it to a different spot every 72 hours.”
He made this nifty time-lapse video showing how he did it. The materials, including two locks on the front door and sturdy wheels for moving it around, cost him about $500.
“I’ve met so many homeless people, good people,” Elvis said in an email. “Since I built Smokie’s, I’ve had several people ask me to make them a tiny home and it’s turned into much more than just the one house I wanted to build.”
Although he runs an online retail store that sells EDM apparel, he decided to launch an ambitious project to fund more shelters. He plans to get lighter and cheaper materials—without sacrificing the strength of the house—for the next round. Rick Sassen, branch manager at supply company Allied Building kindly donated the roof shingles and cedar siding for Smokie’s house, final items Elvis couldn’t afford on his own. Sassen has promised to work out a deal on future building materials for the same cause.
Thus, the spikey-haired do-gooder has launched “Mythpla” (My Tiny House Project LA) with a crowdfunding campaign for those who want to help, on GoFundMe.
“I’d like to offer purpose to these people in need and hire them to build the houses with me. I’ve even set an appointment with LA’s Mayor Eric Garcetti to try and get his help,” said Elvis. “The city owns or controls many otzyvycasino properties which are just sitting collecting dust and could be used, even temporarily, to help save lives.”
Because Summers qualifies for a free phone through the free phone program, he’s given his device to Smokie and helps her keep it charged. She has been using it to contact her family.
“Now if I could just get her to stop using the radio on the phone so much, it wouldn’t always be dead and need charging so often,” he said laughing.
Three male Amur tiger cubs were born at the Columbus Zoo on April 21, weighing just 2.5 lbs. each.
The cubs are being hand reared after the female failed to show maternal care and nurse them. But the cubs are “thriving” in the Animal Health Center’s incubator.
“We are always cautiously optimistic about the survival of fragile newborns,” said President and CEO Tom Stalf. “But the cubs seem to be thriving under the 24-hour care provided by our animal specialists and veterinarians.”
These are the first cubs for ten-year-old female, Irisa, although the Zoo team and the Tiger Species Survival Plan had hoped for years she would reproduce and pass on her valuable genes. This is the third litter sired by eleven-year-old, Foli, since 2012.
With the addition of the three cubs there are currently 10 Amur tigers at the Columbus Zoo including four cubs born in 2013 and their mother, Mara.
Amur tigers, also historically referred to as Siberian tigers, are critically endangered, with fewer than 400 individuals believed to exist in the forests of the Russian Far East.
Currently there are fewer than 150 Amur tigers in 50 certified zoos in North America. These tigers are considered pedigreed since they have a known ancestry and breeding recommendations to maintain genetic diversity are managed by a studbook.
