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Inspired by Hometown Visit, Madonna Opens Her Wallet to Detroit

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Excited by the progress she’d witnessed on a recent visit to Detroit, Madonna announced yesterday the” first phase of a long-term commitment” to help revitalize her Bay City hometown.

As a former resident of Detroit and Rochester, Michigan, she will begin by contributing to three “extraordinary organizations” that have already begun to bring hope and change to the city.

The Downtown Youth Boxing Gym which provides free after-school boxing and educational mentoring will get funding for a new facility. The Detroit Achievement Academy, a free public charter school located in the poorest zip code of Michigan but with the highest performing students in Detroit, will receive new equipment for art and music programs. The third group to receive funding will be the Empowerment Plan, a nonprofit organization employing homeless women to sew garments that serve as both a coat and a sleeping bag which are distributed to the homeless.

“I was deeply inspired by the efforts of so many people who I met who have dedicated themselves to helping the kids and adults in Detroit elevate themselves from the cycle of poverty,” Madonna said in a statement.

“I have seen the results their commitment and hard work have already accomplished. From meeting the kids at Downtown Youth Boxing Gym who have a 100% high school graduation rate, to seeing how eager the students at the Detroit Achievement Academy are to learn about the arts, to understanding the value of giving homeless women the opportunity to become self-sufficient through The Empowerment Plan, it was obvious to me that I had to get involved and be part of the solution to help Detroit recover.”

“A piece of my heart will always be in Detroit and I’m humbled to be able to give back to my community,” she added.

The city of Detroit is trying to emerge from the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history with 60% of Detroit’s children living in poverty.Santa to Detroit projects Mike Chase -family photoDOWNTOWN YOUTH BOXING GYM (DYBG) – Madonna is making a significant donation toward the building of a new facility for DYBG which provides a safe haven for neighborhood kids and provides free after-school boxing and educational mentoring to 65 kids per year in Detroit’s east side community. The DYBG’S current building has been condemned. Graduation rates in this community average between 17-32%. However, 100% of DYBG students have graduated high school. DYBG provides mentoring, guidance, life-skills and hope. All kids are required to do their school work before boxing. “I am thrilled for our kids and our program that Madonna has chosen us as part of her effort to rebuild Detroit,” said founder and head coach Khali Sweeney. “Her support of the Youth Program helps us move forward with our plans for a new building and expanding our reach to help more Detroit students pursue their education.”

DETROIT ACHIEVEMENT ACADEMY (DAA)- Madonna will be providing DAA with new equipment, art and music supplies including speakers, iPods, iPads and Smart Boards for each classroom. DAA currently serves 45 kindergarten and first grade students with plans to continue curriculum up to 12th grade in the years ahead. “Madonna’s generous gift will help create a level of arts enrichment that is only found in the highest performing schools in the country. We’re incredibly thrilled by her kindness,” commented DAA’s founder Kyle Smitley.

homeless coat/sleeping bag is called Element-S (for survival)THE EMPOWERMENT PLAN serves the homeless community by providing job training as full-time seamstresses, financial security, self-esteem and steady employment to 13 homeless women while giving them an opportunity to transition out of the shelter into secure housing.

These women are taught to create a garment that serves as both a coat and a sleeping bag for the homeless. Commented Veronika Scott, the organization’s CEO/founder, “Madonna’s contribution will support the job training and education for three additional homeless women to join The Empowerment Plan. Through steady employment and financial security, her generosity will make a lasting impact on these women as they become self-sufficient, rediscover their confidence and independence and provide stability for their children.”

When Madonna visited Detroit in early June, she sent out Instagram photos from stops at the three groups she announced funding for. In the photo above (top), she visited the Empowerment Plan.

Right On! First B.C. Right Whale Sighting in 62 Years

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After 62 years, there’s new hope for one of the rarest animals on earth. A lone Pacific right whale has been sighted off the BC coast near Haida Gwaii.

Canadian scientist, environmentalist and media personality David Suzuki says he never imagined that a right whale would ever be seen again off the Western shores of Canada.

“This news is about as exciting as it gets for this once abundant giant whale and for all those who care deeply about the survival of critically endangered species.”

Right whales, once abundant throughout the North Pacific, were reduced dramatically in the 1800s by hunters. Only a “few tens of animals” were thought to have survived in the eastern North Pacific, according to Suzuki.

“This rare sighting brings us hope that with careful conservation measures, resilient ecosystems can, indeed, rebound,” said Suzuki in a blog post.

(READ more from DavidSuzuki.com)

Photo: Dr. John Ford, Dept of Fisheries and Oceans

Beachgoers Help Beached Manatee Back to Water (Video)

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crowd_help-lift-manatee-WESHvideo

Dozens of beach bathers and boaters helped care for a stranded manatee until wildlife officials could arrive on Ponce Inlet in Florida Wednesday.

They erected shade and kept the huge animal hydrated and moist.

Every pair of arms was needed to help hoist the sea cow back to the ocean under the direction of Fish and Wildlife biologists.


(WATCH the video from WESH, or READ their transcript available here)

State Will Pay You to Take Up Beekeeping

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Demonstrating the value of honey bees, Virginia’s state government has allocated $125,000 for another year of grants to encourage new beehive construction.

The annual grants have come since 2012 in response to the alarming trend of bees dying from colony collapse, parasites, pesticides, and disease. Bees and other pollinators are vitally important to the agricultural industry and our food supply.

Residents of Virginia, at least 18 years of age, who either purchase a new hive or purchase materials or supplies to construct a new hive may apply for a grant from the Beehive Grant Fund. Each grant shall be in the amount of actual expenses incurred for the purchase of items to establish a new hive up to $200 per hive, not to exceed $2,400 per individual per year. (Watch the video below)

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its own program on June 20 for boosting honey bee populations.

$8 million in incentives were designated for Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin farmers and ranchers who establish new habitats for bees. More than half of the commercially managed honey bees are in these five states during the summer. The allocation comes in addition to $3 million designated to the Midwest states to support bee populations earlier this year.

USDA says the program encourages the management or replacing of existing vegetation, known as ‘cover’ or forage, with high nutrition seed mixes that can support distinct blooming cycles of plants that benefit pollinators. Honey bees, the pollinator workhorse of U.S. fruit and vegetable agriculture, will have more blooms from which to collect nectar and pollen to sustain and promote colony growth and honey production throughout the growing season.

With more than 130 fruits and vegetable crops depending on the health and well-being of honey bees, President Obama issued a memorandum on June 20 directing U.S. government agencies to take additional steps to protect and restore domestic pollinators. A new Pollinator Health Task Force was established to focus federal efforts, conduct research and take action to help pollinators recover from population losses.

You can apply for a Virginia grant at www.vdacs.virginia.gov/plant&pest/hivegrant and learn more about the USDA efforts here.

WATCH the video below…

Top Photo by Christian Guthier – CC license

Digital Privacy Gets Lift From Supreme Court: ‘Get A Warrant’

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In a rare show of unity, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled last week that police need a warrant before searching the cellphone (or personal electronic device) of a person under arrest.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion: “Modern cell phones, as a category, implicate privacy concerns far beyond those implicated by the search of a cigarette pack, a wallet, or a purse,” Roberts wrote.

“A cell phone search would typically expose to the government far more than the most exhaustive search of a house: A phone not only contains in digital form many sensitive records previously found in the home; it also contains a broad array of private information never found in a home in any form — unless the phone is,” Roberts wrote.

(READ the story from Politico)

Happy 150th to Yosemite Park!

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By Jeff Krause Photography on Flickr – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Yosemite at sunrise by Jeff Krause Photography on Flickr – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The giant sequoias that tower hundreds of feet into the sky inspire more than a million people to visit Yosemite every year. They also inspired President Abraham Lincoln to sign an unprecedented piece of legislation on June 30, 1864, in the midst of the Civil War. The Yosemite Grant protected these Northern California trees, as well as Yosemite Valley, and paved the way for the first U.S. national park.

“This was the first time in the history of the world that a piece of land had been set aside for all people for preservation,” said Yosemite spokesperson Scott Gediman. “It truly is the beginning of the National Park movement, incredibly significant not only for the park, but for California, for the nation and for the world.”

(WATCH the June 28 video, or READ the story from KFSN Fresno) 

Zack’s Shack: Boy’s Lemonade and Cookies Buy Wheelchairs for World’s Poor

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Zachs_Shack_lemondade_stand-LDS-Philanthropies

After a 6-year-old boy saw his school collecting money to buy wheelchairs for a charity that sends them overseas to developing countries, he had the idea that maybe he could buy his own wheelchair for donating. He couldn’t even pronounce the word “philanthropist”, but he became the poster boy definition of one.

Zach Francom’s lemonade and cookie stand is now in its fifth year of charity work and his efforts have to date paid for nearly 250 wheelchairs.

The annual event, staged over a single weekend around spring break in front of his family’s home, has become a Provo, Utah institution.

This past April, Zack sold 350 dozen cookies baked by his mom, Nancy Bird, and 80 quarts of lemonade, earning $5,300 – enough to buy another 37 wheelchairs (basic models now cost $143), which are shipped by LDS Philanthropies to Guatemala, Guam and 53 other countries, where a wheelchair can often cost more than a year’s wages.

His fundraising hub is online at ItFeelsGreatToGive.com and on the Zach’s Shack Facebook page.

(READ more from PEOPLE magazine – and WATCH the video below)

Photo courtesy of LDS Philanthropies

 

Bill Gates Touts Power Of Optimism in Touching Commencement Speech

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In a June commencement address at Stanford University, Bill and Melinda Gates explained the power of optimism, which is at the root of the most important innovations.

Jillian D’Onfro summarized it this way in the Business Insider:

Both Gates shared stories about times when they witnessed heart-breaking circumstances. Bill described visiting an over-crowded tuberculosis hospital in South Africa that felt like “hell with a waiting list.” The people there had MDR-TB — multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis — which has a cure rate of under 50 percent. The hospital was extremely depressing, but Gates didn’t let that reduce his optimism: Instead he left with an even fiercer determination to figure out a solution to this crushing problem. Now, several years later, there’s a new TB drug regime in its third phase of testing that could boost patients’ cure rates to between 80 and 90%.

“Optimism is often dismissed as false hope,” Gates said. “But there is also false hopelessness. That’s the attitude that says we can’t defeat poverty and disease. We absolutely can.”

(READ the article from Business Insider – or WATCH the 24 min. speech below)

Mystery LOVE signs overtake New Orleans’ streets

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LOVE-sign-CBSvideo

In New Orleans, Louisiana, like any city in America, there are thousands of signs.

But one sign, that simply says “Love” is popping up on telephone poles all over the city.

Two men who wish to remain anonymous hoped the signs would help people to become better citizens.

(WATCH the video below by Steve Hartman and CBS News)

Photo from the CBS video

Fog Catchers Pull Water From Air in Chile’s Dry Fields

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Where the cold waters of the Humboldt current meet the dry hot air along northern Chile, a thick fog rises up off the Pacific and is blown inland over the arid coast. On these barren steppes just south of the Atacama desert lies a lush forest where trees suck moisture from the fog.

“A new team from Chile and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is mimicking these natural fog catchers to provide water for drinking and crop irrigation in this parched region.”

(READ the story at NewScientist.com)

Our Life, Your Life, My Life HAS A PURPOSE!

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Eileen DeStefano
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got-purpose-graphic-INSPIKS_Inspirational_Pictures

How long it takes us to figure out what is our purpose depends on our circumstances, our past, and whether or not we GIVE up. As for me, I am not giving up, I am a servant and will always be a servant, helping people in all circumstances is what I’ve done the majority of my life, and THAT seems to be my purpose.

For years I worked and got a paycheck, but one day I lost it all. It wasn’t anything I did or didn’t do. I was in a job I loved, with people I knew. I just became complacent. I thought I was okay. I thought I was taken care of, and I KNEW that nothing was going to change. I was so wrong….

I was blessed to have worked for over 22 years with the same company. Many people don’t have that opportunity. I had the ability to live in many states, meet many diverse people, and raise my family in a variety of cultures. Along the way, the people I worked for, and the many bosses I had throughout the years taught me the necessary skills, not only to help myself, but others. My personal goal in life was to be in a meaningful job helping people. When my position was eliminated, my outlook on life was SHATTERED.

Out of every one this could have happened to, why me?

THIS EVENT GAVE ME SOMETHING I DIDNT HAVE, something that sparked my ego. It gave me a unique perspective on life and family. It paved the road for my next adventure. In the year and a half since my career demise, I have met some amazing people. People I could not have met had I continued working. People that helped me uncover hidden talents and skills. People that continue to make a difference in the lives of others, as they did me.

I started my un-working “career” with the Tennessee Unemployment Office, and came to know a lady working at the unemployment office by the name of Cheryl Wycoff. Due to Cheryl’s demeanor and attitude I had the ability to meet her supervisor, Laura Miller. These two individuals were in my life to help me in my time of definite need. Because of what they do, they help others EVERY DAY.


Although the workers at unemployment offices are aware of the frustrations and anger in the unemployed, they continue to provide excellent customer service. I can tell you firsthand that the workers try to compensate for the issues by using their skills, understanding and knowledge to help those that want help. Laura and Cheryl and are not just leaving people in the system to fend for themselves, they are involved.

We live in a world where we don’t have to personally meet people to get to know them. The internet has opened up the ability to randomly communicate anywhere with anyone. I know, from experience, the frustration of filing for unemployment and searching for a job. Throughout my un-working career, I was able to find small jobs here and there, but ultimately I found the job I so much wanted — and it was all because of the internet.

As an example I want to use the “Johnny, the bagger” story. Mac Anderson puts it this way: “Service is the lifeblood of any organization. Everything flows from it, and is nourished by it. Customer service is not a department, it is an attitude.”

businessman-feet-up-on-desk-relax-stress-MConnors-MorguefileI realize all companies have some individuals “just working” for a paycheck, but in my experience, the employees at the Tennessee Unemployment Office are well trained, happy to help, and knowledgeable in how to deliver the ultimate in the customer experience.

People honestly searching for employment have many resources available. The unemployment officers have tools to share.

But personally, they might benefit from remembering there is a reason for every season, and although it may not appear to be in a person’s best interest, there is always an opportunity to “make a difference” somewhere, somehow, someway for personal satisfaction or the nourishment of someone else.

We are all here at this moment in time to find our destiny on the road through life. I often prayed that I would find another job with meaning, a job I could grow with, a job to fulfill my ambitions, and I FINALLY did.

Eileen DeStefano
Smyrna, TN

Photo credits: INSPIKS Inspirational Pictures (top) Michael Connors (lower)

Lynx and Stray Cat Fall in Love

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It would not be a one-time visit when a stray Russian cat wandered into the lynx enclosure at the St. Petersburg Zoo in 2008.

Six years later, the two remain inseparable and the feline couple, some say, have become like parent and offspring.

According to local lore, the calico was homeless and found food in the Lynx compound of the Leningrad zoo.

The video below was recorded in 2014 by a zoo visitor from behind glass.

Photos unattributed at EnglishRussia.com

Gift Economy Takes Root in Vancouver – Cars, Cruise and Kayaks Given Away

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Office lottery winners share with new girl

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Brice Royer was diagnosed with a rare type of stomach cancer and began looking for the cause. He decided that if his life were filled with more love and sharing, rather than purchasing and selling, the simplicity might help to heal him.

He researched and found that many “gift economies” were popping up around the world that exist to share everything from housing to food to transportation, but there were none in his location of Vancouver, BC.

So, he wrote a blog post about it and opened a Facebook group and within weeks, 685 people joined from three cities.

Royer wrote: “In the New York Times, I learned about Ikaria Greece, “The island where people forget to die”, one of the highest concentration of centenarians in the world, where people rarely trade and 40% are unemployed. They simply share with each other.”

“One of the group’s most active members is Peter Endisch, a computer programmer turned environmental activist, who decided to give Royer his car — a 2000 minivan which he had planned to sell for $1,500 — after reading Royer’s blog post.”

The gift of the van inspired Royer to make a grand gesture of his own — gifting an ill woman with rent for an entire year.

Since the group launched, a cruise was given away, a kayak, and more.

(READ the story in the Vancouver Sun here, and a follow up, here)

Got Leftovers To Share? In Germany, There’s A Website For That

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leftovers-cc

Europeans throw away 90 million tons of food each year, including produce from supermarkets and breads from bakeries. A new German website aims to connect surplus food with people who want it.

You can find anything except meat on Foodsharing.de and it’s free to anyone who needs it. (Click the British flag in the left corner for the English version)

Some 40 tons of food have been given away since the network launched online 18 months ago. More than 41,000 people have signed up.

(READ more or LISTEN to the report from NPR News)

Photo via CC license

Amy Adams Gives up First Class Seat for Soldier, Sits in Coach Instead

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Amy-Adams-selfie-in-coach-Twitpic-MRERNESTOWENS

Hollywood star Amy Adams tried to keep her kindness quiet, but an ESPN reporter overheard the actress giving up her first class seat to an American soldier, on her way to L.A. from Detroit.

Jemele Hill witnessed the interaction and broke the news on Twitter.


E-Online says Adams was in Michigan the past month filming the superhero film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Now it’s “Lois Lane” who is the superhero, for one serviceman, at least.

Ernest Owens boarded the same Delta plane and found his seat in coach, and realized that Adams would be sitting next to him for the flight. The two posed for a selfie that was posted on Twitter during the flight. Watch a video below with his and Hill’s reaction.

Adams’ father was a U.S. Army Serviceman, and she told a reporter she’s “always wanted to do that”.

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Photo credit: Ernest Owens@MRERNESTOWENS on Twitter

Air Pollution Plummets in US Cities

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Anyone living in the U.S. for the past decade may have noticed an encouraging change in air quality.

These NASA satellite images demonstrate the country’s reduction of air pollution, or more specifically, nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant linked to adverse effects on the respiratory system. The images show a marked decline in nitrogen dioxide concentration over much of the eastern U.S. between 2005 and 2011.

NASA calculated that in those six years, Philadelphia experienced a 26 percent decrease in the gas, which is produced primarily during the combustion of gasoline in vehicle engines and coal in power plants.

Declines were also noted in the western U.S, including Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco

— WATCH a 17 second animation below
— LEARN more from NASA

SHARE the Good News- People Need it, like fresh air!

Hospice Workers Get Forest Ranger Into the Woods One Last Time

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Covered in a blanket and cap, a former forest ranger was wheeled into a Washington park, his final wish to be fulfilled after years of illness.

When he was healthy, Ed had been a forest ranger. He described to a chaplain at the Evergreen Health Hospice how he had lived for the outdoors. After hearing about his longtime desire, compassionate hospice workers made it happen with the help of EMS workers at the local fire department.

Here is the description from their Facebook page, which also posted the photo:

When the Chaplain learned of Ed’s wish, he brought it to the attention of the Hospice team, one of whom suggested getting in touch with a local fire department that might agree to transport Ed for this final visit to the outdoors. Curt contacted the Snohomish County Fire District in Edmonds, whose staff was happy to help.

In March, Curt and the RN Case Manager, Leigh Gardner, accompanied Ed and several members of the Snohomish County Fire District on an outing to Meadowdale Beach Park in Edmonds… The group took Ed up and down the trails, bringing him the scents of the forest by touching the fragrant growth and bringing their hands close to Ed’s face.

”Ed was delighted. So were all the professionals who accompanied him. People sometimes think that working in hospice care is depressing. This story demonstrates the depths of the rewards that caring for the dying can bring.”

“Being a Hospice nurse is an incredible gift and beautiful, compassionate people do this work,” said Misty Thornem who works at Evergreen Hospice. “(This is) a wonderful example of the deep caring that is offered to help people LIVE our their last days.

Panera Cafes Swear Off Artificial Ingredients

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Panera, a US restaurant chain featuring bakery products, sandwiches, and salads, has pledged to remove artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives from its food by 2016.

“Panera says it’s about halfway through the removal of artificial ingredients. It’s still looking for ways to removes the artificial colors used in its bakery icings, for instance, and is testing a smoked ham in select markets that doesn’t use artificial preservatives.”

(READ the story from NBC News)

Phil Collins Remembers the Alamo, Donates 200 Rare Artifacts to Texas

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Phil-Collins-at-the-Alamo-AlamophotoFB

The largest-known private collection of artifacts from the Battle of the Alamo and Texas independence will soon be coming home to San Antonio as a gift to the state thanks to a British rock and roll drummer.

Former Genesis musician, and singer-songwriter Phil Collins has been in love with Texas history and Davey Crockett since he was five years old growing up in a London suburb. He used to recreate the battle with his toy soldiers. For many of the items, the donation means their return to the historical site for the first time since the legendary defeat of Texan forces by Mexican troops under Santa Anna in 1836.

Collins’ Alamo collection includes invaluable artifacts like Jim Bowie’s legendary knife, and one of only four rifles left that were owned by Davy Crockett. Collins has Crockett’s leather shot pouch and two powder horns he allegedly gave a Mexican officer before his death. There are letters from William B. Travis and many other invaluable historic documents that shed insight on early Texas history.

While touring with Genesis in the 1970’s, Collins encountered his first David Crockett autograph–for sale at a store called the Gallery of History. “I didn’t know this stuff was out there, that you could own it,” the rock-n-roll legend said. It had never occurred to him. Later, he received a birthday-present that would change his life: a receipt for a saddle signed by an Alamo defender. From that point forward, the drummer began building his impressive Alamo and Texas Revolution collection.

Alamo-and-beyond-phil-collins-book-coverHis famed collection of rarities is featured in a 384-page book authored by Collins, called The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector’s Journey.

The state of Texas and the Alamo endowment will be expanding the footprint of the site to include a new wing so the entire collection will be displayed together. Collins will pay to ship the 2000, or so, individual items (if you count every musket ball) from his home in Switzerland in October. A fundraiser will be held on September 30 for $5,000 per person to help raise money for a new building.

“For me it is a perfect situation,” Collins told the media. “I never actually thought it would be possible to have it here.”

WATCH the full press conference in the video below. (Story tip from Bill Fithern)

Ikea Raises Hourly Pay for U.S. Retail Workers

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IKEA store

IKEA store

“Ikea’s U.S. division is raising the minimum wage for thousands of its retail workers, pegging it to the cost of living around each store, instead of its competition,” reports the AP.

The 17% average raise, announced by the Swedish furniture company yesterday, will take effect Jan. 1 and increase the average wage to $10.76 an hour, from the previous $9.17.

(READ the AP story via the Detroit Free Press)


Story Tip from Joel Arellano

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