Though the city just filed the biggest municipal bankruptcy in history, its decline is opening up opportunities. Jason Zogg is currently refurbishing a big art deco building, re-purposing a parking lot into a park, and conceiving a master-plan for the neighborhood where he works as an urban planner. He’s only 28.
Inside The Project That’s Bringing Smart Young People Back To Detroit
Masked Hero to the Rescue Daily at Tokyo Subway Station
A 27-year-old Japanese shop-assistant dons a superhero disguise in his spare time in order to help strangers maneuvering the dimly lit stairs of a Tokyo subway station which has no escalators or lifts.
For three months, Tadahiro Kanemasu has used his green suit, with silver trim, to protect his identity as he helps the elderly and people lugging heavy bags or stollers.
“Japanese people find it hard to offer or accept help because they feel indebted to the person,” he explained.
50 Years Later, A Commemorative March On Washington
Fifty years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. offered a transcendent vision of racial harmony for America’s future with his “I Have a Dream” speech, tens of thousands gathered where he spoke Saturday to hear leaders tell them that while much has been attained, much remains unfinished.
“Dreams are for those who won’t accept reality as it is, so they dream of what is not there and make it possible,” the Rev. Al Sharpton, an event organizer, told the throngs that pulsated with enthusiasm — laughing, cheering, nodding and clapping.
Chinese Olympics Fan Pedals Rickshaw Around the World for ‘Spirit of the Games’
Three years ago, a Chinese farmer packed his worldly possessions into a rusty rickshaw, and, after pedaling 37,500 miles (60,000 km) through 16 countries and more than 1,700 cities, arrived in London.
Chen Guanming, a 58-year-old from Jiangsu Province in eastern China, is a huge fan of all things Olympics, so he decided to pedal his rickshaw all the way from China to “promote the Olympic spirit” and see the London 2012 opening ceremony.
The ever-smiling Chen decided one global trek to an Olympic venue was not enough. A friend found a shipping company willing to transport his rickshaw to Canada, so he can begin pedaling across the Americas to Brazil in time for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games.
Even though he only speaks Mandarin, and just a few words of English, the man told the BBC he will keep going. “This is my job now, to tell the people of the world about the Olympics and about peace.”
(READ the story w/ many photos, from the BBC)
Thanks to Andrew N. for submitting the link!
Photo credits: (top) xpgomes11 via Flickr – CC
(bottom) R. Schofield via Flickr – CC
Lego Honors Schoolboy for Charity Work With Life-size Likeness
A boy who lost his mother to cancer has had a life-size statue built in his image out of Lego, after the toymaker hailed him as a hero for his charity work.
Jack Covill-Lowndes was honored for raising thousands of pounds for the hospice that cared for mother Steph.
The ten-year-old from Wainfleet, Lincolnshire gets to take home the statue – made of 35,000 bricks.
Eye Exam App Brings Previously Unavailable Care to Kenya
A smartphone app is now diagnosing cataracts and other eye-related problems for people in developing countries.
The Portable Eye Examination Kit (Peek) includes an app-based diagnosis tool and clip-on hardware to examine cataracts and retina problems.
Peek Vision can be used to examine the retina at the back of the eye and the images can be transmitted to experts anywhere in the world.
(WATCH the video or READ the story in the CBC)
Thanks to our volunteer, Autumn Marie C., for submitting the link!
Child Deaths From Heart Defects Plummets – Thanks to the Britain’s NHS
The British Heart Foundation has released figures that reveal a huge 83 per cent drop in the number of children dying from congenital heart disease – birth defects of the heart – over the last three decades.
Progress in diagnosis, intricate surgery and post-op care has created the first generation to enjoy high survival rates for major heart defects. There are so many survivors that a new speciality – adult congenital heart monitoring – has emerged to treat them in later life.
Canada Man Wins $10,000 for Suggesting Next Donut Flavor
A dreamed-up doughnut that melds together chocolate, caramel and pecans has earned its inventor $10,000.
Andrew Shepherd, from Hamilton, was crowned the winner on Monday after beating out 63,000 entries in a Tim Hortons contest.
The 39-year-old chose a “classic-flavor combination” and named it The Tortoise Torte.
Winning the Tim Hortons cash means that he is going to take his wife to Switzerland — which he could never afford — so they can savor the national specialties of cheese and chocolate, his two favorite foods/
(READ the story from CBC)
Thanks to our volunteer, Autumn Marie C., for submitting the link!
Ad Agency Gives Workers 500 Paid Hours to Pursue Passions
Executives at a Minneapolis advertising agency founded 7 years ago, decided to give each of their 18 employees a free summer. Each was given paid leave and full benefits for 12 weeks to do something meaningful.
“I think people were stunned more than anything else,” says Stuart D’Rozario, the president and creative director of Barrie, D’Rozario, Murphy, who first had the idea.
Middleman Gives Tons of Business Surplus to Charities
Partnering with 40 hotels and dozens of businesses, Judson Kinnucan, 37, has made it his mission to collect their donated items, like surplus shampoos and toilet paper, and get them to charities in need.
Every month, Kinnucan delivers about 200 pounds of donated shampoo, conditioner and lotion and about 1,000 rolls of toilet paper to homeless shelters Chicago. In three years, that’s more than $20,000 worth of products just to this one charity — for free.
Kids Make Their Own Fun at Camp for Kids with Cancer
A “Dance for Your Meds” party is just one of the reasons the Ronald McDonald Camp for kids with cancer is more of a raucous party than a quiet hike in the woods.
Camp Wellness Center, which children attend with their healthier siblings, teaches that almost anything can be fun — including helping others who might be going through a tougher time than you.
EPA Debuts Bee-Protective Pesticide Warning Labels
To protect bees and other pollinators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed new pesticide labels that prohibit use of some neonicotinoid pesticide products where bees are present.
The new labels will have a bee hazard icon and precautions about the spray drift precautions, but environmentalists say they will push the agency to remove these pesticides from the market altogether.
Photographer Asks Strangers to Touch
New York photographer Richard Rinaldi has embarked on a remarkable photo project called “Touching Strangers”. He wanders the streets of major cities looking for strangers willing to pair up for photographs that look as if the subjects are loving family members.
After Rinaldi arranges his strangers side-by-side, face-to-face, or kneeling beside — always with hands touching — a transformation takes place. “I felt like I cared for her,” a poetry teacher, Brian Sneeden, told CBS after he agreed to pose with a 95-year-old stranger.
“We think these great photographs have something positive to say about human connection . . . about a diverse society in which people have been taught not to touch each other but in which we can and do transcend the boundaries set around us,” said Chris Boot, the director of Aperture, a nonprofit foundation that wanted to publish a book of Touching Strangers.
Renaldi received his BFA in photography from New York University. Exhibits of his photographs have been mounted in galleries and museums throughout the U.S., Asia, and Europe.
–WATCH the Kickstarter video and CBS video at bottom, READ the story from Steve Hartman)
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Study Confirms Bears Using Underground Wildlife Crossings
In Canada, a significant portion of Banff’s grizzly bears are using the 23 underground wildlife crossings to safely get across the busy 4-lane Trans-Canada Highway and access important habitat, according to a new landmark study.
The “encouraging” study identified 15 individual grizzly bears and 17 individual black bears that used the highway crossings over a three-year period — close to 20 per cent of the estimated population.
Generous Donor Pays for Shopping Spree for 90 Kids
More than 90 low-income students in Seattle will be boarding buses together on a shopping trip for back-to-school clothes because of the generosity of a one woman who has no children of her own.
For a decade, Mrs. Jean Renny has been donating money to the Salvation Army so that kids could buy what they need for the new school year. This year she is giving $20,000 for the shopping spree.
First-Responder’s Dream: Jet Pack Moves Closer To Market (w/ Video)
Jet packs have lifted off and may be speeding to an emergency rescue team near you.
In a recent test run, the New Zealand-based Martin Aircraft Co. launched a man in its jet pack and easily reached an an altitude of 5000-feet.
The company plans to sell it on the industrial market next year targeting first-responders who could benefit from being able to cut through traffic or have an aerial view.
Watch These People Jumping to the Rescue of Animals
This collection of YouTube clips by Russian Alexandr Mish will give you a bit more hope that there is a lot of wonderful people who care for each other and even animals they’ve never seen before.
WATCH the video set to soaring music below…
Nepal Sees Tiger Population Go Up by 63% Since 2009
Not only are tiger populations roaring back in the three critical countries of India, Russia and Thailand, last month Nepal’s national parks reported similar results.
The number of wild tigers living in Nepal has increased by 63% since 2009, according to a government survey carried out between February and June.
South Asian governments have committed to doubling tiger populations by 2022, reports the BBC, which noted an uphill climb due to continued threats from poaching and habitat loss.
Meet the Obamas’ New Puppy
The Obamas welcomed another dog into their family – a puppy named Sunny.
Just like Bo, she’s a Portuguese Water Dog, which helps avoid problems with allergies in the family.
Born in June, the bundle of energy is the perfect companion for Bo, especially when the girls are in school and the President is on the road. When these two youngest Obamas tussle you can tell which one is Bo because he has two white feet.
Singing Nurse Sooths Suffering Patients (Video)
Patients who overheard him walking the halls singing old love songs and Broadway hits, began requesting that he sing to them.
Soon, serenading the sick became part of his daily rounds, gaining him the moniker “The Singing Nurse.”
According to Jared Axen, his singing seems to help patients handle pain better and exhibit a host of other improvements.