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Good News for California Steelhead

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salmon-run-dam.jpgBeleaguered Southern California Steelhead may not know it, but their future just brightened – considerably. California Trout and the United Water Conservation District have reached an historic agreement that will protect the endangered salmonid by providing vital fish passage so that steelhead can access crucial spawning waters in the Santa Clara watersheds.

CalTrout governors and staff are hopeful that this agreement will lead to Southern California Steelhead recovery throughout its historic range.

(San Diego Fishing Examiner)

Photo from www.FreeOurRivers.com

Passenger Controls Runaway Bus

Photo by Sun Star

sunflower.jpgA passenger steered a bus to safety after the driver collapsed at the wheel in Manchester city center.

Fitness instructor Alex Jenkins managed to move Arriva’s 263 service from the path of pedestrians when he realized something was wrong.

(Continue reading w/ photo at BBC)

Photo courtesy of Sun Star 

Youngest to Sail Around the World Arrives Home (Video)

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youngest-sailor-round-world.jpg 17 year old Mike Perham was greeted to a hero’s welcome when he arrived in Portsmouth, England after a nine month trip around the world.

He very much missed getting a hug every now and then…

Watch the video below, or at Clip Syndicate

Alternative Energy Companies Want to Buy Closed Ford Plant

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solar-roof-orange-cty-conv-ctr.jpgAP reports: “Two alternative energy companies planning to buy a closed Ford Motor Company factory near Detroit want to convert it into the country’s largest renewable energy park, with at least 2,800 workers building storage batteries, solar panels, and possibly wind turbines.

Xtreme and Clairvoyant officials said they like the Wixom factory because it has a rail line, a big electricity grid, large buildings, and is close to a major interstate, making it easier to bring in supplies and ship out products.”

(Continue reading AP story)

Companies Finally Reporting Better Economic News

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business-graphic-up.gifFor many months, almost all of the positive signs about the economy were from high-level, macro indicators like unemployment claims and broad manufacturing indexes. Individual companies, which remained mum about any signs of recovery, until this week, began to talk about the good news, finally providing the real world data that had been conspicuously missing regarding an improved economy.

The tidbits of good news this week come from companies across a wide range of industries including Intel in technology, Tiffany’s in retailing, Emerson in the industrial world, and an auto insurance-related company.

(Continue reading in Morning Star)

FTC Bans Most Robo-Calls

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phone-keypad.jpgPesky pre-recorded “robo-calls” were banned by the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday.

Those unwanted prerecorded commercial calls soliciting services like car warranties will be a thing of the past unless telemarketers have written permission from consumers that they want to receive these calls. Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 1, violators will face penalties up to $16,000 per call.

A few exceptions will be allowed, such as for charities, political candidates, phone companies and surveys.

Consumers who receive an unauthorized call starting Tuesday can file complaints with the commission online at www.ftc.gov or by calling (877) FTC-HELP.

(Read more at L.A. Times)

Stuttering Kids Savor a Camp that Makes them Stars

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stuttering-camp.jpgCamp Our Time focuses on the performing arts. Campers aged 8 to 19, are boys and girls, racially and socially diverse, with two common bonds: an unshakable stuttering problem and the courage to go on stage anyway.

Most of the kids are the only stutterers at their schools and vulnerable to teasing. At the non-profit lakeside camp in the Catskill Mountains, where even the founder/director is a stutterer, acceptance is the watchword as the campers plunged daily into workshops and rehearsals for the self-written songs, rap routines and skits they’d perform at a gala week-ending show.

“I feel free here [at Camp Our Time]. At school it feels like a prison, But here I feel like I can achieve anything.”

(Continue reading in the Times Herald-Record)

Seniors and Toddlers Enjoy Shared Day Care Center

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onegeneration-daycare.jpgAn intergenerational daycare service in California provides child care and senior care in a shared environment.

ONEgeneration Daycare
helps seniors to continue living at home with their loved ones by providing a safe, supervised haven during the day. They, in turn, help care for and feed the young children, ranging in age from 6 weeks to 6 years.

The New York Times created a slide show featuring the elders and children in joyous and touching moments.

(Thanks to Elvin A., a new GNN subscriber, for submitting the link!)

Elephant Whisperer Saves the Baghdad Zoo in Wartime

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elephant-whisperer.jpgIn 2003 while the US armed forces were invading the Iraqi capital, a Zululand conservationist undertook a wartime rescue of the Baghdad Zoo and all its animals.

In his book, Babylon’s Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo, Lawrence Anthony describes how he, “along with the zoo’s former deputy director and several brave workers, risked daily danger to save the bears, lions, tigers, monkeys and birds.” -Publisher’s Weekly

“It was crazy, but I think it was important. It’s not important that you go and save some lions and some tigers in the greater scheme of biodiversity, but what it showed is that these animals need to be treated properly and I hope it set some sort of example.”

The series of events resulted in a proposed resolution that has been presented to the United Nations. The “Wildlife in War Zones Resolution” dictates that an invading army becomes responsible for any enclosed wildlife; all zoos, nature reserves and veterinary facilities must be accorded the same status as hospitals and schools during war. Under the resolution, the wilful destruction of natural habitats and the non-abidance of these tenements can be considered war crimes.

(Read more in NY Times)

Besides the amazing story of the Baghdad Zoo, Anthony also authored the book, The Elephant Whisperer. about rescuing a herd of dangerous ‘rogue’ elephants from execution, and his determination to calm their demeanor on his wildlife reserve after their matriarch and her baby were shot.

For more on Lawrence Anthony, visit www.lawrenceanthony.co.za

A Girl’s Journey from Dollar-a-day Malawi to Elite US Prep School

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malawi-girl-scholarship-wh.jpgIn an unlikely journey that most girls in Malawi can only dream of, a 16-year-old from a rural village spent the summer attending Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.

She’s one of 17 girls who go to secondary school in Malawi thanks to scholarships from Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa (AGE), a small nonprofit organization founded four years ago with donations from Christian Science Monitor readers.

She wants to use her time at Exeter in pursuit of her goal: helping to ease the shortage of doctors in Malawi by becoming one.

(Continue reading in the CS Monitor)

Eat a Chocolate Bar Sustain a Village

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cocoa-farmer-freetrade.jpgChocolate giant Cadbury says its Dairy Milk bars, sold in the millions, are being Fair Trade certified, yet prices will remain the same. The move is expected to double the amount of Fair Trade chocolate sold in Canada.

Fair Trade practices guarantee farmers in developing countries a reasonable payments for their crops.

Cadbury’s purchasing will improve the lives and communities of over 40,000 cocoa farmers and 6,000 sugar farmers, enough not only to support their families but to cover the costs of environmentally friendly sustainable production.

(Read more in the Toronto Star)

RELATED ON Good News Network, Mar 2009: Cadbury Adopts Fairtrade Source for UK Chocolate

(Photo from Cadbury)

 

Inspirational DVD Club Features New Film on Fulfilling Your Purpose

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beckwith-michael.jpgEver wonder if the inspirational leaders you admire actually walk their talk? The new documentary, Spiritual Liberation, follows a day in the life of Michael Beckwith — featured in The Secret — and shows us how he lives his own evolutionary teachings every moment.

“The role of a spiritual teacher is to consistently point to the limitless possibilities available to us,” says Dr. Beckwith, frequent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and the founder and spiritual director of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles.

“People want to know about their purpose, why are they here on the planet? It’s the question that won’t go away, because the answer reveals that we are here to wake up, to discover our true nature — our gifts, talents and capacities — and to express them. That’s why we’re here.”

Beckwith also wrote a book, Spiritual Liberation: Fulfilling Your Soul’s Potential, that both inspires and challenges readers to enter the journey of fulfilling their soul’s highest purpose — self-realization — and thereby to know what it means to be “radically alive”.

Now for a limited time you can receive Spiritual Liberation plus 3 additional films FREE when you sign up for a trial membership of Spiritual Cinema Circle, the positive DVD club that sends you new films every month.

Spiritual Cinema Circle is not your run-of-the-mill DVD club. Each month they feature 4 extraordinary, inspiring films — often movies you won’t find at your local theater — delivered to your home. The DVDs are yours to keep and share with others.

  • Click to try the first month for FREE; Watch video below to see highlights of September’s four films.
  • NO RISK — Keep the movies and cancel your membership at any time.
  • BONUS feature — Each volume includes inspirational interviews with Louise Hay, Jack Canfield, Neale Donald Walsch and other revolutionary thinkers, only available to club members.
  • Pay only shipping – $4.95 US or $7.95 international. 


beckwith-cinema-leader-brd.jpg

Annual Tomato Fight Draws 40,000 in Spain (Video)

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tomato-fight-reuters.jpg Thousands of people from around the world flocked to Spain to take part in the annual ‘Tomatina’ festival near Valencia. The food fight, which paints the town red, was founded by two friends in their youth who flung their lunches in a restautant.

Watch the tomato throwing frenzy in these two videos below, or at Clip Syndicate

And, more video from Reuters…

Teen Offenders Find a Future in Missouri

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school-lockers.jpgIn the last four decades, Missouri has transformed its juvenile system into one that defies the traditional prison model, saving billions of dollars and drastically reducing the number of repeat offenders.

Known as the Missouri model, the program focuses on therapy, comfortable living conditions and an emphasis on job training and education. Missouri’s facilities are serving thousands of young offenders, and they are receiving national acclaim.

Continue reading at CNN, but note that the Cogitamus blog pointed out, “The CNN article includes quotes from “critics [who] argue the Missouri model’s residential centers are too soft on juvenile delinquents and that some youths may never become law abiding citizens.”  This in spite of the fact that Missouri’s “juvenile delinquents” are already becoming law abiding citizens at greater rates than states where punishment is the end and only goal.”

Kenya Uses Video Gaming Strategy to Fight AIDS in Slums

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controller.jpg Kenyan aid groups, with US government backing, are fighting HIV/AIDS infection in Nairobi slums using a multi-player video game. It teaches young people problem-solving in the virtual world to improve lives in the real one.

Watch the video below, or at Clip Syndicate… 

Good News on Home Prices

solar home

solar-home.jpgHome prices in major U.S. cities rose for the second straight month in June in the latest sign the housing market may be steadying after years of declines.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index for home prices in 20 major cities in the three months ended June 30 was up 1.4% from its level in the three months ended May 31. It was the first time the index rose two months in a row since mid-2006. Prices gained in 18 of 20 cities, some of them very strongly. For instance, Cleveland rose 4.2% after rising 4.1% last month, so its yearly rate is now down only 3%.

(Read more in Wall Street Journal)

Inspirational DVD Club Features New Documentary on Fulfilling Your Purpose

beckwith-michael.jpg

beckwith-michael.jpgEver wonder if the inspirational leaders you admire actually walk their talk? The new documentary, Spiritual Liberation, follows a day in the life of Michael Beckwith — featured in The Secret — and shows us how he lives his own evolutionary teachings every moment.

“The role of a spiritual teacher is to consistently point to the limitless possibilities available to us,” says Dr. Beckwith, frequent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and the founder and spiritual director of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles.

“People want to know about their purpose, why are they here on the planet? It’s the question that won’t go away, because the answer reveals that we are here to wake up, to discover our true nature — our gifts, talents and capacities — and to express them. That’s why we’re here.”

Beckwith also wrote a book, Spiritual Liberation: Fulfilling Your Soul’s Potential, that both inspires and challenges readers to enter the journey of fulfilling their soul’s highest purpose — self-realization — and thereby to know what it means to be “radically alive”.

Now for a limited time you can receive Spiritual Liberation plus 3 additional films FREE when you sign up for a trial membership of Spiritual Cinema Circle, the positive DVD club that sends you new films every month.

Spiritual Cinema Circle is not your run-of-the-mill DVD club. Each month they feature 4 extraordinary, inspiring films — often movies you won’t find at your local theater — delivered to your home. The DVDs are yours to keep and share with others.

  • Click to try the first month for FREE; Watch video below to see highlights of September’s four films.
  • NO RISK — Keep the movies and cancel your membership at any time.
  • BONUS feature — Each volume includes inspirational interviews with Louise Hay, Jack Canfield, Neale Donald Walsch and other revolutionary thinkers, only available to club members.
  • Pay only shipping – $4.95 US or $7.95 international. 


beckwith-cinema-leader-brd.jpg

Watermelon Juice is the Latest Source of Renewable Energy

fruit.jpg

fruit.jpgForget chip fat, sugar cane or rapeseed oil – the latest source of biofuel could be watermelons.

Scientists have discovered that the fruit is a great source of sugar that can be readily distilled into alcohol to power cars and farm machinery.

And because retailers rejects 360,000 tons of “substandard” fruit annually in America alone they could be used as an economical way to make fuel.

(Continue reading at the Telegraph)

Chef Gives Up Fancy Restaurant Job for Soup Kitchen

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chef-chopping-camelean-restaurant.jpgCalifornia’s Napa Valley is home to some of the world’s finest restaurants. But one of the culinary world’s rising stars left the fancy restaurant scene to become head chef in a Bay Area soup kitchen.

Being able to touch the lives of up to 1,200 people a day appealed to him — so much so that he didn’t want to leave when his one-year commitment expired.

(Read or listen to the story at NPR)