#communities

#communities

Think you can't afford an eco-home?Some of Canada's greenest apartments go for as little as $85 per month thanks to social housing providers who have embraced energy efficiency standards and green building techniques.Those builders say it's a way to use public money to solve multiple problems at once including mitigating and adapting to climate change and tackling growing housing unaffordability and homelessness.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

A 1.9-mile rail line with stops at some of downtown Los Angeles' most iconic locations opened Friday to crowds hoping to take a spin on the new trains that transit officials say were the missing link in the system."It's gonna be about half the time for me," said Margarita Navarrete, a city clerk who commutes from East Los Angeles.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

On Google Earth it looks like a stunning opportunity: six acres of vacant land surrounded by single-family homes in a West Valley neighborhood.After being abandoned to shoulder-high weeds for nearly a decade, the former elementary school site in Woodland Hills is now a target for development.

Developing a spiritual connection to the Earth makes climate action feel like a way to reciprocate the environment's generosity.Maskot / Getty Images Last week, the northeastern skyline was overtaken by an orange haze, as winds blew smoke from Canadian wildfires southwards.The impact was palpable as the effects of climate change became apparent to nearly 50 million Americans.

The wildfire that tore through a Northern California town last year, killing two and destroying scores of homes, was caused by a lumber mill in the area, fire officials said.Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection determined the blaze was caused by operations at the Roseburg Forest Products property in Weed, a small city in Siskiyou County.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Curren Price was sworn in for his third term on Los Angeles City Council last fall with a promise to mend rifts.After leaked recordings had exposed Latino council members plotting to consolidate power in a conversation laced with anti-Black tropes, Price was a counterpoint - a veteran Black leader who had forged unity in his majority Latino district.

(Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

California has some of the nation's leading climate policies, with hard deadlines to slash greenhouse gas emissions, switch to zero-emission cars and trucks and get 100% of its electricity from carbon-free sources.But so far, its leaders have lagged behind other states, like Maine and New York, in using another important tool - the financial power of its massive public pension funds - to hasten the nation's independence from fossil fuels.

Public art in Altoona, Penn., one of many cities hit hard by the opioid epidemic.Marianne Sinisi organized the installation after her son died of an overdose.State and local governments have received about $3 billion so far out of $50 billion total in settlements from national lawsuits.Nancy Andrews/KFF Health News Thousands of local governments nationwide are receiving settlement money from companies that made, distributed, or sold opioid painkillers, like Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, and Walmart.

President Biden made a forceful case on Friday for stronger gun laws, saying American children caught up in school shootings are suffering from the same trauma as soldiers in war.Speaking at a firearms safety summit in Hartford, Conn., attended by victims of gun violence, Mr. Biden marked one year since the passage of a bipartisan bill intended to prevent dangerous people from accessing guns.

As demonstrations over police brutality rocked the country in 2020 following the death of George Floyd, Newark was held up as a model of police reform, a department so transformed by federal intervention that its officers had not fired a single shot that year.The department had revamped its disciplinary process, established New Jersey's first civilian complaint review board and kept the peace during local protests even as the police in other cities clashed violently with demonstrators.

New harmful illicit drugs are inundating a flourishing market for traffickers amid violence and corruption hurting local communities across Europe, the EU's agency monitoring drugs and addiction said Friday.The grim finding was part of the agency's annual report.It also said that drug users in Europe are now exposed to a wider range of substances of high purity as drug trafficking and use across the region have quickly returned to pre-COVID 19 pandemic levels.

It's not uncommon for really sick patients to wait three, four or even five days for a transfer, Marks said.UC Davis Medical Center turned down more than 9,900 transfer requests in a little over a year due to limited capacity, The Los Angeles Times reported.And, a spokesperson for UCSF told KQED that their hospital is nearly always at or over capacity.

The UK is in danger of being left behind in the global race to decarbonise the economy with potentially disastrous consequences for jobs and communities, according to the TUC's general secretary.In an interview, Paul Nowak said the UK was limping towards a green future and he called for a national collective effort involving employers, workers and the government to ensure a quick and fair transition to a net zero economy.

The Chicago Park District's Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a provisional permit for Riot Fest Wednesday, clearing the way for the 3-day punk rock music festival to return to Douglass Park in September.The festival faced heavy backlash last year as community members led a movement to evict big-ticket festivals from the park.

DURHAM - A group of pro-democracy plaintiffs have asked a federal court in the MiddleDistrict of North Carolina to block a longstanding racist law that makes it a felony for a NorthCarolinian to vote while on parole, probation, or post-release supervision for a felony conviction,even if they mistakenly believe or are told in error by election workers or their parole officersthat they are eligible to vote.

On June 25, 2022, Esteban Chavez, Jr., started his day like any other, working his route in Pasadena, Calif., as a driver for UPS.But the city was in the middle of an intense heat wave, and by midafternoon the temperature was higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.After completing his last delivery of the day, Chavez collapsed off his seat in the cab of the truck.

A world-class 30million ice skating centre is set to open in east London this weekend featuring two Olympic-sized rinks.The hotly anticipated new Lee Valley Ice Centre, built near Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Leyton, is expected to attract half a million visitors per year double the capacity of the venue it was built to replace.

T wo thirds of London boroughs still have at least one tower block with the same combustible cladding blamed for fuelling the spread of the Grenfell fire, it can be revealed.Hundreds of buildings across the UK were identified as having Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) installed after the devastating fire and the Government ordered its removal from all high rises.

Friday, June 16, 2023 by Nina Hernandez
This week, the Austin Justice Coalition announced the launch of the Justice Now: Economic Justice Campaign.The nonprofit said the initiative aims to address systemic economic inequalities in the Austin area.The Justice Now campaign will leverage public awareness campaigns, grassroots organizing, partnerships with local businesses and policy advocacy to "create lasting change for marginalized communities," according to the coalition.

Most of England and Wales are covered by a thunderstorm warning forecasters say could spark flooding and power cuts.The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for thunderstorms which starts at midnight on Saturday and will remain in force for 24 hours.Forecasters said there is a small chance homes and businesses could be flooded quickly and buildings could be damaged from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds, forecasters warned.

By Sarah Belle Lin Posted on June 15, 2023 Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams CUNY campuses will once again serve as early voting polling sites for the upcoming primary election.Ten colleges in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens will open from Saturday, June 17 to Sunday, June 25.

The number of school-age children in America is declining.At least one reason is the falling birthrate after the Great Recession.And declining university enrollment based on a lower school-age population which has been described as a demographic cliff is something that some colleges are already grappling with.

This comes after the oil giant tacitly admitted that limiting warming requires an "immediate end to fossil fuel growth."Shell, which more than doubled its annual profits last year, said in a press release that it now intends to "achieve cash flow longevity" by keeping oil production stable until 2030 and boosting gas production, even as scientists say a rapid phaseout of fossil fuels is necessary to avert global climate destruction.VIEW press / Contributor / Getty Images Shell announced Wednesday that it is raising payouts to wealthy shareholders and scrapping plans to cut oil production by up to 2% annually, a move that environmental groups said lays bare the futility of relying on fossil fuel corporations to voluntarily curb their climate-destroying activities.

Inflaming insecurity as a political strategy is not only ineffective but also a poor choice for sustaining long-term power.While it may provide short-term gains and rally a particular base, it ultimately fails to address the underlying issues and challenges faced by society.Using fear and insecurity as a tool to maintain power creates a cycle of dependency and mistrust.