Lifestyle related news.
NEPTUNE, N.J. — Coastal communities around the world are adding a tropical twist to shoreline protection, courtesy of the humble coconut. From the sands of the Jersey Shore to the islands of Indonesia, strands of coconut husk, known as coir, are being incorporated into shoreline protection projects. Often used in conjunction with other measures, the [...]
ASPEN, Colo. — Snow falls thick as skiers shed their gear and duck into the Sundeck Restaurant, one of the first certified energy efficient buildings in the United States — this one at 11,200 feet above sea level atop Aspen Mountain in Colorado. Skiers in brightly colored helmets jockey for a spot at the bar, [...]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Parts of California were under water, the Rocky Mountains received another bout of snow and water was released from some Arizona reservoirs to make room for an expected bountiful spring runoff. All the moisture in recent months has helped alleviate dry conditions in many parts of the West. Even major reservoirs [...]
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — The former Ciba-Geigy chemical plant poisoned the ground and water in Toms River, N.J., where the rate of childhood cancer cases rose significantly in the 1980s and 1990s. It was one of the nation's worst toxic waste sites, was added to the federal Superfund cleanup list and still has a vast [...]
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Federal regulators recently designated two U.S. freshwater mussels as threatened, a further sign of trouble for native mollusks that help cleanse waters by filtering out pollutants as they feed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it was granting protection to longsolid and round hickorynut mussels, which have declined in many [...]
PHOENIX (AP) — America's schools say kids are hungry — just as pandemic-era benefit programs have lapsed. As a result, there is growing concern about its effects on kids' ability to learn. Congress temporarily made school meals free to all American schoolkids, but since that ended last fall, the need to feed students has only [...]
JACKSON, Tenn. — When he looked to the future, Grayson Hart always saw a college degree. He was a good student at a good high school. He wanted to be an actor, or maybe a teacher. Growing up, he believed college was the only route to a good job, stability and a happy life. The [...]
The Pritzker Architecture Prize — the highest honor in the field — this week was awarded to British architect and urban planner David Alan Chipperfield, hailed for "a commitment to an architecture of understated but transformative civic presence." Organizers called Chipperfield's work — more than 100 projects over four decades ranging from cultural, civic and [...]
BOSTON (AP) — Growing up in New England, Leah Ofsevit's most cherished childhood memories were blanketed in snow. She remembers running barefoot outside with her brother at the first sign of it, building snowmen and ice castles most winters, strapping on skis as a toddler. Ofsevit and her husband, Jeremy Garczynski, want to pass those [...]
BOSTON (AP) — Evena Joseph was unaware how much her 10-year-old son was struggling in school. She found out only with help from somebody who knows the Boston school system better than she does. Her son, J. Ryan Mathurin, wasn't always comfortable pronouncing words in English, but Joseph, a Haitian immigrant raising him by herself, [...]