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Good Deeds, Good News, Good Times

Archive for November, 2009

Retired teacher keeps at it, for free

Nov 30

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The district balked at first, but now Bruce Kravets is back in the classroom at Palms Middle School doing what he loves.

Steve Lopez

Five mornings a week, Bruce Kravets, 66, puts on a coat and tie, straps on his helmet and bikes to work at Palms Middle School on L.A.’s Westside, where he teaches math. For free.

Last June, after 42 years of teaching, Kravets retired. He’d put so much money into his retirement fund over the decades, his monthly compensation if he stepped down would be greater than his regular pay. But that didn’t mean he was ready to abandon teaching. His plan was to stay on and teach for no salary, because he couldn’t think of anything more fun or rewarding than teaching algebra, geometry, logic and stage craft.

A no-brainer, right? Kravets is, by all accounts, a truly gifted teacher, and in a district with a budget crisis, here was a guy who said, “Keep your money, I’ll do it gratis.”
latimes.com

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Tree Harvester Offers to Save Indonesian Forest

Nov 30

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tree harvester
By NORIMITSU ONISHI

TELUK MERANTI, Indonesia — From the air, the Kampar Peninsula in Indonesia stretches for mile after mile in dense scrub and trees. One of the world’s largest peat swamp forests, it is also one of its biggest vaults of carbon dioxide, a source of potentially lucrative currency as world governments struggle to hammer out a global climate treaty. The vault, though, is leaking.

Canals — used legally and illegally — extend from surrounding rivers nearly into the peninsula’s impenetrable core. By slowly draining and drying the peat land, they are releasing carbon dioxide, contributing to making Indonesia the world’s third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China and the United States.

The leaks were evident to a family of fishermen from this village, just south of the peninsula, as they paddled up a creek in a dugout canoe.

“I can tell the peat land’s leaking because the water here is getting browner and more acidic,” said Amiruddin, 31, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, as his wife, Delima, 29, scooped up the creek’s coffee-colored water to drink.
nytimes.com

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$1,000 gold coin dropped in donation bucket

Nov 29

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Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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Turning trash into treasure

Nov 29

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China Joins U.S. in Pledge of Hard Targets on Emissions

Nov 27

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emissions
By EDWARD WONG and KEITH BRADSHER

BEIJING — The Chinese government announced Thursday that it had set a target to slow the growth of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, a day after the Obama administration set a provisional target for reducing United States emissions.

The Chinese offer, which focuses on energy efficiency, contrasts with the strategy of the United States and most other nations to reduce total emissions. China has resisted demands from American and European negotiators to adopt binding limits on its emissions, arguing that environmental concerns must be balanced with economic growth and that developed countries must first demonstrate a significant commitment to reducing their own emissions.

With its enormous population and breathtaking pace of economic development, China surpassed the United States two years ago as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
nytimes.com

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Pushcart educator named CNN Hero of the Year

Nov 26

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(CNN) — Efren Peñaflorida, who started a “pushcart classroom” in the Philippines to bring education to poor children as an alternative to gang membership, has been named the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper revealed Peñaflorida’s selection at the conclusion of the third-annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Saturday night.

The gala event, taped before an audience of 3,000 at the Kodak Theatre, premieres on Thanksgiving, November 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the global networks of CNN.

The broadcast, which honors the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2009, features performances by Grammy Award-winning artist Carrie Underwood, R&B crooner Maxwell and British pop sensation Leona Lewis.

Peñaflorida, who will receive $100,000 to continue his work with the Dynamic Teen Company, was selected after seven weeks of online voting at CNN.com. More than 2.75 million votes were cast.
cnn.com

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Child entrepreneur gives back for holidays

Nov 25

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San Diego eighth-grader donates teddy bears to sick children

By C. Garcia
NBCSanDiego.com

SAN DIEGO – In the home of eighth-grader Jason O’Neill, teddy bears are everywhere. They’re white, black or brown. Some have bow ties and some have ribbons. They sit on chairs, tables, counter tops and the floor.

Thanks to O’Neill, a young entrepreneur who started his own company at age 9, they’re all going to sick children for Christmas.

“At Christmas I wanted to do something special, so I started a fundraiser this year to raise money for buying a bunch of bears,” O’Neill said.

All of the bears will be given to children at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
msnbc.msn.com

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NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick gives car to family

Nov 25

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PORTSMOUTH — Kim Yacobucci no longer has to turn the car ignition on a weekly basis and “pray” that she will be able to go pick up her son at the Tilton living facility that helps treat him for his neurological impairments.

On Monday the single mother from Portsmouth remained in disbelief as she cruised down Route 101 in a 2008 Chevy Impala that was given to her through Good News Garage and was donated by NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick.

Thanksgiving came early for Yacobucci and her 15-year-old son, Connor, when she met with Gov. John Lynch and was presented the keys to a vehicle that has only 18,000 miles on it and will replace a 1999 Ford Taurus that was anything but reliable for the struggling family.
fosters.com

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Robot arm opens doors for wheelchair users

Nov 24

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Opening a door is trickier for robots than you might expect, but a gripper designed to help wheelchair users seems to have cracked the problem.

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Students rake in praise for good deeds

Nov 24

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By CURT SLYDER

Mae Rouse of Lafayette sat on her porch step Saturday morning enjoying the sunshine and her beautiful lawn.
good deeds
She had just been paid a visit by a group of Purdue students who raked her leaves, trimmed a bush, cleaned her patio and washed her windows.

A senior citizen, Rouse has a difficult time doing such things. “It really helped,” she said. “I just can’t do this anymore.”

About 300 volunteers including Purdue students from the Wesley Foundation, other campus ministries, social organizations, fraternities and similar groups scattered across Greater Lafayette for Wesley Foundation’s “Winterization 2009″ event Saturday.

According to Wesley Foundation ministry intern Lindsey Junk, the event, now in its eighth year, is a way for students to reach out to the elderly and disabled in Greater Lafayette. The Wesley Foundation is a campus ministry of the United Methodist Church.
jconline.com

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