LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Three Arkansas cities are getting a financial boost for projects that will help improve life in their communities.
AARP's Community Challenge grant program is distributing $1.3 million to help fund 129 projects across the country that will improve safety, transportation, parks, access to housing and more.
The city of Little Rock is among the grant winners here in Arkansas, and Bike and Ped Coordinator John Landosky says they'll be implementing a program that will provide driver's education about their rights and responsibilities to keep bikers and drivers safe.
"We're just so excited to get this award,” says Landosky. “Honestly, we have a pedestrian-safety problem in the city of Little Rock and we have a bicycle-safety problem. I'm so happy we're able to finally couple this community outreach component with some of the new innovations that we're rolling out, infrastructure-wise."
Grants will go to the city of Morrilton and the Conway Downtown Partnership.
Morrilton will be installing hammock farms around town to provide a safe and relaxing space for residents. And in Conway, a bike-corral project will create a safe space for bicyclists to park while they enjoy the downtown area.
In order to improve the livability of a community, Conway Downtown Partnership director Kim Williams says improvement projects should allow residents of all ages to make the most out of where they live.
"When you're looking at city building and things like that, we try to look at what's good for people that are age eight to age 80,” says Williams. “So what's good for youngsters is also good for our older population. So encouraging people to be able to walk and to ride bikes and to feel safe while doing that."
This is the second year for the challenge, which encourages fast-action projects. This year's deadline for completion is November 5th.
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February is Library Lovers Month - and libraries across the Commonwealth are encouraging their long-time and new patrons to celebrate.
Lisa Varga, executive director of the Virginia Library Association, said the easiest way to show love to your library is by signing up for a library card if you don't have one.
For folks wanting to do more, Varga urged them to let their local public officials know just how important the library is to them.
"There are so many things that libraries do that a lot of our financial decision-makers don't necessarily know, about because there's so much to keep track of," said Varga. "So, if you are someone who has benefited from a wifi hotspot, from being able to borrow materials that you could not otherwise afford, let the people know that you enjoy and appreciate your public library."
There are 94 public library systems across the Commonwealth. That ranges from one-building to multi-branch systems.
One study finds that 63% of libraries are funded through a local city or county government, while 29% are funded through an independent library district.
Varga said libraries are important for those seeking an affordable way to do academic research - and combating the loneliness epidemic. She said it's vital that information remains free.
"We are a distinct feature in each community," said Varga, "and it's really important that access to information and access to resources be shared and be publicly available to people. "
The first lending library in the U.S. was founded in the town of Franklin, Massachusetts. Residents of
Franklin asked Benjamin Franklin, the town's namesake, to donate a bell to the town.
Instead, Franklin donated a collection of books to the town, believing "sense" was more important than "sound." The town's residents voted to make the books freely available to all of its citizens.
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Alabama nonprofits are coming together to tackle challenges that may threaten their survival, from declining donor support to shifting federal funding policies.
According to the Alabama Association of Nonprofits, the sector generates more than $10 billion a year, holds more than $20 billion in assets and employs about 5% of the Alabama workforce. But as financial uncertainty looms, nonprofit leaders say now is the time to strategize.
Danielle Dunbar, the association's executive director, said a summit coming up next week aims to help these organizations navigate the challenges ahead.
"When something comes down like a federal grant freeze," she said, "obviously nonprofits are going to be very concerned about how they're even going to make payroll to keep people in place to do the work, to serve the people."
Dunbar said many Alabama nonprofits rely on federal grants to fund such critical services as emergency food, housing and education for the most vulnerable populations, making policy shifts a significant concern.
The summit will be held Feb. 13-14 in Montgomery. More information is on the Alabama Association of Nonprofits' website.
Dunbar said the summit will also tackle broader challenges beyond funding, emphasizing advocacy and community engagement. She noted that nonprofits must amplify their voices to influence policy and secure resources to sustain their work.
"We are so often at the bottom of the list," she said, "and if we can advocate for ways to change the systems and structures that are holding some of our society back, then that will be such a fantastic thing for the Alabama Association of Nonprofits to be able to help with."
She said people at the summit will also tackle topics such as how to leverage social media, enhance fundraising efforts and foster bipartisan collaboration. She added that it will be about more than discussing challenges; it's about driving meaningful change to ensure Alabama's nonprofits can remain pillars of support in their communities.
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Elected officials in New York and nationwide joined an amicus brief filed by the Public Rights Project fighting President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship. The order is being challenged on several fronts; a federal judge is blocking it.
Since birthright citizenship is a 14th Amendment right, legal experts feel there's no basis for upholding the order.
Michael Chameides, a Third Ward representative on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, said people born in the county not being considered residents would have grave impacts.
"If you take that conclusion down the line, you could imagine someone who's born here, who then has kids here, who then has grandkids here; you could have generations of people living in the community living as non-citizens," he said. "So, it's even worse than being a second-class citizen. They would be forced to live in the shadows."
Enacting this executive order could divert local and state resources from their intended purpose. Given its broad implications, it could add more red tape for the government, create barriers to health care for families, reduce some young people's ability to get jobs due to discrimination, and harm the long-term economy.
Columbia County residents' feedback to Trump's recent executive orders has been mostly negative given their impacts. Chameides noted it's exacerbating people's fear and uncertainty about the world, and added that residents have other concerns beyond Trump's "culture war" agenda.
"I think what people are seeing is, they are concerned about the rise in costs and those kinds of things," he said, "and that this sort of attack on birthright citizenship is such a distraction from the real things at hand -- which is, how do we make sure working families have the tools and opportunities they need to take care of themselves?"
Some people want the federal government to develop more affordable housing, address health care affordability challenges, and help develop a fiscally sustainable emergency response service.
Chameides said the State of New York is working to fill the gap left by Trump's policies.
"I think New York also needs to step up and make sure it's supporting rural hospitals, that we're making sure health care access is important," he said. "We've had some improvements around support for EMS systems, which is so critically important, but we need to continue to lean in."
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