children play in parking lot

Parking lot in school playground kills activity space for children in Newark

By Lisa Pradhan on

Besides providing a quality education, good schools are defined by good play spaces for their students. Parents, teachers, and community members of Newark, New Jersey, are up in arms about the Lafayette Street School’s take on a playground: a repurposed parking lot. The Ironbound grammar school adheres to a long-standing practice of children sharing their …

pet evacuee

Georgia makes pet evacuation SAFE

By Debbie Moore on

As hurricane season approaches, pet owners will have to make some tough decisions. Evacuating with pets during an emergency is often not an option, since most shelters do not take pets in. For Georgia residents, however, there is some respite. Georgia’s new pet evacuation center The SAFE center is the brainchild of George McCommon, currently its …

Cyclone evacuation

Ethnic distrust complicates the massive cyclone evacuation in Myanmar

By Lisa Pradhan on

After causing widespread panic, Cyclone Mahasen weakened considerably as it reached the Bangladesh coast. Fearing severe devastation, more than 800,000 people had already been evacuated in Bangladesh. Evacuees took refuge in 2000 cyclone shelters, schools, and colleges along the country’s long coastline. A beefed-up emergency preparedness plan was put in place to help the country …