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A City Council committee moved Tuesday to tighten penalties for taxi drivers who face complaints of discrimination for refusing to pick up an airport passenger on the basis of race. The action was spurred by a recent undercover operation by two black police officers, who found that taxi drivers rejected 20% of their requests for rides at LAX. [For more of this story, written by Laura J. Nelson, go tohttp://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lax-taxis-race-20160120-story.html]

   Trevor Storrs likes to put an Alaskan spin on that oft-told allegory about the babies being swept downstream. In the story, rescuers keep pulling babies out of the current until someone finally decides to go upstream and learn why they’re being tossed in the water in the first place.    Storrs, executive director of the Alaska Children’s Trust (ACT), would go one step further: to the stream’s source, to find out why the glacier is melting and stop the...

Robin Saenger knows her mission isn’t small. Her goal is to bring greater peace by recognizing trauma and transforming how past experiences of individuals can affect families, generations and the entire community. “The only thing we’re trying to do is change the world,” Saenger said. “It has to happen. You see these random acts – supposedly random acts – of violence. They’re not random at all. There’s a reason, there’s a story...

The stories that teenage brothers "Virgil" and "Phillip" tell about growing up in Compton, California, sound like war stories. Their battle begins when they step out of their door. Virgil says he doesn't walk around at night. "I still be shaky about walking in the daytime, 'cause nowadays people don't care out here," he explains, adding that people are shooting during the day as well as at night. He and his brother -- who didn't want their real names used because of what they've seen and...

Today, Women's eNews is releasing the full list of these 21 powerhouses, with brief descriptions of their work, who will be honored May 2 at our New York City gala. In the past, the announcement was made on New Year's Day. We held off this year to baptize the new website with a celebration of the 20 women and one man who have made it their mission to change the rules that constrict the lives of women and girls, here in the United States and across the globe. Today is also the 43rd...

Anyone who has dealt with the world of New York City real estate knows that its business is conducted in a euphemistic language second only to Orwellian Newspeak in sheer terminological deceit. “True one bedroom,” “spacious,” “comfy,” “sexy,” “cool,” “amazing,” “super amazing,” even nouns as seemingly uncontestable as “closet” and “light”: all are ruthless attempts to manipulate a...

A rapidly expanding medical program for low-income first-time mothers combines social services with the latest in brain science. The Nurse-Family Partnership provides in-home advice on health and parenting, which can lead to improved cognitive development and language skills for their children, who are showing up to school better prepared for learning. Special correspondent Cat Wise reports. [See the video...

Teens from high-risk neighborhoods who are able to resist street gang recruitment tend to have one thing in common: a caring teacher and/or adult in their lives. This is according to a new study led by Gabriel Merrin, a doctoral candidate in child development at the University of Illinois. The study examined the individual, peer, family, school, and neighborhood factors associated with young people who resist the magnetic pull of street gangs. Merrin discovered that kids who decline gang...

Lengthy, complicated and expensive programs are used in schools every day to improve student performance, but last week the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services kept it simple. If schools want to take one action to boost student attendance, health, behavior and learning, they should help uninsured students enroll in health insurance, the departments said. Identifying students who are uninsured and helping their families apply for insurance is “high-impact...

Perseverance Theater, in Juneau, AK, premiered a play by Vera Starbard, a young Alaska Native woman who wrote about the abuse she suffered as a young girl. In an interview published by the Juneau Empire, Mrs. Starbard spoke about the play and writing it . I have talked to a number of ACE advocates in Juneau who rave about the play.  During my conversations with Dr. VIncent Felitti, he has encouraged me to find ways to tell the ACE story through television. I have tried to interest some...

Book Synopsis/ Jasmine/The Wooden Girl by Janie Lancaster     The death of Jasmine’s mother forces her to leave her familiar hometown in Brewster, New York and travel by plane thousands of miles away to the city of San Diego, California to be reunited with a stranger–a man who calls himself her dad.  Jasmine’s father is expecting to meet the exuberant lively little girl with rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes he left behind six years ago. Instead he is...

Texas prison psychiatrist Pradan Nathan recalls an unsettling face-to-face session with a dissatisfied patient about a dozen years ago at a maximum security prison in East Texas. The large man, a member of a notorious prison gang, insisted Nathan prescribe him a particular medication. Nathan said he didn’t need it. “I’m going to stab you to death the next time you come in here,” the prisoner growled. Nathan feels a lot safer these days. He sees up to 16 patients a day...