Coal Power, National Parks at Odds
from The Associated Press via MSNBC
Critics fear the Environmental Protection Agency will adopt a rule that will make it easier to build coal-fired power plants near national parks. The proposed change, pending since last June, comes as the utility industry moves into its biggest building boom in coal-fueled power plants in decades. More

New Program Aims to Get Kids Outside
from the Appleton Post Crescent
The Fox Cities Passport to Nature program in Wisconsin is a collaborative effort between area nature centers, High Cliff State Park, Gardens of the Fox Cities and the libraries and park and recreation departments of area municipalities. Running through Labor Day, the program directs families to nine outdoor sites in the Fox Cities where children can take part in suggested activities or make up some of their own. After each visit is complete, children receive a sticker to place on their free passport. Five site visits earns a Passport to Nature pin. More

New Jersey City Finds Natural Way to Stay Cool
from The Daily Journal
New Jersey state officials recently told the Millville City Commission they want to include the Holly City in the statewide Cool Cities Initiative. If the city approves, the state would plant about 300 trees in Center City later this fall. The program, sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state Board of Public Utilities, pays to buy and plant the trees. The city must help coordinate the program and take over long-term maintenance of the trees. More

Oklahoma City T-ball Group Gives Children with Disabilities Chance to Play Team Sport
from The Oklahoman
A T-ball league in Yukon, Okla., for youngsters with disabilities is forming to give them a chance not only to play a team sport, but to have fun being themselves, win or lose. The new Yukon Spirit League is a venture organized by Yukon Parks and Recreation Department aide Ashley Ragsdale. More

Canadian City Studying Outdoor Gym
from The Packet & Times
From afar, it may seem odd to see adults on bright, multi-colored steel equipment in what looks like a children's playground. With a closer look, however, it becomes clear the adults are exercising on outdoor gym equipment. More

Kids Put Sleuthing Skills to Test
from the Lawrence Journal-World
The body on the floor is a dummy, and the “blood spatters” in the kitchen of the Shawnee Civic Centre in Shawnee, Kan., were just a mix of cocoa, vegetable oil and red food coloring. The scene was set up as part of the Forensics Science Lab program offered through Shawnee Parks and Recreation Department. The visit to the crime scene was just a preliminary one to see what kinds of evidence the 18 class members could observe; the rest of the 3 1/2-hour class taught participants, ages 10 to 15, how to properly analyze evidence at a crime scene. Students then returned to the scene to search for evidence and find the "killer." More

Midnight Basketball Era Saw Drop in Crime
from the El Paso Times
The Midnight Basketball program combines education, self-discipline, sportsmanship, respect for others and, yes, basketball. Games are played from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights for six weeks in the fall and in the spring. The program helps keep its participants from less wholesome activities late at night on weekends. It created a startling turnaround -- as much as a 25 percent drop -- in juvenile crime in neighborhoods that hosted the program. More

Alpharetta, GA Wins Environmental Award for Rock Mill Park
from the City of Alpharetta
The City of Alpharetta, Georgia, has received the 2008 Water Resources Project of Excellence Award for Rock Mill Park. The award is given annually by the Georgia Association of Water Professionals and the Georgia Section of the American Water Resources Association to a project in Georgia that provides for water quality, habitat or flood control. Projects are judged on the use of innovative techniques, public involvement, educational components and benefits to the community. More

New National Recreation Trails Open to Explorers
from the Environmental News Service
Hikers, cyclists, skaters, equestrians and paddlers will have more territory to explore this season. To mark the 40th anniversary of the National Trails System, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has designated 24 trails in 16 states as new National Recreation Trails, adding more than 1,100 miles of trails to the National Trails System. More

Restaurateur to Donate Sunday's Proceeds to Windsor Recreation
from the Windsor Beacon
As a gesture to the community he used to serve and live in, Ming Lee, the owner of South China Restaurant in Fort Collins, Colo., has decided to give back to Windsor. All the profits from Sunday's orders will go toward a fund set up by the Windsor Parks and Recreation Department. More