Stem Cell Research Hits A Wall In Court

August 25th, 2010

U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth pulls the plug, citing a ban on federal funds being used to destroy embryos.

  • Lamberth’s ruling effectively ends Obama’s 2009 executive order to expand funding for embryonic stem cell research. The U.S. Justice Department plans to challenge the ruling.
  • Currently funded research projects will be allowed to continue until their grant money runs out – usually in the space of about a year.
  • Researchers are devastated. They fear the end of promising human developmental studies in the U.S., they fear a “brain drain” of scientists who relocate to other countries to continue their research, and they fear a new dependance on private funding.

Facts & Figures

165 research grants for stem cell research (worth about $149 million) will be frozen by the end of September.

Best Quote

“Stem cell research offers true potential for scientific discovery, and hope for families. This decision has just poured sand into that engine of discovery.” – Francis Collins, Director, National Institutes of Health

Fashion Week Shares A Stage With The Opera

August 25th, 2010

On September 9, Fashion Week will get a new look…

  • The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week has grown too big for its former digs – this year it’s moving from Bryant Park to Damrosch Park and Lincoln Center.
  • The new hosts at Lincoln Center are using this move as an opportunity to expand the center’s reputation beyond just music, dance, and theater performance. They will complement the runway shows with a variety of fashion-related programming.
  • Designers who might have traditionally chosen to hold their shows off-site in the Bryant Park years have been encouraged to stage their events close to Lincoln Center. Some designers are showing in the promenades of Avery Fisher Hall and the David H. Koch Theater, or at the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Best Quote

“I want to see fashion on par with all of the other cultural activities here—the ballet, the opera.” – Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Director of Fashion at Lincoln Center

A City Pawns Its Zoo To Keep The Lights On

August 25th, 2010

Selling off parts of the city may help right now, but is it really a good idea?

  • Facing record budget shortfalls, cities and states across the country have come up with a creative solution: privatize. Privatizing means selling off city properties to private companies – parking lots, buildings, airports, even zoos.
  • Companies pay governments lump sums for these income-generating properties, but the cities lose that future income and end up losing money on the sale. This raises the question of whether it’s better for a city to pay off its debts now or hold onto its assets to secure income for the future.
  • Privatization is not new. America and other nations have been doing it for years. Private companies often have more cash and economic motivation to improve quality and efficiency of public properties like roads and parking lots, but ultimately they only answer to their shareholders – not to the tax-paying populace.

Facts & Figures

  • In 2008, Chicago sold the rights to 36,000 of its metered parking spaces for $1.16 billion.
  • Selling off public assets can cause rating agencies to downgrade government credit ratings.
  • A Pittsburgh deal to lease out its parking system for 50 years for a $300 million lump sum payment is predicted to lose the city $3.5 billion in revenues.

Best Quote

“The investors will make their money back in 20 years and we are stuck for 50 more years making zero dollars.” – Scott Waguespack, an alderman who voted against the 2008 Chicago parking lease

Studying You Studying Art

August 23rd, 2010

In an attempt to improve their offerings, museums have begun a program of patron espionage…

  • Nowadays, museums are supposed to be interactive and engaging. So museums are following their visitors around, trying to figure out which exhibits they like, which placards are confusing, and how useful the museum maps really are.
  • Exhibit evaluation can also be tied to a museum’s public funding, a fact that may be contributing to the visitor observation trend sweeping the nation.
  • In the 1920s, during some of the first observation studies, researchers noted things like length of time spent at each exhibit and the direction they were most likely to turn in upon entering a gallery (right).

Facts & Figures

  • The Detroit Institute of Arts used covert observation (among other feedback collection techniques)  to redesign its galleries in 2007.
  • Museums can dedicate as much as 10% of a program’s budget to the evaluation of its success
  • The Science Museum of Minnesota spends $900,000 each year evaluating programs with its staff of 12.

Best Quote

“Whichever way you do it, a significant portion of your visitors find the map upside down.” – Judy Koke, Deputy Director of Education and Public Programming at the Art Gallery of Ontario, which is entered from the north side

Freedom Schools Try A New Approach To Literacy: Fun

August 23rd, 2010

A summer literacy program with a “let’s pull together” philosophy is engaging kids across the country.

  • From 8am – 3pm every day, 200 kids in Los Angeles are attending an unconventional six-week course in learning to love the written word. These so-called Freedom Schools are based on programs from the 1960s which attempted to address the educational achievment gap between white and African-American students.
  • Students read several books each week, and studies have shown the program to improve reading ability for second through fifth-graders. In addition to reading lessons, students are also taught critical thinking, healthy eating habits, creative arts, and social skills. The schools serve food, lead field trips, and require parent involvement.
  • Despite its unconventional approach, the program’s emphasis on literacy has caught the attention of politicians like Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose office contributed $150,000 to fund five new Freedom Schools in LA.

Facts & Figures

  • Children’s Defense Fund, a child advocacy non-profit, has been creating Freedom Schools around the country since 1995.
  • Nationwide, there are 9,600 children participating in the program this summer.
  • Expenditures for each Freedom School site amount to about $60,000 for the six-week duration.

Best Quote

“It’s different than real school; you’re doing work but at the same time you’re having fun. The best part is, we can just be free here.” – Jaylen Chairez, 8 years old

Home Ownership No Longer A Safe Investment Option

August 23rd, 2010

Before the real estate bubble burst, a home was more than just a home – it was an investment.

  • For the past 50 years, homeowners have seen huge profits as their homes went up in value every year. It was relatively easy to buy low and sell high, so there was more money moving around in the housing market and the economy as a whole.
  • No more. Some experts predict that home values will now increase only by the rate of inflation – nowhere near the 10% increase many homeowners had been expecting every year.
  • Buying a home is now more of a risk than a definite reward. But not everyone has a dismal view. Housing is a necessary part of life, and in areas where there is a limited number of options, prices will have to keep up with demand.

Facts & Figures

  • Home sales are expected to have declined by 20% since last July.
  • $6 trillion in housing-related assets has been lost since 2005.
  • It will take at least 20 years for those losses to be regained, though it’s possible they never will.

Best Quote

“There is no iron law that real estate must appreciate.” – Stan Humphries, Chief Economist for Zillow (a real estate website)

Things Looking Up For Unemployed New Yorkers

August 20th, 2010

Employers in New York went on a hiring frenzy in July.

  • Several thousand unemployed New Yorkers were hired in July, marking the city’s best job growth since January.
  • The nonprofit sector, performing arts and restaurants were the most notable gainers, while transportation, hospitals and private educational services cut back.
  • Manufacturing jobs are still scarce and apparel manufacturers have shed 6,000 jobs since the recession began.

Facts & Figures

  • New York added about 24,600 jobs in July.
  • New York City’s unemployment rate was 9.4% in July.

Best Quote

“It’s very strong numbers in terms of jobs. Just about every sector performed above their historical averages.” – James Brown, Economist, Labor Department.

Pop Star Turns President In Haiti?

August 20th, 2010

Some speculate that the political influence of singer Wyclef Jean could encourage charitable giving to Haiti.

  • Hip-hop star Wyclef Jean recently declared his candidacy for president of Haiti, a move which will undoubtedly draw attention to his charity, Yele Haiti.
  • Yele Haiti has had a mixed impact on Haiti and its people, and many criticize its poor management and uneven distribution of resources.
  • Mr. Jean, with a bad record of handling his personal finances, has faced scrutiny over his political intentions.

Facts & Figures

  • After the earthquake, Yéle Haiti’s 2006 tax filing revealed $350,000 in questionable payments to two companies that Mr. Jean and his cousin control, including $250,000 to a Haitian television station they had just acquired.

Best Quote

“It is problematic if he [Wyclef Jean] uses this money, which historically has not been well spent, for political purposes,” – Mario Joseph, Human Rights Lawyer, Haiti.

Wall Street An Unlikely Aid To Homeowners

August 20th, 2010

Wall Street firms are stepping in to help some homeowners pay off their loans.

  • When Wall Street companies purchase loans, they have an advantage over banks and other lenders: because they don’t have to go through as much red tape, it’s often easier for them to reduce monthly payments and interest rates for homeowners.
  • These firms buy loans at a reduced price, so even if the homeowners pay a reduced sum, the firm still profits. The loans are also generally worth more if they get paid off than they are if the houses get foreclosed.
  • The only problem is that Wall Street is offering these services to a very small fraction of homeowners.

Facts & Figures

  • Approximately 90% of the loan reductions offered by Selene, one of these Wall Street companies, includes a reduction in the principal amount owed; less than 2% of the reductions offered by federal banks.
  • These firms have only covered an estimated 0.25% of outstanding US home loans.
  • Selene reports that 50% of the customers whose loans it buys are able to keep their homes. 20% are able to sell their homes in a short sale without a foreclosure, and the remaining 30% are foreclosed on.

Best Quote

“There are obvious inconsistencies in treatment [of borrowers] depending on who owns and services the loan. It’s the luck of the draw.” –Edward Delgado, Chief Executive, Five Star Institute

Pakistan Still Suffering From Flood

August 19th, 2010

Despite international aid, the flood in Pakistan continues to take an enormous toll on the country.

  • Though the flood began to recede in parts of Pakistan the waters were still rising in the southern Sindh Province.
  • The United Nations announced that the situation in Pakistan remains very serious and that growing numbers of people need shelter, food and drinking water.
  • American officials worry that the floods will strengthen the position of Islamic extremists.
  • A recent conference in Islamabad discussed that the current relief operations were not sufficient to cope with the millions of people in need of immediate care.

Facts & Figures

  • The World Health Organization said 200 cases of skin infections had been reported across Pakistan, as well as more than 200 cases of diarrhea and more than 300 cases of respiratory diseases.
  • The United Nations raised the number people left homeless by the floods to 4.6 million.
  • Senator John Kerry said the United States would increase its flood aid to $150 million.

Best Quote

“People are using boats and tubes to supply food to their families. Our children are in very miserable conditions and we have to take every risk for them.” – Hafiz Basher, flood victim.

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