ACHIEVE Healthy Communities Initiative Grant Opportunity
from NRPA
NRPA was awarded an $875,000 Cooperative Agreement by the CDC under the ACHIEVE initiative to further the expansion of NRPA’s Step Up to Health initiative. Step Up to Health works to assist local communities in identifying opportunities to formulate strategies and implement solutions that improve health and prevent chronic diseases. The award will be used over the course of one year to help 10 public park and recreation agencies to affect significant change in their communities by working with local stakeholders to implement a coordinated chronic disease prevention and health and wellness initiative. The grant application deadline is Jan. 16, 2009. For more information, please visit www.nrpa.org/achieve. More

San Antonians Explore the Outdoors
from the San Antonio Express-News
According to a U.S. Interior Department official, San Antonians should be proud of how they were represented Saturday in the country's first “Get Outdoors, It's Yours!” event at Mission San José. “San Antonio has really set an incredibly high bar,” said Lyle Laverty, the department's assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks. “This definitely exceeded my expectations.” San Antonio families came out in droves for the event, sponsored by the National Park Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the San Antonio River Authority. The event was designed to give people information about local parks and other outdoor opportunities. More

Indiana Ice Rink Celebrates 50th Anniversary
from the South Bend Tribune
A typical winter Sunday for 18-year-old Sandy Redden meant fighting her way through crowds at Howard Park Ice Rink in South Bend, Ind. "There would be so many kids, they would be all the way out to the street from the front door," Redden said. That was in 1958. There are fewer children now, but thousands still faithfully show up every winter to go skating at the rink, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in the 2008-2009 skating season. More

An Official Pooper Scooper for Carson City, Nev., Parks
from the Nevada Appeal
Nan Paulson calls herself the official pooper scooper. Armed with a bucket, scooper, bags and gloves, Paulson goes on poop patrol as a part-time employee of the Carson City, Nev., Parks and Recreation Department. Paulson, who used to be an animal control officer in Hesperia, Calif., wanted to be part of the Community Parks for Paws group. She also needed a part-time job, and Parks and Rec needed someone to clear the parks of poop. More

Latchkey Eases Parents' Anxiety
from the Caller-Times
Some kids are excited by the activities, while others just want to spend time with their friends. But for parents the benefits are practical. The new latchkey program in the Calallen, Texas, Independent School District gives parents peace of mind. The city's Parks and Recreation Department's Latchkey After-School Program began operating at three schools in Calallen last week, bringing the number of sites where the program is offered to 36. More

Volunteer has Kept Ball Rolling for Soccer Group for Two Decades
from the Atlanta Journal Constitution
After more than 20 years of helping build a fledgling program for kids into the biggest soccer association in the state, Bill Hoag is as fired up as ever. Hoag, a trim and youthful 50, lives to promote the sport and energize others into participating. And it’s not just the kids. He takes delight in getting adults involved. The father of two grown daughters, he was recently honored as Volunteer of the Year by the Georgia Recreation and Park Association. More

Michigan Park’s Garden is a Hit
from the Lansing State Journal
With its grand opening in May, the Hunter Park Community Garden House with 24 growing beds was built to help revitalize the neighborhood and address the issue of hunger in the community. A joint project of the Allen Neighborhood Center and the city's Parks and Recreation Department, the greenhouse is growing herbs, vegetables and flowers for local neighbors, seniors, Lansing's disabled and low-income populations. More

Parks Getting More Police Attention
from The Desert Sun
A partnership between the Palm Springs, Calif., Police Department and the Parks and Recreation Department strives to keep the city's parks safe. Operation Safe Parks began in mid-October after a rise in criminal activity at the end of the summer, Lt. Dennis Graham of the police department said. More

NYC Loses Wireless Hotspots in Some Parks
from Information Week
Some New York City parks have lost wireless access, and the company that provided said it ran out of money. Wi-Fi Salon said on its Web site in early December that it could not find sponsors to fund the free wireless access and is shutting down. The company began dismantling its networks, with little fanfare, last fall. Its owner said the state of the economy made it unlikely that it would be able to continue with its existing business model. More

Visalia, Calif., Parks and Recreation Department Holds Academy for Superheroes for Children
from the Visalia Times-Delta
In her imagination, Haylee Damron has flown and defeated ruthless villains countless times. This week, the 7-year-old looks the part. Haylee and nine other children are taking part in the week-long Academy for Superheroes put on by the Visalia, Calif., Parks and Recreation Department. More

Volunteers a Key Part of Program to Help People Prepare Taxes
from The Daily Record
For 27 years, Wooster, Ohio's, Parks and Recreation Department has facilitated a program designed to help people in need with their tax preparation. Susan Kelley, recreation manager for Wooster, said the program has helped about 400 people annually with their taxes in recent years, but that the number jumped to more than 600 in 2008 because of the economic stimulus payments that were issued. More

Senate Advances Wilderness Protection Bill
from The Associated Press via CBS News
In a rare Sunday session, the Senate advanced legislation that would set aside more than 2 million acres in nine states as wilderness. The measure - actually a collection of about 160 bills - would confer the government's highest level of protection on land ranging from California's Sierra Nevada mountain range to Oregon's Mount Hood, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and parts of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. Land in Idaho's Owyhee canyons, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and Zion National Park in Utah also would be designated as wilderness. More