Baseball League's Aim is a Game Accessible to All
from the Herald Tribune
Organizers of the Miracle League of Manasota want to bring baseball to 14,000 disabled school-age children in Sarasota and Manatee counties in Florida. For these children, the league should provide a nurturing group activity, where they can build self-esteem, make friends and have fun. If all goes according to plan, the first pitch will be thrown the fall of 2009. As of now, the Miracle League of Manasota is seeking at least $1 million to build the field and to ensure long lasting potential. More

Sustainable Sites Initiative Invites Public Comment on Draft Report
from NRPA
NRPA is a stakeholder group of the Sustainable Sites Initiative, an effort to create voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, construction and maintenance practices. Today, the Sustainable Sites Initiative invites public comment on the new report titled Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks Draft 2008, the most comprehensive set of national guidelines yet developed for the sustainable design, construction and maintenance of landscapes. The report is available for download at www.sustainablesites.org, and an online feedback form has been created for users to help improve the guidelines. To learn more about NRPA’s involvement in the Sustainable Sites Initiative, contact Rich Dolesh Senior Director of Public Policy at rdolesh@nrpa.org. More

Video: Seed, Baby, Seed: Up on the Mountain, Volunteers Fan out to Replant Burn Area
from the Missoulian
Mount Sentinel in Missoula County, Mont., should be stronger come spring. In rain boots and slickers, some 75 volunteers turned up on a soggy Saturday to seed the mountain with native grasses and flowers. Some offered help to the mountain because it offers them so much recreation. "It's kind of their own backyard that they're working on," said Alayna Dupont, a crew leader. More

Community Spirit Grows in Trees for Tempe
from the East Valley Tribune
Tempe, Ariz., lost more than 400 city-owned trees during the 2008 monsoon, and a newly revitalized program is looking to replace them. The storms caused an estimated total of $1.2 million worth of damage, and Trees for Tempe aims to replant the dozens of trees lost in the storms. It also gives residents and businesses an avenue to donate volunteer work or money to the city. More

Groups Intercede to Aid Paquin Recreation in Columbia, Mo.
from the Columbia Tribune
When Josh Burrell felt moved to find ways he and fellow church members of The Crossing could serve the community, he turned to city officials for ideas. They suggested he and his congregation turn their attention to Paquin Tower. The volunteers are among many from several groups helping to keep Paquin Tower’s adaptive recreation program going. More

New City Hoops Program Targets Youth
from The Morning Call
A ''midnight basketball'' program, aimed at reducing gang violence, high school dropout rates, teen pregnancies and drug involvement, will be launched later this month in Allentown, Pa. 'Midnight basketball is an opportunity to get youths at a critical age off the streets at critical hours and into a productive program,'' Mayor Ed Pawlowski said in a news release. ''We get them into a safe place where they can develop relationships with mentors and learn crucial life skills.'' More

Smart Start Kids are on the Ball
from the Des Moines Register
Sabarish Mogallapalli, 4, of West Des Moines, Iowa, said his favorite activity during Smart Start Basketball was dribbling. The program is one of several classes sponsored by West Des Moines Parks and Recreation that introduces 4- and 5-year-old kids to sports. Stations are set up around the gym so the children can practice all the basic elements of basketball: shooting, dribbling, passing and defense. There's also a general fitness station where kids do abdominal exercises, stretches and push-ups. More

Brooklyn Kids on Climate Change: Addressing the Issue with Public Art
from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle
As the trees begin to lose their leaves, Crown Heights, N.Y., is receiving a dose of greens, yellows and reds from another source. CITYarts, a 40-year-old non-profit public arts organization, is producing its 269th mural project there, in a collaboration between Brazilian-born artist DUDA PENTEADO and roughly 200 students and community members from Crown Heights and the Department of Parks and Recreation. More

Inner City Cinema Helps Revitalize Park
from Variety
For an inner-city space like Helen Keller Park in Los Angeles, just a few years can make a major difference." Three years ago, people were afraid to go into the park," says Donald Haber, executive director and chief operating officer for BAFTA/LA. That was then. This is now: the feeling of being free to enjoy what has become a community treasure. More

Teen Center Looks to Get Online
from the Livingston Daily
As far as Chandler Pape is concerned, an Internet cafe would be a more-than-welcome addition to the Howell Teen Center in Howell, Mich. The 17-year-old, who said he visits the Howell Teen Center nearly every day, noted some local places with Internet access charge customers to go online, which isn't very conducive to teenagers' lifestyles. More

Families Like City’s Softer Playground Surfaces
from the Lawrence Journal-World
Jamie Archibold, 11, has a twofold reason for being a fan of the new rubber mulch on the playground at Clinton Park, 901 W. Fifth St. "It’s bigger than sand, so it’s harder for kids to swallow," Jamie says, thinking of younger patrons. "But at the same time, it’s softer than wood." The softness of the new surface allowed the rural Lawrence home-school student to play on the playground without his shoes on during a cool October afternoon. More