GreenRide helping to revive carpooling
Submitted 02-01-2010 under LOCAL LIFE
When gasoline was topping over $4 a gallon, many people jumped on the carpool wagon. It seemed like a great way to save money and help the environment. But as gas prices and motivation dwindled, many people are not carpooling, or attempting to...
Windmill building in Eastown being put to use
Submitted 01-30-2010 under LOCAL LIFE
It is always nice to see a local business go into a building that is vacant; such is the case of 1436 Wealthy, a building shaped like a windmill. It sits across the street from Yesterdog in Eastown. For years, the building was occupied by ...
East Hills Council of Neighbors' efforts lead to a better Grand Rapids
Submitted 01-14-2010 under LOCAL LIFE
During the 1960s, the automobile provided the luxury of unrestricted travel. This led to people leaving the cities for what they perceived to be a better life in the suburbs. The abandonment of the city ushered in a plethora of absentee...
The quest to find natural products in Grand Rapids
Submitted 01-12-2010 under NEWS
I recently ordered natural goat’s milk body lotion online from a place in Texas. After thinking it over, I realized I really need to start exploring the options available in Grand Rapids, saving on the carbon foot print of shipping across the...
Community Re-investment Vocab Primer
Submitted 01-10-2010 under OPINION
Grand Rapids has gained the attention of many urbanists, locally and nationally in the past decade based upon its successful community re-investment strategies. Grand Rapids has been doing many things right but people consistently get the...
Clean Works helps lower HIV transmission from intravenous drug use
Submitted 01-05-2010 under LOCAL LIFE
I recently interviewed Steve Alsum. He is the coordinator for Clean Works, a needle exchange and disease prevention program that operates on Mondays and Thursdays out of Heartside Ministry. Clean Works is a ancillary program of The Grand Rapids Red...
Why Purchase Locally
Submitted 12-22-2009 under NONPROFITS
by: Sisters Mary Lucille Janowiak OP and Barbara Hansen OP Where did the food on your Thanksgiving table come from? Did you have free range turkey from a local farm? Were the potatoes, green beans, wine and cranberries grown and produced in your...
Sculpture Garden - Finding Quiet Space
Submitted 12-19-2009 under NONPROFITS
We often carry with us a deep longing for a quiet space away, where we can see the beauty of the wilderness and listen to the songs of nature--a place of renewal and peace where we can take time out to hear the voice of God in our lives. A site such...
Global Conservation Series
Submitted 12-17-2009 under NONPROFITS
West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC) is offering a five-session program to encourage and support the desire to care for creation. This program is specifically designed to enable people of the Judeo-Christian faith tradition to gather...
Pedal Power! Audio Interview With a Pedicab Driver
Submitted 11-10-2009 under LOCAL LIFE
On a busy night downtown people are out having a good time and enjoying an unusually warm November. The usual car traffic is buzzing throughout downtown now mixed with bicycles converted to taxis. Pedicabs are a fun and green option to get around...