#051 - The Top 7 Best News of Last Week - August 15, 2022
π - Hope you had a great weekend. Let's read some good news
1. Donations pour in after Michigan town defunded library over LGBTQ books
In the days after an Ottawa County community defunded its public library in a spat over LGBT-themed graphic novels, more than $50,000 in donations have poured in to help keep the doors open.
The donations to support Patmos Library in Jamestown Township, made to two GoFundMe campaigns run by local residents, had received donations from nearly 1,000 people as of early Sunday afternoon β just three days after the campaigns were launched Thursday. βItβs completely outdone any expectations I had,β said Jesse Dillman, organizer of one of the GoFundMe campaigns. βThis isΒ hugely encouraging.β
You can donate to the library here.
2. Colorado to end sales tax for period products, diapers this week
Coloradans will soon be able to purchase period products and diapers without paying state sales taxes, thanks to a new law taking effect Wednesday.
The law, House Bill 1055, expands sales tax exemptions for adult and youth diapers and period products including tampons, pads, menstrual cups, sponges, sanitary napkins and panty liners. Originally, the tax exemption was scheduled to begin in 2023, but it was amended in June to start on Aug. 10 instead.
3. California to become 1st state to offer free school lunches for all students
Beginning this school year, California will be the first state to implement the Universal Meals program, providing free meals to all schoolchildren. The program will make sure all kids have access to free meals at school. It's a big win for the district and the students.
On average, 1 out of every 5 Californians does not know where their next meal will come from. So that's why the Merced Union High School District's director of nutritional services says health and equity are top of mind.
4. Cornea made from pig collagen gives people who were blind 20/20 vision
Corneas made from pig collagen have restored sight for people who were previously legally blind or visually impaired. Two years after the operations, none of the recipients have reported serious complications or adverse side effects.
Mehrdad Rafat at LinkΓΆping University in Sweden and his colleagues manufactured a flexible yet resilient dome that resembles a contact lens by extracting and purifying collagen from porcine skin. Following successful trials, the team began testing the artificial corneas in human volunteers.
All 20 people in the trial had corneal blindness due to keratoconus, a condition in which the cornea thins and bulges outward from the centre of the eye. Fourteen were legally blind before the operation and six had severely impaired sight. Afterwards, everyone had improved vision. Three of the formerly blind participants had 20/20 vision following the procedure.
5. 12yo boy with his bodyboard saved a family of four from drowning in the sea
This Sunday in Biarritz (France, big surfing spot with huge waves), a family was in a dangerous area, about to be carried away by the sea, the father and his 5yo boy were drowning, the mother and the other kid found a very small rock to saved their life but the waves were crushing them. A 12yo body boarder saw them from afar, swam to them at full speed and thanks to his body-board, could grab them. A few minutes later more help came and everyone was happily saved.
Nearly 4,000 beagles are looking for new homes after what is thought to be one of the biggest ever dog rescue efforts in the US. The dogs were being bred at a facility in Virginia that then sold them on to laboratories for drug experiments.
But the company has now been shut down because of animal rights violations - and charities are on a mission to rehome the dogs. The breeding facility in Cumberland, owned by company Envigo RMS, was sued in May by the US Department of Justice which accused it of multiple acts of animal cruelty.
7. Rare albino hedgehog saved from βdeathβs doorβ after being rescued by 6-year-old boy
A rare albino hedgehog has been rescued from a village in north Wales after his mother was killed in a gardening accident. The male hoglet, who has been named Bean, was discovered in the village of Clocaenog, Denbighshire. He is thought to be just seven or eight weeks old.
Albino hedgehogs are extremely rare, with only one in 100,000 born with the recessive gene that causes them to have no melanin pigment in their skin, eyes or spikes. Bean is now being cared for by hedgehog rescue charity Hedgehog Help Prestatyn until he is ready to be released back into the wild.
That's it for this week. This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation:
Have a great week ahead.