INSPIRATION

How A Scrappy Buffalo Newspaper Saved Christmas And Sparked A Movement

The "Buffalo Times," on Dec. 6, 1898, told readers about a diamond heist, double divorce and deadly boating accident in Algiers - and a letter from Santa Claus. That sparked an outflow of letters from children, which the paper began running three days later as "Letters to Santa Claus." As Christmas week approached, the Times had received nearly 4,000, and to help Santa, announced a Christmas party for all who had written to Santa. The 5,000 children got popcorn balls, steam engines, toy kitchens and whistles, all bought by the newspaper. In 1909, Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock announced that all letters to Santa would be sent to the Dead Letter Office but days later, he rescinded that order and announced that all letters to Santa would be sent to charities. This sparked Operation: Santa, the ongoing national effort to enable ordinary citizens to help Santa answer his letters every Christmas. Read Full Story.

SPORTS

Indigenous Women's Softball Team Captures Mexico's Heart

Their unique playing style and quest to combat machismo have made Las Amazonas de Yaxunah, an Indigenous women's softball team in the Yucatán region, sensations in Mexico where their games often attract hundreds of fans. When the government launched a fitness program in the region in 2019 to combat high rates of diabetes, women turned down aerobics to found their own softball team -- 26 players, ranging in age from 13 to 62 - who play barefoot and in a traditional Mayan huipil tunic. They have inspired the state government to create a "League of Change" softball tournament, and 120 women's teams from across the region competed in the inaugural tournament. In September, when Las Amazonas played an exhibition game against the Falcons at Chase Field, a Major League Baseball stadium in Phoenix, Arizona, they won 22-3 and were invited back to throw the first pitch for the home team Arizona Diamondbacks Read Full Story.

COMMUNITY

Toronto Transformed A Highway Underpass Into A Vibrant Public Space

Until six years ago, the neglected space under the elevated Gardiner Expressway in Toronto wasn't a place where people wanted to spend time. Now a half-mile stretch of the Under Gardiner is now filled by a winter ice-skating trail, new walking and biking paths, art installations, redesigned intersections, and an experimental garden designed to filter stormwater that runs off the highway. "When you're standing under the highway, sometimes you forget that there are cars moving above you," says Ilana Altman, co-executive director of the Bentway, a nonprofit that is working with the City of Toronto and residents on a plan to transform the rest of the area under the road, which covers more than four miles. The experimental gardens are temporary because the city will begin rebuilding the deck of the highway over that space in a couple years. Read Full Story.

ENVIRONMENT

Berlin To Paris Night Train Marks Return To Slow, Clean Travel

The first night train from Berlin to Paris in almost a decade was cheered en route before it pulled into Paris Gare de l'Est at 10.24am on the morning of December 12th, 2023. The new "Berlin link" left the German capital at 8.18pm on Monday, December 11th night, fully booked and carrying the French transport minister, Clément Beaune, who hugged his German counterpart, Volker Wissing, before departing. Local politicians gathered on the platform at Strasbourg before 6 am to wave French, German and European flags as the train passed through. The sleeper service marks a return to slow travel and cleaner options after night trains lost out to budget airlines and high-speed trains at the beginning of the century. The connection will be operated by the French and German national train operators, SNCF and Deutsche Bahn, with rolling from the Austrian train company ÖBB, whose "Nightjet" trains already cross central Europe. Read Full Story.

ELDERS

Many Birthday Cards Mock Getting Older. These Artists Paint A Different Picture

Birthday cards making fun of people for getting older are so common that many people don't think twice about them. But Sara Breindel, co-director of a Denver-based anti-ageism campaign dubbed Changing the Narrative, was dismayed by "the racks of birthday card options that mock older adults as weak, deaf, forgetful and crabby." The group created a contest asking artists to design birthday cards with a more "age-positive" approach. Designers living in states across the US responded to the challenge, creating cards that send a powerful message. This article shares some of their inspiring stories, including that of Jan Golden, 62, a volunteer who helped judge the entries. Now her company, Age-Friendly Vibes, is also creating cards that flip the script to change how we talk about aging. "People are ready to hear a different message," she says. Read Full Story.

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