WWH/CJE Sunday News Briefs
NYC CLEANS UP FROM 2 TWISTERS AFTER EASTERN STORMS
NEW YORK (AP) — Strong storms that pummeled the East Coast spawned at least two damaging tornadoes in New York City, flooded the streets of some New England towns and left tens of thousands in the dark in the Washington, D.C., area.
No serious injuries were reported when a twister hit a beachfront neighborhood Saturday on the edge of New York City and a second, stronger tornado followed moments later about 10 miles away. Residents got advance notice, but still the storm took people by surprise.
“I was showing videos of tornadoes to my 4-year-old on my phone, and two minutes later, it hit,” said Breezy Point neighborhood resident Peter Maloney. “Just like they always say, it sounded like a train.”
The unsettled weather, part of a cold front that crossed over the Eastern Seaboard, toppled trees and power lines and damaged buildings as it went. Wind gusts reached 70 mph in some places. More…
Homeless in Miami find new outlet, feeding the well-heeled. Hey, the 1%ers always want to eat rich
(Reuters) – As part of an innovative effort to tackle Miami’s problem with homelessness, Xavier Wright has traded the streets of downtown for a live-in community farm project in south Florida that grows produce for an upscale restaurant.
Wright, 25, said it’s his first steady job in two years.
“I love this. I love being outside, I love working with my hands,” said Wright, wearing a straw hat to shield himself from Florida’s relentless summer sun.
Verde Gardens, a $17.2 million, 145-unit complex built for Miami’s formerly homeless, boasts a 22-acre (9-hectare) organic farm planted with a variety of fruits and vegetables from potatoes to bananas and pigeon peas.
Wright, who previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq, had resided in a homeless shelter with his 6-year-old autistic son before moving to Verde Gardens.
The farm is tapping into a rising trend in the restaurant industry to use locally grown seasonal products. More…
Tough gel material could replace cartilage
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 6 (UPI) — A gel material that can stretch 21 times its length, rebound and repair itself could lead to advances in medicine and tissue engineering. U.S. scientists say.
Called a hydrogel, because its main ingredient is water, the material is exceptionally tough — tougher than human cartilage — self-healing and biocompatible, researchers at Harvard University reported Thursday.
“Conventional hydrogels are very weak and brittle — imagine a spoon breaking through jelly,” lead author Jeong-Yun Sun at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences said. “But because they are water-based and biocompatible, people would like to use them for some very challenging applications like artificial cartilage or spinal disks.”
More…
