Not All News is Bad!

SEATTLE – Seattle Children’s Hospital brought six children with physical impairments up to Stevens Pass Ski Resort Saturday to ski and snowboard.The annual trip is facilitated by the Outdoors For All Foundation, a non-profit organization. The foundation pa

Source: Seattle Children’s Hospital takes kids with physical impairments on ski trip | KOMO

Apparently this has been going on for a few years. Very cool. A simple, and significant moment of happiness for some kids that can really, really use it. The Outdoors For All Foundation looks pretty impressive – this is just a small example.

All Patricia wanted to do was walk on Long Island Beach one last time – and thanks to Officer Holloway, she did.

Source: Police Officer Fulfills Dying Woman’s Wish to Walk on Beach One Last Time – Good News Network & Inside Edition

I’m absolutely convinced that behind the scenes, across the globe, many if not most police officers – or their equivalents – regularly use their positions for the good of their community in an amazing variety of ways. We should hear about more of them. This one’s particularly touching…

Minasie has not once been able to return home to see his family in Ethiopia over the course of a 30 year career – until now.

Source: Hockey Team Sends Beloved Janitor Home to See Family For the First Time in 30 Years – Good News Network

Yes, they set up a GoFundMe, and no,. you don’t need to even think about it. Why? It was funded in nine hours! There are a lot of stereotypes broken in this story, all for the good. I love that the internet, in the form of GoFundMe and similar services, has enabled such wide-reaching and immediate responses for situations like this. Like any tool, I know they can be abused, but stories like this show you the overwhelmingly positive impact that’s possible.

AUSTIN, Texas — A team of engineers led by 94-year-old John Goodenough, professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and co-inventor of the lithium-ion battery, has developed the first all-solid-state battery cells that could lead to safer, faster-charging, longer-lasting rechargeable batteries for handheld mobile devices, electric cars and stationary energy storage.

Source: Lithium-Ion Battery Inventor Introduces New Technology for Fast-Charging, Noncombustible Batteries | UT News | The University of Texas at Austin

I try and switch up the topics a bit to remind us that Not All News Is Bad applies everywhere, but this one’s too good to pass up. I’ve long held that a breakthrough in battery technology would enable advances that we can only dream of today, and it looks like we’re getting a step closer. Safer. Faster. Longer lasting. Sure, there’s the potential to increase the range of electric vehicles, but I suspect that’s just the tip of an iceberg of possibilities.

And, yes, this is the 94 year old I want to be when I grow up.

This is massive move to cut emissions in the busy city.

Source: China’s capital is replacing tens of thousands of taxis with electric cars to fight pollution – Mashable

I drive an electric car myself, so this speaks to me on several levels. Yes, this is a small step, and it’ll take some time to have an impact. And, indeed, there are hurdles to be overcome. But I strongly believe that our future is electric, and it’s reassuring to see a place with such a serious pollution problem take a dramatic and important step.

Is there a doctor in the house? It was a plane, but a woman’s cries for help Monday were answered all the same — by around 20 medical professionals on board, officials said.

Source: Plane Passenger Falls Ill on Flight Full of Doctors – via MSN

I don’t think this could be planned any better; twenty doctors heading home from a convention! What great good fortune.

This anonymous good samaritan didn’t mind that her kind gesture came with a $750 price tag – she just wanted to help out a father in distress.

Source: Stranger Buys $750 Plane Ticket for Distraught Father’s Child – Good News Network

What a generous way to turn an unfortunate situation into a happy one. Well done!

Passersby in Saddle Brook, N.J., ran to help an 89-year-old woman avoid an onrushing train headed her way. (Daily Voice Bergen County)

Source: Watch the ‘miracle on Market Street’: Good Samaritans whisk woman, 89, from path of onrushing train – The Washington Post

I’ll be honest … I’m not sure I could have done it. I’d probably be frozen in horror. Further quoting the linked article:

Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler called the good Samaritan rescue ‘the miracle on Market Street,’ reported News 12 New Jersey.

‘It proves to me that our society is full of good people,’ Kugler told the TV station,

Indeed, it does.

Source: Quebec grocery stores first in Canada to send unused produce to food banks | Globalnews.ca

Programs like this are actually more difficult that we might expect, mostly due to having to deal with quality and health issues. But the fact remains a tremendous amount of food is discarded, and these types of efforts can be win-win for everyone involved.

Peak cuteness achieved.

Source: Patrick Stewart Can’t Get Enough Of His New Foster Pit Bull | The Huffington Post

You had me at Patrick Stewart. And “foster”. Seriously, there’s so much to learn and love from this story, it’s hard to know where to begin. Stewart is who I want to become when I [forget to] grow up. Fostering dogs – Pit Bulls, Corgis, whatever – takes a special kind of person. I have no doubt that Captain Picard meets the criteria, and then some. What a happy dog. What a lucky dog.