BY OLIVIA MILTNER Deva Station’s style is throwback Old Hollywood glamour and glitz. She loves rhinestones and glitter and drama, but the practical side of her character knows she has to please her audience, so she throws in some top 40, or hard rock, or whatever else is trending that she thinks will resonate with her fans. –Click here for the full story — Continue reading Queen For A Year
BY OLIVIA MILTNER Adrian Bulfon was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease when he was 16. Since then, he’s figured out where he can go, what he can do and what he can eat, though now he eats pretty much whatever he wants, knowing that most foods will bother him. And just as the disease was a part of him, it was closely identified with the … Continue reading This western disease is infiltrating developing countries
BY OLIVIA MILTNER For Iraqis returning to Mosul, the homes missing roofs and walls, filled with rubble, are a reminder of what existed before ISIS took control of the city in 2014. To the U.S. Army that helped liberate the city — originally designed as a fortress — after a nine-month campaign, the ruins and a lingering threat are pointers to the future. Massive piles … Continue reading How the U.S. Army and Marines are preparing for future urban wars
Since 2012, the city of Columbus has torn down more than 1,000 vacant houses to improve neighborhoods. But the city is having trouble developing the lots. One goal was to rebuild single family homes, but that’s only happened a few dozen times. One reason is the process is tough for average home buyers to navigate. BY OLIVIA MILTNER Four years ago, the city tore down … Continue reading Columbus Vacant Housing Redevelopment
BY OLIVIA MILTNER The property at 1005 East 22nd Ave. in Vancouver, British Columbia, looks like a nice little starter home — a one-story, two-bedroom, one-bath, 878-square-foot bungalow painted subtle pastel colors. In the yard is a garden with raised beds; downtown is a 10-minute drive. The listing describes the house as move-in ready but perfect for someone looking to make some renovations. It notes … Continue reading Why Cautious Canadians Are Piling On Massive Household Debt
BY OLIVIA MILTNER Micheline Sylvestre is unlike most saffron farmers. She waits until later in the day, after all the dew is gone, to pick her flowers, while most of her peers pick theirs first thing in the morning. Last year, when it snowed early in the season, she picked 300 as she was shoveling with her dad. Two years ago, she was still finding … Continue reading Why saffron farming is blooming in unlikely places
BY OLIVIA MILTNER Sonja Trauss doesn’t seem like someone who frequents cocktail parties. Genuine and attentive, yes, but she’s far more at ease debating solutions to San Francisco’s housing crisis than mingling and making small talk. However, these soirees have become a regular part of Trauss’ routine — a necessity for a candidate on the fundraising circuit. Trauss, head of the San Francisco Bay Area Renters’ Federation, … Continue reading The San Francisco firebrand looking to reshape the city
BY OLIVIA MILTNER The lobster industry along the New England coast is changing, and its two major lobster stocks are evolving in dramatically different directions. North of Cape Cod, lobster populations are booming, but in the south, the stock has greatly declined. In Maine, where catches have reached record highs in recent years, optimism surrounding lobstering contrasts with attitudes farther south and with the New … Continue reading Maine lobsters are thriving, but regulators explore how to adapt to changing environments
BY OLIVIA MILTNER After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, city officials realized they needed to rebuild in a way that made the city safer and stronger than before. The city released its resilience strategy 10 years later, in what New Orleans Deputy Mayor Jeff Hebert described as a “pivot from recovery to resilience.” The strategy, used today, is a plan that accounts for … Continue reading City planning for natural disasters pivots from ‘recovery to resilience’
BY OLIVIA MILTNER A new study that reviewed how prehistoric people impacted tropical forests thousands of years ago could present ideas for more effective conservation strategies. Among the findings, the study provides a glimpse of tropical agricultural that differs greatly from common farming practices today. The review, recently published in the journal Nature Plants, found that humans have been managing forests around the world for … Continue reading Prehistoric agricultural practices could offer solutions for modern tropical forest conservation
