Uplifting News

These are older stories, but I just found out about this place. Here is a 2nd article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/theme-parks/2024/05/12/morgans-wonderland-theme-park-accessibility/73660563007/

I also just read that they're planning a hotel geared towards families with disabilities

A one-of-a-kind theme park that’s fully accessible to people with disabilities is back to life complete with new rides and attractions after undergoing a multi-million dollar expansion.

Morgan’s Wonderland, an inclusive theme park in San Antonio, recently reopened after four months of improvements and upgrades.

Following the $6.5 million overhaul, the park now offers a first-of-its-kind 4-seat zip line that can accommodate riders in wheelchairs as well as those who need extra restraints, respiratory equipment or other special gear. Another new offering is the wheelchair-accessible Jette’s Wonder Bikes which features glider-style cars that riders can make go up and down using pedals or hand cranks. There is also a lake cruise and a 4D cinema that offers riders in wheelchairs a roller-coaster experience using a video screen with motion effects.

Link to their website: https://morganswonderland.org/

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18900805

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suffered a string of defeats in school board races in several counties on Tuesday.

The Republican governor, who has sought to reshape his state's education system by regulating how schools deal with subjects such as race, sexual orientation and gender, threw his support behind 23 school board candidates last month.

A majority of those candidates lost their races on Tuesday.

…

"People want sanity. People want common sense. And people believe we should educate everyone," Long told The Associated Press. "The people have spoken."

Baby beavers have been born in urban London for the first time in more than 400 years, a conservation project said.

The family of Eurasian beavers were introduced to a nature reserve in Ealing, west London, in October as part of a project that aims to get the public to engage with nature, to study biodiversity improvements and to monitor flood mitigation effects.

Project leaders said the fact that at least two babies, or kits as they are called, had been born on the Paradise Fields site in Greenford showed the beavers were "happy" with the habitat.

Dr Sean McCormack, one of the volunteers behind the project, said he and the other volunteers were "totally over the moon, thrilled, excited".

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18786196

Private and public investment in clean energy rose to a total of $147B in the first half of this year — a record-setting figure.

Exactly two years ago today, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, establishing a wide array of clean energy programs meant to supercharge spending on climate solutions.

Investment in clean energy projects — from solar manufacturing facilities to home batteries to hydrogen hubs — has taken off ever since, rising to record heights in the first half of this year.

Across the first six months of 2024, U.S. cleantech investment hit $147 billion, per new data from the Clean Investment Monitor, a joint project from Rhodium Group and the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research. That’s a more than 30 percent jump from the first half of 2023. The report measures actual investment — not announcements or plans — from both public and private sources.

The largest solar grazing project in the U.S. will reduce mowing costs and emissions — and make for some happy sheep.

Shola's DNA samples helped researchers decipher a new variant of progressive retinal atrophy. Now, other dogs can be checked for the gene that causes the blindness condition before being used for breeding. She's also really cute.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18749281

The Wisconsin English teacher, Jordan Cernek, argues in the suit that the district violated his freedom of religion and free speech in mandating the use of the students' preferred names and pronouns.

A high school English teacher is suing a Wisconsin school district, alleging it did not renew his contract last year because he refused to use the preferred names of two transgender students.

Jordan Cernek's federal lawsuit alleges the Argyle School District violated his constitutional and civil rights to be free of religious discrimination and to be able to express himself according to his religious beliefs when it did not renew his contract because he refused to abide by a requirement that teachers use the names or pronouns requested by students.

The musicians of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra have sensationally passed a vote of no confidence in their senior management, after an acclaimed pianist was removed from a performance because he spoke in support of journalists who died in Gaza.

“We believe it is the duty of senior management to lead and manage in accordance with the MSO’s Values and Behaviours, however it has become apparent that these values no longer appear to be aligned with those of the Orchestra and staff,” the letter read.

At a concert on Sunday, Jayson Gillham dedicated a solo to journalists in Gaza — then had his following concert on Thursday cancelled.

Link to original fully paywalled article