California spending billions to house homeless in hotels

Good News Notes: “When homeless outreach workers first visited her encampment under a Los Angeles highway overpass last fall, Veronica Perez was skeptical of their offer of not just a bed, but a furnished apartment complete with meals, counseling and the promise of some stability in her life. “They said they had housing for me,…

Making Rounds With New York’s Bird EMTs

Good News Notes: “Just after 6 a.m. on a recent Monday, Calista McRae is in downtown Manhattan, walking a digressive loop through the morning mist from 4 World Trade Center to 1 World Trade Center to Brookfield Place and back around. McRae is 34, with a springy and fast step, and she will repeat this journey until…

NYC answers call to foster pets after Manhattan shelter shut by COVID

Good News Notes: “These furry friends are all good boys and girls — and big-hearted New Yorkers opened their arms and homes to help save their lives Wednesday. Animal Care Centers of NYC on E. 110th St., the only city-run animal shelter in Manhattan, shut down Wednesday after staffers tested positive for COVID-19 — forcing…

D.C. firefighter uses bagpipes to give a welcome pause from pandemic

Good News Notes: “The lone bagpiper, dressed in blue jeans, a flannel shirt and a baseball cap, stood beneath a flagpole in front of a hospital. He played “God Bless America.” Five nurses in scrubs listened nearby, one lying on her back in the green grass, soaking in the sun. They work at MedStar Montgomery…