Environmental groups sue DOT over Mississippi road project
November 18, 2022 GMTJACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A group of environmental and racial justice organizations filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday against the U.S. Department of Transportation and its secretary, Pete Buttigieg, seeking to halt a Gulf Coast road project that the group says will harm the environment near historic Black neighborhoods in north Gulfport.
Apartment building collapse kills 3 in Egyptian capital
November 8, 2022 GMTCAIRO (AP) — A building collapsed in a neighborhood in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Tuesday, killing at least three people, the city's emergency services said.
The five-story residential structure came down in the densely populated area of Imbaba, an official from the civil protection services said.
2 police officers shot in Newark; suspect at large
November 2, 2022 GMTNEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Two Newark police officers were in stable condition Tuesday after being wounded in a confrontation with a gunman being sought in connection with another shooting, authorities said.
Superstorm Sandy legacy: Recovery far from equal on NY shore
October 26, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Even before Superstorm Sandy's floodwaters surged over New York City’s Rockaway Peninsula, there was an air of decay in Edgemere, a far-flung seaside neighborhood long pockmarked with boarded-up homes and vacant lots with waist-high weeds.
Low-income communities learn to tackle climate-fueled heat
October 5, 2022 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — Reggie Carrillo knows firsthand that where you live can determine how hot your neighborhood gets.
The environmental activist and educator resides in a largely Mexican American area of south-central Phoenix, where segregation once forced Black and Hispanic people to live south of the railroad tracks.
Buttigieg awards grant to tear down divisive Detroit highway
September 15, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — A long-delayed plan to dismantle Interstate 375, a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) depressed freeway in Detroit that was built by demolishing Black neighborhoods 60 years ago, was a big winner of federal money Thursday, the first Biden administration grant awarded to tear down a racially divisive roadway.
Georgia to spend $250M in COVID-19 cash to aid recreation
August 30, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — Gov. Brian Kemp is earmarking $250 million in federal COVID-19 relief for neighborhood recreation improvements in some of Georgia's poorest areas.
Grants of up to $2 million per project can be used by local governments or nonprofit groups to improve, repair or maintain parks, recreation facilities, sidewalks and healthy food access, Kemp announced Tuesday.
New Orleans short-term rental rule struck down by court
August 23, 2022 GMTNEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans law restricting licenses for short-term Airbnb-style rentals to city residents unconstitutionally blocks out-of-state property owners from the vacation rental market in the popular tourist destination, a federal appeals court has ruled.
Police in Nigeria find 20 mummified bodies in Benin City
August 18, 2022 GMTABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Twenty mummified bodies including those of children were discovered in a building in Benin City in southern Nigeria, the country’s police said, shocking many in what is usually a busy neighborhood.
Kentucky city seeks to help residents buy vacant properties
August 13, 2022 GMTLOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky city will is considering new rules that would help local residents purchase abandoned properties in their neighborhoods, especially if they plan to turn them into owner-occupied homes.
Developer finds human remains near Nashville Civil War fort
August 13, 2022 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A developer has unearthed human remains that could be two centuries old while digging to lay the foundation of a new Nashville project not far from a Civil War fort and a cemetery dating back to 1822.
Iran’s outdoor painters seek to capture, preserve old Tehran
July 7, 2022 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Tehran residents accustomed to seething at slow-moving traffic, sweltering in summer heat and suffocating in smog may be surprised to find a growing number of outdoor painters reveling in the Iranian capital’s historic charm.
Detroit targets old industry sites to improve neighborhoods
July 6, 2022 GMTDETROIT (AP) — One of the first things 84-year-old Mahalie Wilson sees when she steps out of her home on Detroit's east side is the brick, steel and concrete skeleton of the long-vacant Packard plant that looms over the neighborhood.
California to unveil groundbreaking slave reparations report
June 1, 2022 GMTSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California’s first-in-the-nation task force on reparations for African Americans will release a report Wednesday documenting in detail the harms perpetuated by the state and recommending steps to address those wrongs, including expanded voter registration, making it easier to hold violent police accountable and improving Black neighborhoods.
Protests in New Delhi halt demolition in Muslim neighborhood
May 10, 2022 GMTNEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities in New Delhi stopped a demolition drive in a Muslim-dominated neighborhood after hundreds of residents and a number of opposition party workers gathered in protest Monday.
Study assesses taking of Black homeowners’ property in 1960s
May 1, 2022 GMTATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Residents of a Black neighborhood in north Georgia lost more than $5 million on their properties when their homes were destroyed and replaced with university dorms and parking lots more than 50 years ago, according to an analysis by University of Georgia professors.
Casino company marks start of work on new Vegas-area resort
March 11, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — A local casino company with several other Las Vegas-area properties marked the start Friday of a $750 million project to build a 200-room hotel tower and casino in a growing residential and commercial neighborhood southwest of the city.
Ex-acting Mayor Janey to lead effort saving Boston landmarks
March 3, 2022 GMTBOSTON (AP) — Kim Janey, the former Boston acting mayor and city councilor, has landed a new gig, a one-year assignment leading an effort by the philanthropic Boston Foundation to identify and preserve important historical landmarks in neighborhoods populated predominantly by people of color.
Developers complete $22.5M mixed-use building in Detroit
February 13, 2022 GMTDETROIT (AP) — Developers have completed a $22.5 million mixed-use building on Detroit's eastside.
The Parker Durand officially opened Thursday and features 92 units — half of which are set aside for affordable housing, according to Mayor Mike Duggan's office.
States get go-ahead to build electric car charging stations
February 10, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — States are getting the go-ahead to build a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations that would place new or upgraded ones every 50 miles (80 kilometers) along interstate highways as part of the Biden administration’s plan to spur widespread adoption of the zero-emission cars.
AT&T Michigan contributes broadband, computers to center
February 6, 2022 GMTDETROIT (AP) — AT&T Michigan has contributed $50,000 high-speed broadband service and computers to a center on Detroit's east side for students and families.
The contribution is to the Connected Learning Center at Jefferson East Inc.'s new Neighborhood Resources Hub, which will launch Monday.
Experts question county assessor’s COVID relief calculation
January 30, 2022 GMTCHICAGO (AP) — Experts have raised questions about a formula used by Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi to give homeowners a break due to pandemic-related unemployment, which a published report said resulted in some high-profile businesses and residents benefiting.
Applications for buyouts in flood-prone Louisiana city
January 29, 2022 GMTDENHAM SPRINGS, La. (AP) — The state of Louisiana is now accepting buyout applications from some property owners in a Livingston Parish neighborhood that continually floods.
The buyout program affects property owners in Priority Zone 1 of the Spring Park neighborhood of Denham Springs.
Historic city churches find new life as neighborhood centers
January 29, 2022 GMTMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The pews were rocking at Holy Trinity on a recent Sunday as worshipers from the Minnesota Swahili Christian Congregation sang and danced beneath the lofty, dark-wood-trimmed ceilings and lively stained-glass windows.
Detroit residential property assessments projected to rise
January 29, 2022 GMTDETROIT (AP) — Residential property assessments in Detroit are projected to increase by an average of 31% per neighborhood in 2021, the city said.
The figure is based on the most recent sales study and analysis of property values across the city and marks the fifth consecutive year of growth, according to Mayor Mike Duggan's office.
S. Korea plans to add small clinics as omicron fuels surge
January 28, 2022 GMTSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea plans to add hundreds of small neighborhood hospitals and clinics to treat the thousands more people expected to get COVID-19 during a developing omicron surge.
Israel evicts Palestinians from disputed Jerusalem property
January 19, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police on Wednesday evicted Palestinians from a disputed property in a flashpoint Jerusalem neighborhood and demolished the building, leaving some 15 people homeless on a cold, rainy day in the wake of a tense standoff earlier this week.
Palestinian family protests east Jerusalem home eviction
January 17, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian residents of a flashpoint east Jerusalem neighborhood were locked in a tense standoff with Israeli authorities on Monday as police came to evict them from a disputed property.
Scottsdale hopes to reduce problems with short-term rentals
January 8, 2022 GMTSCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Scottsdale residents' frustrations with noisy parties and other rowdy gatherings at short-term rentals in their neighborhoods have prompted the affluent Phoenix suburb to impose new accountability requirements on the property owners.
Democrats running for Ohio governor pick their running mates
January 5, 2022 GMTTOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Two Ohio Democrats seeking their party’s nomination in bids to end Republican dominance of the governor’s office announced their running mates Wednesday, one a veteran state lawmaker and the other a community leader who's largely unknown around the state.
Boy critically injured in Maryland apartment fire dies
December 26, 2021 GMTBALTIMORE (AP) — A 7-year-old boy who was critically injured in an apartment fire in a Baltimore neighborhood has died, authorities said Sunday.
The Baltimore County Fire Department said in a news release that Clinton Chimobi Ezeamaka died Saturday in the pediatric burn unit at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Chicago firefighter dies, was burned battling apartment fire
December 22, 2021 GMTCHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago firefighter has died days after he was badly burned helping battle an apartment building fire that killed one person and injured two others.
After MaShawn Plummer, 30, died Tuesday at the Loyola University Medical Center, his body was moved to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office in a procession that included fire trucks, ambulances and police vehicles.
New housing, commercial space coming to Detroit’s westside
December 11, 2021 GMTDETROIT (AP) — Construction has started on a $10.8 million development on Detroit's westside that will include 38 affordable housing units along with commercial space.
The Sawyer Art Apartments are part of the Strategic Neighborhood Fund initiative, a partnership between the city and Invest Detroit, according to the city.
Chicago pastor camps outside to raise money for child center
December 8, 2021 GMTCHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago pastor is camping outdoors for a planned three-month vigil that will take him through one of the city’s notorious winters to raise money for a child resource center in one of its toughest neighborhoods.
Tupelo neighborhood joins US list of historic places
November 29, 2021 GMTTUPELO, Miss. (AP) — A downtown Tupelo neighborhood has joined the National Register of Historic Places.
Advocates learned about the designation in late September, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported.
Whitmer seeks federal funds to convert I-375 to boulevard
November 24, 2021 GMTLANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday asked the Biden administration for federal funding to replace Interstate 375, a 1-mile depressed freeway in Detroit that was built by demolishing Black neighborhoods 60 years ago.
African American sites top Georgia’s 10 ‘Places in Peril’
November 21, 2021 GMTATLANTA (AP) — Sites from African American history, a suburban Atlanta neighborhood and a rural fairground are among the 10 Places in Peril named this year by the Georgia Trust For Historic Preservation.
Boston’s new mayor is picking the members of her cabinet
November 19, 2021 GMTBOSTON (AP) — Boston's new mayor is picking the members of her cabinet.
Mayor Michelle Wu announced Friday that she's appointing Segun Idowu as Boston’s new chief of economic opportunity and inclusion.
Scaled-down plans announced for renovating Penn Station
November 3, 2021 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — A new plan to redo New York's aging and much-maligned Penn Station will be less expansive than earlier visions but will still transform North America's busiest rail hub from a commuting hellscape into a transformative experience for travelers, Gov.
Businesses near University of Hawaii welcome return of fans
November 2, 2021 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — Some businesses near the University of Hawaii's Manoa campus are hoping the return of fans to home football games in the neighborhood will help revitalize the community.
Many local businesses in the Moiliili area have closed in recent years, from Bubbie’s to Tropics to Sushi King.
Georgia school pressed for memorial to Black neighborhood
October 30, 2021 GMTATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Former residents of a Black neighborhood in north Georgia that was destroyed more than 50 years ago and replaced with university dorms and parking lots are demanding the university recognize their loss.
A look at the Tacoma neighborhood where shooting happened
October 22, 2021 GMTThe neighborhood in Tacoma, Washington, where four people were fatally shot Thursday is a housing development with a long history that goes back to World War II.
The News Tribune reports the Salishan neighborhood, called New Salishan, is bordered by Portland Avenue to the west, East 51st Street to the south, East Roosevelt Avenue to the east and East 38th Street to the north.
Lava from volcano on Spain’s La Palma forces 800 to evacuate
October 13, 2021 GMTLOS LLANOS DE ARIDANE, Canary Islands (AP) — Hundreds of people in Spain's Canary Islands feared for their homes and property Wednesday as a new river of lava from an erupting volcano threatened another neighborhood on the island of La Palma.
Company gets OK to build new southwest Vegas hotel-casino
October 7, 2021 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — A casino company with six properties currently open in and around Las Vegas got the go-ahead Wednesday from county lawmakers to build a new hotel-casino in a neighborhood southwest of the Strip.
Sotomayor’s picture book ‘Just Help!’ coming in January
September 24, 2021 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is continuing her successful side career as an author with a picture book about giving to others.
Sotomayor's “Just Help! How to Build a Better World” will be published Jan.
GM to invest $50M in Detroit education, jobs, neighborhoods
September 14, 2021 GMTDETROIT (AP) — General Motors plans to invest $50 million by 2025 to help improve access to education in Detroit, employment opportunities and city neighborhoods.
The automaker said Tuesday that it is working with the city on the initiative and that the funding will go through Detroit-based nonprofits.
Police: Man fatally shot in Kansas City historic district
September 8, 2021 GMTKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man was fatally shot in Kansas City's historic 18th and Vine neighborhood early Wednesday, and investigators were looking for clues and a suspect, police said.
The shooting happened just after midnight Tuesday, police said in a news release.
Power in seeds: Urban gardening gains momentum in pandemic
August 18, 2021 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — On an assemblage of vacant lots and other pockets of unused land in the Bronx, gardeners from low-income neighborhoods have banded together to create over a dozen “farm hubs,” coordinating their community gardens and their harvest.
Spending bill has $3M toward Nashville interstate cap push
July 30, 2021 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper says a spending bill includes $3 million that would chip away at the $120 million price for a project to help reconnect a historically Black Nashville neighborhood divided by Interstate 40′s construction in the 1960s.
Stellantis reveals green plans around Detroit assembly plant
June 3, 2021 GMTDETROIT (AP) — Stellantis wants to make the area around its Detroit Assembly Complex the most environmentally friendly neighborhood in the city, the automaker announced Thursday.
The 3-year, $1 million endeavor seeks to help improve environmental infrastructure around the complex on the city's east side.
Federal grant to help Detroit’s plan to improve neighborhood
May 26, 2021 GMTDETROIT (AP) — The city of Detroit has received a $30 million federal grant that will help implement a plan to bring more affordable housing to one of its older neighborhoods.
The funding through the Department of Housing and Urban Development was announced Wednesday by Mayor Mike Duggan.
Police identify woman fatally shot in Kansas City apartment
May 20, 2021 GMTKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police have released the identity of a woman found fatally shot in an apartment in a historic Kansas City neighborhood.
Officer were called around 2 a.m. Wednesday to the apartment in Hyde Park for reports of an argument followed by gunfire and found Terese Jacks, 61, with gunshot wounds, officials reported.
Police find woman fatally shot in Kansas City; 1 arrest made
May 19, 2021 GMTKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Officers called to an apartment in a historic Kansas City neighborhood for reports of an argument followed by gunfire found a woman fatally shot, police said.
EXPLAINER: What’s behind the clashes in Jerusalem?
May 10, 2021 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — For weeks now, Palestinian protesters and Israeli police have clashed on a daily basis in and around Jerusalem's Old City, home to major religious sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims and the emotional epicenter of the Middle East conflict...
Palestinians, Israeli settlers scuffle in east Jerusalem
May 6, 2021 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinians and Israeli settlers hurled rocks and chairs at each other in a tense east Jerusalem neighborhood on Thursday before Israeli police moved in to separate them, arresting at least seven people...
Black neighborhoods in Kansas hard hit by property tax sales
April 24, 2021 GMTRozetta Dotson worked two jobs to scrape together the money to pay down a delinquent tax debt on the Kansas City, Kansas, home she owns with her husband, Ricky...
Organizations get grants aimed at helping Detroit residents
April 11, 2021 GMTDETROIT (AP) — Three dozen community organizations in Detroit will share $2.7 million in grants.
The grants are from the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund which provides funding for public services that improve the quality of life for low- and moderate-income residents in the city...
$500M fund to help Detroit neighborhoods, pay tax debt
March 25, 2021 GMTDETROIT (AP) — A billionaire businessman whose companies have invigorated Detroit's downtown announced a $500 million fund to improve neighborhoods on Thursday, starting with $15 million that will pay off the property tax debt of 20,000 of the city’s poorest homeowners...