July 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 14

Front Page

Briefly Noted

Q In mid-June, 25 solar-powered
charging stations made their debut
in New York City parks, beaches and
outdoor spaces throughout the five
boroughs. The 12.5-foot structures -
a joint venture between the city and
AT&T - will be popping up in places
such as Union Square Park, Metrotech Plaza and the Rockaways Beach
for three to four weeks at a time until
October. Each station will be able to
charge up to six devices - regardless
of carrier - including iPhones, Androids, Blackberries and other devices
using standard USB charging cables.
Two years earlier, AT&T also debuted
free Wi-Fi in 26 locations across New
York City parks. A spokesperson for
the company says this initiative was
implemented to help enable local residents and businesspeople to lead more
sustainable lives.
Q The National Association of Counties recently awarded the Columbus,
Georgia, Parks and Recreation Department their NACo Achievement
Award in recognition of the department's Scientific Learning Involving
Magnificent Experiments (S.L.I.M.E.)
program. The program allows pre-teen
students to explore physics, chemistry
and biology during after-school hours
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Parks & Recreation

and apply scientific concepts to real-life
applications through experiments. NACo's Achievement Awards recognize
innovative county government programs and are judged on intergovernmental cooperation, increasing citizen
participation and awareness, improved
cost effectiveness of county programs,
improved public policymaking and
similar criteria.
Q The Trust for Public Land recently released its 2013 ParkScore report, which analyzes and measures
how well the 50 largest U.S. cities
are meeting their residents' need for
parks. This year, Minneapolis won
top honors, with a score of 81 factoring from its park system's acreage,
services and investment, and accessibility in relation to its population.
Last year, when the top 40 cities were
analyzed, San Francisco took the
top spot. ParkScore was designed to
help local communities improve their
park systems and identify where new
parks are needed most.
Q Officials in Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania, may soon authorize
drilling for natural gas in county
parks, focusing specifically on the
1,180-acre Deer Lakes Park. A city
councilman reassured the public by
saying that any extraction would
take place outside park grounds,
with an external well pad drilling
horizontally underneath the park.
A local engineering consulting
firm has already signed many leases for drilling on sites bordering
Deer Lakes and other local parks.
Researchers at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review state that the county
could raise between $40 million and
$96 million from drilling in Deer

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Lakes Park alone. Local residents
have already begun voicing strong
concerns about the effects that drilling will have on the parks.
Q Visitors to Tennessee state park
restaurants can now enjoy an exclusive Tennessee table wine with their
dinner. The wine, a Seyval blanc
grape blend grown in Tennessee, was
developed especially for the state
park system by Stonehaus Winery in
Crossville in celebration of the 75th
anniversary of the Tennessee State
Park system. Winemakers Fay Wheeler and Jan Nix developed the blend, a
semi-dry table wine. The grapes were
grown in Johnson City, Tennessee,
and the label was designed by a Smithville artist, making the entire product
a celebration of the Volunteer State.
Q The mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, is allowing a barber to continue
giving haircuts in a city park despite
orders for him to leave from police
and health officials. A spokeswoman for Mayor Pedro Segarra says he
is granting Anthony " Joe the Barber " Cymerys a special dispensation
in light of his years of charitable
work. She also said the city will help
Cymerys obtain a state barber's license if he would like. Cymerys, 82,
has been giving free haircuts to the
homeless in exchange for hugs for
25 years at Bushnell Park. He says
officials confronted him in mid-June
and ordered him to leave because he
did not have a permit. City officials
say residents had expressed concerns about sanitation.
For more news from around the industry, visit www.parksandrecreation.
org/2013/July/Briefly-Noted.

July 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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