Of course, life doesn’t always take place at sunrise or sunset, and very rarely is it accompanied by a hushed voice-over.

The struggling Rust Belt town of Braddock, Pennsylvania has become a superstar in recent years thanks to its mayor, John Fetterman’s “Park Slope ethos” approach to reviving its dwindling population of just over 2,000 residents and dilapidated homes.  Elevated through social media, countless newspaper profiles and even a high profile ad-campaign have thrown the town into the national spotlight.

Fetterman became a hero of community advocates, initiating youth programs, buying up abandoned homes and starting organic gardens amidst the town’s crumbling structures.  And as with any hero, the real story often gets lost.  But in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, Sue Halprin – who just happens to be the wife of Bill McKibben – raises the veil, revealing the many complexities of a town struggling to just get by and its mayor who is testing out many of the most in-vogue methods of reviving cities in the new American “frontier.”

A very worthwhile read.

Emily forwards this note from the Fugees coach and founder Luma Mufleh…

The time has come.

One of the most common questions that I get is: “Why don’t you have a girls’ team?” The answer is simple but complex at the same time. When I first started the Fugees, it was a pick-up game in a parking lot with kids who lived in the neighborhood. On our first team, we did have one girl play, but she left after a few games to play basketball. From time to time, we have considered adding a girls’ program, but felt that we didn’t have the facilities or resources to add more. I mean, having grown up in the Middle East, and attended Smith College, I always knew that we were going to do programming for girls. I just wanted to be sure that we were ready to do it as well as we do programs for boys, and that our boys programs were solid enough to take on more. So we have focused on doing what we do, and doing it well. But lately parents have been asking us to do the same for their girls as we do for their boys, which means we’ve earned the trust of the community.

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From The Decatur Minute blog…

We are proud to announce that the Decatur Heights neighborhood has won the Kilowatt Crackdown. With 13 participants, and 3,500 kilowatt hours saved, this group was able to reduce their usage by 20%! This is certainly an amazing accomplishment, and one worth celebrating.

Of the users that signed up for the challenge and successfully linked their Georgia Power accounts to Earth Aid, Decatur saw a 1.46% reduction in electricity usage, representing an overall decrease of 1,800 kilowatt hours. That is enough energy to run your air conditioner 24 hours a day for over 2 months. During the competition, some users saved more than others. Among users that decreased their usage, the reduction was almost 12,000 kilowatt hours, resulting in a $15 savings per month on each household’s bill.

For their efforts, the Decatur Heights has won a neighborhood block party, which will be held in the coming months.