The Jewish community in Dothan, Alabama – population 60,000 – is getting smaller. To solve this problem a local real estate developer put up $1 million over the next 10 years to attract 20 young, Jewish families. To pay for moving costs, education loans and other expenses, each family can get up to $50,000. Qualifying for the program includes interviews, background checks and a home visit; and if families stay less than 5 years, they may have to reimburse the money. One couple has moved to Dothan, making the program a good idea. Two couples would make it a better idea.
New York City’s solutions to expensive hotel rooms seems like they’re good ideas. “The Pod” is a micro-hotel that looks like a luxurious, boutique hotel. It has a designer café, terrace, concierge and midtown location. The rooms, however, are tiny – bunk beds, a light and small TV over each bed, an iPod docking station and a bathroom down the hall. If $89 a night is still too expensive, similarly equipped, 5-by-7, single rooms are available at “The Jane”, a century old building in Greenwich Village. These micro-chic rooms are $75 a night. Less room in a budget hotel obviously leaves more room in a budget.
Although Dallas has a popular municipal dog park, Kelly and Cody Acree had room in their budget for Dallas’ first indoor dog park – “Unleashed”. Dogs (except pit bulls) can romp over 50,000 air conditioned square feet of artificial grass, while being constantly monitored by dog handlers. The facility also has a supply store, grooming services, day care and a doggie water park under construction. For the owners there’s WiFi and a soon-to-be café and restaurant overlooking the dog park. An all-day pass costs $7.50 – or the dogs can have collar tags that bill automatically. Doggone!
From doggone to horse here. Ramouni, a 28-year-old proofreader of Braille textbooks, became blind as a baby. Having been guided around the Detroit suburbs by family, she wanted more independence. A guide dog, however, wasn’t an option. Many Muslims consider dogs unclean. Instead, Ramouni has a miniature guide horse. Cali is 30 inches tall and weighs 125 pounds. There are only a handful of miniature animals trained as guides for the blind in the U.S. So far Cali has been trained to get in and out of vehicles, guide through crowds and stand still indoors – giving new meaning to horse sense.
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