Newslinks: Online Literacy Classes, Trail Counters and Q & A with Conrad Benner

March 28, 2014 Category: Uncategorized

Kristen Gillette

	City of Philadelphia launches online adult literacy courses The Mayor’s Commission on Literacy launched free online literacy courses last month for low-literate adults. It’s the first of it’s kind in the country. About 67 percent of adults seeking literacy courses in 2014 read at a 4th-8th grade level. [Technical.ly Philly]
	Bicycle and pedestrian counters coming to area trails.The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) plans to install continuous automated bicycle and pedestrian counters on 12 trails throughout the region in hopes of answering questions like these and making regional data collection more accurate. DVRPC will install four counters, although the exact locations have not been decided. [Plan Philly]
	From Streets to TEDx Hidden City did a Q & A with Streets Dept’s Conrad Benner about his work as a street art arbiter as well as how he’s stepped up as an activist, most recently advocating for SEPTA to return their subway and el to the 24-hour service they discontinued over twenty years ago. [Hidden City Philadelphia]
	Philly schools facing $320 million deficit For the second year in a row, the Philadelphia School District is facing over a $300 million shortfall for the fiscal year which begins July 1. [Philadelphia Daily News]
	All In: A growing number of city institutions aim to increase access and inclusivity A 2012 planning grant allowed the Academy of Natural Sciences to develop new ways to open the Aquarium and the Academy of Natural Sciences to all families. Other local institutes are developing similar programs.[Flying Kite]