California is adopting an aggressive and controversial crime-fighting technique that uses DNA to identify criminals through their relatives. By taking DNA collected at a crime scene and searching for a possible relative in the state's genetic database, investigators can use that family member to obtain leads on the suspect. While several states permit partial match searching in certain instances, California appears to be the first state in the nation to utilize it as a matter of policy. Many public and private entities are concerned that this policy represents an invasion of privacy, and some scholars have declared it unconstitutional.

The 1811 Eastlake housing project in Seattle, Washington, provides on-site support services and case management for chronic public inebriates who are homeless, and allows them to consume alcohol in their semi-private apartments. While the program is controversial, a study has confirmed that it has saved Seattle over $2 million a year in reduced emergency, transportation, detoxification, court, jail, and legal services. It has also given these "pre-recovery" individuals a safe environment in which they can begin transitioning into a more constructive lifestyle.

Elementary school students often spend up to half of their allotted lunch break waiting in the cafeteria line to pay for their food. Children at two schools in New Port Richey, Florida, will begin testing a biometric fingerprint-recognition system to speed up lunch lines. Officials stress that the technology does not store images of the fingerprints. Instead, the system translates fingerprint scans into a numerical pattern that is then matched with a child's account. Accounts may include balance information, nature of purchase, and whether a student qualifies for free or discounted meals. A growing number of schools are deploying the technology.

Hoping to increase enrollment and to diversify their campuses, while acknowledging that high school students are now "coming out" at earlier ages, many universities are trying to attract college-bound gay students. For example, this year, the University of Colorado at Boulder participated for the first time in a special admissions fair for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. The university is also promoting its program in LGBT studies and supporting outreach by its students to educate high schoolers on issues surrounding sexuality.

San Francisco has broken ground on The EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park, a youth environmental education center that will be the city's first "off-grid" building. The center will feature an on-site wastewater treatment system, a "living" roof filled with flora, and a solar panel array that will allow the building to meet all of its electricity needs.

The American Association of Community Colleges is launching a new program designed to attract students aged 50 and above, as the number of baby boomers entering retirement skyrockets. The Plus 50 Initiative will expand or create learning, training, and civic engagement opportunities that are particularly interesting or relevant to this population. Ten community colleges will pilot the grant-funded program.

Reducing the anxiety of airline passengers during airport security checks is the primary goal of a new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) initiative. Officials hope that lessening the overall stress level of travelers will allow individuals who are potential security threats to be more readily detected by their high levels of anxiety and other suspect behaviors. Through Checkpoint Evolution, the TSA is rolling out aesthetic adjustments to security areas, such as the introduction of soothing music, softer lighting, painted murals, and more room for loading carry-on items into bins. Full-body scanners will replace traditional, more physically invasive pat-downs, unless a passenger does not want to be scanned.

Residents of Broward County, Florida, can trace their heritage by taking advantage of Nova Southeastern University's free electronic genealogy databases and collection of 4,000 books, manuscripts, and other material on ancestry. Amateur genealogists can input their names and the names of relatives to draw from US Census information dating to 1790, manifests of ships from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and draft lists going back to the Civil War. Also available are marriage, birth, and death certificates from the 1600s.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has created a Green Team to help beautify vacant lots and other neglected sites in the city. Part of the Department of Public Works, the five-person team will spread topsoil, and plant grass and trees on derelict plots. The hope is to ensure that these spots of blight will no longer deter neighborhood development in surrounding areas.

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, has opened the Writers House, a high-tech laboratory of sorts, to encourage students to engage in more complex thinking than they typically do on traditional social networking sites. Rutgers is part of a nationwide trend toward integrating multimedia into reading and writing curricula, recognizing that the newest generation of students is more accustomed to online communication than to traditional reading and writing.

Arkansas will become the first state to tie ten percent of its higher education financing to the number of students who actually complete their courses, rather than allocating funds solely upon initial student enrollment figures. The goal of this formula revision is to spur the state's graduation rate, currently ranked 49th nationwide, and to increase accountability. Five other states are considering similar formulas.

Money Smart is a financial wellness program for adults offered in partnership by a bank, a state college, and the public library in Oswego, New York. During the seven-week program held at the library, participants learn about basic financial management from Oswego State professors and business students, as well as from representatives of Pathfinder Bank. Praised for its impact on the community, the program also proved helpful to the business students, who are eager to apply their knowledge and to improve their presentation skills.

Illinois may revise a state statute that outlaws the sale or donation of outdated books and journals; currently, libraries dispose of over 500,000 used books per year. The new bill's legislative supporters argue that the measure could add $1 million per year to university coffers by easing resale restrictions. It could also increase the knowledge resources of a wider range of organizations that receive book donations from these libraries.