Next year, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority will enlist next-generation buses on one of the city's most popular routes. These "smart buses" can keep traffic lights green for a little longer if they are within a few seconds of the intersection. There will also be designated lanes and signals that will allow the buses to jump in front of a line of cars at a red light.

A new law in Washington State allows teenagers placed in foster care to ask a court to reinstate their mothers' and fathers' parental rights. Any youth who is more than 12 years old and has been in foster care for a minimum of three years may file a petition; a judge then determines whether restoring parental rights is in his or her best interest.

The Entrepreneurship Education Consortium, a collaboration between seven universities in Northeast Ohio intended to stimulate the region's economy, has launched a weeklong boot camp to teach selected students how to start a business. Each team will create a business plan; the team judged to have the best plan will win $1,000 in cash. Organizers of the camp expect the participating students to share their experiences when they return to school, and, in the long term, contribute to the development of entrepreneurship in the area. 

In an effort to improve air quality in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Texas will offer vouchers worth up to $3,500 to individuals replacing a vehicle that is more than 10 years old. The "accelerated vehicle-retirement program" seeks to remove pre-1996 cars and trucks, which emit considerably more pollution than late-model vehicles

Community colleges are expanding their outreach budgets to help concoct creative ways to recruit new students. Initiatives include buying airtime on radio stations that play alternative and hip hop music, "Refer-a-Friend" campaigns, and multi-day-long registrations that allow students to sign up for classes and take placement tests while deejays broadcast live and hand out prizes.

The Sheriffs' Office and the Department of Solid Waste in Kootenai County's, Washington, are discussing a partnership that would help alleviate two critical problems in their community: crowded jails and overflowing landfills. Officials have proposed building a new jail next to a soon-to-be-built garbage transfer station. A conveyor belt would run garbage into the jail for inmates to sort recyclable materials. Currently half of the county's garbage is recyclable, but is sent to landfill as sorting by county employees is too costly. 

Mayor Bloomberg has taken a new step to improve the daily quality of life in New York City by launching the Street Conditions Observation Unit (SCOUT). SCOUT's 15 inspectors will be drawn from five City departments and will patrol every street once a month by scooter. Problems--such as graffiti, potholes, litter, and damaged infrastructures--will be reported to the City's 311 system via GPS-enabled handheld devices. This data will also be uploaded to the City's website to increase transparency and track complains.

Dallas is experimenting with a new type of HOV lane in an effort to reduce congestion and air pollution. A prototype on Interstate 30 features multiple access points that will allow regular traffic during emergencies, a dynamic pricing policy that automatically adjusts depending on the amount of congestion, and the possibility of discounts--like frequent flier miles--for registered users and hybrid vehicles.

Public health officials in North Carolina are finding that day care centers, which often provide children with two to three meals a day, are a prime spot to entrench healthy eating and exercise habits. At several pilot centers, officials in Mecklenburg County are training day care staff--including cooks--to integrate exercise and a wider variety of fruits, vegetables, healthier meats, and low-fat dairy into their menus.

Newsletter produced by: Brendan St. Amant and Vanessa Ruget (researchers and writers); Joellen Secondo (editor).