CHILDHOOD HUNGER
- Following up on Share Our Strength’s survey on childhood hunger, founder Billy Shore says that President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness is spinning its wheels by not looking at root problems: “To seek economic competitiveness without addressing childhood hunger and poverty, is like seeking military superiority without investing in the physical fitness of the troops.” (Huffington, 2/24)
- Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced $5 million in Hunger-Free Community grants, and went on to say that childhood hunger needs to be tackled at a local level with support from nonprofits and corporations. (USDA, 2/24)
INNOVATION | I always worry about computers taking over the world like they did in Terminator, but IBM thinks that Watson – the supercomputer Jeopardy! champ – might actually be able to help solve social problems in ways that humans haven’t considered. Curiouser and curiouser…(Chronicle, 2/24 – subscription)
EDUCATION
- The Prince George’s County school board has approved a budget that will cut more than 1,300 jobs and make class sizes much bigger. School Superintendent William Hite Jr. hopes that the passage of the dire budget will “persuade the state and county governments to contribute more money.” (WaPo, 2/25) Probably not a reasonable expectation, unfortunately.
- New District deputy mayor for education De’Shawn Wright talked to the city council about his vision for the position. (WaPo, 2/24)
WRAG’s Public Education Working Group will meet with Wright and Hosanna Mahaley, the State Superintendent of Education, on March 14. [More info.]
GIVING | A donor is demanding the return of more than $3 million in contributions from a college football program after not being given a say in hiring a new coach. Is it reasonable for him to ask for his money back? (WSJ, 2/24) Philanthropy isn’t supposed to be a back door to ownership, so I say no.
ENVIRONMENT | The Alice Ferguson Foundation has found that despite accusations that the D.C. bag tax harms business, 78% of businesses surveyed reported a neutral or positive effect on their bottom line. (DCist, 2/25)
One of our regular readers suggested that my paraphrasing of the Chronicle’s article on Charles Feeney’s signing of the Giving Pledge might have betrayed the intended meaning. To be clear, I meant to emphasize that Feeney had already dedicated his fortune to charity long before anyone even asked him to – a testament to his extraordinarily and impressively generous character. Surely his signing of the Giving Pledge will inspire other billionaires to do the same.
