Both Edmonton and Calgary are pushing to keep schools open after hours and during summer holidays as part of a community effort to fight gangs, keep streets safer and promote healthy activities for kids.

Calgary's plans recently got a major boost when Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett approved a $1.5-million grant from his discretionary lottery fund to help cover for the next two years the costs of keeping schools open after six p.m. and on weekends for a wide range of activities.

"When kids are engaged in positive activities, it produces better outcomes, less crime, fewer gang activities and better academic achievement," said Casey Boodt, who works with UpStart, the United Way agency pushing to reopen schools as a community centres.

Edmonton's proposal, outlined last fall in the mayor's task force on community safety, calls for schools to return to a more traditional role as community hubs, with programming from three to six p.m., said Lindsay Kelly, co-chair of the task force.

The task force wants a dramatic change to the city's approach to safety and crime reduction "in one generation" by focusing on prevention and opportunities for families and children in neighbourhoods.

"A lot of people are doing good things in the community," but crime is still a problem, Kelly said.

"After consultation with hundreds of people, we realized we really needed to do something differently," she said.

"We need to provide services in the community and get to crime before it happens."

The Edmonton task force applied last fall for two $500,000 grants from the province. It expects to hear back this spring.

The Calgary project is a collaboration of the United Way, two school boards, the city and a rural neighbour, Rockyview County.

So far, 35 schools have been identified, including 10 in Rockyview, Boodt said.

The City of Calgary provides a key liaison person in its recreation department who will connect community groups like the YMCA with schools in needy neighbourhoods.

"It's been a huge achievement. The pilot will show more kids involved in positive activities and fewer in high-risk behaviour and it's good for taxpayers," Boodt said. A key factor in the success of the application to the government was recruiting an "influential group of business and political leaders" as champions of the UpStart program who worked with local MLAs, she said.

The $1.5 million comes from the Other Initiatives Program, an $8-million fund under the direct control of the culture minister.

via www.canada.com

Is this the way to build the online shopping experience to be more interactive and personal?

Google Rumored to Be Working on "Store Views"

File this one under rumors, but it's an interesting rumor nonetheless. Popular search writer Barry Schwartz says he's heard from a New York retailer called Oh Nuts, that Google went to their store and took pictures of the inside for a new product called "Google Store Views". This would be like Google Maps Street View, but inside stores.

"I was told that they took pictures of the inside of the store, every 6 feet, in all directions," says Schwartz. "They also took pictures of products."

"Google Store Views will allow people to essentially walk into the store, off of Google Street Views," he adds. "So imagine you are looking at this store, and then you can click on the door to enter it, all on Google Maps. Then when you enter the store, you can wall through it."

via www.smallbusinessnewz.com