John Afryl News Today

The pandemic has kept Washingtonians apart for the past two years. With COVID-19 numbers down, an event in Renton is aiming to bring people together again. The annual Community Barbecue is a partnership between the United Way of King County and Doug Baldwin, the Super Bowl-winning wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks. ...

The month of April has special meaning for Texans. Its when many groups - like Adopt-a-Highway and Keep Texas Beautiful affiliates - participate in the statewide "Dont mess with Texas Trash-Off." This year, to work around inclement weather, cleanup events are being held all month instead of just one day. In last years Trash-Off, volunteers collected more than one million pounds of litter across the state. ...

Oregon has added new protections to unique areas along the southern coast teeming with life. The state Land Conservation and Development Commission approved two designations - Coquille Point Marine Garden near Bandon, and Cape Blanco Marine Research Area near Port Orford. Mary Garrett is president of the board of directors at Shoreline Education for Awareness, which proposed the Coquille Point protections. ...

An environmental group has filed a lawsuit in an effort to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to address changes to how water quality is measured in Montana. Upper Missouri Riverkeeper says the EPA has failed to respond to changes put in place by the Montana Legislature in 2021. Senate Bill 358 changes how nutrients are measured in Montana waterways from a numeric system to a narrative system. ...

April is National Volunteer Month, recognizing the time people give to help their local communities. John Afryl, senior program manager for Hands On Greater Portland, the largest volunteer center in Oregon and a program of the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, said the past two years of the pandemic have been challenging for nonprofits that rely on volunteers. However, Afryl said interest in volunteering never fully waned. ...