Free buses may soon become a basic city service in Albuquerque. A vote to make a pilot "Zero Fares" rider program permanent is set to come before the City Council. Tammy Fiebelkorn, a city councilor, said the program has had benefits for all transit riders, but especially transit-dependent riders, youth, seniors, essential workers, families and people with disabilities. .
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality wants to know what people think the state s next Environmental Policy Act should include. Critics claim the state is using the public input process as a stall tactic to avoid implementing important environmental rules now. The DEQ s move is a response to a judge s high-profile decision earlier this year supporting young climate activists who claimed Montana s fossil-fuels policy violates their constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment. .
A film festival created to help close the gap in storytelling for people of color is offering free, virtual showings as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. Through Friday, the Hispanic Access Foundation is hosting the third annual "Our Heritage, Our Planet Film Week" to honor the storytelling traditions of Latino, Black, Indigenous and other people of color. A Conservation Program Associate with the Foundations, Brenda Gallegos, said the festival allows BIPOC communities to contribute their unique perspective on the world around us. .
While it might feel natural to rake the leaves in your yard this fall, the leaves might play a more natural role in your garden or lawn. A new survey from the National Wildlife Federation revealed most people know leaf layers provide a home to butterflies, moths and insects which birds need to survive, and yet they continue to bag them up and send them to a landfill. Peter Grimaldi, vice president of gardens and facilities at Cheekwood Estate and Gardens in Nashville, said leaving the leaves for a couple extra months over the winter can benefit wildlife and plants as well. .