Alex Reid

New York artists Jason Eppink and Posterchild prompted their local government to fix a leaky pipe by building a small bridge over the sidewalk sludge.

Astoria Scum River Bridge project page

(Note that the media attention came after the agreement to fix it)

The New York Times has launched a new site tool named Represent that allows New Yorkers to find out who their representative is on all levels and then access news stories relating to those politicians.

There’s nothing new in Represent technologically as it’s simple tagging news stories and categorizing by congressional district but The New York Times illustrates the next step for news(paper) content providers; “hyperlocal” content.

The BBC reports that a city in Israel (population 180,000) is setting up a DNA database to match dog poop left in their streets to their owners in order to fine them. In the UK, some towns have resorted to using surveillance cameras and undercover patrols to identify offenders in particular trouble spots.

Tika Bar-On, the city’s chief veterinarian who came up with the idea for the DNA experiment, told Reuters the DNA database could also help veterinarians research genetic diseases in dogs, investigate canine pedigree and identify stray animals, replacing the need for electronic chip identification.

“The sky is the limit on how far we can take this,” she said.

From CTV:

Professor Neil Boyd, a criminologist at Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University, told CTV’s Canada AM on Monday that Insite, the five-year-old safe-injection site, has not had a negative impact on its community.

“We looked at crime rates in the area surrounding Insite, and we talked to business operators, we talked to service providers, to police, to residents in the surrounding vicinity. We found, overwhelmingly, people had very positive sentiments,” Boyd said.