Latest news with #Jaynes
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Lyrid meteor shower will soon fly over Iowa. When is the best time to watch?
One of the oldest known meteor showers will return to Iowa's skies during the last few weeks of April. Every April, the Lyrid meteor shower becomes visible on Earth as our planet passes through the debris trails. The Lyrids will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere between midnight and dawn. They emerged from the constellation Lyra, according to astronomers. The Lyrid meteor shower will peak April 21 and April 22, but the peak is hard to predict, said Allison Jaynes, an associate professor in the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Iowa. However, activity could start as early as midnight on April 16. Viewers could see 10 to 15 meteors per hour. "If they're lucky, they'll catch a 'fireball, ' which is an exceptionally bright meteor that creates a long, dramatic tail. Very rarely, there are short bursts of much higher meteor rates, but we're not able to predict when those will happen," Jaynes told the Register in an email. Watch the sky from a reclined position. This can be done by using a lawn chair or blanket on the ground. This allows stargazers to see the majority of the sky to increase their odds of catching a meteor. Look straight up into the sky because there is no specific direction the meteors could be traveling from, Jaynes said. "In Iowa, we have great access to dark skies. Just go out of the cities and towns to farm areas away from concentrations of bright lights," Jaynes said. Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at kkealey@ or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Lyrid meteor shower will soon pass Iowa. When you should watch
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cuts, shakeup at the federal level impact local non-profit UETHDA
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — Many local residents who need help with their energy costs often turn to the federally funded LIHEAP program for help. Through the low-income home energy assistance program, families can receive a one-time payment of up to $1,000 to help offset the costs of electricity, gas or even firewood needed for energy. The program is facilitated locally through the Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency (UETHDA). During the COVID-19 pandemic, more money was added to the program, but UETHDA Executive Director Tim Jaynes said Monday that Covid-era funding is ending. Unable to get $2M in time, org. still hopes for air service expansion at Tri-Cities Airport 'Our program as a whole, we are seeing changes in the fact that the COVID money is drying up,' he said. 'So we are seeing a reduction there, and that's about a 20% reduction that we will see throughout the LIHEAP program.' At the height of the funding, about 12,000 residents in eight Northeast Tennessee counties were served. Now, Jaynes said about a thousand fewer will receive those funds. Those recipients will be determined by a points system that assesses the severity of need. So, even though a family may qualify, the funding may not be there to help. But Jaynes encourages residents to still reach out because help may come from another source. 'We are always there, so they can go to their neighborhood service centers or they can contact us at main office. We have a lot of other resources that are available. There's a lot of churches that are available with funding, and there's a lot of, just other organizations that step up and help.' In addition to the COVID-19 funding cuts, nearly all of the staff who ran the LIHEAP program in Washington DC were laid off as part of the restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services. Jaynes says it's unclear how that decision will impact them locally yet, but hopes the administration will see the value in their programs and make no further cuts. 'Historically, we have seen good results from our programs. We've seen good outcomes. We've seen people moving forward, historically. Also, the administration has liked our programs; and Congress likes our programs. That's why they've continued to fund them. We do not foresee any major drastic cuts, but we're all in a wait-and-see. We don't know what tomorrow holds.' Jaynes adds that UETHDA gives a helping hand, not a handout, and when a client receives assistance, financial counseling is also provided. 'One aspect to the LIHEAP program is when someone comes into our office and works with us, we also work with them on financial literacy. So while it is a small portion of their annual budgeting, we help them with other things and we try and wrap our arms around everyone that walks in the office, because our goal is to eradicate poverty and help them move forward.' As far as local jobs impacted by these cuts, Jaynes didn't want to comment on that until they officially know more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Utah launches new program to increase grief support access for bereaved children
SALT LAKE CITY () — Bereaved children in Utah will now have improved access to grief resources after a program utilizing death certificates was launched by Utah leaders Tuesday. In Utah, will lose a parent or caregiver before the age of 18-years-old. This new program seeks to provide support to bereaved children and uses death certificate data to contact caregivers and connect them with available resources. The program was created by the and the New York Life Foundation and launched with the help of Gov. Spencer Cox on Tuesday, March 18. In July 2023, optional checkboxes were added to Utah death certificates to identify if the deceased individual left behind surviving children. Since its implementation, Tracy Gruber, the executive director of Utah's Department of Health and Human Services, said that nearly 1,600 deceased individuals were known to have surviving children under 18 years old. Using the death certificate data, families will be contacted by 211 Utah service navigators after letters are mailed by Utah DHHS to protect personal privacy. These letters will let caregivers know that help is available and connect families with service navigators, whose support is made possible by $400,000 in state funds and cross-agency coordination. 'I'm proud that here in Utah, we're building pathways of support for children who suddenly lose a parent. The first step is knowing who they are. Thanks to this important effort, we can now identify these kids so their caregivers can be connected with 211 Utah service navigators—helping them access the support and resources they need during such a difficult time,' said Cox. Surviving children of a deceased parent or caregiver will then be directly connected with grief support, such as The Sharing Place. Trina Supp and her 11-year-old son have received support from The Sharing Place following the sudden passing of his father in 2022. Supp and her son said resources like this have been making a difference. 'They're a really amazing support and help and we're just really grateful,' Supp said. Through the program, the Granite School District identified bereaved children on their 2024 back-to-school forms, allowing 211 Utah to contact those families this year. Catherine Jaynes, the Children's Collaborative CEO and co-founder, said that the work has already started to expand the program to more school districts. 'Getting the current and future data of surviving children on death certificates is a big step towards helping these kids and giving them the best opportunity for success in life. Our initiative also seeks to identify and support bereaved children when the death occurred at earlier stages of their lives and for those who recently moved to Utah,' said Jaynes. 'All children navigating the tremendous hardships of parental loss should access Social Security survivor benefits and mental and emotional support.' Jaynes said that according to the Social Security Administration, a child enrolled in Social Security benefits receives around $1,100, which too often is left untouched. The Children's Collaborative was spearheaded by an earlier effort, the COVID Collaborative, which looked to offer support for those who lost a parent or caregiver during a pandemic. 'Utah is an example to the nation of what can be done to support children suffering unbelievable loss. The data show avoidable adverse outcomes for bereaved children including poverty, poor performance in school, drug and alcohol abuse. I'm grateful Utah is paving the way to intervene and stop long-term negative outcomes, helping children and families cope and grow from tragic loss,' said John Bridgeland, CEO and Co-founder of the Covid Collaborative and Co-Founder of the Children's Collaborative. Resources from Children's Collaborative for Healing and Support Download Resources from Children's Collaborative for Healing and Support Download Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
