Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Let us know what you think — and tell us what you’re reading‚ too! — at info@reasonstobecheerful.world. Grass isn’t greener As readers of our Waterline series know‚ we are always on the lookout for solutions to water crises — including the one facing the American Southwest. So Editorial Director Rebecca Worby was pleased to encounter a story this week from KUNC about how Utah’s Washington County is doing more with less water. Becca says:   On first glance‚ this doesn’t seem like a solution story: It’s about a county where growth is outpacing available water‚ a situation becoming more and more common across the Southwest. But Washington County is taking major steps to conserve water‚ including upping its wastewater recycling and replacing lawns with xeriscaping. Safe streets Executive Editor Will Doig pointed us to some good news via Patch that’s close to home for our New York-based staff: Hoboken‚ New Jersey‚ has hit a safety milestone thanks to simple changes such as daylighting for better intersection visibility and brightening crosswalk stripes. Downtown Hoboken. Credit: James Andrews1 / Shutterstock Will says:   New York City’s “Vision Zero‚” which aimed to eliminate traffic deaths‚ hasn’t gone so well. Meanwhile‚ just across the river‚ Hoboken‚ New Jersey hasn’t had a traffic death in seven years. What else we’re reading New York Reimagined Subsidized Housing. What Happened? — shared by RTBC founder David Byrne from the New York Times The College Solution to Rural News Deserts — shared by Rebecca Worby from the Daily Yonder Big‚ Bold Warning Labels Can Steer People Away From Junk Food — shared by David Byrne from the Wall Street Journal From our readers RTBC reader Kelly Damian noticed we’ve published several water stories from Central California‚ so she sent us a note about Bring Back the Kern‚ a grassroots organization working to restore the Kern River in Bakersfield. “This is a David and Goliath story of remarkable proportions‚” Kelly says. The post What We’re Reading: Wise Water Use‚ Brighter Crosswalks and More appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.

Toby Keith just stopped Morgan Waller from eclipsing Garth Brook's record for most weeks on the Billboard Country album chart for nearly 33 years!  ‚One Thing at a Time‚‚ Morgan Wallen’s most recent album is tied‚ and was ‚projected to top Billboard's All Genre chart‚ but was stopped by the Big Dawg. Wow‚ what a way to say goodbye. This is Toby's ‚fifth album to top Billboard's all genre chart! Morgan may still set a new record in the coming weeks‚ but one thing is for certain‚ it won't be this week.. Great things take time‚ and are worth the wait.‚‚ Morgan was also able to wisely turn a ‚‚‚not-so-great‚‚ situation into another win by recutting ‚Spin You Around‚‚ which just debuted at number ‚‚‚one‚‚ on Billboard’s Country Digital chart.  https://youtu.be/SL4BH6VoK4Y?si=Le5oaAMmmDq7ua6NMorgan’s incredibly enduring pop chart topper ‚Last Night‚ was also nominated for a 2024 Grammy this year. Overall‚ this past week has been great for Grammy nominees as Luke Combs latest album ‚Getting Old ‚received a 22% increase in radio spins after the show. His emotional performance with Tracy Chapman was the ‚‚‚highlight of the Grammys this year. Some of the other grammy nominees‚ and winners experienced a spike in plays like Taylor‚ SZA‚ and Miley. And Toby Keith’s 35 Biggest Hits album surged after he passed away on February 5th. It will be reported at #2 in next week's Billboard chart. I'm still speechless‚ and shocked. It just seems so unbelievable as there were ‚‚‚reports that he was doing better. What a tremendous loss to country music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxUuDPNbkJk Morgan also earned the ‚‚‚Pollstar Country Tour of the Year award‚ which is given to the top grossing tour in each major music category. Taylor won for Best Major Tour‚ Post Malone won for Hip Hop‚ Jelly Roll for Best New Touring Artist and the Mother Church‚ The Ryman Auditorium won for Best Theater. The 2024 Grammys also honored ‚‚‚Tammy Wynette with a much deserved Lifetime Achievement award. ‚Stand By Your Man‚ was a breakthrough single‚ as she was the first female artist to sell over 5 Million copies. She was also the first female country singer to sell over 1 million albums. ‚‚‚Recently‚ Georgette‚ Tammy &; George's daughter confided that her momma told her George was the love of her life.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl1JceERO30A little pop culture for you all? Do you know what the number one game show in the world is? Jeopardy of course! The show's success can be attributed to its clever twist on the traditional quiz show format. Instead of providing contestants with answers‚ Jeopardy presents them with clues in various categories‚ requiring them to respond in the form of a question. One such clue recently stumped everyone‚ and it had to do with ‚The Man In Black‚‚ Johnny Cash. The Jeopardy contestants vying for the highly wished for spot in the Tournament of Champions dreams came to a screeching halt when they were not able to correctly guess I Walk The Line when provided with this clue: ‚"‘It was kind of a prodding to myself to play it straight‚’ said Johnny Cash of this 1956 hit‚"  What is really sad is that they responded with ‚Walk The Line‚‚ when the actual title is ‚I Walk The Line.‚ So close‚ that has to hurt. ‚Thanks for all the early support on our new ‚‚Rewind ‚podcast! A new installment is slated for February 16th‚ 2024‚ and my daily personal development podcast ‚‚"Do This First"‚. You guys rock! I'm also adding just a few more music enthusiasts to my Sunsetters circle. This is where you get to hear snippets of my unreleased music‚ and interact with a community of fellow music lovers. You can sign up ‚‚‚here for a limited time.Please help support these amazing charities! Matthew 23 Make A Wish St Jude Habitat For Humanity Persecution.orgMore Content Don't forget to follow the blogger on Twitter: Listen to more good country music here  Check out our music podcasts on Pandora

On my happier days‚ I'd like to think there's a bit of good to be found in everything. Take wokeness‚ for example. Wokeness is a horrible‚ culture-eating virus that has infected nearly all public and private institutions in the West. However‚ it's certainly woken conservatives up from a relative slumber...

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