Homers: What's going right

HEALTHY RATING: Men's Journal, a national publication, in its February issue

listed Iowa City as the healthiest town in the nation. CNN medical writer Dr. Sanjay

Gupta considered six factors: locally grown fruits and vegetables, short commutes, availability of sidewalks, low pollution, green spaces and good weather (well, five out of six isn't bad).

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LESS RUNOFF: Sometimes, you go at it one small step at a time. Like the Indian Creek Nature Center's new rain barrel project. Buy a 65-gallon barrel at the discounted price of $100, put it under your rainspout, and if enough people do it, pretty soon you reduce runoff and flooding, especially in cities where concrete is more common than grass.

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HAITI HELPERS: Among the Eastern Iowans lending a hand to Haiti's earthquake victims the past week was Mike Deutmeyer of Stone City. He and his father, Frank, used the family's Weber Stone Co. business plane to make 22 trips from the Dominican Republic to various places in Haiti, delivering medical supplies, food and water. They put in 40 hours of air time during the week, donating about $1,000 per hour in operating costs.