Credit: YES!/Paul Dunn.

Estelle Becker Costanzo has worked in Pittsburgh restaurants since age 15. Now 56, she is a server at The Capital Grille, a position she is proud of. “This is a good job,” she says—relative to the rest of the industry. Still, because her base wage has stayed put at $2.83 per hour for 25 years, she struggles to cover her basic expenses. “Originally, [tips] were supposed to be 50 percent of our income. Now it’s more like 100 percent.”

As tips became her primary income, the demands on that income increased. As is standard in the industry, The Capital Grille charges Costanzo a fixed percentage of every bill as a tip for bussers and bartenders. The charge assumes she receives a 20-percent tip. This was workable when large parties were charged a tip by default—a policy known by the awkward Americanism “automatic gratuity” or “autograt.” Recently, however, The Capital Grille ended autograt, leaving Costanzo’s income up to her customers’ whims. When large parties reserve private rooms, they’ll often tip only a fraction […]

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Wind turbines outside Boulder, Colorado.
Credit: AP/Brennan Linsley

Boulder, Colorado, announced Wednesday that it would commit to being powered by 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, making it the 17th U.S. city to make such a pledge.

The commitment only covers the city’s electricity — it does not cover sectors like transportation, which could still be powered by fossil fuels. Electricity generation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gases in the United States, however, accounting for 30 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2014.

“Boulder is committed to achieving 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030, as part of our strategy to achieve 80 percent greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2050,” Jones told Boulder’s local CBS station on Wednesday. (emphasis added)

If Boulder successfully transitions to 100 percent renewable-sourced electricity, it would be the second city in Colorado to do so — in 2015, Aspen began powering […]

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A “concerning” number of today’s four-year-olds are not physically ready to start school, new research has revealed, with children’s mobility levels said to be at an all-time low. (emphasis added)

Early-years specialists monitoring children of school age found a higher number experience problems with their balance and coordination than previously thought, ultimately affecting their ability to learn in class. Researchers from the University of Loughborough said the increase was partly a result of modern children being less active in their early years compared with previous decades, with typical movements associated with play and development reduced by the introduction of electronic toys and screens.

Tests to assess Foundation Stage children’s physical development at the start of the first school year found almost a third to be “of concern” for lack of motor skills and reflexes. Almost 90 per cent of children demonstrated some degree of movement difficulty for their age.

Dr Rebecca Duncombe, […]

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