Arlene Gottfried

Debbie Moran, at the piano, will be reunited with the blind seniors she's worked with for 20 years

We've got some good news to report this Friday: the Jewish Guild for the Blind has hired back its music therapist, Debbie Moran, after a cover story and an on-going series in the Voice highlighted problems at the nonprofit organization.

In March the Voice reported how Moran, who had worked with elderly, blind seniors as the Guild's music therapist and choirmaster for 20 years, had been laid off, even though the part-time employee earned only about $5,000 a year. The reason cited for Moran's axing was "Medicaid budget cuts," even though a review of the nonprofit's tax filings by the Voice seemed to show no such apparent cuts (a fact recently confirmed by government sources), and despite the fact that the group's CEO, Dr. Alan Morse, had received an 82% compensation increase just two years ago, bringing his pay up to over $1.5 million annually.

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Last week, Runnin' Scared brought you news of Samantha Garvey, a 17-year-old aspiring marine biologist from Long Island.

Garvey gained nationwide attention when reports surfaced that she and her family were living in a homeless shelter -- and that she'd risen to become a semifinalist in Intel's science competition despite economic hardship.

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www.doonenicething.com

And now for an item that kinda makes you think that humanity ain't all bad (at least until you come across something like this, this, or this.)

After reports surfaced that Long Island 17-year-old Samantha Garvey, an Intel national science competition semifinalist, was living in a homeless shelter with her family, hundreds from the community offered to help them, The Associated Press reports (via Washington Post).

Now, the Garveys have a home again. Long Island housing officials just announced that the Garveys can move into a rent-subsidized apartment in a few days, ABC reports.

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Are you one of those unlucky people dubbed "nice" by everyone? Worse, do you live in the South, and therefore people call you "sweet"? According to a new study by those super nice folks known as scientists, having two copies of the "G" gene in your DNA tends to mean that you are more empathetic, more trustworthy, more compassionate, and more cooperative. Plus, reports MSNBC, other people can detect your niceness based on looking at you for less than 20 seconds. Oh dear.

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