It wasn’t all bad
■■ After more than 100 years, a rare species has returned to Seattle’s Mount Rainier National Park. Wolverines—large, aggressive members of the weasel family— used to be common from Canada to Colorado, but they have steadily migrated northward, leaving only a few hundred in the lower 48 states. Last week, camera stations set by scientists discovered a female wolverine and two babies living in the park. “It’s really, really exciting,” said park superintendent Chip Jenkins. “It tells us that we’re doing a good job of managing our wilderness.”
■■ There is a masked crusader on the streets of Santiago, Chile, this summer. But rather than fighting criminals, Solidarity Batman delivers hot meals. Months of lockdown have caused hardship in Chile, where unemployment has reached a record 12 percent. Recently, an unidentified man has been donning a full Batman suit, plus a surgical mask for coronavirus protection, and traveling through the capital city sharing sympathy and plates of food. Almost anyone can be like him, the everyday superhero says. “Look around you, see if you can dedicate a little time, a little food, a little shelter, a word sometimes of encouragement to those who need it.”
■■ Willie Fairley watched as a powerful windstorm devasted his Iowa community. Luckily, the grill at his restaurant, Willie Ray’s Q Shack, was unharmed, so he started using it to feed some of the many people left without power. Fairley provides some 500 free meals a day to his fellow Iowans, who recently presented him with a “thank you” banner full of signatures. “He just pulls up to devastated neighborhoods,” said resident Kelly McDonald, “getting his smoker out and feeding people.” Why? “Because if it was me home with nothing,” says Fairley, “I would want someone to at least be able to provide something for me.”