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An Ypsilanti nonprofit is directing its efforts to provide programming for youngsters in Ypsilanti that promote positive outcomes in all aspects of life. It’s called Educate Youth and says it's committed to increasing high school graduation rates and working one-on-one to develop a clear post-high school plan. WEMU's David Fair talked with founder and executive director Gail Wolkoff about the successes to date and the challenges ahead.

What does it take to heal a community impacted by gun violence? For some local advocates, it starts with an industrial chop saw in a church parking lot, turning dismantled firearms into pieces of art. For others, it's launching a lock-it-up campaign with community centers or pediatric offices that give away free lockboxes to anyone. These grassroots efforts are just part of the story for Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence (PPGV), founded by local doctors who have witnessed the physical and psychological toll of firearm trauma firsthand. Washtenaw United's new host, Decky Alexander, talked all about PPGV's ongoing work with the organization's president, Dr. Mike Otto.

A YMCA building that closed its preschool collaborative doors in March reopened in June as something else entirely — a free, neighborhood-embedded wellness and community hub now known as the "Neighborhood Collaborative". Ann Arbor YMCA President James Highsmith spoke with Lee Van Roth about the development of the Neighborhood Collaborative and what the future may hold for it.

When a child is hospitalized, the strain on the family can be overwhelming. It can be even more overwhelming when these families are struggling financially. Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Ann Arbor provides these families with temporary food and housing while their children receive medical treatment. RMHC's Director of Development, Dr. Douglas F. Manigault III, joined Decky Alexander to talk more about the house's continuing work for the community.

David D'Arcy reports on this year's Sundance Film Festival, widely regarded as the most prestigious showcase for independent films and documentaries, which opens tonight. One film features a handful of the 40,000 Cubans who left their island on rafts in the 1990s.

The Doyenne of Dirt, gardening expert Ketzel Levine of Talking Plants fame, visits Weekend Edition Saturday and persuades host Scott Simon to get his hands dirty planting bamboo. We have photos to mark the event, plus plenty of advice for those who want to add bamboo to their gardens or yards.

With some verbal sleight of hand, John Ciardi explores the origins of the words midriff and rib. They're relationship is not what it may seem, linguistically, at least.

Public concern is growing that the justifications for a war in Iraq were exaggerated, as those searching for weapons of mass destruction have turned up empty-handed. Commentator Andrea Carlisle ponders the fate of lost weapons of mass destruction.

In part eight of the series Honky Tonks, Hymns, and the Blues, NPR's Paul Brown explains the way the accordion came to the American southwest in the hands of German immigrants and caught the ears of local Tex Mex musicians.

We're zeroing in on eight "tossup" states where the race is too close to call, but where the election will likely be decided. Try your hand at gaming out the electoral vote possibilities.