TBA Today reports today on a $200,000 grant awarded to The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts for the purpose of providing translation assistance to petitioners with limited English proficiency.

The one-year grant from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Competitive Grant Program will pay for interpreters for specific non-indigent parties. Courts that incur expenses may file claims through June 2012. Funds will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Click here for more details.

Bites' Chris Chamberlain relays some info on a recent Healthways grant that will help some Metro schools cafeteria managers attend a national conference and spread nutrition programs through the system.

To many interested parties, working to change school nutrition policies seems to progress at a glacial pace. But the AN School Nutrition Committee has established bold goals over the next three to five years. These include eliminating junk food from cafeterias, installing salad bars in all schools, using more locally grown foods and empowering students to make healthier choices. Hopefully with the help of the Healthways grant and a continued concerted effort, progress can be made as we kick off another school year.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded Tennessee State University with a grant of $789,031. The money is one of three awards given nationally to historically black colleges and universities to help revitalize neighborhoods and promote affordable hosuing near their campuses.

"Historically black colleges and universities play a unique role in helping to revitalize local communities," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "HUD is proud to be partnering with these colleges and universities to help them improve neighborhoods and stimulate economic development around their campuses."

The funds may be used to "demolish blighted structures, rehabilitate homes, assist community-based development organizations to carry out neighborhood revitalization, and provide down-payment and closing cost assistance to low- and moderate-income homebuyers."

Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina and Norfolk State University in Virginia are the other grant recipients. Each received $800,000.

“Young adults are susceptible to many risky behaviors that can increase their chances of alcohol and drug addiction and HIV infection,” said Dr. Dennis Morrison, CEO of CRI. “Members of the military and college students are particularly predisposed to activities that can put them at risk. This grant will allow us to launch programs specifically designed to help equip these young adults with the knowledge, resources and tools to promote healthier life choices and prevent substance abuse and the spread of HIV.”

“Metro government’s support of Legal Aid Society is monumental. It points to the vital legal assistance that our domestic violence clients have experienced,” said DarKenya Waller, Managing Attorney of the Nashville office of the Legal Aid Society. “This funding will help hundreds of individuals and families seeking counsel and legal protection that they wouldn’t get anywhere else. We look forward to continuing our collaborative work with the domestic violence agencies. ”

“The Bike Workshop is forever changed by this grant,” said Hal Cato, CEO for Oasis Center. “Our immediate plans include renovating the current Workshop space, which is in desperate need of the basics, such as plumbing, heating and cooling. We’re also going to be able to create a mobile Workshop to take into the most at-risk areas of Nashville.”

“As a pediatrician, I can see it happening right in front of me. An overweight preschooler is four to five times more likely to stay overweight as an adolescent. And if you stay overweight as an adolescent, there is a 70 percent likelihood you will stay overweight as an adult,” Barkin said.