Spokane Hopes Tiny Homes and Cottages Will Spur Infill Density
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/spokane-hopes-tiny-homes-and-cottages-will-spur-infill-density?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Josh Cohen
Next City
15 February 2019
Text / Under 800 Words
The city of Spokane has made it easier for multiple smaller housing units to be built on a plot of land by changing their zoning requirements. The change makes it easier for affordable housing to be built, among other things. It also attracts development within the city limits, rather than sprawling into the suburbs.
Nosara Firefighters Manage to Respond to 260 Emergencies This Year With Their Cell Phones
https://vozdeguanacaste.com/en/nosara-firefighters-manage-to-respond-to-260-emergencies-this-year-with-their-cell-phones?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Noelia Esquivel
Voz de Guanacaste
18 September 2018
Text / Under 800 Words
In Costa Rica a group of volunteer firefighters using donated equipment, gear and their own cell phones is filling a big gap in emergency services. More residents are now accustomed to calling them directly for fires and other emergencies and the community supports them financially. They are working to get integrated into the country's emergency alert system and to build their own fire station, but it's still a struggle to stay afloat financially.
Colleges are starting to teach blockchain technology -- but its not enough for some
https://hechingerreport.org/colleges-are-beginning-to-teach-blockchain-technology-but-its-not-enough-for-some-students?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Sarah Gonser
The Hechinger Report
17 September 2018
Text / 1500-3000 Words
While some universities have been hesitant to let blockchain technology into the traditional halls of academia, UC Berkeley has started offering blockchain entrepreneurship courses and student-run blockchain clubs and is actively looking for more ways to collaborate with industry partners. But UC Berkeley is also the first to admit the transition has challenges - those interviewed cited the lack of infrastructure, rapid rate of technological change, and uniquely multidisciplinary nature of the subject area as barriers to timely and enthusiastic adoption.
Can Teachers Stop Teens From Considering Suicide? New York State Thinks So.
https://brightthemag.com/can-teachers-stop-teens-from-considering-suicide-new-york-state-mental-health-thinks-so-2be3793d2943?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Maria Luisa Tucker
Bright Magazine
14 September 2018
Text / 1500-3000 Words
New York state now requires all public schools to incorporate mental health education into the standard K-12 curriculum. Proponents see this approach as a promising response to the national suicide epidemic, but some worry the ask is unrealistic when teachers don't receive specific training or the support to process their many students' mental health challenges.
How Baltimore City Started Listening to Its Residents about Food Policy
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/how-baltimore-city-started-listening-to-its-residents-about-food-policy?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Emily Nonko
Next City
14 September 2018
Text / Under 800 Words
Leaders in Baltimore realized that improvements in food policy would be enhanced by more accurate language and more local activism. The Baltimore Food Policy Initiative brings together city agencies and uses data and shared terminology to improve their work, referring to “food deserts” as “ healthy priority areas.” The group also engaged 14 new “resident food equity advisors” to begin the work of assessing the landscape, in terms of accessibility of healthy food. This data will be used to move thoughtful policies forward.
Is this the greenest outdoor shop in the country?
https://www.snewsnet.com/people/pack-rat-outdoor-center-sustainability-practices?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Shawnté Salabert
SNEWS
14 September 2018
Text / 1500-3000 Words
Pack Rat Outdoor Center, an outdoor retailer in Arkansas, is making their mark in the fight for sustainable practices. Through efforts to recycle, compost and upcycle materials, the store sends less to a landfill than it does to recycling centers. The efforts have been so successful thus far that even community members are joining in and becoming more active in sustainable practices and education.
Opioid-addicted students pose new challenges for colleges
https://hechingerreport.org/a-new-challenge-for-colleges-opioid-addicted-students?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Kelly Field
The Hechinger Report
13 September 2018
Text / 1500-3000 Words
The opioid crisis has thrust colleges into a new role - recovery house. Compared to 2013, when only a couple dozen colleges had addiction recovery programs, today, there are close to 200. Of the students who enroll, one study found, only eight percent relapse. Although an increasing number of higher education institutions are rolling out similar programs, the stigma and cost of the approach remain significant barriers to more widespread adoption.
Meet The School That Educates Children Hidden In India’s Margins
https://brightthemag.com/gubbachi-learning-community-india-the-school-that-educates-children-hidden-in-indias-margins-47cbbf8574ab?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Gayatri Ganju
Bright Magazine
13 September 2018
Text / 800-1500 Words
According to some estimates, close to 8 million children in India are out of primary school. By offering small group learning and self-directed education opportunities, the Gubbachi Learning Community provides a necessarily flexible framework for migrant children in Bangalore to catch up on basic math and literacy skills so they can ultimately join the government-school system with their peers.
A health care policy that puts the ending first
https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2018/09/12/medicare-advance-directives-end-life-care-000689?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Joanne Kenen
Politico
12 September 2018
Text / 1500-3000 Words
The Medicare system is struggling with rising costs and a rapidly aging population, but one solution to the issue might be to encourage people to lay out end-of-life plans and wishes before a health crisis. The Providence St. Joseph health care system is piloting an effort to do just that, working through the barriers to end-of-life planning with financial incentives, comprehensive data, and targeted efforts to make advanced directives, also known as living wills, more common. So far, the initiative has seen "slightly more than 13 percent [of patients] complete [and record] an advance directive."
Connecting your medical data could be the next big payoff
https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2018/09/12/medicare-electronic-records-000690?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Arthur Allen
Politico
12 September 2018
Text / 1500-3000 Words
As new Medicare requirements and expenses change, new start-ups are stepping up to move the hospital industry to share data more easily and break down the silos that keep care from being efficient for both patient and provider. The new strategies are helping to coordinate care and services for the highest-risk patients, but there are still concerns that the data sharing is not a long-term solution.
Drones help track critically endangered swift parrots in NSW Riverina
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-12/drones-track-critically-endangered-swift-parrots-in-nsw-riverina/10221302?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Moyra Shields
ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
12 September 2018
Mixed Media / Under 800 Words
The swift parrot population in the NSW Riverina in Australia is quickly declining and historically used tracking methods are falling short in accurate measurements. To better track the birds and monitor survival methods, researchers are using drones to track the species' movement.
Should Medicare pay for toothpaste and shoes?
https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2018/09/12/medicare-preventative-social-needs-000688?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Rochelle Sharpe
Politico
12 September 2018
Text / 1500-3000 Words
In Massachusetts, nonprofit Commonwealth Care Alliance is piloting a new experiment: using federal dollars from Medicare and Medicaid to provide preventive care and pay for the things that aren't explicitly medical, but are vital for maintaining good health. According to the company, "hospital admissions plunged 27 percent for the organization’s elderly clientele between 2011 and 2017," but there are concerns about whether this model could successfully scale to a national level.
