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A 'Zoom boom' boosted civic engagement across Kansas. But will it continue?

Stan Finger

July 20, 2021 |

The Kansas Leadership Center Journal (KLC Journal) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kansas

When courthouses and in-person government meetings shut down because of COVID-19, officials satisfied Kansas’ open meeting mandate by using pandemic relief aid to equip buildings with the technology needed to live stream proceedings and allow constituents to comment remotely. Crowds watching on platforms like Facebook Live were substantially higher than in-person attendance had ever been. Several cities linked agendas online and found creative ways to include public comments in meetings. Advocates are looking to maintain the public’s increased civic engagement as courts and government offices are reopening.

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What can East Lansing expect from its police oversight commission?

Mikayla Temple

July 16, 2021 |

WSYM-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Ann Arbor, Michigan

When Ann Arbor created a citizen panel overseeing its police department, it chose the approach that research shows is the one best suited to having real authority, and thus the most likely to reduce racial disparities in arrests and police shootings. It's too soon to know if the agency's investigations of complaints against police and review of police budgets and policies will achieve the ultimate goal of improving community trust in the police. But its chair says it is in a position to press for more accountability and transparency. East Lansing has just adopted the same model.

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Police Reform: Federal monitor

John Glidden

June 30, 2021 |

Local News Matters |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

With a long string of questionable uses of force and huge payouts to settle brutality lawsuits, the Vallejo Police Department might look to nearby Oakland for one approach to achieving better, more accountable policing: a court-appointed monitor. In Oakland, a monitor since 2003 has had the authority of a judge's order behind him as he and a staff oversee the city's use of force, handling of complaints, training, and other operations. The costly process is not without critics, nor is the Oakland department trouble-free. But some see the monitor as a force for positive change after a period of corruption.

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Get There Fast or Safe? A Crowdsourced Map Gives You the Option

Chandni Doulatramani

June 29, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Gurgaon

In 71 cities around the world, users of the My Safetipin mobile app can decide whether to visit a particular neighborhood or plan a travel route based on how safe others deem those places. While the 100,000 or so users, more than half in India, constitute too small a user base to make the mapping app truly universal, its crowdsourced data already have prompted the Delhi and Bogota governments to improve street lighting on streets deemed unsafe because they are not well lit. The app's primary goal is to make the streets safer for women.

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How Kitimat B.C. is catching its breath

Anna Lamb-Yorski

June 16, 2021 |

Living Here |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Kitimat, British Columbia

A new aluminum plant in British Columbia would have ended up putting more sulphur dioxide into the air, but the Kitimat Terrace Clean Air Coalition (KTCAC) helped bring this to light and encourage them to install air monitoring stations. They wrote letters to the government and took the company to court. As a result of their efforts, three air monitoring stations were installed to measure the particulate matter and alert residents if levels increased. “Industry and government are listening to people who are concerned in Kitimat,” says Steve Stannus, a founder of KTCAC.

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Drug testing takes off in the Laurentians — even dealers are doing it

Christopher Curtis

June 11, 2021 |

Ricochet |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, St-Jérôme, Quebec

To reduce overdose deaths from the increasing number of deadly substances found in street drugs, Centre SIDA Amitié uses lab testing to help understand exactly what drugs users are putting in their bodies and how to slow the spread of deadly drugs. They distribute testing kits to hundreds of people every year, analyze urine samples, have handed out 12,189 naloxone doses, and trained over 1,000 people to administer the drug. Staff works directly with clients in communities that don’t have access to many resources, also helping them navigate court proceedings, find housing, and get into rehab if interested.

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There's a detective at the door; she wants to say 'sorry'

Caitlin Schmidt

May 22, 2021 |

Arizona Daily Star |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

Using a federal grant to reopen unsolved sexual assault cases, Tucson police and prosecutors have provided hundreds of victims with something they were denied when they first reported being attacked: a clear sense that authorities take their cases seriously. Dozens of possible serial rapists were identified when DNA testing was finally performed, and several suspects were prosecuted. When notifying victims their long-ago cases were getting a second look, detectives and victim advocates start with an apology for neglecting or mishandling the cases in the past.

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How a village in India reached 100% vaccination in the face of misinformation and hesitancy

Puja Changoiwala

May 21, 2021 |

National Geographic |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Janefal

To increase the rate of those receiving the Covid vaccine, the village of Janefal in India implemented a public awareness campaign founded on building trust with local community members. Leading the charge was a task force comprised of public health officials. The group set up a vaccination camp in the village so that residents didn't have to travel to a hospital, which was successful enough to inspire other villages to ask Janefal's Primary Health Centre to serve their areas as well.

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The FBI is supposed to track how police use force – years later, it's falling well short

Aaron Miguel Cantú

May 17, 2021 |

The Guardian |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Five years after the FBI started tracking how often police use force, the majority of police departments still fail to comply and the FBI refuses to release publicly what information it has collected. The policy was enacted in response to the realization that no one had definitive data on how often the police kill people, use teargas, or other incidents of force. What little data exists showed racial disparities in whom police use force against. But compliance was made voluntary and the FBI made public release of the data contingent on 80% of police departments complying, a goal it's nowhere near.

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How to Resolve Community Conflicts

Noelle Fujii-Oride

May 03, 2021 |

Hawaii Business Magazine |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

Community organizing effectively blocked many development projects on O‘ahu that, while involving desirable outcomes like renewable energy, public parks, or affordable housing, failed to consider input from local communities about the potential impact of the developments. Some developers engage local stakeholders early and often in the process, finding that small changes to plans can sometimes avoid conflict altogether. Companies, such as Hawaiian Electric, require community outreach in the first stage of all projects, which has led to the creation of long-term value and positive social impact programs.

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