Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • States eye vote by mail, Oregon officials say it's safe and secure

    Officials in Oregon, where voters have voted by mail in statewide elections for decades, point to their successful system to counter Donald Trump’s claim that voting by mail is “rigged” and results could take “years.” Several precautions prevent voter fraud, including a signature verification system, unique tracking barcodes on every ballot, and voters can get alerts when their ballot is received and counted. Officials and academics who have studied the system say that fraud is exceedingly rare with current security measures, though states implementing the system for the first time could experience delays.

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  • How Libraries Stretch Their Capabilities to Serve Kids During a Pandemic

    Summer, which is usually the busiest season for libraries around the United States, brought with it challenges due to the pandemic, but resourceful librarians innovated ways to connect with their most valuable patrons. In Chattanooga, Tennessee librarians recorded what would have been an in-person craft lesson and posted it on their YouTube channel. In St. Louis, Missouri, the public library loaned out Chromebooks and hot spots to families to increase accessibility to virtual programming. While the pandemic poses limitations, librarians are seizing the opportunity to try new things and keep students engaged.

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  • How a packed slum in Mumbai beat back the coronavirus, as India's cases continue to soar

    The population of Dharavi, a slum in Mumbai, made the region a hotspot for coronavirus transmission, but local officials' aggressive action plan – which included testing, contact tracing, quarantine, and increased sanitation efforts – helped quell the spread of the virus. Although the process was challenging for local doctors and the shutdown of normal day-to-day routines had a negative impact on the region's economy, Dharavi has already been able to begin the process of reopening.

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  • How Urban Planning Keeps Cities Segregated—and Maintains White Supremacy

    Urban planning policies can lead to greater racial segregation, sometimes intentionally. While older policies could be explicitly racist, today policies such as zoning, which designates land for residential or industrial use, effectively excludes communities of color, immigrants, and households with lower incomes. Residential segregation leads to education, income, and health disparities. Minneapolis ended single-family zoning so lots can be converted to more affordable duplexes and triplexes and is working towards requiring new apartment projects to reserve units for low- to moderate-income households.

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  • How Essential Food Workers Are Fighting Back

    Meatpacking workers protested Covid-19 safety concerns and a coalition of advocacy groups filed a civil rights complaint with the government accusing Tyson and JBS USA of racial discrimination during the pandemic because the safety issues disproportionately impact line workers, who are largely people of color. Nevada’s Culinary Union also sued Las Vegas Strip casinos for unsafe working conditions. Two casinos have been dropped from the suit after deciding to negotiate privately with the union and Tyson has since instituted some safety measures, but broader impacts of the complaints remain to be seen.

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  • Here's a radical idea that will change policing, transform prisons and reduce crime: treat criminals like human beings

    Comparing Norway's and the United States' approaches to prisons and policing puts the lie to the American notion that being tough and unrelentingly punitive effectively addresses crime. In Norway, even people imprisoned for violent crimes, in maximum-security prisons, are treated with respect and kindness, with privileges that would be unthinkable in most American prisons. The results are telling: Norway's recidivism rate, the lowest in the world, is less than one-third of the U.S. rate. While prison costs are far higher per capita, the ultimate costs in lower crime make the Norwegian approach affordable.

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  • The surprising way to stop shootings that doesn't involve more cops and arrests

    After two failed attempts, Oakland Ceasefire retooled its approach and since 2013 has been a significant factor in lowering homicides and nonfatal shootings. The program, used in various ways in many cities, identifies young men at high risk of getting shot or shooting others and then offers them life coaching and social services to keep them out of trouble. By de-emphasizing the role of police, pinpointing those most in need of help, boosting community involvement, and forming deeper personal relationships, the program is credited with a 32% reduction in gun homicides over a six-year study.

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  • How 2 New York Schools Became Models for Coping in a Pandemic

    Mott Haven and Broome Street Academy serve students in the child welfare system and at-risk students. Before the pandemic, they were already preparing for crisis intervention. The two have provided students with services that fall outside of the educational spectrum, things like cash grants and weekly counseling. By doing so, they hope students can focus on classes. Now, they might be a model for other schools around the country.

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  • How Italy Turned Around Its Coronavirus Calamity

    Italy, once a major hotspot for Covid-19 cases, has seen a significant decrease in the spread of the coronavirus after implementing strict government regulations including mandatory travel restrictions and isolation protocols. The success of the measures has been evident as the country begins to reopen – lifting restrictions in two-week increments to account for the "virus’s incubation period" – with no sign of the virus still spreading and hospitals remaining largely empty of critical cases.

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  • How A COVID-19 ‘Rapid Response Team' In Chicago Is Working To Fix Decades Of Neglect In Black, Latinx Communities

    Spurred by the high concentration of COVID-19 deaths in Black and Latinx neighborhoods on Chicago's South and West sides, city government teamed with multiple community groups to form a Racial Equity Rapid Response Team to distribute protective gear, food, financial aid, and other help in the hard-hit neighborhoods. The help included more than 1 million masks, 6,000 boxes of food, 250,000 information flyers, laptops and free internet access, and $380,000 to help pay rent and utilities. The deaths and desperate need for help stem directly from decades of racial disparities in food and health care access.

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