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  • Cities are using poop to look for early Covid-19 outbreaks

    September 03, 2020 |

    Quartz |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: United States, Arizona

    Wastewater-based epidemiology is helping scientists and public health experts track the prevalence of coronavirus in communities. Although this practice can be complicated by the size of cities and lacks a standardized testing protocol, it has already helped identify outbreaks at two universities.

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  • Maryland Stands Up Online Grants Application in Just 8 Hours

    September 02, 2020 |

    Government Technology |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Maryland

    The Maryland Department of Information Technology adapted an existing system to quickly distribute small-business grants and loans due to Covid-19. The Maryland OneStop platform, a single site for state licenses, permits, and certifications, was built with an agile approach decoupling front-end user experience from the back-end where the program does the work, which allowed quick front end modifications to launch the loan and grants online when coronavirus hit. The system processed 18,000 applications in the first 3 days and 56,000 within a month. The success was preceded by many years of planning and work.

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  • Wisconsin voters should request ballots now for mail-in voting

    September 02, 2020 |

    Wisconsin Watch |

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    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Wisconsin

    In the 2020 Wisconsin primary, increased mail-in voting overwhelmed the system and last-minute decisions to vote by mail led to voter confusion. This increased ballot rejections, which can systematically disenfranchise some populations. Learning from these failures, officials will send absentee voting guidelines and applications to 2.6 million voters and use barcodes to track ballots. Due to mail delivery issues, officials also publicly urged voters to request and submit ballots well before the deadline. Critics believe the state could do much more to make voting safe and easy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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  • How Philadelphia Has Tried to Address Water Debt

    September 01, 2020 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    An income-based payment structure has alleviated water debt in Philadelphia. Decreasing federal aid to municipal water utilities in conjunction with rising costs associated with climate change has increased the cost of water, making it unaffordable for many. Philadelphia created an income-based program, which caps water bills at three percent of income. The Tiered Assistance Program, or TAP, also provides debt elimination for those who make their minimum payments. Advocates have successfully pushed for similar reforms in Baltimore.

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  • Can we harness the Arctic's methane for energy?

    September 01, 2020 |

    Arctic Today |

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    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: Rwanda

    Alternative energy systems in Africa could help inform how to trap methane in the Arctic. Due to permafrost thawing and glaciers melting, methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change, is leaking into the atmosphere. In Rwanda, a lake-based methane power plant extracts methane from the water and turns it into electricity. But questions remain about how similar systems and infrastructure could work in the Arctic landscape.

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  • Bitcoin Miner Is Scoring 700% Profits Selling Energy to Grid

    September 01, 2020 |

    Bloomberg |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Texas

    A cryptocurrency mining company in Texas called Layer1 can power down its data-processing centers and sell its unused electricity back to the power grid. Instead of passively consuming energy, they are able to utilize batteries, smart meters, and artificial intelligence software to use more renewable energy and, at the same time, make a profit. While scaling this response can be difficult due to restrictions from utility companies on how consumers get their energy, Layer1 estimates it will save up to $6.7 million annually by cutting production for 30 minutes during some of the hottest days in the summer.

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  • Stranded Aussies mapped in project aimed at removing the cap

    September 01, 2020 |

    ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Australia

    Stranded overseas for more than half a year by border closings because of the pandemic, Australians flocked to a new mapping tool that tells the story of their plight. Remove the Cap website attracted more than 600 users in more than 30 countries in just its first week online, all of whom posted their photo and the story of their inability to return home. It’s too soon to tell if the site can succeed in easing the government’s cap on the number of returnees, but in the meantime it provides a platform for frustrated citizens who want their stories told.

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  • Lawmakers want to revive FDR's Depression-era "tree army" to help boost rural economies

    August 31, 2020 |

    The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States

    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a New Deal program to build outdoor recreation facilities, creating thousands of jobs during the Great Depression and building iconic state parks. Delaware programs, like the Senior Corps that enlists the help of people over 55, encourage civic engagement modeled after the CCC. Pennsylvania's Outdoor Corps hires young people to restore public lands over the summer. Congress introduced bills to revive CCC-like initiatives that could support rural economies hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, but environmental funding is not a priority of the current administration.

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  • How Angela Merkel's great migrant gamble paid off

    August 30, 2020 |

    The Guardian |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Germany

    Five years after Germany sparked controversy with a welcoming message to the flood of refugees applying for asylum, more than half of those 1.7 million refugees have work and pay taxes, their youth show strong signs of belonging to their German communities, and more than 10,000 have mastered the language enough to enroll in German universities. Refuting anti-immigrant skeptics meant overcoming, or enduring, enormous social and economic challenges. Despite many bumps, the policy now appears to have avoided the nightmare scenarios foreseen by critics, such as inviting even more refugees.

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  • The Law Preventing Congress from Sending States the Coronavirus Bill

    August 27, 2020 |

    Governing |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) protects states from having to fund federal laws. Prior to its passage, Congress passed bills without worrying about how to fund them, leaving states, cities, and counties to pay for federal mandates. Though UMRA has not been foolproof, 185 unfunded mandates were passed in 1993 before the law was passed and only 15 laws that violate UMRA limits were enacted between 1996 and 2018. Congress is not required to fund the whole bill, which means localities can still be required to pay significant amounts for federally mandated laws.

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