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

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  • Durham County Dismisses Hundreds of Traffic Fines as Part of a License Restoration Effort

    January 15, 2019 |

    INDY Week |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Durham, North Carolina

    Durham County relieved hundreds of outstanding traffic fines in an effort to restore suspended driver's licenses. The program, called Durham Expungement and Restoration (DEAR), "identified more than 11,000 people eligible to have outstanding fines dropped" from charges resulting from court absence or inability to pay a traffic ticket.

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  • Athens' Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Addresses Resident Needs

    January 06, 2019 |

    Grady Newsource |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

    In Athens, Georgia, an ombudsman program for long-term care residents at senior and nursing homes is holding institutions accountable and ensuring that residents' complaints are heard. The program comes from a requirement in the amended Older Americans Act and encompasses anything from complaints about food to hygiene to being treated with dignity.

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  • How a Guatemalan Town Tackled Its Plastic Problem

    January 03, 2019 |

    Atlas Obscura |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: Guatemala, San Pedro La Laguna

    San Pedro La Laguna, a town in Guatemala, has banned single use plastics including plastic bags and straws after realizing that plastic pollution was ruining the ecosystem of Lake Atitlan and that a new waste facility would be unable to handle the amount of garbage created in the village. To ensure that people follow the new regulation, there are heavy fees - but the town also bought traditionally made biodegradable replacements; the change is being framed as a way to return to traditional, indigenous ways for the communities.

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  • China gets tough on US recyclables. How one Maine town is fighting back.

    January 03, 2019 |

    The Christian Science Monitor |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Sanford, Maine

    When China, the country that processes much of the United State's recyclables, became much more stringent about how much contaminated recycling it would accept, municipalities had to figure out how to avoid the fines that could come with recycling done wrong. In Sanford, Maine, they manages to cut their contamination rate from 15-20% to 0-3% by investing in more serious inspections and helping residents learn what is recyclable and what isn't.

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  • Standing Rock's Surprising Legacy: A Push for Public Banks

    January 02, 2019 |

    Yes! Magazine |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

    In a post-Standing Rock economic era, cities like Seattle and Philadelphia look to the Bank of North Dakota as an example of a successful public banking structure. While public banking is a large undertaking for many cities, governments around the country search for options to divest from Wall Street.

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  • Norway's EV Incentives Have Worked. Now What?

    December 27, 2018 |

    Bloomberg CityLab |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Norway, Oslo

    Norway's incentives for buyers of electric vehicles have been incredibly successful: half of all cars sold in the country are now either hybrid or completely electric. However, there is concern that success won't last as those incentives are pulled back and Norway tries to move towards a car-free society.

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  • California Wildfires Destroy Homes and Lives. Why Do Regulators Encourage Building in Fire Zones?

    November 14, 2018 |

    Reason |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, California

    In California, Proposition 103 – a decades-old ballot initiative – disincentivizes homeowners affected by wildfires to rebuild in less fire-prone zones. The proposition – which can only be reversed through another ballot initiative – bars insurers from raising their rates based on future risks, meaning people who live in fire zones are not paying a higher rate. Furthermore, because of these regulations and the lack of response to the problem, insurance agencies often err on the side of caution and won’t sell policies at all, leaving some people uninsured entirely.

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  • Tanzanian Farmers Crack the Code for Fighting Land Grab

    November 13, 2018 |

    OZY |

    Multi-Media |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Tanzania

    Indigenous people in Tanzania are using “legal expertise, political pressure and smart solutions like land mapping to win back plots — and then secure them — from corporations they accuse of using loopholes to grab territory.” While indigenous people live in most of the world’s land, they legally own less than ten percent of it. By mapping their territory and publically registering land, it is much harder for corporations to take control.

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  • The Country That Can Jail You For Using Plastic Bags

    November 06, 2018 |

    BBC |

    Radio |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: Kenya

    Countries across the world are aiming to reduce their plastic waste. African countries, however, are leading the way with a variety of techniques. Kenya in particular has taken one of the most drastic approaches by having plastic bags in one's possession punishable by $40,000 or even jail time.

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  • This 24-year-old lawsuit could radically alter public education in North Carolina

    October 15, 2018 |

    Scalawag |

    Multi-Media |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, North Carolina

    Twenty years ago, five, poor, rural counties sued the state of North Carolina for failing to provide students with a good education, and won. In 1997 the Chief Justice Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the case known as Leandro v. State. However, the decision wasn’t really enforced by the government, and until 2017 a court appointed agency was hired to investigate the state. “Leandro sets the bar but you still need to have elected officials, school officials and court officials willing to uphold it,”

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