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Chicago Teens Unveil Vision for Change and Public Safety in Their Neighborhood

Zach Mortice

September 23, 2020 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Twenty high school students enrolled in Territory, an urban design nonprofit, produced a zine and their own quality of life report for West Austin, where many of the students live. The students conducted interviews, surveys, and gathered community input to create the report. It includes sections on public safety, youth empowerment, and mental health.

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How Did These Students Get The City To Change The Name Of Douglass Park? They Built Collective Power And Didn't Back Down

Pascal Sabino

September 22, 2020 |

Block Club Chicago |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago students organized and, for the first time, convinced the city to rename a park in honor of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass. The former Douglas Park was named after a Civil War era Illinois senator who advocated to expand slavery, and whose wife owned slaves. Not daunted by the city’s bureaucracy, the students canvassed in their community and gathered over 10,000 signatures for a petition to change the park’s name. The campaign, which began in 2017, was much harder and longer than the students anticipated, but by forming a coalition and continuing to speak out they persevered.

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In New Zealand, Police Work and Social Work Can Go Together

Serena Solomon

September 22, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: New Zealand, South Auckland

In South Auckland, epicenter of New Zealand's high rates of domestic violence, police respond to calls for help but instantly call in Te Taanga Manawa, a Māori-led team of multiple, culturally appropriate social-services agencies to guide families toward fixing the root of their problems. In the past, police may have made referrals to services agencies. But the Māori's distrust and the time lag in getting offers of help meant that families often rejected it, having papered over their conflict for a time. Now, nearly all accept the help offered while the crisis is still hot.

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Voting from Jail Is a Right, and Now a Reality in Chicago

Pamela Kirkland

September 21, 2020 |

70 Million |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago's Cook County Jail became the first jail in the nation in March to open a polling place behind bars, resulting in about 1,800 voters casting ballots, a sharp increase in voting by eligible voters in the jail. The polling place, combined with expanded voter-registration efforts, resulted from a new Illinois law requiring all counties to expand voting access. Outside of Chicago that means voting by mail. The Chicago experience provides a window into efforts nationwide to expand voting access to people incarcerated in jails and prisons, or with criminal records.

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No Problems Expected For Hawaii's New Vote-By-Mail System For The Nov. 3 Election

Blaze Lovell

September 21, 2020 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

Election officials in Hawaii made adjustments to their election regulations for the August 2020 primary that resulted in the highest voter turnout for a primary in two decades. The state offered multiple ways to return ballots and created a new system to help voters with special needs. They also implemented security measures, including unique bar codes and signature verification, to deter fraud. The state earned an “A” in the Brookings Institution’s ranking of states’ preparedness to vote during a pandemic and will use insights from the primary to increase access even more during the general election.

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Detroiters are Fighting for the Right to Water

Nina Misuraca Ignaczak

September 18, 2020 |

Belt Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Throughout the United States, people living below the federal poverty level often struggle to pay for utilities, but in Philadelphia, the Tiered Assistance Program (TAP) aims to alleviate that burden by basing water utility rates on income. In the four years since the program launched, more than 15,000 residents have participated and 96% of those participants have avoided water shutoffs.

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Mail-ballot security in Montana: Verification, tracking, secrecy and counting

Mike Dennison

September 17, 2020 |

Missoula Current |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Montana

The majority of Montana voters have voted by mail for the past several elections without issues. Officials use several precautions that have successfully prevented fraud in the state. Each voter receives a postage-paid envelope with a unique bar code, and the ballot is placed in a “secrecy envelope” that is returned in the larger envelope, which is signed by the voter. Officials, who are trained in signature-matching, check each envelope and if there is a problem with the signature they reach out to voters, who are given a chance to fix the problem. Because of this, less than 1% of all ballots are rejected.

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Pa. Supreme Court halts Philly criminal trials streamed on YouTube over possible harassment

Vinny Vella

September 17, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia criminal trials were broadcast live on a public YouTube channel to provide for public access to the courts during the pandemic shutdown, but the practice was halted over a complaint by prosecutors that this means of public access created opportunities for harassment and intimidation of victims, witnesses, and defendants. Responding to an emergency petition by the Philadelphia district attorney, the state Supreme Court halted the YouTube broadcasts. Prosecutors said they will explore alternatives including private Zoom calls and closed-circuit feeds.

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Com uso de aplicativo e posto de saúde, aldeia indígena no Xingu registra zero mortes por covid-19

Beatriz Jucá

September 17, 2020 |

El País |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Mato Grosso

Indígenas da aldeia Ipatse adaptaram um aplicativo para rastrear casos suspeitos de Covid-19, inauguraram a própria unidade de saúde com cilindros de oxigênio e contrataram médico e enfermeira com dinheiro de doações. Até setembro de 2020, quando a reportagem foi publicada, não havia nenhum óbito causado pela Covid-19.

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Digging Our Way Out of the Hole: The Safe Alternative to Solitary

Jeremiah Bourgeois

September 16, 2020 |

The Crime Report |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

Washington's prison system cut by half the number of people held in solitary confinement by reducing its security system's reliance on the method and helping former solitary detainees transition back to the general population in a healthier way. But a formerly incarcerated journalist who spent more than seven of his 27 years in prison locked in solitary confinement says the state's disciplinary system is still rooted in an overly punitive approach to mostly petty offenses. A system based on positive incentives to good behavior exists in North Dakota prisons, modeled in part on Norway's approach.

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