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Emptier Jails Could Stay That Way

Daniel J McGraw

May 04, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland’s city jail has released close to 900 inmates in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in its overcrowded facilities. And the response isn’t unique – New York, LA, Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, and Houston are just a few of the other cities that have taken similar measures. While an immediate response to the pandemic, advocates say the release of low-level offenders could bode well for larger prison reforms that have been slowly taking hold.

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Can We All Be Like Texas?

David Byrne

April 27, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Georgetown, Texas

West Texas, traditionally known for its oil business, has become a thriving home for wind energy. Beyond political ideology, wind power as a form of renewable energy is thriving for economic reasons, as it can be more profitable in the long run. In Texas, tax incentives and legislation helped develop the industry, and the proliferation of wind power is being replicated in places like Wyoming and Oregon.

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These coal communities are protecting sick miners from COVID-19 and pushing Congress for more support

Austyn Gaffney

April 23, 2020 |

Southerly |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tennessee

In Tennessee and Kentucky, rural coal communities are drawing on their decades-old networks of mutual aid to protect coal miners from COVID-19. At the legislative level, the National Black Lung Association and other Appalachian groups are coming together to push for more coal miner protections in coronavirus stimulus bills. At the local level, communities are organizing phone trees to share necessary information, helping with grocery and prescription delivery, and providing greater access to broadband for those without reliable internet.

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Minneapolis Funding Its Parks With an Eye to Equity

Zoe Sullivan

April 09, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has approved a new scoring system to prioritize parks that are most in need of an investment, from the limited funds available, based on equity measures such as race, income, population density, and crime. This data-driven system is used in conjunction with the park board's judgment of a park's infrastructure and has pinpointed parks which were not typically on the park board's radar for renovation.

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Will Small Businesses Most in Need Get Help From the Coronavirus Relief Package?

Oscar Perry Abello

April 03, 2020 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

As small businesses, nonprofits, and independent contractors try to access funds made available through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, bankers across the country are doing what they can to step up, follow federal guidelines, and process loans as quickly as possible. New features, including the SBA fully guaranteeing PPP loans, are making them more accessible. From typical SBA lenders to community development financial institutions to credit unions, many financial institutions are trying to help as many businesses as possible.

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Meet the young lawmakers crossing party lines for a green future

Scott Shigeoka

April 01, 2020 |

Grist |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Iowa

As the youngest state legislators in Iowa, Zach Wahls, a Democrat, and Joe Mitchell, a Republican, are working across party lines to find solutions to climate change. While there has been pushback about their bipartisan work, the duo is bridging the political divide and engaging in dialogue to find common ground on several environmental initiatives like renewable energy.

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Minneapolis Offers People Experiencing Homelessness a Simple Gift: A Safe Place for Their Stuff

Cinnamon Janzer

March 31, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

A pilot program in Minneapolis is providing a safe place for unhoused residents to store their belongings for free and without any time limits. People experiencing homelessness can often be easily identified as such when lugging around baggage, an indicator that can affect their ability to find employment or negatively impact the quality of healthcare they receive. Although the pilot project was cut short by the shelter-in-place order, the city is looking to continue and expand the program due to the positive response from those experiencing homelessness.

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Coronavirus: Is Bay Area social distancing lockdown working? Some see progress

John Woolfolk

March 30, 2020 |

San Jose Mercury News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

As California’s Bay Area is weeks into its shelter-in-place order – the first in the nation – experts are seeing indications that it’s working in the fight against COVID19, but at the same time needs to continue. Health officials are seeing signs that the increase of cases could be flattening, which was the goal of social distancing, and has been giving the area more time to prepare for a spike, which other experts say is inevitable. Either way, the stay-at-home mandate is helping reduce strain on the healthcare system.

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Coronavirus is generating a surge of interest in voting by mail in the 2020 presidential election. It's not a panacea

Anthony Man

March 29, 2020 |

Tampa Bay Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Florida

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased interest in and use of alternative voting methods in Florida. Among Democrats in the 2020 primary, where most of the primary action took place, voting by mail was up 33% from 2016 and early voting at regional sites was up 20%, while in-person voting on primary day was down about 25%. Offering voting alternatives is not a panacea, there are some drawbacks including a greater percentage of rejected ballots among certain demographic groups, however it can help ease concerns among voters about voting in person during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Voting by Mail Would Reduce Coronavirus Transmission but It Has Other Risks

Jessica Huseman

March 24, 2020 |

ProPublica |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

As the COVID19 pandemic continues, officials are looking ahead to the United States’ presidential election in November and considering mail-in ballots. While it is a limited-contact way of voting, it presents massive challenges in terms of scaling. Things like infrastructure, cost, and voter privacy and fraud have to be considered, which is why states are turning to those who have had some success already, like Minnesota and Montana, to learn from.

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