Title
& Description
News Outlet
& Journalist
Date
& Location
MEDIA TYPE
& LENGTH
30 January 2021
Yukon, Canada
Text
1500-3000 Words
Under the structure of unique treaties called final agreements, Yukon First Nations are able to exercise the powers of self-governance over projects proposed on their land. Implementation of the agreements isn’t alway...
13 June 2020
Massachusetts, United States
Radio
Over 15 Minutes
In order to get the U.S. government to take action on climate change, 30 environmental groups and 12 state governments joined forces to sue the Environmental Protection Agency arguing that it was required to regulate ...
9 January 2020
Pisco, Peru
Text
1500-3000 Words
Microjustice4All, an international legal empowerment organization, provides people in vulnerable communities with legal aid, especially after environmental crises. Another global organization, Namati, trains local par...
28 May 2019
Durham, New Hampshire, United States
Radio
5-15 Minutes
In Durham, New Hampshire, police officers have been undergoing training on their state’s hate crime laws and how to prevent such crimes from occurring. The workshops are organized by two advocacy groups, and while the...
Christian Science Monitor
Henry Gass
27 March 2019
Klamath, California, United States
Multi-Media
Over 3000 Words
Across the country, tribal courts are seeking to break the cycle of recidivism and instead focus their efforts on rehabilitation and community. Judge Abinanti’s Yurok Tribal Court in California applies traditional Yur...
21 December 2018
St. Petersburg, Florida, United States
Text
Under 800 Words
An initiative in St. Petersburg has reduced the number of vacant houses while increasing access to affordable housing. The city takes ownership of vacant lots and abandoned homes, then sells the properties to affordab...
22 October 2018
Australia
Text
800-1500 Words
Australia maintains a high voter turnout by making voting both easy and mandatory. Election day is always on a Saturday, and community groups host barbeques to mark the occasion. If an eligible voter still doesn’t cas...
11 October 2018
Barcelona, Spain
Text
800-1500 Words
With tourism on the rise, governments are figuring out how to limit overcrowding and environmental damage. Replicable ideas include marketing beaches and other attractions off the beaten path, regulating hotels and va...
Apolitical
Burton Bollag
7 September 2018
Wales
Text
800-1500 Words
Wales is the first country in the world to recognize playtime as a children’s right. Local authorities must access and promote playtime opportunities for children in their area. Sometimes, this means simply removing “...
6 September 2018
District of Columbia, Washington, United States
Multi-Media
1500-3000 Words
The Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act was passed is a D.C. law that allows people who commited a crime before the age of 18 to have their sentences reduced if they’ve served at least 20 years in prison. The law wa...
The Philadelphia Citizen
Alex Braden
29 August 2018
St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
Text
800-1500 Words
Know how to register to vote? In St. Paul, your landlord is required to tell you. The city passed the ordinance to keep voter turnout high as the number of renters grew.
28 July 2018
South Korea
Text
800-1500 Words
To change its culture of overwork, South Korea passed a law capping the workweek at 52 hours for many employees. The move follows the introduction of the five-day workweek in 2004. Young people are especially supporti...
26 July 2018
United States
Text
800-1500 Words
Manufactured housing—including trailer homes and tiny houses—is a low-cost, small-footprint way to increase affordable housing. However, strict zoning requirements and even outright bans limit its impact.
24 July 2018
Seattle, Washington, United States
Text
800-1500 Words
With vehicular homelessness on the rise along the West Coast, safe parking programs provide much-needed privacy and a sense of community. San Diego and Santa Barbara are models.
Apolitical
Natalie Holmes
2 July 2018
Germany
Text
Under 800 Words
The early impact of Germany’s wage transparency law has been limited because it only applies to large companies and, while it permits an employee to inquire whether she is paid differently than her male colleagues, sh...
13 June 2018
Maine, United States
Text
800-1500 Words
After trying ranked-choice voting, citizens in Maine decided to keep the system, even fighting court battles on the issue. The system allows voters to rank candidates running for an office from most desirable to least...
Apolitical
Anoush Darabi
1 June 2018
San Francisco, California, United States
Text
Under 800 Words
Writing laws to be machine-readable could have huge payoffs. San Francisco is designing a computer program to read through the city’s prosecution records and automatically downgrade applicable marijuana possession con...
Apolitical
Anoush Darabi
11 May 2018
Wellington, New Zealand
Text
800-1500 Words
Legislation is currently written in such a way that it often takes a lawyer to interpret how policies are supposed to work. What if laws were written to be machine-readable instead? A team in New Zealand rewrote two l...
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange
Bill Myers
18 April 2018
Dixon, Illinois, United States
Text
Under 800 Words
Dixon is the second police department in the United States to stop jailing drug addicts and start helping them check into rehab centers instead. “We’re changing the way law enforcement views addiction — to see it as a...
Apolitical
Odette Chalaby
17 April 2018
San Francisco, California, United States
Text
800-1500 Words
San Francisco’s Department on the Status of Women has pushed gender sensitivity in policymaking since 1975. As a result, the city leads the nation in paid parental leave, lactation support, and rights to flexible work...
Cleveland.com (The Plain Dealer)
Olivera Perkins
15 April 2018
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Text
1500-3000 Words
Laws against wage theft can be effective if enforced. The probability of violations decreased in Ohio during a 13-month period of full enforcement, but rose again after the enforcement policy changed.
23 March 2018
Baghdad, Iraq
Text
800-1500 Words
The Shahrazad Center in Baghdad offers workshops and free legal services to women experiencing domestic abuse, violence, threats and gender-based discrimination. Lawyer Rajaa Abd Ali says, “Here we teach women their r...
7 March 2018
Berlin, Germany
Text
800-1500 Words
At the world’s most popular sites, innovations in tourism management can benefit both visitors and residents. Marketing efforts in Iceland are successfully distributing tourists all over the country throughout the yea...
The Local
Lee Roden
28 February 2018
Sweden
Text
1500-3000 Words
Sweden confiscated thousands of explosive items within months of changing customs laws. The move, along with an amnesty program, are efforts to combat a seeming rise in grenade use by criminal gangs.
Apolitical
Odette Chalaby
22 January 2018
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Text
800-1500 Words
A new ordinance in Chicago requires hotels to give panic buttons to employees working in rooms alone. 58 percent of the city’s hotel workers report having experienced flashing, groping, and other forms of sexual haras...
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