For Teenage Smokers, Removing the Allure of the Pack

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/for-teenage-smokers-removing-the-allure-of-the-pack

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

1 August 2012

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Adolescent smoking remains a challenging health problem because of the allure of cigarette branding. Australia is piloting the transformation of cigarette packaging with a generic look that reduces the appeal of smoking. In Florida, the Truth campaign has exposed that cigarette companies targeted teenage consumers and, in response, created a set of new advertisements that presented the cigarette industry with transparency.

Foreclosure Is Not an Option

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/foreclosure-is-not-an-option

David Bornstein

The New York Times

6 December 2010

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Foreclosure affects millions of homeowners and millions more owe more on their mortgages than what their homes are worth, but Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People (ESOP), offers assistance. As a free service to borrowers, ESOP holds lenders accountable with fair lending agreements, creates constructive communication, and ultimately saves homes.

Making a Medicine as Easy to Find as a Can of Coke

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/03/making-medicine-as-easy-to-get-as-a-can-of-coke

Sarika Bansal

The New York Times

3 July 2013

Text / 1500-3000 Words

A project to take advantage of Coca-Cola’s famous global reach designed a kit of basic medicines that fit in between Coke bottles. But it turned out that what it needed to be copying wasn’t Coke’s package delivery, but it’s investment in the people in its supply chain.

Malaria Prevention, With Both Reward and Risk

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/malaria-prevention-with-both-reward-and-risk

Amy Maxmen

The New York Times

25 June 2014

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After ongoing trials and successes for preventative measures toward malaria, experts have now reversed their support for them. In what remains an ongoing threat, especially to children, new interventions, like the combination of multiple malaria drugs, are being tried, tested, and showing promise.

How cities are searching for solutions among massive mounds of data

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/how-cities-are-searching-for-solutions-among-massive-mounds-of-data/article23131733

John Lorinc

The Globe and Mail

20 February 2015

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New York City suffered from fires that erupted in overcrowded, run-down apartments. Then the city sleuthed through residential records and found that landlords who foreclosed let their properties fall apart and ignored safety-code violations. Greater Toronto wants to expand upon New York City’s method by using transportation surveys, census data and computer data to build transit lines.

How Conservative, Tough-On-Crime Utah Reined In Police Militarization

http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/how-conservative-tough-on-crime-utah-reined-in-police-milita

Evan McMorris-Santoro

Buzzfeed

1 September 2014

Text / 800-1500 Words

The militarization of police forces in cases such as Ferguson, Missouri’s riots has led the state of Utah to question what can be done to prevent such an overuse of force from happening. Utah expanded upon a law passed by Democratic legislature in Maryland, which Utah’s ACLU reworked with some libertarians, to require the police to provide data about SWAT team usage. Utah’s success demonstrates that demilitarization bills passed with bipartisan support are not impossible.

How one of America's most dangerous cities reduced gun violence

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/12/a-confused-war-reducing-gun-violence-part-1.html

Rachel Waldholz

Mariel Carr

Al Jazeera

12 March 2015

Video / 5-15 Minutes

Richmond, California ranked among the highest homicide rates in the country. The city created the Office of Neighborhood Safety to engage the community in the effort to curb gun violence and prevent homicides. ONS works directly with the young people who are at risk and have succeeded in reducing the homicide rate.

How the Fastest-Warming City in the Country Is Cooling Off

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/louisville-heat-tree-cover-113424.html#.VYmlw_lViko

Erica Peterson

Politico

9 December 2014

Text / Over 3000 Words

Although residents turn up their air conditioners, Louisville heat is increasing the city’s death rate by 39 people every year. The city mayor launched a tree commission for planting more trees and since 2011 has planted over 12,000 trees. The canopies from the tree offer cooling shade and bring down the temperature of the city as a whole. The response also includes the installation of green roofs and in-depth research on urban heat islands.

Indian authorities are out in force to enforce use of toilets

http://www.globalpost.com/article/6503467/2015/03/31/indian-authorities-are-out-force-enforce-use-toilets

Mandakini Gahlot

Global Post

31 March 2015

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The Indian government is attempting to stop the way in which people openly defecate in public by providing households with toilets. The real key is education about hygiene so the people understand why proper toilets are necessary to clean drinking water and public health.

Berlin's New Rent Control Laws Are Already Working

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/07/berlins-brand-new-rent-control-laws-are-already-working/398087

Feargus O'Sullivan

CityLab

9 July 2015

Text / Under 800 Words

To address the increasing unaffordability of housing in Berlin, the city introduced a new rent control law to prevent rates from exponential growth. The city has also outlawed vacation rentals in certain zones of the city and created a program that aims to have 30,000 new rental properties available over the next decade.