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Ventura County is turning former farmland into affordable housing for farmworkers - High Country News

Erin Rode

October 20, 2025 |

High Country News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ventura, California

The 2016 exemption to Ventura County's strict farmland protection laws has enabled the development of nearly 700 affordable housing units for farmworkers. These rent-controlled apartments on former agricultural land provide stable housing regardless of immigration status.

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How EVs can fix the grid and lower your electric bill

Matt Simon

October 17, 2025 |

Grist |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Maryland

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology allows electric vehicles to send stored battery power back to utilities during peak demand periods. Early pilot programs in Maryland and California have demonstrated reduced grid stress, lower electricity costs, and the potential to transform millions of parked EVs into a distributed energy storage network.

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Bridging Gaps in Women's Health: Niger State's Push for Better Access to Family Planning

Abujah Racheal

October 07, 2025 |

Social Voices |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Niger

The Niger State Health Care Fund offers a voucher program that helps cover the cost of antenatal care and family planning services for women in rural areas and IDP camps. The voucher scheme, alongside community engagement programs and technological resources, has improved access to contraceptives and reproductive health services, but the state’s rate of contraceptive prevalence is still below the national average.

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Small farmers are more squeezed than ever. A California grant program offers a lifeline.

Frida Garza

October 03, 2025 |

Grist |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

California's farm-to-school grant program, launched in 2021, has successfully directed 100% of its funding to small and disadvantaged farmers. This has helped them expand their businesses through investments like refrigerated vans and partnerships with food hubs, enabling fresh local produce delivery to schools across the state.

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After Hurricane Katrina, moms built new lives by building homes

Jessica Kutz

August 28, 2025 |

The 19th |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Biloxi, Mississippi

Moore Community House’s training program helps women get experience in tradeswork but also offers wraparound support, including childcare and a weekly stipend. However, recent federal funding cuts have significantly reduced the number of students the program is able to service.

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Despite federal cuts to higher ed, Mass. free community college presses on, transforming students' lives

Mara Kardas-Nelson, Diti Kohli

August 17, 2025 |

The Boston Globe |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

The MassReconnect program makes community college free for students over 25 without a bachelor’s degree, while the MassEducate program helps cover tuition and fees for all Massachusetts residents. Since the programs were launched, the state has seen both enrollment and student retention rates go up, and students are transferring from community colleges to four-year universities.

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Seattle Renews Its Unique Approach to Public Campaign Financing

Amy Sundberg

August 08, 2025 |

Bolts |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Seattle’s democracy vouchers program provides residents with four $25 vouchers to donate to local political candidates of their choice, with the goal of making it easier for citizens to participate in local elections while also leveling the playing field for a wider range of candidates. Research on the program found that it has helped increase the number of unique donors and made local elections more competitive.

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How an NYC Suburb Is Actually Managing to Bring Rents Down

Rebecca Picciotto

August 05, 2025 |

Wall Street Journal |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Rochelle, New York

To help increase housing stock, New Rochelle, NY streamlined the development approval process and made it easier to approve many housing units at once, allowing the city to add roughly 4,500 new housing units over the last decade. However, local residents worry about being priced out of the area as people move from Manhattan in search of more affordable housing.

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What one town learned by charging residents for every bag of trash

Tik Root

June 23, 2025 |

Grist |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Plympton, Massachusetts

When Plympton, Massachusetts residents agreed to institute a "pay-as-you-throw system" (PAYT), the community halved its trash disposal—in part thanks to robust compost and recycling systems. In 2022, before the PAYT system, the town threw away 640 tons of trash; in 2024, that figure was 335 tons.

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Finding election workers is hard. Arizona is doing something about it.

Jen Fifield

June 09, 2025 |

Votebeat Arizona |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Arizona

The Arizona Fellows in Election Administration program taps college students to work in county and state election offices, with the goal of creating a pipeline for positions that are often difficult to fill. During the 2024 presidential election cycle, 18 students and recent graduates participated in the program, and three went on to take permanent positions in their respective election offices.

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