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19 Volunteers Sharing an iPhone Are Trying to Support Incarcerated People Through COVID-19

Celeste Hamilton Dennis

August 13, 2020 |

TalkPoverty.org |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

Beyond These Walls launched a crisis phone line to provide emotional support for LGBTQ+ people who are incarcerated and to hold prisons and jails accountable for their virus-containment practices. Trained volunteers have fielded 369 calls so far, more than a quarter of which concern fears that reporting virus symptoms could land people in solitary confinement. Beyond These Walls and its coalition partners can provide safety by letting jailers know their practices are being monitored.

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Why most top Foreign Office posts are held by women

The Economist

August 13, 2020 |

The Economist |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

More women are serving in top positions of the United Kingdom’s diplomatic corps with a female ambassador to the United States for the first time since the position was created in 1791. Women now hold about a third of Britain’s ambassadorships and the increase can be traced to several changes, including a public pledge to increase women in leadership positions. A reliable pipeline of women to fill the top spots was also nurtured, with nearly 60% of new foreign service employees now female. Grouping interviews forces management to see the big picture and diplomatic life has become more flexible for families.

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Aquarium Fish, Hold the Cyanide

Stephenie Livingston

August 13, 2020 |

Hakai Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Bali

LINI for Reef to Aquarium, works with local villagers to implement sustainable fishing practices and restore reef habitats damaged by neurotoxins used to catch fish for the saltwater aquarium fish trade. LINI, with the community’s help, installed cement domes to provide refuges for ornamental fish in 2008. These alternative spots for collecting fish effectively removed pressure from natural reefs and by 2011, live coral cover had increased by 35% and continues to do well today. Villagers also started a land-based breeding program to take pressure off of the coral reefs.

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Beating the coronavirus with knives, forks, and moving tables

Mary Ann Sorrentino

August 13, 2020 |

The Boston Globe |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Providence, Rhode Island

Restaurants in Providence, Rhode Island are "repurposing parking lots, waterfronts, and any adjacent land where an al fresco meal can be savored, public health preserved, and restaurant profits protected" during the coronavirus pandemic. Collaborative efforts by various elected officials, health officials, and emergency responders are making the idea to repurpose outdoor areas feasible, and some restaurants have already projected a significant success in profits.

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Challenge of archiving the #MeToo movement

Colleen Walsh

August 11, 2020 |

The Harvard Gazette |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Radcliffe’s Schlesinger Library’s digital services team gathered and archived all the virtual material they could find related to the #MeToo movement. The social media-driven movement is now represented in the library’s online archive that contains more than 32 million tweets, 1,100 webpages, and thousands of articles. The team created a largely automated system to capture the content, including 71 hashtags, and a steering committee of historians, lawyers, and data experts helped work through the challenges of capturing a digital footprint. The data has already been examined to study aspects of the movement.

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COVID-19: NC rural mental health outreach gets creative

Liora Engel-Smith

August 07, 2020 |

North Carolina Health News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Asheville, North Carolina

Mental health agencies in North Carolina have partnered with a mobile phone carrier to provide data-enabled smartphones to individuals who lack access to technology during the pandemic. Because this doesn't provide a solution to all, however, mental health experts are also meeting with patients outside in social distanced settings.

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Short on Money, Cities Around the World Try Making Their Own

Peter Yeung

August 07, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tenino, Washington

Complementary currencies are local alternatives to national currencies that help local economies when budgets are tight. Tenino prints “wooden dollars” and residents in need get up to $300/month to spend at local businesses from grocery stores to day cares. Cities across the US have reached out for advice on starting their own local currencies, which can take many forms including digital-only. There are 3,500-4,500 local currencies in 50 countries, including Brazil’s Maricá where it helped the under-resourced city build schools and hospitals. These currencies have no value outside of the local economy.

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Could Mecklenburg County learn from a New Jersey city's contact tracing success?

Nate Morabito

August 07, 2020 |

WCNC-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Paterson, New Jersey

Paterson, NJ became a national leader using contact tracing to slow the spread of COVID-19. Health department employees persistently and “aggressively” tracked down as many people as possible who were potentially exposed to the coronavirus. To reach those who hung up on contact tracers or wouldn’t return calls, the health department coordinated with community police officers who left letters at their homes or workplaces urging them to return calls and take precautions. The program is credited with significantly reducing the virus’ spread and is seen as a model for other locations to achieve success.

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The world has shown it's possible to avert Covid-caused election meltdowns. But the U.S. is unique.

Ryan Heath

August 06, 2020 |

Politico |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Several countries successfully held elections during the Covid-19 pandemic and can offer insights for how the U.S. can hold a safe presidential election. These include providing more funding for additional polling places and poll workers, expanding ways for people to vote so that it is easier, requiring protective equipment and social distancing at the polls, allowing officials to process mail-in ballots before election day, and informing the public about any changes to contradict misinformation campaigns. It could be harder in the U.S. due to its size and the complexity of electoral laws across the states.

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In San Diego, ‘Smart' Streetlights Spark Surveillance Reform

Sarah Holder

August 06, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

A smart-streetlight program has helped businesses and residents by collecting a wealth of data to make parking easier, monitor air quality, and inform drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists of traffic patterns. But its use by the police to collect evidence of suspected crimes has prompted a privacy backlash. Police officials say the videos have been used only in serious crimes and have both incriminated and exonerated suspects. Critics say mission creep has led to improper surveillance of protests and racially disparate enforcement in minor crimes. City legislators are considering ways to regulate the practice.

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