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Beach Cleanups Prove Popular And Purposeful During Pandemic

Claire Caulfield

July 06, 2020 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

Since single-use plastic usage has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations in Hawaii are planning beach cleanup events to pick up the plastic waste. Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii’s first beach cleanup event since the start of the pandemic drew 150 registrations in less than a day. 808 Cleanups is growing its adopt-a-site program where households identify a beach, waterway, or trail they’d like to regularly clean up. Coordinating a large number of volunteers while maintaining social distancing guidelines has been difficult to navigate.

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The remote British village that built one of the fastest internet networks in the UK

Kira Allmann

July 02, 2020 |

The Conversation |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Clapham

A village in the UK didn't have access to internet, so the community joined together to build the infrastructure for broadband in their area. Although "building resilient, fibre-fed networks in rural areas" wasn't easy or cheap, it has made a difference, especially during the pandemic, in helping the community feel less isolated.

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SF contact tracing team asks those who have been exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine for 14 days

Michael Toren

July 01, 2020 |

Mission Local |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

San Francisco public health officials added to their staff of 25 experienced investigators to form a team of more than 100 contact tracers to try to identify and isolate new cases of COVID-19. In the second two weeks of June 2020, the expanded team reached 82% of COVID cases and 85% of those people's contacts, not far off from the 90% goals set at the start. City lawyers, librarians, and others were drafted to the cause, with 276 people receiving contact-tracer training. One gap in the agency's work is not being able to monitor and enforce compliance with quarantine orders once contacts are found.

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Keeping safe while serving, church groups tackle pandemic and protests

Joshua Eaton

June 30, 2020 |

Religion News Service |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Florissant, Missouri

After receiving a call from the local hospital saying they needed help in containing the spread of coronavirus, members of Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant, Missouri began sewing masks for those in low-income and minority neighborhoods. The church is now part of a larger movement known as Masks for the People that helps distribute masks to "incarcerated people, essential workers and minority communities, all of whom are more likely to be hospitalized with coronavirus, according to the CDC."

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Bridging the gender gap through groundwater monitoring in a Rajasthan village

Sahana Ghosh

June 29, 2020 |

Mongabay |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Hinta, Rajasthan

A group of farmers in India have been trained to monitor their village’s groundwater levels to help its residents make more informed decisions about irrigation based on water availability. The farmers-turned-researchers are known as “Bhujal Jaankars” and they monitor rainfall, dam water levels, and water quality to notify residents so they can plant crops that don’t require a lot of water. While there is a lack of gender diversity in the group, they are working on developing training to include more functional literacy skills to encourage participation from others.

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How to Defund the Police

Alexis Okeowo

June 26, 2020 |

The New Yorker |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

On the front lines of the defund-police movement, groups like Elite Learners and Save Our Streets Bed-Stuy mediate conflicts in ways that have lowered violence without the involvement of police, thus reducing arrests and incarceration at the same time. CMS workers often use the Cure Violence approach of "violence interruption," a form of outreach by community members to offer needed social services while preventing violence. The city, which credits these programs with a 15% decline in shootings in 17 precincts in a three-year span, is expanding the budget for this to nearly $50 million per year.

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Canada's largest school district ended its police program. Now Toronto may be an example for U.S. districts considering the same.

Kalyn Belsha

June 19, 2020 |

Chalkbeat |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Toronto, Ontario

Prompted by Black Lives Matter protesters and informed by a controversial survey of high school students on their feelings about having police stationed in their schools, Toronto pulled police from its schools in 2017 and since then has refuted warnings of a spike in misbehavior and crime. While arrest numbers and data on students’ current feelings about safety are unknown, Canada’s largest school system at least proved that it could address unhappiness with a police presence without decreasing safety.

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Meet the people sharing their homes with injured and orphaned wildlife

Aislinn Sarnacki

June 18, 2020 |

Bangor Daily News |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Maine

For some Mainers, in their spare time, they treat and care for wild animals and return them to the wild. These small-scale wildlife rehabilitators care for animals like flying squirrels and black bears by opening up their homes and wallets for these creatures. Rachel Ann Parsons of R&R Wildlife Rehabilitation cares for more than 80 wild animals annually in her home. While their services are often in high-demand during spring and summer months, these licensed professionals provide a public service for those who find a wild animal in need.

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This Hermon company's work dried up when coronavirus hit. Now it's making masks for the long run.

Emily Burnham

June 17, 2020 |

Bangor Daily News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Bangor, Maine

A tension fabric structures manufacturing company in Maine has repurposed their facility and transformed their local workforce to create grade-one medical masks for the local hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic. Because the company uses only U.S.-made materials, they have been able to avoid supply chain interruptions and now plans to continue making masks as part of their standard business model even after the pandemic passes.

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This Seattle protest zone is police-free. So volunteers are stepping up to provide security.

Gregory Scruggs

June 16, 2020 |

The Washington Post |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

In Seattle's police-free street encampment that sprang up during protests over policing abuses, a mostly unarmed group of volunteer "sentinels" has defused a number of potential problems while largely avoiding the use of force. Trained in de-escalation and mediation tactics, the sentinels have used listening techniques to understand people's anger or mental state. Among the incidents they have addressed: fights, attempted vandalism of storefronts, visits from armed people who wanted to confront a supposed leftist threat, and the attempted arson of a police precinct building.

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