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What Germany teaches the world in a crisis

John Kampfner

September 16, 2020 |

Financial Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany

Germany has weathered the pandemic with lower illness rates than its neighbors and a relatively strong economy thanks to leadership and responses that have evolved and helped the country thrive in the three decades since reunification. The author of the book "Why the Germans Do It Better: Notes from a Grown-Up Country" reports on the blend of governing, business, and social approaches to challenges – rooted in a concept of "social trust" in the state and society, and a steady, deliberate, caring mindset – that help the country confront a contagion, a recession, or a refugee crisis.

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How to Save Ballot Drop Boxes

Eric Cortellessa

September 16, 2020 |

Washington Monthly |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Voting by mail will increase dramatically due to Covid-19 and drop boxes are one way to collect these ballots. Although fears of fraud have been unfounded, the GOP initiated lawsuits to block or limit drop boxes if they are not monitored so some states and districts place the boxes in government buildings and other places, such as libraries, that are staffed. While this slightly limits the hours that voters can drop off their ballots, it uses existing resources to provide supervision and increases voter confidence that their ballots will be received, especially among ongoing issues with the postal service.

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How social-distancing symbols are changing our cities

Vittoria Traverso

September 16, 2020 |

BBC |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France, Paris

Across the world, local governments and communities are looking for ways to draw boundaries that guide people's behavior towards social distancing. Although the perfect sign has yet to be determined, urban psychologists and researchers have found that community created signs as well as France's "wave-shaped sign" have inspired loyalty and a shared goal.

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Masks effect hard to isolate, but officials say they're important layer of protection

Tom Hallberg

September 16, 2020 |

Jackson Hole News & Guide |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Jackson, Wyoming

Data collected from a handful of states where the idea of mask wearing has spread and been adopted, shows that after three weeks' time, the average daily growth rate of COVID-19 cases decreases. Although experts say that mask-wearing is not a solution on its own, the benefits of government mandates to wear a mask do still make an impact and the effectiveness only increases over time.

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COVID-19 Has Crushed Everybody's Economy—Except for South Korea's

Morten Soendergaard Larsen

September 16, 2020 |

Foreign Policy |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Korea, Gyeonggi

South Korea's economic growth is one of the few that have not stagnated or declined during the coronavirus pandemic. Although much of this is due to how effectively the country handled containment protocols from the start, the overall fiscal response – which included encouraging residents to reinvest government payouts in local businesses – also played a significant role. In one province, this included using non-cash payments "that could only be spent in shops inside the region, rather than as cash that could be hoarded."

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‘Tons and tons of fishing equipment': B.C. tour operators clean up ocean debris during coronavirus pandemic

Matt Simmons

September 15, 2020 |

The Narwhal |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver Island

Expeditions to clean up debris from the coastline are underway along the B.C. coast after an ecotourism company was forced to stop tours during the pandemic. The project is largely funded by the B.C. government’s Clean Coast, Clean Waters Initiative Fund, and involves five different companies. In just one expedition, 61 tonnes of garbage was collected and removed via volunteers, a helicopter, and a barge.

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Health Board: Can't we all just get along?

Keith Hammonds

September 15, 2020 |

The Boulder Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Teton County, Montana

When the coronavirus pandemic complicated matters for local government, the Teton County public health office devised a process to enact state mandate that was effective, transparent, and led to rational decision-making. Although discord continued to a degree, the model is still providing guidance to Jefferson County as officials determine "how to best serve the public health interests of its residents."

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The New York City Schools That Didn't Close

Casey Parks

September 14, 2020 |

The New Yorker |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

In New York City, “regional enrichment centers,” or schools for the children of essential workers, popped up. The centers provided a place where workers, who couldn’t take care of their kids when schools shut down during the pandemic, could send their children to. Nurses, administrators, and officials quickly created a network of these centers. “It was people who were willing to put themselves at risk in order to serve the city. They were just, like, ‘People need us, so we’re here.’” Fourteen thousand families registered to send their children to one of the 93 centers.

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Iowa prison population drops to 20-year low

Erin Jordan

September 14, 2020 |

Quad-City Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Iowa

COVID-19 outbreaks in Iowa prisons have been contained through extensive testing, quarantines, and reductions in prison crowding. The state's prison population hit a 20-year low, down 13% from early April, because of accelerated parole hearings and reductions in new admissions. The state courts' slowdown and the prisons' temporary suspension in new admissions contributed to the population decrease. Since March, four people incarcerated in Iowa prisons have died of the virus while 833 have tested positive. An additional 126 staff have tested positive.

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The luxury of food waste

Thomas McMullan

September 14, 2020 |

Hothouse Solutions |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

At St George the Martyr church in London, an initiative to offer food to people that would otherwise have been wasted is taking on new meaning due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The “community fridge” started in 2019 as a way to combat the environmental impacts of food waste by giving away free fruit, vegetables, milk, bread, and meat, and was helping up to 20 people each week. Now, more than 100 people have turned up because they’re experiencing economic hardship and social distancing restrictions is making it a challenge to deliver food to those who need it.

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