Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • How USA Today and its network of local papers prioritized investigative journalism

    Shrinking newspaper staffs that deprive communities of local news have struck the nation's largest newspaper chain, Gannett, as well. The company has responded by deploying limited resources toward stories in the public interest with the most potential impact, on such topics as hospital safety and government corruption. Local newspapers pool resources to do investigative-reporting joint projects, which then feed into the chain's national newspaper, USA Today. Some stories have inspired reform legislation.

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  • S.F. immigrants seek to expand civic footprint

    Elevating the voices of noncitizen community members takes building trust through outreach and education. After the passage of Proposition N, allowing local non-citizens in San Francisco to participate in school board elections, a number of immigrant advocacy groups have mobilized to educate residents about their right to civic participation. Groups like the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) and the Immigrant Parent Voting Collaborative (IPVC) are working to organize numerous grassroots efforts promoting the civic engagement of non-citizens.

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  • “What Does the World Beyond Jails and Prisons Look Like?”

    The Detroit Justice Center is providing a comprehensive approach to breaking the cycle of poverty in the county. The nonprofit law firm provides immediate support, like paying back child support and posting the cash bail payments that keep those experiencing poverty trapped in a cycle of debt and imprisonment. The group also aims high in their larger efforts to disrupt the criminal justice system, like suing the county to prevent the building of a new jail complex, and provides their clients and the community the chance to reimagine what the city could look like with transformative and economic justice.

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  • A Nazi flag led this Western Mayberry to confront hate once again. Now Fruita aims to send a different message.

    A small city in Colorado turned an act of bigotry — someone publicly flying a Nazi flag — into an opportunity for growth for the city. Fruita considers itself a welcoming, inclusive community, so they seized upon this opportunity to pass an Inclusivity Proclamation. The proclamation affirms their commitment to defeating prejudice and also added inclusivity as a part of their next city planning strategy.

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  • Tech for Turnout

    High tech tools offer low cost ways to reach many voters and mobilize turnout, especially in mid term elections. From applications that allow campaigns to deliver personal text messages to hundreds of people at once, to new digital platforms for online polling and campaign management, many of the successful campaigns launched across the country during and after 2016 have leveraged these tech innovations to engage with voters.

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  • Facing Segregated Schools, Parents Took Integration Into Their Own Hands. It's Working.

    When City Hall was slow in addressing the issue of the deeply segregated schools in Manhattan and Brooklyn, parents took the matter in their own hands and drafted a proposal to integrate the students more. High-achieving students will enroll in low-performing schools and vice-versa, as well as doing away with the competitive admissions process to open up more spaces for students who are poor, homeless, learning English, or more. City Hall eventually approved the proposal with very little input from the mayor, but parents still maintain that they have a lot of work ahead of them still.

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  • Bernalillo County's Mobile Voting Unit

    A mobile voting unit in Bernalillo County helped 1,733 people vote in 2018. The county rented a large RV, customized it with voting stations, and sent it to public areas, including senior centers where people can have a difficult time getting to the polls. The RV had a wheel chair lift but no stair rail, so staff helped people walk in and out. Staff was also trained to operate the equipment and keep it stocked with ballots and supplies. The county plans to purchase its own RV for future elections and has fielded inquiries from other localities that want to implement mobile voting units in their districts.

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  • What happens when students are given a say in school budgets?

    This year, New York City's Department of Education introduced participatory budgeting in 48 public schools to bolster civics education and create a more transparent budgeting process. At Veritas Academy in Queens, students conducted research, consulted teachers, and prepared pitches in pursuit of the $2,000 of the annual budget available; in the end it was a close race between a greenhouse, multi-purpose studio, and filtered water fountain.

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  • Citizen engagement is helping Costa Rica fight climate change

    With its pledge to become the first zero-emission country in the world by 2050, Costa Rica's ambitious climate goals cannot be achieved by the government alone. That's why Costa Rica Limpia (Clean Costa Rica) is sparking citizen engagement to help in the fight. Grassroots efforts by the organization has already helped to create new charging infrastructure for electric cars, and citizen review bodies are local communities access important climate data.

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  • 'The Journey to Trust Is Long'

    Sheriffs' offices can provide resources and encourage underserved communities and communities struck hard by disinvestment to grow their civic capacity. In Alameda County, California, the county sheriff’s office operates a non-profit organization, the Deputy Sheriff’s Activities League (DSAL). The non-profit champions a model of community engagement known as community capital policing, hosting community events and programs in Ashland and Cherryland.

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