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Treat Medicines Like Netflix Treats Shows

Tina Rosenberg

March 05, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Australia

Australia has found a promising model to make high-priced medicine cheaper for patients, including expensive treatments for Hepatitis C, which the country is now on track to eradicating by 2026. The strategy works similar to the business strategy of subscription streaming services- by paying a lump sum to drug producers, Australia gets an unlimited amount of the drug for 5 years, allowing all patients to get help while ensuring stable profits for drug companies.

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Trash talking goes high-tech in San Francisco

Steve Rubenstein

March 04, 2019 |

San Francisco Chronicle |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

In San Francisco, a debate over trash cans has led to the installation of 1,000 high-tech sensors from a Danish company that will increase efficiency of trash collection and minimize spilled waste. It will also save the government thousands of dollars compared to the expensive Bigbelly trash cans that are more willing to break. After a successful testing program last year, the city knows this switch will improve sanitation, costs, and time.

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'Nobody was born bad'

Allison Shirk Collins

March 01, 2019 |

Chattanooga Times Free Press |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga’s Violence Reduction Initiatives used a focused deterrence strategy to reduce crime. The initiative has led to a decrease in gang-involved homicides and shootings, working with individuals on probation to provide them with the social services they need to stop them from re-entering a life of crime. A core part of this method is to show communities that they’re not forgotten and that they’re cared for, and yet securing funding and consistent support for such programming has been challenging.

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Cautiously Optimistic

Allison Shirk Collins

March 01, 2019 |

Chattanooga Times Free Press |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Small and large cities around the United States have their own ways of deterring gun violence, from heavier police presences, to community engagement efforts, to public health approaches. An ongoing and similar challenge for these cities is pinpointing where the most effective change is coming from. In cities like Chattanooga, Savannah, and Philadelphia, each one has seen some impact from their work, but without ongoing evaluations, proving and thus sustaining the successful programming is challenging.

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The Key to Nebraska's Water Conservation Success

Mark Funkhouser

March 01, 2019 |

Governing |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Lincoln, Nebraska

As the Ogallala Aquifer’s water level has declined in many states across the High Plains region of the U.S., Nebraska has almost fully maintained its water level by relying on National Resource Districts (NRDs). NRDs “develop integrated management plans for surface water and groundwater,” and its sustainable practices offer a model of how sustainable water management can thrive with local governance.

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Preparing Main Street for the So-Called ‘Retail Apocalypse'

Larisa Ortiz

March 01, 2019 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Corning, New York

A planning expert dives into responses from cities around the country to the infrastructural red tape faced by many brick-and-mortar retail businesses in the wake of an ecommerce boom. In Corning, NY, city officials created mid-block crosswalks to make navigating retail spaces downtown safer; in Memphis, local government passed a law that allows for light manufacturing in downtown areas to make owning "mom-and-pop" shops more affordable & convenient.

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Cities without sewers

Chelsea Wald

February 28, 2019 |

Rethink |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Haiti, Cap-Haïtien

A nonprofit in Haiti called SOIL with a business arm called EkoLakay is bringing back the old-fashioned idea of a container-based sanitation system. Customers rent toilets with containers in them, use them, and return them to EkoLakay to then be converted into highly nutritious compost. Piloted in 2011, the program has been successful serving more than 1,000 households (growing by 40 every month) with a staff of 58 mostly local workers. They attribute their success to using "applied resilience thinking", having many actors at different levels, and constantly adapting to new solutions and knowledge.

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You can now ski on top of a $670 million power plant in Copenhagen

Akshat Rathi

February 27, 2019 |

Quartz |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Denmark, Copenhagen

Amager Bakke is a powerplant in Copenhagen that is designed to get residents of the city engaged in a conversation about where waste goes, all while burning up to 400,000 tons of waste a year, powering 60,000 homes, and heating 160,000 homes. In 2013 the local plant was redesigned to burn the city's waste and encourage interaction by building a ski slope atop the plant, a hiking trail, and an elevator that introduces education about waste management. Amager Bakke is still new and experimental, so its long-term success is still unclear, and it is not completely emission-free yet.

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How Tech Helped San Francisco Clear 9,300 Marijuana Convictions

Rachel Kaufman

February 26, 2019 |

Next City |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Using an algorithm designed by Code for America, the city of San Francisco has been able to identify and start the process of expunging almost 10,000 marijuana-related convictions. While the initiative has faced some opposition, the city’s District Attorney asserts that convicted individuals should be given dignity and respect by not have to carry the weight of crime for something that’s no longer illegal.

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With no upfront costs, this innovative financing tool makes energy efficiency affordable to all

Nate Berg

February 26, 2019 |

Ensia |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Aulander, North Carolina

North Carolina’s Roanoke Electric Cooperative is helping members bring down energy costs. Because the energy costs in this area is due to a lack of energy efficiency, the cooperative offers tariffed on-billing to help homes offset expenses like insulation and new heat pumps. The tariffed on-billing uses federal loans to pay for said expenses, and then the customer pays the tariff charge in their bill – which ends up being lower because of the energy efficient upgrades.

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