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Residents 13 and up get another pick of city projects to receive funding

Ted Glanzer

June 20, 2022 |

Hartford Courant |

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Response Location: United States, Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford residents 13 and older can decide how some public funds are spent. The Hartford Decides participatory budgeting initiative considers public input on small capital projects that cost between $10,000 and $25,000 and have a useful life of at least five years. City officials vet the projects for feasibility and those that pass are put on a ballot for the public to vote on. Previous winning projects include improvements to libraries, schools, and other publicly accessible resources. Residents can vote online or in-person and, depending on available funding, two to four projects can win approval.

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Public Art Project Is Reimagining Philly's Budget, One Poster at a Time

Connie Aitcheson

June 17, 2022 |

Next City |

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Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

“A People’s Budget,” produced by Mural Arts Philadelphia, uses art to engage residents in reimagining how the city spends public funds. In addition to public art installations, the group holds teach-ins, organizes gatherings, and brought together local artists to research different sections of the budget and create 30-plus posters, in English and Spanish, that are handed out at events and other public spaces. The group has increased awareness, sparked important conversations about participatory budgeting, and brought together residents to collaborate for change.

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Vote for everyone you like — Fargo tests approval voting

Dan Gunderson

June 06, 2022 |

MPR News |

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Response Location: United States, Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo adopted ‘approval voting’ where residents can vote for as many candidates as they support per race. They do not rank order their choices, but simply select as many candidates as they like essentially voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for each candidate. All choices on a voter’s ballot carry equal weight and vote percentages are calculated by dividing a candidate’s total votes by the total number of ballots cast. The strategy has increased the percent by which winning candidates are selected and helps candidates who in the past would have received few votes because they weren’t seen as having a chance to win.

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The profound impact of giving American families a little more cash

Marin Cogan

May 16, 2022 |

Vox |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

The expanded child tax credit payments provided expanded eligibility for families to receive higher credits per child. Rather than receiving the credit when filing taxes, families received a cash payment per child each month, enabling them to use the money to meet their specific needs. The program provided a cushion for millions of families struggling to cover their expenses each month but expired in 2022.

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What the student loan payment pause has meant to Black women

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel

April 03, 2022 |

The Washington Post |

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Response Location: United States

The two-year pause on federal student loan payments in the United States during the pandemic allowed Black women, who share a disproportionate amount of the country’s student debt, to redirect the money they would typically use for repayment toward other needs.

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Kansas increasingly meeting the need for rural broadband speed

Stan Finger

March 16, 2022 |

The Kansas Leadership Center Journal (KLC Journal) |

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Response Location: United States, Kansas

Kansas has increased access to high-quality broadband, especially in rural areas, by using $60 of the $250 million Congress allocated to Kansas for coronavirus-related costs. The Statewide Broadband Expansion Planning Task Force had already made recommendations to the state legislature, which were approved in the 2020 session. Companies who won the bids to expand access quickly deployed about 350 miles of fiber and fixed wireless service in some areas. Other grant-funded initiatives will continue to improve access, particularly to low-income areas.

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Turkey Bets on Green Card

Sevilay Nur Saraçlar

January 25, 2022 |

Inside Turkey |

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Response Location: Turkey, Antalya

A program in Turkey allows residents to recycle its waste, and in return, receive points that can be used to pay for goods or be withdrawn as cash from an ATM. When the Green Neighbor Card program launched in 2016, the first month saw residents turning in over 8,700 kilograms of waste. By 2020, it has grown to 200,000 kilograms a month. Some say the program has some flaws, but residents have earned 5.3 million liras since the program began.

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How India's Farmers Launched a Movement Against Modi's Farm Bills—and Won

Amandeep Sandhu

January 19, 2022 |

Yes! Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India

Protests among farmers in India led to the repeal of farm laws – passed in the midst of COVID-19 shutdowns – that privileged corporate interests over the livelihood of farmers. In some states, farm union members blocked railroads, prevented the collection of toll taxes on roads, and blocked gas stations, shopping malls, and warehouses owned by corporations that benefited from the laws. Throughout the protests anywhere from 50,000 to 700,000 farmers camped out blocking strategic infrastructure. The sustained protests, and the widespread support among people, led the government to withdraw the laws.

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How expanded child tax credit aided these moms, changed economy

Nick Roll

January 19, 2022 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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Response Location: United States

As part of a COVID-19 pandemic relief bill, the federal government expanded the child tax credit and distributed the money in monthly cash payments rather than a lump sum when filing taxes. The expansion, which expired in 2022, also increased the per-child amount up to $3,600 annually. The concept of cash-payments trusts families to decide where the money is most needed. Data shows that many families were able to catch up on bills and take away the urgency of financial struggles, opening up space to tend to other physical and emotional needs involved in raising children.

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Door-to-door campaign helps Guadalupe turn the tide against COVID

Miguel Torres

January 05, 2022 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Guadalupe, Arizona

After becoming a COVID-19 hotspot, Guadalupe built partnerships and built trust among community members to effectively track cases, dispel misinformation, and increase vaccinations. The Town Council partnered with Pascua Yaqui tribal leaders, the broader Maricopa County, Native Health, and a COVID-19 response team composed of faculty, staff, and students at Arizona State University to lower infection rates. A combination of at-home testing, contact tracing and, eventually, vaccination events helped, as did the use of promotoras – community health workers who talk with residents to help ease anxiety.

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