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Urban Parks and the 10-Minute Challenge

Laurie Mazur

October 31, 2017 |

Governing |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

On average, one in three Americans don't live within ten minutes of a park. That percentage is even lower for low-income people and people of color. Because parks often can lead to better health for both individuals and communities, the Trust for Public Land, the National Recreation and Park Association, the Urban Land Institute, and the JPB Foundation have joined forced to implement a national advocacy campaign to bring attention and action to this issue.

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Public Shaming and Even Prison for Plastic Bag Use in Rwanda

Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura

October 28, 2017 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Rwanda, Gisenyi

Plastic bag litter is a serious problem across Africa and around the world, choking waterways, killing livestock and wildlife when ingested, and causing environmental damage. Rwanda is one of the few nations in the world to completely ban single-use plastic bags, but they take enforcement of the ban to a sometimes controversial extreme, with punishments that can even include jail time. The measures do appear to be working, however, where the clean streets and countrysides of Rwanda stand in stark contrast to the heavily-littered land of neighboring countries.

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The Fight to Fix America's Broken Bail System

John Buntin

October 25, 2017 |

Governing |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Jails are overcrowded with inmates awaiting their trial and who didn't have the money to make bail. Across the country states are trying to implement new policies to deny high-risk felons bail, while conducting risk assessments to see if inmates would be a safety concern if they were released until their trial. Many plans have been developed but the big bail business remains a barrier.

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Should health agencies in the Mahoning Valley give needles to addicts?

Tim Rudell

October 22, 2017 |

The Vindicator |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Youngstown, Ohio

As the opioid crisis continues to impact all areas of the United States, local governments are starting to try solutions they previously had dismissed. In Ohio, this means implementing needle exchange programs with the aim of reducing the spread of communicable diseases.

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A Landmark California Plan Puts Floodplains Back in Business

Matt Weiser

October 10, 2017 |

News Deeply |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Dos Palos, California

California aims to reconnect major rivers with their floodplains. This reduces flood risk and helps restore groundwater aquifers and wildlife habitat. A farm irrigation district in Dos Palos is proving this can work. A groundwater recharge project is taking pressure off levees while helping farmers get water to grow their crops.

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How Tenants' Rights Are Flourishing—Right in Trump's New Backyard

Jimmy Tobias

October 09, 2017 |

The Nation (New York) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

In Washington D.C., the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase act, gives tenants the right to be the first in line to buy the building they live in, if it goes up for sale. The city, also has a trust fund that finances affordable housing, and provides funds for people looking to purchase a building and create a co-op. Together, these things make it easier for tenants to access affordable housing, and fight gentrification. So, far the city has 137 co-ops. "Now we get to choose our neighbors, we get to set our own rules, and we’re in control of our living conditions.”

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From Norway, Pennsylvania's prisons appear cruel and unusual

Samantha Melamed

October 04, 2017 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Pennsylvania

Thirty years ago, Norway’s recidivism rate was more than 60 percent. Then the country put rehabilitation at the core of its corrections system, training prison guards to act more like social workers than punishers. Recidivism fell dramatically. The country of 5.2 million now has just 3,900 prisoners. Norwegian delegates are meeting with officials in Pennsylvania to share their insights.

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Many countries have a simple, fair tax system. Could the US be next?

Marco Werman Joyce Hackel

September 27, 2017 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

The average median-income family in the United States spends 13 hours per year preparing and filing their taxes, plus $370 paying someone to help. “In other countries, it’s a matter of minutes and costs nothing,” says T.R. Reid who studies tax systems around the world. In the Netherlands, you review a pre-filled online form. In Japan, the government sends you a postcard and, if no changes are needed, you don’t take any action at all.

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In Germany, Blue-Collar Jobs Provide Bulwark to Populism

Jack Ewing

September 21, 2017 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia

With nearly one in five Germans working in manufacturing, the closing of steel mills and coal mines spelled trouble. Instead of despairing, blue-collar cities such as Dortmund leapt into the future. State and local officials in Dortmund expanded the technical university, gave start-up capital to entrepreneurs, and offered newly built office space to young companies. Unemployment is falling fast, and the city seems to have avoided the sense of alienation that has led to a rise in populist sentiment elsewhere.

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Let down and locked up: Why Oklahoma's female incarceration is so high

Ziva Branstetter

September 20, 2017 |

Reveal |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Oklahoma currently locks up more women than any other state in the country, incarcerating females at more than double the national rate, and harshly deals out ever-longer sentences to prisoners, disproportionately targeting poor women and those of color. Tulsa is the one exception, thanks to a charitably-funded, intensive programs like The Education and Employment Ministry and Women in Recovery, which combine shorter prison terms with rehabilitative treatment and supportive probation, including drug addiction recovery, employment assistance, and life skills classes.

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