'It gave me hope in democracy': how French citizens are embracing people power

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/20/it-gave-me-hope-in-democracy-how-french-citizens-are-embracing-people-power

Peter Yeung

The Guardian

20 November 2020

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Cities across France are using citizens’ assemblies, where a diverse group of citizens study important issues and make policy recommendations. In Paris, 150 citizens spent nine months working on the climate convention, which resulted in 149 recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. President Macron pledged more funding and accepted all but three of the proposals. The convention also showed how citizens’ assemblies improve community cohesion and reduce polarization. Ireland, the UK, and Belgium have also successfully used citizens' assemblies to address important social issues.

A Watchdog Accused Officers of Serious Misconduct. Few Were Punished.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/15/nyregion/ccrb-nyc-police-misconduct.html

Blacki Migliozzi

Ashley Southall

Ali Watkins

The New York Times

15 November 2020

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New York City established its Civilian Complaint Review board in 1993 to strengthen its police-discipline system, a response to complaints that police officers rarely were punished for harassment and brutality, especially in Black and brown neighborhoods. In 6,900 cases in which the board recommended the toughest punishment, however, police officials overruled it more than 70% of the time over the past two decades. The result is a disciplinary mechanism designed to instill trust but that instead "has become all but toothless" because of how it is structured and how police leaders responded to oversight.

Why Las Vegas Is at the Heart of Western States' Water Conundrums

https://truthout.org/articles/why-las-vegas-is-at-the-heart-of-western-statess-water-conundrums

Frederick Clayton

Truthout

15 November 2020

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After running out of water during a drought in 2002, the Southern Nevada Water Authority and Las Vegas Valley Water District took proactive steps to conserve the region’s water for future generations. Thanks to public service campaigns, outdoor water usage limits, and turf replacement programs, the region’s water usage per capita has dropped by 46 percent. However, many people still don’t fully comply with the city’s water regulations and the region continues to grow at an expanding rate. Yet, similar conservation efforts could be a model for other arid regions around the United States.

Left in the Dark

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3603ef8cc492488c847cffbe03ad0f1d

Samah Assad

Christopher Hacker

Dave Savini

WBBM-TV

15 November 2020

Broadcast TV News / 5-15 Minutes

Chicago Police Department took a major step toward transparency and accountability by equipping all patrol officers with body worn cameras after a coverup of a fatal shooting. But, in tens of thousands of “investigatory stops,” police fail to fully use the cameras. In those apparent violations and a host of other gaps in camera practices, the department neither tracks its failings nor whether it has disciplined officers for policy violations, which appear to be exceedingly rare. The failures, one expert says, add up to a system of rules without consequences.

Manhattan Mental Health Court offers lifeline to those with serious mental illness — but they have to get in

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-manhattan-mental-health-court-covid-20201115-d6klmmhhkjaezolehcxzugqnrm-story.html

Chelsia Rose Marcius

New York Daily News

14 November 2020

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Manhattan Mental Health Court was created in 2011 to divert felony criminal cases to treatment, and away from prison, for people in need of mental health treatment. But few people with serious mental illness ever benefit from it. Too few defense lawyers know to request the intervention or do it correctly. Prosecutors act as gatekeepers in deciding who gets the help, and many do not see its value. And, once cases are admitted to the court, they can sometimes take years to be resolved. Covid restrictions on the courts have only aggravated these problems.

Rural Black Women Turn To Each Other, Mutual Aid And Activism To Survive COVID-19

https://fierceforblackwomen.com/2020/11/12/rural-black-women-turn-to-each-other-mutual-aid-and-activism-to-survive-covid-19

Connie Green Freightman

Fierce for Black Women

12 November 2020

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Across Mississippi and Georgia, mutual aid groups have formed and existing groups have expanded to address increased racial inequities in the health care system during the coronavirus pandemic. Several of the groups are specifically focusing on food insecurity and access to basic needs, while others are raising money for personal protective equipment.

Twitter Keeps Some Measures It Says Slowed Election Misinformation

https://www.kalw.org/post/twitter-keeps-some-measures-it-says-slowed-election-misinformation

Shannon Bond

KALW

12 November 2020

Text / Under 800 Words

To reduce the spread of disinformation, Twitter labeled about 300,000 tweets with warnings that they contained "disputed and potentially misleading" information about the election between October 27 and November 11. The tweets were from removed from recommendation algorithms, extra steps were needed to reply to or share a tweet, and almost 500 had an additional warning that users had to click past to read. Twitter says it saw a 29% reduction in quoting the tweets that had the warnings and, while several election related changes will end, users will still have to quote tweets rather than simply retweeting.

In Brazil, Women Candidates Find Strength in Numbers

https://www.yesmagazine.org/democracy/2020/11/12/brazil-women-political-candidates

Isabela Dias

Yes! Magazine

12 November 2020

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Collective, or shared, candidacies, where groups of candidates to run for a single elected position in Brazil, has helped elevate women and other marginalized groups with progressive platforms to rise to power. From 2016 and 2018, 22 of the 98 groups that ran were elected. In 2020, 41% of the joint candidacies were led by women. A national bill to formalize collective candidacies has stalled since 2017, so one member of the group is formally elected, and is the one to cast votes and give formal speeches, while the others are hired as advisers but still are empowered to write and propose bills.

Disinvested: How Government and Private Industry Let the Main Street of a Black Neighborhood Crumble

https://www.propublica.org/article/disinvested-how-government-and-private-industry-let-the-main-street-of-a-black-neighborhood-crumble

Tony Briscoe

Haru Coryne

Mick Dumke

ProPublica

11 November 2020

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A series of government programs designed to rebuild a neighborhood badly damaged by the 1968 Chicago uprising not only failed to achieve their goal, but actually made it worse. Hundreds of businesses in the Madison Street area of Chicago's West side were destroyed in days of rioting. Programs that emphasized clearing "blight" over building anew left vacant lots where new businesses might have emerged. Overall, "efforts turned out to be too scattered, too small and too susceptible to shifting politics to make a lasting impact," while opportunistic businesses cashed in without improving conditions.

Target Is Reopening Its Looted Store With Black Shoppers in Mind

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-11/target-reopens-longfellow-minneapolis-store-looted-in-2020-george-floyd-protests?sref=EHcL0Cmk

Jordyn Holman

Bloomberg

11 November 2020

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A Target store looted and destroyed near the site of George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis, Target's corporate headquarters city, was quickly rebuilt with improvements informed by community input. The mostly white-run corporation's store previously had a poor reputation for service and for listening to its mostly Black customers. Led by a new racial justice committee, Target heard complaints about the store's wares, design, and cleanliness. The new store has earned praise from residents.