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Rethinking Welfare: Universal Basic Income
4 Stories
By Saira Bajwa, Solutions Specialist
Once considered a radical experiment, Universal Basic Income...
created by
Solutions Journalism Network
Teaching Collection
Biochar Production and Uses
3 Stories
Biochar is the product of baking biomass - plant and animal matter - without exposure to oxygen....
created by
Solutions Journalism Network
Is there a Better Way to Collect Data on Homelessness?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-22/covid-is-making-cities-rethink-homelessness-data
Kriston Capps
Max Reyes
Bloomberg
22 January 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
A campaign to end housing instability is counting on frequent data collection to provide a clearer insight into the reality and needs of those living on the streets. “Built for Zero” aims to replace the current federal HUD model which consists of a single annual physical count of the unhoused. The data are used to create a command center which streamline the response from various groups and agencies that can address the issue of homelessness. The city of Bakersfield, California, was able to functionally end homelessness even with the onset of the pandemic after implementing the data-driven strategy.
Still Can't Breathe: How NYPD Officers Continue to Use Chokeholds on Civilians
https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/1/21/22241444/nypd-officers-chokeholds-still-cant-breathe
Yoav Gonen
Topher Sanders
The City
21 January 2021
Text / Over 3000 Words
Chokeholds have been against New York Police Department rules since 1993, and the practice has been scrutinized especially closely since the 2014 death of Eric Garner. But despite hundreds of complaints alleging chokeholds and frequent videos of such incidents, no NYPD officer has been fired for using a chokehold since 2014, nor have any complaints yielded more than some lost vacation time as a penalty. The failure of the policy stems from many causes, including ambiguity in the policy and its enforcement and lack of respect for investigative findings of the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
One peninsula tribe's journey through a year of coronavirus
https://crosscut.com/news/2021/01/olympic-peninsula-quinault-indian-nation-beats-back-pandemic
Manola Secaira
Crosscut
21 January 2021
Text / 1500-3000 Words
In Washington state, the Quinault Indian Nation has taken an aggressive and proactive approach to control the spread of COVID-19 amongst their community, and these efforts are showing success. Using a combination of tactics including contact tracing, closing the borders to their reservation, isolation procedures, and partnering with the local county, the tribal region has seen fewer cases compared to other areas.
A Florida Study Showed How to Save Energy at Home. Why Aren't More Cities and States Following Suit?
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/florida-study-save-energy-home-why-arent-more-cities-states-following-suit
Chad Small
Next City
21 January 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
A pilot energy retrofit project in Florida has shown that these upgrades for homeowners ultimately saves them money and energy, and can be made accessible to people from all types of socioeconomic backgrounds. This private-public partnership retrofitted 56 single-family homes, some with “shallow” retrofits like LED lightbulbs and smart plugs and some with “phased deep” retrofits like energy-efficient windows and air conditioners. The program showed that all participants saved energy and could be scaled to other states.
After shootings hit new high, Durham to spend $935,000 on an alternative to police
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article248629260.html
Charlie Innis
The News & Observer
20 January 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
Because two Durham neighborhoods using the Cure Violence method of "violence interruption" bucked the citywide trend toward higher gun violence, the city will expand its Bull City United violence-prevention program to four more neighborhoods. The additional $935,488 cost will pay for 16 employees, many of them formerly incarcerated, who will mediate disputes after a shooting, to prevent retaliation, and who will conduct outreach to people at risk of gun violence.
Zoom Funerals, Outdoor Classes: Jails and Prisons Evolve Amid the Pandemic
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/01/19/zoom-funerals-outdoor-classes-jails-and-prisons-innovate-amid-the-pandemic
Keri Blakinger
The Marshall Project
19 January 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
When the pandemic forced jails and prisons to ban educational classes and cut off visits between outsiders and their loved ones behind bars, some jailers opened their facilities to remote-learning and -visiting tools. The result is a boom in the use of video conferencing for literacy classes, vocational training, family visits, and even to enable incarcerated people to attend family funerals. Some advocates for the incarcerated worry that in-person interactions could permanently be replaced by video, even after the risk of viral infection has eased.
It takes a village: Community Yahoos help Slavic Village during Covid-19 pandemic
https://www.thelandcle.org/stories/it-take-a-village-community-yahoos-help-slavic-village-cope-with-the-covid-19-pandemic
Lee Chilcote
The Land
19 January 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
In Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood, a community effort is underway that aims to do "nothing but positive things." During the coronavirus pandemic, the group of volunteers has held fundraisers for community members who are facing financial struggles and handed out masks and face shields. The efforts resulted in the group receiving a Covid-19 emergency support grant that helped them create the Garden of Life – "a grassroots gathering place where people can celebrate life and remember those who have passed away."
Seafood Delicacies Find Their Way Into Home Kitchens
https://lifeandthyme.com/food/seafood-delicacies-find-their-way-into-home-kitchens
Annelise Jolley
Greta Rybus
Life & Thyme
19 January 2021
Multi-Media / 1500-3000 Words
After restaurants closed due to COVID-19 and tariffs were implemented on exports to China, fishermen and women in the United States had to shift their business model to sell directly to consumers. For example, Get Hooked, a subscription-based community-supported fishery in California that delivers daily catches to customers, saw their business double after the pandemic hit. This new model allows home cooks to support local suppliers and explore new foods.
Simple change to fishing gear saves thousands of birds in Namibia
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/19/simple-change-to-fishing-gear-saves-thousands-of-birds-in-namibia
Chris Baraniuk
The Guardian
19 January 2021
Text / Under 800 Words
Tens of thousands of vulnerable bird species have been saved over the last decade thanks to new equipment that has been installed by Namibian fishing boats. By fitting colorful hosepipe to lines towed behind boats, a study has shown that birds are scared away and don’t end up getting tangled in the lines. The material is also fairly cheap to implement, which allowed the solution to be widely implemented.
More Dayton residents have conflict during COVID-19. Mediation comes to the rescue.
https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/more-dayton-residents-have-conflict-during-covid-19-mediation-comes-to-the-rescue/KGQQBGLZAJGPDKMFJSJ6ZY4QPU
Cornelius Frolik
Dayton Daily News
18 January 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
In Dayton, neighbor disputes and other conflicts ended up in mediation far more often in 2020, thanks to the Dayton Mediation Center's online services at a time when local court operations were limited by the pandemic. A 23% increase in cases can be seen as both bad news and good: more conflicts among people frustrated by social distancing, but more willingness to address conflicts constructively through dialogue mediated by trained volunteers. Dayton police, who are often called to intervene in neighborhood and domestic spats, will be trained to refer cases to the free mediation center in 2021.
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