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Can ‘Big Data' Help Fight Big Fires? Firefighters Are Betting on It

Jose A. Del Real

June 24, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

FireMap is a new program that uses real-time data to predict the direction of wildfires. In Southern California, where the tool is being tested, there is a huge potential for positive impact - fires in California swept across about 1.7 million acres in 2018. FireMap is built off an older technology, but this one is faster, more accurate, and has greater potential to scale.

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How They Did It: Exposing Police Violence Against the Yellow Vests

Marthe Rubió

May 28, 2019 |

Global Investigative Journalism Network |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France

In what started as a series of posts on Twitter and evolved into a public database published by an investigative media outlet, Mediapart, a lone reporter documented police violence against France's Yellow Vest protesters in an act of accountability that had been neglected by other journalists and the government. David Dufresne's “Allô Place Beauvau” (a "hello" to France's interior ministry) documented 800 cases of police violence or misbehavior. Many of the cases came to Dufresne as tips from the public, which he then verified. His work was cited by French and international authorities.

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Advocates strive to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women in the US and Canada

Allison Herrera

May 08, 2019 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Washington

Ensuring that cases of missing and murdered indigenous women are counted requires collecting data. In US and Canada, many cases of missing and murdered indigenous women remain ignored by law enforcement. In response, members of indigenous communities have undertaken data collection campaigns, including the creation of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women database.

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I Served My Prison Time. Why Do I Still Have to Pay?

Courtney E. Martin

April 30, 2019 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

In 2018, San Francisco county forgave $32 million worth of criminal justice administrative fees. These fees are issued to formerly incarcerated individuals upon release from prison, most of which are not employed and without stable housing. The coalition pursuing this policy change cited economic justice for those that have already paid their societal debt and an overall state savings in collection costs as the primary reasons to end this practice.

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Calif. newsrooms team up to handle police misconduct records dump

Tony Biasotti

March 27, 2019 |

Columbia Journalism Review |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

When a new California law unlocked the disciplinary records on misconduct from 700 police agencies statewide, competing news organizations formed the California Reporting Project to accomplish as a team what would have been daunting, if not impossible, for each news organization individually: compile a database of all the records as they are released. Just months into the project, the resulting news stories informed the public of officers who escaped serious consequences for misconduct, and whose careers benefited from keeping the public unaware.

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With vast records of police misconduct now public, California news outlets are collaborating instead of competing

Joshua Benton

March 20, 2019 |

Nieman Lab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

More than 30 California news organizations collaborated to gain access to, and publish news stories about, previously secret police disciplinary cases. Filing more than 1,100 records requests with more than 600 law enforcement agencies, members of the California Reporting Project leveraged each others' resources rather than competing to tackle the massive reporting project made possible by a new state transparency law. The collaboration is an example of local and regional partnerships that have helped a struggling news industry still cover local and state government news.

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A new laser-toting disaster lab aims to save lives by saving data

Hallie Golden

February 26, 2019 |

FastCompany |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

Collecting data in the moments after a natural disaster occurs is key to understanding their impact as well as increasing preparedness. When a disaster strikes, the RAPID Facility, a partnership between several universities headquartered at the University of Washington, dispatches researchers armed with drones and other high tech to collect crucial data such as aerial photos of disaster zones, and 3D images of damage. RAPID then makes the data publicly available in an effort to improve hazard forecasts.

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Citizen Science Comes of Age

Alastair Bland

February 19, 2019 |

Hakai Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Australia, Tasmania

As climate change accelerates, there is a growing need for scientific data to track and respond to the changes in our environment. Unburdened by the stress of academia or funding, volunteer citizen scientists are stepping in to fill the gaps. A citizen science group in Australia called Reef Life Survey says that trained volunteers help set a baseline of information on things such as water temperature that can be referred back to later. They also have many eyes gathering data over a long period of time, allowing more minute data to be recorded as well as getting data from the edges of studied territories.

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Libraries Want to Change Your Relationship With Public Data

Linda Poon

February 11, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Libraries serve as trusted stewards of information in the public domain. Looking beyond the traditional management of printed records and archives, libraries across the United States and Canada aim to make data sets released by city governments accessible to the public. Multiple initiatives serve as models for the collection and maintenance of public domain data, including the creation of user-friendly digital portals and digital literacy programs.

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New Mexicans Use Rain Gauges to Help Scientists Map Precipitation Levels

Michael Hernandez

February 09, 2019 |

KRWG-PBS |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Las Cruces, New Mexico

When it comes to meteorology, citizen science can be a powerful resource. In New Mexico and neighboring states, volunteers are collecting data that helps researchers and state agencies map rainfall patterns. Through CoCoRaHS, an online network, that information is reaching diverse stakeholders, from farmers to insurers.

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