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Charlotte is taking a new approach to drug cases. It could change lives.

Devna Bose

April 13, 2021 |

The Charlotte Observer |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

The Mecklenburg County district attorney stopped prosecuting non-violent, low-level drug cases to free up resources to handle a backlog of more serious cases that built up during the pandemic. The policy had the effect of freeing people from the permanent stain of a criminal conviction and offering them drug treatment as an alternative to punishment.

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Zoom Court Is Changing How Justice Is Served

Eric Scigliano

April 13, 2021 |

The Atlantic |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

When the pandemic shut courthouses, millions of court hearings and even trials moved online to keep the system operating. That shift is becoming permanent, at least for minor, routine proceedings. There are many reasons to be wary of entrusting the entire justice system to "virtual justice." But there are also significant upsides already being realized. In New Jersey and Michigan, far more defendants and jurors complied with summonses. And nationwide, lawyers, jurors, and litigants enjoyed the convenience of not commuting.

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LEGO ramps could improve access for Philadelphians in wheelchairs

Michaela Haas

April 13, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Hanau

An ingenious use of LEGOs has resulted in colorful wheelchair ramps around the German town of Hanau. The ramps are constructed using thousands of tiny LEGOs that are glued together and are able to withstand the weight of electric wheelchairs, strollers, and walkers. Although the ramps don’t comply with official building and safety codes, they’ve proven to be helpful and have remained in use in Hanau.

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Africa's Wikipedia Editors Are Changing How the World Sees Their Continent

Tolu Olasoji

April 12, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Africa

WikiAfrica Education increases information about Africa’s diverse languages, cultures, and politics from the voices and perspectives of African people. AfroCuration events enlist the help of young people to create and edit content for Wikipedia. The volunteers receive lessons on democracy and freedom movements and then use that information to create profiles of key events and history-makers. Strategic partnerships provide technical support and other resources, which have enabled hundreds of young people to produce hundreds of new entries and translate many existing entries into indigenous languages.

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Inside the ‘TA to BA' Educator Fellowship: How One Rhode Island Initiative Is Elevating Experienced Paraprofessionals — and Creating a More Diverse Teacher Force

Asher Lehrer-Small

April 12, 2021 |

The 74 |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Rhode Island

The "TA to BA" fellowship is Rhode Island program is helping veteran TAs become full-time teachers while diversifying the workforce. Through the program, fellows enroll in college classes and are able to present their lengthy classroom teaching experience and turn it into a certification, which will also allow them to be better compensated for their work. Equity Unbound, which developed the fellowship, is also looking to get approval as an alternative licensure program to decrease certification barriers for Teaching Assistants.

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The Polarised City (1): How 2 Jos Communities Struggle To Unite After Years Of Crises

Nathaniel Bivan

April 12, 2021 |

HumAngle |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Jos

With help from nongovernmental organizations, the people of two communities who clashed violently since 2001 found ways to coexist peacefully since 2019. Violent attacks and reprisals between the Christians of Unguwar Balakazai and Muslims of Mai Damisa claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed homes repeatedly. Elders trained by the Youth Initiative Against Violence and Human Rights Abuse told youth stories about peace in Jos in the past. Youth ambassadors trained by the Jos Stakeholders for Peace Centre met and agreed to lay down their weapons.

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What do communities do when the police retreat?

Robert Klemko

April 12, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Little Earth Protectors is one of several community patrol groups that emerged in Minneapolis' unrest after George Floyd's death in police custody. Named for a mostly Native American neighborhood with high rates of violence, the Protectors filled a vacuum left by short-staffed police who had lost support in the community. Patrolling the streets, usually unarmed, the Protectors mediate disputes, discourage drug and prostitution activity, and guard against property destruction. Seven larger groups doing this work have been given city contracts to provide their services if civil unrest breaks out again.

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In the wake of hate, the law is not always enough

Meg McIntyre

April 11, 2021 |

Concord Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Dover, New Hampshire

Hate crime laws apply to a narrow range of conduct, and often fail as a response to bias incidents that constitute hate speech but are not in themselves a crime. When high school students working on a history class project produced a video with a song treating the KKK and racist murders as a joke, the school and community responded not with prosecutions but with community dialogues to air differences of opinion about the incident. Students of color then formed a group, Project D.R.E.A.M., that expanded the conversations to the entire school, educating a mainly white community about the impact of racism.

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'One generation away'

Joseph Perez

April 11, 2021 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Navajo Nation, United States, Tsaile, Arizona

Diné College, the first tribally-controlled accredited college, provides over 1,300 students with opportunities to learn cultural traditions and the Navajo language, alongside traditional academic subjects. The school helps preserve the Navajo language, arts, skills, and customs by teaching it to younger generations. Learning Navajo traditions and language helps students make stronger connections with elders and they find the Indigenous philosophies that the school was founded on useful for overcoming obstacles, like finding ways to continue their education during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Embracing the light: Churches tap solar power

Jhesset Enano

April 11, 2021 |

Philippine Daily Inquirer |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Philippines, Leyte

Over 70 Catholic dioceses in the Philippines have entered into an agreement with energy resource company WeGen Laudato Si to install solar panels on their parishes, schools, and other buildings. The Diocese of Maasin on Leyte Island became the first in the world to completely shift to renewable energy. Installing the panels can be expensive, but shifting to solar has saved one diocese at least 100,000 pesos a month in energy bills.

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