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  • How 5 universities tried to handle COVID-19 on campus

    February 23, 2021 |

    Science News |

    Multi-Media |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Universities are breeding grounds for COVID-19. In August and September they had to figure out the best way to test, control, and contain a virus on campus. Across the country universities launched a plethora of methods: weekly testing, staggered testing, training student health ambassadors, and even a community court. This article highlights the endeavors of 5 universities.

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  • “Power Companies Get Exactly What They Want”: How Texas Repeatedly Failed to Protect Its Power Grid Against Extreme Weather

    February 22, 2021 |

    The Texas Tribune |

    Multi-Media |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Texas

    After winter storms and freezing temperatures in 2011 and 2014 caused power plants in Texas to shut down, the state’s energy regulators failed to adapt the state’s electric grid for future extreme weather events. Experts say the state’s deregulated energy market, failure to weatherize facilities, and a lack of action from lawmakers to update the power grid caused millions of customers to lose power during the deadly 2021 winter storm.

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  • Oklahoma County promised to fix its jail more than 10 year ago, but deaths and staffing issues continue

    February 22, 2021 |

    The Frontier |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

    The U.S. Department of Justice documented dangerous conditions in the Oklahoma County Detention Center that led to a 2009 court settlement requiring the county to staff and fund its jail adequately. But the Justice Department failed to enforce the settlement. Staff shortages and poor conditions persist in the jail, leading to 84 deaths since 2009, seven in the past three months. The county knew it would need voter approval to raise taxes or borrowing to pay for the jail reforms, but it never followed through and was not held to account by the federal overseers.

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  • The Texas Freeze: Why the Power Grid Failed

    February 19, 2021 |

    Wall Street Journal |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Texas

    By relying on the market to give energy suppliers' incentives to keep the power going during extreme weather events, a historic cold snap in Texas revealed cracks in the state’s free-market energy system, which left millions powerless during the storm. Critics of the state’s system say “the alphabet soup of Texas energy oversight bodies” led to inaction and there was a lack of preparation from plant owners to ensure that they could continue to operate in extreme heat and cold temperatures.

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  • A College Program for Disadvantaged Teens Could Shake Up Elite Admissions

    February 18, 2021 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    About “1,500 (High School) students from 75 of the nation’s poorest schools in 35 cities,” are enrolling in college courses in elite universities like Harvard and Columbia through an initiative started by a nonprofit—and succeeding. The aim of the program is to prepare underprivileged students for the rigors of college education, and give them a confidence boost before they enter college. They complete the same coursework as the college students and get a grade. “All of these schools talk this game, ‘We want diversity, but we can’t find these kids,’ and this proves they can build a pipeline."

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  • ‘Crime-Free' Housing Ordinances, Explained

    February 17, 2021 |

    The Appeal |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Starting in the early 1990s, thousands of American towns and cities passed "crime-free housing" ordinances that purport to reduce crime in rental housing. The laws encourage or require landlords to evict tenants based on calls to police, or the criminal records of tenants or their houseguests. The laws' lack of due process has turned them into a tool promoting segregation and retaliation against people of color. Frequently enacted in places that have begun to diversify racially, they give police too much power to declare certain residences a nuisance. Legal challenges have begun to curb some abuses.

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  • Anti-human trafficking apps were meant to save lives. They're failing

    February 16, 2021 |

    Wired |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur

    Since its April 2018 founding in Malaysia, the Be My Protector app has enabled interventions in 120 cases of suspected human trafficking, sparked by anonymous reports that its app enables. In about a third of those cases, which mostly involved migrant workers in South and Southeast Asia, the victims were able to return to their homes, while others were offered counseling. But, like the more than 90 such apps available around the world, Be My Protector has struggled to make a big impact. Many such apps capitalize on a trendy subject without a clear focus on improving conditions and helping victims.

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  • The inside story of how Pennsylvania failed to deliver millions in coronavirus rent relief

    February 15, 2021 |

    Spotlight PA |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Pennsylvania

    When Pennsylvania's coronavirus rent relief program rolled out during the first few months of the pandemic, it failed to help many due to strict deadlines, poor information management, a payment cap, and overall procedural limitations. Now, the state is "getting a second chance," and has made modifications to the program in an attempt to avoid the failures of the last round.

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  • Washington state's COVID-19 vaccine planning fell short on logistics, sowing disorder and mistrust

    February 14, 2021 |

    The Seattle Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Washington

    Because Washington state health officials failed to prioritize the planning of basic logistics for disseminating the COVID vaccine, the state quickly fell behind others in vaccinating the most vulnerable and at risk. Realizing that a significant part of the failure stemmed from a reliance on the already overtaxed healthcare sector to deliver the vaccine, the state has since enlisted the National Guard to provide vaccinations at various sites and has seen some improvement.

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  • Hawaii Homeless Program Failed After Prosecutors And Police Wouldn't Play Ball

    February 11, 2021 |

    Honolulu Civil Beat |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Honolulu, Hawaii

    LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) proved itself in Seattle as effective at addressing the underlying problems of people experiencing homelessness, by waiving their criminal charges if they accepted needed services. But the program's two-year test in Honolulu failed to gain traction because only some police bought into it, and the prosecutor's office never did. Instead of using criminal citations as leverage, the program was stripped down to an ordinary outreach effort, and managed to enroll only 50 people, not all of whom were helped. A new prosecutor and the police will make another go of it.

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