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Using virtual reality to help students with disabilities

Tara Garcia Mathewson

August 29, 2019 |

The Hechinger Report |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Danvers, Massachusetts

In the Danvers, Massachusetts, school district, virtual reality technology allows students with disabilities to walk through the hallways of their middle school before the first day of classes or take field trips at their own pace as part of life skills classes. The district's technology director believes this a key "low-stakes opportunity to practice critical life skills."

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Heat is deadly—even in Montana. But the city of Missoula is doing something about it.

Laurie Mazur

August 29, 2019 |

The Daily Climate |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Missoula, Montana

Adapting to climate change takes planning and partnerships. In Missoula, Montana, partnerships with nonprofits like Thriving Earth Exchange (TEX) and Climate Smart Missoula reinforce the city’s climate planning. TEX connects cities and urban planners with professors, experts, and other nonprofits that can assist in tackling climate change issues. By layering socioeconomic data over a heat map of the city, TEX scientists could reveal populations at highest risk of extreme temperature impacts. The team then shared data with health officials, policy makers, and the community.

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Building a better helmet

Nate Mann

August 29, 2019 |

The Gresham Outlook |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

In an effort to create more effective helmets, developers and consumers have come up against both cost and technological concerns. Building helmets that protect against concussions is challenging, and those that have been promising come with the additional concern of working so well that players aren’t able to recognize when they’ve been hit too hard. Furthermore, safer helmets cost more – as much as $200 per helmet – making it hard to afford for schools with limited budgets.

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The all-electric home: Tackling air pollution by cutting off natural gas

Heather May

August 27, 2019 |

The Salt Lake Tribune |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Herriman, Utah

In a collaborative effort between developers, power companies, and the government, a new apartment complex in Utah will be almost entirely powered by solar energy. The complex, developed by Wasatch Premier Communities, will work with Rocky Mountain Power to determine how to integrate such technology into the region’s electricity grid. This kind of development is gaining ground in Utah, and those in the industry hope to educate others of the benefits of going electric.

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Solar Panels as Solution for SEPTA's Power Outage Problems

Matt Delucia

August 26, 2019 |

WCAU-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Storing solar energy improves the resilience of public transportation systems to disruptions in the energy grid. With the potential of extreme heat or weather conditions to cause issues in the reliability of electrical power, Philadelphia’s SEPTA public transportation system has begun to invest in solar power. By storing solar energy in batteries at various hubs, the public transportation system can avoid delays caused by local outages.

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CU Anschutz unveils out-of-home gun storage map to help improve safety, prevent suicide

Stephanie Butzer

August 26, 2019 |

KMGH-TV |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Aurora, Colorado

For individuals wanting to store their guns outside of their homes, they can now find a space using the Colorado Gun Storage Map. The interactive tool was developed in collaboration between the Colorado School of Public Health, the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and the Colorado Safety Coalition, with the goal of helping those in crisis situations find spaces like law enforcement agencies and special storage facilities to store their firearms.

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Homes are a big part of Salt Lake City's air pollution problem. They also are the solution.

Heather May

August 26, 2019 |

The Salt Lake Tribune |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Salt Lake City, Utah

Across Salt Lake City, Utah, housing developers are building more net zero energy homes. Facing air quality issues, the state has yet to set more energy efficient codes for new homes, which means the kind of homes being built by developers like Redfish, Garbett Homes, and Ivory Homes, are being constructed on a much smaller scale. Such homes, while costing 2-5% more to build, have shown to decrease energy costs by 50-60%.

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Can Flexible Pricing be Fair?

Nate Berg

August 24, 2019 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

San Francisco is using technology to calculate the cost of parking throughout the city, depending on the demand in specific neighborhoods at any given time. While critics were wary of the effect flexible pricing would have on lower-income residents, the pilot program resulted in lower parking costs on average and demonstrated that flexible pricing could promote equity. In other cities around the world, flexible pricing systems implemented through the use of technology have been effective in raising revenue from higher-income people and neighborhoods to reduce prices and reinvest in equitable solutions.

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KCPD uses new strategy for predicting, fighting crime

Nathan Vickers

August 23, 2019 |

KCTV-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Kansas City, Missouri

Using a method of targeting trouble-prone locations called "risk terrain modeling," Kansas City police saw double-digit declines in crime in the targeted areas. The method uses crime data to show where crime flourishes. Then police, working with community members, determine what about that location could change to reduce risk, such as improving street lighting or moving a bus stop that acts as a magnet for trouble. The program suggests that focusing on places, not just people, can prevent crime rather than just reacting after the fact with arrests, although the results are only preliminary.

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How a North Dakota town embraced online learning to try to save its school

April McCullum

August 22, 2019 |

USA Today |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Wolford, North Dakota

In response to a shortage of teachers, North Dakota's public schools are experimenting with online learning alternatives. "Rural areas have a chance that they’ve never had before," the executive director of the North Dakota Center for Distance Education said.

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