Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • 2021 Will Be the Year of Guaranteed Income Experiments

    Universal Basic Income is gaining popularity across the United States, where 11 cities in 2021 are either extending or piloting new programs that provide cash payments without any conditions on how to spend the money. The success of UBI has been detailed in several other cities, most notably in Stockton, California, under Mayor Michael Tubbs, who has been voted out but has since launched the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. The coalition of 30 mayors will run experiments by choosing families and individuals facing economic hardship; the ultimate goal being a federal UBI program.

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  • New laws lead some Washington prosecutors to rethink three-strike life sentences

    Nearly three decades after Washington voters made their state the first to enact a three-strikes law, imposing life imprisonment for repeated, serious offenses, some prosecutors have found ways to avoid the law's effects that are seen as unduly harsh or racially biased. Some have interpreted a law authorizing resentencing to apply to three-strikes cases. Others have pushed the governor to grant clemency more often. This new willingness to question the law's effects is not universal among prosecutors, and the state Supreme Court soon will weigh in on the issue.

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  • What A Solar-Powered, Portable Library Looks Like

    Arizona State University’s SolarSPELL project developed a waterproof device with a solar panel and other equipment that allows users to connect to “offline WiFi” networks and browse preloaded webpages. SD cards store open access educational content and national education ministries have the ability to add national textbooks and other culturally relevant content. About 25 users can connect without slowing browsing speeds and the ASU team provides training on how to use the device. While the device is primarily charged using the solar panel, it can also be charged using electricity during cloudy weather.

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  • Under Biden, the Justice Department is expected to again police the police

    After East Haven, Connecticut, police officers were caught harassing residents based on race, the Obama Justice Department took the police department to court and won a consent decree requiring a long list of reforms, in hiring, training, discipline, and use of force. The oversight, rare for a small city, changed the department's culture and won praise from many residents, who now trust the police more. Such federal action waned in the Trump years, but is expected to revive in the Biden administration, though perhaps under a more collaborative, less coercive model.

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  • When money is running short, print your own

    A community currency was introduced to boost the local economy in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts. $133,000 worth of BerkShares, as the currency is known, are in circulation and accepted by small businesses in town. The concept arose from the desire to support “a strong commitment to speak with buying choices.”

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  • How US cities fixed violations to Asian Americans' voting rights in 2020

    Violations of the Voting Rights Act during primary and local elections led the city of Malden, where 23% of its 60,000 residents are of Asian descent, to provide voting materials and information - including mail-in ballots, voting instructions, official election websites, and precinct signs - in English and Chinese. The city also hired a trilingual city employee fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin and collaborated with community advocacy groups on voter outreach and recruiting more bilingual poll workers. Advocates see Malden as a role model for other jurisdictions to remedy voter access issues.

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  • How Tulsa Is Reconnecting Immigrants and Refugees to High-Skill Careers

    Skilled immigrants are better able to capitalize on their education and work experience with some help. Initiatives in Massachusetts and Oklahoma aim to help immigrants and refugees navigate complicated higher education systems to better match their previous education with credits in American universities. These programs also help them recognize cultural differences that could affect their job search in addition to increasing “cultural competency” for employers.

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  • The Karen Next Door

    During protests over racial inequity in American criminal justice, the Karen video became a common response to an incident of racist hostility. A case in Montclair, New Jersey, at first followed the familiar trajectory. Confronted by a white woman over a perceived assault, a Black victim of the false accusation posted a video of the argument and the inevitable call for police assistance. White allies responded with support for the Black victims, which is the intended effect of such videos. But the aftermath raised a host of unresolved questions about how best to think about and respond to such incidents.

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  • Rentervention connects renters with legal services, virtually

    A chatbox is dispensing free legal advice and even writing and sending letters to landlords to help tenants facing eviction. Landlords typically hire lawyers in eviction cases, while the majority of tenants arrive in court without any legal assistance, leaving them at a distinct disadvantage. The chatbox, cleverly named Rentervention, has been especially busy helping tenants avoid eviction since the start of the pandemic.

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  • The child trafficking survivors training to prosecute sex crimes

    The School for Justice provides an education in law or advocacy to young women who have survived sex trafficking. The program started in Kolkata in 2017 and has expanded to Mumbai and Katmandu. Forty students receive housing, counseling, and free tuition to the local university of their choice, where they can study to be lawyers, paralegals, social workers, police officers, or journalists. The goal is to equip them with the tools they need to protect others from child sexual exploitation and to bring perpetrators to justice. Along the way, they begin to heal through empowerment and peer support.

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