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Despite federal cuts to higher ed, Mass. free community college presses on, transforming students' lives

Mara Kardas-Nelson, Diti Kohli

August 17, 2025 |

The Boston Globe |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

The MassReconnect program makes community college free for students over 25 without a bachelor’s degree, while the MassEducate program helps cover tuition and fees for all Massachusetts residents. Since the programs were launched, the state has seen both enrollment and student retention rates go up, and students are transferring from community colleges to four-year universities.

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How Baltimore's violent crime rate hit an all-time low: 'This is not magic. It's hard work'

George Chidi

August 16, 2025 |

The Guardian |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore implemented a comprehensive, data-driven violence prevention strategy that combines personalized intervention services with targeted prosecution, resulting in the city's lowest murder rate in 50 years through coordinated efforts by social workers, police, prosecutors, and community organizations.

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The World's Smartest City Is a Tiny German Village

Michaela Haas

August 11, 2025 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany, Etteln

The residents of Etteln, Germany responded to rural decline and digital exclusion by organizing grassroots collective action—including volunteer-led fiber-optic installation and community-driven digital innovations—which reversed population loss, doubled school enrollment, earned global recognition as the world's smartest city, and created a replicable model now used by 500+ cities worldwide.

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"C'est mieux que la clim" : à Lyon, un réseau de froid urbain rafraîchit des magasins sans rejeter d'air chaud

Robin Prudent

August 11, 2025 |

Franceinfo |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: France, Lyon

À Lyon, le réseau de froid, situé sous le quartier de la Part-Dieu, est considéré comme plus efficace que la climatisation traditionnelle, refroidissant les commerces et les entreprises du quartier avec environ la moitié de l’énergie. Le système utilise l’eau souterraine pour refroidir les machines qui pompent l’eau glacée à travers un réseau de tuyaux sous la zone.

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Seattle Renews Its Unique Approach to Public Campaign Financing

Amy Sundberg

August 08, 2025 |

Bolts |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Seattle’s democracy vouchers program provides residents with four $25 vouchers to donate to local political candidates of their choice, with the goal of making it easier for citizens to participate in local elections while also leveling the playing field for a wider range of candidates. Research on the program found that it has helped increase the number of unique donors and made local elections more competitive.

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Rooftop Solar Power Is Struggling to Take Off in Hong Kong. What Went Wrong?

Selena Liang

August 08, 2025 |

The Xylom |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Scheme is an ongoing government program that incentivizes rooftop solar adoption by allowing individuals and organizations to sell solar-generated electricity back to utility companies at rates higher than what customers pay for regular electricity.

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Lost your USAID funding? These aid matchmakers have a solution.

Ogar Monday

August 06, 2025 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Vinikilang

Following the closure of USAID and the loss of funding for its projects around the world, Project Resource Optimization was formed to help match projects in need of support with potential funders. Though the organization is not able to make sure every USAID-funded project is able to continue, it has helped secure roughly $26 million for 24 projects so far.

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How an NYC Suburb Is Actually Managing to Bring Rents Down

Rebecca Picciotto

August 05, 2025 |

Wall Street Journal |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Rochelle, New York

To help increase housing stock, New Rochelle, NY streamlined the development approval process and made it easier to approve many housing units at once, allowing the city to add roughly 4,500 new housing units over the last decade. However, local residents worry about being priced out of the area as people move from Manhattan in search of more affordable housing.

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How one California community is turning an old oil field into protected habitat

Amal Ahmed

August 01, 2025 |

High Country News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fullerton, California

The Friends of Coyote Hills led a 30-year community campaign that successfully protected 24 acres of threatened habitat from development. Alongside voter mobilization, strategic fundraising, and federal wildlife protections, they secured $70 million toward the purchase of land.

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Federal cuts to AmeriCorps could make it harder for recent graduates to find jobs

Ariel Gilreath

July 30, 2025 |

The Hechinger Report |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The AmeriCorps program places students and recent graduates in community service positions across the country, helping to fill local needs for everything from tutoring to wildlife management while also allowing participants to build valuable professional and academic skills. But recent federal cuts to the program's funding have put its future in jeopardy, with some participants being forced to leave their positions early.

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