Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 1051 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

How solar ‘skin' helped an Indiana homeowner win a fight for rooftop panels

Kari Lydersen

October 15, 2019 |

Energy News Network |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Indianapolis, Indiana

After the homeowners association denied his request to install solar panels on his roof due to their aesthetic, Indianapolis-resident Joey Myles used SolarSkin to disguise the panels to look like asphalt shingles. The company Sistine Solar makes these films that coat solar panels in various images that can be used to blend in with roofs or other forms of artwork. The panels with skins only generate about 85 percent of energy as those without skins, but they can withstand extreme weather.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Let's nix Columbus Day and make Election Day a paid holiday instead

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

October 14, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Sandusky, Ohio

Sandusky, Ohio, recently got rid of Columbus Day in favor of a holiday on Election Day, following the lead of several countries around the world such as South Africa, Germany, and India. Sandusky's swapping of Columbus Day for Election Day is largely symbolic, but symbols can be powerful, especially for small towns.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Can 'deliberative polling' solve political polarization?

Fareed Zakaria

October 13, 2019 |

CNN |

Broadcast TV Programs |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

While many politicians use political polarization to their advantage, communities across the world are finding that talking through the divide can actually have an impact on how someone votes. Polls conducted before and after community dialogue sessions show that perspectives of many of those participating changed, and in Ireland, many think this strategy is what resulted in the legalization of abortion.

Read More
Go to Original Story
City Campaign Finance System Charts Path—and Highlights Challenges—for State Reform

Kate Pastor

October 09, 2019 |

City Limits |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

New York City's campaign finance system has offered a blueprint for a similar statewide system. Since it was implemented, the city's campaign finance program, which awards public funds up to a certain limit to candidates, has helped grassroots candidates launch competitive campaigns against entrenched, deep-pocketed opponents.

Read More
Go to Original Story
In Myanmar, underground poetry nights build bridges between Rohingya and Burmese writers

Victoria Milko Clare Hammond

October 01, 2019 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Myanmar, Yangon

Underground poetry nights build bridges between Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and Burmese writers in Myanmar. Over video, Rohingya poets who fled persecution in Myanmar can connect with people from their home country and share their art. The events are covert because it's dangerous to support Rohingya in Myanmar, but the event is empowering contributors through collaboration and shared activism. There are about 150 Rohingya poets in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Jewish and Arab women unite to defy Bedouin voter suppression in Israeli election

Eetta Prince-Gibson

September 18, 2019 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Israel

Jewish and Arab organizers arranged for volunteers to bring Bedouin women in remote villages to their polling place to vote in parliamentary elections. Bedouin villages on tribal lands don’t have polling places, so dozens of women volunteers used their own cars (due to a last-minute ruling making it hard for organized groups to bus voters) to bring hundreds of Bedouin women to distant polling stations. Many of the women would not have voted without the help of the volunteers, who contributed at least in part to the 10-percentage point voter turnout increase in Arab communities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
IMPD used to fatally shoot more people than NYC or Chicago. Here's what changed.

Casey Smith Ryan Martin

September 18, 2019 |

IndyStar (The Indianapolis Star) |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Indianapolis, Indiana

Under new leadership, Indianapolis has seen a drastic decline in fatal police shootings. While the new police chief, Bryan Roach, shares credit with his entire force, many credit his new policies for the decline. Initiatives like addressing behavioral health, implicit bias training, and mental health crisis training are just some of the changes being made. While much progress has been made, there is still a ways to go when it comes to rebuilding trust within the community.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The ‘Badass Grandmas' Who Fought Corruption and Won

Michael Deal

September 17, 2019 |

Forbes |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, North Dakota

An unlikely group of "Badass Grandmas" came together in North Dakota to fight corruption in state government. Coming from both Democratic and Republican backgrounds, the group formed organically during an early morning discussion. Inspired by their neighbors in South Dakota, the group successfully passed a constitutional amendment approved by voters to overhaul government ethics oversight.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How Women Are Faring in the World's Largest Refugee Camp

Jennifer Chowdhury

September 17, 2019 |

Zora |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Bangladesh, Ukhia, Cox's Bazar

In the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Bangladesh, Rohingya women are overcoming the societal restraints that bound them at home in Myanmar and becoming leaders and change-makers in their community. Despite resistance from the men, hundreds of women in the camp banded together to form a group called Shanti Mohila. This allowed them to push for more peace and justice and issues like domestic violence, and they even received support from Legal Action Worldwide to prosecute crimes against the Rohingya people.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The Kids Are Alright, and They're Fixing Their Neighborhoods After Natural Disasters

Monica Humphries

September 05, 2019 |

NationSwell |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Rockaway, New York

In starkly unequal Rockaway, Queens, New York, a group of 60 young people organize grassroots campaigns to equalize outcomes across race and class lines in the Rockaway Youth Task Force. Just a year after its founding Hurricane Sandy hit, and the RYTF really came into its own when it turned a vacant, half-acre lot into a thriving youth-run farm. The group also successfully lobbied the city to extend a bus line that gave over 10,000 more residents transportation access.

Read More
Go to Original Story