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In an Attempt to Help Struggling Restaurants, Cities Regulate Food Delivery Apps

Emma Coleman

May 15, 2020 |

Route Fifty |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States

To provide financial relief to restaurants during Covid-19 related closures, officials in several cities have capped the commission food delivery apps can take from restaurants. Some apps normally take as much as 40% from restaurants but in order to remain viable while in-store dinning is shut down some cities have capped commissions between 10-15%. Although the apps claim that mandated caps are damaging their business and will force them to alter operations, local restaurants have expressed enthusiasm that the caps will allow them to use third-party delivery apps and stay open.

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One City Is Paying Restaurants to Make Meals for Homeless Shelters

Emma Coleman

April 02, 2020 |

Route Fifty |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Social distancing has negatively affected homeless shelters, because the volunteers who prepare the meals aren't considered essential employees. The city of Cambridge pledged to pay local restaurants to provide bagged or boxed meals for lunch and dinner at shelters for as long as social distancing guidelines remain in place. This also helps restaurants who are struggling without customers. The operation started in March of 2020 and has since distributed 1,800 meals to eight homeless shelters and meal programs. Other cities like Detroit and Portland are following their lead.

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‘We're Doing What We Can': How a Makeshift Network Is Filling in the Gaps with Medical Supplies

Emma Coleman

March 27, 2020 |

Route Fifty |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

To address a shortage of personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, community members have begun to take on the task of producing face masks for medical professionals. From sewing masks to creating face shields with a 3D printer at a local library, communities are organizing and organizations are partnering to, at least temporarily, solve the problem.

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How Fines and Fees Reform Became a Priority for Cities Across the Country

Emma Coleman

February 06, 2020 |

Route Fifty |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Durham, North Carolina

From North Carolina to California, states and cities are taking a new approach to fines and fees – people are having their charges dismissed, warrants for minor offenses cleared, and many municipalities are actually saving money by spending less on collections. With a system that was built because it provided cities and states with revenue, there has been a realization that it disproportionately targets communities of color and often keeps people stuck in cycles of debt. With this national awakening, resources and networks are being created so other places can implement the same change.

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Why One City is Prioritizing Financial Empowerment

Emma Coleman

December 06, 2019 |

Route Fifty |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Paul, Minnesota

To tackle the inequality and lack of opportunity facing many of its historically marginalized communities, St. Paul, Minnesota, recently opened an Office of Financial Empowerment. The office will create a city-wide strategy to address ways to improve the financial health of citizens, including an assessment of the ways that government fines and fees might actually work against residents. The city expects successes similar to an effort to eliminate all library fees, which helped increase traffic to low-income libraries and allowed those with previously suspended library cards to check out books again.

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How One City Saved $5 Million by Routing School Buses with an Algorithm

Emma Coleman

August 12, 2019 |

Route Fifty |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

A well-designed algorithm can help increase the efficiency of complex, and troublesome, transportation systems. In 2017, Boston Public Schools hosted a competition to redesign its complicated bussing system. The selected proposal, an algorithm created by PhD students, increased efficiency by 20% overall, helping BPD cut tons of carbon emissions and ease budget constraints. The savings will allow BPD to reinvest in its schools.

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Emergency Preparedness for Prisons Isn't Just Sandbags and Non-perishables

Emma Coleman

November 02, 2018 |

New America Weekly |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005 stranded people incarcerated in the New Orleans jail without food or water, the city used the experience not to question its disaster preparedness but instead to rethink who needs to be incarcerated in the first place. By easing policies in cash bail and arrests for petty offenses, the city cut its jail population by two-thirds and replaced its flooded jail with one less than one-quarter the original size. The new policies helped inspire Louisiana to revise its sentencing standards in an effort to end its distinction for having the world's highest incarceration rate.

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