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Taller grasses, deeper roots: Texas ranchers adapt to era of extremes

Henry Gass

September 09, 2022 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Emory, Texas

In order to keep up with the demands of climate change, beef producers are shifting how pastures are planted and managed, diversifying their cattle stock, and diversifying their businesses. Planting native grasses that cover the soil and help retain moisture and rotating cattle helps ranchers prepare for climate crises, like droughts.

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Why Albuquerque's latest experiment in policing doesn't involve officers

Henry Gass

November 12, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque established a new city department, Albuquerque Community Safety, that handles some of the 200,000 calls to 911 every year for a range of low-level, non-violent problems that don't require a police response. Since its launch in August 2021, the department has fielded just two teams of behavioral health specialists on call during the day. The city plans to expand the team's hours and responsibilities, though some are uneasy about exposing the unarmed workers to the potential for violence. The city has a long history of police shootings of mentally ill people, and ACS is meant to curb that threat.

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CSI Houston: How a Texas lab has remade the science of forensics

Henry Gass

April 23, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

One of the first crime-lab scandals gave birth to a better way of ensuring the integrity and accuracy of forensic evidence. The Houston Forensic Science Center operates independently of law enforcement agencies, with a large staff of scientists and a healthy budget to correct some of the resource-related flaws of its police-run predecessor. Perhaps its greatest innovation is a system of regularly running blind tests as a quality check, to make sure the staff stays vigilant. The goal is to avoid the kinds of bad science that often contribute to wrongful convictions and other injustices.

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Houston, we have a solution: How the city curbed homelessness

Henry Gass

November 18, 2019 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

Across the country, governments at every level are working to tackle homelessness. In Houston, connecting permanent housing to services has proven an effective strategy but it has required an increase in affordable housing stock and more strategic organization between non-profits and officials.

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Rethinking mental health for cops: When ‘good intentions' aren't enough

Henry Gass

May 29, 2019 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Fort Worth, Texas

Across the country, police departments are increasingly providing mental health services for law enforcement. Among the services deployed are internal support teams, post-incident debriefs, psychological first aid, and wellness and stress education. While they may take different forms and approaches, they are all driven by the need to support and manage the stress and trauma that come with the job.

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Native justice: How tribal values shape Judge Abby's court

Henry Gass

March 27, 2019 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Yurok Reservation, United States, Klamath, California

Across the country, tribal courts are seeking to break the cycle of recidivism and instead focus their efforts on rehabilitation and community. Judge Abinanti’s Yurok Tribal Court in California applies traditional Yurok values – responsibility, renewal, and restorative justice – in a way that builds compassion and addresses the deep trauma held by the people entering her court.

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How Texas' Harris County went from ‘capital of capital punishment' to zero executions

Henry Gass

December 27, 2017 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

In 2017, Harris County, TX saw a year where no one was sentenced to death and no one was executed. The county, nicknamed as the capital of capital punishment, is seeing a shift in the support of the death penalty. While studies haven’t shown a definitive answer, it has been linked to new, reform-focused DAs, the introduction of life sentences without parole, and Supreme Court decisions that likely diminished the use of capital punishment.

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Meet a new breed of prosecutor

Henry Gass

July 17, 2017 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Texas

Across the country, a small number of young prosecutors are changing the face of our current criminal justice system. They are moving away from the “strict law-and-order practices of the past,” and employing a more liberal approach: “eschewing the death penalty, talking rehabilitation as much as punishment, and often refusing to charge people for minor offenses.”

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For children who have faced serious trauma, a place to learn

Henry Gass

June 14, 2017 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is home to a high number of teens with severe trauma and emotional disturbance, who are underserved in regular school settings. Alternative programs that focus more on 'behavior than academics' are offering these students a new place to learn.

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Maine looks north, hoping to become a gateway to the Arctic

Henry Gass

December 27, 2016 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Maine

The state of Maine has been feeling the negative effects of climate change including the rising sea waters. Businesses have decided to make the best of it and do it in an environmentally sound and sustainable way. They have sought out new fisheries, renewable power, and trade distributions through the Arctic.

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