Issues impacting several of the nation’s major cities, from education in New York to immigration in Las Vegas were key in News21′s coverage. Additionally, Syracuse fellows reported on technology from 11 kinds of cities.
- Unlocking the Revolving Door: California Prisons
California’s tough-on-crime laws have resulted in overcrowded prisons and ballooning budgets. A few innovative programs for non-violent women offenders, however, could be the first step to fixing the state’s prison crisis.
- Children of Immigrants Face Struggle
The children of immigrants in California carry the legacy of their parents’ sacrifices and the promise of a better future for themselves and the state. But breaking free from cycles of poverty is a debilitating struggle. Latino youth in both Los Angeles and the iconic farm worker city of Delano face rigid barriers to social ascension.
- Nevada: Battered by a Perfect Storm
In a state that bet its entire social service infrastructure on booming population growth and seemingly unending tourism, an economic perfect storm annihilated what were once the holy trinity of Nevada tax revenue streams: property, sales, and gaming.
Even as population growth held steady at 6 percent annually for a decade and fueled unprecedented prosperity, Nevada’s long and storied addiction to its narrow tax base leaves social services scraping by and keeps the creation of a true safety net as an afterthought.
- The Asian Face of Las Vegas
A look at the fastest-growing Asian community in America.
- Rebuilding New Orleans from the School Up
Hurricane Katrina washed away most of New Orleans’ traditional public schools and cleared the way for a new “open-choice” system dominated by charters. These schools draw students from all over the city. What happens when communities are fractured and new ones emerge?
- State of the Union: California Labor Wars
After decades of break-neck growth, California’s two million-member Service Employees International Union is facing a crisis brought on by a debilitating recession. This package explores the present crises strangling the labor movement and its deleterious effects on working people in California. It includes audio, text stories, a timeline, photos and videos.
- What's In a School Name? Potential in New Orleans
In New Orleans, charter schools are replacing more than the old, brick and mortar school buildings wrecked by the storm. New schools trumpet new missions, colors, songs, mascots and names. Where some are skeptical about re-branding what was familiar and sentimental, others welcome scrapping the failing, decrepit institutions for something completely new.
- Newark Up Close: Tale of Two Charters
In Newark, N.J., two very different charter schools iare competing for similar resources, space and students. One is rooted in the community of Newark; the other belongs to a national network. One is led by Newark educators, the other by out-of-town Teach for America alumni. One has plans to stay small, the other has aggressive plans to expand. One wants to change how children learn, the other aims to prepare them for life. One needs money, the other — not so much.
Together, Discovery Charter and the KIPP middle schools frame a debate percolating beneath the charter school explosion.
- Behind the Newark Charter School Fund
When the Newark Charter School Fund was announced in April 2008, it certainly created a splash. True, Newark schools had been getting increased attention with the election of its young, Ivy-educated mayor, Cory Booker. Several Newark schools had been commended on their own merits. But the creation of the $20 million fund placed Newark squarely on the education reform stage, primed to attract big private money. Since then, Fund officials have immersed themselves in the Newark education scene, getting to know the players and the schools and ascertaining needs.
- One Less Bell to Answer: Auditing Charters
It’s been four years since the New York State Legislature authorized the State Comptroller to audit all public schools, including charter schools. And almost two years since the charter schools began their constitutional challenge to that legislation.
Now, the charter schools have an answer. Sort of. Yes, the New York Court of Appeals said, the charter schools were right. They don’t have to be audited by the state comptroller. For now, but that could change.
- Newark: Welcome to the Renaissance City
Since riots racked the city in the 1960s, Newark has endured several aborted attempts at revival. Recent developments, though, are leading residents and visitors alike to believe that they may now be witnessing a rebirth with traction, stemming from an unlikely place. While investment opportunities in real estate and business have certainly caught the attention of glitterati, it’s the city’s charter schools that have captured the imagination of philanthropists and policy wonks alike.
- Money 101: Financial Literacy Courses Take Root
Much can be learned from a crisis. In classrooms around the country, first-graders learn from Sammy Rabbit that saving is a habit. Middle-schoolers manage bank accounts and high-schoolers develop personal financial plans. In New Jersey, education officials are vetting changes in the K-12 core curriculum, to require more comprehensive instruction of financial-literacy concepts.
- Newark Schools Fight Back Against Charters
Challenged by a growing number of high-performing charter schools within its bounds, the Newark, N.J., public school district announced an ambitious plan to turn around its schools to create a system that is bolder, more accountable, more transparent and more innovative.
- The New Town Square
Explore with resident from three Northern California towns as they struggle to define community in an increasingly suburbanized landscape. This short introductory video blends old techniques (stop motion animation) with the digital platform. Other elements in the package include an interactive map illustrating how these three towns have grown and changed over the last century, and a series of maps where residents describe the places where they find their community.
- 51st and Telegraph: Exploring a California Intersection
A busy north Oakland intersection provides a glimpse into the issues facing this gentrifying community. A 360-degree “portal” span of the intersection offers macro- and microscopic looks into property battles, commerce, diversity, transportation and urban landscaping. Includes a blog for residents passing through the intersection to post messages.
- CityLab: Exploring Communities Up Close
CityLab.us is a database created by and for reporters that displays demographic and anecdotal data about 65 cities in the Bay Area. It is intended as a working prototype for a national database that allows reporters to compare hard-to-find information about cities all over the country. Each of the thousands of data points is individually sourced, allowing reporters to fact check by visiting the Web site from which the data was pulled or by directly contacting the reporter who contributed the data.
- BARThood: 4 Bay-Area Neighborhoods Up Close
This project focuses on four neighborhoods, visualizing demographic data of ridership and aggregating content and news about each area. Includes interactive charts and graphs, slide shows and custom feeds that combine up-to-the-minute Google blogs, Google News, Twitter and Yelp posts specific to each station.
- New Orleans, the Charters after the Storm
When New Orleans teachers were fired en masse in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a new generation of teachers converged on the city to teach its returning students. For the most part, this new corps is young, white and affluent. Videos, graphics, text stories.
- NYC Charter Schools in Depth
Charter schools have grown rapidly in the city, with notable effects on the public school system. Enrollment data shows that Harlem’s zoned public schools, for example, are now educating more children who live in poverty and more children whose first language is not English. Text stories, photos, graphics, video.
- Climate Refugees: Yup'ik Towns Fight Erosion
In Alaska, coastal Yup’ik communities are being forced to abandon their homes due to accelerating erosion and increased flooding. This package investigates how our society’s energy habits impact remote towns and asks the question: Who ultimately pays for our energy use? Text, photos, video, interactive map.
- Debating Coal’s Future
Since 2001, U.S. energy companies have proposed more than 150 new coal plants. One of them is for Meigs County, Ohio, where residents debate the environmental effects of more smokestacks versus the benefit of more jobs. Video, Q&A, photos, map.
- Amnesty’s Next Front: Small Town USA
Culpeper, Va., epitomizes the change in Hispanic immigration to the United States over the past two decades. Between 1990 and 2007, U.S. Census data shows that Culpeper County experienced a general population growth of 62 percent, nearly three times the national rate. But over that same time, the Hispanic population of Culpeper County increased 18 fold. Text, video. live Twitter updates.