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| Land Resources |
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Coastal municipalities in New York and New Jersey are using thousands of discarded Christmas trees to restore protective sand dunes on beaches impacted by Hurricane Sandy. The trees are arranged strategically on the beach to catch windblown sand. Dunes gradually grow around the trees over the course of several years, allowing grasses to take hold so that the dunes can act as a natural barrier to coastal flooding. States such as North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida have used similar methods.
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| Courts and Legal Services |
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A new program in New York City will keep some criminal defendants with mental illnesses from going to jail while waiting for their cases to be resolved. The new push will involve intensive assessments of defendants’ psychiatric needs by expert teams, which will also weigh-in on the likelihood that the defendant will appear in court and potential for reoffending. The teams will then recommend which types of services and supervision are appropriate while the defendants’ cases are pending. The initiative begins this year and is expected to affect 3,000 people annually.
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| Cultural Preservation |
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In Colorado, the Basalt Public Library has added plant seeds to its collections of books, CDs, and other media that patrons can borrow in an effort to stay relevant in the digital age. Library-card holders can check the seeds out, grow their fruits or vegetables, and then harvest the seeds from their most successful plants and bring them back to the library at the end of the growing season. The program has the added benefit of capturing the progeny of the plants best adapted to the particular microclimate of the region, ensuring a greater likelihood of future growing success. It is estimated that at least one dozen public libraries across the United States have similar offerings.
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| Education |
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In response to a rise in stress levels of high school students across the country, some schools are diversifying their schedules and offerings to help students cope. Schools in California, Minnesota, and New Jersey are scheduling homework-free nights or recess breaks several days a week so that students can socialize, play games, or catch up on work. In Maine, several high schools have instituted "wellness rooms" where volunteer professionals offer massage therapy and other stress-reducing treatments. Other schools are offering yoga and relaxation classes. And, in Prospect High School near Chicago, a therapy dog has been unleashed for students to interact with during the day.
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| Policing and Crime Prevention |
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The New York City Police Department will soon begin deploying portable radiation scanners in high-crime areas to detect concealed firearms. It is hoped that officers using the scanners, which can be mounted on a police vehicle or placed on a tripod on a street corner, can avoid the usual “stop-and-frisk” procedure to determine whether suspicious persons are carrying guns. Critics question whether the device, which is currently being tested by the department, will infringe upon civil liberties or lead to false positives that would increase unjustified stops by law enforcement.
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| Public Safety |
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To encourage a greater, yet cost-efficient police presence near its elementary schools, the Douglas County School District in Colorado is providing wireless access in its parking lots so officers can complete their paperwork on school grounds. This allows for a greater police presence at the schools than would otherwise be possible. Although wireless access has been available for some time, it was in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut that law enforcement officials began directing officers to take greater advantage of this service.
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| Solving a Piece of the OPEB Puzzle |
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A Massachusetts city's approach to cutting the cost of retiree health care holds lessons for other jurisdictions looking to deal effectively with this problem.
Newsletter produced by: Jessica Engelman, editor; Brendan St. Amant, researcher and writer.
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About the Ash Center
The Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence in governance and strengthens democratic institutions worldwide. Through its research, education, international programs, and government innovations awards, the Center fosters creative and effective problem solving and serves as a catalyst for addressing many of the most pressing needs of the world's citizens. The Ford Foundation is a founding donor of the Center. Additional information about the Ash Center is available at http://ash.harvard.edu.
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