How These Cities Are Breaking Up the Work of Police Departments As the country reassesses its relationship with law enforcement, Ithaca, New York; Berkeley and Oakland, California; and Austin, Texas, are defunding, replacing, or reducing the scope of their police departments. Eoin Higgins
Five Times Miami’s New Police Chief Got It Wrong on Public Safety Art Acevedo’s recent comments reveal an official who, despite his “good cop” veneer, has played fast and loose with the facts when it comes to addressing public safety. Eoin Higgins
These Progressive Candidates Could Flip The Balance Of Power In St. Louis City Government Four first-time candidates could grant progressives a majority on the Board of Alders and transform public safety and housing policy. Eoin Higgins
How Teri Castillo Plans to Protect San Antonio From ‘Salivating’ Housing Developers The housing advocate’s run for city council could be a Texan litmus test for the broad appeal of policies popular with working class voters. Eoin Higgins
Why Michelle Wu Wants to Bring a Green New Deal to Boston The mayoral candidate’s plans would reimagine life for Boston's working-class residents—and has earned an endorsement from Senator Elizabeth Warren. Eoin Higgins
Virginia Governor Candidate Says It’s Time To ‘Treat Poverty Like the Emergency It Is’ Jennifer Carroll Foy is a former public defender and state legislator who wants to overhaul school funding and extend an eviction moratorium until the end of 2022. Eoin Higgins
New Videos Show Massachusetts Cops Brutalizing George Floyd Protesters Over two nights last year, police in Boston and Worcester used excessive force—including pushing and tackling—while arbitrarily arresting protesters without apparent cause. Eoin Higgins
Boston Mayor Vetoes Restrictions on Police Force Against Protesters Despite Controversial Body Camera Video ‘It’s an insult to the activism and organizing that defined 2020, and falls far short of the transformational leadership that Boston deserves,’ one City Council member said. Eoin Higgins
Bodycam Video Shows ‘Mob Mentality’ Of Boston Police Who Responded To George Floyd Protests, Lawyer Says Hours of video given exclusively to The Appeal show police officers bragging about attacking protesters and multiple instances of excessive force and the liberal use of pepper spray. Eoin Higgins
Carroll Fife’s Fight For Unhoused Mothers Sparked A Movement Across The Country. Now She’s On The Oakland City Council Ready To Transform The City. Fife has pledged to reinvest in the local community, aggressively combat the housing crisis, address income inequality, education, healthcare and more. Eoin Higgins
Tarra Simmons Becomes First Person Formerly Convicted Of A Felony Elected To Washington State Legislature Simmons, an attorney, is fighting to give people “a first chance so they won’t need a second chance later on in life.” Eoin Higgins
Tarra Simmons, Candidate for Washington State Legislature, Is Fighting To Give People A First Chance The attorney, who is a person formerly convicted of a felony, has attracted support and praise from people around the country. Eoin Higgins
As More States Turn To Mail-In Voting, Problems Pop Up Across Country Last week’s problems in New York were part of a widespread series of issues, both systemic and targeted, that are only now becoming fully apparent, activists say. Eoin Higgins
Carroll Fife Is Fighting To Make Oakland Safer And More Equitable For Everyone In her run for City Council, Fife pushes back on the institutional barriers to Black people that come from a history of oppression. Eoin Higgins
Economic Insecurity Brought On By COVID-19 Threatens To Disenfranchise Millions Of Voters Between the global pandemic and a nationwide economic crisis, voting rights advocates see a ‘perfect storm of barriers’ ahead that could prevent millions of people from casting a ballot in November. Eoin Higgins
Immigrants Share Horror Stories From Inside Massachusetts’s ‘Worst’ Jail “Jail is not a country club,” the Bristol County sheriff said. “That’s why once you’ve done time in the Bristol County House of Corrections, you won’t want to come back.” Eoin Higgins
A Massachusetts District Attorney Tries To Crown His Successor In the Berkshire County DA race, the establishment is resorting to extreme measures to ensure it maintains power and avoids change. Eoin Higgins