Cover story: Part I
An end to homelessness: Cities take on the impossible challenge
December 20, 2015
Boston – Targeting specific homeless groups, many urban areas are now focusing on eradicating rather than just managing one of America’s most intractable problems.
Cover Story: Part II
Minneapolis’s innovative attempt to help homeless kids
December 21, 2015
Minneapolis – As part of a broader effort to stamp out homelessness, the city focuses on aiding young children and families to break the cycle of destitution.
Focus story
Death penalty for Tsarnaev? Why Bostonians don’t favor that possibility.
January 2, 2015
Boston – Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is charged with one of the worst acts of domestic terrorism in US history, yet in the city where the bombings occurred, a unique mix of factors means that most residents don’t want to put him to death.
Focus story
Meet Baxter, your new robotic co-worker
September 27, 2014
Southington, Conn.; and Cambridge, Mass. –Recent leaps in computer processing speeds and sensing capabilities have given rise to new possibilities for how robots can work in concert with people.
Sidebar
How robots have widened the world of one man unable to move
September 27, 2014
Providence, R.I. – Henry Evans relies on a telepresence robot and a remote-controlled quadrotor helicopter with an onboard camera to take him places he can’t go.
Cover story
The ‘maker movement’ creates D.I.Y. revolution
July 6, 2014
Detroit – The ‘maker movement’ is heralded as a new industrial revolution – combining the spirit of the old shop class with modern tech in community ‘Do It Yourself’ spaces.
Sidebar
How the ‘maker movement’ got a Kansas boy a new hand
July 6, 2014
$60 and a makerspace got a Kansas boy a new hand: Mom found the design for the hand on-line, and a teen friend scaled the design to fit and went to the communal library makerspace to print it out on a 3-D printer.
Focus story
Toxic coal ash poses persistent threat to US waters
March 30, 2014
Eden, N.C.; and Danville, Va. – A recent spill of coal ash in North Carolina underscores the challenge of disposing hazardous substances captured from power plant stacks. Are we diverting air pollutants into our waterways?
Sidebar
Cleaning up US waterways: 5 success stories
March 30, 2014
More than 40 years after passage of the Clean Water Act, US waterways still face significant challenges. However, several cleanup success stories offer hope that remediation is possible.
Additional magazine clips
In Los Angeles, a national model for how to police the mentally ill
June 15, 2015 – By partnering beat cops with mental health clinicians, the Los Angeles Police Department has reduced incidences of force used on individuals with mental illness and has connected thousands of individuals with counseling and support.
The Web’s new viral star
March 4, 2014 – Millions of viewers are tuning in for science-related YouTube videos like one that gives a tour of the Large Hadron Super Collider and clips of little-seen giant sea creatures.
In a US first, New Orleans finds homes for all its homeless veterans
January 9, 2015 –More than 300 mayors have vowed to end veteran homelessness by the end of 2015. New Orleans celebrated the new year by becoming the first city to do so.
Safety-first culture drives record low coal-mine fatalities
December 31, 2014 – Intensified regulatory oversight and newly heightened emphasis on safety over production have helped make 2014 the safest year for coal mine workers on record.
Homelessness declines as new thinking fuels ‘giant untold success’
May 28, 2014 – Homelessness in America has declined 17 percent since 2005 as states reverse the old prevailing wisdom. Now, moving into a home can be the first step off the streets, not the last.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Search reveals extent of ocean garbage
April 1, 2014 – The search for Malaysia Flight 370 is complicated by the wide spread of ocean garbage, much of which looks just like plane crash debris in satellite images.
Ashley Stanley started Lovin’ Spoonfuls to match surplus food with hungry people
January 17, 2014 – Lovin’ Spoonfuls, a nonprofit food rescue group in Boston, strives to remove a glaring kink in the food chain and bridge the gap between waste and want.
Good reads column contributions
June 14, 2014: From immigrant families, to women in construction, to plight of puffins
May 10, 2014: From Google Ocean, to Detroit’s foodie takeover, to Amazon’s workers
April 5, 2014: From life-changing wells, to women who live as men, to acoustic wonders
March 1, 2014: From vanishing monarchs, to superveggies, to scientific knowledge
February 1, 2014: From future robots, to crowd-sourcing problems, to praise for kids
December 21, 2013: From Nelson Mandela, to Islamic feminists, to pliable robots
November 5, 2013: From investing in preschoolers, to moody America, to bogus peer review
• writer • reporter • editor • 