Kansas commission adds LGBT nondiscrimination protections
The commission that enforces Kansas’ nondiscrimination laws will begin hearing claims from people who allege they are being mistreated because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States
This archive gathers more than 1,500 solutions-journalism stories tied to the United States — covering policy wins, community efforts, scientific advances, and social progress reported from across the country. Each article highlights what is working, who is driving change, and what results have followed.
Anchorage Assembly passes ban on conversion therapy
The Assembly ultimately passed the ban 9 to 2. The ordinance prevents licensed professionals such as therapists or school counselors from engaging in efforts to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity
Timberland pledges to achieve full circularity of its products by 2030
The company aims to have a net positive impact on nature by 2030. To achieve this ambitious goal, it plans to design all of its products for circularity – meaning that materials for one product are reused in a closed-loop to make other products.
Washington University develops COVID-19 test that is faster and simpler than current swab tests
The new test does not rely on the extraction of viral RNA to detect the virus – a time-consuming and expensive process – and could be scaled up easily, in part because people can collect their own saliva samples.
Global hop supplier installs largest solar array in Washington state
Yakima Chief Hops (YCH), a 100% farmer owned hop supplier for the brewing industry, has announced their latest solar panel installation for a total of 3,706 solar panels, the largest rooftop solar array in Washington state.
A merger creates the world’s first Black-owned bank with more than $1 billion in assets
The first Black-owned bank to reach $1 billion in assets has been created, due to the merger of City First Bank of D.C. in Washington and Los Angeles-based Broadway Federal Bank. The newly created lender will focus on housing, small businesses, and nonprofits.
Sales of plant-based foods grew 29% over the past two years in the U.S.
Plant-based foods are a booming business. New SPINS retail sales data released March 3, 2020, shows that grocery sales of plant-based foods that directly replace animal products have grown 29% in the past two years to $5 billion.
The Dow Jones just dropped its oldest member: Exxon Mobil
Exxon Mobil is an iconic blue-chip stock and the longest-tenured member of the index. Exxon’s exclusion represents a big drop from the days where oil companies were kings of the stock market.
The NBA and its players’ union announced a plan to use arenas as election polling places
The announcement came two days after N.B.A. players staged a dramatic work stoppage in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., on Sunday. Some staffers in the N.B.A.’s league office also chose not to work on Friday to spend time on social causes instead.
NBA, WNBA, and MLB games called off as players boycott in response to police shooting of Jacob Blake
All three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.