Duke University to increase employee minimum wage to $15 by 2019
Over 2,300 Duke University staff members will get a pay raise by 2019.
North & Central America
This archive covers progress stories from North and Central America, spanning the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the countries of Central America. The 1,760 articles here track milestones in areas such as public health, conservation, policy, and community-led initiatives across the region. Browse to find reported evidence of what is working and why.
L.A. City Council replaces Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day on city calendar
Over the objections of Italian American civic groups, the council made the second Monday in October a day in L.A. to commemorate “indigenous, aboriginal and native people.”
Baltimore removes Confederate statues
Statues dedicated to Confederate heroes were swiftly removed across Baltimore, just days after violence broke out over the removal of a similar monument in neighboring Virginia.
U.S. wind and solar power helped prevent up to 12,700 deaths
The lower carbon emissions were worth billions of dollars as a result of the avoidance of the range of problems caused by fossil fuels.
Indianapolis City-County Council votes to increase minimum wage for county, city employees
The 22-2 vote allowed minimum wage to be set at $13 per hour.
Orlando becomes 40th U.S. city to commit to 100% renewable energy
The Orlando City Commission unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday establishing a goal to move Orlando to 100 percent clean and renewable energy by 2050.
Rhode Island becomes fourth U.S. state to make community college free
The Promise Scholarship will cover the cost of tuition and fees at the Community College of Rhode Island for new students starting this fall regardless of their income.
Google to create 10 million African jobs by 2022
Google is continuing in its aim to create 10 million African jobs in the next five years by training 100,000 software developers in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
First Canada Food Guide overhaul in a decade sees shift away from meat and dairy
The initial draft of the new guide places an emphasis on plant-based foods while downplaying the previous stature given to meat and dairy products.
Target tackles “branded trash” with new recycling initiatives
By 2022, Target will source its own brand paper-based packaging from sustainably managed forests, eliminate expanded polystyrene from its brand packaging, add the How2Recycle label to its packaging, and create more demand for recycled packaging.