The media landscape has dramatically changed in the past 20 years, evidenced by a new study that shows three million residents in more than 200 counties don t have access to even one local news source. Starting in 2005, local newspapers began closing their doors with 2,200 out of business 16 years later. Journalists also fell by the wayside, their numbers cut in half in the same time period. .
A small, rural Pennsylvania community has taken a proactive approach to an area many small towns struggle with: grant funding. The City of Meadville collects property taxes but needs additional resources for some projects. Jaime Kinder, mayor of Meadville, sought assistance from Allegheny College, which developed a grant-writing course. .
David Lopez, distinguished visiting professor of law at Arizona State University and co-dean emeritus at Rutgers University, said Arizona State has evolved since he was an undergraduate student there back in the 1980s. Today, Lopez said he is proud to see the university be a Hispanic Serving Institution as more than 25% of the student body is Hispanic. Lopez is back temporarily in his home state of Arizona and alma mater as a distinguished visiting professor to teach about legal structures and cases through the lens of the Latino community, by using a music and humanities approach to what he calls "fact-checking the law." Lopez emphasized he wants to foster allyship and empathy among students of all backgrounds. .