Ward’s wars | Down the Center

Clarissa Ward has ridden in cars with Jihadi fighters. She’s walked the rugged terrain of Afghanistan with the Taliban and illegally crossed the border into Syria from Turkey to sit and talk with anti-regime forces. As a foreign correspondent covering global conflicts, she’s been in the crosshairs of some of the most politically consequential theatres of the 21st century, writing and broadcasting stories that few others have the tenacity to excavate. Still, Ward does not consider herself a polit

Minneapolis Police were once used as strike breakers - Minnesota Reformer

“The blood of workers ran freely in the streets of Minneapolis yesterday. They were shot down and wounded by uniformed thugs commanded by police chief Michael Johannes. Forty-eight sons of the working class were mowed down by shotguns in the hands of police” — From The Organizer, the daily strike bulletin of General Drivers Local 574 that served as a daily newsletter chronicling the Teamsters’ strike of 1934. At the turn of the 20th century, the Minneapolis Police Department was the strongarm o

Minnesota DFL tries to make contraception an election issue after U.S. Supreme Court ruling - Minnesota Reformer

Minnesota women’s health advocates and their allies at the State Capitol are pushing legislation to bolster access to contraception. The proposal comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court decision last week upholding a Trump Administration order allowing employers to deny health care coverage for birth control on religious or moral grounds. The Protect Access to Contraception (PAC) Act, requires insurers to cover all Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive methods without co-paym
WTTW News •

Local Pandemic: A Small Town’s Fight Against COVID-19

Gary Manier, in mid-May, faced an impossible decision. As the mayor of small-town Washington, Illinois, he led the charge in reopening the city amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Balancing the town’s economic health with the health of its citizens wasn’t easy — it was a matter of life or death. “This community is resilient, but we want to make sure the people stay safe,” Manier said recently. “This isn’t if someone we know is going to die from this, it’s when, and I think that’s probably a true state
CSIS Journalism Bootcamp •

Is Ecocide Inevitable in the World’s Most Contested Sea?

How overfishing, artificial island-building and giant clam poaching threatens the health of the marine ecosystem in the South China Sea, and how coordinated regional action could correct its course. Last spring, Chiara Zambrano spent 10 nights on a small wooden boat on the Scarborough Shoal—120 nautical miles west of the Philippines in the South China Sea. She was there to report for ABS-CBN, a Philippine television network. The 150-square-kilometer coral structure involves a territorial dispu
The DePaulia •

DePaul professor claims broken rules, discrimination led to denial of tenure

Dr. Lisa Calvente repeatedly told her students one thing while teaching at DePaul: You have agency, and your voice is powerful. On May 29, Calvente used her own voice to send a message. In a mass email to current and former students, Calvente wrote that she’d be leaving DePaul — but not by choice. Calvente, a communication professor at DePaul, wrote in the email that since 2015, senior colleagues and upper administrators have admonished her for challenging students in her classroom, calling her
Minnesota Reformer •

This neighborhood hero used to dance with George Floyd and now she's making everyone free pupusas

She spent every Sunday at Conga Latin Bistro in Minneapolis where Floyd — “Big Floyd” as she and other friends called him — worked as a bouncer. “Whenever he had a little chance when he heard some Spanish music playing, we’d just started dancing,” Baires said. “If there was a new security at the door, and they tried to ID me, he’d say ‘Hey, now that’s my girl. She’s good, let her go.’” This past Sunday night though, instead of salsaing with Floyd, Baires was working in solidarity with demonstr
The DePaulia •

Iowa caucus participants reflect on state’s role in nomination process

CEDAR RAPIDS– A stadium packed with supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders hummed with energy on Saturday night in Iowa’s second largest city. It’s just two days before the first ballots for the 2020 election will be cast, and the Sanders team wants to galvanize support for Sanders before the precedent-setting caucuses get underway. The Iowa caucuses are a hotly anticipated show of a nominee’s vitality. Campaigns pour money, time and resources into swelling support in the state to lock in an early w
The DePaulia •

American-Iranian tensions complicated by Ukrainian disaster

A crew of a Ukrainian airlines carry flowers to pay tribute to the flight crew members of the Ukrainian 737-800 plane that crashed on the outskirts of Tehran, arrive for memorial service at Borispil international airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. An Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people has crashed just minutes after taking off from the Iranian capital's main airport on Jan. 8, 2020. 176 passengers died earlier this month when a Ukrainian airliner crashed shortly after
The DePaulia •

The 606 trail’s relationship with displacement

A Loop-bound Pink Line train makes it way into the Kedzie station in the Norht Lawndale neighborhood. The neighborhood has seen effects from the 606 trail. Last Wednesday, the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University released a new report, examining how the 606 trail has intensified the displacement of people in the neighborhoods surrounding it. The study was released just one day after the City Council, and the mayor, approved a six-month moratorium on demolition for the area surrou
The DePaulia •

Reading local: Don’t turn the page on some of Chicago’s best bookstores

It was late April but snow was pouring down in Chicago. Undeterred, though, by unseasonal cold weather or gray slush beneath their feet, an influx of Chicago book lovers scoured the city for Chicago’s Independent Bookstore Day. The literary extravaganza, put on by the concerted efforts of 37 independently owned bookstores in the city, was designed in the vein of the pub crawl, swapping fermentation for fiction. The participants flocked to different neighborhoods, traveling from shop to shop to g

Closed for the pandemic, opening during George Floyd protests - Minnesota Reformer

Gloria Morales is letting people know her hair salon is back in business with a sign in front of the shop reading “Salon Open.” But the message, written on a boarded up window, is dwarfed by the spray painted phrases surrounding it: “Que Viva La Revolución!!!” and “Long Live George Floyd.” Blocks of boarded up window fronts and eerily quiet streets are not ideal for opening day of Gloria’s Beauty Salon. Morales was ready to start cutting hair again Monday at the salon she’s owned for six years,

Protests and violent looting take hold in Minneapolis, St. Paul over George Floyd - Minnesota Reformer

The chaos and rage blew east Thursday, as looting and fire swept through the Midway neighborhood of Saint Paul, this time under a brilliant blue sky. Even as fires on East Lake Street in Minneapolis smoldered and disaster tourists gawked at the rubble of stores, apartments and cars there, the looting and fires began in St. Paul. The ostensible object of the rage was the same: The killing of George Floyd while in police custody. His final words: “I can’t breathe,” choked out to Minneapolis Poli
The DePaulia •

Killing of George Floyd ignites nationwide unrest

People gather on Friday May 29 at a memorial mural painted outside the Cup Foods store on Chicago Avenue in South Minneapolis where George Floyd died at the hands of police. MINNEAPOLIS — Last night a crowd outside Minneapolis Police’s 3rd Precinct chanting a chorus of “Whose streets? Our streets!” echoed as flames coming from within the police headquarters licked the night sky as the building slowly burned. What began as a call about suspected forgery on a grocery store check ended in the dea
14 East •

Petition Pushes Administration on Decision to Have Online Graduation – Fourteen East

Formal graduation festivities are important to many students, especially for those who are first in their family to attend university. Fefe Jaber was looking forward to her eleven younger siblings seeing her in her cap and gown, crossing the stage at Wintrust Arena and being handed the diploma that would signify the completion of her B.A. degree in political science. As a child of two Palestinian immmigrants, she wanted them to see this moment and that their goals were attainable. Her mother ha
14 East •

Will Chartwells Cater to Employees During Coronavirus? – Fourteen East

The company that DePaul contracts for all of its catering and student food services, Chartwells Higher Ed, laid off the majority of its workers at the university in March. On Thursday the company confirmed to 14 East that an associate that works in DePaul’s Lincoln Park Student Center tested positive for COVID-19 on April 24, though the employee hasn’t worked since taking the test on April 21. The employee is now self-isolating at home. Mark Little, regional district manager of Chartwells Highe
14 East •

Ale Prevails: How Chicago Became the Top Brewery City – Fourteen East

Its historical roots and modern renaissance dictate that Chicago is still the foremost place for craft beer When chef Michael Carroll decided to open up a brewery, he didn’t expect that it would become the first Michelin-starred brewpub in the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Carroll’s brewpub Band of Bohemia was awarded the prestigious culinary honor in 2016, making Chicago home to the one and only Michelin-starred brewpub. “[Chicago] has been an amazing food and cultural city and it
WTTW News •

Problem Gamblers Look For Help as Illinois Increases Gaming

Jolene was 24 years old the first time she fell under the spell of a slot machine. She stuck in a $20 bill and out came $4,000. Not too far off from counting out quarters to make rent, this was a turning point, she said. Before long, Jolene, who asked that we not use her last name, realized she could not pull herself away from the roll of the slots. “I would go after work, I would steal away in the afternoons and I would play,” she said. “And after a while, I realized it was a problem when I w
The DePaulia •

Students express frustration over CARES Act transparency as DePaul juggles budget

DePaul may have a cash crisis on the horizon, according to Chief Financial Operator Jefferey Bethke. “You could imagine a situation where revenue has declined so sharply that we don’t have enough cash for our payroll,” Bethke said at a Faculty Council meeting on April 8. The administration has also asked departments not to spend money, and has implemented a hiring freeze. The liquidity crisis is juxtaposed with the fact that the university will run a modest operating surplus for fiscal year 2
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