Have you been reporting on COVID, or do you have COVID-related documents on DocumentCloud? MuckRock invites you to contribute your documents to a public digital archive to help journalists, researchers and historians tell the stories of the pandemic. We’re working with Columbia University’s History Lab to create an interactive repository of public documents relating to COVID-19. This work aims to shine a light on the pandemic’s unknowns by making the records more accessible, searchable and func

In June, Apple announced it will add state IDs, such as driver’s licenses, to its Wallet app, rolling out in participating states and at TSA checkpoints this fall. But public records tell the behind-the-scenes story about Apple’s interactions with government agencies when building out the idea, including how a select few jurisdictions were given a heads up as early as 2019, with many others finding out after the public. A series of records responses to MuckRock user and civic technologist Matt

Members of the Indigenous Investigative Collective recently joined MuckRock for a webinar to discuss how they’ve used records laws, data analysis and reporting to understand the impact of COVID-19 on Navajo Nation, including how a patchwork of transparency laws left key questions unanswered. In May 2020, Navajo Nation reported the highest per capita rate of COVID-19 infections in the country, so the IIC sought records from medical examiners in the surrounding counties to understand the devastat

Reuters reporters Peter Eisler and Grant Smith recently joined MuckRock to share what they learned building a nationwide database of local jail deaths. Along with Linda So, Jason Szep, Ned Parker, and Brad Heath, they published the series Dying Inside: The Hidden Crisis in America’s Jails, the result of their years-long investigations into healthcare and mortality in local jails. While state prison morality data is often available, there is little out there about jails, the county- and city-run

In March, as government agencies closed or reconfigured operations at all levels, we paused our automated follow-up systems. Now that agencies are getting back to work at the new normal, we’re resuming our automated follow-up systems to ensure requests get a timely acknowledgment and response. When the COVID-19 crisis began, we understood records offices, like workplaces all over the world, needed to adjust their operations to protect the health and safety of their staff. We began tracking how

At MuckRock, we do a lot of user testing. Sitting the site down in front of new and old users alike lets us see how people use our websites and checks our assumptions against reality. It’s an invaluable process that reminds us how much details matter, particularly when working with busy people who need to quickly file and follow up on a bunch of requests and then get back to their day. An agency we were recently speaking with was intrigued by the process and asked if we ever did user testing on

Fox and the 18-person panel addressed the fears, anger, concerns and confusion of a community that has found itself at the unintended epicenter of a national crisis.

Currently on their 20th Anniversary North American tour, the cast of Riverdance has been performing nonstop for months. By the end, they will have performed in 75 cities, often in multiple shows per day. So, what do the Irish dancers do on their rare days off?

Driving on the left side of unfamiliar, winding roads is enough to worry about.

“I’ve never met or heard of anyone who left Ireland because they wanted to,” he said. "They were forced out."

“I often think how foolish and cruel this war truly is, boys and men killing each other so the states may be united. I find myself praying for both sides, praying for their families, praying death comes without suffering.”

“We’re engaged in an election, so Haiti continues to be in the news. It’s attempting to write its own story and I hope my poems, in some small way, contribute to that dialogue.”

Mathematica Policy Research released a study demonstrating that a triage assessment tool used by the Massachusetts Shelter and Housing Alliance (MHSA) can successfully predict the emergency resource utilization of chronically homeless individuals. The MHSA partners with organizations and service providers in the state to place chronically homeless people in housing with appropriate supportive services. Since the use of the triage assessment tool began in February 2015, it has placed 624 people

Renew Boston will hold two workshops on energy efficiency for homeowners, renters, landlords and property owners next week at the Grove Hall Library and the Dudley Square Library.

The Dorchester Park Association and Cedar Grove Gardens have organized a Summer Solstice Garden Tour to benefit Dorchester Park on Sunday, June 19 from 11a.m.-3 p.m. The walking tour will feature ten Dorchester residents’ private gardens, all in the Melville Avenue area.

The Friends of Irish Research will present The School of Irish Genealogy at the Irish Cultural Centre on June 25 at 1 p.m. Richard Reid will discuss advanced methods on the genealogy search tool FamilySearch, and Robert Murphy will talk about dual citizenship. Users generally only need some basic information to get started on FamilySearch, such as parents’ and grandparents’ names, county or town locations, and partish names if known, says Reid. Primary sources like newspapers have also been