Crypto News: Inside the success of NYC's cash bail reform

When Kevin was arrested on felony charges of arson and reckless endangerment, the prosecution asked for his bail to be set at $1 million — a price tag that all but doomed him to await trial in New York's notorious Rikers Island jail. Instead, Kevin, who maintains his innocence and whose name has been changed to protect his privacy, was placed in the city's supervised release program, which let him walk free but requires him to regularly check in with a caseworker.

The program is a national model for reforming the cash bail system, which has helped turned the US into the world's leading jailer. Initially focused on nonviolent felony charges, New York's program recently expanded into cases involving allegations of violent crime, which hasn't resulted in a surge of chaos or rearrests. But as the number of cases grow, caseworkers are stretched thin. To sustain the program, the nonprofits that run it say they need more backup, Fola Akinnibi and Sarah Holder report in the Cities issue. Today on CityLab: America Is the World Leader in Locking People Up. One City Found a Fix

— Linda Poon

San Francisco Taps Muni Market for Affordable Housing Project
A redevelopment agency is borrowing $60 million in the municipal bond market to help finance affordable housing in a city with some of the highest rents in the nation.

University of Oregon's Hometown Set to Lose Only Hospital
Oregon's third-largest city is about to lose its only hospital, illustrating the fallout of pressured health-care systems across the country.

The Cities Issue: The Hostile Takeover of Blue Cities by Red States
GOP legislatures are increasingly imposing their economic and cultural priorities on left-leaning municipalities like Nashville.

45%

The share of the average annual salary in China spent on a typical funeral, compared with 10% globally. In a bid to reduce the amount of space taken up by public graveyards while also cutting funeral costs, Beijing is encouraging residents to swap ground burials for digital cemeteries.

Judge declares new Texas law that would erode cities' power to enact local rules unconstitutional (Texas Tribune)
To escape the heat in Dubai, head to the beach at midnight (The New York Times)
Why the dank seems so stank in NYC: The science behind weed smells (Gothamist)
How Metro Manila's train system fails persons with disabilities (Rappler)
I tracked a NYC subway rider's movements with an MTA 'feature' (404)

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