Author: Gemma Alexander

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Gemma Alexander is a Seattle-based freelance writer specializing in technical topics for general readers. She holds a degree in Horticulture and has worked in a genetics lab and at a landfill. See other things she has written here.

How to beat a slumlord at his own game

The word “slumlord” evokes images of miserly, ill-mannered brutes with cheap cigars hanging out of their mouths, and broken-down, rat-trap hovels from some Depression-era urban hellscape. But while apartments in the early twenty-first century may have plumbing and Internet, modern-day tenants who don’t know their rights are just as much at risk of being victimized by unscrupulous landlords as they were back in the New Deal days.

New technology, same old sexism?

Despite some notable gains, gender discrimination in the workplace is still widespread and pervasive. Surprisingly, one of America’s most forward-thinking industries may prove to be its most backward when it comes to gender equality. Technology companies usually make the news for product launches, but the tech industry as a whole may remember 2015 as the year of the gender discrimination lawsuit.

When trees cross the line

Trees are frequently at the root of property disputes between neighbors, and with the confusing patchwork of local laws governing arboriculture, many of these disputes get out of hand. In most cases, however, the legal answers are simpler than the conversations with your neighbor may turn out to be.