We must be a city in which every working adult can meet his or her own basic needs.

In an industry that is facing a potential shortage of licensed practitioners, streamlining the process should be a priority. With an average of 5.3 years to complete IDP, most interns will have been training for over 10 years to become an architect. Changes are coming to the profession, and NCARB and the vast majority of jurisdictions in the United States have decided to embrace it. I believe that Oregon should join this list and help speed the path to licensure. Please respond, with any professional credentials, to this petition by May 18th. I will be presenting these results to the Oregon Board of Architect Examiners at their May 19th Meeting in Salem.

In 2011, Governor Christie championed and signed a law that cut workers' benefits and locked the state into making scheduled payments into the pension system. The Christie Administration now has the audacity to argue in court that its own law is unconstitutional. Governor Christie says he has no money to make the pension payments. He's right! He's given it all away to corporations and to people who make more than 99% of us! Last year when the Legislature passed a budget that raised taxes on New Jersey's wealthiest residents and most profitable corporations in order to follow the law and honor our commitments, Chris Christie vetoed those revenue raisers and then claimed poverty to defend cutting the pension payment. A pension is not a perk, it's deferred compensation that workers have earned. And I want to remind you who these workers are. They are the workers who go alone and unarmed into dangerous areas and knock on the door to ensure kids are safe, workers who teach our children, workers who patrol our streets, and workers who maintain our towns and cities. And these extravagant benefits that Governor Christie wants to cut? The average New Jersey state worker pension is $26,000 a year, less than every state in the region. The Christie Administration has said that when you won't raise taxes you're going to have to make choices. And it is extremely clear who Governor Christie has chosen. It's not you, it's not me, and it's certainly not the pensions upon which 1 in 7 New Jerseyans depend. Tell Governor Christie to obey his own law and fund NJ's pensions.

Lighthouse Louisiana has been serving the visually impaired in Louisiana for 100 years. They provide support, counseling, training, and jobs for the visually impaired as well as those who have hearing disabilities. The jobs they provide allow those with disabilities the opportunity to be self-sufficient, and they provide a livable wage to those they employ. The disabled community is the most underrepresented In the job force. By sending these jobs to Asia, you are sending a message to the disabled community, as well as the country at large, that we do NOT take care of our own. The people who work there work so they do not have to rely on Government assistance. If you make it impossible for those with disabilities to provide for themselves, it will ultimately be the American taxpayer who will foot that bill. I am legally blind, and the support, love and guidance I have received from Lighthouse has made it possible for me to go back to school, to adapt and to succeed. The assistance they provided to me in the form of assessments, assistive technologies and overall support has made this possible. Shame on those in Congress and Mr. Obama FOR LETTING THIS HAPPEN. "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Ghandi "...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. " ~ Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey

The St. Petersburg City council is set to review a new noise ordinance which has been drafted without involvement from local businesses. Furthermore, they have openly admitted in public meetings that they have not conducted any formal financial impact studies but they "feel" that downtown will not be impacted greatly. If this ordinance passes as proposed, it has the potential to have a severe negative impact on the culture and vibrant night life for which the city of St. Petersburg has become known. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO WRITE TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO WILL BE VOTING ON THIS PROPOSED ORDINANCE District 1 Council Member Gerdes Email: [email protected] District 2 Council Member Kennedy Email: [email protected] District 3 Council member Dudley Email: [email protected] District 4 Council Member Rice Email: [email protected] District 5 Council Member Kornell Email: [email protected] District 6 Council Member Nurse Email: [email protected] District 7 Council Member Newton Email: [email protected] District 8 Council Member Foster Email: [email protected] UPDATE 3: Tuesday, May 12th: At the meeting today, which included residents and businesses alike, the main and positive outcome for the opponents to the proposed noise ordinance was that the city council member Karl Nurse, who brought this ordinance to the table, has stated that for the time being he will only be moving forward with the section of the ordinance that allows the city to increase fines for the current noise ordinance incrementally up to $500 max without asking a judge's permission to do so. Of the ideas brought forth by residents and businesses, the only one that really took hold, that both sides could agree with that also would be constitutional, was to look into consulting with an Architectural Acoustic Engineer to see what sort of sound mitigation techniques can be employed by businesses and residents alike to deflect and/or absorb sound away from residents. It was even mentioned that there may be subsidies the city could provide to assist in doing so. Another option that was suggested was to see if we could move to a decibel system. Due to the legal (here in Florida anyway) and technical difficulties of implementing such a system, this idea is not being pursued at this time. Economic impact studies were also mentioned since many residents and businesses had differing opinions of the economic impact of the proposed ordinance. At this time, it is not clear whether the city will be conducting such a study. Overall the meeting was a positive step forward. Much debate and research is still to come if we are to reach a mutually agreeable position for all. UPDATE 2: Excerpt from the Creative Loafing article linked below: "I do not support this ordinance as written and will vote no unless there are some reasonable changes made to the ordinance," said Councilman Steve Kornell in a Facebook post. UPDATE 1: The City Council will receive the draft of the proposed ordinance at the next council meeting on May 7th at 8:30AM for First Reading and will be setting the public hearing date at that time. (PUBLIC DEBATE OVER THE NEW PIER WILL BE THE PRIMARY BUSINESS FOR THIS MEETING - I expect that the Noise Ordinance issue will not come up until mid afternoon) Related News Articles: (copy and paste into your browser address bar to view) http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/baybuzz/st-petersburg-noise-ordinance-advances/2226729 http://cltampa.com/politicalanimal/archives/2015/04/28/proposed-noise-ordinance-could-quiet-downtown-st-pete-when-the-partys-just-starting#.VUEfDGZhOG8

I have been an employee at Texas Roadhouse for 11 years. I have done great over the past few years, but, with the change in the economy, I have been unable to meet my minimal bills without struggle. I have worked so hard for this company and feel as though they should pay people a living wage. I'm not asking for more to be greedy; I'm asking for more to survive. Please help our cause.

Preserve Rhode Island is the statewide advocate for Rhode Island's historic places. We champion public policy that ensures a future for historic buildings and will energize our state's economy. Currently, 32 projects have been approved for Historic Tax Credits and are either under contract or have contracts pending. These projects will pump more than $215 million into Rhode Island's economy. This leaves 27 additional projects on a wait list to nowhere, as the funding does not exist.

The Billionaire owners of the PawSox want to move from McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket less than a mile down the road at the Apex site on the backs of Rhode Island taxpayers. The owners claim it will bring in millions of revenue a year. We already have an awesome and beloved stadium at McCoy. If they can bring in millions in revenue at Apex in Pawtucket, why can't they do it at McCoy in Pawtucket? It won't create jobs because these jobs are already in our state and city, at the present stadium. Let the governor and legislature know that Rhode Islanders do not want this new stadium! Just say no!

According to a new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce entitled The Economy Goes to College, [https://cew.georgetown.edu/report/economygoestocollege/] college-educated workers in America now make 80 percent more on average than workers without a college degree. That's twice the wage advantage of 50 years ago. The state of Louisiana has reached a tipping point. To allow our public institutions in this state to suffer such catastrophic budget cuts, after the already crippling cuts of 2008-2009 (my Alma Mater the University of New Orleans' state support has already been reduced by $40 million since that time AND THAT'S JUST ONE SCHOOL) will be to "compromise academic quality, further diminish program offerings and limit both educational access and attainment." - University of New Orleans President Peter J. Fos I agree with the Georgetown study's findings wholeheartedly. We need to be increasing our state's college graduates, not reducing them. As the state ranking second-to-worst not only in education but ALSO in everything from health care conditions to legal climate to gender pay gap our legislature should be doing MORE to make college a viable option for our young people, not LESS. The study's authors conclude, "Education is not just the preferred path, but increasingly it's the only reliable path to a middle-class life." The surest way to reduce income inequality, to quantifiably stimulate and sustain economic activity in our region, to lose less of our best and brightest to 'brain drain', and to contribute to an enhanced quality of life is through higher education. Forcing our public universities to file for the equivalent of academic bankruptcy is truly a travesty, especially in light of the hundreds of millions each year wasted on pet projects, special interest groups, and voucher programs for far below sub-par private schools. Protecting the sanctity of quality higher education, at an affordable rate, is the only way to ensure we advance as a state.

In April, the Oregon House and Senate held hearings on raising the minimum wage. That’s an important step – it allows these proposals to move forward in a legislative session that will be winding down before you know it. A higher minimum wage means more than a raise for our lowest-paid workers. It means boosting the purchasing power of consumers in every corner of the state. That’s money that goes directly into the local economy as workers pay rent, buy groceries and support local stores selling household essentials. It also means fewer families relying on public assistance programs -- and businesses, not taxpayers, paying the full cost of labor. Minimum wage opponents would have you believe that this is a debate about teenagers working a summer job. That’s just wrong. The reality is that today’s minimum wage worker is likely to be a woman in her thirties, working full time, and often supporting a family. And nationally, about 80 percent of all minimum wage workers are now 20 years or older. Let’s keep up the pressure!

The purpose of the TPP/TTIP is to protect guaranteed corporate profits at all cost and as a result, we would be subject to the whims of corporate lawyers and could be sued into oblivion for not understand our absolute lack of rights under this dictatorial doctrine. This so called trade agreement would give them the right to sue entire countries out of existence for inhibiting their guaranteed profits as a result of banning, product destruction or even regulating either the corporation and or its subsidiaries. Hitler would have wet his pants with glee if he had something like this! I strongly suspect many will be afraid to sign this, but if we don't take a stand now, we're all screwed!

I have been personally affected by this and feel employers are wrong in not providing paid time off to recover from an illness. We shouldn't have to choose between loosing money or coming to work sick. This is morally wrong.