SF Black Wallstreet was formed in June 2020 by seven Black SF natives amid the COVD-19 pandemic and the global Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality. We are committed to securing business, cultural space, and homeownership for Black San Franciscans. This summer, SFBW and members of our community rallied around Cafe Envy -- one of the few Black-owned restaurants in the Bayview corridor to remain open during COVID-19 restrictions-- in response to excessive nuisance and compliance complaints being filed by a neighbor. Cafe Envy, located at 1701 Yosemite Avenue within the African American Arts and Culture District -- has been a site for Black locals to gather and socialize for more than 40 years. Thanks to city and community partnerships, Cafe Envy continues to be a welcoming space for Black people to legally and safely eat, drink, and celebrate our culture during the pandemic. Despite the value Cafe Envy brings to our community as a whole, one neighbor continues to terrorize our community by weaponizing his privilege, filing complaints against Cafe Envy, bullying, and intimidating the restaurant staff, patrons, and other neighbors. This week, those complaints materialized into a written petition and an organized effort to shut Cafe Envy down permanently. Fortunately, Cafe Envy remains open for business with all legal permits and staffing in place, but it is now under heightened surveillance and subjected to over-policing. White transplant residents using anti-black bullying tactics to intimidate long-term Black, Latinx, and marginalized residents by weaponizing complaints and code violations is a National issue. The underlying motive of these complaints is to shut down our businesses, over-police our spaces, and erase our culture in an attempt to make us feel unwelcome in our own neighborhoods. We can no longer allow the discomfort, fears, and expectations of privileged SF transplants to disrespect our community, regulate our community activities, or strip away our cultural identity. SF Black Wallstreet and community stakeholders are calling on city and community leaders to adopt an SF Good Neighbor Policy, a code of conduct that guides respectful engagement with the Black, Latinx, and native SF community. The Good Neighbor Policy would also penalize 311 callers for using the line to file unsubstantiated and malicious reports. The “Good Neighbor Policy” will be crafted by a coalition of Black, Latinx, and SF natives who organize and advocate on behalf of their respective communities. Black San Franciscans, like all other communities in San Francisco, are entitled to spaces where we are welcomed, celebrated, and appreciated. Sign our petition to support Cafe Envy and encourage city officials to close the loophole on 311 complaints and enact a Good Neighbor Policy to guide respectful engagement with our Black, Latinx, and native SF community!

COVID-19 has made crushing student debt exponentially worse for Americans -- Over 45 million people have student loan debt and many are struggling to get by during the pandemic. Canceling student debt would ensure that families can afford food, supplies, and medications if they face layoffs or smaller paychecks because of the pandemic. This is a matter of economic survival for millions of people. Student debt threatens the economic security of the entire country -- Before the COVID-19 pandemic, America’s $1.6 trillion student debt total was a major drag on the economy. Now, a pandemic-induced recession and record levels of unemployment are making the problem worse. Debt cancellation would stimulate the economy by boosting GDP by up to $108 billion a year and adding up to 1.5 million jobs per year. Research shows that student debt cancellation will help address inequities and reduce the wealth gap -- Black and brown communities carry a disproportionate student debt burden and are also facing the brunt of the impact of the pandemic. People of color carry more student loan debt, they face higher rates of lost hours and layoffs, and persistent systemic barriers have resulted in racial inequities in incomes and wealth. The pandemic has also caused a disproportionate number of women, and especially Latinx women, to leave the workforce. There is growing energy and bipartisan public support to enact student debt cancellation -- A recent poll showed a majority of voters support canceling student debt during the pandemic. It also found strong support from Democrats and Republicans. On top of that, over 1.3 million Student Debt Crisis supporters already signed a petition to cancel student debt to boost the economy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic since March. Joe Biden campaigned on student debt cancellation, but gridlock in Congress will make it difficult -- The Biden administration must do all that it can to keep that promise. In a recent resolution, Senators Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren made clear that the president has the legal authority to direct the Secretary of Education to cancel student debt based on powers outlined in the Higher Education Act. Since the president has the power to cancel these debts, we urge Joe Biden to use executive action to cancel student debt.

Joe Biden has won the presidency. But the current president of the United States, Donald Trump, is attempting a coup. He has no plans to concede the race and instead is erratically spreading lies of “widespread voter fraud” and taking radical steps like firing his Secretary of Defense—like a true fascist leader. We knew this would happen but it doesn’t make it any less dangerous. Twitter is Trump’s most direct microphone to speak to the American People. It’s time that microphone be turned off for the good of the People. Enough is enough. We can’t wait until Jan 20. Twitter must suspend Donald Trump and his enablers now.

The transitional process allows the incoming President- elect access to national security resources and funds necessary for hiring and training staff. The Presidential Act provides for access to these much-needed resources. Emily W. Murphy needs to immediately sign the letter granting access. Delaying the ascertainment process places our country in great harm and serves only to maintain the chaotic status-quo of the Trump administration.

Forty-five million Americans hold a whopping $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. Eight million of those individuals have defaulted on their loans. Before the coronavirus pandemic, a person defaulted on their student loans every 26 seconds. According to the New York Times, eight million people have slipped into poverty since May. With many people unable to pay for even basic necessities for themselves and their families, millions will likely be unable to make their student loan payments. Without bold action, the massive burden of student loan debt threatens the economic security of borrowers and the country as a whole. The coronavirus pandemic is not only a once in a generation health crisis, but also now a catastrophic economic crisis. Lost wages due to furloughs and layoffs will impact families for years to come. The labor shocks this pandemic is causing will increase federal student loan defaults. Borrowers in default may have their tax refunds seized or wages garnished at a time when they can least afford it. In the short term, cancelling student debt in response to the coronavirus crisis will bring relief to 45 million people with student loans and stimulate the economy when it is needed most. It will also allow borrowers to purchase the necessities their families depend on including food, housing, and critical healthcare. In the medium and long term, a student debt cancellation stimulus can help mitigate the continuing economic costs of this crisis. Student debt cancellation can boost GDP by up to $108 billion a year and add up to 1.5 million jobs per year. Since the federal government owns an overwhelming majority of student loans, the president has the power to cancel these debts. Tell your Senators to co-sponsor the Schumer-Warren resolution, which urges the President to use executive authority to cancel student loan debt.

October 14, 2020: Today the United Farm Workers (UFW) and UFW Foundation (UFWF) filed a lawsuit against Trump's Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. On September 30th, the Department of Agriculture took an unprecedented step toward reducing farm worker wages. They announced the unilateral decision to eliminate the data collection that is the only national source of information that allows the Department of Labor to determine and set guest worker wages. Without this information, the wages of all domestic farm workers could be adversely impacted. You can stand with farm workers by signing their petition to USDA Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue. For over 100 years USDA has consistently used this method to collect data about farm labor and wages. The federal Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), determines the minimum rate that must be paid H–2A workers to avoid undercutting the wages of domestic farm workers. The AEWR rate is higher than the minimum wage in all 50 states -- often significantly. To put it in perspective, in states like Utah and Wisconsin, wages could fall by as much as $7 per hour. Even in California, workers stand to lose almost $2 an hour. The USDA gave no rationale for this change and did not make it available for public comment. In addition, they did not consider the incredible harm this move would have on farm worker wages and did not explain why they chose to eliminate it even though many states and federal entities rely on this information. This lawsuit is critical. The wage loss could amount to thousands of dollars to workers who are barely making both ends meet. These wage decreases will create a ripple effect, ultimately resulting in many US farm workers being paid less. And the fact that they are trying to cut the wages of these essential workers in the middle of a pandemic is outrageous. Stand with us in stopping this travesty. THE UFW & UFWF filed a lawsuit against Sonny Perdue today, but let's also show him that Americans care about the people who put food on our tables and will not accept this change. Sign our petition to Sonny Perdue now.

Because we are the eyes and ears of every Nurse. The nurse only know what we tell them. We should have compact certifications just as like The LPN, LVN and Rn's.

As families return to work as the state moves through the four phases, childcare is ESSENTIAL to ensuring the workforce is able to restart. Families with young children NEED our support! Lack of access to child care impacts first responders and front line workers - they NEED our services more than ever! Child care NEEDS an IMMEDIATE influx of equitable grant monies, distributed on a PER CHILD basis - based on licensed capacity - not an arbitrary tiered system that does not take our real expenses into consideration. Issues that appeared to be temporary, e.g. front line teachers and directors becoming ill and sites shutting down, at the onset of this public health emergency, are now causing permanent damage to the early education system. The cost of purchasing personal protection equipment (PPE) and reducing group sizes has further impacted how many children can access services. Without adequate capacity, children will not have access to care and parents will be unable to go to work. Immediate state intervention is needed to stop the COVID-19 pandemic from pushing the child care industry to economic collapse.

As Maui County residents, it has become clear to us that the Governor has not done a sufficient job to mitigate and plan for COVID-19. We appreciate that our Mayor and County Council have been concerned and making efforts to protect Maui and keep us safe. We feel the current plan to welcome back tourists is very dangerous to our residents, as the state is not prepared to reopen safely. The single test plan will allow too many positive cases to slip through, and we have already seen how a few cases quickly and exponentially grow beyond what can be controlled or managed with our limited medical and public health resources, including contact tracing. We understand that our economy needs to reopen, but if we do not reopen SAFELY, we will find ourselves in the position of having to shut down again just in time to miss out on the winter holiday travel season. Meanwhile, we risk having our caseload grow and overwhelm our ONLY hospital. Why should allowing mainlanders to vacation here without the hassle of a quarantine take precedence over making it safe for our keiki to have in person school, sports, and extracurricular activities. The current state plan will hurt our keiki, our kupuna, and our hospitality workers.

The Trump administration is considering adding more sanctions on Iran. Existing sanctions are already hurting the ability of people in Iran to access critical healthcare in the face of COVID-19. The pandemic has killed more than 27,000 and the country is once again shut down in the face of a new and terrifying COVID wave. These new measures would only exacerbate the humanitarian crisis the Iranian people are currently facing. Maximum pressure has meant maximum failure. Urge Secretaries Mnuchin and Pompeo: No new sanctions on Iran!

On January 1, 2021, I will be 77 years old. For most of my early life, I had but a passing interest in politics. That dramatically changed with the murder of President John Kennedy on November 22, 1963! A few weeks later, after I saw Life Magazine’s detailed color pictures of the Zapruder film showing the President’s head and brains being blown BACKWARD after being shot in the face, and NOT being shot from behind – as declared fact by the Warren Commission Report – I began my personal search to find out who, why, and how my government was intentionally lying to all of us then, and forward to this very day. Initially, since there was no Internet for the first three decades, my search was slow and labor intensive. However, with the advent of the Internet, my searches became much more productive. I attempted to find answers relating to politicians, other governments, the CIA, the Mafia, bankers, etc., and was about to give up on finding a satisfying answer until, about a dozen years ago, I found and read an article titled, Beware The Psychopath, My Son. After reading that article, I came to the forehead slapping realization that for all of those years I was expecting to find my answers among groups of people and all the while it was the commonality of the mental composition – of specific powerful men WITHIN those groups! It was the key which almost instantly answered so many more questions than I had ever even begun to consider. It answered political questions, economic questions, legal questions, historical questions, sociological questions, racial questions, religion questions, media questions, sexism, rationalizations for wars and so much more! I have spent the last decade confirming and expanding on my “discoveries” and last year I began what has become a three webpage explanation for all to read, absorb and then hopefully help usher through Congress a very specific bill into Federal law. So now, I would sincerely appreciate any feedback, criticism, questions, support and/or – at least pass this short introduction along to someone who may find it of interest. -- Note: The above mentioned article, upon which all of my studies are based, is the first link on the first webpage listed below. That link begins with, “Research studies have shown …”. www.rushtopower.net www.rushtopower.net/action.html BONUS: www.rushtopower.net/reset.html Respectfully, Terry Sneller aka, Tarry Faster [email protected]

Americans consume almost 3 billion pounds of chocolate each year. We enjoy our favorite chocolate brands, like Hershey's, Snickers, Milky Way, and Twix, but most people do not know about the exploitative origin of these products. Shockingly, most of the chocolate products consumed in America are made using child slave labor. For too long, multinational chocolate producers have relied on child slave labor to harvest the millions of tons of cocoa beans needed for chocolate. In West Africa, tens of thousands of children are enslaved on cocoa plantations and forced to harvest cocoa beans in unsafe, exploitative working conditions, with little respite, and meager pay. We demand that this injustice must change. We cannot allow companies like Mars and Nestle to claim they value black lives when their supply chains are riddled with human rights violations and slave labor in West Africa. We need to join together and make our voices heard to stop this outrageous humans rights violation. Sign our petition to demand that companies like Mars and Nestle stop using child slave labor in their chocolate products! Image credit: Washington Post, "Cocoa's Child Laborers." June 5, 2019. Whoriskey, Peter and Siegel, Rachel. Photos by Salwan Georges.