We are in a health crisis and entering an economic crisis. During the Great Recession, leaders focused primarily on financial relief for big businesses and banks, causing communities of color and working-class people to lose massive amounts of wealth – forever. We must learn from this previous mistake, and provide consistent financial support for families that were already living paycheck to paycheck. We need to send Emergency Money to the People right away, and provide ongoing support. NBA stars, business owners, and concerned citizens on Twitter are sending people cash to cover lost wages and emergency supplies. The government should bolster what Americans already know to be correct – that cash allows people to solve problems for themselves, quickly.

An astounding number of people in this city do not have enough savings to cover food and basic supplies for one to two weeks in the case that they are out of work. In light of the current spread of Coronavirus and resulting economic effects, many people in Cleveland are understandably nervous about the insecurities they may be facing if they are unable to work. Many low-income residents in Cleveland are in a tenuous situation due to the spread of Coronavirus and resulting workplace shutdowns. We've crafted a thoughtful and collaborative approach to the crisis in the hopes that landlords adopt these practices to avoid any undue displacement or hardship on their tenants: 1. Proactively reach out to tenants to explain the landlord's plans and expectations on this issue and to ask them to provide updates about any changes in their financial status. We ask that landlords assure tenants that they are committed to working with them on a case by case basis to accommodate their needs. 2. During the course of this epidemic and its resulting economic outcomes, we ask that landlords put a moratorium on any financial-related evictions. 3. We ask that landlords utilize deferrals, loans, or temporary rent reductions/forgiveness as necessary to help those who have been laid off, prevented from working, or otherwise unable to make their rent rely on the safety and security of their home. Here is a message template to share with tenants: “Dear _, we hope this message finds you and your family well. We understand that the unfolding Coronovirus epidemic will impact a number of our tenants and are monitoring the situation closely. We do not want to add housing insecurity to the stresses that everyone is already experiencing, and are committed to ensuring that all of our tenants can stay in their homes through the duration of the present crisis. We are willing to work with each tenant on a case by case basis to address problems, financial or otherwise. We are asking that everyone promptly inform us of any developing problem as soon as new information is available so that we can work together to make accommodations. Please keep us posted, do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns, and in the meantime, take care of yourselves." * * * * * * * * We must work together to find solutions that meet the needs of many. To anyone worried about the ramifications of this crisis, whether landlords or tenants: Let's put our heads together to discuss how to get through it while protecting our most vulnerable residents. Contact: [email protected] to get involved.

Inclusion We first urge you to approach the problems that face our country using an intersectional equity lens. Challenges compounded by race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and ability are present at every level from health care to housing to climate change to education. Addressing these needs must be at the center, not the sidelines, of our government’s policy goals. We also point to Senator Warren’s—and Secretary Castro’s—practice of bringing activists with direct knowledge of and experience with these needs to the table. We ask that you not only follow that example and use these on-the-ground experts to help shape your policies, but also that you appoint them to key roles in your administration. Personnel is policy. Corruption Senator Warren framed her campaign around dismantling the corrupt channels that perpetuate structural inequity and prevent any meaningful reform. Your plan to establish the Commission on Federal Ethics aligns with Senator Warren’s proposed U.S. Office of Public Integrity, which would oversee efforts to restore transparency to our government. We ask that you go further: support a ban on professional lobbying by any former president, vice president, cabinet secretary, federal judge, or member of Congress. We ask also that you make passage of a constitutional amendment to limit campaign contributions—nullifying Citizens United—a top priority. We must have trust in our government, and that begins with ensuring our officials and elections cannot be bought. Immigration We applaud your commitment to a moratorium on deportations during your first 100 days as president, but further action is needed to eliminate the cruelty and abuse perpetrated in the name of immigration enforcement. We need comprehensive reform of our immigration justice system, and we must start with decriminalizing immigration. To prevent future abuses, we urge you to commit to the establishment of professional, independent Article I immigration courts, and to provide access to counsel in all immigration courts. You have condemned the horrific actions of the Trump administration at the border. We urge you to adopt Senator Warren’s plan for a Department of Justice task force to investigate and prosecute all reported crimes committed against detained immigrants. Student Loan Debt The rising cost of tuition across the country means that many students are crushed by student loan debt—and it’s impacting our entire economy. Black students are particularly affected: they are more likely to have federal student loans and owe more than their original debt 12 years after finishing college. We are supportive of public service, but strongly believe that across-the-board college loan debt reduction is the best approach, especially for those with increased barriers (poor and working-class students, students with family obligations, and working students). We ask you to adopt Senator Warren's approach and cancel student loan debt through executive action, immediately enabling 95% of student loan debt holders to pursue their dreams. Universal Child Care Universal child care is an investment in working parents. It provides millions of children with access to quality care and early learning. It also creates millions of well-paying jobs for child care workers and early education teachers, many of whom are women of color. Research shows that every dollar spent on quality early education saves seven dollars in the long run. We encourage you to adopt Senator Warren’s plan, which mandates that universal child care be free to any family that earns less than 200% of the federal poverty line. Crucially, the plan also establishes a partnership between the federal government and local providers to offer a network of early childhood options—including child care and preschool centers—to every family. Equality for Americans with Disabilities You have a strong history advocating for Americans with disabilities through your work on the ADA, the ADAAA, IDEA, and VAWA. It is critical that you collaborate with disability rights leaders and advocates moving forward to form a comprehensive disability rights plan. We ask that you use Senator Warren’s plan for Protecting the Rights and Equality of Americans With Disabilities as a model. This includes our ask that you to commit to combating discrimination in the labor market and workplace, ending the subminimum wage, fully funding the Office of Disability Employment Policy, improving SSI and SSDI programs, breaking down barriers to marriage, providing national paid family and medical leave, improving critical elements of the long-term services, and supporting coverage to enable the right to live in the community. We also urge you to protect the civil rights of all Americans with disabilities, including decriminalizing poverty, addressing language deprivation for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and enforcing the ADA everywhere that it is applicable. We urge you to work with the disability rights community to incorporate key priorities relating to employment, housing, opioid medications, disaster preparedness, healthcare, education, equity in criminal justice, deinstitutionalization, and other key civil rights issues into your platform. Wealth Tax These plans have a price tag. We believe in fiscal responsibility—every American should pay their fair share. We believe ultra-millionaires, who benefit most from our country’s infrastructure, should invest a little more in our country. Therefore, we ask you to adopt Senator Warren’s two cent wealth tax, which requires those Americans lucky enough to have vast fortunes to pay a two cent tax on every dollar of net worth above $50 million. Over 10 years, this tax will raise an estimated $3.75 trillion that we can reinvest in working families by supporting education, childcare, family leave, and more. --- We invite you to join us in signing this letter to Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden.

The most effective way to stop the spread of Coronavirus is for all working people to be able to stay home. Unfortunately, economic pressures, not the least of which is housing, force workers, even when sick, to continue to go to work every day. For this reason, we insist that ALL people in this country are empowered to practice social distancing and self quarantine as soon as possible. To make that possible, we must relieve economic pressure that forces people to go to work sick. The surest way to do this is through mortgage and rent suspension for families, individuals and small businesses. This is how we #FlattenTheCurve [https://www.vox.com/2020/3/10/21171481/coronavirus-us-cases-quarantine-cancellation]. UPDATE: In a major intervention into financial markets, the Fed will inject $1.5 TRILLION dollars. It’s a move designed to prevent a sharper economic contraction than what may already be underway. It's time to bail out the people, not the banks!

Students' Health Should Be WCPSS #1 Goal and with the coronavirus spreading and infecting 7 individuals in North Carolina, we shouldn’t be taking any chances.

To establish a new progressive party with enough support.

While many animal hospitals are still small, local operations owned by independent practitioners, over the past few years, large corporate animal hospital chains have aggressively expanded across the state. Today, over ten percent of animal hospitals in California are owned by a corporate chain. Mars, Inc., a $36 billion dollar multinational company primarily known for its candy, is the largest provider of veterinary services in the world: Mars alone owns over 300 hospitals in California and over 2000 hospitals across the country. Local communities pay the price when large corporations take over animal hospitals. Hospital consolidation often increases healthcare costs, corporate animal hospital expansion reduces choice for both consumers and veterinary professionals, and quality of care and employee well-being often suffer. Tell California State Legislators that we need AB 3201 to protect our pets and local communities and stop the “Walmart-ization” of the animal hospital industry.

As the coronavirus outbreak continues to grow, gig economy corporations that retain workers as independent contractors have a particular responsibility to their workers, their customers, and to the broader public. Food delivery workers, for-hire vehicle drivers, and others working in the gig economy are particularly vulnerable to the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus outbreak. Gig workers who drive cars, deliver food orders, or clean homes do work that entails near-constant interaction with people in public spaces, putting them at greater risk for exposure to coronavirus and other illnesses. Yet as independent contractors, your workers do not receive any paid sick leave or have access to employer-backed health insurance. As a result, they often cannot afford to stay home if they or a family member is sick, and they are much less likely to receive quality healthcare. It is incumbent on you to take steps to protect your workforce, your customers, and the broader public from the spread of the virus -- beginning with providing paid sick days to your workers during this public health crisis. We commend steps that Uber, Lyft, Postmates and others have announced to support workers infected with the coronavirus, but more is needed to protect all workers and contain the spread of the virus. We join with calls from Working Washington and Gig Workers Rising in calling on your companies to: -Provide your contract workers with paid sick time, equivalent to what they would have if they were employees. -Provide workers with free hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and/or any other resources they may need to keep themselves and their vehicles virus-free. -Be transparent with workers about risks as you learn about them, and about any steps being taken to keep workers and customers safe. -Suspend the practice of penalizing workers for missing scheduled blocks of work, ending shifts early, or rejecting jobs. -Pay workers their average weekly income if they are prevented from working due to a recommendation by public health authorities to temporarily quarantine them due to exposure that occurred while working. -Encourage workers to leave deliveries at the door rather than make them face-to-face, and disable any rating systems that penalize workers for doing so. -Agree to let workers collect unemployment benefits if they are unable to work due to coronavirus or coronavirus response. -Provide workers the option to receive an advance on their future earnings in order to replace lost income associated with coronavirus. -Not permanently deactivate workers who happen to contract coronavirus. -Take affirmative steps to oppose any form of discrimination or harassment based on race, national origin, or anything else. We urge you to take immediate steps to protect your workers and the general public during this public health crisis.

This is not a REAL debate. Now that we are down to just 2 viable candidates for the nomination, we need a true debate where both candidates have the opportunity to challenge one another on their records and visions for the future. It is also crucial for us to see which candidate has the capacity and ability to withstand the pressure of a debate with Trump. This election is far too important to be soft on candidates now. CNN and the Democratic National Committee MUST give the public what they need and revert to a traditional debate format.

For the citizens of Mississippi. This is to get loved ones out of horrible prisons and back in to society. This men and women get out they will get jobs and start paying taxes. We can get our prison systems in order and up to code. We can get innocent out. We can get loved ones back in our lives every day and not just one day a week for four hours. We can get guards that care and not over worked or just needing a job.

This is important because this ice cream shop has been in Sarasota for 36 years and is a staple of joy in many resident's childhood and current lives. That store has housed many memories for countless families in the town. Everyone who has found out about the closure of TCBY has been devastated. Also, Mr. Bruce Weir has always been so supportive of the community, and it is unfair that he cannot sell the store and retire. Taking away The Country’s Best Yogurt is taking away our joy. -Julia and Ella For more information about the closure of TCBY, visit the article in the link below. https://www.heraldtribune.com/business/20200302/tcby-closing-in-sarasota

The coronavirus is threatening to become a major global pandemic, with the number of confirmed cases growing inside the United States. So who are Donald Trump and his administration’s top officials most concerned about right now? Giant corporations. When asked by Congress if a future vaccine will be guaranteed to be affordable for all Americans, Trump’s head of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar--a former drug company lobbyist--refused to commit. Instead, he suggested that private pharmaceutical companies’ ability to profit would come before the health needs of the people. This is outrageous and the Senate must act immediately to ensure that all of our families will be able to access and afford any future vaccine. .