Last month's tornadoes ripped through multiple states in the midwest and killed dozens of people, including six workers at an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, IL. With the warehouse situated inside Tornado Alley, it's unclear whether Amazon had adequately prepared for emergency weather events. Workers had repeatedly attempted to urge Amazon management to take precautions (such as safety drills), but management didn't listen. Once the tornado warnings were out, workers were forced to choose between not showing up to work (and facing the threat of termination) and the imperative to find shelter. One worker who was killed reportedly texted his girlfriend, “Amazon won’t let us leave” in the moments leading up to the Illinois warehouse’s collapse. OSHA has opened up an investigation of Amazon following the six worker deaths, but we know this isn’t enough. We demand full transparency from Amazon regarding their emergency weather preparedness, as well as their actions on the day of the tornadoes and in the days that followed. We also demand additional federal investigations, in addition to local and state investigations.

Not everyone in the Illinois Valley (IV) of southern Oregon has a need for banking services, or has a bank account. (In fact, one of the problems First Community (FCCU) has identified as a cause of the Cave Junction branch's poor performance is the heavy emphasis on a cash economy in the IV.) BUT... a large number of us DO rely on banking services, including a savings repository, personal and business loans, notary services, etc. Many aspects of banking can be done remotely, such as transfers of funds from account to account, automatic electronic payments, direct deposit of paychecks, etc. There are smart phone apps that allow scanning of checks, for remote deposit. But when you have cash or checks, and no smart phone app (many low income people don't have smart phones, or don't have the expertise to use such apps), by golly, you just have to go in to the local branch to deposit it. You know this... if you hold onto a ton of cash, don't you feel constantly vulnerable to theft or loss of the cash? I do. So then if you have to go to a physical branch office, and it's located 30 or more miles away, that's a problem. Some community members do not have vehicles, or do not have enough time off from their jobs to make the trip. Many of us are trying to make FEWER trips in our vehicles, not MORE, due to climate change. And that old Highway 199 is notorious as being deadly, one of the worst in the nation, especially in winter with slick roads and/or dense fog. The presence of multiple financial institutions in a community is evidence of a vital economy (or at least someone's faith in the potential of that economy), and acts to encourage more investment of various kinds in that community. Faith and investment beget more faith and investment. Conversely, closing a bank can devastate a community. We have already suffered closure of two other banks in recent years. How much more abandonment can the IV withstand? Since FCCU has the word 'community' in its very name, I think it should walk its talk, and help support our community. FCCU needs to work WITH its community to find mutually acceptable solutions to its problems, rather than just bailing because the going has gotten tough. So... we are asking FCCU to keep the Cave Junction branch office open, as a way of truly serving and empowering and aiding in the development of OUR COMMUNITY.

This is a global movement that is diligently developing and testing income alternatives to have in place before the next crises hits. The Incentive will work for people who are actively pursuing upward mobility to use as they see fit when they have a job & when they don't. The purpose is to increase the economic, value, and the upward mobility of every citizen and become able to actually meet the rising cost of living and business recoupment through direct cash supplements that are not contingent on having employment, nor set according to a stagnant skillset that justifies consigning essential, gig, temporary, blue-collar workers to low wage pay, or an earnings minimum. The Incentive Direct Cash Income Supplement can be combined to your earnings to create a dignified salary to support efforts to remain work ready, and to keep lives intact during the pandemic. The Incentive Direct Cash Income Supplement will benefit citizens by contributing to better mental stability, less depression and stress that would in some cases lead to suicides, drug/alcohol and other addictions and dependencies. Author of Petition Stephanie Taylor Twitter:@TaylorHaasTech

President Biden, Senator Schuman, and Speaker Pelosi need to know the American people support definitive action to stop Senators Manchin and Sinema and their Republican colleagues from further destruction to our middle class. Give our blue collar workers their good jobs back, the powerful voice of their labor unions and restore their dignity.

Every year in the United States there are over 100,000 residential fires in multifamily dwellings. In July of 2019 Kaitlyn Denson and Joseph Tarin's lives were cut short in an apartment fire in Austin, TX. A fire that spread quickly with no presence of sprinklers within the apartment units. Due to a legacy clause the current law allowed for this complex among many other's to not meet the most up to date standards for fire safety resulting in the worst possible outcome. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), fire sprinklers reduce the risk of fatalities in multi family dwellings by 87% and injuries by 27%. Action Petitioned For: We the undersigned are concerned citizens who urge our leaders to act now to pass the Public Housing Fire Safety Act.

We need to shut down all of Trump's minions, cronies and sycophants if we hope to save the country.

The NM Cannabis Justice Project coalition feels strongly about the need for public input as these rules will affect NM’s agriculture for generations to come. We continue to ask for transparency as the community advisory board did receive the opportunity to contribute to these particular set of rules, and the current rules hold a greater threat of unlawful water transfers out of small farms, do not acknowledge NM’s vibrant and longstanding cultures, and uses loop holes for large producers to ask for variances on water leasing rights.

When one of the founding members of Cannabis Vision Partners discovered her mother had breast cancer there was no where she could take her mother to for a safe, knowledgeable and comfortable experience at a dispensary. This was 14 years ago. Today not much has changed. We now have "apple store" style dispensaries and not one but TWO MedMen dispensaries approved by LA city council to operate in Venice, but none of them cater to women's needs and none of them are owned by women and certainly not women of color. Women and particularly women of color are the most disadvantaged when it comes to healthcare and almost invisible when it comes to natural healing. The needs of women and women of color are not being met in health and in business. One of the fastest growing industries is cannabis and currently the community of Venice Beach is being dominated and monopolized by greedy male corporations- essentially keeping out any women and especially women of color. This is a healing industry and the need for women focused healing is being neglected and we need change. You can make a difference for all women of color who choose to heal themselves with natural medicine and not with addictive pharmaceuticals and for women who want to make a difference in their communities. It all starts with someone like you who cares about women's needs.

Please join this petition to get our roads fixed properly for your safety and the other tenants who live back here as well as visitors. I have 3 daughters on which has hit a pot hole while riding her bike and now has scars on her side of her body. Also my vehicle has been destroyed within a year of getting it new off the lot there is almost no where we can pass to avoid some of these pot holes. Most of these holes are around 5-9 inches deep. Other tenants have complained and tried to reach out but has been denied their right to have safe passage down our roads. Please consider to take it in your hearts for better living conditions for young’s community.

Ever since the launch of the Safe Travels program in October 2020, Maui County has been struggling with rising COVID 19 cases endangering the health, safety and economic recovery of the residents and businesses in Maui County. Since December 24, 2020, Maui County has been experiencing the highest per capita case counts in the State. The last few weeks Maui County has also had the highest testing positivity rates in the State. A Special Committee composed of public health experts including local DOH staff and other medical professionals, small business owners, County officials and nonprofit partners could help Maui bring its COVID numbers down, prioritize effective public health and safety expenditures, improve public information and enforcement of mask use and other safety protocols, streamline the vaccination process and accelerate the overall recovery process for the County. Unlike any private COVID task forces convened by the Mayor, a Special COVID19 Committee authorized by the County Council would be an open and transparent policy advisory body that is subject to public meeting and records laws.

Currently there are intense racial disparities in the incarcerated population. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 4 out of every 10 people incarcerated in the state are African American men- ten times the imprisonment rate for white men (CA Democratic Caucus, 2021). This happens because systemic racism and bias are prominent within the legal process and criminal court system. Racism impacts every step of the criminal justice system from policing to the courtroom to incarceration and even after release (CA Democratic Caucus, 2021). This bill addresses these disparities through granting defendants the right to equal justice by filing for a motion at trial or following a conviction if the defendant experienced discrimination by an attorney, judge, juror, law enforcement officer, or expert witness (A.B. 256; League of Women Voters of California, 2021). It also provides retroactive relief to those who have previously endured racial disparities in charges, convictions, and sentencing (Kalra et al., 2021; League of Women Voters of California, 2021). Plus, implementation of this bill will decrease court and correctional annual spending by reducing the proportion of minority races currently incarcerated and soon to be incarcerated due to the intentional biases (Kalra et al., 2021). A.B. 256, 2021 Annual, 2021 Reg. Sess. (California 2021). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB256 CA State Assembly: Democratic Caucus. (2021, January 15). Assemblymember Kalra announces new california racial justice act for all. CA State Assembly: Democratic Caucus. https://asmdc.org/press-releases/Assemblymember-kalra-announces-new-california-racial-justice-act-all League of Women Voters of California. (2021, January 15). Support the racial justice act for all, ab256. https://lwvc.org/news/support-racial-justice-act-all-ab-256 League of Women Voters of California. (2021, January 28). Racial justice act community implementation. https://cavotes.org/racial-justice-act-community-implementation Kalra, A., Kamlager, Rivas, R. Santiago. (2021). Assembly bill 256: California racial justice act for all [Fact sheet]. https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.naswca.org/resource/resmgr/files/2021lld/AB256FactSheet.pdf

While Whole Foods billionaires' wealth continues to skyrocket, frontline grocery workers are left to grapple with COVID-19 outbreaks in stores throughout the nation. Why? Because Whole Foods doesn’t provide the paid leave employees need to stay safe or care for their families—forcing them to choose between their paycheck and coming to work if they were exposed to the virus, if they are sick but don’t have access to a test, or leaving a loved one who needs care alone at home. Whole Foods can afford to do better. The grocery store chain and its parent company, Amazon, are raking in profits during the pandemic. To slow the spread of the virus among Whole Foods employees and customers, CEO John Mackey needs to immediately institute a permanent comprehensive paid leave policy. That includes guaranteed paid sick time, paid family and medical leave, and paid time off to be vaccinated.