In mid-February, while Donald Trump was telling the country that the coronavirus was a "hoax" and "no big deal," Sen. Richard Burr was telling members of the "Tar Heel Circle" to prepare for the worst. The "Tar Heel Circle" is a private group that promises access to legislators, with membership fees up to $10,000. He told the members that the coronavirus would be worse than the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, which killed more than 50 million people worldwide. Meanwhile, Burr sold up to $1.5 million in stock, partly in hotel chains, which he knew would take a big hit once people were forced to cancel trips and vacations. This is akin to insider trading! Burr used information he was specifically privy to as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee to help donors and line his pockets--but he didn't warn his constituents. He put all of his constituents at more risk. Burr has committed an unforgivable transgression as our representative, and we need to tell him to resign immediately. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article241330126.html?utm_source=pushly&intcid=pushly_496965 https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article241334586.html

In order to get this initiative on the ballot for Fall 2020, NEWR needs to gather just over 3,300 signatures from Boulder city residents. Until the COVID-19 crisis struck, we were well on our way to doing so, having gathered close to 2,000 signatures. But, out of concern for public health and safety, we have decided to suspend canvassing for the time being. While pausing our canvassing effort is the right decision, it means we are not likely to hit our signature goal and that we must find another way to get on the ballot. Fortunately, in these unprecedented times, Boulder's City Council has indicated that if we can supply ample evidence of public support, they may place our initiative on the ballot themselves.

Sign on to tell Governor Cooper to place a temporary moratorium on the enforcement of eviction orders and to push Congress to do the same nationally. Keep Families safe during this COVID-19 crisis. We are calling on Governor Cooper and Congress to take three immediate actions for housing security during this time of crisis: A national moratorium on evictions. This should include a moratorium on all foreclosures, evictions of both public and private housing, sweeps of houseless people, and utility shutoffs, and restore utility service for all households. A national mortgage and rent holiday. This should cover public and private properties by passing a law reducing rents and mortgage payments to zero for the duration of the crisis, including any fees or interest payments. A national $200 billion dollar Housing Security Fund. This fund should be used to provide: at least $120 billion for rent and mortgage payment assistance for anyone affected by the pandemic; adequate funding for homes and expanded services for people experiencing homelessness; and assistance to families to secure safe housing in this crisis and its aftermath, with payment support to cover applications, first month’s rent, and security deposits. In addition, the federal government must provide immediate cash payments to all people in the United States, immediately, and ensure a just, green transition post-pandemic. See the full set of demands for federal action here. These actions for housing security are essential in our fight to slow the spread of COVID-19. This pandemic has the potential to exponentially increase inequality in America, and if it does it will also worsen the pandemic itself. We need immediate and bold federal action now to ensure all have safe and secure housing through this crisis.

In the face of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, many spas in Colorado have not closed, endangering the health of their employees. A partial list includes: St Julien Spa, The Broadmoor, Brown Palace, Massage Envy, Idaho Springs Resort.  Massage Therapists, Aestheticians, Cosmetologists, Manicurists, and Pedicurists are in extreme danger because they cannot follow the 6-foot social distancing rule.

UC Berkeley, the city of Berkeley, and the entire country (not to mention the world) are going through both an economic meltdown and a public health crisis due ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Many tenants - including UC Berkeley students - are unable to pay their rent as a result of the economic meltdown and shelter-in-place order. Furthermore, so many students live paycheck-to-paycheck that they could never afford the added expense of paying backrent. Many of these students also do not have a "non-Berkeley home" they can return to. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has responded by banning evictions (and defaults) in properties secured by Federal Housing Administration-insured (Fannie and Freddie) Single Family mortgages. On March 17, the Berkeley City Council passed an initial moratorium on evictions and suspended rent payments for tenants who been financially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic; the city council is expected to pass additional emergency legislation to strengthen the law to protect Berkeley residents and keep them in their homes. As a state agency, the university is generally exempt from regulations issued by a local government. As a result, the only way to protect students in university housing from evictions and unconscionable rent collections is for the university to voluntarily enact such a policy. Letting homeless and housing-insecure students live for free in otherwise empty university housing would only cost the university little to nothing. Additionally, the fact that the University is allowing students to move-out and receive a pro-rata refund means it is already budgeting for little to no revenue from housing for the remainder of the year. It is therefore clearly within the Univeristy's means to allow students already living in the dorms to not owe rent. Many students cannot simply move-out of the dorms and "go back home." For instance, they may not have another home to return to, may have a Bay Area job they need to support themselves and/or their family and which has not been halted by the pandemic, or their family home may be unsafe (e.g. if they've been rejected by their family for not being cis-hetero or if their family home is physically dangerous). This is literally a matter of life and death. If students are forced out onto the streets - either through a formal eviction or because they decide to move out early in order to avoid back rent they cannot repay, they could catch coronavirus and die, as well as infect other community members.

"During the COVID-19 crisis, we all have a responsibility towards our communities to keep ourselves healthy and avoid situations that can spread the virus. As of March 17th, the state of Florida will close all bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and other small businesses in order to help us uphold that responsibility. While this is a step in the right direction regarding health, the effects of these sweeping business closures affect the livelihood of thousands of Florida residents that rely on front-of-the house restaurant, club/bar work or tips to make ends meet. Without a plan in place to supplement the income of these workers, and with no guarantee that unemployment benefits will provide the relief people need in a city with one of the highest costs of living in the country, we demand a moratorium on rent collection. Hard-working people are going to suffer at the expense of the greater good. While we don't deny the importance of instituting these closures, we would be ashamed and heartbroken to watch our government let people who rely on health and wellness care work, restaurant work, work in the entertainment industry (clubs/bars), and other small businesses face evictions, blows to their credit, or be backed into a corner financially through no fault of their own. As a spa business owner and full-time Licensed Massage Therapist, this is my sole source of income. So many other massage practitioners and business owners in the industry, are affected. Simply providing people with an unemployment payment of temporary paid leave at minimum wage would not be enough to cover their typical expenses. We need Broward County and Florida as a whole to put a moratorium on rent NOW in order to preserve the livelihood of so many hard working business owners, healthcare practitioners, and other affected industries during this time of crisis".

Protecting yourself from a pandemic shouldn’t depend on where you live or the kind of job you have. We have the resources to help everybody through this crisis. All leaders need to step up and do what they can NOW. Don’t wait for others to lead. Do what YOU can do NOW.

We cannot return to normal. Addressing the depth of the crises that have been revealed in this pandemic means enacting universal health care, expanding social welfare programs, ensuring access to water and sanitation, cash assistance to poor and low income families, good jobs, living wages and an annual income and protecting our democracy. It means ensuring that our abundant national resources are used for the general welfare, instead of war, walls, and the wealthy. We also call on you to immediately enact our Moral Policy Agenda to Heal America: The Poor People's Jubilee Platform to fully address the COVID-19 outbreak and the underlying crises of poverty and inequality that made so many vulnerable right now. Read more here: bit.ly/ppcjubilee WE DEMAND THAT YOU INCLUDE: 1. Immediate, comprehensive and permanent paid sick leave for 100% of employees for this pandemic. Paid sick leave must become standard across all sectors of the labor market. 2. Immediate health care for all, including 100% free COVID-19 testing, treatment and quality care to all, regardless of income, age, disability, citizenship or any other factor, and including the uninsured. 3. A permanent guaranteed and adequate annual income/universal income, including rapid, direct payments to all low-wage and temporary workers for the duration of this crisis. This also includes living wages and hazard pay. 4. A national moratorium on evictions, tax foreclosures, rent hikes, and a national rent freeze. This includes an immediate halt to encampment sweeps and towing vehicles of unhoused communities. Federal resources must be directed to local and state governments towards opening and preparing vacant and habitable buildings, properties and warehouses to house and provide adequate care for all people who are homeless, including ensuring education, food assistance and health care for homeless children and provisions for medical testing, treatment and respite for the homeless. 5. Jubilee and debt forgiveness for medical debt, student debt, water, utilities and other forms of household debt. 6. Protections for our democracy and the right to vote with expanded opportunities to vote during this crisis, including the full funding of the U.S. Postal Service protection of vote by mail in every state, and an expanded census to ensure every person is accounted for. WE ALSO DEMAND: 1. A national moratorium on water and utility shut-offs, a waiver of all late-payment charges, and reinstitution of any services that have already been cut off due to nonpayment, including access to cellular and internet service. We demand policies that establish affordability-based plans for water and other utility services. 2. Expansion of resources and funding for FEMA and the EPA to ensure access to emergency care and clean air, water and land for all. 3. Ending work requirements on all federal benefits, including SNAP and Medicaid. 4. Resources to keep all rural hospitals and community health centers open, and an infusion of resources to Indian Health Services. 5. Permanent protections for social security, Medicare and Medicaid. 6. Emergency OSHA standards for health care workers, first responders and anyone else in frontline positions. 7. Protections for people in mental health facilities, prisons and juvenile detention centers, especially supplies, personnel, testing and treatment. This includes the release of all at risk populations and non-violent offenders and detainees. 8. Suspension of all CBP and ICE enforcement and ensuring all emergency provisions are made available to immigrants, including undocumented people. 9. Increased support for public schools to provide continuous, equitable and quality remote learning access for the duration of any school closures, including for children with disabilities, and for schools to continue to provide social services for qualifying children and families. 10. Lifting all military and economic sanctions, ending unnecessary military operations overseas and bringing our troops home. 11. Measures to ensure that nobody — no individual or corporation or financial interest — profits off this public health crisis by making vaccines and treatments affordable and/or free for those who cannot afford the costs. We also call on you to immediately enact the demands of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Read them here: bit.ly/PPCDemands Before COVID-19, nearly 700 people died everyday because of poverty and inequality in this country. The frontlines of this pandemic will be the poor and dispossessed - those who do not have access to healthcare, housing, water, decent wages, stable work or child care - and those who are continuing to work in this crisis, meeting our health care and other needs. It should not have taken a pandemic to raise these resources. In June 2019, we presented a Poor People’s Moral Budget to the House Budget Committee, showing that we can meet these needs for this entire country. If you had taken up this Moral Budget, we would have already moved towards infusing more than $1.2 trillion into the economy to invest in health care, good jobs, living wages, housing, water and sanitation services and more. This is not the time for trickle-down solutions. We know that when you lift from the bottom, everybody rises. There are concrete solutions to this immediate crisis and the longer term illnesses we have been battling for months, years and decades before. We will continue to organize and build power until you meet these demands. Many millions of us have been hurting for far too long. We will not be silent anymore. Rev. Dr. William Barber, II Co-Chair, The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival and President, Repairers of the Breach Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Co-Chair, The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival and Director, Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice

Over the last few years, airlines in the United States have made huge windfall profits by packing planes like sardines and adding fees to checked bags and other amenities that used to to be included in the prices of a ticket. Then, rather than saving for a rainy day, Delta, American, Southwest and United collectively spent about $39 billion over the last five years buying back shares. These share buybacks benefitted wealthy shareholders, not workers, and now that times are suddenly tough these same airlines are asking for free money from the government to bail them out so that their shareholders don't lose money. Meanwhile, workers' paychecks are at risk. Government action during a time of crisis should focus on actions that benefit our country broadly, rather than a special interest group. We need to stand up and make our voices heard when any industry tries to use a time of crisis to use public funds for their own benefit.

During the COVID-19 crisis, we all have a responsibility towards our communities to keep ourselves healthy and avoid situations that can spread the virus. As of March 17th, the state of Florida will close all bars, nightclubs and restaurants in order to help us uphold that responsibility. While this is a step in the right direction regarding public health, the effects of these sweeping business closures affect the livelihood of thousands of Florida residents that rely on front-of-house restaurant, club/bar work or tips to make ends meet. Without a plan in place to supplement the income of these workers, and with no guarantee that unemployment benefits will provide the relief people need in a city with one of the highest costs of living in the country, we demand a moratorium on rent collection NOW. Hard-working people are going to suffer at the expense of the greater good. While we don't deny the importance of instituting these closures, we would be ashamed and heartbroken to watch our government let people who rely on restaurant work, work in the entertainment industry (clubs/bars) face evictions, blows to their credit, or be backed into a corner financially through no fault of their own. As a full-time waitress in the nightlife industry this is my sole source of income. For so many of my friends and family in the industry, as well, tips are their MAIN source of income. Simply providing people with an unemployment payment or temporary paid leave at minimum wage would not be enough to cover their typical expenses. We need Miami and Florida as a whole to put a moratorium on rent NOW in order to preserve the livelihood of so many hardworking people both in the restaurant industry and in other affected industries during this time of crisis.

Vijay has resigned from City Council on his own terms and has stated that he will stay through the budget session. We need someone on City Council who is FOR the people. He will no longer be an active member of this community. We demand representation by someone who will actively be living in our community in the coming years. We also demand Vijay step down immediately and not be a part of this budget session!

We need to reclaim our humanity, together, right now, once and for all in the history of our species! Universalist Emergency across the planet is being applied. The USA has the means and ability to show the planet how we begin the new world - we do not need another war against each other to come together against full economic collapse or even extinction. As our world is changing, the most creative thinkers on the planet are immediately influenced by this planetary crisis. It is now a revelation what humanity must do to handle the tidal wave of events to come and forever in the future. 10 years of this should help the whole species on every continent will have its’ first chance to design the world we all wanted as children and for our children. Allowing for these horrific world conditions to resonate psychologically, is horrific but with compassion through our very tight communication-information infrastructures of 2020, the economic relationships we have now, do not require us to repeat the history of the 1930's. I personally work in the corporate trade-show ballroom audio-video industry in Manhattan, NY, USA and all my part time scheduled work has been cancelled due to COVID19 terror. However, many people in my field have helped me draft this petition. We are the solution to this confusion: COVID-19 UNIVERSAL EMERGENCY [NOW] !