In California cases of COVID are rising at a rapid and dangerous pace. However, the California Department of Public Health has not published(nor made available to local health departments ) a roadmap to vaccinate outpatient healthcare workers who are not affiliated with a hospital. The vaccine rollout has been slow and unfortunately has left out a very large number of front line workers. These healthcare workers include primary care and specialty physicians, nurses, non-physician mental health providers, dentists-and their staff. Outpatient healthcare providers are often the first to assess and treat patients with COVID-19. They have been working to prevent hospital emergency rooms from becoming overwhelmed during the pandemic. Yet independent offices are being ignored and left to fend for themselves. Outpatient providers who have contacted the California Department of Public Health regarding this issue were told to contact their county, who in turn advised them to contact the state Health Department. Local hospitals when contacted have advised physicians to contact their county and that they can only vaccinate their own staff. Other states have created DOH vaccination sites where any Tier 1A healthcare worker can schedule themselves to be vaccinated without a prior invitation. All California Tier 1A healthcare workers must be vaccinated immediately, regardless of inpatient or outpatient work settings and REGARDLESS of hospital affiliation. We are all exposed to COVID-19 daily and each of our contributions are equally important in combatting the pandemic.

It doesn't matter what city or state you are in, nurses all deal with the same day-to-day challenges. When we encounter people at the hospital its when they are feeling their worst, they're scared, and some don't know how to express what they want so nurses are their advocates. The state of TN's average wage for a nurse in the hospital setting is 32% below national average (mind blowing). When I make this point people say "well the cost of living...". In reality, yes there's no state tax and the cost of buying a home is cheaper. Everything else is relatively the same. Another point I'd like to point out is the minimum wage in TN is $7.25 and a new grad nurse (in the Knoxville area) is started at $19.05/hour. That's a $11.80 difference. The state of CA's minimum wage is $13 hour and starts their nurses around $54/hour - a $41 difference. How are you going to justify that being equal due to the "cost of living". How do you justify a Target employee in Knoxville starting at $15/hour to a Registered Nurse starting at $19.05?? On top of the pay not being justifiable, we don't get holiday pay nor compensation if we end up getting COVID-19. Things need to change, nurses need and should to be paid much better than they are in the state of TN. Please help support us in making efforts to change this and receive the compensation we deserve.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been named Ambassador to Japan, but he hasn't yet been confirmed for the position. Emanuel had an absolutely disastrous record as mayor between 2011 and 2019. His decisions and policies had a disproportionate and racist impact on Black communities, and his agenda aided corporations and the wealthy at the expense of working Chicagoans. To aid his re-election campaign in 2015, he suppressed video footage of the 2014 murder of a 17-year-old Black child, Laquan McDonald, by Chicago police. He made history by closing 50 public schools across Chicago, primarily in the majority-Black South Side and West Side communities of the city—the most school closures at one time in any school districts in the nation. During his first year in office, his administration shut down half of the public mental health clinics across Chicago. Soon after taking office, he eliminated the city’s Department of Environment, and as a result, environmental regulation dropped considerably. Communities of color throughout Chicago have borne the brunt of this decision, and thousands of people (primarily Black and Latinx families) have been exposed to chemical hazards and irritants as a result. And while his administration was consistently slashing public services and utilities, the city funded the construction of a brand-new, $95-million police academy on Chicago’s West Side. As mayor of Chicago, in addition to closing 50 schools, Emanuel repeatedly attacked public unions by supporting legislation that would make it harder for teachers to strike, laid off hundreds of school staff, and threatened to lay off hundreds of city employees in order to privatize some city services. Emanuel served big business and corporate interests throughout his time as mayor, and his decisions disproportionately harmed working families and communities of color. There's no reason why he should be rewarded with a public office, especially one in which he is representing the United States on a global stage. We are asking that President Biden withdraws Emanuel's nomination—and we're also calling on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to vote to oppose it.

This is very important because our loved ones are possibly going to get sick and not make it home to their families, wife’s and children by the prison spreading the virus and treating them as if they are not human.

This is important because people are dying from the out of control spreading of Covid-19 and there is no plan to recover set in place.

The Climate Justice Committee calls on Biden to turn back Trump's Executive Orders that exacerbate climate change and environmental damage to the world. We call on Biden to sign Executive Orders overturning the damage done by Trump. These are by no means the only Executive Orders that need to go, but this would be a good start for Biden to show the climate justice movement that he takes climate change seriously. To do so requires nothing more than the signing of his pen, which is all it took for Trump to enact them in the first place. We know that is a drop in the bucket for what needs to be done to fight climate change and environmental destruction, so we hope you join the Climate Justice Committee in demanding these Executive Orders are rolled back, and also for real and meaningful action to save our planet. If you would like to co-sponsor this, please do so here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qk0h4W7FWcu9H_HUFMCLVAaLQRDncWxCXbNpmxMOmyY/edit

For all rapes reported to police, only 34.5% are cleared by arrest, and even fewer actually lead to convictions. This is an alarming number given the fact that approximately 20% of women in the U.S. have experienced an attempted, or completed rape in her lifetime. According to aggregate data, for every 1,000 rapes, nearly 38.4% are reported to police, and only 7 result in a felony conviction. Given the disparity between the occurrence of rape, and the number of rape cases that result in conviction, it is apparent the system is inadequate at providing justice for victims. While the numbers are vague, experts estimate 200,000, or more rape kits are lying, unsubmitted in police departments all over the U.S. According to the Maryland Sexual Assault Evidency Policy and Funding Committee, there are 6,000 untested kits in Maryland. Not only does this impede the justice system’s ability to prosecute offenders, but it leaves victims tragically unvindicated. By these rape kits going untested, rapists remain free and justice is not sought out. Legislation will allow for offenders, especially serial rapists, to be arrested and convicted, giving survivors the justice they deserve. With this legislation in place, Maryland will be able to do our part in ending the backlog of rape kits. For too long, the voices of the raped and assaulted have been silenced by being relegated to the back of an evidence room.

Trump has made and can continue appointments to the courts and other executive actions until an eventual transfer of power, even if he should be found guilty later of sedition or other high crimes. In such circumstances, all of his actions Initiated after his crimes would be tainted by them and therefore must be reversed, even if they have been endorsed by other bodies, such as the Senate. If he assumed office or continued in office because of illegal activities on his part, especially regarding elections, the products of his subsequent time in office, as fruits of those activities, cannot be allowed to stand. Just as RICO laws call for forfeiture of gains obtained through organized crime, this action would call for forfeiture of political gains derived from illegal political activities.

There is NO need for assault rifles to ever be taken into our Capitol, let alone be brandished for all legislators to see causing some to wear bulletproof vests. Our democracy cannot be run by people whom are in fear. These weapons are designed to do one thing, kill humans. It’s time to put an end to this, and allow our legislators to do their job without the threat of terrorism.

My brother is an inmate with a life sentence. We would love to see him get a second chance at life. He has accomplished so much since he has been incarcerated.. We believe he could be a very productive member of society again if given the chance.

We, the people of Ulster County, are facing unprecedented economic challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic.The systems we have operated within have been catastrophically disrupted and, in the process, we’ve seen just how tragically broken they were. Returning to the pre-COVID version of “normal” is not an option. In our society, electricity and internet access are basic needs, especially with many working from and schooling from home. Individuals and families are suffering from the impacts of Coronavirus—lost income, added expenses from being home, and stress from a global pandemic. COVID has hurt small businesses in dire ways. Business has slowed due to life-saving safety measures and illness, which has caused small businesses all across Ulster County to close their doors. Particularly, utility costs are crushing small businesses, causing them to make the horrible decision between making payroll for Ulster County residents and keeping the lights on. Meanwhile, Spectrum and Central Hudson are shutting down people’s service for non-payment. For Spectrum, First-quarter revenues increased to $11.7 billion. Profits reached about $396 million and their CEO made 98 million in 2016 while we struggle. Central Hudson’s parent company Fortis had 2019 revenue of $8.8 billion and total assets of $57 billion as of March 31, 2020. In the first two months of the pandemic, community members rallied around their neighbors experiencing financial hardship, by supporting the Radio Kingston Community Fund and raising over $400,000 to provide emergency financial support. Of these donations, $107,000 went directly to Central Hudson & Spectrum to thwart shut-offs. The people of Kingston cannot allow corporations to profit off our pain. We demand a cancellation of all internet and electric charges for Kingston residents.

Burning our garbage is unhealthy, expensive, and unsustainable. So are landfills. False solutions, like pyrolysis or gasification (other ways to burn garbage), waste-to-fuel schemes (WTF), local landfills, or hauling our garbage out of state are not the answer. We support and will work hard with community leaders and residents to implement Zero Waste solutions for Connecticut.