Atlanta. Boulder. Indianapolis. These have been just the high-profile mass shootings that grabbed national headlines over the last few weeks. In fact, the United States has averaged more than one mass shooting a day so far in 2021. And as the pandemic unfolded in 2020, gun violence rose dramatically with over 19,000 people killed in shootings and firearm-related incidents. Tragically, who is harmed by gun violence has often been determined by race, ethnicity, or gender. People of color -- and everyone -- deserve to be safe. While we mourn the recent shootings, we must also fight the explosive combination of guns, racism, misogyny, and white supremacy to reduce the likelihood of such tragedies recurring. The U.S. House has passed gun legislation to tighten background checks on gun sales, and now it’s up to the U.S. Senate to turn it into law. Tell the U.S. Senate to act against gun violence now and pass universal background checks.

The Cincinnati NAACP and many organizations adamantly oppose the advancement of House Bill-22 (Expansion of Obstruction of Justice) because it is an arbitrary law proposal that will give more power to law enforcement to selectively penalize citizens. This bill allows police to increase the penalty of Obstruction of Justice up to a Felony against citizens simply exercising their right to free speech. The expansion of Obstruction of Justice is not only unnecessary but counter-productive to ongoing efforts toward better police and community relations. The current law reads as follow: ORC. 2921.32 OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE states: “No person, without privilege to do so and with purpose to prevent, obstruct, or delay the performance by a public official of any authorized act within the public official’s official capacity, shall do any act that hampers or impede a public official in the performance of the public official’s lawful duties.” There is no evidence of an increase in citizens impeding and preventing officers from performing their official duties. The current law as it stands is sufficient and addresses all acts that prevent, obstruct, or delay the performance of a public official. Adding failure to follow a lawful order and diverting the attention of a law enforcement officer will only broaden the scope in which law enforcement can penalize Ohioans. It is also extremely punitive to charge concerned citizens with the same level offense the accused is being charged. This regressive measure will only create more low-level felons in an already exhausted correctional system. HB-22 will lend more opportunity for police abuse of power, leaving citizens vulnerable and their rights exploited. Legislators and law enforcement who believe in our free society should never support a bill like this that attempts to thwart and penalize law-abiding citizens who exercise their rights to observe and record interactions with police and the public. If citizens witness police misconduct and have reasonable objections, the answer is not to create laws to penalize those good Samaritans, the answer instead, should be, to seek laws that welcome accountability and discourage police misconduct. Similar to the concerned citizens who witness police misconduct that led to the murder of George Floyd, they were within their rights to record the incident as evidence. As taxpayers, it is our right to freely approve and disapprove of Police conduct. Our inherit freedoms should not be left to the mercy of an officer whose tolerance levels could be biased. If HB-22 is made into law, it would only lead to more abuse of power that is subjective and discriminatory. Law Enforcement Officers receive first class, taxpayer funded training that provides an abundance of skill sets on how to work under pressure. We should not have to lower the bar and include unnecessary measures to Obstruction of Justice for trained professionals. Lawmakers must stop using every opportunity to strip away the freedoms and rights of citizens just to further empower a government agency that already lacks meaningful measures of accountability. If HB-22 becomes law, it will have a negative impact on peaceable citizens that could potentially face severe criminal charges for exercising their basic rights provided and protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Again, we are asking you to join us in opposing this bill by signing this petition to show lawmakers that you do not support HB-22 and demand the members of the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee DO NOT ADVANCE THIS BILL out of their committee. Below are the hyper link email addresses to each member of the Ohio Statehouse Criminal Justice Committee. Please also send emails and feel free to use the points above for reason why the bill should not pass: EMAIL ADDRESSESS OF OHIO LEGISLATORS BELOW: CC: Jeff Lare District 77 R- email: [email protected] DJ Swearingen District 89 R- email: [email protected] Cindy Abrams District 29 R- email: [email protected] David Leland District 22 D- email: [email protected] Willis E Blackshear Jr District 39 D- email: [email protected] Sedrick Denson District 33 D- email: [email protected] Tania Galonksi District 35 D- email: [email protected] Adam C Miller District 17 D- email: [email protected] Phil Plummer District 40 R- email: [email protected] Sharon A Ray District 69 R- email: [email protected] Jean Schmidt District 65 R- email: [email protected] Bill Seitz District 30 R- email: [email protected] Andrea White District 41 R- email: [email protected]

No to Another Polluting Industry in the Mountain View Neighborhood! No to the New Mexico Terminal Services’ Asphalt Plant! ___________________________________________________________________ Please consider making a comment when you sign the petition. Comments may be used anonymously in social media, legal materials, promotional materials and any other manner to oppose industrial development in Mountain View If you would like to stay involved and get updates on this action and other issues of cumulative impact in the Mountain View Neighborhood please click here to sign-up for our contact list: http://bit.ly/mvcoalition ___________________________________________________________________ We, the residents of Mountain View and our allies and supporters, believe the New Mexico Terminal Services (NMTS) Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) batch plant would further negatively impact the health of community members because the air pollution permit allows NMTS to release significant amounts of air pollution into the Mountain View community, which is already host to a large number of toxic and hazardous industries. “The Environment is where we live.” ___________________________________________________________________ The Threat—Widespread destruction of the environment and our community On October 26, 2020, the City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department approved Air Quality Application Permit #3340—New Mexico Terminal Services, LLC—new construction for a 400 tph Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Plant, and a 133 tph Aggregate Railcar Unloading Terminal, located on a 61+ acre tract at 9615 Broadway Blvd. SE. The property is currently zoned Agricultural (A-1) "Agricultural Use" and is not zoned for "Industrial Use" (M-2). The Mountain View community is consistently inflicted with toxic and hazardous pollution from High Industrial Businesses, which includes: Emissions / fumes of carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), Sulfur Oxides (SOx), Total Suspended Particulate (TSP), Particulate Matter < 10 Microns (PM-10), Particulate Matter < 2.5 Microns (PM-2.5), and Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP). The entirety of the cumulative pollution problem is concerning in the Mountain View area. The Community Who is Threatened: Mountain View is a residential and agricultural community located between the Rio Grande and I-25 south of Rio Bravo in southeast Albuquerque. It has consistently been invaded by polluting industries through policies of the City of Albuquerque and the County of Bernalillo. Our community is largely Spanish-speaking, low-income, and working class. Mountain View has been defined as a vulnerable environmental justice community by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For several decades we have lived with the disproportionate burden of polluting industries compared to other more affluent neighborhoods. Mountain View is a predominantly “Hispanic” community of color. Many residents self-refer to themselves as Chicano or Mexicano. Community Concern: Our community is already disproportionately overburdened with polluting and toxic industries. We, the residents of Mountain View, and our supporters are concerned this NMTS hot mix asphalt batch plant may further negatively impact the health of our community members, because studies have shown that asphalt plants in general have significant health impacts. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) impact our health, and recent studies are finding many of these contribute to a growing pandemic of disease including Parkinson’s. We recognize that the continued, ongoing targeting of our low-income community of color with polluting industries by elected officials and regulatory agencies is a glaring example of environmental racism, and we will name it. Upcoming Hearing The ABQ / Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board is holding a dispositive hearing, likely in late summer this year, that may include opportunities for public comment. We expect that the hearing will be held over Zoom due to COVID-19 safety precautions. Attorneys from the New Mexico Environmental Law Center are representing the co-petitioners: Mountain View Neighborhood Association, Mountain View Community Action, and Friends of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge. More information about the hearing will be shared as it becomes available. What the Community is Asking For: We respectfully request the ABQ/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board to reverse the air permit that the Environmental Health Department issued for NMTS to build and operate a hot mix asphalt batch plant in Mountain View. We also want the City of Albuquerque to cease approving all permits for polluting industry in our already-overburdened neighborhood in Mountain View and to declare a moratorium on such permits. More information Contact: Nora Garcia, President of Mountain View Neighborhood Association, (505) 414-1621 Marla Painter, President, Mountain View Community Action, (505) 220-3969 Aryn LaBrake, Executive Director, Friends of Valle de Oro, (505) 750-3383 Photo by: Gabriela Campos

Breonna Taylor was fatally shot by police officers, while she was sleeping in her apartment. She was only 26. Today, none of the three officers who fired into her home have been charged in her death. Now, they are now seeking fame and profit over Breonna's name and memory. The book, which is titled “The Fight For Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy" is a brazen attempt to rehabilitate the image of Mattingly, who still has his job and has never served time. Breonna has already lost her life due to the actions of this officer. She will never be able to tell her story. Mattingly shouldn't either.

While privileged communities get to drive through tree-lined neighborhoods, underserved communities are left with thick polluted air and chain linked fences, this is climate injustice. Senate bill 5141 will be implementing a climate justice task force, this will make sure everyone is protected from the climate crisis. The task force provided will take into account the health issues that come with climate change, for example, lung issues from inhaling poor air quality. Reducing environmental health inequities will keep hundreds of people safe and taken care of. The environmental health disparities map "shows pollution measures such as diesel emissions and ozone, as well as proximity to hazardous waste sites" (Washington State Department of Health). Senate Bill 5141 would have government officials refer to the map more to keep polluted areas of Washington under control, as well as keeping underserved communities safe. We need to ensure this bill gets passed so that all communities are protected and accounted for.

Dear Emily Powell, You have addressed us, the Powell’s community, several times over the past year to offer insight into Powell’s health and challenges during the pandemic. We’ve appreciated those updates and your candor, as well as the acknowledgement that we, the community, play a role in the company’s success. We have responded to your letters with patience and online orders while the stores were closed, and our continued patronage and support now that they’ve begun to reopen. While the most recent community message came from the new Powell’s CEO, Patrick Bassett, we don’t yet know Mr. Bassett the way we’ve come to know you and your family over the years. We also know that because you are the owner of the company, Mr. Bassett's message carries your endorsement, so we would like to continue the conversation with you. Your workers — many of whom have devoted years, some decades, to Powell’s success — are what makes your stores special. Their friendly faces, depth of knowledge, and devotion to their work are what has kept us coming back for so many years. We were saddened by your announcement of mass layoffs at the beginning of the pandemic, but also heartened to learn that the contract between Powell’s and ILWU Local 5 would ensure your workers' rightful return to the workplace, in order of seniority, as jobs became available. We understood that it might take a while, but we trusted that on the other side of things, we would be able to walk into a Powell’s store, see a familiar face, and breathe a collective sigh of relief as things returned to some kind of normal. So you can imagine our dismay when we read the recent announcement and learned that many of those workers — who lost their jobs through no fault of their own — were no longer eligible to be recalled and would have to apply for their former jobs. That is unconscionable. We understand there’s some dispute over the language in the labor contract or what was agreed to in conversations between the company and the union at the onset of the pandemic. We want to be clear that this letter has nothing to do with either of those things. This is about what is kind and morally right. This is about going above and beyond whatever is minimally required by a labor contract or by law and showing compassion for the dedicated workers who have made Powell’s a success. This is also about what we, as a community, are willing to support, and frankly, we need you to do better. We, the members of the Powell’s community, ask that you immediately halt all external hiring and begin recalling your laid-off workers in order of seniority. It's the right thing to do, and we’re saddened by the fact that we even have to ask. Sincerely, The Powell’s Community

The time is now for our legislature to pass meaningful, common sense laws that will hold police accountable and make our families safer. The killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright were not an anomaly. Police brutality is a real issue that disproportionately impacts Black, Indigenous, people of color and low income people in Minnesota and across our nation. In Minnesota alone, there have been over 400 deaths from police brutality since 2000. The torture and killing of George Floyd in eight minutes and 46 seconds is perhaps one of the worst police brutality cases in our nation's history. This happened here, in our state, in our community. And the recent killing of Daunte Wright on the night of April 11 was another example of grotesque, unaccountable police violence. Daunte was shot dead just minutes after being pulled over for allegedly hanging air fresheners in his rearview mirror. In this moment as the entire nation and world watches Minnesota, we have an opportunity to lead the nation by passing pragmatic laws to promote safety, justice, transparency and accountability. Courageous Minnesotans are currently standing up for justice for all and peaceful protestors are demanding accountability and common-sense laws. Today, we are asking Minnesotans to demand Justice for George Floyd and all Stolen Lives by passing the following bills during this year's state legislative session. The bills would : End the Statute of Limitations for Lawsuits for Wrongful Deaths Caused by Police (HF 717, SF 2021) Strengthen Civilian Oversight (HF 640) End Police-Only Responses to Mental Health Crisis Calls (HF 1686, SF 1924) End Qualified Immunity (HF 1104, SF 580) Independent Investigatory and Prosecutory Body for Police Critical Incidents End Prosecution for Reporting Police Misconduct (HF 2201) End No Knock Warrants (HF 1762, SF 2139) Require Police to Carry Professional Liability Insurance (HF 440, SF 815) Require Access to Body Worn Camera Footage in Police Critical Incidents within 48 Hours (HF 1103, SF 807) A growing coalition of community groups including Communities United Against Police Brutality, Minnesota Disability Justice Network, Minnesota Justice Coalition, Racial Justice Network, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence and Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Minnesota demands police accountability and an end to police violence.

The US-backed Saudi-led coalition has been killing Yemenis for since its “intervention” 6 years ago. Recently, and out of desperation, the US-backed coalition escalated its tactics, implementing blockade on fuel entering the country. This effectively dismantles the supply chain in Yemen, leaving millions without food and medicine. It leaves hospitals and homes without power as fuel is required to power generators. This blockade is starving millions of Yemenis and the UN estimates 400,000 Yemeni children could die from starvation if the blockade is not lifted. Now a child dies every 75 seconds. Yemenis have been deprived of their basic human rights of water, food, electricity, and life at the hands of the US-funded onslaught. This is a preventable, man-made humanitarian crisis. We will not stand by the deaths of our families and people. President Biden and the United States must publicly condemn the blockade on Yemen & end all US support for the Saudi blockade.

There are a number of reasons why remote access to meetings should be preserved. First, it allows more people to attend meetings. This method has been necessary and is overdue - to remove it is discriminatory. There are those who cannot physically attend meetings for myriad reasons. Lack of transportation, caregiving, illness, age, etc. can all keep folks from in-person attendance. Second, following CDC guidelines in the meeting room means that attendance will be limited and, therefore, that fewer folks will be able to participate. To have meetings with only physical attendance and a limited number of attendees diminishes the public's ability to participate in decisions that involve them. Neptune had a hybrid meeting style in place. Third, NJ is still a highly at-risk state in terms of Covid infections. As of 9 April 20, cases were up 20% from a month ago. Monmouth County has the fourth-highest number of new cases. The Covid Tracker at the NY Times, updated on 10 April 21, states, "Monmouth County is at an extremely high risk of exposure to Covid-19." With these facts in mind, the reality is that there are those who will neither be able nor choose to participate because of health concerns. To deny the public remote access to meetings is exceedingly undemocratic and, at this time, medically unsafe.

We must all Stop Florida from becoming a citizen suppression state like what is happening in Georgia. Stand up for freedoms, stop voter suppression, and support citizen voices.

Gaetz has gone far to evade accountability for the things he’s done, so far that he sought a preemptive pardon for himself and other members of Congress for any crimes they committed, and though he didn’t get it, the investigation on him began under the Trump administration’s Department of Justice that was led by Bill Barr at the time, who abused his power by acting as Trump’s personal lawyer and covering up his many crimes. Gaetz’s predatory behavior is not new: While he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives, he showed other lawmakers nude photos of women that he claimed he slept with, he created a game to score “sexual conquests” that gave points for targets like interns, staffers, or other women colleagues, and he voted against a bill aimed at preventing people from sharing explicit photos of their ex-partners online. Gaetz, like his idol Trump, is a sexual predator. Not to mention that in 2020, Gaetz spewed baseless lies about the legitimacy of the election, which subsequently incited the storming of the Capitol by white supremacists, which he then called a false-flag operation by the left. Then, he and the GOP Treason Caucus refused to hold Trump accountable for obstruction of justice in the first impeachment trial, objected to certifying the 2020 election results, and even refused to hold Trump accountable for inciting a deadly insurrection in the second impeachment trial. Now, Rep. Gaetz is under federal investigation for sexual misconduct and sex trafficking a child. There is no room in Congress for a misogynistic sexual predator like him. That’s why we must take action to demand that Matt Gaetz resign from Congress, NOW!

After defending police officers who pepper-sprayed a 9-year-old girl, Rochester police union president Mike Mazzeo is now refusing to condemn officers who just attacked a mother and her toddler—including some of the same officers involved in pepper-spraying the 9-year-old. These are the latest incidents in a pattern of horrific police violence against Black people in Rochester, and Mazzeo has consistently worked to deflect accountability for police officers, excuse their conduct, and shift blame to city leaders. Mazzeo’s message to Rochester police officers is clear: use reckless violence against Rochester’s Black residents, and I will defend you, no matter the impact or consequences of your actions. In just a few months in Rochester, we can see how Mazzeo’s actions have excused police violence against Black people in the city: • In September, Mazzeo defended the officers who mocked, suffocated, and killed Daniel Prude, saying they did nothing wrong. • In January, Mazzeo defended the officers who abused and pepper sprayed a terrified, crying 9-year-old girl. • Just weeks later, Rochester officers viciously attack a mother and her girl after falsely accusing the mother of shoplifting—and Mazzeo has refused to condemn it, or push for any kind of accountability. If Mazzeo can excuse this kind of horrific police violence and remain the leader of the police union, it paves the way for Rochester police to continue committing acts of violence against Rochester residents, and makes achieving accountability for police and the enactment of necessary reforms nearly impossible. Mike Mazzeo has to go. Please join us in calling on Rochester’s Mayor, Chief of Police, City Council members, and Police Accountability Board to force Mazzeo’s departure, now.