The availability of public restrooms will create a significant change in the patterns of use of our park. While public restrooms are an amenity for those that need them, they also attract a well-known range of problems from substantially increased park usage and noise, graffiti, odors and cleanliness, loitering, potential drug use, and increases in nearby homeless encampments. There are many improvements needed in Carmel Knolls Park that are eligible for the millions of dollars of funds allocated for this purpose. We need to make sure these funds are spent wisely and where they will provide the most comprehensive community benefits for our neighborhood.

It only took one complaint and one week for a school in Miami-Dade County to restrict Amanda Gorman’s book—“The Hill We Climb”—and limit access for younger students. It was one book of several that an individual parent reported, citing that it was “not educational” and contained indirect hate speech. [1] Schools should not so swiftly censor literature based on the whims of individual parents. This is part of a sweeping trend across the country to ban and restrict books, often targeting authors and content from historically marginalized and underrepresented groups. And because of conservative laws being passed on the local and state level, it’s even easier in many places for a small but loud minority to challenge books—and win. In response to the incident, Amanda Gorman wrote: “The Hill We Climb is an inaugural poem for the world. Relocating it to older age group library shelves by its nature bars younger and equally deserving generations from accessing said moment in history.” [2] Amanda Gorman made history when she read “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration—the youngest inaugural poet to date. People of all ages deserve to have access to her work and see themselves not only in the context of that moment, but also in the possibilities of the future. They, too, can make history. We refuse to allow one parent’s opinion to limit our children's freedom to read, learn, and imagine. Join us in calling on the Department of Education and State Education Departments to add “The Hill We Climb” to every associated recommended reading list in the country and to reaffirm the values of equality and access espoused in the mission of the DOE. [3] 1. “1 complaint led a Florida school to restrict access to Amanda Gorman’s famous poem,” NPR, May 25, 2023 https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177877340/amanda-gorman-poem-restricted-miami-school 2. Amanda Gorman [@TheAmandaGorman], Tweet, May 24, 2023 https://twitter.com/TheAmandaGorman/status/1661590069982142465 3. "Overview and Mission Statement," U.S. Department of Education, Accessed June 20, 2023 https://www2.ed.gov/about/landing.jhtml Photo Source: Penguin Random House

Trader Joe's is a company that carefully cultivates a progressive reputation. But over the past few years, we have seen the company culture shift from a workplace with incredible pay, benefits, and atmosphere, to a company with increasing turnover, declining benefits, and stagnating wages. The pandemic put those changes into stark relief as “essential” workers everywhere were asked to risk their health in order to keep the economy going. These two factors—the company’s internal changes and the pandemic—made it clear that we needed to have a say in our workplace, and that a union was the only answer to that need. A union could also bring Trader Joe’s back into alignment with its own core values, the values that had made it a great place to work and shop in the first place. Even though we have won elections in four stores, Trader Joe’s continues to union bust and refuse to bargain in good faith. Recently, Trader Joe’s fired Steve Andrade, one of the crew members in Hadley, MA for completely frivolous reasons. In his termination paperwork, management claimed that a power tool belonged to Steve, and its presence in the store created a safety issue serious enough to warrant firing him. The catch? This tool didn’t even belong to Steve. In fact, the tool was at the store long before Steve started working in Hadley nine years ago. Since we won our first union election, we’ve heard from hundreds of crew members across the country eager to unionize their stores, and we are helping many of them organize right now. But instead of allowing the free and fair elections they promised their workers, or bargaining in good faith, Trader Joe’s has hired a union-busting law firm and is fighting us every step of the way. Trader Joe’s has fired union supporters, threatened and coerced workers, and continues to drag their feet at the bargaining table. We can only win when we stand together in solidarity. Can you take a moment to sign our petition to demand that Trader Joe’s stop union-busting and reinstate workers fired for organizing?

Israel Saldana and Michael Maldonado are two of many people who were either convicted when they were children, or who were given sentences way out of proportion to their crimes, or who are still in prison years after others with identical criminal histories have been released. They are two of the many who have grown and changed during their years in prison. Excessive sentences like theirs are part of the reason Wisconsin's prison racial disparities are, by many measures, worst in the nation.

It's our right It's our private property We should be able to have gardens and chickens to take care of our families

More than 350 executives, researchers, and engineers who work on artificial intelligence—including the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind the infamous ChatGPT—signed a statement declaring that, "Mitigating the risk of extinction from A.I. should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks, such as pandemics and nuclear war." The statement was drafted in such a way that a broad range of experts signed on to identify the problem, but the many potential solutions are up to Congress. We know that Big Tech companies, including Microsoft and Google, spend a lot of money—bankrolling politicians, funding lobbyists, generating propaganda, and hiring armies of lawyers—blatantly trying to weaken regulations or prevent them from being enacted in the first place. The dangers of AI being exploited for identity theft, privacy violations, and disinformation campaigns are concerning—and so are the risks of massive job losses, abuse by authoritarians, and the unknown limits of this technology's ability to evolve beyond humans' ability to implement safety protocols. The rapid pace at which AI is evolving requires appropriate action from Congress. We need safeguards now while there is still time to embrace innovative technology while protecting the public.

Safety of competitors at the start of the Texas Water Safari

Multiple reports this year alone make it clear that social media's impacts can be detrimental to the health and well- being of children. And, just recently, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned that social media can be a "profound risk" to youth. The harmful effects of social media are directly linked to the design of the products themselves—Big Tech makes a decision to create products that have addictive and dangerous features. A survey we did with YouGov found that half of American teenagers report losing sleep because they feel 'stuck' on social media, and more than one third say they do not get as much homework done as they want to because they get stuck on social media. Pew Research Center found that almost half of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 experienced cyberbullying, with teenage girls more likely face abuse. Pew's findings also point to a significant racial component for children experiencing online harms—seven-in-ten Black teens and 62% of Hispanic teens say online harassment and bullying are a major problem for people their age compared with 46% of white teens. Yet, with each passing moment, Big Tech uses its almost limitless capacity and resources to out-maneuver and out-lobby efforts to make digital environments safer. State legislators, inspired by concerned families nationwide, are fighting to pass rules which keep the benefits of social media without the harmful effects of Big Tech's toxic business model. Yet, with each passing moment, Big Tech uses its almost limitless capacity and resources to out-maneuver and out-lobby efforts to make digital environments safer—their business model leverages personal data for profit while people pay the cost. Many of these corporations hide behind their membership in a trade association called TechNet, which lobbies against legislation to protect children. While Apple, Etsy, Samsung, Salesforce, and others constantly promote privacy, safety and security—TechNet fights against those principles. Add your name to demand that Big Tech companies stand up for kids' safety online by withdrawing from TechNet and committing to designing products that are not addictive and harmful to families.

On Sunday May 28, I was involved in a three car accident on the intersection of New York State Route 23 and Five Mile Woods Road...Honestly one of the scariest days of my life. Approaching the intersection, a black BMW drove up next to me in the left lane and before I knew it, I was being completely ran off the road and basically thrown into the tree line. The BMW hit the driver side front of my car and pushed me right off the road. I took out a giant street sign and my car landed down the embankment and in the wood line. I am very luck that I didn't hit the guard cables, had that happened the accident would have been much worse. I honestly didn't know that there was a third vehicle in the crash untill after I was able to get out of my car. The third car that was involved was coming out of Five Mile Woods Road and going straight through the intersection. They did not have the right away but claimed they didn't see anyone coming. The BMW to the left of me hit the car crossing the intersection and then ran me off the road. Thankfully everyone involved in the accident was okay. I honestly feel that that intersection needs a traffic light. It would provide a more safer route when traveling in any direction within that intersection.

My family is among those caregiving families that have been heavily impacted by the loss of SNAP food benefits. My spouse, Jon, is profoundly disabled with ALS and several other serious medical conditions. He requires continual care which precludes any outside employment by myself. We have struggled to make ends meet solely on Jon’s monthly disability payment. In January, we were notified that our monthly SNAP benefit would be reduced from $516 to $13. This cut in benefits represents a 97.5% reduction in SNAP benefits and is nearly 30% of our monthly income! This severe benefit cut dramatically increases the risks to my ability to continue to care for Jon at home. To avoid Jon's forced return to institutionalized care, we have been forced to depend upon a GoFundMe campaign to replace our lost food benefits. While our story is deeply personal, it is also illustrative of the injury being inflicted upon the many families caring for disabled loved ones nationwide. (To learn more about this issue, our personal story, and our GoFundMe effort; please see the excellent recent video and print article that appeared on Scripps News via the following link: https://scrippsnews.com/stories/families-are-struggling-with-reduced-snap-benefits/ ) I have started this petition out of a deep conviction that no family already struggling under the strain of providing care to a seriously ill or injured loved one should ever have the additional worry about how to put food on the table! Please join me in telling President Biden to take immediate action to make this crucial change in SNAP benefit rules to to end this cruel food insecurity and support low-income disabled persons and their caregiving families. Thank you so very much for your support of this petition! (and please share it on your social media platforms.)

With this movement, we are being actively, methodically, and intentionally eradicated. We’re getting a front seat to how a society divides itself and turns against those that are different. The leaders of these movements are not just trying to eradicate the existence of transgender individuals; they are eradicating anything that does not support the continued dominance of what this country was founded on. This means it will not stop at transgender issues; it will continue to expand and spread and will redirect to the next segment of society that poses the next risk to their position. And while it might seem that the concurrent attacks on reproductive rights, religious freedom, books, African-American history, and science are disparate, we know the truth. They are coordinated and intentionally designed to whittle away our power. Let’s call it what it is: political warfare. Political violence. Now is the time for us to band together across differences across cultural or societal norms, or societal norms and stand in the gap for trans people, not only in this country but all of the rest of the world. Because America's power has implications for others. And the world is watching. We've got to unite urgently and show our PRIDE. This is not something the BLACK transgender community can fight without additional support. Even if people are not trans or a member of the LGBTQ+ community, they can relate to the experience of being hidden, unseen, and afraid. We need to unite around that commonality and build solidarity around our unity. We must speak out against these anti-trans bills and work to oppose them at every turn. We call on lawmakers at every level of government to reject these harmful and discriminatory measures and to instead support policies that promote equity, collaboration, reparations, and justice for the people these policies have always minimized. These bills, including those that target trans youth and seek to limit their access to healthcare and athletics, are being promoted by politicians who are using fear and misinformation to advance their own political agendas. We must hold these elected officials accountable for their attacks on our community, and we must work together to resist and oppose these regressive and harmful policies. We urge you to join us in taking action to protect the rights of BLACK transgender people and all members of the trans community by honoring these demands: 1. Commitment to the protection and safety of BLACK trans people 2. Increase access to gender-affirming healthcare 3. Autonomy for trans youth, adults, and their families 4. End legislative violence against trans people By signing this petition, you are standing up to the hateful rhetoric and harmful policies that seek to erase us and deny us our basic human rights. Together, we can make a difference and ensure that all people, regardless of gender identity, are treated with dignity, respect, and equality under the law. We are grateful for your support and advocacy on behalf of this critical issue.

My name is Ruth. I’m a single mother in New Jersey, and I am writing to ask for your support as Republicans in Congress try to slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly called food stamps, which is a lifeline for myself and my three children. A member survey by ParentsTogether Action found that 44% of parents can’t afford enough food for their families, and 37% of parents reported skipping meals so their kids could eat. More than half of those surveyed said that they now rely on food banks or similar services. It’s frustrating to hear Republicans say they’ll let the US default on our debt and stop paying bills unless Democrats agree to their budget cuts that will slash away at lifesaving programs, when I know corporations and billionaires are not paying their fair share. Rather than CUTTING essential benefits right now, Congress must strengthen SNAP (food stamps) benefits and stop the political attacks against this life-saving program. It’s unconscionable to cut funding and increase barriers to access, but Republican proposals would impose work requirements and time limits that would take away food assistance from millions of families —including some children and older workers. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out that “Justifications for work requirements rest on the false assumptions that people who receive benefits do not work and must be compelled to do so. These assumptions are rooted in stereotypes based on race, gender, disability status, and class. They ignore the realities of the low-paid labor market, the lack of child care and paid sick and family leave, how health and disability issues and the need to care for family members affect people’s lives, and ongoing labor market discrimination.” Food is necessary for survival. It shouldn’t be used as a political tool. Our families are counting on Congress to make sure no one is forced to go to bed hungry.