Investing in education and mentorship is a proven strategy to address the root causes of juvenile delinquency, fostering a positive environment that can break the cycle of incarceration.

Hello, we are middle school girls who are doing a project for 7th grade. We have noticed that there are no menstrual products or sanitary bins in the ferry bathrooms. You can't even buy them in the galley. We thought that this would be a perfect topic to stand up for what we think is right and fair. These products are only available if you ask a crew member. You already have to pay for the period products, and now you have to go up to a stranger and ask them for something that you might not feel comfortable asking for. This can lead to embarrassment, and can also cause people who have periods to not feel supported by their community. This makes us question our equality. The ferry provides all the basic bathroom necessities for people who don't menstruate. But they omit some of the basic bathroom necessities for people who do menstruate. When we reached out to the ferry customer service they said that they removed the period product dispensers due to vandalism. When basic things like toilet paper, soap dispensers, and paper towel machines get vandalized, the ferry management accepts the cost of vandalism, puts them back out, and restocks them. On the other hand, when period products get vandalized, the ferry management uses vandalism as an acceptable reason to take them down and get rid of them. The lack of period products in the bathrooms is a lack of respect and privacy. This is an unequal level of service based on gender. If you want to support getting period products and sanitary bins in the ferry bathrooms, please sign our petition. Thank you for reading. :)

No one should have to bury their loved ones because of someone else’s lack of concern.

President Biden has the power to fire Trump-appointed head of the U.S. Postal Service Louis DeJoy, but he still hasn’t done it. Since being put in his role by Trump, DeJoy has been on a crusade to privatize the USPS, slash worker hours and pay, slow down mail delivery, and raise the costs for consumers. So why hasn’t he been fired yet? Sign the petition: President Biden must act and fire Trump crony Louis DeJoy from the USPS. President Biden can fire DeJoy by appointing two new people to the Postal Board of Governors who are committed to a strong USPS, worker safety, effective mail delivery, and firing Trump’s Postmaster General. 1. DeJoy’s tenure has been a disaster for USPS workers. Trump appointed DeJoy in 2018 to oversee privatization of the postal service. Since then, DeJoy has cut postal worker staffing by over 30 million hours just this year, and dramatically reduced wages for two thirds of rural mail carriers. 2. Overworked, underpaid carriers are currently working through record-breaking heat waves, often in trucks that lack air conditioning. Multiple USPS workers have died in the past two years from heat related illness, including one in Texas this summer. 3. Mail prices have gone up, and delivery has slowed down. Service cuts have been felt especially hard in rural and Indigenous communities, where broadband is scarce and for-profit delivery companies often don't provide service. 4. DeJoy has plans to keep cutting the USPS, and to make life more miserable for workers. President Biden must nominate Postal Board of Governors candidates who will fire DeJoy for his failed leadership, and advocate strongly for the expansion of USPS services already authorized by Congress. Add your name: Urge President Biden to fire Trump-appointee Louis DeJoy and save the USPS! Sources: Government Executive, “USPS continues to lose more money than expected,” August 9, 2023. ABC, “Family, friends mourn loss of Dallas USPS mail carrier who died on this route,” July 1, 2023. Vox, “If the US Postal Service fails, rural America will suffer the most,” April 16, 2020. Truthout, “DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan Could Gut USPS. He Doesn’t Want You to Know the Details,” August 7, 2023.

For many parents, making ends meet each month is already a tremendous challenge. The end of crucial pandemic relief has resulted in a cascade of difficulties, including rising grocery and gas prices, the resumption of student loan payments, and unexpected Medicaid disenrollments. Losing access to affordable and reliable childcare is a burden too heavy to bear. We cannot afford to let our childcare system collapse. It's not just about providing a safe space for our children; it's about ensuring the well-being of families and our economy. Sign the petition to protect our children's future, support working parents, and strengthen our communities. Congress, the time to act is now.

This is very concerning for many reasons. First and foremost the center serves breakfast and lunch is all day schooling. If a child doesn't eat the first option "breakfast" can be alternated with eating at home. However, the lunch that is provided, although healthy option may not be appealing to some children. So, if that child doesn't eat any of the lunch provided they now go without eating until the child returns home. Some of the concern would be that if the child doesn't eat many issues can arise from behavioral to physical. It also raises concern that children may not have any meals after school (due to the rise in poverty) so, this may just be the only meals they get to have. It is also concerning that a child that is on the spectrum, will have sensory aversions. A lot of these atypical children will resist "new" foods and will not try anything "new", some will have postural issues as well as anxiety and meltdowns because of these "new" foods being presented. For an example my daughter is 4 years old, she attends the Luzerne County Head Start program, they do provide breakfast and lunch. Breakfast usually consists of a grain, fruit and dairy. Lunch consists of protein, starch, vegetable, grain and dairy. Now, my the problem with that is these meals are something that you would see in a nursing home not in a child's school. In explaining what I mean, Breakfast on Sept 13th will consist of mini bagel, pineapple tidbits, grape jelly and 6oz 1% milk. Lunch will consist of Beef Pot Pie (1 cup) carrot slices (1/4 cup) applesauce (1/4 cup) biscuits and 6oz 1% milk. My daughter will not foods that touch. So, beef pot pie is definitely out (I don't believe that any child will eat this) with carrot slices (try to visualize 1/4 cup- I will say maybe if they are lucky it might be 5 slices)my daughter won't even look at them, next up is applesauce (once again visualize 1/4 cup-I will say maybe 3/4 spoonful) my daughter will eat this. Biscuits now this is common with kiddos however someone who has aversion will not touch it if it the wrong texture. Lastly is 6 oz 1% milk. So, in seeing this menu my daughter will have eaten the applesauce also drank milk at breakfast and lunch. Do you see the problem being at school for almost 6 hours? There should be an alternate. This can be done in still following the my plate. A breakfast alternate can be something as simple as blueberry wheat pancake, sugar free syrup, yogurt and milk. An alternate lunch could be a peanut butter (alternate to keep it nut free) and jelly sandwich on wheat bread, carrot/green beans/corn, cheese sticks and milk. There can also be an alternate of potato and cheese pierogi, carrot sticks, yogurt and Milk. Even cauliflower pizza is a good option. They just need to have an alternate option for our younger children so they are not going without eating.

The right-wing Republicans driving the agenda of the House of Representatives are threatening to shut down the government. This means that essential services—from making sure our drinking water is clean to keeping our national parks open to ensuring Social Security checks go out on time—could be in jeopardy. There have been federal shutdowns in the past. They hurt the economy, they punish federal workers, and they take a toll on Americans across the country. Why would the so-called Freedom Caucus and the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene want this? To push their radical-right agenda with a wish list of demands they know there's no legislative mandate or popular support for. Their demands range from making our immigration system more abusive to stopping the government from holding Trump accountable for his attacks on our democracy to voting on an absurd impeachment of President Biden. Their goal is to prevent President Biden from being able to govern—and to demonstrate that they don't think the federal government should function. We know better. And we know how many services and programs we rely on. That's why we're asking all members of Congress to say no to a politicized, partisan, reckless agenda to shut down the government. Credit: CNS/Reuters

We are seeking signatures in hopes to getting Kojo released 49 years has been long enough and a lesson has been learned.

https://ruskcounty.org/supervisors https://youtu.be/9MZ3Lk1Hz5Q (Watch from about 9 minutes to 24:15) https://fb.watch/mkC5U7xVz2/?mibextid=Nif5oz

The city of Yonkers has a rich musical history with many talented musicians, producers, and industry professionals having called this city their home. The Yonkers Music Hall of Fame would be an excellent way to celebrate the achievements of these individuals and honor their contributions to the community. Additionally, creating a Yonkers Music Hall of Fame and Earl "D.M.X." Simmons Performing Arts Center would be a way to showcase the city's unique culture and heritage, and it would be a fantastic tourist attraction that would draw visitors from all over the country. It would also provide opportunities for future generations to appreciate and learn about music in Yonkers. As a resident of Yonkers, you can play a significant role in making this project a success by joining the campaign to create the Yonkers Music Hall of Fame, and and Earl "D.M.X." Simmons Performing Arts Center support will be instrumental in creating a space that honors the city's illustrious musical heritage and ensures that it is accessible to all. By joining the campaign and signing the petition, you are showing your commitment to preserving Yonkers' cultural identity and helping to make it an even better place to live, work, and visit.

Under the fairness doctrine, any news organization was required to provide content on political issues from both parties (or if there was a third party, their viewpoint as well). If you are a Gen Xer, you remember the show Point, Counterpoint on PBS. Instead of making a blanket statement or series of statements on a buzzword issue, evidence was required to back your position, and more importantly, all news organizations were required to allow the opposing viewpoint an equal amount of time - hence the word "fairness" - on their news segment. The Fairness Doctrine also required that news media report errors in their reporting, and to provide corrections to anything that was potentially misleading whether in print or on the air. The Fairness Doctrine was enacted shortly after WWII and it was designed to combat three things. The prevalence of "yellow journalism" where papers would print wild and crazy stories only to incite emotions off of half truths, or frankly just falsehoods with the altruistic goal of simply selling more importantly sell newspapers. These newspapers were printed on cheap paper, that yellowed, which is where we get the term "yellow journalism". The second was to combat the monopoly newly formed television and radio networks had on the news, and their potential to abuse that monopoly to skew information that was provided to the masses to a narrative that the media companies wanted to present to the masses. This law was designed to ensure the media could not use their power to persuade their audience to behave the way they wanted. The third was that in the wake of WWII, we realized the power of news media when we looked at what happened to the German people prior to and during WWII. The Germans were nationalized by Hitler’s media machine that spewed hate, lies and propaganda that allowed the Third Reich to exist and thrive; the people of Germany, because of the propaganda allowed the atrocities of the Third Reich to happen. We passed the Fairness Doctrine to ensure that the news media in this country would not be able to do the same to our people. We wanted our people to make informed decisions, not decisions based upon emotion, or fear about issues that were insignificant, or easily rebuked. The Fairness Doctrine was repealed by President Reagan, and the once mundane news networks became exciting. The first household name that benefited from the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine was a man named Rush Limbaugh. Using the removal of this law, he was able to present news, and information in a one-sided and biased format, without providing information about why his viewpoint may be biased, or even completely incorrect. He used this to his advantage and amassed a massive following and a fortune spreading his one-sided viewpoints. Some of his stories were credible, others were completely misleading. I use Limbaugh only because he was a household name. Both parties benefited from the repeal of this legislation. Likewise, even though Reagan's administration repealed the Fairness Doctrine, it was not party based, and both parties benefited from this law's repeal, as they could use the media to push their own agendas. Think about watching Fox News for a day and then watching MSBNC. They push stories and commentary that is one sided, a lot of which would completely fall apart if they had to present a counterpoint. The media companies, and this is perhaps the real reason the Fairness Doctrine was repealed wanted this as well. They could sell fear on stories and issues that again sounded very scary when you presented one side, but when the other side was presented, the story would fall flat. They could sensationalize the news, and well, make more money. Reagan’s repeal of the Fairness Doctrine likely had more to do with his former acting career and his Hollywood influence more than anything to do with political parties. The Fairness Doctrine prevented misinformation from being spread by actual news organizations. It prevented the spread of nationalistic ideology, and more importantly it required that the news media accurately report on stories that they covered, present facts that were verifiable, and provide an opportunity to discuss an alternative viewpoint. We need to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine to hold our news media accountable. This will stop sensationalizing the news and give the common voter in this country access to honest, reliable information.

The Green New Deal for Cities would provide local governments the funding to create good-paying, union jobs repairing their infrastructure, improving water quality, reducing air pollution, cleaning up our nation's parks, creating new green spaces We need to give our local communities the funding and support to act to prevent even further environmental collapse. The Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act is a great start, but the scale of the the climate crisis and the threats that it poses to the health, safety, and livelihoods of our communities demand that we go further to rapidly de-transition from fossil fuels to a green economy. Source for image: Growing Together by James McInvale (left), Breathing New Life Into America by Caitlin Alexander (center), The Green New Deal by Jordan Johnson (right). From the Green New Deal poster series by Creative Action Network.