For the first time, there is legislation in Congress to ensure that no US tax dollars fund multiple human rights violations carried out by the Israeli government against Palestinians. We need you to take action today to ensure that your representative is on this bill. The Palestinian Children and Families Act (H.R. 2590), introduced by Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN), states that the U.S. will not fund the Israeli government's imprisonment and torture of Palestinian children; theft and destruction of Palestinian homes and property; or any further annexation of Palestinian land. This legislation couldn't come at a more critical moment. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed systemic injustices across the globe, intensifying the harms of state violence and discrimination - Israel is no exception. During the pandemic, the Israeli government has continued to imprison Palestinian children under a military court system, putting them in grave danger of contracting COVID and separating them from their families. Horrifyingly, at a time when we are all asked to stay at home, the Israeli government has actually increased the rate at which it is demolishing Palestinian homes. Now is the time: The U.S. must stop funding the Israeli government's human rights abuses.

Keep Cheyenne's students safe! Install a flashing, lighted, pedestrian crosswalk between East high school, Brimmer Park, and the City Bus stop. This stretch of roadway is extremely dangerous and students' lives are at risk in attempting to cross the road here. The location in question is just far enough from the Pershing Boulevard traffic light/cross walks where many motorists start to accelerate. Yesterday, I had to cross this section of road with 10 special education students from East high school, and I had a challenging time trying to get motorists to yield for us. As educators, we are teaching students to utilize city resources and how to navigate as young, independent adults. Both adult and student community members deserve safe and accessible access to and from this bus stop, East high school, and the city park. Tell Mayor Collins and Cheyenne City Council Members to officially support this proposal and commit to the prompt installation of a flashing light, pedestrian crosswalk as soon as possible. We have NO lives to spare and next year can be too late.

So many people don’t have access to sufficient internet which disproportionately effects poor people, people of color, people in rural areas. Students have been meeting at fast food restaurants to do homework and attend classes, in parking lots of libraries and town halls. Anyone who is without good internet access is at a major disadvantage for so many things like access to information, education, health care, government services, essential goods.

Police brutality against African Americans in the United States of America has gone beyond reproof. It is beyond time for there to be sensible legislation that affords African Americans the same rights and privileges that American citizenship offers other Americans. We have witnessed: Little to no repercussions for police officers’ blatant murder of African Americans; Perjury in court and/or to grand jury, where officers grandstand on their “fear” of African American citizens they are called upon and paid with taxpayer dollars to protect and serve; A lack of de-escalation techniques employed when interacting with African Americans; No repercussions for individuals who fraudulently call police on African Americans that lead to the harassment and, in most instances, murder of our beloved people. This is highly unacceptable and intolerable. We believe that, in every instance, life should be preserved, which is in accordance with our right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as dictated in the Declaration of Independence and our 14th Amendment right to “due process under the law.” In cases regarding African Americans, we are rarely afforded that constitutional right. We believe that the colors of our skin should not be weaponized against us and should not come with an automatic guilty verdict. The legal right to “equal protection of the laws” is also a right that is afforded to us under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. However, in cases regarding African Americans, we are rarely afforded that constitutional right.

First Class Mail continues to provide an affordable and secure method of communication for millions of Americans. The Delivering for America Plan diverts resources and equipment away from letter processing to prioritize package services. This betrays the mission of the Postal Service to be a vehicle for communication that binds the nation together chasing profits for the private companies that are proposed to handle mail in the expanded implementation of Surface Transfer Centers. Diverting mail outside the Postal network is already creating service delays and increasing the incidents of lost mail as the Postal Service no longer maintains custody of mail throughout the delivery process. Individuals, small businesses, and local governments rely on First Class Mail to exchange information and ideas, receive remittance payments, or issue legal notices. Allowing Postmaster General DeJoy to bull doze the implementation of these changes past the public will forever alter the network that has been built to provide the excellence that has become synonymous with First Class. Do not settle for adequate when the opportunity for excellence is still attainable. Demand more!

Child care facilities remain on the brink of closure! Please tell Colorado to give their child care facilities the funds Congress allocated for them. Please ask the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Child Care to provide better oversight of these funds. Please ask the General Accountability Office to investigate misappropriation of these public funds.

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.

Let's be frank. These days, everyone needs more places to play outside. The reality of the 2020-21 pandemic has shown us, as residents of Middletown, that our outdoor space could be better utilized. This rings particularly true for school-age kids who have outgrown the playground or don't play organized sports. Skateboarding is a great outlet for those kids. This will also have a positive and inclusive impact on our community. Skateparks are incredibly popular. They are used by skateboarders, rollerbladers, roller skaters, those in wheelchairs, scooter riders and stunt bikers. Visit any public skatepark and you will see an incredibly high use of public land per square foot. A skatepark will increase the use of our public, tax-funded park. It will also provide an outlet for the ever-growing sport of skateboarding and showcase Middletown as a place where the community comes together to support this great sport.

We have way too many people that have been given abusive sentences.

In 2017, the government of Michigan signed into law a number of exemptions regarding the disclosure of body camera recordings by public-records request. Unfortunately, the truth is that less than 0.1% of police body camera video files are ever reviewed. There is simply too much data for a human to automatically review. However, this data contains valuable insights that can be used to generate police performance metrics. The technology exists for these files to be scanned and analyzed to make reviews and reports an efficient and effective process. Wearing body cameras alone is not enough to instill trust in law enforcement transparency. The audio data needs to be analyzed through natural language processing that can identify the areas police departments need to improve to build community approval levels.

In February of 2020 the governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers, signed a law regulating police body cameras. The legislation did not require law enforcement agencies to use body cameras, rather it created regulations for the ones that do use them. The law requires departments to keep body cam footage for at least 120 days or longer if an investigation is ongoing. Unfortunately, the truth is that less than 0.1% of police body camera video files are ever reviewed. There is simply too much data for a human to automatically review. However, this data contains valuable insights that can be used to generate police performance metrics. The technology exists for these files to be scanned and analyzed to make reviews and reports an efficient and effective process. Wearing body cameras alone is not enough to instill trust in law enforcement transparency. The audio data needs to be analyzed through natural language processing that can identify the areas police departments need to improve to build community approval levels.

Body camera footage that is not classified as active or inactive criminal investigative data must be retained for at least 90 days according to Minnesota statutes. Unfortunately, the truth is that less than 0.1% of police body camera video files are ever reviewed. There is simply too much data for a human to automatically review. However, this data contains valuable insights that can be used to generate police performance metrics. The technology exists for these files to be scanned and analyzed to make reviews and reports an efficient and effective process. Wearing body cameras alone is not enough to instill trust in law enforcement transparency. The audio data needs to be analyzed through natural language processing that can identify the areas police departments need to improve to build community approval levels.