After George Floyd’s murder in 2020, there was a national cry to end racist policing. Though the national outrage has fizzled, police brutality remains far too common. In 2022, Orlando Taylor was killed by Springfield Police and Miguel Estrella was killed by Pittsfield Police, both during calls for a person in mental distress. Policing is not the solution to public safety. Advocates in Amherst have continued to call for defunding the Amherst Police Department. A promising, BIPOC-led envisioning of an alternative safety department has been implemented. However, the funding proposed is inadequate. The FY23 budget proposes only $621,520 in funding for CRESS, or $2,117,780 less than CSWG’s recommendation. There FY23 budget allocates $0 to a BIPOC cultural center, $407,690 less than CSWG’s recommendation. The FY23 budget allocates $500,000 to the youth empowerment center, above what was recommended— but it provides no clear plan as to what this money will support. The FY23 budget proposes $175,257 to the DEI office, $52,390 less than CSWG’s recommendation. These proposed programs will help create community safety in a responsive, anti-racist manner. They should be fully funded with money redirected from the police budget. The demand is still DEFUND THE POLICE.

I implore all Americans to stand up, be heard & do something to help better your life & the lives of all those around you! If we don’t speak up NOW, there will never be change… We have the power to change the world, right the wrongs, unlock the chains of injustice & demand a better quality of life! Change starts with you! Your voice matters! You CAN make a difference! Stand with me in pleading… no, DEMANDING more from our government! We demand more assistance to climb our way out of poverty! We demand our government to respect & hear the people! We demand a better quality of life for our children! And lastly, we demand action from our government! If change doesn’t happen NOW, I fear those people who feel frustrated & unheard will begin to revolt. We do NOT need a revolution, we need a resolution… When parents go hungry so their children do not, you know there is something inherently wrong with the system. When the people are scared to seek medical help because of the outrageously high costs, there is something inherently wrong with the system. When a parent has to choose between working just to pay daycare or staying home to raise their children and not being able to pay rent, there is something inherently wrong with the system. We are not asking for a handout, we are asking for a leg up! I implore you to take these words seriously. For if you don’t, the people may rise up to seek justice themselves. We will no longer stand by and go unheard and unseen. We will shout from the rooftops until change happens! I will stand up for what is right, even if I have to stand alone…

There is a serious shortage of affordable housing across Boston, especially in the Pondside and Jamaica Hills sections of JP, where the monastery is located. In 2021, the City of Boston committed to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, and now requires that developers analyze and account for the history of racial exclusion and segregation in any new housing development. The monastery offers an opportunity to realize fair housing principles and create housing for folks that have been historically excluded: working class, people of color, and/or people with accessibility needs. If the city allows Holland Development to demolish the monastery, they plan to develop 26 market-rate condominiums. Under the city and neighborhood inclusionary policies, we might achieve a few affordable units. However, if we can preserve the building and win a robust planning process, then there is room for more creative re-use and more affordable housing. The City of Boston and the Landmarks Commission must put the needs of the community ahead of developers. Many community members would like to see the building preserved for its historical and architectural associations with Jamaica Plain’s development, Boston’s religious history, the significance of this Poor Clare Monastery in the history of the Order in the United States, and its organizing and charitable work domestically and abroad. The parcel at 920 Centre Street is large - nearly three acres. The wider community should have a voice in the future of this prominent, large and unique parcel. In the process of responding to the owners’ demolition request, the Boston Landmarks Commission staff has also determined that the monastery building (built in 1932) itself has historical significance. The current structure and any new construction on this parcel of land must include substantial affordable housing, in line with the inclusionary zoning requirements adopted by the JP Neighborhood Council, to preserve the diversity and meet the needs of Jamaica Plain and Boston.

Health care is a human right. Republicans have been increasingly supporting radical positions on eliminating abortion to gain support across the nation, but this shouldn’t be an issue of red vs. blue—this is an issue of restricting access to health care for millions. Accessible and affordable health care is already limited in our country, and losing access to vital reproductive healthcare is just going to put more individuals and communities in danger. These bans impact marginalized communities the most, and we need public health officials to step in and take action to protect and expand access to abortion and broader reproductive health now. In 2021, the Department of Health and Human services took action and announced new resources to protect abortion patients and providers in Texas after the tragic passing of SB8. Unfortunately, at the same time, other states have been inspired by Texas’s limitations to abortion and by bans increasing across the country. Right-wing justices on the Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade, which is why it’s crucial that President Biden and HHS take action to prepare for the worst—and protect access to safe abortion for all. Sources: 1. "What’s Happening With Abortion Legislation in States Across the Country," The New York Times, April 14, 2022 https://www.nytimes.com/article/abortion-laws-us.html 2. "Minority women most affected if abortion is banned, limited," Associated Press, February 1, 2022 https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-business-health-race-and-ethnicity-3fff455cce7ef0d8694f5371f805ea18 3. "The negative health implications of restricting abortion access," Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, December 13, 2021 https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/abortion-restrictions-health-implications/ 4. "HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Announces Actions to Protect Patients and Providers in Response to Texas’ SB 8," U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, September 17, 2021 https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/09/17/hhs-secretary-xavier-becerra-announces-actions-protect-patients-and-providers-response-texas-sb.html 5. "Roe v. Wade's future is in doubt after historic arguments at Supreme Court," NPR, December 1, 2021 https://www.npr.org/2021/12/01/1060508566/roe-v-wade-arguments-abortion-supreme-court-case-mississippi-law

Right now is a time that calls for bold action. And President Biden can step up to protect abortion, too—starting by declaring a public health and national emergency around abortion and by hiring federal abortion providers and dispatching them across the country. All of us must come together now, in solidarity with everyone who seeks abortions, especially our siblings in the nearly two dozen states that have and will ban and further restrict their bodily autonomy and access to abortion. This will impact so many of us. This will harm and criminalize people who get abortions: women, trans people, and nonbinary people. And it will disproportionately impact Black people, Indigenous people, brown people, poor people, immigrants, disabled people, and young people who have historically been marginalized and faced with structural barriers, even when abortion was legal. That’s why, as a community, we have to stick together as we continue to fight for bodily autonomy and universal health care for all. Republicans, who have won the presidential popular vote only once in the last 34 years, have engaged in a concerted effort to pack the Supreme Court with right-wing extremist judges, who have stripped us of our rights over and over again. And it’s not just the Supreme Court. The GOP’s latest all-out attacks, from reproductive freedom, to bans on trans athletes, to bans on abortion at fertilization, to bans on gender-affirming care, are all about bodily autonomy–and are fundamentally connected. And Republicans have no intention of slowing down these attacks, so we have to lean into collectivism and fight back together. This is why we must demand that President Biden use all of his power by declaring a public health and national emergency around abortion and hiring federal abortion providers and dispatching them across the country. Now is the time to make sure that our elected officials receive our message loud and clear: We won’t go back.

We don’t have time to wait: abortion rights are under attack like never before, both federally and nationally. While Dems are in power, our elected officials in the Senate must swiftly abolish the filibuster—it’s an outdated parliamentary maneuver that Speaker Mitch McConnell and others have continued to abuse to halt any national progress in Congress.

It is important to guard our thriving community from harmful pyscological muniplation, extreme emotional abuse and cult like programing. Stand with me to rid social media of this toxic content creator to make room for more productive and thought provoking conversations in a more safe virtual enviorment. Thank You

The shocking news that a Texas woman was charged with murder for legally obtaining an abortion was a disturbing preview of what’s to come if Congress doesn’t stand up for our basic rights. Now Kentucky and Oklahoma have passed bills to ban abortion as the far-right majority on the Supreme Court is on the precipice of overturning Roe v. Wade. Congressional Democrats need to be doing more to fight back. One of the most effective steps they can take: add seats to the Supreme Court. It’s not just Roe that hangs in the balance: the far-right court is prepared to also hand down pro-business decisions on voting rights, affirmative action, and gun rights in the months to come. Congress can pass legislation to rebalance the Supreme Court now, before Republicans have the chance to secure a Congressional majority in the midterms. It’s constitutional, it’s happened before, and it’s the only way to stop the radical right takeover of our courts and our country!

As of April 17 2022 there have been over 120 mass shooting in the US in this calendar year alone. This number is only going to continue to rise if we do not make it harder for people to access these guns.

Dogs deemed by some as dangerous fill shelters in our state or get put to sleep by misguided local laws. We need to look at each dog individually, not by its Breed. Any breed can be bite if scared or abused. Any breed can be a wonderful part of your family! We need to punish negligent and irresponsible owners and those engaged in dog fighting not those who love and care for their dogs.

Nurses have gone above and beyond to keep the Stanford hospitals running through the pandemic and to maintain the world-class care that has built the hospitals’ reputations. In the face of a staffing crisis, unprecedented case loads and extremely high patient acuity, Nurses have continued to pour our hearts into helping our patients. Since January, we have put forward proposals in contract bargaining to address serious issues and create a sustainable workplace for Nurses at Stanford’s adult and children’s hospitals, but management just keeps saying no to many of our demands. Even after working with a federal mediator after our contracts expired on March 31, we were unable to reach a fair agreement. The hospitals have refused to acknowledge the understaffing that makes our work so hard. We are fighting to recruit more Nurses, reward the Nurses are working in the critical care areas, allow Nurses to take time to rest and recover, and to get meaningful mental health resources to Nurses who need them. When we could not get these basic commitments from the hospitals, more than 93 percent of eligible Nurses voted to authorize a strike. Now, the hospital executives are trying to use our health benefits as a weapon to break our resolve and prevent the strike. This decision is cruel and immoral. Health benefits should not be used against workers, and especially against the very health care professionals who have made Stanford a world-class health system. Please stand with Nurses and demand that the CEOs David Entwistle and Paul King immediately reverse this decision and pledge to maintain our benefits while we work to reach an agreement. Colleen Borges, pediatric oncology Nurse at Lucile Packard and CRONA president Kathy Stormberg, radiology Nurse at Stanford and CRONA vice president Eileen Pachkofsky, pediatric oncology Nurse at Lucile Packard and CRONA vice president

Elon Musk—Tesla CEO and as of January 2022, the richest man on Earth —made a $43 BILLION offer to buy Twitter. Why’s this terrifying, you ask? This move from Musk signals what many financial experts are calling a hostile takeover of Twitter, a company and platform that Musk is already owns 9% of already. Earlier this week, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced Musk would be joining the board, before saying that Musk had changed his mind and decided not to join the board. That decision left the door open for Musk to bid to own Twitter outright. Elon Musk isn’t fooling anyone, Twitter is one of the largest social media platforms on the planet. While Musk claims he’ll support “free speech,” we know most of the time that’s code for a free pass on racism, homophobia, transphobia and just blatant disinformation. The effort from the ultra-wealthy to take control of news outlets to craft their own narratives is not new (case in point: google Rupert Murdoch), but we find it ridiculous that during a deadly global pandemic, the rich just got richer. And now, Elon Musk—who paid $0 in income tax in 2007, despite his growing wealth—can now easily afford a $43B deal to take control of a platform we all enjoy. It’s time to fight back.