An Open Letter to the Members of the Board of Education for the Chappaqua Central School District, We are the parents, relatives, and friends of children with dyslexia who attend school in Chappaqua. These children deserve the same access to all that the Chappaqua Central School District has to offer. However, many of these children aren’t provided with evidence-based instruction. The International Dyslexia Association and National Institutes of Child Health & Human Development define dyslexia as a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition along with poor spelling and decoding abilities. According to the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity, one in five people has dyslexia. It is the most common learning disability crossing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines. Chappaqua Schools have historically been at the forefront of educational advancement. We call upon the Board to continue to honor this commitment and extend its proactive tradition by specifically addressing the needs of children with dyslexia. We respectfully ask the Board to require schools under its control to: 1. Accurately identify students with dyslexia, a reading disorder, not a reading delay; 2. Use the word dyslexia or reading disorder so that evidence-based instruction and intervention can be provided; 3. Provide a written plan of action specifying evidence-based intervention, frequency, and measurable objectives for all students with dyslexia; and 4. Train at least one reading specialist and one special educator in each of the schools in an Orton Gillingham program (for e.g. PAF - preventing academic failure). These modifications require minimal funding. Moreover, since many children with dyslexia receive services, the modifications ensure effective use of the funds already allocated. We look forward to working together so that children with dyslexia thrive in the Chappaqua schools. Signed,

The Environmental Protection Agency spent six years and millions of taxpayer dollars on a study of fracking's impacts on drinking water -- one that relied on voluntary information from the oil and gas industry. Unsurprisingly, the study was biased. When the study’s findings were released, their pro-industry spin implied that fracking was safe — which it isn’t. Even the EPA's own limited data showed evidence of drinking water contaminated by drilling and fracking. Now the EPA's review panel has reviewed the study and called for changes to the report and its misleading top-line finding. Tell EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy that it's time the EPA stood with the American people and the science, not polluting corporations.

Mosquito season is arriving, and the Center for Disease Control just warned that there's an urgent threat of a Zika outbreak in the United States. How did Congress respond? By taking a two-week vacation—in spite of Democrats' push to stay on and pass an emergency bill. Republicans have been insisting that funds to fight Zika come out of the money already set aside to fight Ebola. That's madness. We shouldn't have to choose between Ebola and Zika—it's our government's job to protect us from both. Please sign and share this petition to urge members of Congress to get their act together and protect the public!

This petition is to raise awareness to the DNC and Clinton campaign to draft Bernie Sanders as Hillary's Vice Presidential running candidate. The party needs to 'feel the Bern' and unite party centrists as well as more progressive elements. Consider, Hillary and Bernie do represent the entire spectrum of the DNC. We believe this is a responsible decision, and will be greatly disappointed with both the DNC and the Clinton campaign if this obvious choice to beat Trump is not adopted.

Donald Trump should release his tax returns because it is the right thing to do. If he has nothing to hide then release. The American people need transparency and Donald Trump is not above the law and American values. Sen. John McCain released two years when he ran for office in 2008, but his wife Cindy, who files separately, released partial returns. President Barack Obama has released 12 years of tax returns. There is a bill being proposed. The bill, called the Presidential Tax Transparency Act, would require a presidential candidate to release the most recent three years of tax returns to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) within 15 days of becoming the nominee at the party convention. If the candidate refuses to comply, the Treasury Secretary would provide the tax returns directly to the FEC for public release.

Governor Paul LePage has gone against the voters of Maine and our ELECTED Attorney General once again in suing the federal govt. for protecting the civil rights of LGBT persons. Please sign this petition to ask the Maine state government to take action against the Bully Governor!

Imagine heading to the polls and seeing machines that are malfunctioning or power outages at your polling place. You wait for an hour, but have to leave to go to work or pick up your children. It might be difficult for you to get back to the polls before 7:30 p.m. Normally, officials can extend polling hours when equipment malfunctions, inclement weather, or other problems prevent folks from being able to vote. But a bill on its way to Ohio Gov. Kasich’s desk would make that much harder by forcing an individual to foot the cost of a bond (and maybe the whole bill) to keep the polls open. Even worse, the bill would leave it up to a judge to decide which petitioners have to front tens of thousands of dollars to cover overtime pay for every poll worker in the county and which ones don't. A voter can petition for extended hours without paying anything if they are "indigent" but in a case in which a voter claims inability to pay, they are the only one who gets to vote. The polls are closed to all other voters even though they faced the same problem. Last November more than 83% of polling locations in Hamilton County reported having problems with new election equipment and the polls were kept open longer [1]. In March, a massive car wreck prevented thousands of voters from making it to the polls in the normal time, so Hamilton County extended the closing time. Under the new law, this could have cost an individual voter upwards of $30,000 [2]. Tell Governor Kasich: The right to vote shouldn't carry a price tag. Veto SB 296 and stop this attack on voters. [1] http://www.wcpo.com/news/political/elections-local/hamilton-county-board-of-elections-report-promises-fixes-after-83-of-poll-sites-report-problems [2]http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/05/26/3781780/ohio-voting-cash-bond/

Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum is circulating a letter to her House colleagues on protecting Palestinian children being held in military detention. [1] Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings and Illinois Democrat Luis Gutierrez are now in a position of unique influence: they've been named to the Democratic Platform committee. [2] If we can get Reps. Cummings and Gutierrez to sign the McCollum letter, that's two more signers on the letter, but it's also two more members of the Platform Committee who've signed up for the idea that the U.S. should do more to help protect Palestinian kids in military detention. That will improve the prospects for getting strong language on respect for the rights of Palestinian children in the Democratic platform. Urge Rep. Cummings and Rep. Gutierrez to support the McCollum letter by signing our petition. References: 1. http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/protect-children-in-military?r_by=1135580 2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sanders-scores-platform-concessions-from-democratic-national-committee/2016/05/23/e9ee8330-20fc-11e6-aa84-42391ba52c91_story.html

Unlike the pundits and media spokespeople who constantly refer to a "presumptive" Democratic candidate for the General Election, many California voters are apparently of a different opinion, evidenced by the recent dramatic surge in polls for Bernie Sanders. The near virtual tie between Sanders/Clinton may be reflective of Hillary Clinton's decreased favorablity ratings compared to Donald Trump in national polls, and raise the legitimate question among California voters as to who is the strongest candidate to beat Trump in the Presidential Election.

We now know scientifically the importance of the role mountain lions play in the health of the ecosystem. The death of our native wildlife should not be an ad permitted to be posted as an auction.

I was dragged at of my waterfront home at gunpoint by the Blue Gang and forced into Mental Home against my will for 2 days while my neighbors assisted Mark Laslow, his father & partner in stealing my home. I had resided peacefully at this address for nearly 25 years and am US Veteran that served Honorably in the US ARMY. This unacceptable behavior from anyone including Governor Rick Scott and therefore request his immediate impeachment for his role in Insurance & Foreclosure Fraud in my particular home.

We have a rare opportunity to make a revolutionary reform to the primary process. During each of the conventions in July, the Party Chairs relinquish their power to the thousands of delegates selected in the primaries. Those delegates, many of them regular folks like us, have the power to change the rules for all future Presidential Primaries. And, over the last 100 years, they have done so multiple times.