I am the mother of a 14-year-old son who is nonverbal with autism. I cannot begin to tell you how important these services have been in helping my son progress towards being able to communicate with his family, friends, and community and manage his behaviors. We must speak on the behalf of these vulnerable children, and ensure they get the services they so greatly need. If these cuts are passed, more and more providers are going to close their doors and the burden will fall back on our public schools. These services are vital to ensuring these children get the help they need to gain skills that will help them become more independent by the time they reach adulthood. Without these services, what will become of them?

We demand no more tax havens for the wealthy. Make them pay their fair share of taxes.

SB0235 would allow state's attorneys to introduce evidence and testimony in a criminal trial regarding a defendant's history of sexual violence. This change to Maryland law would allow state's attorneys to be more effective in prosecuting serial sexual predators.

At the start of this year, Waterford Union High School elected to opt out of the state's lunch program requirements, which automatically meant that they would no longer receive state funding to help offset the cost of food. As a result, food options have been a lot more unhealthy and more expensive. Wait a minute, junk food for more money? What?!? A decent lunch with an entree and milk is now about $5 a lunch ($5*5days*4weeks=$100/month) when it used to be about $3.50 a lunch ($3.50*5days*4 weeks = $70/month). That is a rough 42.8℅ increase compared to what it was before. Also, the excess money accumulated is used to help profit the school and cover free and reduced lunches, which have now been reduced to a mere side salad, slice of pizza, or hamburger with a carton of milk. There is no longer a salad bar, which used to offer fruits and vegetables. Even though I will not go there next year, let's show Waterford that this isn't the desirable option for our wallets or for our children. Sign this petition!

Falling behind San Francisco and New York, Vermont should consider bringing in mandatory 12 week paid parental leave. With the Child Care shortage around our state, many child care facilities are asking parents to pay to hold spots until they're ready to go back to work. Now we have to take a cut in our pay, continue to pay our bills and pay for child care before we go back to work? Stop this nonsense and become the progressive state we know you are!

I have been in a manual wheelchair for more than twenty years due to a degenerative condition that has made it necessary to move to a powered wheelchair. After more than two years of fighting with the State of Arkansas' Medicaid program for authorization, I finally received a powered wheelchair this past Christmas Eve. It is Invacare's top of the line M 41 Pronto with "Sure-Step," it retails for six thousand dollars, and it is inadequate for navigating the real world. It has less than two inches of ground clearance and gets stuck three out of every four times trying to get over the 3/4" high threshold of my front door. It cannot make it over cracks in the sidewalk to take my trash from my apartment to the dumpster. When the hard plastic drive wheels are even just a little bit damp, they spin uselessly. It should have come with a membership in an auto club because it leaves me feeling as though I will need to call for a tow truck every time I leave my home in it. We disabled have legal rights that are being denied by Medicare and Medicaid and those programs need to be made to comply with the A.D.A.

An Open Letter to All Super-delegates, On behalf of America's voters, As a firm believer in the power and goodness of American democracy, especially when it is given free reign, unimpeded by the corrupting influences of corporate financing or backroom power-politics, we implore you to use your Super-delegate status to back, and declare for, Bernie Sanders, should he win the popular vote in any Democratic primary. As we now know, a number of elected Democratic officials have promised their support to Hillary Clinton regardless of, and in opposition to, their constituents’ wishes and those constituents’ majority votes for Sanders. These are officials elected by The People, and who now defy the People’s mandate, presumably reflecting unknown and unknowable backroom deals and DNC favors, and in clear violation of their oath to carry out The People’s Will. In light of emerging coverage of dubious financial collusion between the National DNC and many (33) states’ Democratic Party chapters, we ask, even respectfully demand, that you honor the will of America’s voters in this most important caucus and election process, so that true Democracy prevails. Please continue to stand with the American voter, and we will continue to stand with you. Sincerely – America's Voters

Spanish Fork does not need another Walmart, even a Neighborhood Market, at 2550 East and US Highway 6, Spanish Fork, UT, This is a duplication of services that is within 3 miles of itself. This is unnecessary, and it shows poor judgment on Walmart's part to think that after closing more than 100 Walmarts around the country in January 2016, that Spanish Fork would allow them to expand further.

On March 1st, despite overloaded caucus locations in counties with strong support for Bernie Sanders, Bernie recorded a 58% victory over Hillary. Yet, after adding in the "super" delegates from Colorado, it was a split decision. This is not the way democracy is supposed to work. Leaders should listen to their constituents. We are watching.

Cuz i wanna get big on youtube. thats why. and i dont know any other way to get it

For years, the Koch brothers’ corporate and political network has been harmful to Pennsylvania. Their billionaire egos are keeping working people from seeing higher wages. Their big-money influence made for a serious budget crisis. The last thing Pennsylvania needs is two out-of-touch billionaires who hurt the ability of working people to get ahead.

We are writing you today to request your help to pass a resolution that would ban the use of single use plastic bags in Keene, NH. Plastic bags are an unnecessary environmental hazard since many eco-friendly options exist like canvas shopping bags. As Greenpeace has stated: “Every year, 15 billion pounds of plastic are produced in the U.S., but only 1 billion are recycled. At a time where many people are trying to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we are collectively using about 12 million barrels of oil to produce the plastic bags that are used each year. Many of these bags end up on the streets and sidewalks or caught in tree branches. Others wind up in rivers and streams, where they are washed out to sea. Once these bags end up in the oceans, they join other types of plastic trash from around the world and are often swept up in currents to make its way to enormous whirling eddies of trash. The largest, near Hawaii, is more than a thousand miles across and contains more plastic than plankton. Plastic bags and other bits of floating debris are mistaken for food by seabirds, turtles, and other marine life. Up to 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles die each year as a result of plastic debris.” We can break ourselves of the plastic bag habit. Some governments and retailers have begun taking steps to phase out plastic bags. San Francisco banned them in 2007, and several countries have either banned or taxed the use of plastic bags. Just recently, Cambridge, Massachusetts passed a ban on plastic bags. We hope that Keene can be another example of a community that shows environmental responsibility. I encourage you to take a stand and add our city to the growing list of cities and towns that are banning plastic bags.