Sound Transit's Link Light Rail has recently expanded to include service to Capitol Hill and UW. While this is an excellent addition, the last service both to and from these areas is before 1AM. Most bars close at 2AM, leaving riders to take a taxi or rideshare back, so instead some people choose to drive - and then drive home drunk. Expanding service until 2:30AM on Fridays/Saturdays and 1:30AM on other days would not only help decrease drunk driving but likely be cost effective given the high demand of Seattle's excellent bars, which are now served by the new stations. This petition is to request that the Sound Transit Board of Directors expand operating hours for the good of public safety and service to our community.

Despite Donald Trump's sexist, racist comments, Amazon is promoting and profiting from him and his brand. The online behemoth sells Trump's line of menswear--even though companies like Macy's bailed on Trump's brand of hate last year. Trump is inciting violence at his rallies and spewing vitriol that white supremacists like David Duke love. So why is Amazon continuing to support the Trump empire? Many of us use Amazon, and the company has responded to our pressure before over the selling of sexist products. It needs to follow suit when it comes to Trump products. Will you add your name now?

Students are being forced to take tests that don't accurately represent their abilities, and they aren't able to show their abilities in real life situations. I have been made and am being made to take these tests that don't show how capable I am to learn and apply my abilities to real life situations.

Because there is no other job in the world where you can refuse to perform the required duties and still be paid. Why then should the Senate receive their salary for doing nothing?

Before streaming obliterated CD sales, musicians could work hard and potentially sell CDs to maintain a modest career using CD Baby or Itunes. Now, Spotify and the major labels, as well as Apple Music, have destroyed the impetus to compensate musicians and the respect for the musician as the creator of works of art is eroding. Many accept that Music creation should be seen as a hobby. As professional musicians-We cannot accept this view of Music and Art creation. We want to be compensated fairly for our music! .10 per play adds up to $15 if each song on a CD is streamed 10x. Valuation of music at this rate encourages people to purchase a CD. This gives sustenance to the actual creator of the music! Streaming tends to devalue an entire industry by stripping musicians of profits and creating tech savvy billionaires by passing unfair copyright and usage laws. #wealththroughmusic seeks to keep musicians in the middle class! Streaming creates corporate piracy of our entire life source.

The US and California Constitutions clearly prohibit the UC Regents from restricting campus speech critical of the Israeli Government. The LA Times recently exposed the folly of censoring political speech under the guise of a tolerance policy. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-uc-intolerance-20160316-story.html

Yefri Sorto-Hernandez and Pedro Salmeron were minors when in 2014 they braved the perilous journey to the United States, fleeing gang violence in El Salvador. Several days before coming here, Pedro’s cousin was brutally executed by gang members, because he would not join. In order to escape this fate, Pedro fled to the United States to be with his family. Scared that their son may face this same reality, Yefri’s parents brought him to the United States. On January 26th, on his way to work, Pedro was dragged out of his father’s truck and detained by immigration officials. Pedro is a good person with no criminal record. According to his family, he is a computer genius who dreams of one day being an engineer. On January 27th, Yefri was apprehended by immigration officials at the bus stop on the way to school. It was seven hours later that his parents got a call from a federal agent saying their son had been arrested and was being held for deportation. Yefri is a very studious young man with high marks in school. According to his mother, he is quiet, humble, and loved by many at his school. Both boys should be bestowed refugee status and allowed to stay with their families in the United States. 
The two teens are awaiting their fate in the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA, a place that is harsh. According to Pedro, the guards have threatened to attack him several times. On several occasions, immigration officials have attempted to covertly expedite their deportations. Like many of the over 100,000 families that arrived here in 2014, these young men did not have adequate legal representation when they applied for refugee status. Now they are facing deportation. If sent back to El Salvador, both teens face the very real possibility of death at the hands of gangs.

2015 Legislation authored by Sen. Fred Mills, SCR 19 passed a motion to make a single recommendation to the Louisiana Legislature that there is a CLEAR and obvious BENEFIT to removing the current restrictions tied to accessing a physical therapist's services by ALLOWING DIRECT PATIENT ACCESS TO A PHYSICAL THERAPIST'S SERVICES WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS. Unrestricted access to physical therapy treatment is safe, allows for patient self-referral, patient choice and is cost-effective for the patient and Louisiana. The citizens of Louisiana deserve the right to choose their provider and have easier access to physical therapy treatment.

This petition is designed in order to make an attempt to not have juveniles sentenced to harsh prison sentences. Veronica Bravo is a prime example of a minor being sentenced as an adult, perhaps even receiving a more harsh punishment than some adults. Not only was it a 21-year sentence for a 16-year-old girl, but also of her being violated of some of her rights. Initially, she was interrogated by the authorities without a parent, lawyer, or legal guardian present when first arrested. At which time, she had not been charged as an adult, which still shouldn't make a difference because her age was still 16 years old. When the time came for Veronica to be sentenced, a letter was submitted to the court, or to be more specific, to her judge, basically challenging him to give her an aggravated sentence. In most cases, this would have granted her Change of Venue, but not in this case; she was handed the Super Aggravated sentence for her crime. She has served ten years of a 21-year sentence. In this time, she has done everything that is in her power not only to better herself but to help others as well. She is currently working towards her degree in substance abuse, which will be used to help troubled youth hopefully stay on a better path and for this cycle to not be repeated. Despite being incarcerated, she also helps women further their education by being a tutor. This woman can make an extremely positive impact on many people's lives if only granted the opportunity.

Hate speech and statements supporting and/or encouraging violence don't belong in our public discourse, and much less in Presidential politics. Rep. Cresent Hardy has been silent far too long and it is the responsibility of leaders from all parties to denounce any candidate who uses hateful and violent rhetoric in their public statements. Now is when we need courageous leaders the most. Now is the time for Rep. Cresent Hardy to demonstrate leadership for the constituents of Nevada Congressional District 4.

The Salem Church neighborhood is a quiet residential area comprised of large single family home sites and is zoned low-density residential. The "Project LM" park is planned for an existing homesite lot on a side street called Bonuck Rd. The street is very narrow, windy, and dead ends at neighboring driveways. Richland County Council, spearheaded by Councilman Malinowski, conducted a feasibility study using paid consultants and purchased and planned a waterfront park without any neighbor or community knowledge/input. The county plans to change the current residential zoning to allow for the park, which includes a boat launch, site parking, a fishing pier, kayak & paddle boat rentals, and playground/event area. This park is literally planned to be adjacent to and in the backyards of current residents. There is great concern that the effects of the park will be decreased property values, loitering, water and traffic congestion, and unsupervised activities resulting in safety and security concerns. Additionally, the millions of dollars spent to manage traffic at the intersections of Farming Creek and Salem Church Roads with Highway 6 will have to be reassessed for managing the additional increased volume of traffic. The goal of this petition is to stop the planned park, preserve the current residential zoning, sell the property for residential use only and assist the county in locating a better-suited piece of property for a more suitable community planned county recreation area.

On the election trail, we know candidates are hearing the frustration of We the People with the huge amounts of dark money being spent in elections. Voters see that big donors have acquired a megaphone, which is drowning out the voice of ordinary constituents. The need for money to fund their campaigns means politicians have to spend much of their time fund-raising versus speaking to or for their constituents. We ask candidates to endorse I-735. This initiative urges the Washington state congressional delegation to propose a federal constitutional amendment clarifying that constitutional rights belong only to individuals, not corporations; that spending money is not free speech under the First Amendment; that governments are fully empowered to regulate political contributions and expenditures to prevent undue influence; and that political contributions and expenditures must be promptly disclosed to the public.