To the U.S. Senate: As educators, students, parents, and activists, we are writing to strongly urge you to reject the confirmation of John King, President Obama’s nominee for the Secretary of Education. We believe he is the wrong choice for the position. Research and evidence demonstrate that the education policies that John King has supported throughout his career, such as the Common Core standards, the collection of private student information, and high-stakes standardized testing, have been ineffective and destructive to schools, educators, and most importantly students. As New York State Education Commissioner, he was an unapologetic supporter of the Common Core standards and inBloom. His policies failed. While test scores are flawed metrics, in 2013, just 31 percent of students in New York passed the English and math standardized tests, the first tests to be aligned to the Common Core and in three years the scores have barely budged. The achievement gap grew. Last year, over 200,000 students opted out of the tests. Educators, parents, and students as well as the state teachers union and other public education advocacy groups called for King’s resignation. His style is inflexible and he is quick to criticize the motives of those with whom he disagrees. He persistently refused to consider the desperate pleas of students and teachers who were reporting that the Common Core and value-added teacher evaluations were not working. The American public deserves a Secretary of Education who will advocate for their interests, not those of the testing corporations who profit from the Common Core. We also deserve a Secretary who respects the importance of schools governed by communities, not by federal mandate. Senators should not be misled by vague promises to do better as King offered at a recent hearing. John King is the wrong candidate and he will follow the failed strategies of Mr. Duncan. We strongly urge you to reject his nomination and recommend to President Obama that he nominate a candidate who will bring a progressive perspective to the department as it implements the Every Student Succeeds Act. Signatures: INDIVIDUALS: Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor & Professor of Linguistics (Emeritus), MIT Naomi Klein, Award-winning journalist and author Diane Ravitch, Research Professor, New York University Jonathan Kozol, National Book Award-winning author Deborah Meier, Senior Scholar, New York University and 1987 MacArthur Fellow Jill Stein, Green Party presidential candidate Lucas Neff, Actor Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teachers Union Jeff Sharlet, Associate Professor of English, Dartmouth College Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Assistant Professor, Center for African American Studies, Princeton University Carla Shedd, Assistant Professor of Sociology & African American Studies, Columbia University Alfie Kohn, Acclaimed author on education Nikhil Goyal, Author of the book Schools On Trial and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree Linda Nathan, Senior Lecturer, Boston University Steve Cohen, Lecturer, Tufts University Corey Robin, Professor of Political Science, Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Professor emerita, Lesley University Mary Beth Tinker, Free speech activist Andrew Hartman, Associate Professor, Illinois State University Henry Giroux, Professor of English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus, University of Southern California Peter McLaren, Distinguished Professor in Critical Studies, Chapman University Mark Naison, Professor of History, Fordham University Robert Buchanan, Undergraduate Faculty, Goddard College Eva Swidler, Undergraduate Faculty, Goddard College Lois Weiner, Professor of Education, New Jersey City University Lawrence Brown, Assistant Professor, School of Community Health and Policy, Morgan State University Jeanette Deutermann, Founder of Long Island Opt Out and parent M. Zachary Mezera, Executive director of the Providence Student Union Israel Munoz, Co-founder of the Chicago Student Union Carol Burris, Executive Director of the Network for Public Education Raynard Sanders, Radio host of The New Orleans Imperative Howie Hawkins, 2014 Green Party candidate for NY Governor Brian Jones, 2014 Green Party candidate for NY Lieutenant Governor Benji Cohen, Doctoral history student, University of Virginia Brian LeCloux, Wisconsin high school psychology teacher Doug Henwood, Journalist and NYC public school parent Liza Featherstone, amNY columnist, educator and NYC public school parent Julian Vasquez Heilig, Professor of Education, California State University Sacramento Wayne Au, Associate Professor of Education, University of Washington, Bothell Jeff Bryant, Associate Fellow at Campaign for America's Future Arnold Dodge, Associate Professor/Chair, Department of Educational Leadership and Administration, Long Island University Post Anthony Cody, Author and educator Lisa Edstrom, Brooklyn parent and educator Rita Green, Alaska, Oregon, WA, Seattle/King County NAACP Education Chair Nancy K. Cauthen, Sociologist Jia Lee, Educator and 2016 UFT presidential candidate Julie Cavanagh, Educator and 2013 MORE/UFT presidential candidate Michael Klonsky, Executive Director at The Small Schools Workshop and educator Monty Neill, Executive Director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) Jason Endacott, Assistant Professor of Secondary Social Studies Education, University of Arkansas Chris Goering, Associate Professor, English Education, University of Arkansas Lisa Rudley, Executive Director and Founding Member, NYS Allies for Public Education Meg Norris, Founder/Director of Opt Out Georgia Bianca Tanis, NYS Allies for Public Education Katie Zahedi, NYS Allies for Public Education ORGANIZATIONS: The Network for Public Education New York State Allies for Public Education Change the Stakes New York City Opt Out NYCpublic Save Our Schools Long Island Opt-Out Parents Across Rh...

Because it's time for our elected officials to listen to their constituents, instead of big money donors. We will remember who fought with us, and who ignored us, during the next election cycle.

The Georgia legislature will begin voting on the viability of this program. Spaceport Camden will transform a stranded industrial asset into a viable resource on a 12,000 acre area and will firmly establish Georgia's place in the commercial space race.

The Washington Voting Rights Act is about ensuring that every vote that is cast in this state counts. And we know a vote truly counts when the community is reflected in those who hold office. This bill gives our local governments the flexibility, choice, and due process to ensure this fundamental measure of democracy is maintained. We have an opportunity to make a dramatic difference in the ability of people to elect a candidate that represents them by passing the Washington Voting Rights Act this year. The WVRA will allow us to implement a process where unfair election systems can be challenged and fixed without having to resort to a federal court case. We’ll efficiently and quickly replace inequitable systems with ones that are fair, we’ll elect more people who truly represent the community, and we’ll help our communities thrive. Democrats and Republicans may have differing views on many things, including civil rights law like this, but we all believe in the inherent right and power of the vote. After years of working on this critical bill, making significant compromises to ensure we can get votes from both sides of the aisle, the time has come to join together in doing what is right and passing the Washington Voting Rights Act immediately. A more equitable Washington is possible, but we must stand together and demand that our legislators take action. Pass the Washington Voting Rights Act of 2016.

I'm an individual of many different races, meaning not all of my family was able to pass down all of the different languages. I would have loved to been able to take Italian throughout my high school years because the younger you are, the faster and easier it is to learn a language, but because this was not an option, my only option was to wait until college. I think giving children more of a variety of languages that they can learn, would make them feel less forced to take a language and it would encourage them to view it as something they enjoy and actually want to be involved in.

[UPDATE: ON MARCH 2, 2016, THE LARKSPUR CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED REMOVING THE POLES AT MAGNOLIA AND WARD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!] The installation of the poles seems to have bypassed the extraordinary scrutiny of the Planning Commission. According to City Manager Dan Schwartz’s comments in a recent article in the Marin IJ, “The poles were considered a utility project, which didn’t require the same treatment as a remodel or upkeep of architecture.” The fact that the city considered the poles, designed to allow the City of Larkspur sell advertising to non-profit groups, to be a “utility” is a gross misinterpretation of the word. It seems clear that the installation of the poles should have gone through the planning commission and been subject to Larkspur Municipal Code Section 18.41.120, Design Review and Heritage Preservation Board Review, SD Storefront Downtown Regulations that states: All proposed new structures, additions and other modifications to the exterior of a building shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 18.64 LMC, Design Review, and for those parcels in the combining heritage preservation district, review and recommendation by the Heritage Preservation Board, per Chapter 18.19 LMC. (Ord. 933 § 3, 2004; Ord. 929 § 38, 2004; Ord. 841 § 1 (part), 1993). Furthermore, according to Larkspur Municipal Code Section 18.60.060 F, Signs, Permitted Identification Signs for Places of Business: The maximum height of freestanding signs shall be ten feet measured from finish grade elevation at the sign base to the uppermost part of the sign or supporting structure. The existing poles stand 25 feet high, 15 feet higher than is allowed for such a sign. Add your name to have these poles removed.

Minnesotans flocked to the polls in record numbers on Super Tuesday to support Bernie Sanders. We can not have our state's senators and representatives circumventing the clear and decisive will of the state they are supposed to represent. Our positions should be their position in this matter. They should be held accountable to their constituents. If they do not represent the people who elected them, we will find someone else who does. Their names are below: Al Franken - MN Senate (Clinton) Amy Klobuchar - MN Senate (Clinton) Betty McCollum - MN House of Representatives (Clinton) Rick Nolan - MN House of Representatives (Clinton) Tim Walz - MN House of Representatives (Clinton) Collin Peterson - MN House of Representatives (Uncommitted) Keith Ellison - MN House of Representatives (Sanders)

On Super Tuesday I watched as MSNBC breathlessly "projected" the results of each state's primary by declaring one or the other candidate the winner. That's inaccurate. The general election in November works that way. The electoral college system means that winning a state by one vote gets you all of that state's delegates. But that's simply not how the primaries in either major party work. If Hillary Clinton "wins" my state of Massachusetts by one percentage point, then she and Bernie Sanders will more or less split the pledged delegates from the state and both be a nearly equal amount closer to becoming the nominee. By announcing Clinton as the "winner" you create the mistaken impression that that one percentage point more made her much more likely to become the nominee. That's bad journalism. In fact, for all of Donald Trump's success on Super Tuesday, the current estimate is that he will have won 254 pledged delegates on the night compared to 217 for Senator Ted Cruz. That's hardly an unambiguous victory. You do you viewers a great disservice by inaccurately reporting the news. Your reporting can change the perception of the candidates chances and the election. Please change how you talk about the results. You should report on the number of pledged delegates each candidate won and not focus on who "won" each state.

Minnesotans flocked to the polls in record numbers on Super Tuesday to support Bernie Sanders. We can not have our governor circumventing the clear and decisive will of the state he is supposed to govern. Our positions should be his position in this matter. He should be held accountable to his constituents.

Democratic Party of Illinois & Reps. Emanuel "Chris" Welch, John D'Amico & Jaime Andrade have flooded mailboxes with dubious, inaccurate and unsourced claims that Chris Harris, Jac Charlier & Harish I. Patel are linked to Gov. Bruce Rauner. Attacking progressive & independent candidates as being tools of Rauner is a cynical way for insiders to protect themselves from legitimate challenges in Democratic Party primary.

On Feb. 18, the Georgia Senate passed SB277—the so-called “Protecting Georgia Small Business Act.” This legislation fails to protect everyday people who work hard each day to build a better life for themselves and their families. The bill keeps everyday Georgians from having the ability to get raises, benefits, and safe working conditions. It’s a shell game we’ve seen before. Businesses across the country often hire subcontractors and temp agencies to run portions of their operations. They use these outlets to misclassify workers and escape responsibility for employee issues like overtime pay, wage theft, and unionization efforts. This gives huge corporations an out when it comes to their responsibility as employers, putting an even bigger burden on working people in Georgia. Back in July, the National Labor Relations Board took a step to protect workers from these kinds of abuses. It rightfully ruled in favor of workers, easing the path for employees to negotiate with their employer while holding companies accountable for their actions. SB277 is a step backward. The bill subjects Georgia workers to the same destructive practices that have thwarted workers’ progress for decades. We don’t need more policies that protect big corporations and their schemes. Instead, our elected officials should be looking for ways to protect and strengthen the rights of working people to be paid for all the hours they work and to have a voice on the job. It’s time for the people we elect to represent us in the statehouse to stand up for the power of working people speaking up together. Join us in opposing SB277. Tell your local representative to vote NO on this legislation.

New Jersey's economic and social future is in jeopardy! While out campaigning for president, or vice president, Governor Christie is not fulfilling his promise to the people of New Jersey. Stop the mass exodus.