Please join our interfaith coalition in asking Gov. Brown to sign Senate Bill 23, which will repeal the Maximum Family Grant rule. Right now, a child who is born into an impoverished family that already receives CalWORKs assistance receives no additional benefits – not even the modest additional benefit of $128 a month to help provide the things all young children need. (State law provides for a very few exemptions for children conceived as a result of rape or incest, or from the failure of certain types of birth control – forcing a mother to disclose personal and confidential medical information in order to receive aid for the newborn.) This harsh rule was instituted in the 1990's with the supposed goal of reducing birthrates among impoverished parents. There is no evidence that this has happened. Instead the policy has harmed children, driving families deeper into extreme poverty and homelessness and subjecting little ones to long-term negative consequences during their most vulnerable years. Our state is wealthy - the seventh largest economy in the world, yet 27 percent of our children live in poverty - the highest rate in the nation. Surely we can do better by our children. Repealing the Maximum Family Grant rule is a good place to start. Please sign this petition today and let Gov. Brown know where you stand. National Council of Jewish Women, California Lutheran Office of Public Policy, California California Catholic Conference California Church IMPACT Friends Committee on Legislation of California

As a New Yorker and retired Navy Nuclear trained Senior Chief, I have the utmost confidence in the assurance given by Energy Secretary Moniz that we are getting a good deal. It is imperative Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. Senator Schumer has, in my opinion, succumbed to Isreali pressure because of his Jewish heritage and in doing so, contradicted his own statements. Furthermore, he has undermined his political party at a time when he is needed most.

As a mother of 4 school aged children and a current charter school operator, I know the importance of a child's educational experience. We need to offer our children a purposeful, focused education from Kindergarten through 8th grade to help them move forward into competitive high schools, colleges and careers. A STEAM based school that fully integrates all components throughout the instructional day is the key to giving our children the best chance we can to become highly motivated, academically superior, civic minded citizens.

Non-profit organizations, like Girl and Boy Scouts, are made up of people from the local community and free meeting space is necessary to maintain the effectiveness of these programs and to reduce costs for all of the participants. For Girl Scout troops, some whose numbers are small, or have challenges to fundraising, having to sell 216 BOXES OF COOKIES for funds dedicated just to meeting space, will hamper their efforts of giving back to the community in which they live. There is a mandatory limit on dues for participants, so these fees can not simply be an added overhead cost. Additionally, most of these troops give back to the district through volunteer projects-either earning a badge or through Make A Difference Day. Without a connection to their meeting space the incentive for organizing these projects will significantly decrease and the district buildings will actually suffer from this change. Please reconsider charging these groups a fee for simple meetings and activities. The participants are local members of the community who already pay taxes for these buildings, and should be allowed to utilize them whenever time and scheduling allows, to make as much use of those public buildings as possible. Remember, we are all connected in this community, and this decision will have only negative consequences.

Senator Schumer has demonstrated that he places the interests of the Natanyahu government before the interests of the United States and the majority of Democrats who enthusiastically support the Iran agreement. Note that Schumer also supported the Bush war against Iraq over non existent WMDs. In opposing a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program, he is willing to once again risk the lives and limbs of young Americans in another bloody and bankrupting war against Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program. The Democratic Senate leader should be an honest, reliable and eloquent voice for the Democratic Party, not a hack for special interests like Senator Schumer.

Great communities like Brookings aren't complete without bike lanes. In 2008, the city of Brookings approved a plan to make Brookings a bikeable community. However, after nearly 8 years, that plan was never fully implemented. Studies show that bike lanes promote public safety and increase the quality of life for all community members. Brookings has an amazing bike trail, but it's still difficult to navigate the city streets on your bike -- and sidewalks are for pedestrians. Now is the perfect time to tell Jeffrey W. Weldon, the City Manager, to make Brookings complete by making Brookings a bikeable community. We're delivering this petition to Jeff Weldon, so please sign your name and send it to everyone you know who supports bike lanes in Brookings!

In 33 states there's been a ban against feeding the homeless, people are facing fees, even jail time for feeding the homeless. Times are hard, even harder for those that are homeless, so to ban charities from feeding is morally wrong.

Due to the economy, many homeowners fell behind on their mortgage. The Federal Government and President Obama signed into law many programs to assist homeowners to stay in their homes. The banks and mortgage companies accepted the monies/grants and do not assist the homeowners; they hold onto these funds for corporate greed and profits. I unfortunately know several people who qualified for these programs and were never assisted and had their homes foreclosed. I am also personally in this situation. I have had two predatory lenders. Instead of assisting and informing me, they added over $200K to my principal and then sold my loan to another lender. I now allegedly owe $425 on a home I purchased for $160K in 1998 and have over 12 years of perfect payment history. Where did my 12 years of payments go to ? Who is in charge of this Federal government program ? Who is overseeing this program that is supposed to keep people in their homes and not thrown out into the street with nowhere to go and who have a family to care for. Someone needs to be held accountable and needs to enforce the mortgage companies to assist the homeowners to stay in their homes, And not to be put into the street. The banks wins twice by double dipping; they get the funds for assisting the homeowners foreclosure and get even more revenue. We need to stand united and stand up to these giant conglomerates that squash the helpless homeowners like bugs.

Los puertorriqueños debemos sentirnos orgullosos de nuestro himno y cantarlo porque nos represente, no porque nos lo hayan impuesto. Ya que la Borinqueña original revolucionaria, debido a los tiempos, no tiene el apoyo que debería, esta es nuestra opción real. Una opción que nos representa y nos hace sentir orgullosos.

That they have the nerve to introduce the Dark Act is bad enough to try to deny us our right to know what is in our food. Our children need the utmost protections and these foods are full of Pesticides and robbed of nutrients. They should not be able to profit off of our children's health!

Wharton State Forest is the "jewel" of the Pine Barrens and offers a large variety of recreational outlets. Most of those outlets will now be cut off - historic sites important to the early colonial period of New Jersey will be cut off, hunters will no longer be able to reach the majority of the woods, canoeists and kayakers will no longer be able to reach their favorite spots to launch into the Pinelands rivers, and an area that had an enormous impact in developing the culture of South Jersey will be off-limits to everybody to just name a few.

I have always been in love with animals my WHOLE life. I'm concerned about the Western Gorillas of Africa because they are one of my favorite animals and primates. I previously know what happened to the Black Rhinoceros and I do not want to have the Gorillas end up like them, close to extinction.