There exists unreasonably high luxury taxes on menstrual products. Luxury taxes are taxes placed on items that are considered non-essential. People who menstruate do not have control over their periods, and therefore pads, tampons, panty-liners, and diva cups are absolutely essential. They are not luxuries. The price increase in these products has created a phenomenon of menstrual inequity among homeless and low-income women, we call this “period poverty”. In California, women pay $20 million in taxes on menstrual products annually. USA Today estimates that women have to spend anywhere between $150 to $300 annually on period products.This is a detrimental price for low income and homeless women, who often have to choose between essentials like food and clothes, or having menstrual products. Period poverty is especially relevant to Los Angeles, where 20,671 women are currently experiencing homeless, a disproportionate amount being women of color. To put this into perspective, a box of tampons cost $7 at a common retailer; this often means homeless menstruators are forced to choose between their next meal or these products. Additionally, many homeless shelters in Los Angeles are constantly in need of sufficient menstrual products to distribute to the people there. This is due to the stigma around periods that makes people potentially uncomfortable when donating these products, which just proves the need for greater financial accessibility to period products.

This is important to us to commemorate our high-school career and build long lasting memories with our team. Not only would this bring our team closer together, it would fulfill the tradition that Hale-Ray has had for years.

Working in veterinary medicine is an incredibly stressful and often thankless job. For credentialed Veterinary Technicians, Veterinary Assistants, Customer Service Representatives, and all veterinary support staff there are added issues of low wages and substandard benefits. When these stresses are paired with incompetent and/or uncaring leadership, the result is both tragic and unsurprising. From a study published in 2019 by Dr. Witte, et al. (https://tinyurl.com/vetstaffsuicide) we know that veterinary support staff members have a 2.3 - 5 times higher risk of suicide when compared to the general population. Vanessa’s situation will occur again and again until something in the veterinary industry changes, and the importance of mental health is paid more than lip service for PR purposes.

McDonald’s advertises heavily to Black and brown communities and relies on them to make billions. McDonald's makes deals with Black and brown celebrities and tweets about standing with Black lives. They try to co-opt Black and brown cultures and movements to sell burgers, but it's clear what the company says in private. McDonald's: if you really want to stand with Black and brown communities, prove it. Not with words or slogans, but by taking action to lift up Black and brown workers and our communities. McDonald’s Black and brown workers have been speaking out about racial discrimination at the company’s stores nationwide. They say that they have been called “ghetto,” “lazy,” “smelly,” and told they “shouldn’t even exist.” They claim that they have faced targeted retaliation for raising the alarm about racism in the workplace. They have long been paid starvation wages and dismissed in their demands for $15/hr. McDonald’s could be a leader by paying living wages and working with communities to end violence, poverty, and despair. Instead, they just try to shift blame.

Facebook’s longstanding track record of unethical and potentially illegal behavior deserves criminal sanction. It's important for federal law enforcement to demonstrate that no one, no matter how powerful, is above the law.

Calle 24 Latino Cultural District was formed because of the displacement of 8 thousand (and counting) Latinx community members and gentrification of the neighborhood. We formed to protect and stabilize our cultural assets which include all our cultural events that generate revenue for artists, businesses, the Mission, and the city as a whole. The Mission has the highest number of cultural events in the city that use 24th St. The Covid-19 epidemic has hurt the Latinx community at much higher levels than others and this barricade will further hurt our small businesses, artist, and community during this important recovery. This is not just a physical barrier but a psychological one that has triggered the trauma of displacement. Let’s help Carnaval SF stay on its historic route, and ask the MTA to remove the barricade they placed against our events, economy, and community. Please sign this petition and share it with all your contacts, friends, and neighbors. Si Se Puede! Calle 24 Latino Cultural District ¿Por qué esta petición es importante? El Distrito Cultural Latino Calle 24 se formó como reacción al desplazamiento de 8 mil (y contando) miembros de la comunidad Latinx y la gentrificación del vecindario. Nos formamos para proteger y estabilizar nuestros activos culturales, que incluyen nuestros eventos culturales que generan ingresos para los artistas, las empresas, la Misión y la ciudad en general. La Misión tiene el mayor número de eventos culturales en la ciudad que utilizan la calle 24. La COVID-19 ha dañado a la comunidad Latinx en niveles más profundos que a otras y esta barricada dañará aún más a nuestros pequeños negocios, artistas y comunidad durante esta necesaria recuperación. Esta no es solo una barrera física sino psicológica que ha desencadenado el trauma del desplazamiento. Ayudemos al Carnaval SF a mantenerse en su ruta histórica y pidamos a la MTA que elimine la barricada que fue colocada y que atenta contra nuestros eventos, la economía y nuestra comunidad. Firme esta petición y compártala con todos sus contactos, amigos y vecinos. ¡Sí se puede! Calle 24 Distrito Cultural Latino

Our kids deserve to play.

The Rolling Stone article points out that Lauren Boebert and/or her staff were involved in the planning conversations, according to key witnesses, of the January 6th insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol. The reason it is important for individuals who believe in Democracy to sign our petition to demand that GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert is that by sending a message that the citizens of our country will not stand by and let far right extremists like Lauren Boebert destroy our nation and precious Democracy.

May 1st used to be just another day in the years and life of our family. May 1st is now cemented forever as a death date for our daughter, granddaughter, niece, son, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend. The events of May 1st have forever changed the course of our family’s lives, hearts, souls and existence as whole individuals. Losing such bright, creative, clever and intelligent people with so much promise and so many gifts to offer this world, at such a young age, instills daily hurt in our hearts and aches in our stomachs. Flashes of Lendon and Kalen’s face and scenes of that last day come and go in and out of our minds uncontrolled and without our permission. Witnessing the despair and emptiness within Lendon and Kalen’s parents is a constant gut wrenching reminder that many lives, as we knew them are gone. Instead of looking forward to limitless possibilities of the coming years, we now are subjected to endless anxiety, heartbreak, and grief. Help us with our campaign to receive #justiceforlendonandkalen!!

Steven Donziger is a human rights attorney who won a massive settlement for people in Ecuador who were victims of oil pollution by Chevron. In response, Chevron—with the assistance of Federalist Society judges—have sought to as Chris Hedges wrote, "come after him, weaponizing litigation to destroy him economically, professionally, and personally." Donziger's case was prosecuted by a "private prosecutor" because the government refused to take the case against him. The "prosecutors" were the law firm Seward & Kissel, a private firm with previous ties to Chevron. His only offense was an alleged misdemeanor criminal contempt that would have warranted a jury trial under normal circumstances & if the sentence exceeded six months. While Donziger awaited judgement, he has been subject to an unduly harsh two years of house arrest and potentially tens of millions in legal fees. An independent panel of human rights experts at the United Nations have argued his house arrest violates international law. Amnesty International has also called for Donziger's release. On Wednesday, October 27, Donziger surrendered himself to federal authorities to begin a six month prison sentence. We are calling for an immediate review of Donziger's case by the DOJ & for his swift release.

Unsafe situation for pets in Santa Fe, New Mexico

It's estimated that 47% of ALL U.S. homes have visible dampness and mold. People spend 90% of their time indoors, yet a lack of emphasis is put on indoor air quality and how that affects our health every day. The recent peer-reviewed medical journal “A Comprehensive Review of Mold Research Literature From 2011 – 2018” published in Internal Medicine Review concluded that 112 of 114 (98.2%) of epidemiological articles published between 2011 and 2018 supported the proposition that inhaled mold, mold fragments, toxins and various pathogenic inflammagen, or other components of the air in water-damaged buildings (WDB), cause single and multi-system illness in humans. Symptoms include chronic and daily manifestations of fatigue, pain, nonrestorative sleep, cognitive deficits, neuropathic pains, gastrointestinal issues, musculoskeletal compromise, post-exertional malaise, dermatological, ophthalmic, endocrine, and other chronic multisystem symptoms for those suffering. These studies included 273,000 subjects from over 30 countries and 5 continents! The time for adequate funding for research and awareness on this overlooked public health issue is long overdue.