World Oceans Day is June 8th and we think it's the perfect opportunity to bring attention to Rhode Island's beautiful waters and heritage as the Ocean State. This summer as we head out to the great blue waters of Rhode Island, we want to remind local leaders and businesses that it takes a continuing commitment to keep Rhode Island's waters clean. We're collecting signatures online for this letter to local officials. We'll put your signatures in writing and share this message with them:

92% of drivers speed on Taconic Ave creating a lethal hazard to pedestrians and drivers. Drivers traveling eastbound on Alford Rd as it approaches the intersection of Taconic Ave and Berkshire Heights cannot see cars or pedestrians entering from Berkshire Heights until they are within 50 yards of the intersection. I request that the town of Great Barrington authorize the following improvements during the 2015 summer re-paving: • Eliminate access to Castle street from the eastbound lane of Taconic Ave • Install a four way stop @ the intersection of Taconic Ave and Berkshire Heights. • Painted Crosswalks or high visibility tape at the corners of Taconic and Berkshire Heights as well as Taconic and Barrington Place. • Narrow the travel lanes on Taconic Ave with lane lines. • Continue to station a patrol car and a dynamic speed limit sign on Taconic Ave to demonstrate enforcement.

Quality of education affects us all! We can't afford to jeopardize the quality of education of our children. Please let your voice be heard!

Rep. Czaja introduced a measure on the Joint Finance Committee in Gov. Walker's 2015-17 budget proposal that eliminates requirements for people to obtain a college or high school degree to teach non-core academic subjects. Additionally, the proposal states that a person does not need to earn an education degree to teach grades 6-12. This measure dramatically lowers Wisconsin's teaching standards and exploits our children's futures by placing people who are untrained and unprepared at the front of the classroom. Stand up for our children, communities, and the future of education, and say no to the proposal to lower teaching standards!

As federal guidelines are updated under ObamaCare, and are on track to go into effect January 1, 2016, private insurance and Medicare coverage for a procedure that millions of women currently get at no cost will be affected. In 2015, the American Cancer Society estimates 231, 840 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. 40,290 of them will die. Even more alarming is that number could surge. The National Institutes of Health predicts the number of U.S. women diagnosed with breast cancer could increase by as much as 50 percent within the next 15 years. Many of these deaths can be prevented with regular mammograms and early detection. So why aren’t they? Ask the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The Task Force, an independent, volunteer panel of experts in preventive care and evidence-based medicine regularly reviews the scientific data about breast cancer screening. The group recently posted a draft recommendation that the benefit of mammography screening increases with age, with the 50 to 74 age group benefiting the most. Yet they recommend women over 50 only get a mammogram every other year. The Task Force found that mammography screening may not be necessary at all for women in their 40s. This means ObamaCare and Medicare will no longer cover annual screenings beginning 2016. The American Cancer Society continues to recommend mammograms every year for healthy women beginning at age 40. Is the USPSTF looking to increase the breast cancer death rate? When the Task Force issued similar guidelines back in 2009, it took an act of Congress to ensure mammography coverage for women younger than 50. This new legislation eliminates private insurance coverage and Medicare coverage of annual mammograms for women over 40. Is an act of Congress again necessary to preserve these lifesaving procedures? What can you do? Be heard. Call or email your Congressman. [Contact info: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/] Call your insurance provider. Push for annual mammography coverage for women in their 40s under the Affordable Care Act. Save your own life and those you love.

This petition is about reform only, not to ask that records be wiped clean or hidden from view. I was convicted of a felony drug charge in 1996 when I was 19 years old and my story is like many others. I went to prison, successfully completed parole, and went on to community college to receive an AA in Business. But still at 37 years old it's hard to find work. Companies will not hardly even give the opportunity to even speak about these convictions or give interviews because felon is in association with the applicant. I'm asking that the Felon Reentry Program that is already in place be reformed with true possibilities at gaining livable employment. I feel that it's time to reform the laws that are forcing felons into the backgrounds of life. People make mistakes and some actually learn from them. Please consider giving a felon like myself another opportunity at being a productive citizen again. This is a petition for a program that will take baby steps possibly but steps all the same into securing sustainable wages with companies that pay living wages. Of course there are many food service positions available but these jobs are merely for teenagers. There are many felons that have a desire to be a productive partner with respectable companies and are willing to do the necessary work to gain that opportunity, and I speak on behalf of those felons. I ask for opportunities to be made available to us as well. I feel that now is the time to reform the stigma associated with non violent drug offenses, especially if there has been a substantial amount of time passed showing no more criminal activity.

This petition is being started because of the respect and admiration that I have for U.S. Representative Alan M. Grayson, Democrat-Florida, and former U.S. Representative Dr. Ronald E. Paul, M.D., Republican-Texas work on Auditing the U.S. Federal Reserve [Banking] System. Congressmen Grayson and Paul worked tirelessly for years, decades in fact, to get the U.S. Federal Reserve to open its books to the American people, it's Owners & Operators, but because the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Act , We The People of the United States of America are prevented from seeing what The U.S. Federal Reserve [Banking] System says and does, on our behalves, with banks and other financial institutions throughout North America and the World. I believe that this Act should be repealed so that We The People can see what the Federal Reserve is up to. (As they are hiding behind this Act.) Thank you for your time and interests, as well as your support in this petition per your signature. I invite and encourage you to look at the following links below, just Copy & Paste the links into your browser so you can see and read for yourself. And please, please, please SHARE this petition with all in your circles. Be well... Link #1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_System Link #2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Bank Link #3 http://www.ronpaul.com/audit-the-federal-reserve-hr-1207/ Link #4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Transparency_Act Link #5 http://realitieswatch.com/9-trillion-dollars-missing-federal-reserve/ Link #6 https://youtu.be/cJqM2tFOxLQ Link #7 https://youtu.be/9MbRrXkrYNs Link #8 https://youtu.be/hepidgw-l1w Link #9 https://youtu.be/iM-tlpMHpdo

It is time for this country to stand by a portion of its citizens who are constantly the target of hate, violence, and acts of discrimination that should not be targeted at anyone simply because of their sexual orientation. It is long overdue for people to stand up and say "Enough! Hate will not be accepted against any minority including race, color, sexuality, gender, or disability!" Discrimination in any form is wrong and regardless of one's personal beliefs, discrimination needs to be stopped and laws need to be enacted protecting the LGBT communities across the nation from this great social injustice. The time has come to tell our leaders in Arizona to stand up for what is right, and to end hate in America NOW.

Acknowledging leadership takes true courage and strength. As a current student of Vallejo City Unified School District I stand in strong support of our Superintendent Dr. Ramona E. Bishop, her administrative team, parents, community, and student leaders who are committed to providing strong leadership that is rebuilding all of our schools that have historically failed students and families. As a result of Dr. Bishop’s vision, Vallejo has become a turnaround district where all students and families are celebrated regardless of their background. This is evidenced by the graduation rate steadily improving over the last 4 years from 54% to 72%. In light of recent community events, we must be encouraged to dialogue as a community, not chose a path of misdirected blame. Join me in signing this petition to stand in support with our administrative team! By signing this petition I am committed to standing strong alongside the leadership of Dr. Ramona E. Bishop, Vallejo city schools, educators, students, and parents. I will work to: 1. Defeat efforts in Vallejo city that undermine collective will for a high quality public education for all students. 2. Create purposeful partnerships that support the success of high quality educators and students. 3. Ensure that district reform continues to happen so that all students can learn and graduate college and career ready.

The House will soon vote on the Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA). Also known as “Fast Track,” the legislation was pushed hard by President Obama to ease the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive trade agreement with 12 countries that account for nearly 40% of the global economy. President Obama has repeatedly stated that the TPP is “the most progressive trade bill in history” due to its “higher labor standards, higher environmental standards,” and “new tools to hold countries accountable.” We have no way to verify his claims, though, because he is keeping the language classified so nobody can see what’s really in it. And the history of previous trade agreements betrays a harsh truth: every president promises that the new trade agreements will have better labor standards, but the actual enforcement of labor provisions lags far behind the promises. A new report just issued by Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office shows that labor standards in trade agreements are almost never enforced (read it here: http://www.warren.senate.gov/files/documents/BrokenPromises.pdf). In a classic example, it was recently revealed that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates—in direct violation of U.S. trade policy—have completely outlawed labor unions and are among the worst countries in the world in terms of human trafficking. And in Columbia, where we just signed a new trade agreement, union leaders are still being murdered at an alarming rate. These violations are unacceptable. We have no idea if the TPP will have tough, new labor, environmental, and human rights standards, but frankly the odds are against it. Even if these standards are included, they will mean nothing if they aren't enforced.

A lot of young people who become adults are overreacting to meaningless situations that lead to violent actions to include death in some cases. The news is covered with horrendous tragedies around the country due to the lack critical problem solving skills. It is a sad and annoying problem that needs to be attacked at the youngest age. If we all join together in this redirection of our youth, we could make a real difference in their lives as well as our own.

The San Carlos Apache holy land has long been protected under a mandate of the Forest Service. The land has had special protections since 1955, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower decreed the area closed to mining because of its cultural and natural value. A large group of people from the San Carlos Apache have been camped out Oak Flat for more than three months, protesting the latest assault on their culture. In December 2014, Congress promised to hand the title for Oak Flat over to a private, Australian-British mining concern. A fine-print rider trading away the Indian holy land was added at the last minute to the must-pass military spending bill, the National Defense Authorization Act. By doing this, Congress has handed over a sacred Native American site to a foreign-owned company for what may be the first time in our nation’s history. This article was published in the New York Times Opinion Page on May 29, 2015: "Selling Off Apache Holy Land" by Lydia Millet