It is absurd to waste one gallon of water per almond. That is correct, one almond = one gallon of water used. We are instructed to conserve water in our households, but almond farmers are relentlessly wasting California's water supply. Everyone can live without almonds. No one can live without water.

Hi I'm April I created this in hopes some one can help I want to bring awareness because I'm pretty sure what's happening to me and my family is not right I guess I'll start from the beginning I'll try not to leave any thing out and explain every thing so any ways back in September of 2014 my daughter started having bruises I contacted her preschool they said they weren't from them she wasn't sick didn't complain so I figured every thing was fine I went to work that Friday and got calledat work to come home to what I can only describe as a night mare two police officers and a cps worker were at my home had my husband in handcuffs my oldest was awake and terrified my baby was luckily asleep the cps worker explained how some one had called on me w and the fact the house was a mess didn't help I told him it was her bed time I normally don't clean till I come and they're in bed and the gun by the front door unloaded and we do live in the country he didn't seem to care then lied to me and my husband told me my four year old told him I hit her which I have dozens of people who will tell any one that she won't talk to any man unless he's her daddy or family he pulls me upstairs while I'm packing her clothing he asks me if my husband beats me and I just look at him amazed like seriously and I ignore him they haul us into jail that Friday night since it was labor day weekend we got stuck there for 4 days before we got bailed out by his family I didn't even get a shower or a change of clothes all weekend and I was kept in the drunk tank so we start the slow process to get our children back reluctantly I go threw there hoops I son find out days later that my daughter was found to have a low platelet count they held her down bruising her farther to draw blood admitted her to the hospital didn't find out til I was released so she gets better I think OK it's gonna be easy enough to get both my girls back but I go to the next court hearing no lawyer because at the meeting at the office they tell me they're gonna recommend we get them back etc this is a month later I get to court and the stuff hits the fan my baby isn't my husband's I had a one night stand 3 Years ago the guy never wanted her so my husband stepped in I have messages proving that we'll he decided he wanted custody told them I was a prostitute and unfit mother that I travel to much etc not gonna lie I posted ads on back page and Craigslist but it was for massage nothing sexual and certainly nothing to do with the children work is work I guess me being a bartender is bad to if that's his thinking so I found out I needed a lawyer well Christmas comes closer and closer and it looks like we're getting them back permanently or so we thought that guy had a friend call in a hot line tip and we started back at square one and haven't seen them since I had to move back to Texas for work because I didn't have a home for them there not could I provide for them there and I'm just at a list of what to do I can't keep doing this court and meetings game I have to work so I can be there for the children and the way it looks is like I'll never get them back they have is going thru the icon process since we moved but I so Jane no idea if this will help me get my children back fingerprinting back ground checks more home visits so this is why I'm reaching out I'm sorry this was so long but I need help it's been nearly a year and this court date in June is I'm hoping the endI doubt it because the lady in the Texas office will not do a home study thanks to the charges they gave me in Missouri but yet I can't get my kids back with out home I honestly at this point doing it the lady in charge of it here will not do the required home study because I failed the background thanks to charges they pinned on me in the beginning of all this don't know what to do more so I'm asking for help

In a country that cherishes freedom, rights, liberty, and the Constitution, to say that our justice system "is not perfect" is an insult to the Founding Fathers who left us so much to build upon. The truth is our judicial system has been broken by decades of unfair public policies and unjust laws aimed at targeting certain segments of our population, criminalizing poverty and mental illness, using the courts to collect revenue to fund government budget, filling the bank accounts of prison corporations, and tube-feeding the failed war on drugs, which has turned our law enforcement personnel into military police, and our country into an occupied territory. This bill was first introduced in the Massachusetts Legislature in 2006. It has been re-filed in the 189th Legislative Session, and will be scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee before the end of the legislative session in July 2015. After I accompanied someone in the Lawrence District Court in Massachusetts and observed various abuses and misuse of the judicial process, misapplication of the law, improper and unethical conduct by court personnel, and flagrant violations of defendants' rights, I decided to investigate these problems further, and it was not without some personal costs. When I wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, he contacted me and indicated that the average grade level in reading for the area was grade 6. Over the years, I also discovered that, in addition to being uneducated, a rather large number of the people who are ensnared by this broken system are primarily of minority backgrounds, Caucasians living in poverty, and the mentally-ill. Finally, those who are involved with substance abuse are disproportionately represented within the criminal justice system. In reality, our judicial system has become predatory. Over the years, government officials have relied on the Court to handle a multitude of societal ills that have been left to fester by political malpractice and official neglect, leading to the absence of sound social policies to address these very solvable problems. In many instances, the criminal justice system is used as a mill to feed the prison pipeline with non-violent offenders, even with people who are accused of crimes--real, made up, or imagined, and yet are coerced into accepting guilty pleas and probation resulting in hundreds of dollars in Court fees, many times as a result of being ignorant of the law, unaware of their rights, as well as incompetent representation by overworked and overwhelmed public defenders. We are better than this as a people and can do better as a country. The time to correct this course is now. And it can only be accomplished through a vigilant legislative body with the help of an executive branch that is willing to bring about change to improve life for the people. This level of accountability can only be achieved through an independent body made of citizens of the State. Let Massachusetts become, yet again, a model of citizenry and public confidence in government by signing this petition to the Massachusetts Senate Judiciary Committee and Governor Charlie Baker in support of this bill. AS OF 2:00 PM TODAY MAY 12, 2015, THIS BILL HAS MOVED TO THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE WHERE A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD BEFORE THE 9-MEMBER PANEL. THE BILL IS NOW ONLINE AND CAN BE VIEWED AND TRACKED AT: MALEGISLATURE.GOV. YOU CAN HELP BY SIGNING THE PETITION AND BY CALLING: MA Senate President Stan Rosenberg at 617-722-1532 or the Chair of the Judiciary Committee Senator William Brownsberger at 617-722-1280 or email: [email protected], or call Gov. Charlie Baker at 617-725-4005. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND PLEASE FORWARD AND SHARE THIS PETITION ON SOCIAL MEDIA AMONG YOUR NETWORK. WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK!

The voters of Provincetown, Massachusetts, have passed at our Annual Town Meeting this year, and indeed for the last seven years, a bill to impose a one half percent real estate transfer fee on purchase of property. First time home owners would be exempt. Not many towns would want to have a real estate transfer fee. Provincetown is quite unique and the only town coming to you for approval in the last decade.

The Problem: In New York State it is legal to withhold information pertinent to criminal cases from a defendant and his/her defense attorney until the very moment of trial. This is not because the information is unavailable; it is because the prosecution is not required to turn over information earlier. For example, prosecutors are not required under current law to submit police reports, prior testimony, witness statements, and any other evidence to the defendant until trial begins, and in some cases, not until the first witness testifies. A prosecutor has discretion to decide whether or not evidence might help a defendant or cast doubt on his guilt and can choose to withhold it. Not only does this deprive the defendant of a fair chance to prepare a defense at trial, but it costs taxpayers and the judicial system a great deal of time and money on unnecessary hearings, trials, and post-conviction lawsuits when pertinent evidence is withheld. The Solution: We request that the New York City Council pass resolution 0430-2014 which calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation to repeal Criminal Procedure Law Article 240 and replace it with a law mandating early, open, and automatic pre-trial discovery.

Four generations in my family have been involved in healthcare, mostly in Louisiana. We need to benefit all people by using federal dollars, along with state and individual resources, wisely for healthcare in Louisiana.

Keep religion out of politics.

The condition of our roads threatens our economy as well as the safety of the driving public. Doing nothing is irresponsible.

I would like to see PROGRESSIVE causes supported with money FOCUSED to a realistic goal, and not scattered in too many directions.

Tennessee is one of only five states with no minimum wage. (Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, and thank God for Mississippi.) It's one of seven with a minimum wage lower than the federal standard. (Georgia, Wyoming and the states listed above) Our state needs to enact a minimum wage of at least $9.24/hour. The average living wage of a single adult living alone in Tennessee, is $8.84/hour. In Shelby County, the living wage is $9.76/hour. In Davidson County, the living wage is $9.51/hour. As you can see, in the state's two biggest counties, even the suggested minimum wage won't be enough to sustain a single adult there. However, we must remain reasonable, as our conservative legislature probably won't agree to a minimum wage of $10/hour. We need to tell our legislators to do their job and protect workers by giving them the right to bring home the amount of money needed to feed themselves.

I recently spent a week at Yosemite National Park as a school chaperone for my daughter's Sixth Grade class. The point of visiting that place of beauty was to instill in the children respect for the natural world. How sad it was to see plastic botttles littering the hiking trail , and streams. John Muir would be very unhappy to see the desecration of his special wilderness. Let's make the Yosemite a plastic free place!

My children are grown, but they are having their own babies now. This is a vital, and unavoidable priority we owe our children, grandchildren, and generations to follow. I am not an elected legislator or governor, but if I were, I would assume the responsibility of expediting this very issue. Because I am only a constituent, and not one of the elected, I can take this step of encouragement to do the right thing.