As tax-paying residents of Prince George’s County, we want our Board of Education to function in the interest of its parents, students, and community members.

The Freeze Relief in the form of cancellation of February utility bills or payment of all Texas residents lights, gas and water bills by the State will provide a high level of relief for Texas residents as we struggle to recover from this natural disaster. Already residents have received light bills in excess of $1000’s of dollars for their electric bill for a disaster they didn’t cause, contribute to neither could they control it. Currently in Texas, FEMA is offering water and few generators due to the freeze however devastated communities and residents should be relieved from the burden of paying utilities bills they did not foresee coming. We understand FEMA is also offering Small Business Loans for relief for those who are qualified, however we are calling on Texas Congress to provide payment in full or complete cancellation of all Texas residents lights, water and gas bills caused by the Freeze because many households are left without the ability to pay these excessive bills and because they were without these services for an extended period of time.

Senator Cruz not only abandoned his constituents by flying off to Cancun while tens of thousands of us faced the dire, dangerous consequences of the devastating winter storm this February and then lied about it repeatedly, but more importantly, he participated in stalling the vote certification on January 6, thereby assisting the Capitol insurrectionists with their traitorous goal: to prevent President Biden’s legitimate election win to be certified so that Donald Trump could (theoretically) remain in power. Further, he has denied any responsibility for the devastating consequences of that deadly uprising. His disgraceful, selfish, callous, unprofessional, dishonest, mendacious behavior disqualify him from enjoying the visibility that his committee assignments offer him. Texas deserves better representation. America deserves better.

Many of the hard working farm workers, who labor in the fields and call this country home, lack the security that citizenship offers. Their US citizen children are terrified their mother or father may not come home from work. Farm workers have been waiting for decades. We need to pass federal legislation to give farm workers a path forward.

Representatives from ARC-SouthWest and South first were requested to stay at home until further notice. We were not offered to work from home, just like we have been doing since Covid started. This time, we were not offered any type of solution besides staying at home. On 2/22/21, we were ask to either use PTO or not get paid. There is a third option that upper management decided to ignore "reserved PTO" which is used for "emergencies". However, this option was never offered. This is hurtful, as an ARC employee I feel used. We have been working throughout Covid19 since March of 2020. We never complained about not getting hazardous pay or a raise. This is completely unfair and it should be illegal to steal PTO from employees. Upper management has been stepping all over us, as employee appreciation we got 1 canned water container from Rainwater... Why not using that money and give us at least a .5 raise? In the meantime we are opening 2 new clinics in Austin Texas. Please look into this, is not only ARC, other companies are following the steps of ARC. To top the cherry, most of our spouses are getting covered by "hazardous weather" and they get to keep their hard earned PTO. ARC needs to be brought to light and exposed their unfair treatment to their employees. I know we are not HEB but they should act better than this. Thank you for your time and consideration. Att: Really pissed off ARC employee

Democrats are in charge of the Senate -- and they’re vowing to use their majority to make cannabis legal.1 When Mitch McConnell was Senate Majority Leader any cannabis legalization bill was dead on arrival. But guess who’s not running the Senate anymore? Now we have a clear and urgent pathway to legalize cannabis and pass restorative justice reforms to address the millions of people harmed by the disastrous “War on Drugs.” Sign the petition: Tell Congress to repeal the cannabis ban and pass restorative justice reforms now! Back in November, along with electing President Joe Biden, every cannabis legalization or decriminalization initiative won at the ballot box.2 That’s a clear mandate. Of course, legalization is only part of the process. Right now, even though cannabis is legal in 15 states and DC, an estimated 40,000 people are still in jail for cannabis offenses.3 Democrats in Congress have been introducing bills to legalize cannabis and restore justice for low-level drug offenders for years. But Senator Mitch McConnell blocked cannabis legalization in the Senate. But McConnell no longer runs the Senate, and Democrats control Congress and the White House -- for now. If we want to see an end to the “War on Drugs,” then Democrats need to act now. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to repeal the cannabis ban and pass restorative justice reforms now! Sources: 1. CNBC, “Democratic senators will push to pass pot reform bill this year,” February 1, 2021. 2. Ibid. 3. Forbes, “With 40,000 Americans Incarcerated For Marijuana Offenses, The Cannabis Industry Needs To Step Up, Activists Said This Week,” June 26, 2020.

Compromising with the southern states after the civil war only led to Jim Crow laws which lasted into the middle of the 20th century. Every time these ugly pockets of racism rear their ugly head we coddle them and compromise. Enough is enough. One thing the Confederate Army failed to do was storm the nation's capital and fly that flag in the Capital building. On January 6, 2021, a group of insurrectionists accomplished just that. They stormed the halls of the capital building with that flag held high. The time has come for our country to do the right and to begin the systematic eradication of this archaic ideology and ban the flying of that flag. Freedom of speech ends when it invokes traditions that oppress.

The process to hire a new Chief of Police for Prince George’s County must be fully transparent. As PG County residents we must be included in the hiring process in ways that go beyond a mere community survey. The role of the police chief is far too great and needs to be accountable to the members of the community with all police matters.

A nonprofit organization, COVAX, will help with distribution of more than 800,000 of the Astra Zeneca Covid vaccines to the Guatemalan government. These 800,000 vaccines will give priority to vaccinating healthcare workers. However, these 800,000 doses will only be enough to vaccinate approximately 2% of the Guatemalan population, given that two doses are required. Moreover, the efficacy of this vaccine after the 2nd dose is only 70%, which is a much lower efficacy than those vaccines being given in the U.S. Most of the population of Guatemala cannot expect to receive vaccines until at least the end of 2022.

Power bills for some TX residents are now $10,000 and climbing because of a faulty grid system that was not properly maintained and regulated.

There is not one single private company in the United States that would not have fired Ted Cruz immediately following his recent impromptu vacation to Mexico as millions of his constituents were without water and power; literally freezing - many of them to death. Instead of taking even the slightest of roles in doing something - ANYTHING - that might have been of help to any single Texas Citizen by using his substantial influence, connections, and power as a United States Senator, he disgracefully fled the country to a warmer climate, leaving his constituents to weather a historic winter storm on their own. Not to be outdone, Ted then disgracefully blamed his actions on "being a Dad," which was quickly packaged into a bold-faced and awkward public lie. When that blatant lie became clear, Ted finally offered up a weak apology in lieu of his resignation, thus ensuring that Ted is completely void of any and all remaining integrity that he might have once had. This all says nothing of Ted's shadowy role in the recent Capital insurrection, but together with his wasteful spending of time and money on fruitless election lawsuits and questionable insurrectionist support, shows a bold and repeating pattern that Ted Cruz is wholly unfit for one of the highest offices in the land and has forever crossed a line that demands he be removed from his post. To not recall Ted Cruz after these repeating actions would be illogical, unethical, very un-Texan, and wholly un-American. The entire State of Texas deserves better. Therefore, we call upon John Cornyn and every United States Senator to lobby one another such that proceedings that will lead to the expulsion of Ted Cruz can be started in earnest, and so that his successor is quickly chosen so Texas citizens will not have to suffer the dereliction of duty and morbid insubordination of Ted Cruz any longer. Thank you.

Early in February, President Biden formally issued a proclamation to end the fake “national emergency” Trump declared on the U.S.-Mexico border. But as of right now, 3,600 active duty troops are staying put. People seeking safety and asylum should be met with humanitarian aid and open arms. Instead, the U.S.-Mexico border is a place of chemical weapons, detention centers, barbed wire, walls, and active duty troops. While Biden is making positive moves, unless the U.S. southern border — and U.S. immigration policy — is fully demilitarized, there’s no way they’ll ever be enough to truly get us away from where we’ve been. We’ve got to start moving toward where our professed values push us to be. And we’ve got to do it fast. The militarization of the border has got to end. It will, but only if we show the Biden administration that there’s massive public support for them to do it.