Aloha! The same rich folks and corporations have been calling the shots in Honolulu for far too long. It's time for a candidate that is unbought and unbossed to run for Honolulu Mayor. Someone who doesn't just say that they care, but actually does. Someone who has been in politics of all kinds , including elected office, for over 40 years and has never taken a dime from corporations. Not many people can say that. Someone who was Chair of the Hawaii County Council. Someone who puts people first, stands for open government, and has a long track record of working for a just and sustainable society. A Green. Someone who has never given up. She just keeps changing strategies and searching for new ways to make a positive difference. If you want REAL change, and not just smoke and mirrors, and tinkering on the edges while unmet problems continue to worsen, then *please* ask Keiko Bonk to run for Mayor. Or we can continue to expend lots of time, energy, and resources to play defense while special interests dump tons of money into the same old politicians - winning some battles, but losing many more in the long run. We really do need our best candidate to run if we’re going to win the race for Honolulu Mayor in 2016. Getting Keiko Bonk to run is our best chance to get a truly progressive mayor, and to put support for working families and the middle class at the top of the City and County of Honolulu agenda. I hope you’ll join me in saying #RunBonkRun Thanks! Frank DeGiacomo

Governor Walker is using the budget deficit as justification to eliminate scientists from the Wisconsin DNR staff. This will make it very difficult, if not impossible, for Wisconsin to deal effectively with problems such as global climate change, nutrient overloading in lakes and rivers, and chronic wasting disease in whitetail deer. The elimination of the scientist bureau from the DNR seems to be consistent with Walker's overall attack on science.

The Kensington, Windsor Terrace, Ditmas Park, Flatbush, and Midwood areas of Brooklyn are the home of a growing population of dogs and their owners. According to the NYC Department of Health, these areas currently have a combination of 19,756 canines. Many of these dog owners take advantage of the designated areas in Prospect Park during off-leash hours. Off-leash areas offer the opportunity for dogs to exercise and interact with other dogs. This produces well­-behaved, non­-aggressive dogs that add a positive aspect to the community. However, many owners are not able to go to the Prospect Park areas for a variety of reasons. Some work during off-leash hours, some are concerned with going to the park when it is dark, and some are unable to walk far from home. The community needs a fenced-in area for unleashed dogs that is able to stay open during the day. We are proposing an area suggested by the Parks Administration to be assigned as a closed-­in dog run, located in a section of the Parade Ground at Prospect Park. These areas would be maintained by the Kensington Dog Park Association, Inc., a group that will review the condition of the area, plan for upkeep along with the Parks Department, and seek funding from a number of sources. The Kensington Dog Run Association was created to generate community involvement toward creating a new dog run. Our association welcomes all responsible pet owners and supporters. Together, we hope to raise the funding and awareness necessary to build the dog run and maintain upkeep. We ask the community for your support to help make the Kensington Dog Run a reality. For more information, please visit www.kensingtondogrun.com

Currently, recreation therapists are not being held accountable in the same way as other allied health and human services professionals in the State. There is no regulating entity to insure that properly prepared professionals are practicing in the State of New York.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics keeps detailed records about crime throughout the country, providing an invaluable resource to track trends and to help legislators and law enforcement agencies determine how to allocate resources. However, they do not currently track the number of police killings across the United States, or any details about those encounters or the victims. The lack of comprehensive statistics about police shootings feels like willful ignorance on the part of the federal government. And this record is crucial for establishing the patterns of violence and creating the solutions we need to ensure all communities are safe and secure. Police forces around the country receive federal support. It's time for the federal government to mandate that police departments provide detailed information about police killings as a requirement to receive federal funds. And the BJS needs to make this information available in a transparent and timely fashion.

Republicans in Congress are trying to pass an unnecessary tax giveaway to America's wealthiest citizens. The estate tax, which the U.S. has had for more than a century, currently affects Americans with estates worth at least $5.4 million, or $10.8 million for a couple--only 1 out of every 500 taxpayers. And yet, it's been a target of right-wing lawmakers, working on behalf of their wealthy donors. Congress has shrunk the estate tax in recent years—and now the Senate and House, in advisory votes largely along party lines, have voted to repeal it entirely. When the Republicans press this issue again, Senate Democrats will need to be ready to beat back the repeal and block this latest Republican giveaway to the superrich. Good grief, Congress. With all this going on, are you really going to give another tax break to those who need it least?

Washington, DC and the Ward 1 community cannot afford to lose this key healthcare center for low-income families and refugees, especially with so little dental care in the community. 6,500 people stand to lose access to a comprehensive range of health services: medical, dental, and behavioral health care, plus patient navigation, health education, and many other services. Nearly 100 new patients join the medical and dental practices each month. There are so many great aspects of Community of Hope’s Marie Reed Health Center – including a strong partnership with the Marie Reed Elementary School and awards for ranking in the top 10% of health centers in the United States. It is not just a health center; it is a home.

In April, the Oregon House and Senate held hearings on raising the minimum wage. That’s an important step – it allows these proposals to move forward in a legislative session that will be winding down before you know it. A higher minimum wage means more than a raise for our lowest-paid workers. It means boosting the purchasing power of consumers in every corner of the state. That’s money that goes directly into the local economy as workers pay rent, buy groceries and support local stores selling household essentials. It also means fewer families relying on public assistance programs -- and businesses, not taxpayers, paying the full cost of labor. Minimum wage opponents would have you believe that this is a debate about teenagers working a summer job. That’s just wrong. The reality is that today’s minimum wage worker is likely to be a woman in her thirties, working full time, and often supporting a family. And nationally, about 80 percent of all minimum wage workers are now 20 years or older. Let’s keep up the pressure!

The purpose of the TPP/TTIP is to protect guaranteed corporate profits at all cost and as a result, we would be subject to the whims of corporate lawyers and could be sued into oblivion for not understand our absolute lack of rights under this dictatorial doctrine. This so called trade agreement would give them the right to sue entire countries out of existence for inhibiting their guaranteed profits as a result of banning, product destruction or even regulating either the corporation and or its subsidiaries. Hitler would have wet his pants with glee if he had something like this! I strongly suspect many will be afraid to sign this, but if we don't take a stand now, we're all screwed!

We are a 4th grade class in Seattle, Washington. We are petitioning Dow Constantine, King County Executive, to give enough money for the Duwamish River to be clean enough for the tribes and other citizens to be able to fish safely, because the Duwamish River is one of the most polluted rivers in the US and the only river in Seattle. The Duwamish River is affecting people’s health. Residents who live closer to the river die 13 years younger than others who live in Laurelhurst. As a matter of fact, there are three tribes that eat fish from the river. It's in the tribes' culture to fish in the Duwamish and we shouldn't take that away from them. So we want King County to give enough money so that people can know it is OK to eat the fish without the risk of getting really sick. The EPA has already released a $342 million, 17 year-long cleanup plan to help. However, it is not removing enough toxins so that locals can fish from the Duwamish safely. Although it will cost King County a lot of money and time, people and animals around the Duwamish will be saved. There are 3 things that you can do to help: 1. sign this petition, 2. spread the word about this problem, and 3. share this petition with others. Our goal is 3,000 signatures by June 1, 2015. June 2 we will be holding a protest and presenting our petition signatures. If you sign it, it will really make a difference to the people and animals that live or fish in the Duwamish River. UPDATE (6/5/15): Guess what happened after our march on 6/2/15 for the Duwamish River? We met with Dow Constantine and talked to him about the problem and some possible solutions. After our discussion about the Duwamish River, we asked him to sign the petition and he did! Dow told us he supports cleaning up the Duwamish River and said that he already has his own plan: the Green-Duwamish River Watershed Cleanup Plan that cleans the area around the Duwamish. As of June 3, 2015, we had a total 2798 petition signatures (719 paper and 2079 online). All of them were collected in just 5 weeks, with people from 8 countries and 38 states!. Although we succeeded with getting Dow Constantine to sign our petition, we still have other PRP’s (Potentially Responsible Parties) to convince. The EPA has identified over 100 PRP’s, but the 4 major ones are King County, Port of Seattle, Boeing and City of Seattle. If you keep showing support and help get these other PRP’s to join in their support, we will achieve our goal. We will share our petition results with all four PRP’s. From, Miss Margie’s 4th grade class

As described in a new cover story in the SonomaIndependent.org, the taxpaying voters of Sonoma County have voted overwhelmingly for both medical marijuana and full legalization. Yet Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch and Probation Director Robert Ochs are asking a sentencing judge to tear my husband Yarrow Kubrin from our four and seven year old children and incarcerate him for up to five years. Yarrow has never been charged with harming or threatening anyone. He registered and legally created a medical marijuana collective, with a bank account, but was arrested, and pled guilty, to legal technicalities (like depositing cash) under the State of California’s arcane marijuana laws. There are many peaceful men and women like my husband Yarrow behind bars in Sonoma County today for legal technicalities related to marijuana. Yarrow has worked hard and successfully as a real estate broker since his marijuana bust four years ago, providing as a productive member of our community, and helping me, as a non-working mother, to raise our daughter and four year old challenged son. What possible benefit could there be to removing Yarrow from our family, forcing us into poverty, and incarcerating him at a cost to taxpayers of $50,000 per year? District Attorney Jill Ravitch campaigned on a slogan of “Keeping You Safe.” Tearing parents from their families and incarcerating them for years for victim-less crimes like growing marijuana makes our families, and community, less safe! Why, then, did Ravitch withdraw a plea bargain agreement that would have avoided jail time and place him on probation for two years? And why is Probation Director Robert Ochs, who has publicly expressed support for alternatives to incarceration, recommending a prison term of four and a half years for Yarrow, whose actions have never harmed anyone? There has been an outpouring of support for Yarrow, with nearly 100 Sonoma County citizens writing letters requesting leniency, and overfilling the hall outside his courtroom. On May 5, Superior Court Judge Rene Chouteau will sentence Yarrow. We ask that D.A. Ravitch and Probation Director Ochs reconsider their recommendations for jail time, and allow Yarrow, and parents like him, to remain with their families for victim-less crimes related to marijuana. It’s time to stop the insanity of Sonoma County’s secret, unsupported, multi-million dollar war on marijuana.

I am starting this because at Mannheim middle school we had silence day where we were silent for those who couldn't speak for themselves. But I don't think we should be silent--I think we should speak out. Help me speak out against racial profiling.