I began working as an educator in Hawaii in 1995: first as a substitute teacher at Pope Elementary School, then for summer school, then full-time subbing for the Windward District. During my many years as a tenured teacher, my concern over the quality of public education has escalated to the point of panic and despair. This is over the corporate mandates I must adhere to in order to keep my job. We have lost student access to school libraries during the day due to school librarian positions being cut. Testing has become the focus and workplace bullying the norm. Lying, cheating, and harassment by administrators is the norm. This needs to stop. How? More transparency and accountability is needed from the decision-makers in the Hawaii Department of Education. The Board of Education oversees the public school system and state library system. All Hawaii voters deserve access to meetings which take place during the work day on Oahu and to witness for themselves what is being decided regarding Hawaii's children. Join the Facebook group BOE Watch. Hawaii residents, just click the "join group" button to add your name.

The USDA approved Monsanto’s new genetically engineered cotton and soybeans that are resistant to dicamba, an herbicide that has been known to cause reproductive and developmental harm. Herbicides like this are poisoning our soil and water and pose a threat to the health of our families, environment, and wildlife. We need less toxic herbicides and pesticides in our food system, not more. But now that these herbicide-resistant seeds have been approved, more toxic chemicals on the food we eat every day could be imminent. We need to push back and tell the USDA that their approval of these seeds is unacceptable.

The USDA approved Monsanto’s new genetically engineered cotton and soybeans that are resistant to dicamba, an herbicide that has been known to cause reproductive and developmental harm. Herbicides like this are poisoning our soil and water and pose a threat to the health of our families, environment, and wildlife. We need less toxic herbicides and pesticides in our food system, not more. But now that these herbicide-resistant seeds have been approved, more toxic chemicals on the food we eat every day could be imminent. We need to push back and tell the USDA that their approval of these seeds is unacceptable.

The USDA approved Monsanto’s new genetically engineered cotton and soybeans that are resistant to dicamba, an herbicide that has been known to cause reproductive and developmental harm. Herbicides like this are poisoning our soil and water and pose a threat to the health of our families, environment, and wildlife. We need less toxic herbicides and pesticides in our food system, not more. But now that these herbicide-resistant seeds have been approved, more toxic chemicals on the food we eat every day could be imminent. We need to push back and tell the USDA that their approval of these seeds is unacceptable.

The Senate and House are making critical budget decisions that will deeply affect all Americans in 2016. All members of Congress need to hear from constituents before April 15 that cuts to programs that help Americans are not acceptable. The U.S. House and Senate have each advanced a budget outline that calls for the wrong choices: more tax breaks for corporations and the rich and more funding for the Pentagon, along with less funding for needed investments. Past budget cuts have kept 67,000 low-income families from moving into affordable housing; denied child care to hundreds of thousands of children in low-income working families; reduced job training and education aid; left our roads and bridges in disrepair; and left millions of poor Americans with less food each month by cutting food stamps. The new plans would make all this worse. It does not have to be this way. A federal budget that makes the right choices can both preserve and expand essential services. Closing even some tax loopholes and reducing Pentagon waste would fund universal pre-k, make college more affordable, create jobs, and dramatically reduce hunger, homelessness, and poverty. The good news: There are many more steps before the funding cuts outlined in the House and Senate budget plans could be enacted into law. Even before the ink is dry on a new budget, Congress will be under pressure to change it. But without our voices, the pressures are to increase Pentagon spending, threatening human needs programs even more. Your signature on this petition will make a difference -- but we must act now to send Congress a strong, united message that we oppose upside-down priorities.

Here's what Cris Fiore wrote about it: Every day in this country 119 people die from drug overdose, and another 6,748 are treated in emergency rooms. That averages out to an overdose related hospitalization every 13 seconds and an overdose death every 13 minutes. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, outstripping traffic fatalities or gun homicides. And every year it gets worse. In addition to the terrible human toll, substance abuse costs the U.S. economy over $600 billion annually. Effective treatment can dramatically reduce these costs. According to several conservative estimates, every dollar invested in addiction treatment programs yields a return of between $4 and $7 in reduced drug-related crime, criminal justice costs, and theft. When savings related to healthcare are included, total savings can exceed costs by a ratio of 12 to 1. Major savings to the individual and to society also stem from fewer interpersonal conflicts; greater workplace productivity; and fewer drug-related accidents, including overdoses and deaths. My 24-year-old son, Anthony, died May 31, 2014, following a six year battle with opioid and heroin addiction that included three unsuccessful short term treatment programs, each lasting less than 30 days, which was all that insurance would pay for. For most people, this is simply not enough time to recover from the assault addictive drugs make on the body and to restore the life skills that keep a person from relapsing. Research tells us that effective inpatient treatment leads to long term sobriety and fewer relapses. Ninety (90) day residential drug rehab is suggested as the minimum length of time for effective treatment. Anecdotal evidence gathered from post discharge patient interviews suggests that long-term treatment at a drug rehab facility can decrease the risk of drug addiction relapse by up to 73%. That can mean the difference between addiction and recovery—or even life and death. Tell your U.S. Senators and representatives: The Affordable Care Act must be amended to provide for a minimum of Ninety (90) days inpatient drug or alcohol treatment up to a maximum of One Hundred Eighty (180) days per year at a facility certified to provide such care by the Secretary of Health of the state in which it is located.

Marijuana has been mislabeled a Schedule 1 controlled substance since President Nixon passed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. While tobacco kills more people than all the drugs, legal and illegal combined, it can be sold anywhere and grown anywhere legally; marijuana can't. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and seventeen other congresspeople have already signed a letter to ask President Obama to take marijuana off the controlled substances list. This is a great start but we need to apply more pressure. Because marijuana is considered a class 1 drug, medical marijuana stores where it’s sanctioned can’t set up a bank account, and have to operate as a cash only business. This is the excuse many cities use to try to zone medical marijuana stores out of existence. This is a Tenth Amendment issue if there ever was one. The federal government should not be telling states what their residents should be putting in their bodies. It’s time to put an end to the double standard hypocrisy and take it off the list. Thank You, Clem Dominguez

To stop someone from misusing the privilege that they have and using it as a weapon to disrespect people and their families without any consequence. To warn others about this tax preparer and what she is capable of and why she should lose her license. To let others be on guard on a person who would go as far as to hold onto a tax document that does not belong to them and threatening to call the police and refuse to give it back to them.

UT has the single largest licensing program out of any university in the country, and we know that the top two contenders, the Dallas Cowboys and VF Corporation, are embroiled in scandals concerning sexual assault, domestic violence, and sweatshop abuses. Dallas Cowboys - In May 2007, the WRC issued a report about the Dada Dhaka factory, a Bangladeshi factory that produced clothes for the Cowboys. The WRC investigated the factory in light of allegations of anti-union activity. Investigations demonstrated that workers who had attended labor rights trainings were threatened with violence and subsequently fired. One woman, who was previously injured while working at the factory, underwent threats by management that they would attack her if she did not leave her position. - In 2011, the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights reported on the Ocean Sky factory in El Salvador where workers sewed apparel for the Cowboys. The report reads “the 1,500 mostly women workers at Ocean Sky are locked in a Free Zone, surrounded by barbed wire and patrolled by guards armed with shotguns...Workers report being drenched in their own sweat, since afternoon factory temperatures reach 98 degrees Fahrenheit...Factory drinking water is filthy and contaminated with fecal coli which can cause diarrhea, intestinal illness and infections. Six workers were fired for daring to alert their colleagues that the factory water was unsafe to drink...Illegally, all overtime is mandatory...Workers earn a base wage of 72 cents an hour, and 92 cents counting the attendance bonus...Even the Salvadoran Ministry of the Economy puts the workers' wages at one-quarter of a family's basic needs." - Also in 2011, a report was released about the Apple Tree factory in El Salvador. Workers were producing Cowboys-logo infant apparel and were illegally forced to work overtime with no additional compensation for their time. Workers often became sick after drinking the factory-provided water, underwent vicious harassment and abuse from management, and were denied of a multitude of legally-ensured rights. - The same year, the Cowboys pulled orders from the PT Kizone factory in Indonesia, withholding severance owed to 2,800 workers. The company lied about its relationship with the factory, and it was only after immense pressure from labor groups like USAS that the Cowboys paid $55,000, a meager portion of the $3.3 million owed in total. - The Style Avenue factory in El Salvador also had numerous labor violations. According to a report conducted by the Worker Rights Consortium in 2011, “Style Avenue was found to have [...] forced overtime, illegal terminations, verbal abuse by management, failure to respect freedom of association, locking workers in the factory, excessive heat, and unsanitary conditions. After the publication of the report, additional violations occurred, which prompted the WRC to contact the licensees and urge remediation.” - ESPN Outside the Lines produced an expose in 2012 highlighting the Cowboy’s labor violations in the Cambodian factories Bright Sky and Suntex. Workers were routinely forced to work 60 hours a week, which is a clear violation of Cambodian labor law. VF Corporation - In December 2010, four Bangladeshi garment workers died and 100 were injured in clashes with police outside a factory owned by the Korean-based YoungOne group, a major producer of North Face and owner of the rights to North Face in Korea. At issue was failure of the YoungOne factory to implement a new minimum wage increase. - In 2010, VF was producing at That’s It Sportswear factory in Bangladesh (owned by Hameem Group), which burned, killing 29 workers and injuring more than a hundred. The factory had illegal construction, no proper fire exits, shoddy wiring, and locked exit doors. Workers were trapped on the top floors of the factory. Many jumped to their deaths. VF had repeatedly inspected the factory and yet had completely failed to address the safety hazards. - In October of 2012, another VF factory, Eurotex, which was disclosed as a producer of collegiate apparel, burned in Dhaka. This was a major fire, though it did not completely destroy the factory. No one was killed in the fire, because the factory was closed for a holiday – if the fire had occurred during the workday, many could have died. When contacted about this fire, VF claimed that their own disclosure data was wrong and they had stopped using the factory. - In August of 2013, the Worker Rights Consortium conducted a safety assessment of Optimum Fashion, a long-time VF contract factory producing collegiate apparel. After VF attempted to prevent the WRC from accessing the factory, the WRC’s inspection uncovered a number of very serious safety hazards, all of which constitute violations of university code of conduct provisions requiring licensees to maintain safe workplaces and any of which could result in injury or death to workers. These violations “included inadequate means for workers to escape the factory in the event of a fire and structural flaws that would facilitate the rapid and widespread propagation of deadly smoke throughout the factory building.” - In January of 2014, a 20 year old YoungOne worker was shot and killed by police during a strike over stolen wages despite promises by YoungOne group to change its practices after the aforementioned 2010 murders. YoungOne produces up to 40% of all of The North Face’s apparel. - On April 2, 2014, over 48,000 workers walked off the job at the Yue Yuen factory, a supplier for Timberland (a VF brand), in China’s largest strike in recent memory. The Yue Yuen workers had been robbed of years of legally owed social insurance payments and it was only after a massive strike in which several workers were beaten and kidnapped that the factory agreed to begin paying full social insurance and higher wages. - On June 20, 2014 in Bangladesh, the Medlar Apparels factory caught fire, a factory that has supplied VF apparel as fa...

WE ARE AGAINST THE NAME CHANGE OF ECSU TO UNC-EC. WE ARE AGAINST THIS NAME CHANGE UNTIL FURTHER INFORMATION IS GIVEN AND THAT THE PLANS THAT WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY THE NAME CHANGE ARE MADE COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT.

My son is enrolled in Reno County Parents as Teachers. Rep. Peggy Mast suggested cutting the program statewide to offset the state's deficit. I think this is a bad idea. Parents as Teachers helps families prepare their children for school and identify any barriers the child may be facing, such as health or developmental disorders, and develop strategies to deal with them.

WE ARE AGAINST THE NAME CHANGE OF ECSU TO UNC-EC!!