“The city has defaulted the handling of almost all social ills in the city to the police department, especially those dealing with the homeless population. Through the focus groups conducted with the department’s supervisors and line-level personnel, it was obvious there is a high level of frustration among all employees regarding the responsibilities of dealing with the homelessness issue.” -Santa Cruz Police Department Operations Analysis 2018 Report Many of the calls police currently respond to here in Santa Cruz could be better handled by a program like CAHOOTS. In the city of Santa Cruz, 21.9% of calls to the Santa Cruz Police Department (SCPD) in 2017 were classified as welfare checks, which programs like CAHOOTS are specifically designed to handle. (Less than 16% of calls to SCPD were classified as crime-related.) For the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), 43-56% of calls each month in 2020 have been welfare checks. The annual Santa Cruz Police Department budget is $30 million. SCPD responds to 100,000 calls a year, at an average cost of about $300 per response--over 3 times the cost of mobile crisis units. The cost per response from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office appears to be much higher; SCSO’s budget for “police protection” is over $45 million, and according to the office’s published crime statistics, they handled 17,199 calls last year (an average of over $2600 per response). By contrast, in 2019, CAHOOTS responded to more than 24,000 calls on a budget of $2 million (an average of $83 per response). “I recently spoke with a sergeant about defunding. He said, ‘If someone could take the homeless issues entirely from us and stop us from responding to mental health calls—please, take the money!’ The sad reality is that no one else has stepped up as the first responder to these issues.” -SCPD Chief Mills’ blog, 6/16/20 The 2020 Grand Jury Report on Homelessness recommended establishing a program in Santa Cruz County modeled after the CAHOOTS program and “would be beneficial to those receiving its services, as well as the County’s law enforcement and medical personnel. The BOS should work with City and the County law enforcement agencies to identify funding in their budgets, and launch a program similar to CAHOOTS to reduce the overall costs of homelessness to the County.” We call on elected officials to heed the Grand Jury’s recommendation and establish a CAHOOTS-type crisis response service here in Santa Cruz County. A program like this would better serve our county’s needs, while saving public money by diverting calls from police and emergency medical services. Email [email protected] to get involved or for more info! Sources: https://whitebirdclinic.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CAHOOTS-Media.pdf (pages 1,2, & 5) https://www.cityofsantacruz.com/home/showdocument?id=70001 (page 2 & 120) https://santacruzsheriff.org/about-us/crime-stats https://chiefmills.com/2020/06/16/de-fund-the-police/ http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/Portals/0/County/GrandJury/GJ2020_final/MicroHomes_Report.pdf (page 23)

1: Dual Office Holding - The State of Louisiana prohibits a person holding incompatible roles. See LA Revised Statue 42:64 (A)(1),(A)(4) and LA R.S. 42:62(A)(6) -Voting on matters as a Commissioner concerning his personnel issues, insurance settlements, and compensation ie (yearly budget). 2: Mismanagement of Public Funds - Overspending (≈$1.7M yearly budget). - 3M loan/bond without public ballot/vote. - Excessive spending on legal fees. 3: Overreach of Power - General disregard for State and Local laws (see point number one). - Ethics board violations. -Open meetings law violations.

Indian Village is an affluent neighborhood on the East side of the city of Detroit. It is a subdivision that was created from a farm owned by the Cook family. The name of the neighborhood was not chosen to lift up or empower people, it was not chosen out of honor or respect. Instead, according to the Detroit Historical Society, it was chosen to “give the neighborhood character” helping to sell the lots and homes. There were many settlements in the area and there is a long history of people living in the area before colonization. However, local Tribal historians, the Detroit Historical Society, and the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office have all confirmed that there was not a Native settlement at the location. The name is offensive to the local Indigenous people, historically inaccurate, and misleading. It is not acceptable to appropriate people or culture to sell products. Indian Village is another example of the appropriation of the Indigenous people of North America being used by others. These practices must come to an end and we are calling on the neighborhood residents and the City of Detroit to rename this neighborhood to “The Village.”

October 14, 2020: Today the United Farm Workers (UFW) and UFW Foundation (UFWF) filed a lawsuit against Trump's Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. On September 30th, the Department of Agriculture took an unprecedented step toward reducing farm worker wages. They announced the unilateral decision to eliminate the data collection that is the only national source of information that allows the Department of Labor to determine and set guest worker wages. Without this information, the wages of all domestic farm workers could be adversely impacted. You can stand with farm workers by signing their petition to USDA Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue. For over 100 years USDA has consistently used this method to collect data about farm labor and wages. The federal Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), determines the minimum rate that must be paid H–2A workers to avoid undercutting the wages of domestic farm workers. The AEWR rate is higher than the minimum wage in all 50 states -- often significantly. To put it in perspective, in states like Utah and Wisconsin, wages could fall by as much as $7 per hour. Even in California, workers stand to lose almost $2 an hour. The USDA gave no rationale for this change and did not make it available for public comment. In addition, they did not consider the incredible harm this move would have on farm worker wages and did not explain why they chose to eliminate it even though many states and federal entities rely on this information. This lawsuit is critical. The wage loss could amount to thousands of dollars to workers who are barely making both ends meet. These wage decreases will create a ripple effect, ultimately resulting in many US farm workers being paid less. And the fact that they are trying to cut the wages of these essential workers in the middle of a pandemic is outrageous. Stand with us in stopping this travesty. THE UFW & UFWF filed a lawsuit against Sonny Perdue today, but let's also show him that Americans care about the people who put food on our tables and will not accept this change. Sign our petition to Sonny Perdue now.

Let's be frank. These days, everyone needs more places to play outside. The reality of the 2020 pandemic has shown us, as residents of Delaware County, that our outdoor space could be better utilized. This rings particularly true for school-age kids who have outgrown the playground or don't play organized sports. Skateboarding is a great outlet for those kids. This will also have a positive impact on our community. Skateparks are incredibly popular. They are used by skateboarders, inline skaters, roller skaters and often scooters and stunt bikers. Visit any public skatepark and you will see an incredibly high use of public land per square foot. A skatepark will increase the use of our public, tax-funded park. It will also provide an outlet for the ever-growing sport of skateboarding and showcase Delco as a place where the community comes together to support this great sport.

We have always relied on overworked and underpaid state and local election officials to successfully oversee the electoral contests that keep our democracy ticking. Thousands of public servants across 50 states, 3,141 counties, and 14 sovereign territories have a long, proud history of doing their job to ensure our voices are heard. This year, they need our support. They need to know that the vast majority of Americans trust them to run smooth and secure elections, and that we all agree on a specific set of fundamental nonpartisan principles. The conspiracy theories about "voter fraud" and a "rigged election" are an insult to the people who keep our elections free and fair. Protect Our Election is working to repair the damage done by building a grassroots movement to support the dedicated election administrators who are working so hard this election season. We need to let these public servants know that we have their back - that Americans still believe in democracy and still trust them to do their jobs the way they always have. They need to know we outnumber the angry mob. Take action today by sending a message of support to your state election officials. Let them know you are doing your part as a citizen, that you appreciate how difficult their job is, and that you reject the idea that this election will be compromised.

We successfully completed our college run and received our NC State degrees. We deserve nothing but recognition and thanks. NC State wouldn't be where it is without our class, and vice versa. As new alumni, it is so important for us to know how much our alma mater cares about us; especially because we have yet to feel much concern. On September 16, 2020, NC State raised $23,223,425 on Giving Day. As quoted by NC State, Giving Day is meant for the community to "come together to support our students and the strength of our community." There are 5,990 spring 2020 graduates. That means that, with Giving Day funds alone, each graduate could receive $3,877. All we are asking is the Chancellor, and board, show their support towards the spring class. A $250 gift card for lifetime Wolfpack memorabilia is truly a small way to show our class that NC State cares.

More than 215,000 Americans have died in 2020 from the coronavirus and 40,000 to 50,000 new cases are diagnosed each day in the United States. Millions of Americans are suffering and struggling to get by. Dr. Anthony Fauci says that we currently face a "difficult situation" with rising positive cases as we head into Winter. The Senate must prioritize coronavirus relief over filling a seat on the Supreme Court.

The Trump administration is trying to end the 2020 Census count as soon as possible -- so that already vulnerable communities lose out on representation in Congress and vital funding for things like schools, fire trucks, and COVID-19 relief. This is just the administration’s latest attempt to intimidate, exclude, and erase immigrant families and young people out of the 2020 Census. And now, the Supreme Court has given Trump and his administration the go-ahead to halt the census count. Remember: rigging the census is part of a years-long effort by far-right political operatives to rig our system and silence millions of Americans. We’ve uncovered documents from the GOP’s top redistricting strategist, Thomas Hofeller, that outline this exact strategy -- and we took this fight to court. And despite this setback, we’re not done fighting. But we need to prepare for the worst: that the Administration might shut down the census immediately. We have one path to stop this -- put maximum pressure on the U.S. Senate to save the Census. We must go all out -- right here and right now -- to protect the 2020 Census from political manipulation. We must make sure senators know that their seats are on the line -- and the American people expect them to put the integrity of our democracy before Trump’s partisan schemes. We don’t have a moment to waste. There is bipartisan legislation right now that would save the U.S. Census -- and passing it just got far, far more urgent. If we can get it to the Senate floor, it has the support to pass. Demand that GOP senators add their support to the bipartisan 2020 Census Deadline Extensions Act (S. 4571) -- which would extend the census count through October 31st -- and insist Majority Leader Mitch McConnell holds a floor vote.

The GOP is not following the “order“ and meanwhile we now have real fraud in our California election because people are depositing their ballots in a fraudulent dropbox.

Freeform has a wide variety of Audience. They show 31 days of Halloween movies, and they have Christmas specials. I am petitioning for this network to add a 31 days of Disney movies. The up and coming generation DESERVES to experience the classics that is Disney. Children are so impressionable and they see such violence and gore on TV that we owe it to them and ourselves to provide a safe time and space for children to spend time and watch TV with there family’s without being subjected to unchildly things. Disney movies not only provide that safe space but they are also a huge part of a child’s development. Disney inspires, animate, and molds the lives of millions, so who are we to deny our children this experience. Simply adding Disney to Freeform will not only make views skyrocket, but bring family’s together in a safe setting and during trying times like these, it might be exactly what we need to bring our community back together!

These skills are BASIC life skills that the education system needs to teach us. The Irvine unified school district has done great things in many subjects, but we demand more.