Now is the time to have paid sick leave for all Michigan workers! The COVID crisis has magnified just how vital paid sick leave is, and how unprepared we were when the pandemic hit. Paid sick leave has been proven to be an effective policy to reduce the spread of the virus. Paid sick leave for all workers is critical as we re-open, is the best way for businesses to stay open and would help get the nation working again while supporting public health. While Congress passed emergency paid leave for many, it was temporary and limited, omitting as many as 106 million workers nationally and 1.7 million working Michiganders, many of them essential workers and on the front lines risking their lives and further exposure. Many of these workers are disproportionately people of color, women, and low-wage workers. Michigan Paid Leave for All (MiPaidLeave4All) is a coalition of individuals, businesses, community groups and nonprofit organizations that have committed to organize and fight for the right of EVERY worker in Michigan to have access to paid sick time to take care of themselves and their loved ones when illness strikes. The coalition is composed of civil rights, economic justice, faith-based, and women’s rights organizations. Together, we are united in a long-term fight in Michigan for establishing Paid Leave for All. Combined, these organizations have decades of experience strategizing, organizing, and mobilizing on behalf of racial, economic and gender justice in policy making. We firmly believe that no singular group can bring about this change. Together, however, through a coalition built on trust, we will be able to fight for and amplify policies that enable workers to have the ability to care for the families they work to support and sustain without losing their jobs, incomes, or livelihoods. As a coalition of your collective constituents, we expect our goal of achieving a public health policy that affords paid leave for all Michigan workers to be heard, listened to, and supported by you. We know that working individuals, their families and the state are strongest with time to heal from illness or injury, to welcome a new child, to help a loved one recover, or to ease their passing. We believe that everyone should be able to take time to care for themselves or a loved one without risking their job or paycheck. Being there for family is what matters—no exceptions. Right now the United States is the only industrialized country in the world that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave for members of its workforce. Current laws have failed to keep up with the needs of our workers, families, or our businesses in the 21st century. Having widespread access to paid leave would also give workers the confidence in their employers to abate their fears and concerns about getting exposed to COVID-19 (and other likely communicable illnesses) while on the job. Despite existing protections from retaliation for workers who are exposed or who may need to take time off to quarantine because they or a close contact has been exposed, many workers are still concerned that without adequate paid leave policies, they will have to choose between risking their physical health and their financial health. It’s a zero-sum situation and lose-lose situation for our workforce and the power to rectify that is at our collective fingertips. This is a workers’ rights issue, an economic justice issue, a racial justice issue, and a gender equity issue. And as a matter of equity, it’s time for paid sick leave for all of Michigan workers, not just those who already are lucky enough to have access to it. Because of dedicated community organizing Michigan has a Paid Sick Leave law; however, the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that it is inadequate. We must update and expand it in the very short term in order to cover every working person, to provide paid leave for a longer period of time than the current law provides, and include health pandemics, as SB 961 sponsored by Sen. Erika Geiss does. We urge you to support SB 961 so that Michigan is never caught unprepared again, whether the crisis is national or personal.

The Delaware River Basin Commission was established in 1961 by the Governors of your states and President Kennedy to protect this vital river basin that provides drinking water for over 15 million people. Yet right now the DRBC is failing to live up to its mandate with New Fortress Energy’s Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) export terminal project that will set a dangerous national precedent for the transportation of extremely volatile fracked gas by trucks and rail tank cars to export the gas overseas. The company is using the Delaware River as it’s testing grounds for an expedited plan to get around federal safety regulations instead planning to send hundreds of trucks and rail tank cars per day across the river watershed for export overseas from the site of an old DuPont munitions plant in Gibbstown, NJ. Trump signed an Executive Order last year to fastrack LNG by rail and his administration issued a special permit for this project. The DRBC wrongfully approved this project without looking at all the facts or providing the public with adequate input to express concerns and expert testimony over a year ago. This project has been cloaked in secrecy. Recently in July, the DRBC’s Hearing Officer ruled that they had done nothing wrong in handling this permit application or approval after formally hearing the case from a regional organization - Delaware Riverkeeper Network. The DRBC Hearing Officer ignored the potential impacts that this project can have on the water quality of the river including how the proposed site for the export terminal has PCBs and how these and other pollutants at the site could be disturbed by dredging the river. Furthermore, concerns about disturbance of pollution from the old DuPont munitions plant, including contamination with toxic and carcinogenic nitrobenzene, and others such as aniline, and mercury, have not been adequately addressed. The Hearing Officer also refused to accurately consider impacts on the ecosystem of the river including the federally endangered Atlantic sturgeon, rare freshwater mussels and their habitats at this location. Lastly, the DRBC refuses to look at the impact the over 1600 truck trips and up to two 100-car trainloads of LNG per day could have to the river basin as well as public safety. If there is a release of LNG in an accident, the fire burns so hot it can’t be extinguished, the vapor cloud can explode and cause catastrophic damage for miles, and people nearby can die. In fact, 22 rail tank cars have the equivalent force of the Hiroshima bomb. Thousands of people are speaking out. A large group of doctors and health experts and scientists have written about the dangers of the facility to public health. Let’s heed their warning. We ask you to reject the Hearing Officer’s findings, rescind the existing permit and stop this project!

George Floyd was murdered by the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25, 2020. On June 12, 2020, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously promised all Minneapolis residents a voice in envisioning a new system of public safety [1]. They said: “Police violence… [has] led to community destabilization, a decrease in public safety, and the exacerbation of racial inequities in Minneapolis” [1]. They said: “Together, we will identify what safety looks like for everyone” [1]. They said: “Our efforts to achieve transformative public safety will not be deterred by the inertia of existing institutions, contracts, and legislation” [1]. The Minneapolis City Council has not delivered on any of the promises they made on June 12. Instead, the City Council has been working quickly and quietly to rehouse the Third Precinct with a million-dollar lease at 2633 Minnehaha Avenue [2]. Although this particular lease fell through [5], the City Council has chosen: • to continue their plans to relocate the Third Precinct • to ignore their promises for an extensive community engagement process [1] • to deny residents any opportunity for official public comment on this project [3] • to cut corners and not complete the Racial Equity Impact Analysis for this project [4] Let’s stop them! To get involved, email us at [email protected]. Sources: [1] Minneapolis City Council Resolution No. 2020R-152. Available https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/MetaData/17459/2020R-152_Id_17459.pdf. [2] Minneapolis City Council Request for Committee Action 2020-00852. Available https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/RCA/6658. [3] https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Calendar/Council/upcoming. [4] https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/RCA/14663/Lease%20for%20Third%20Precinct%20REIA.pdf [5] https://www.startribune.com/deal-for-temporary-third-precinct-site-for-minneapolis-police-is-off/572432432/

If the school wants to foster a community where we feel safe and can be ourselves this is an imperative thing to do. We need to normalize this kind of stuff so students don’t feel so ostracized

The HLF5 are five innocent humanitarians who were unjustly tried, and whose innocence is widely accepted by politicians, academics, and human rights advocates around the world; but politics keep them imprisoned, deprived of their families and freedoms. They were tried by the US Government in a case full of injustices, and evidence proving their innocence was not allowed in the courtroom. Their sentences ranged from 15 to 65 years in prison. They've exhausted all legal options, and their only hope for freedom is a presidential order. The Palestinian-American community and the Muslim-American community are pushing for this campaign promise in the strongest terms. ALL people of strong moral conscience, regardless of your faith or ethnicity, should support the freedom of the innocent Holy Land Five. After signing this petition, you will receive an email for our upcoming national call. For details on the case, watch The Holy Land Five documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJJkaWVENTg

As a community of current and former Lobos, we are extremely disappointed to have been alerted that UNM has an officer who is emboldened in his behavior at a time where the nation is revisiting the systemic racism that is inherent in all police structures and cultures. We would hope by now you've been alerted that an officer who refers to himself as Eric on TikTok has displayed not only a gross misuse of taxpayer money, but created racist content. Below I will highlight all of the policy infractions this individual made, and demand he no longer represents the University of New Mexico in any capacity if, "Each of us defines all of us". Eric has built his entire online brand as being a University Cop at UNM therefore his actions cannot be explained as off-duty edgey humor. Even his username on the platform is "505collegeCop". Officer Eric's face can be clearly seen on this video: https://www.facebook.com/FFOLABQ/videos/pcb.2824755617754241/314282863356085/ Where is not wearing a mask during an international pandemic and endangering lives on University property. In this video, Eric clearly shows he is misusing University resources (UNMPD vehicle) while on duty, damaging the landscaping our campus community works so hard to uphold - staff landscapers and students during Spring Storm, and riding his UNMPD bicycle through the SUB - an action that would not be allowed if he were a student. This a complete disrespect to the student's annual fees and state taxpayers money that support the upkeep and renovation of campus buildings: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1001116097004456 And of course, the last video I'll share with you is while he is off duty but creating racist content that's already been heavily associated with the University of New Mexico: https://www.facebook.com/FFOLABQ/videos/948231055589747 How can you be a proud "College Cop" at a predominantly Hispanic Serving Institution and create content like this?

The Medfield community needs to have a voice at the Wednesday, Sept. 9 Dale Street School Building Committee (SBC) meeting (7 p.m. start time), yet the meeting notice shows no time set aside on the agenda for public input BEFORE votes are cast on the proposed site and building scenario for a 575-student school. (A public forum specifically on site selection had been previously planned, but never materialized.) Our Board of Selectmen is also scheduled to cast its own vote related to the overall "preferred solution" for the Dale Street project at its Sept. 15 meeting. A public forum is tentatively slated for AFTER that meeting on Sept. 22, so that means two town boards will not have their votes adequately informed by community input. (No public hearing is legally required prior to SBC and Selectmen casting its upcoming votes related to the Dale Street project.) We believe that before any town committee votes on such a significant decision with economic, educational, environmental and historic impacts, community members should have an adequate chance to weigh in. Now is the time to engage Medfield community members in the critically important site selection and schematic design decisions -- not after preliminary votes are cast. Our school building committee risks having the project derailed without sufficient community input early on in the process.

The chaos created by the lies being published and proliferated across various media in this country is disabling our democracy. If there is a chance at all for the 2020 election to go forward with a well-informed electorate, the lies must not be coddled into being or tolerated for another 270 minutes.

This purchase would bring a lot of value to the community, including a variety of youth education, sports, and social clubs. It will host a gymnastics club that is much more affordable than anything else in the surrounding community as well as volleyball, ultimate frisbee, and many more to come! Outdoor playing fields will be made also available to the public to enrich the health and enjoyment of the local families. In addition, homeschool families will be able to enjoy supplementary educational classes - also at much cheaper rates than other local options. Finally, the Academy will serve as a hub for others in the community - parents, professionals, and coaches - to create their own classes and contribute to the entire neighborhood (whether as a volunteer or as a paid class). They will also have access to teaching rooms for academics and various playing fields for sports (which are otherwise very difficult to rent out in this area).

It is important to us to wear shoes that we choose due to the fact it is the only way to express ourselves . We should be able to wear any shoes because as the ones being educated, we should be able to have some say so in our appearance. Our education has nothing to do with our appearance. Also the shoes we are mandated to wear are expensive shoes being the fact that we have to pay for fleece tops and and winter tops plus shoes the expense gets high when a student can go and purchase a pair of shoes that they like for a cheap price .

The funding for Lyme disease is one of the lowest even though it is the fastest spreading Tick-Borne disease. Scientific research appears to be ignored or suppressed that could help patients, and conflicts of interest are present that can influence research, testing, and treatment. It is time that these things were addressed and for change to happen.

This is important because all around the world our fellow brothers are being killed by the police, and no ones doing a thing about it. It’s time for us the people to do something about it