The state of Hawai‘i wants to spend about $1 billion on new prison bed construction. It plans on imprisoning over 6000 people for a state population of about 1.3 million. This large prison population makes Hawai'i less safe because the rate of repeating crime increases when people are imprisoned and the communities that they come from and usually return, suffer continual erosion. Instead of spending a $1 billion on a new prison, Hawai‘i should implement Justice Reinvestment, Restorative Justice, and increase community programming for safer communities.

When the community of Ferguson, Missouri demanded answers in the death Michael Brown, an unarmed 18 year old killed by a police officer, they were met with force more appropriate for a war zone than a suburban town of 21,000 residents. Police officers unleashed tear gas, rubber bullets, and hovering helicopters on residents mourning their community’s tragedy. Ferguson’s residents face racial discrimination in their community every day. 67% of Ferguson’s residents are black, just three police officers, one city council member, and no school board members are black. While the majority of people who live in the town are black, the people making decisions about who has value, and a say, in their community are white. When hundreds of residents rallied to remember and to grieve, the everyday policing biases they faced quickly escalated. Police officers dressed like soldiers armed with military-grade weapons looked like they were there to lead a tactical assault -- not help a community in crisis cope with a tragic loss. When weapons from the battlefield end up on our streets, no community is safe. Join us in calling on your Governor to opt-out of the militarization of our neighborhoods and take executive action rejecting military-grade weapons available through the Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) program. These weapons shouldn’t be anywhere, much less our back yards. Why does Ferguson, a town of 21,000, have a police force with access to helicopters, rubber bullets, and tear gas? In 1991, Congress established the LESO program which allows the Defense Department to transfer excess property to state agencies who request them. The property is given to agencies -- police departments, fish and wildlife services, and state universities alike -- as-is and must be used by the agency within a year. LESO gives these agencies access to tanks, helicopters, tear gas, machine guns, armored cars, night-vision equipment, and more battlefield-tested equipment. In 2013 alone, more than $440 million in supplies were doled out to agencies in all 50 states. These weapons do not belong in our neighborhoods or in the hands of our communities police forces. When combined with systemic policing bias toward communities of color, our citizens are less safe at the hands of those sworn to protect them. We don’t know where the next Ferguson may be, but so long as LESO continues to provide military-grade weapons to local law enforcement the threat remains. We urge Governors to opt-out of these programs to ensure the safety and uphold the civil rights of their communities.

Recreation Centers are oftentimes the heart and soul of a community. It is a huge priority for this community, our children and ultimately the health of our economy. Many children from local working families do not have the opportunities to be in after school activities or summer camps every day, year-round. These children are often limited to the library, which is trying to adapt to this need, but is not an ideal solution, and their programming is tapped out. We are an active community and there are more healthy, stimulating alternatives that we are not providing our children - playing games on a computer is not serving our children. Being a progressive community that cares about its children, it is an extreme disservice that we are not providing our community, our children and our visitors with year-round access to a public pool, a track, etc. Recreation Centers serve as affordable and year-round places for people to exercise, for children to recreate and hone various sports and skills, and for family and friends to spend time together. They are also a valuable amenity to the region, as they provide residents a better quality of life, increase property values, attract tourists, and help to bring the community together. Let's start the dialogue to get a Rec Center here in Telluride...we are one of the only resorts left in Colorado that doesn't have one and now is the time!

For too long, the University of California has tolerated managers and supervisors who mistreat employees. Despite the Union’s ongoing efforts to eliminate workplace bullying of our members and win a fair and respectful workplace, the problem persists. Although there are many good managers in the system, too many of our members are abused in the workplace while the employer turns a blind eye to the problem.

If the photographs emerging from Ferguson, Missouri look like some foreign war zone to you, you're not alone. Plenty of former soldiers in Iraq & Afghanistan are saying the same thing. This was no accident. The armored vehicles, assault weapons and body armor that police are wearing in Ferguson—and other state/local police across the country—come from the United States military. Since 1996, the Department of Defense has transferred $4.3 billion in military equipment to local and state police through its 1033 program. Since 2001, the Department of Homeland Security has further militarized our police through federal funds for “terrorism prevention.” It is time for this to stop. Sign the petition to President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Homeland Security Secretary Johnson: stop sending military equipment to local and state police.

The recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, make the dangers of police militarization obvious. It is time for strict limits to be placed on the sale and supply of military-grade weapons and vehicles by the Pentagon to local police forces.

The Arctic is an amazing place, home to whales, polar bears, and other amazing creatures. We need to act now to protect it for future generations.

There are currently 50 cosponsors of the amendment . Even one more cosponsor will give our movement to get big money out of politics a SENATE MAJORITY. NJOCU (NJ for the Overturn of Citizens United) is a grassroots coalition of 29 statewide organizations that has worked for 3 years to bring a amendment before Congress that will ensure the free and fair elections that our Founding Fathers envisioned. SJR19 enables Congress and the States to regulate campaign financing and to distinguish between artificial entities and actual people. Results of this petition will be sent to your Senators. They will know you want them to LEAD. Your voices will be heard and your comments read. Each of you is needed in the fight to restore our Democracy: to insure government of, by and for the people; not of, by, and for the money. The September 8th Senate vote is an important first step; stay alert to the next steps, PASS THIS PETITION ALONG TO OTHERS, and go to the our website, www.njocu.org, for updates and information how you can join the NJOCU Coalition.

The Arctic is an amazing place, home to whales, polar bears, and other amazing creatures. We need to act now to protect it for future generations."

The Arctic is an amazing place, home to whales, polar bears, and other amazing creatures. We need to act now to protect it for future generations."

The Arctic is an amazing place, home to whales, polar bears, and other amazing creatures. We need to act now to protect it for future generations.

My time on this planet is short and while I'm here I truly wish to make a positive difference.