Almost 20 years ago, politicians began passing harmful restrictions that put affordable health coverage out of reach for many immigrants authorized to live and work in the United States. Today, overly complex and restrictive policies deny access to health care for hardworking, taxpaying immigrant communities; these policies are harmful to immigrant women and families, are costly and counterproductive, and undermine shared values of fairness and equality of opportunity. The good news is we have champions in Congress who just introduced legislation to tackle this problem! Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham recently introduced the Health Equity & Access under the Law (HEAL) for Immigrant Women & Families Act of 2014. The HEAL Immigrant Women & Families Act would remove political interference so immigrants can participate in the health care programs their tax dollars support. By restoring access to coverage and allowing immigrant women and families to receive the health care they need, this bill will create healthier communities and a stronger economy. Immigrant women need this policy change. They are less likely to have access to employer-sponsored and private health coverage and are more likely to be low-income and of reproductive age. Under current policies, many lawfully present immigrant women are denied access to care and others are forced to wait 5 years or more before being able to participate. For a woman facing breast or cervical cancer, 5 years could be the difference between life and death. Immigrant women and families work hard, pay taxes, and contribute to our communities and our economy. They should have the same access to health care as their friends and neighbors.

All Americans are unjustly and unfairly impacted by any form of legislation passed by elected officials who hold themselves exempt from those laws. What happened to "equality under the law"? Let's fix this issue once and for all and let's fix it without controversial riders or other attachments to the bill. Is it not true that, in America, "no one is above the law"? Let's mean it.

High interest rates coupled with collection agency fees, increase original student debt dramatically. Many of these former students are unable to apply for a mortgage, start a family, or take out a business loan due to their outstanding and unpayable debt. During the last Bush administration, these Americans were outlawed from filing for bankruptcy, often the only recourse they had to get out from under crushing debt. This situation is a kind of indentured servitude which unwitting students signed up for, naive of the reality that they would never be able to repay these loans. These adults are not only in their 20's and 30's, but often in their 40's and 50's as well. The fact is that some of America's brightest and best are unable to thrive despite a world class education. We can change this now, and give these graduates a real future.

On March 7th, 1,200 people detained in the privately run Tacoma Detention Center started a hunger strike for better food, better treatment, better pay (they currently receive $1/day for prison labor) and fairness among other demands. The hunger strikers are blowing the whistle on how the corporation, the Geo Group, is cutting corners on conditions to increase profits. Since they started their protest, GEO Group and immigration authorities have tried to isolate the detainees, put them in "the hole" and threaten to force feed them like has been done to Guantanamo prisoners. They have said, "we are not animals. We're human beings. We did not come here to be tortured. We're doing our part to speak out." Please sign to support their effort to improve conditions and blow the whistle on corporate abuse at the detention center. See Democracy Now coverage here: http://bit.ly/nwhunger

Since 2004, the State has been siphoning off approximately 25% of the stable county property taxes allocated to K-14 schools-- $7 billion this year. The State transfers this money away from public education and spends it on other State priorities unrelated to education. Only 3 of CA's 58 counties report this transfer to voters and taxpayers. In Alameda County, 41% of property taxes are reported spent on schools. After the state takes $272 million (over a quarter of a billion), the actual amount delivered to schools is only 27%. In L.A. County, the amount pilfered by the state was $2.1 billion, leaving the schools with only 20% of their county property taxes vs a reported 41%-- less than HALF. In San Francisco County, the actual vs. reported percentages are 18% vs. 34%. Schools deserve to receive their assigned share of the property taxes we pay like everyone else. The state is not permitted to touch the property tax revenue of ANY OTHER recipient (public hospital, park, library, fire, flood, mosquito abatement districts, cities, counties, etc). Sign NOW to give equal protection to stable, reliable funding for schools and community colleges. Let's ask the legislature to put this on the 2014 ballot - they made this back room deal and sneaky initiative, let's give voters a chance to decide if they want to keep it. California's Constitution (Article 8) states that our government will first set aside enough money for public education through the university as our #1 spending priority. Improve gov't transparency, increase reliability of school funding, and defend our State's Constitution -- all without raising taxes -- SIGN TODAY!

Since 2004, the State has been siphoning off approximately 25% of the stable county property taxes allocated to K-14 schools-- $7 billion this year. The State transfers this money away from public education and spends it on other State priorities unrelated to education. Only 3 of CA's 58 counties report this transfer to voters and taxpayers. In Alameda County, 41% of property taxes are reported spent on schools. After the state takes $272 million (over a quarter of a billion), the actual amount delivered to schools is only 27%. In L.A. County, the amount pilfered by the state was $2.1 billion, leaving the schools with only 20% of their county property taxes vs a reported 41%-- less than HALF. In San Francisco County, the actual vs. reported percentages are 18% vs. 34%. Schools deserve to receive their assigned share of the property taxes we pay like everyone else. The state is not permitted to touch the property tax revenue of ANY OTHER recipient (public hospital, park, library, fire, flood, mosquito abatement districts, cities, counties, etc). Sign NOW to give equal protection to stable, reliable funding for schools and community colleges. California's Constitution (Article 8) states that our government will first set aside enough money for public education through the university as our #1 spending priority. Improve gov't transparency, increase reliability of school funding, and defend our State's Constitution-- SIGN TODAY!

Portland needs some sunshine. Portlanders are mostly left in the dark about how city funds are spent. Last year, the City of Portland earned a "D minus" for how transparent the city makes information about spending and subsidies available to the public online. [1] This is unacceptable. We need to make sure Mayor Hales hears from a lot of people across Portland so he knows that the public wants better transparency from our city so we can engage in decisions about public funding priorities and hold the city accountable for spending public dollars appropriately. [1] Transparency in City Spending, OSPIRG Foundation. 1/23/13.

For years, Senator Mark Udall of Colorado has been fighting to rein in abuses of federal power in the name of combating terrorism. Sen. Udall warned the American people about the dangers of mass surveillance against millions of innocent Americans for years before anyone knew the name Edward Snowden. To Udall’s great credit, he has consistently fought for our civil liberties in Congress--regardless of which party occupies the White House. Today, Sen. Udall needs our help.

There are no laws governing the disclosure of GMO use in the products we buy and consume every day. The studies have proven that GMO's are linked to many adverse and dangerous health effects when consumed. The consumer should have the rite to be able to make intelligient choices on what we want to buy and consume based on accurate information provided by the companies who sell these products. It is very difficult and almost impossible at this point to be able to avoid these products without adequate labeling laws put into effect immediatly.

Our children's education should be top priority. Closing Verona Elementary will only hurt that. They will be put into classrooms with far to many kids and not be able to get the one on one help they may need. Plus the time they will have to spend on buses just to get to school. The welfare and education of our children should be the main goal. Not closing another school. Make cuts elsewhere to keep Verona Elementary open.

While we thank you for putting Culver Currents in print and delivering it to our homes, we believe that in a district with a significant population of English learners and a strong Spanish immersion program, it is not too much to ask to meet the requirements of the new Local Control Funding Formula to fully engage the parents of high need students by making Culver Currents a bilingual publication. - Culver City PEERS (Parents and Educators for Resources and Equity in Schools)

This petition is to get someone, somewhere in the Government to admit that Toxic Black Mold Kills People. It does much more then just cause "Breathing Problems" We have Thousands who are aware, and probably millions suffering and not knowing the problem was Mold. The more awareness that "Mold Kills". The more educated the general public, media, doctors, and the government are about this, the better it can be for everyone.