There is not enough parking on the street to accommodate all of the cars in the area. Local residents often have to park a quarter mile or more away from their house at night.

Recent congressional testimony and the Facebook Papers prove the tech giant was aware of its role in fueling sectarian violence in places like the United States, India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, and more — and that its algorithms put hateful and violent content front and center. It’s clear we can’t trust Facebook to hold itself accountable. That’s why Congress needs to step up and regulate big tech companies before they’re able to harm more people and further weaken democracies around the world. Add your name to join us in calling on Congress for oversight and regulation of Facebook’s algorithms and activities.

Our families deserve flood protection now.

In 2018, Elon Musk paid $0 in federal income taxes. In 2021 he has seen his net worth soar to nearly $300 billion, nearly ten times what he was worth prior to the pandemic. Yet he spend his time on Twitter attacking Bernie Sanders and other progressives for wanting to tax billionaires. And now he's been name Time's Person of the Year for 2021. Huge majorities of the American people strongly support higher taxes on billionaires. As negotiations on the Build Back Better package continue, now is an urgent time to tell Congress to tax Elon Musk and the billionaires. Sign the petition: Demand Congress pass a wealth tax!

The current draft is discordant with Prince George’s County's Climate Action Plan. It preserves only 4 out of 102 acres as reserved open space. At a time when it is critically important to preserve and expand our urban forests to help adapt to ongoing climate change, the Sector Plan greenlights zoning changes that could result in the future destruction of Guilford Woods (>1,000 trees) The current plan does not adequately acknowledge the Guilford Run watershed as part of the countywide Green Infrastructure Network. The current plan ignores the recent University of Maryland “pause” of the Western Gateway Project (which would have destroyed Guilford Woods). This project was paused due to an outpouring of community opposition that highlighted the environmental and human health benefits of this urban forest as well as related stream and wildlife habitat. The draft Adelphi Road Sector Plan drastically increases the zoning density of the entire area without regard to the preservation of Guilford Woods. A far more reasonable plan would be to up-zone only the parcels of land along Adelphi Road and Campus Drive up to the Domain apartment complex (at the corner of Campus Drive and Mowatt Lane). This would protect Guilford Woods and Guilford Run stream while still allowing for a significant amount of additional higher-density housing proximate to the Purple Line Station. The poor planning behind the current draft is reflected in the fact that it omits areas north of Campus Drive (including the University of Maryland Global Campus and UMD Lot 1), even though development of both sides of a street is fundamental to good planning. Given the urgency of the climate crisis, we need genuinely sustainably development and smart growth in our county that prioritizes the preservation of our existing forested areas. Let's pause the planning process to make sure that community voices are heard.

Not everyone in the Illinois Valley (IV) of southern Oregon has a need for banking services, or has a bank account. (In fact, one of the problems First Community (FCCU) has identified as a cause of the Cave Junction branch's poor performance is the heavy emphasis on a cash economy in the IV.) BUT... a large number of us DO rely on banking services, including a savings repository, personal and business loans, notary services, etc. Many aspects of banking can be done remotely, such as transfers of funds from account to account, automatic electronic payments, direct deposit of paychecks, etc. There are smart phone apps that allow scanning of checks, for remote deposit. But when you have cash or checks, and no smart phone app (many low income people don't have smart phones, or don't have the expertise to use such apps), by golly, you just have to go in to the local branch to deposit it. You know this... if you hold onto a ton of cash, don't you feel constantly vulnerable to theft or loss of the cash? I do. So then if you have to go to a physical branch office, and it's located 30 or more miles away, that's a problem. Some community members do not have vehicles, or do not have enough time off from their jobs to make the trip. Many of us are trying to make FEWER trips in our vehicles, not MORE, due to climate change. And that old Highway 199 is notorious as being deadly, one of the worst in the nation, especially in winter with slick roads and/or dense fog. The presence of multiple financial institutions in a community is evidence of a vital economy (or at least someone's faith in the potential of that economy), and acts to encourage more investment of various kinds in that community. Faith and investment beget more faith and investment. Conversely, closing a bank can devastate a community. We have already suffered closure of two other banks in recent years. How much more abandonment can the IV withstand? Since FCCU has the word 'community' in its very name, I think it should walk its talk, and help support our community. FCCU needs to work WITH its community to find mutually acceptable solutions to its problems, rather than just bailing because the going has gotten tough. So... we are asking FCCU to keep the Cave Junction branch office open, as a way of truly serving and empowering and aiding in the development of OUR COMMUNITY.

My father, Martin Luther King Jr., knew that to bring about equality, African Americans must have the right to vote. That’s why he marched, organized and preached every day to take his, and our steps, to the voting booth. He fought for landmark legislation, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and organized voter registration drives like the Freedom Summer to codify our right to have a say in the halls of powers and the laws that govern our communities and lives. Today, after a sweeping victory for Democrats in 2020 due to the record voter turnout- led by Black, Brown, and Indigenous organizers and voters, right-wing Republicans across the country, who fear the power of Black and Brown voters, have created a wave of backlash that has been swift and brutal. Almost a year ago, a violent insurrection was mounted on our capitol, and in the months since, over 400 bills designed to limit our freedom to vote were introduced. In my home state of Georgia, the legislature has created additional pathways to interfere in local elections, including the ability to overturn results they dislike. We’ve seen this before. Following Reconstruction, a white backlash stole voting rights from African Americans, instituted Jim Crow laws, and spawned the Ku Klux Klan. During and after the civil rights movement, white backlash led to efforts to intimidate us from exercising our rights and to suppress turnout among Black, Brown, and Indigenous voters. As in the past, this moment calls us to lift our voices and show once again that the power lies in our hands. We have to call on our leaders to act with courage and moral conviction to defend our democracy. We are still working toward building the ideals and beloved community that my father and the civil rights movement fought for, and we cannot let racists and the right wing have their way. We have to demand that when they quote my father, or say they loved John Lewis, or celebrate his life and work, they show that love in their actions, including abolishing outdated rules in the U.S. Senate. We should not have to march once again for the same basic voting rights my father and civil rights leaders secured in the 1960s. But as my father would have, we will continue to use our voices to call for what is right, what is just, and what is equitable. It is long past time that we stop bending to the filibuster as it enables dangerous obstruction to persist. Together, we demand that Democrats abolish the filibuster and pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act now. We can never give in, we can never give up, we can never give out until justice is available for all people and kind in this nation that we call home.

Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that vaccination is the best tool for combating the virus, we urge the City of Northampton to join cities around the globe that have successfully implemented vaccine requirements for all patrons of restaurants and bars. Implementing a vaccine requirement in all dining and drinking establishments will help make our community safer for all of us, especially the immunocompromised, those too young to be vaccinated, and the service workers who put their health on the line to keep Northampton running.

To prevent further spread.

We need our schools fully funded, our students’ welfare promoted, and our educators’ workplace needs addressed. In this season of giving, support our students by giving educators the working conditions and compensation they deserve. Wishing you and your loved ones happy holidays and a joyous New Year from your friends at MCEA!

Thanks to a memo written by Trump lawyer John Eastman, we know that Donald Trump’s lawyers outlined this path to overturning an election back in January 2021. Trump's plan was to get GOP legislatures in a handful of states to repudiate the election results and substitute presidential electors for Trump — and then secure support from a combination of Vice President Mike Pence, Congress, and perhaps the Supreme Court. Trump's scheme was totally outrageous — and was relatively far-fetched given the politics of that time. But new reporting does indicate that at least one state's (Pennsylvania) Republican lawmakers were considering taking his side and trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. If Pennsylvania sided with him, Trump's team hoped others would follow suit. With an increasingly anti-democratic bent in the Republican Party and more loyalists in place in key positions, a future effort seems more likely to succeed — and any vulnerabilities in the law that make that more plausible need to be fixed immediately.

Students are the workforce. Our education system directly feeds into our businesses and our community. Educators are NEEDED, and need to feel appreciated and not undermined. Parents need to know what is going on in the school system, they need to feel comfortable with the education system their kids are learning in.