Our environment, community and security is at risk when it comes to Tugboat Companies that escort Cargo Ships and Fuel Oil Barges within the busy Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach California. Some Tugboat companies choose to severely reduce crewing levels on Tugboats to only a 2 person crew while escorting Cargo Ships and transporting Barges loaded with thousands of gallons of fuel oil used to fuel ships for their next leg of their voyage. While performing these complex tasks, some companies choose to operate with only 1 Captain onboard the tugboat by his or herself to navigate our busy harbors, while the Deckhand boards the Fuel Oil Barge to serve lookout duties and provide the Captain valuable information about any impeding traffic or other hazards while navigating inside our busy harbors. This practice of leaving the Captain on the Tugboat alone is a recipe for disaster. A engineer or equivalent should always remain on Tugboat during these operations, thus reducing the risk of a environmental hazard and danger to the crew members. Please tell these companies to stop endangering our community, environment and port security, and put safety first instead of profit.

Shirley Skinner is a soon to be 80 year old inmate in Illinois. Her only crime is protecting her granddaughter and great granddaughter from a hostile intruder who happened to be in a custody battle with her granddaughter. The local sherrif originally treated this as self defense but other local people got involved and Shirley was charged with murder. Even though a wonderful group of students and their professor from DePaul University have been working for more than two years to get this case reviewed, we have all been unsuccessful. We are now petitioning Governor Quinn for clemency so Shirley can spend the last years of her life with her family. However, this case has become so political we fear the petition will not be successful unless there are hundreds and perhaps even thousands of people who are willing to work with us in getting Shirley heard. Please see Facebook: Save Nanny - for additional information.

The elected officials trying to overturn a lawfully passed piece of legislation that was upheld by the Supreme Court, and the States who are refusing and/or attempting to interfere with the implementation of the Affordable Healthcare Act, are guilty of violating federal laws. First, they are guilty of rebellion or insurrection against the laws of the United States. Second, they are guilty of conspiring to hinder or delay the execution of a law of the U.S. By violating these law, which I've copied below, they can be fined, jailed, and forbidden to hold public office. What I want to know is why they are allowed to continue their efforts that can harm the financial standing of this country and cause harm to so many Americans? Current through Pub. L. 113-31. (See Public Laws for the current Congress.) Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States. Current through Pub. L. 113-31. (See Public Laws for the current Congress.) If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

Fracking is inherently dangerous. Negative effects of fracking that have been proven in other states include everything from water contamination, air pollution, methane release contributing to Global Warming, decimated national forest lands, residents and livestock getting sick, wildlife deaths, earthquakes, radioactive waste, truck accidents and rural lifestyles being degraded. The IL Dept. of Natural Resources is formulating rules for fracking at this time, they will be published soon. We, the concerned residents of Illinois, request public hearings on this dangerous extraction method so that our concerns will be heard by our state government and acted upon before fracking is allowed to harm our environment or our neighbors.

The proposal to base F-35 jet fighters at Burlington International Airport will have a devastating impact on the surrounding communities and the people who live in them, as is documented in the Air Force's own Environmental Impact Statement. Being the airport's owner and landlord, the City of Burlington has a legal and moral responsibility to prevent this harm. On Monday, October 28th, the Burlington City Council will vote on a binding resolution to bar the basing of the F-35 at BIA. This is our best chance to stop the basing and protect our communities. Please sign the petition urging city councilors to support the resolution. And if you live in Burlington, please contact your ward representative today! http://www.burlingtonvt.gov/CityCouncil/City-Councilors/ More info, including on Monday's Burlington City Council meeting: http://www.stopthef35.com/calltoaction/

My family, and especially my 12 year old son, eats a lot of pasta. We often choose Barilla Pasta because of the wide variety available at our local grocery store. No more. Today Barilla Pasta President Guido Barilla made it clear how he felt about families like mine by saying that he'd never show gay families in advertisements for Barilla. He said that gays could eat another pasta if they didn't like his message. I'm taking him up on that and so should you. Sign the petition to tell Guido Barilla that you stand with gay families and won't buy Barilla.

These laws tie the hands of prosecutors and judges around the country and they disproportionately impact people of color. In fact, as Sen. Paul correctly stated recently, "the majority of illegal drug users and dealers nationwide are white, but three-fourths of all people in prison for drug offenses are African American or Latino." To address these extreme punishments, costing millions of taxpayer dollars as well as being unjust, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) have introduced the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, which reforms the mandatory minimum laws and provides judges with more discretion in sentencing.

As one of the Moms for Labeling who supports Yes on 522 and labeling genetically engineered food in Washington State, when we found out Monsanto and the other giant corporations trying to hide what’s in our food were also hiding donors and skirting our state laws, we decided to challenge them. But now Monsanto and their corporate allies are suing our small group of Moms, because they don’t want to reveal their donors, or what’s in our food. Please stand with our small group of moms and urge the state’s campaign finance watchdog, the Public Disclosure Commission, to act now and enforce our laws before the campaign is over, so voters will have the information they need about the food they feed their families.

We need development on Potrero Avenue that fits the neighborhood.

My husband and I have a small self-sufficient farm within a few hundred feet of the proposed rezoning. This rezoning is contrary to the spirit of Oregon's land use laws. It paves the way for allowing transfer of hazardous materials without public input!

Unable to repeal Obamacare at the federal level, Republicans have taken their ideological crusade to deny health care access for the uninsured elsewhere. The Florida Department of Health has banned federal outreach workers (called “Navigators”) from coming onto state health facilities for the purpose of signing up the uninsured for subsidized health care coverage available under Obamacare. Please sign our petition telling Florida Department of Health officials to allow health care Navigators on state owned health facilities to discuss the Affordable Care Act.

New Mexico has serious issues with poverty, including the nation's worst ranking for child welfare, serious mental health issues and largest number of people living with food insecurity. Secretary Sidonie Squires is responsible for our most important programs addressing these problems, but she denies the problem and the science behind it. She told staff in an email, "There has never been and is not now any significant evidence of hunger in New Mexico." Like other out-of-state leaders appointed to critical government positions, Squires didn't know New Mexico's issues when she started and she just won't learn.