There is a reason the Center for Disease Control made the guidance for Phase 1C of the COVID-19 vaccine roll out to include people aged 16 - 64 years with underlying medical conditions and disabilities, which increase the risk of serious, life-threatening complications and death from COVID-19. However and despite this guidance, in recent weeks thirty states de-prioritized these people in COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the name of efficiency and equity. It is common sense to prioritize vulnerable Americans. In the past twelve months, over half of a million people have died from COVID-19 in the United States. 94% of these were Americans with comorbidities. The guidance is not just that of the Center for Disease Control. An analysis by FAIR Health, in collaboration with the West Health Institute and Johns Hopkins' Marty Makary, found that COVID-19 patients with developmental disorders are the most at risk of dying, followed by those with lung cancer and intellectual disabilities, regardless of age. And now, recent studies from leading immunologists in Boston show mutations are incubated in autoimmune disease patients, creating strains that are sometimes undetectable to testing and impervious to current COVID-19 treatments. Studies from John Hopkins found that people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s can catch the virus. Some develop severe and lasting symptoms, particularly if they have comorbidities or underlying conditions (such as obesity, diabetes, or high blood pressure (hypertension)). Data from one study shows that of more than 3,000 adults ages 18 to 34 who contracted COVID-19 and became sick enough to require hospital care, 21% ended up in intensive care, 10% were placed on a breathing machine, and 2.7% died. The majority of these patients had comorbidities. This in-hospital mortality rate is lower than that reported for older adults with COVID-19, but approximately double that of young adults with acute myocardial infarction. And the data is there in other parts of the world—the United Kingdom recently announced that sixty percent of their COVID-19 deaths were those with disabilities. In Australia, disabled people are five times more likely to die. Unlike the UK and AU, the United States does not collect data the same way it collects data on race or gender identity, meaning the 94% could be a low figure. Unfortunately, the majority of state vaccine rollout plans are based on state data. However, many states do not track numerous underlying conditions and disabilities within their health departments as they do other demographics such as race, age, and gender. But we know now that these are individuals at risk for bad outcomes and death from COVID-19; second to age is an underlying condition and disability such as developmental disabilities. To make matters worse, “disability activists, chronic illness advocates, and people with disabilities and underlying conditions have pointed to three main failures in inequitable vaccine rollouts: eligibility lists that do not include all those who are considered high risk; states that have not prioritized people with disabilities; and websites or vaccination sites that are not accessible, as author Cecilia Nowell wrote in her article "This women-made tool could help get more disabled people vaccinated" in The Lily. We implore the National Governors Association to re-prioritize those in thirty states who are vulnerable and have a disability. We demand vulnerable and disabled people are included in phase 1C of ALL states' vaccine rollouts, that vaccine sign-up and sites are accessible, and that states provide a choice of vaccines to those with conditions or disabilities who require choice due to their unique medical needs. Sign our petition to tell the National Governors Association to stop ignoring the vulnerable and disabled Americans and demand equity in COVID-19 state public health plans. Re-prioritize them for vaccination in the thirty states that have de-prioritized them by including them in Phase 1C. We will update you on our upcoming letter to the National Governors Association that will include this petition and other actions you can take as the campaign develops. Please stay tuned. Sincerely, Vulnerable Advocates Collective https://bit.ly/vacpact The Vulnerable Advocates Collective, or VAC Pact, is a group of activists dedicated to amplifying the voices of the vulnerable people and disabled people erased from the equity conversation. Full Plain Text Petition with Works Cited: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bma65ujyZAygUQcJ11ZEtHDi1Soh7Wc9_zKJtmT8J4M/edit?usp=sharing

The single most important thing we can do to move our country forward, the thing on which all other progress in the current Senate depends, is to eliminate the filibuster rule. The Democrats can do this if they act in unison. Therefore it is critical to get Joe Manchin and Kristin Sinema, the only Democrats currently in opposition, to feel the weight of popular support and join their fellow Democrats in making this essential change.

Jamaica Plain has grown in population over the last few years. As such, there are more folks and families living in our community. Though we have a large amount of open space, there is a not a designated place for dogs to roam and socialize. For folks without access to transportation, this raises equity issues and favors access to cars. We know the City of Boston would like to have a park within a 15 min walk from all folks, we would like a dog park within each neighborhood. We also know that there can be trauma or fear of and from dogs. Creating a space for dogs allows for all community members to use public space conscientiously and intentionally.

Covid-19 did not cause New York’s budget crisis; it simply deepened a long-standing wealth gap that resulted from decades of cuts to housing, health care, education, and other essential services while New York billionaires continued to grow their unreasonable wealth. Everyone, including the Governor of New York, must be held accountable for their actions. And every allegation of sexual misconduct must be fully investigated, no matter who the subject of the allegation is. It is time to bring the power back to the hands of the people.

Child sexual abuse livestreaming has been a growing harm to kids for years, and lockdowns and isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic have made children even more vulnerable to abuse. This type of abuse is especially hard to fight because it doesn’t leave a record to help law enforcement rescue victims and catch predators. Simple changes like better privacy controls and stronger collaboration with law enforcement would help keep kids safe -- but Skype hasn’t done these things. Its critical that Microsoft take further steps to address Skype’s role as the most popular platform for livestreaming child sexual abuse.

President Trump’s Justice Department chose to look the other way as yet another Trump appointee abused her public office for private gain, according to new reports. Former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has been accused by the department’s inspector general of repeatedly using her position to help her family and their shipping business, Foremost Group. The inspector general’s 44-page report detailed dozens of these instances. To name just a few -- she used Transportation Department resources to arrange a trip to China for her father and sister; she tasked staff with promoting her father’s public appearances; and she even had her employees perform chores for her father, like updating his Wikipedia page. [1] Plus, according to the report -- Sec. Chao did an interview with a Chinese-language television station just to help boost her father’s profile and promote Foremost Group. The inspector general referred these serious allegations of nepotism to Trump’s Department of Justice for a possible criminal investigation -- but in the last few weeks of the administration, the department declined to take action. That’s outrageous -- it’s clear that the Trump administration was rife with corruption. We’re calling on Biden’s Department of Justice to take up this investigation and hold Sec. Chao accountable. Plus, the Senate must pass the For the People Act (S. 1), a bill that was recently passed in the House that includes strict ethics requirements for appointed and elected leaders. We can’t let the Senate -- and especially Sec. Chao’s husband, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- shut down this important legislation. 1) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/us/politics/elaine-chao-inspector-general-report.html

When Winter Storm Uri struck Texas, all 254 counties of the state issued winter storm warnings for the first time on record, with some counties experiencing temperatures colder than those in Alaska (1). At the peak of resulting power outages and water distribution disruptions, 4.3 million Texans were without power, and more than 14 million did not have access to safe drinking water (2,3). Like the rest of the state, the University of Texas at Austin community has suffered from the government’s lack of preparation for such an extreme weather event, with many students losing access to basic needs such as food, water, and electricity. While Winter Storm Uri was a singular weather event, it has not escaped the attention of many UT community members who learn and teach about climate change in the classroom: that climate change will continue to exacerbate extreme weather events (4) as it did with Hurricane Harvey in 2017 (5). This disaster shows that Texas desperately needs to mitigate its carbon emissions and update its energy infrastructure to prepare for increasing weather volatility. The University of Texas can lead the energy transition as an influential public institution representing its community. Yet, it still invests money into the fossil fuel industry and amplifies the climate crisis. The University of Texas System has the second-largest university endowment in the country. As of 2018, this amount was $32.4 billion (6). This money is used for various purposes, but most is invested by UTIMCO (the University of Texas and A&M Investment Management Corporation). UTIMCO is overseen by the UT Board of Regents, which manages policies impacting all UT and Texas A&M schools. Chevron, Exxon Mobil, BP, Saudi Arabian Oil Co, and Royal Dutch Shell are just a few examples of the oil and gas companies that UT supports financially. Furthermore, 90% of the Permanent University Fund, which is the largest of several funds UTIMCO uses to invest, is composed of oil and gas royalties that UT receives from leasing out University Lands for oil and gas extraction (7). As an educational institution that promises to “transform lives for the benefit of society,” UT has the resources and responsibility to lead the energy transition and drastically reduce its contribution to the climate crisis. The university must demonstrate its dedication to UT student's well-being and their futures. By incorporating the work and research that has already started on campus, UT can become a living laboratory and attract national attention as a leading flagship university in the fight against climate change. UT Administration, you must respond to our community’s growing needs. Rather than solely applauding “tireless efforts to help one another during the crisis,” (8) you must acknowledge and address the central cause of our struggle: climate change. We have begun the process of understanding our communities needs, and we now call on you to join us in implementing creative solutions to address them. Citations: 1) Elizabeth Findell and Ken Thomas, “Texas Cities Under Boil-Water Orders,” Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2021, sec. US, https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-cities-under-boil-water-orders-11613671450. 2) “5 Million Americans Have Lost Power After a Devastating Winter Storm,” Time, accessed February 19, 2021, https://time.com/5939633/texas-power-outage-blackouts/. 3) Findell, “Texas Cities” 4) IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp. 5) Scott Waldman,ClimateWire, “Global Warming Tied to Hurricane Harvey,” Scientific American, accessed March 1, 2021, 6) UTIMCO. “UTIMCO Implements More Stringent Sanctions Compliance Procedures.” The University of Texas System, 23 Oct. 2018, www.utsystem.edu/news/2018/10/23/utimco-implements-more-stringent-sanctions-compliance-procedures. 7) Olson, Jon. “Hydraulic Fracturing Key to Educational Affordability.” The Daily Texan, thedailytexan.com/2019/03/31/hydraulic-fracturing-key-to-educational-affordability. 8) Received by Jay Hartzell, Lighting the Tower Orange in Honor of Our Incredible Community, 24 Feb. 2021.

It is important to preserve Democracy and free and fair Elections.

With few interstate travel restrictions, a sick Texas means the pandemic continues unabated in the United States. 1. Only 1/5 of Texans have been vaccinated and the declaration that we have sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) does not square with the reality that teachers, domestic workers and other essential personnel continue without material or policy protections. 2. It is gratuitous to acknowledge that we have “adopted the daily habits that reduce risk of covid-19 exposure and transmission” and then to remove statewide mask mandates. We need to support Texans to continue safe practices. 3. Abbott draws equivalence with active cases in November. Test positivity now is where it was in November - around 11-12%. By January, it had escalated to 20%. This same pattern was noted over the summer. And now we want to open everything up again right before spring break. 4. Regardless of covid-hospitalizations, county governments across 254 counties are being denied purview over reducing capacity of any entity below 50%. With what public health rationale?

1. Only 1/5 of Texans have been vaccinated and the declaration that we have sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) does not square with the reality that teachers, domestic workers and other essential personnel continue without material or policy protections. 2. It is gratuitous to acknowledge that we have “adopted the daily habits that reduce risk of covid-19 exposure and transmission” and then to remove statewide mask mandates. We need to support Texans to continue safe practices. 3. Abbott draws equivalence with active cases in November. Test positivity now is where it was in November - around 11-12%. By January, it had escalated to 20%. This same pattern was noted over the summer. And now we want to open everything up again right before spring break. 4. Regardless of covid-hospitalizations, county governments across 254 counties are being denied purview over reducing capacity of any entity below 50%. With what public health rationale?

SB101 will tear families apart, lead to unconstitutional detentions, and make our communities unsafe. We urge you to stop SB101! - - - SB101 separará a las familias, conducirá a detenciones inconstitucionales y hará que nuestras comunidades sean inseguras. ¡Le instamos a que rechace la SB101!

Girls are always treated like objects and it’s not ok if we show some skin then it’s wrong but then we get ISS if and have to cover in duck tape too it’s not ok girls populate this world and all we get in return is these stupidly high expectation standards and ofc we get punished when we do anything that isn’t in these expectations girls are already objectified enough and we deserve more respect for everything we all have to go through and I know for a fact that half of the adults now tried to wear stuff kinda like how we do today and then we’re told they couldn’t and then got mad don’t let y’all’s past control our lives are y’all wearing what we chose to wear no we wear what we are comfortable in and what we chose so don’t go making us be something we aren’t girls all over are being punished for wearing something and for expressing them selves it’s not ok for how girls are treated some girls can get away with wearing skirts and shorts and anything else showing skin but half the other girls get punished for it is ridiculous for how higher these standards are for girls! I could go on and on and on about the whole dress code situation but I wanna get at least maybe 100 or 200 signs from other girls who agree ever from any other schools it can be honestly any women who agrees with me and my school cause this isn’t ok! More people can sign if they want to but honestly I just want people who agree to sign!