The current minimum wage can’t support families. The federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, amounts to only $15,080 a year. That’s over $7,000 below the federal poverty line for a family of four. A minimum wage worker working 40 hours a week cannot afford a two bedroom apartment in any state in America. People who work for a living should be able to support their families and live off their wages.

Recently one of our students was struck by a vehicle while crossing at the intersection of Wadsworth and Century. This incident has led us to work on ways to prevent such a thing from happening to anyone else. To increase traffic safety around our school we're urging you to support us by signing this petition. We want to make sure that everyone in the community, especially our children, are as safe as can be. Thank you for your support and cooperation.

If you want to be notified when they are released please include your email address.

Every year in Astoria and at Bonneville Dam, innocent sea lions are hazed, branded, tortured and killed for the simple act of eating. The acts are immoral, unethical and inflict severe pain and suffering on the sea lions. The dam itself, pollution and over-fishing are the real issues which affect the fish population, NOT sea lions.

A bill introduced by Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA) would remove long-standing Wild & Scenic River protections from a section of the Merced River and allow the Merced Irrigation District to raise a dam. If passed, this bill would mark the first time in the 50-year history of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System that a river was stripped of protection in order to raise or build a dam This could flood almost a mile of one of California's last, best, free-flowing rivers for a pittance of water [~1% increase].

It costs too much to use the bus to get out of Fall River, MA.

A four-year member of your Dental Quality Assurance Commission resigned in protest because cases were secretly closed, and dentists were not sanctioned for multiple cases that resulted in death. The former commission member sent you a long, detailed expose, which included a 5-part investigative series from the Seattle Post Intelligencer, but he received no response. I am but one of the many victims of dental malpractice in Washington State whose dentist is still practicing, because patients can't compete against lawyers hired by dental malpractice insurance companies, and DQAC routinely closes egregious cases without applying sanctions.

Senator Barbara Boxer sits on a key Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight committee. Please urge Senator Boxer to use her oversight authority to ensure that the San Onofre nuclear reactors remain offline until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission completes its investigations. Since January 2012 the San Onofre nuclear reactors have been shutdown. Inspections revealed severe damage to thousands of steam generator tubes -- and now a recently exposed confidential report reveals that the operator, Southern California Edison, knew about significant design problems years before they were installed. Despite this now public revelation, Edison still wants to restart one of the reactors! This report exposes how Edison gambled with the public trust. Tell Barbara Boxer that San Onofre's crippled reactors must remain offline and Edison must be required to go through a License Amendment process with full public participation.

As a member of The National Exchange Club a main goal is the Prevention of Child Abuse. With certain budget cuts to in need will be ignored or put in jeopardy. Children are a target of abuse in many scenarios not just in the home. Preventing child abuse must be a priority in our country let alone our state. Many of the state funded programs targeted to help children whether education, housing or nutrition are being sliced and diced. Where there should be more allotment in these areas there are cuts. This is unacceptable. If we do anything in this world, we must protect our children.

The Canadian Tar Sands are the dirtiest of dirty sources of oil -- and will cost a minimimum of $85/barrel to develope-pipe-and refine. The energy used to make fuel from Tar Sand will be almost as useless a biomass, and corn ethanol. We cannot allow greed and politics to pretent this is good for the economy or the environment. Never mind the pure arrogance of the ongoing construction of the pipeline without formal authorization or technology to refine the mess. Mr. President , please do not approve the Keystone Pipeline

The IL government is attempting to reduce IL's debt by destroying teachers' pension funds after stealing from it for years. Force them to find methods of solving their debt problems without hurting hard working citizens who have devoted their lives to serving IL citizens. Begin by taking away their pension programs if they have not served for at least twenty years.

It is time for the funding of education in Pennsylvania to be done by means other than taxes on real estate. My plans for a worry free retirement in the Poconos of Pennsylvania are at risk.