Democracy Dies Behind Closed Doors: In a representative democracy, legislation is supposed to be debated, amended, and voted on in the light of day. Currently, HB 488 is being stalled by Senate President Bill Ferguson to prevent it from ever reaching the Senate floor. This tactic allows a single individual to decide the fate of a bill before the public, or other elected Senators, have a chance to weigh in. This is not how a legislature is designed to function. The Senate President is Not a King: The role of the Senate President is to facilitate the legislative process, not to unilaterally act as the sole gatekeeper of Maryland law. By refusing to bring HB 488 to a vote, leadership is effectively silencing the constituents of every other Senator in the chamber. Representation Matters: Voters elected 47 Senators to represent them in Annapolis. When a bill is killed quietly in the Rules Committee, those Senators are denied the opportunity to do their jobs: to debate the issue and cast a vote on behalf of their districts. We cannot accept a system where procedural maneuvers are used to avoid accountability.

Immigrants built this country and contribute to it today in countless ways. Noem's trumpeting of Trump Administration propaganda injures us all. Her poisonous message should not be broadcast in the Bay Area.

  Please sign this petition to show your support for providing free bus rides for all youths in Hawaii. Let's take a step toward a more equitable and sustainable future for our children and our communities.  

Good fun and good cardio

The “data center rebellion is here,” wrote The Washington Post recently. Mass opposition to data center construction is a frontline in the fight against billionaires reaping massive profits while causing environmental catastrophe and skyrocketing utility costs for working people. Communities across the country are leading fierce grassroots campaigns against data centers, including Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Asheville, North Carolina; St. Charles, Missouri; Calexico, California; and Palm Beach, Florida. In areas near data centers, residents saw utility costs rise 267% over the last five years. The centers use tremendous amounts of water and electricity, threatening local water supplies and posing dangers to the stability of local power grids. Senator Bernie Sanders joined local communities and called for a moratorium on AI data center construction. Congress must back Sen. Sanders to stop Big Tech’s exploitation of working people and the environment. Sign the petition: Fight back against Big Tech and urge lawmakers to oppose AI data centers now! More than 200 environmental organizations have called for a halt on AI data center construction, citing grave threats to “Americans’ economic, environmental, climate and water security.” Towns and counties in at least fourteen states have issued their own local bans on data centers. OpenAI, Meta, Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon are all in a rush to build new data centers. OpenAI’s current plans would stand up centers that collectively consume more energy than New York City and San Diego. American data centers could consume as much water as ten million Americans by 2030. Big cities and small communities alike are fighting to stop rising electric costs and protect water resources, their local environment, and the stability of their power grid. Now, Congress must join this effort and protect their constituents. Sign the petition: Call for an AI data center moratorium now! SOURCES: - https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/01/06/data-centers-backlash-impact-local-communities-opposition/ - https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-ai-data-centers-electricity-prices/ - https://x.com/SenSanders/status/2001057004370948131 - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/us-data-centers - https://www.techpolicy.press/the-real-race-for-an-ai-moratorium-stopping-data-centers/

 🚨 Urgent: Free Narges Mohammadi! 🚨 Nobel laureate and human rights defender was violently arrested in Iran for peacefully speaking out. She and 50 other brave activists are being detained just for demanding justice. We cannot stay silent! Sign our petition NOW to demand the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience. Every signature matters—time is critical! 

Our intention is to 1)  Restore the Monroe Theater, inside and out, to occupancy and use, maintaining Landmark Status 2)  Establish a Comedy Theater in the old Monroe Avenue Entertainment District at the Monroe Theater 3)  Continue and expand our comedy shows, which we have been doing for the last two summers right next door 4)  Establish community functions at the Theater, including a neighborhood Code Blue Location 5)  Establish a weekly Mental Health Open Mic 6)  Establish a Youth Program The purpose is to add the vibrancy of an important Rochester neighborhood, while also supporting its traditional identity as an Entertainment District.

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Why This Is Important To Us ​Our decision to operate a child care business within our family home is a profound commitment to our community and to the welfare of young children. This arrangement allows us to provide a unique, home-based setting that benefits children's development. We commit our professional lives, our properties, and our own family's privacy to this work. When the licensing system focuses on citing issues in our private lives—and allows those irrelevant citations to damage our public professional reputation—it feels like a complete dismissal of the quality, warmth, and dedication we pour into the child care environment every day. We seek to be partners in quality, not antagonists caught in unpredictable and invasive bureaucratic cycles.

Beginning July 1, 2026, OBBBA would limit graduate loan amounts for degrees no longer classified as professional. Architecture students—who already experience some of the highest tuition costs, longest educational pathways, and lowest early-career salaries among professional fields—would face even greater financial barriers. This change risks excluding lower-income students and students of color from entering the profession, harming diversity, innovation, and the long-term strength of the field. The public also stands to lose. If fewer people can afford the training required to become licensed, communities will have fewer qualified architects, resulting in weaker oversight of building standards, reduced design quality, and potential threats to safety and sustainability. This issue matters beyond the classroom—it affects future architects, current students, educators, employers, and every community that relies on safe buildings and responsible design.

This letter was written in response to the recently released letter from Dr. Bedell and President Silkworth found here: https://www.aacps.org/page/silkworth-bedell-letter

Due to the fire alarm system issues alone, many of us have experienced disruptions in sleep, stress, and anxiety. Even further, tenants with pets are working to handle and maintain the potential developed stress in their pets.  Furthermore it is a violation of the health and safety code to not promptly fix faulty fire alarm systems. We have a full record of everytime the fire alarm systems have been faulty, as well as a video of the very last time it went off, (that lasted two hours), and an event number from the police (who responded because 11 people from around the neighborhood called).  It is also a violation of California’s Code of Regulations to not have a responsible person present on the site at all times. And in the event there is not one, the owner is required to stay on site. Through these maintenance issues, we have had no responsible person onsite since Addie quit and moved out. Had we had one, they would have turned off the alarm the last time it went off.  Finally, it is also a violation of public and private nuisance laws to leave a faulty alarm system blaring without fixing it. We’re in the middle of a busy area, and the noise (as we were told from police and bystanders) could be heard from 5-8 blocks down. And, as mentioned above, in the last incident we had 11 callers to the police from the surrounding neighborhood.  All in all, this property is in violation and has been in multiple violations. We have suffered the consequences of those violations and we now are demanding repairs and compensation for all that we’ve gone through.