In Lane County, the Point-in-Time report showed we had a 44% increase in the total number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. On the night of the count, more than 2,000 people lacked housing and adequate standards of living. Homelessness leads to other human rights violations among the most vulnerable. Women face violence and sexual abuse. Persons who are rendered homeless are challenged to survive. There are thousands of people living in their vehicles and outdoors in our community. We need policies that do not ignore this reality but instead take actions that address this crisis immediately. Some of the immediate areas a housing and homeless state of emergency declaration can address, which would help make the TAC report implementation possible are: expanding safe and legal parking places for individuals and families living in RVs or other vehicles; developing year-round campgrounds; permitting alternative shelter options that allow people to stay with their pets, partners and possessions; initiating a temporary moratorium on the conversion of affordable housing into other uses; expediting permitting and siting for building more affordable housing units; facilitating more mobile-home park and Single Room Occupancy buildings (SROs); and putting vacant buildings, such as the Armory, into service for winter and extreme weather events. An emergency declaration could help streamline government procedures in order to act more quickly and utilize our community resources more effectively. Please move this forward to help eliminate the systemic barriers to equitable treatment and address this escalating human rights crisis that is homelessness in Lane County.

Donald Trump and his administration are determined to undermine and politicize the 2020 Census with a dangerous question on citizenship status. Last month, the Supreme Court suspended the administration’s ability to add this citizenship question to the survey, rejecting their reason for including it as “contrived” -- but Trump and his team are relentlessly trying to add it anyway. Such a question is estimated to dissuade more than 6.5 million people from filling out the 2020 Census. The Census is constitutionally required to count every person living in the United States. And that mission is at risk -- if the Census doesn’t get proper funding and manpower, or if Trump’s team is successful in coming up with a new way to add an intimidating citizenship question. If either happens, we risk a severe “undercount” -- cutting millions out of political representation and jeopardizing the very foundation of our democracy. The 2020 Census will shape our nation’s government, public policy, and budgets for an entire decade. The data we gather determines everything from congressional district maps to local resource allocation -- like school funding, the number of firehouses in our neighborhoods, and highway and road repair budgets. People of color -- particularly Black and Latinx communities in both urban and rural areas -- are at an especially high risk of being undercounted by an underfunded or unfair Census. This would deprive countless people in the U.S. of resources, political representation, and the right to a democracy that truly represents all of us. We can’t let that happen. Add your name and tell lawmakers in your state to make sure the 2020 Census is conducted fairly and fully funded.

The Equal Rights Amendment is long overdue for ratification. It is the cornerstone for improving our civic and cultural environment and for building a more perfect union. I feel that passing the ERA in NC will help to restore the dignity and integrity of our citizens that our state deserves.

"The number of honey bee hives in the U.S. dropped from 6 million in 1947 to just 2.4 million in 2008, with 2018 being the worst year on record for hive loss." A large part of the honey bee declines can be attributed to increased use of pesticides for agricultural crops. Sulfoxaflor is a bee-killing pesticide that was banned in 2015 because it was killing so many bees. We depend on honey bees to pollinate our crops and to provide a great deal of the food on tables across America. The EPA is supposed to protect the health of our environment. We ask that you reverse your decision to allow the use of this bee-killing pesticide immediately.

As longtime champions of the rights of and justice for victims of sexual assault, we hope to ensure that the retired, but repeatedly recalled, Judge Troiano is never again allowed the opportunity to protect an alleged socially advantaged rapist from the consequences of his intentional and intimate harm to another, or to question the motives of the victim on the basis of the Judge's personal admiration for the perpetrator’s wealth, position, and assisted academic standing. Judge Troiano, in a decision that is shocking in its misconceptions about rape, power and trauma, disregarded objective legal analysis and sought to protect the perpetrator from the severity of his actions, trivializing the perpetrator’s conduct, questioning the motives of the victim in reporting, and justifying it all with the observation that the perpetrator “came from a good family” and therefore should not be held to adult standards for the adult crime of rape. NOT ONCE AT ANY POINT DID THE JUDGE EXPRESS ANY CONCERN ABOUT THE DEVASTATING EFFECT THE RAPE HAD AND WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE ON THE VICTIM’S LIFE. In having the courage to seek criminal charges against this predator, the victim likely saved other young women from the same treatment throughout the remainder of this perpetrator’s life. It has long been known that those who assault without consequence tend to do so repeatedly. We are reassured by the Appellate Division’s strong language rebuking Judge Troiano’s treatment of the victim, the facts, and the law before him in this case. At the same time, we are mindful that the victim endured not just the rape and the aftermath, but the period during which it appeared that the perpetrator was more credible to and valued by New Jersey’s justice system than her fundamental right to privacy, to bodily integrity and to due process of law. To deliver justice to the victim, we urge you to sign this petition to the Committee on Judicial Conduct to request that Judge Troiano be immediately removed from the bench.

This ordinance was created during the course of one meeting with no public feedback. Public feedback was not provided as the document sent to adjoining neighbors did not provide the correct location. Little or no consideration has been given to the fact that this is a resort area which harbors vehicular and pedestrian traffic for the beaches in the area. Traffic is already straining the existing infrastructure. There are no contiguous sidewalks. No consideration has been given to the fact that 'double tracking' or decreasing the time for local train traffic to/from Chicago will likely increase Michigan City's population substantially. The current Lakeside Townhomes plan allows all traffic to/from only one street (Felton Street), while a normal 10 unit subdivision has traffic moving in four directions. Opening a second traffic flow (to Blaine Street for example) would help decrease traffic pressure on Felton Street. The following is In direct reference to Ordinance 4509 as quoted: Section B:"the requested change in zoning...will not have an adverse effect on surrounding land." Not true, these duplexes will overload current vehicular and pedestrian traffic as well as infrastructure. Section C: "requested change in zoning will not be injurious or detrimental to surrounding property values". This ordinance will put 10 units in an area which usually provides for 5 smaller homes. These lots are already small compared to the rest of Michigan City. We feel that our property values will decrease due to overpopulation. We feel that single family homes are a much better fit to the neighborhood and would be an asset to existing residences. As there is a substantial amount of undeveloped property in the area, this project would be setting a negative precedence of overcrowding. Under D: "requested change will promote orderly and responsible community growth and development and will not adversely affect the community....." Not true for reasons previously mentioned. Under F: "the change in zoning is not "spot zoning" which will confer a special benefit on a relatively small tract without commensurate benefit to the community." This is spot zoning, as there are very few duplexed residences in the community. This does not provide commensurate benefit to the community due to overcrowding and all access/egress moving through one street. We are not adverse to positive change in our community. Single family developments are welcomed here.

In a recent email to credit card holders, JPMorgan Chase notified its existing customers that they will now be subject to forced arbitration for any past and future dealings with the company. The new policy, which affects 47 million accounts, strips customers of their rights to seek accountability if they are defrauded, scammed, or otherwise financially hurt. Included in the fine print was only one way to avoid forced arbitration: sending a signed letter containing personal information within 60 days of notice via snail mail to Chase headquarters in Delaware. Forced arbitration is a secretive, rigged system that takes away Americans’ constitutional rights to seek justice under the law. The new policy not only takes away consumers’ individual rights, it prevents them from banding together to hold Chase accountable. Even if You Are Not a JPMorgan Chase Customer, Sign the Petition to Demand Chase #EndForcedArbitration!

The Secretary of Labor is supposed to stand up for the rights of workers, but Alexander Acosta has shown that he is interested only in protecting the rich and powerful. He broke the law to protect a man that spent decades preying on young girls and, for these efforts, was rewarded with a cabinet position. This man has no place in our government - let alone as the head of the Department of Labor, an agency tasked with investigating claims of workplace sexual harassment and assault.

As part of the Women's March, American Association of University Women, Move On, and an advocate of the "Me-too movement", I have been working for many years to make college campuses and other school environments safe from domestic abuse and violence by enforcing Title IX requirements at educational institutions across the state. However, with the weakening of Title IX through Betsy DeVos' new Ed Plan our students will be even more vulnerable to predators off campus. We need this bill to make sure a PFA means something no matter where you live or who you are.

Child exploitation is a real and serious issue, as seen by the recent allegations against Jeffrey Epstein, a known billionaire financier. This exploitation affects hundreds of thousands of children every year. These children's lives are a constant horror, the slime that abuse the children are monsters and should be held to account. We cannot not have public officials sympathetic to pedophiles in the U.S. government.

The petition itself says what it is about and why I am starting this petition! We Americans must speak up and speak out loudly!! I have written to our own Senators from MN, many other Senators, our Representative from the 2nd Dist of MN and many other Representatives - news outlets, and journalists - MSNBC, CNN, - Rachel Maddow, Chris Mathews. And I have contacted the Immigrant Law Center of MN; the American Immigration Lawyers Assoc.; and the Office of Refugee Resettlement of H.H.S. -- I received a call from the American Immigration Lawyers Assoc - but the person who called said he couldn't help me, I would have to call another person... will do that next. We need to insist that these children do not spend one more day in these cages!! These children are precious minds waiting to learn and grow!! Is this the experience we want them to grow in?

To have someone other than SLED; a neutral non-biased team to investigate officer-involved shootings, especially the ones involving a civilian fatalities. I have personally been affected by the cover-ups by SLED and local law enforcement. Anderson County, SC 11-29-16 Chance Partain was chased, robbed, beaten, and killed by local law enforcement for no reason and no one he could call for help.