Ten percent of Minnesota's residents are immigrants. They are our neighbors, friends, family, and coworkers. They work, pay taxes, and contribute billions of dollars to state revenue every year. Still, many are subject to arbitrary and prolonged detention, exorbitant bail, or even deportation as a result of trivial interactions with local law enforcement. Blurring the lines between law enforcement and immigration enforcement erodes trust between immigrants and police, uproots beloved community and family members from their homes, and enables racial profiling. Doing better by immigrant communities in Minnesota benefits us all. Many immigrants don't trust law enforcement because it can double as immigration enforcement. This creates fear that they may be turned over to ICE detention in asking for help. As a result, many immigrants avoid reporting crimes or seeking emergency services. Immigration detention doesn't keep us safe. Almost 2/3 of those held in ICE detention have no criminal record. Most immigrants referred to ICE detention by local law enforcement have only minor offenses, like traffic violations. ICE detention often removes a primary breadwinner from immigrant households. This can push families into financial crisis. When parents are at home families are safer and healthier. The North STAR Act will benefit all Minnesotans. Immigrants will be able to seek medical care and emergency services without fear. Employers will benefit from a more stable workforce. Law enforcement can use freed up resources on more appropriate public safety tasks.

5) This proposal is a once in a lifetime opportunity for responsible and thoughtful preservation of some of West Whiteland”s and Chester County’s remaining historic, rural and natural resources.

Donald Trump thinks he’s above the law and should not be held to the same standards as the rest of us. And that’s really because he’s trying to get out of his federal election subversion criminal trial before November’s election. His thinking is, if he can just make it through the election and win, he’ll get the chance to pardon himself. He must be stopped. Earlier this year, a D.C. circuit court ruled unanimously that Donald Trump does not have full, "absolute immunity" from ever being prosecuted for anything just because he was president. Now, he is asking the Supreme Court to block this decision, granting him immunity from prosecution. Last summer, special counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with four federal felonies for conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, leading up to and on January 6. He has claimed he should be fully immune from prosecution for the crimes he committed and is relying on the far-right, Trump-stacked court to save him. Trump will exhaust all options to avoid accountability for the crimes he’s committed. This is just his latest attempt, but if he’s successful, the consequences are grave. The Supreme Court should not play into Trump's tactics to postpone accountability and justice. Since they have decided to take Trump's appeal, they must rule against him, denying Trump full, absolute immunity.

Our kids deserve the best education available to them and Mr. Cody meets that standard. A mistake made on the weekend outside of school should not dictate whether or not he is capable or suitable for his job. Mr. Cody is one of our best teachers in the school system. My daughter has always struggled in Math she just doesn’t get it, since she has moved up into high school and has had Mr. Cody not only have her grades skyrocketed for Math but her state test scores in Math have skyrocketed. Her UNDERSTANDING of the subject has went through the roof. She has went from testing below the state average to ABOVE it. And it is solely because of the methods and extra care that Mr. Cody takes with his students and her story is not the only one like it. Mr. Cody spends his planning periods and lunch hours whenever necessary helping students one on one. If they are behind he helps them catch up, if they just aren’t getting it he helps them. And he takes the time for those students out of his personal time. Instead of using his planning period he helps them and then goes home and does his planning. Instead of getting his personal time for lunch he helps them. He goes above and beyond his job. And it shows in our kids test scores. Not only does he do those things but he also makes your children comfortable in asking for the help. Which is something that can’t be said for most teachers. A lot of time the attitude our children have is that it’s not worth asking, because they won’t listen, or they’ll say no. Our kids not only get the help they need but feel safe and optimistic in asking for it. These kids love him not because he’s cool or he lets them mess around but because he legitimately helps them. He has their respect. We are the generation that voted for medical marijuanas legal status. So not only should we help keep a teacher that we KNOW is massively beneficial to our children’s education but we should fight for our medical legalization that we worked for. We should fight against the school for trying to make something that we pushed and voted for still a negatively looked upon thing, like it’s still makes you a pariah to have a medical card even one that recently expired. We need them to know that this is not a firable offense. Then, there are other teachers in the school who have not gotten marijuana possession charges on there own time that deserve to be forcefully resigned. That not everything should be about the way something looks. It should be about what’s best for our kids. What THEY deserve. If they wanna get rid of teachers, great! But let’s get rid of the ones that don’t care. That say things like… “well all my kids in this class are making C’s so it’s fine”. No it’s not fine, your not doing your job!!! That no matter how much effort your child puts into trying to catch up or understand something they get met with a do it yourself attitude. Who no matter how little they do they put their own failures onto your kids. The Lexington school system has done a lot of shady stuff to help themselves “save face” and we as parents HAVE to fight for the best interest of our kids. The school system needs to remember that they are at the bottom line emoloyed by the parents of this state. They are employed by our tax dollars and when they make poor decisions they have someone to answer to. That’s you. This community needs to come together on soooo many issues. And I feel strongly for our kids it needs to start here. Help us keep a valuable teacher, if we don’t, we senselessly lose him to another school. For what? Ask yourself that.

Children are often abducted from their homes and later sold to cocoa farmers, potentially never to see their families and loved ones ever again. Most of the children are 12-16 years old, but reporters have found children as young as 5 years old, many of whom are forced to work up to 14 hours a day. And when children attempt to escape, they are beaten and tortured. It’s unacceptable. Children forced to work on cocoa farms often use machetes to cut cacao bean pods down from trees and then pack them into 100-pound sacks and when they’re full, they have to carry them. Aly Diabate, a former enslaved cocoa worker said, “Some of the bags were taller than me. It took two people to put the bag on my head. And when you didn’t hurry, you were beaten.” The chocolate industry has a revenue of over 254 BILLION dollars per year, yet, even though it is estimated to only cost the industry a little over 5 million dollars a year to trace cocoa beans to track where their cocoa is coming from, there has been little interest in the technology from any chocolate company. It’s shocking, but not surprising. Greedy corporations in the chocolate industry like Nestlé and Mars have enough money to pay workers a living wage AND ensure that they DO NOT use child slave labor. But instead, they are prioritizing their corporate profits. No more. Major chocolate companies have claimed to be concerned and to make efforts to end child slave labor, but they are a multi-billion dollar industry, but it’s been over two decades since they were exposed, and there is still child slavery in their supply chains. It’s wrong. Together, we can keep getting loud and pressuring chocolate industry companies like Nestle until they end child slave labor once and for all. Will you take action now and sign this urgent petition? Image credit: Duchesse layenah

Snow days were a magical part of childhood for many of us. Waking up to see a world covered in white, to hear that your school days was canceled, and to learn that occasionally we throw away our routines to play, to marvel at the natural world, and to drink hot chocolate. However, following the city's expansion of remote learning during the pandemic, Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks said that when in-person school is canceled, students would pivot to remote learning. Chromebooks are sent home, schedules are posted on digital classrooms, and the business of school continues. It's unfortunate and unnecessary. Remote learning is a poor substitute for in-person learning as students, educators, and parents all agreed, especially for early learners. The educational gaps we worry about aren't made or broken by one day of zoom tutelage. And, sadly, the tech just isn't up to snuff. Even with a day's notice, the Department of Education's digital hub went down Tuesday morning, leaving many students unable to access the tools they were told were required for the day. This sent parents into the spiral of being tech support, at-home educational aides, and frustrated disciplinarians. All while the snow fell outside. It makes sense in an era of increased climate emergencies such as last summer's toxic-air days to have remote options. But it also makes sense to let kids experience and enjoy a day that's different than others ... especially one that's rarer and rarer. So there are many steps the DOE can take: Clearer plans and tools for remote learning; an investment in digital literacy that includes online security and privacy; an assurance that the commercial vendors we're using aren't commodifying our students' digital information; and good old-fashion projects that kids can work on OFF of their computers ... on their own, with siblings and friends, or with caregivers, depending on their home situation. But one other thing the DOE and City can do: Bring back the snow day.

Thousands of children in our State, have been sexually abused by Christian clergy every year. And although 28 states already mandate clergy to report any form of child maltreatment, New York state has yet to approve such an important measure. As of now, if a member of the clergy in our State suspects that a child in the congregation has been abused, that clergyperson isn't legally required to report it!    This is morally and legally unacceptable because sexual abuse at the hands of clergy is still a persistent problem in our state and throughout the western world. Hence, it must be addressed quickly for the safety of our children and all vulnerable adults in NY state. Therefore, we must not delay, do our part and support this important legislation. We can do so by doing the following. I already did it and it's quite easy! It is therefore important to advocate for moving the bill out of committee; to do so contact the Chair of the Committee on Children and Families, Senator Jabari Brisport, tel. (718) 643-6140. Email: [email protected]   As the Chairman, Senator Brisport has full autonomy regarding when a bill would be taken up by his or her committee and subsequently brought to the floor for a vote. However, the committee is not likely to meet until the start of the next Legislative Session in January, and this legislation will have a different bill number   So I urge Senator Brisport and all NY State senators to support Bill S3158, approve it asap, and send it to the Governor for her signature- as soon as the State Legislature reconvenes this January. I also urge all adult NY State residents to contact their State Senators and Governor Hochul and tell her to pass this significant legislation.   If you don’t know who your state senator is, just Google: “Find my state senator”, enter your address and zip code, and send him/her the message below: Please approve Senate Bill 2023-S3158, the CARE ACT, which requires that all NY State clergy be mandated reporters so that children and all vulnerable adults are better protected from clergy sexual predators.   To write the Governor, Google: contact NY State Governor   We must do all we can to support and help pass this bill for the safety of innocent persons and children. If you don't know who your senator is, find out at: https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator SOURCES 1) Senate Bill 2023-S3158, visit: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S3158 2) . Pope leads top cardinals in atoning for a host of sins ahead of a new phase of reform effort. AP News.  October 1, 2024.  https://apnews.com/article/vatican-synod-reform-women-c8aa79a5e69120f7377d90f5219d443c 3) In Belgium, pope apologizes for clergy abuse; prime minister says words alone are insufficient. National Catholic Reporter. 27 Sept 2024.  https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/belgium-pope-apologizes-clergy-abuse-prime-minister-says-words-alone-are 4) Debate over clergy exemption pits sanctity of confession against child safety |National Catholic Reporter. 3 Apr 2023. https://www.ncronline.org/news/debate-over-clergy-exemption-pits-sanctity-confession-against-child-safety#:~:text=%22Protecting%20the%20child,as%20a%20priest. 5)  Expanding Clergy Sexual Abuse Probe Targets New Orleans Catholic Church Leaders. Associated Press. May 1, 2024 https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2024-05-01/expanding-clergy-sexual-abuse-probe-targets-new-orleans-catholic-church-leaders#:~:text=Home-,Expanding%20Clergy%20Sexual%20Abuse%20Probe%20Targets%20New%20Orleans%20Catholic%20Church%20Leaders,Comment,-More 6) The Catholic Church and Sexual Abuse, Then and Now", Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective. March 2019  https://origins.osu.edu/article/catholic-church-sexual-abuse-pope-confession-priests-nuns. 

This is important to every Florida resident as it not only cost an insane amount of monetary lose, but also results in inaccurate arrest records, jail time, attorney/bond fees. As well as over crowding our jails and straining our already over worked judicial system. Leaving a broken system that just continues to diminish.

The FCC’s current proposed rule is the best chance we’ve had to reinstate net neutrality since the Trump administration destroyed the regulations in 2017. But telecom lobbyists and their allies are hitting DC in an all-out effort to water down or block the recently proposed net neutrality rules. They’re even placing misleading, sensationalist op-eds in local papers across the country. While these lobbyists and their Republican allies want to characterize net neutrality as a “takeover” of the internet, the fact is that these protections act to keep broadband free and open for all, and out of the hands of Big Cable. Net neutrality remains hugely popular across the country. In October, Demand Progress joined with over 30 partner organizations to relaunch Battle for the Net, so people can tell the FCC and Congress why net neutrality is important to them. At the end of the comment period in January, over 100,000 activists had filed comments in support. That’s an incredible start, but now we need to pile on the pressure as the FCC prepares to finalize the rule! This is the best chance we’ve had at reversing the Trump administration’s disastrous policy and winning a free and open internet! Add your name: The FCC must save net neutrality now!

Sherburne County has been in the inhumane business of profiting off of immigrant detention since the 1990s, striking a deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The immigrants jailed in Sherburne County Jail aren’t incarcerated as punishment for a crime, but rather because the federal government plans to deport them. What’s more, the conditions immigrants experience in the jail are abhorrent and inhumane. Immigrants are not allowed to have face-to-face visits with their families or to go outside while in custody, which can last over a year; are sent to solitary confinement as punishment for the most minor infractions; are denied culturally sensitive resources; and, as the American Immigration Lawyers Association reports, are often barred from meeting with their attorneys; and are routinely jailed under these conditions for years. Sherburne County should not try to profit from failed immigration policies that divide our community and harm our neighbors. Instead, we should let immigrants stay home with their families while they go through the legal process. That’s how we handled immigration throughout most of this country’s history, and that is the right approach for the people of Sherburne County. The voices of constituents deserve to be heard. Add your name to tell the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners to hold a hearing to discuss the renewal of the contract between the Sherburne County Jail and ICE.

Please help to pass the FIGHT Act, H.R. 2742/S. 1529, The Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act and to build law enforcement for animal welfare and protection within Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. -- no matter what it's status is -- and therefore, so too is the corruption that has breed cruelty towards animals in Puerto Rico. The FIGHT Act is a much needed step towards humane treatment of animals in Puerto Rico. The necessary law enforcement is equally important for the enforcement of animal rights laws. The FIGHT ACT must include law enforcement support and measures. Puerto Rico does not need one more law that WILL NOT BE ENFORCED! Please leave a comment to express your thoughts to lawmakers.

The Prothonotary’s Office is the only acceptance facility in Carbon County. Now residents and our elderly residents have to travel to neighboring counties for these services.