My name is Phil Plaza and I am an Oregon resident. I welcome the opportunity to offer my comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. I would like to begin by asking this question: Were any of you present when the drunken captain of the Exxon Valdez let his ship crash upon a charted reef, spilling almost 11 millions gallons of crude oil upon the shorelines of Prince William Sound? Well I was there. I have witnessed not only the polluted beaches and sub-soils, which remain polluted to this day, I also saw the dead seals, sea birds and aquatic life. And I also witnessed first hand, the livelihoods, the health and the economy of a fishing industry collapse. I have witnessed the dramatic impact upon the fishing town of Cordova, a once thriving fishing community and have seen their lives changed, disrupted forever. It was a disaster of enormous consequences. And through the courts, it took years of litigation before Exxon finally paid all of the punitive damages. For many folks they never did recover from the consequences of that spill. This Exxon oil company fought these assessed damages for over 10 years. Will Oregon residents have to wait for ten years or more before a settlement from an oil spill disaster is offered? The second question I pose to you is this: How many of you have actually traveled the Oregon Coastal Highway101? Considered one of the most scenic and beautiful coastal highways in the world, the Highway 101 drive, with is beaches and vistas are visited by thousands of tourists from all over the world. If you doubt this, just try to find a vacant campsite during the busy summer months. This 2 lane highway is packed, at times bumper to bumper, from the northern to the southern borders of Oregon, a distance of 363 miles. Thousands of campers, trailers, Rvs, bicyclists, hikers and tourists follow the shoreline, providing a significant boost for many of the economically challenged small communities that depend on these coastal tourist dollars in order to survive the rest of the year. One spill, as we have previously witnessed, one disaster, will forever disrupt lives and livelihoods of Oregonians, just as it happened in Alaska or along the Texas/Louisiana shores. But the real kicker, the most dangerous aspect of this off shore oil drilling proposal has to do with something we can not mitigate, control or even prepare for appropriately. To think of drilling an oil well near the Cascadian Subduction Zone, an active earthquake zone, as close as 35 miles from Oregon’s shoreline with the potential of a 9.1 or greater earthquake is criminally negligent to say the least. Have any of you spoken with the earthquake and tsunami professors at Oregon State University? As a firefighter, first responder and community organizer for our emergency prepared response plans, we understand that there is a better than 38% chance of the “Big One,” a 9.1 or greater earthquake occurring within the next 50 years and indeed we are already overdue for the “Big One” according to past records. And we know it could happen any day. This is scientific and historical fact not fiction. And just where will this oil be stored if any is even found? There are presently no facilities nor infrastructure except in Portland to transport and store this oil. The present fuel storage tanks in Portland sit upon unstable silt and mud and are in such a danger of collapsing that they are being retrofitted to withstand a large quake. Portland is not ready to receive this oil and has already been legally approved to ban any future fossil fuel infrastructure. Portland already knows a 9.1 earthquake has the potential danger of oil tanks rupturing, collapsing and thereby disrupting 7 million people. The great Republican Governor Tom McCall understood just how important Oregon’s beaches are, from lighthouse to lighthouse, for both the health and economy of our State. Governor McCall passed a law that gives us complete access to all of Oregon’s beaches, they belong to the public not the private sector. Oregon citizen’s consider our beaches and shore line a treasure. Oregon passed the first bottle bill in no small measure to keep our beaches free from plastics and glass. For me it is extremely short sighted, simply foolish and definitely dangerous for the lives and wellbeing of Oregon’s coastal residents. And for me it is morally shameful to be even thinking of such a proposal for our coastal waters. There is only one sane mitigation measure, No Drilling off of Oregon’s treasured shoreline. I urge the Bureau of Coastal Energy Management and our Oregon Governor Kate Brown to deny this ill-advised off shore oil lease proposal. After all we deserve the same consideration as Florida received. Thank you, Phil Plaza

Climate change is caused by people emitting carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere. One way to reduce contributions to climate change is to stop using fossil fuels to generate electricity. NYC could do it (for all city business, including MTA). Call on NYS to switch to "green" electrical energy by 2025.

This wall won't protect people. It's pits them against each other. It fosters racism and breeds resentment. The border wall doesn't divide one world from another. There is only one world and it is tearing it apart.

Saving and taking care of our Veteran's and their families should be a top priority for all of us living in this country. Operation Build Up is a Non Profit 100 percent volunteer organization that provides reliable vehicles and home furnishings to our veteran's and their families in times of need and crisis at no charge to them. The Town of Conesus and its residents should be proud to be the location of such an honorable organization. Please sign this petition to stop the zoning board from closing its doors!

As a veteran of 7 years, and a devotee of honest governance, Devin Nunes CANNOT be allowed to continue his wholesale attacks on the FBI, DoJ, and those who are seeking to protect America from a hostile foreign power.

I would like to see the State of California resist Trump's efforts to allow offshore oil and gas drilling. We should have learned our lesson after repeated oil spills in Santa Barbara. The focus should be on renewable energy, and not carbon producing fossil fuels. The entire state is at risk...wildlife, California residents, tourists, and the tourism and fishing industries.

Since 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has filled the pockets of fossil fuel executives and Wall Street CEOs at the expense of working people and the environment in the US, Canada, and Mexico. From helping corporations undermine democratic rule and union power through secretive Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) tribunals to exacerbating pollution and displacing immigrants, this rigged deal has harmed middle class and low-income families, people of color, and nearly everyone who is not a big corporation. Now the Trump Administration is renegotiating NAFTA, but the talks are taking place behind closed doors, with the public shut out and corporate polluters invited in. We cannot sit silently while Trump invites billionaires to tweak NAFTA. We must fight to #ReplaceNAFTA with an agreement that puts people and planet first, not corporations. While job-outsourcing corporations ask for even more handouts in NAFTA 2.0, Congress must push for a NAFTA replacement that supports good union jobs, climate justice, and healthy and thriving communities. While Trump tries to use his NAFTA agenda to build a racist border wall, Congress must call for a replacement deal that raises wages and environmental standards for workers, immigrants, and communities across North America. Rather than pitting communities against each other, we center racial, economic, and environmental justice in our fight for a new approach to trade.

Like everyone else a victim of domestic violence must live separate and apart from their spouse for a full year before he/she can file for divorce. I'm an attorney in North Carolina and help victims of domestic violence obtain Domestic Violence Protective Orders (no contact orders). There is no good reason to make someone remain married to their abuser for a full year (or longer in many cases) before they can petition the courts for a divorce.

Dear Bridgeport City Council Members: We, the parents, administration, teachers, staff, and supporters of Classical Studies Magnet Academy (CSMA), are asking for you to put the issue of the City of Bridgeport supporting the Board of Education & Bridgeport Public School District acquiring a new building for CSMA to be joined in one physical location on your agenda. We specifically request that you vote “YES” to the Board of Education applying for a grant to comprehensively assess the renovation needs of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport administrative building at 238 Jewett Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06606 and “YES” to the investing $1.2 million for the purchase of 238 Jewett Avenue for CSMA. CSMA is a PK-8 magnet school that is currently split between two buildings: Main Building, 240 Linwood Avenue, housing grades 3-8 & Annex Building, 659 Beechwood Avenue, housing grades PK-2. The Main Building is owned by the Board of Education, and the Annex is leased from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport. The school’s academic theme is project-based education that incorporates Socratic Seminar. Quoted from Principal Helen Giles’ School Message, “[The educational approach promotes] active learning wherein students are the knowledge seekers. They have opportunities to engage in rich discourse regarding topics they are learning about. [CSMA] provides an education based on high expectations for all children, striving to provide a world-class education while cultivating and nurturing world-class citizens.” Our ultimate goal is to support and raise the academic achievement of our children, and this in part requires a suitable physical learning environment. It was approved for CSMA to expand into two buildings in 2013 when it received approval by the Board of Education to increase its student body from grades K-6 to PK-8. The division of students and staff between two buildings, separated by .5 miles and 4 streets, was originally intended to be a temporary situation. However, approaching 5 years later, the City has not outlined any concrete steps to unify the school into one building. CSMA needs to be one building, together as one unified school. It is currently the only school in Bridgeport suffering from the challenges of a physically separated administration, educational team, and student body. Parents are strained by having to drop off and pick up siblings in multiple locations and sometimes having to choose between attending events for one child over another since school assemblies must to held on different days between the two buildings. In addition to being in one building, CSMA needs to be in a newer, more updated facility. The Main building at 240 Linwood Avenue, the former Maplewood School, is the oldest building presently in operation by the Bridgeport Public Schools. The age of the building contributes to the poor temperature regulation and ventilation, insufficient space for certain classes and activities. The Annex building at 659 Beechwood Avenue also has structural challenges, with ceiling leaks, cracked wall tiles, and poorly sealed windows. The building cannot accommodate a proper library, and there is no real gymnasium. 238 Jewett Avenue is the only realistic and reasonable option for the relocation and unification of CSMA: 238 Jewett Avenue has adequate space for the entire current student population, with room to expand. This administrative building was formerly Notre Dame High School and St. Catherine School for Girls, therefore the property is already zoned for a school. The building is large enough to satisfactorily accommodate space for academic, social/emotional, and health/wellness support services, as well as for enrichment classes such as library, physical education, music, and art. It will also provide space for parent meetings and engagements. The grounds surrounding the building are spacious enough to build playgrounds and to use for other recreational activities. CSMA is a project-based magnet school that holds multiple exhibits, and assemblies each month. Adequate space is necessary for students to endeavor into their educational exploration and to set up their projects/presentations for fellow students, parents, and invited guests. Renovations in the 238 Jewett Avenue building will allow for needed technology updates that the current 659 Beechwood Avenue & 240 Linwood Avenue buildings cannot support. This need also holds true for general assemblies school-wide events, where crowding easily becomes a complication. The location of the building is sufficiently distanced from other local schools, and it will not disrupt the local school zone distribution. As a magnet school that receives students from all over the city and has the specific theme of being project-based, parents must consciously select for their children to attend and commit be actively engaged in ensuring their children keep up with the rigors of the curriculum. Relocating CSMA to an area that is too close to other local schools or transferring the school to an already-occupied school building that would displace students from their current zoned school will have potentially negative lasting effects on the community. Students may then need to be bussed to the next closest school or conversation may arise to change CSMA from a fully lottery-based magnet school to a partially zoned-magnet composite school. The latter would not be fair to parents or students to attend a school with a special zone-based because some local parents may not wish their children to attend, or may not be able to keep up with the academic demands. As a magnet school receiving students from the entire city, the majority of students are bussed. There is sufficient space on the grounds of the 238 Jewett Avenue property for the school buses to load and unload students off of the public street. Presently traffic becomes obstructed at both locations as 5 school buses wait in line. There is also pa...

I am a 55-year-old female, a single mother of a teen daughter and two grown kids. I have three grandchildren. In 2013 I underwent spinal fusion surgery ( it failed ) that left me full of titanium and disabled. Before the "opioid crisis" and CDC medications cutbacks of 2016 I had adequate pain management. I had an acceptable quality of life that included doing my own shopping, taking my kids where they wanted and needed to go, I hosted many parties at home for my kids and friends. I was an avid fisherwoman and camper, a rabid estate saler and junker. It's all a memory now. Don't let this happen to anyone else. The next patient in need could be you or someone you love.

Neil Gorsuch, the newest Supreme Court Justice and a Donald Trump appointee, has not been an impartial judge. He recently gave the keynote address at a Trump Hotel event, and this week, he had dinner and discussed “important issues” with members of Congress including Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). Here's what's wrong with that picture: according to United States Code (Title 28, Section 455) justices and judges should recuse themselves from a case if they have independent knowledge of the facts in dispute or they have a personal bias concerning the case. Sen. Cornyn is one of the most anti-immigrant members of Congress and is currently pushing legislation that would make it impossible to protect Dreamers. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case that will make or break the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows Dreamers to drive and work legally in the country. If the Supreme Court votes the wrong way, 800,000 Dreamers from across the nation will become deportation targets for Donald Trump By meeting with Sen. Cornyn to discuss “important issues,” Justice Gorsuch has demonstrated his willingness to listen to the views and opinions of one of the biggest immigrant restrictionists in the United States. How can Justice Gorsuch remain impartial when he is palling around with one of the most anti-immigrant U.S. Senators? The integrity of the Supreme Court must be preserved! Justice Gorsuch MUST recuse himself from the DACA decision.

Because with the rate of mental illness in our state and the lack of proper training guns are getting into the hands of the irresponsible.