By creating Local & Express lanes on the NJ Turnpike between exits 12 & 14, you could reduce the amount of traffic congestion by separating those getting off at exits 12, 13, 13A, & 14A-C and those driving further north of those exits.

Workers' compensation benefits are a right. Workers' Comp Law was created to specifically provide injured workers with wage benefits and medical care for their work related injury. The new campaign from the Business Council of New York State is an attempt to uproot the New York State Workers’ Compensation System itself and should be vigorously opposed. I oppose the Business Council of New York State's campaign to slash workers’ compensation benefits for injured workers. Costs for employers are near historic lows, and profits for insurance companies are near record highs. Meanwhile, injured workers are increasingly being left behind. Workers’ compensation benefits replace a small and shrinking part of an injured worker’s lost wages, with low wage and immigrant workers among the hardest hit. The Business Council is inhumanely lobbying to reduce or eliminate compensation for workers with broken arms or legs, amputated fingers or hands, major joint replacement surgery, and other permanent injuries, claiming that compensation should only be provided for “lost wages.” Workers who lose body parts, suffer work place injury or are permanently disabled from workplace-related accidents should without debate be entitled to medical care, lost wages, and reasonable compensation for their injuries. Lobbying by the Business Council to further reduce payment for permanent disability from work – which is already artificially capped by law – to only a few years seeks to line the pockets of insurance companies and does nothing to protect workers. The Business Council’s appalling attempt to take benefits away from injured workers to increase profits for insurance companies is a disgrace and must be opposed. I join together with thousands of injured New Yorkers and their advocates in opposing the Business Council’s latest assault on workers. * The Workers' Protection Coalition unites unions, injured workers, workers' centers, law firms, and community-based organizations to advocate for a Workers' Compensation system that works for injured workers and that is governed by principles of equity and justice.

Keep the NYS Foundation Aid formula (This is statutory language in place since 2007) and improve it with: 1) A more equitable distribution of funds, 2) Adequacy of funds within the formula to be measured against the school districts’ actual costs, 3) A phase-in plan over the next few years, and 4) A sound financial plan for the state to sustain State Aid to school districts.

Tell Governor Cuomo to stop his plans for development on Goat Island and redirect the Buffalo billions into the city, where it's actually needed.

New Privilege Rule 534 decimates mental health provider-client confidentiality and effectively nullifies the strong confidentiality protections enacted by NJ Legislators and Governors over the past 4 decades. It will give NJ mental health clients one of the weakest confidentiality protections in the country and will set a bad national precedent for mental health and addictions treatment. Rule 534 exposes mental health clients to having their deepest, sometimes shameful secrets, routinely exposed in lawyers’ discovery request and will require therapists to testify in open court in new, unprecedented ways. Rule 534 will greatly increase the number of subpoenas and discovery requests served on mental health providers and facilities. Rule 534 will impede therapists' ability to obtain their clients' therapeutic trust, make simple informed consent impossible, and will impede therapists' ability to advocate on behalf of their clients. Rule 534 will automatically go into effect on July 1, 2016 unless the Legislature and Governor take immediate action. Text of the Rule can be found at http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/notices/2015/n150915a.pdf

Come together to make a change.

Dear Honorable State Legislators, CRISIS: is any event that is, or is expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society. Our MITO Community is being told that we must prove mitochondrial disease is a crisis before our legislators will listen to us, take our unmet needs and struggles seriously, and help us. We are also being told our MITO population numbers aren’t significant enough, and the healthcare system simply can’t afford to help us. None of these reasons/excuses justify inaction for, or exclusion of, our MITO Community. Isn’t it a crisis when the lives and wellbeing of those living with mitochondrial disease don’t matter, and are repeatedly ignored by those who have it within their power to help us? Isn’t it a crisis when nobody recognizes mitochondrial disease for the serious, debilitating and life-threatening condition it is; denying us the same level of care and services those affected by equally devastating diseases (such as cancer or Aids) have? ISN’T THIS THE TRUE CRISIS! It’s not a matter of if our MITO Community is in a state of crisis, but that it has been in a state of crisis and nobody has been willing to do anything about it! Is it not crisis enough to stand by and watch our loved ones struggle day in and day out, slowly deteriorating before our eyes, from this terrible life altering and incurable disease? Is it not enough of a crisis already when we lose our loved ones to this horrific disease? Is it not crisis enough to lose all financial stability, to have to go without medications and services, go through bankruptcy, live in fear of losing our homes, and never have enough money to make ends meet without reaching out to family members and our communities? Is it not crisis enough to go without adequate appropriate medical care and support services regularly, needing to travel out of state to see numerous specialists, repeatedly being hospitalized for one problem after another stemming from mitochondrial disease? Is it not enough of a crisis for mitochondrial diseases to be so poorly understood, and for there to be so few doctors trained and capable of caring for MITO patients that the majority of MITO patients and their families are inconceivably underserved? All too often we are abandoned and/or mistreated by healthcare providers, left all alone to deal with this chronic and complex disease the best way we can. In addition, often times we are accused of Medical Abuse /Munchausen’s by proxy or of everything being in our head when seeking medical care. These situations can, at times, reach criminal levels, but nobody stands up for our rights! These traumatic experiences scar us and hurt us deeply, causing many to stop seeking help. Is it not crisis enough to watch this terrible disease destroy our families? By nature, mitochondrial diseases cast overwhelming despair, uncertainty and instability on the whole family. Mitochondrial disease and the multitude of unique often unexplainable problems associated with it, in of itself, is crisis enough to deal with! Many families, including my own, have multiple members affected compounding this crisis! What kind of a world do we live in that doesn’t consider MITO a CRISIS? I hope that you will agree with me that MITO IS A CRISIS and the time to act is now!!! Catherine LaFond-Evans Founder of MITO HOPE and HELP but most importantly, I am a mother who has already lost one child to MITO. I am forced to watch as another deteriorates and suffers in pain 24/7 lacking adequate, appropriate medical care and support services.

Spectra Corporation, one of North America's leading pipeline companies, has permission from regulators to proceed with building a 42 inch gas pipeline that will pass within 105 feet of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. If something were to ever go wrong, the lives of over 20 million people would be put in jeopardy.(The Guardian, Brandon Lavoie) source:http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2015/sep/22/high-pressure-pipeline-new-york-state

After siding with the DNC on an extremely limited debate schedule, suddenly Hillary Clinton asks for a debate in New Hampshire. That's fine, and Bernie Sanders announced today he will attend. The Sanders campaign in response requested additional debates, which has been agreed upon by both campaigns. Hillary Clinton was the senator of my home state, NY, for 7 years. Her campaign headquarters is in Brooklyn. Bernie has requested a debate in N.Y. and the Clinton campaign has refused to accept this. As a native New Yorker, I'm offended. Please demand the participation of Hillary Clinton in a N.Y.debate!

We the undersigned request that State of NH approve and implement online voter registration.