I would like to challenge my community and the world to help us stop being afraid and work toward building a safer and a much better environment for Victims of Domestic Violence. We shouldn't witness our mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers and friends become victims of abuse. Everyone wants to be loved, but “LOVE” should not hurt anyone. We have to uplift each other in our society and be stronger advocates. In order to make a change we must come together to be effective. I know we can make a difference worldwide.

Help your stylist help you!!

Dear Governor Cuomo: I cannot begin to express my disappointment with many of the initiatives in your 2013-2014 NYS Budget and have to question many of your motives in regards to job creation, the $350 tax credit, and your education reform. In a time when the economy is leveling out at the national level, your proposals for the said above initiatives serve only a small amount of the middle class and negatively target the majority of the middle class. As a home-owner and taxpayer, my first question is why only families with children can receive this $350 tax credit? I have many relatives in retirement age who are on a fixed income. I would venture to guess that they are in more of a need for a tax relief than a working family who already receives a tax credit each year on their taxes for claiming their children. Likewise, there are many other individuals and couples who struggle regularly that could benefit from the $350 tax credit. To isolate these citizens from a tax credit is, in my opinion, a disregard for the “entire” middle class. To be completely honest, a better choice would actually be to take that tax credit and put it towards the schools for more efficient funding, as funding has continually declined each year over the past five years! These $350 rebate checks will cost $1.2 billion over the next three years. Why not fund schools instead?? I addition, I would like to know why the $181 million “Hiring Tax Credit” is limited to youth workers? I know plenty of adults who are in the lower and middle class that would benefit from being employed, rather than being on unemployment. It would seem that these jobs your tax credit is focusing on minimum wage jobs curtailed to teenagers, rather than individuals trying to support themselves. Likewise, it would also seem that those individuals who are not a military veteran are being left out, as the permanent tax credit for businesses are for those that hire veterans. Additionally, the “Investing in the Economy of Tomorrow” initiative, with all the good intentions to promote higher education groups, should not be isolated to private-sector only jobs. There are thousands of individuals in the public sector as well that are being ignored through this initiative. On a third matter of your 2013-2014 budget, I feel your education reform is very short-sighted, as you have tied the entire $75 million of the said funding initiatives as conditional, rather than guaranteed funding that schools need! For starters, the $25 million funding to Pre-K, while generous, is for a program that is not offered by every school district, such as grades K-12. There are school districts in my area, as well as across the state that are threatening to cut Kindergarten, which is essential! With that in mind, funding for Pre-K seems irrelevant when Kindergarten is being threatened. Your Community in Schools initiative is one that I cannot quite wrap my head around. When I read that you are for “transforming schools into community hubs” the first thing that comes to mind is “regional schools.” Are you aware that NYS has always been ahead in education because we have maintained school districts in a smaller locale, compared to those that have regional schools, such as the schools in the southern states? The $15 million that is being put towards community hubs would be better utilized by funding the poorer school districts you speak of. School districts across the state are going into insolvency because you are choosing to cut funding to them and tying it into prerequisites. Is this your goal; to bankrupt schools and create regional schools that are charter-run? Charter schools, Mr. Governor, are for-profit. Do you want to make a profit off of our children? If you are in support of our children’s education, then you will see it fit to fund our schools properly! I also have to question your motives for rewarding high-performing teachers. Contrary to your belief, the teachers that educate our children go above-and-beyond for their students. I am well-aware of the new teacher evaluation system that you forced upon the teachers’ union. I am well aware of the criticism of tenure and your slighted view that teachers don’t deserve the respectable pay and benefits they have rightfully worked hard to earn. There is no question that teachers who maintain excellence SHOULD be in the classroom and HAVE earned their positions as educators. Why tie school funding into teacher evaluations when the funding is necessary so our children can HAVE those teachers that provide the essential programs our children need to succeed in the 21st Century? Pitting teachers against each other to obtain the $11 million funding lowers the quality of education by circumventing actual teaching skills for teaching-to-the-test. This $11 million funding would be better served to sustain programs that are being destroyed due to the lack of funding that you have created. It is without...

New Jersey has it's priorities out of whack - Gov. Chris Christie and his supporters in the legislature have dumped more than a billion dollars into boondoggles like the bankrupt Revel Casino and Hotel, while slashing investments in our communities like funding for high quality afterschool programming. High quality afterschool programs give our young people the extra learning time they need to succeed; gives working families the dependable child care they can't live without; and creates hundreds, maybe thousands of local part- and full-time jobs. Tell Gov. Christie and the legislature to restore the $15 million investment New Jersey once made in its families - less than 6% of what Gov. Christie wasted on Revel.

NYS fails children in its constitutional obligation to provide appropriate funding for schools hiding behind propaganda and ignoring the pleas of the people.

The state of NH has a statute of limitations on when a victim can report sexual abuse. I would like the statute removed so victims can report sexual abuse without a time limit. There should be no time limit on when a victim feels ready and able to find the incredible amount of courage it takes to report such abuse. Many victims will not feel safe enough to report until well until adulthood and the fact they are turned away because of a time limit is horrendous and re-victimizes the victim.Their right to report should not be taken from them because of this statute. This statute does nothing for victims and allows abusers to go unpunished for their crimes and victims voices to go unheard.Every victim should have the right to report and have their voice heard at whatever age they decide to report. Please don't place abusers rights above victims any longer.

People with disabilities do not deserve a 6% budget cut to the OPWDD service system> They are the most neediest New Yorkers that reqiure someone to assist them with their daily lives

Permanently ban fracking in the state of NY. There is no "safe" method for preventing the dangerous chemicals used in this procedure from irreparably poisoning our sources of drinking water and no way of affixing responsibility for the damage caused by this process.

In just one NJ town, Parsippany, a retiring police chief, like those before him, received an outrageous $379,000 windfall for unused sick, vacation and personal days. 4 police also retired recently with such payouts totaling $900,000. This is in addition to very high pensions and golden retirement benefits. Taxpayers are being sucked dry. Gannett news reports the accumulated liability to NJ taxpayers for just these payouts totals almost one billion dollars. The NJ legislature must join the governor and totally eliminate such payouts without grandfathering in those already in service which would make a law change pointless.

STOP DOUBLE CHARGING FOR TRAFFIC TICKETS.