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A big Win! and Thank the EPA

08/28/2012 Nativegrl77

Union of Concerned Scientists

Big Win for Clean Cars

www.ucsusa.org

This is a historic week for U.S. consumers and for the future of our nation’s costly oil use. The Obama administration just finalized fuel economy and global warming emissions standards for cars and light trucks sold in model years 2017-2025, which will roughly double the fuel efficiency of these vehicles.

The standards will save drivers of a new 2025 vehicle nearly $8,000 over its lifetime, compared to driving a typical vehicle on the road today. In addition, the standards will reduce global warming emissions by as much as 270 million metric tons in 2030—the equivalent of shutting down 65 coal-fired power plants for one year.

These standards represent the biggest single step our country can take to reduce oil use, cutting consumption by 1.5 million barrels a day in 2030 and putting us on the path towards halving our projected oil use over the next 20 years.

Much work remains to get to this ambitious goal, and we will no doubt have to protect this hard-fought victory. But today we celebrate, and say thank you.

Thank you for being a part of the UCS community that contacted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and White House more than 75,000 times to support strong clean car standards throughout the last two years. Thank you for supporting and defending these standards at public hearings, in local newspapers, and in your communities. We would not be celebrating this victory without you.

Now we need your help in delivering one last thank you: Tell the EPA and DOT how much you appreciate the finalization of these standards.

Send a Thank You Today! www.ucsusa.org

Sincerely,

Rachel Cohen
National Field Organizer
UCS Clean Vehicles Program

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Charlotte 2012

08/28/2012 Nativegrl77

A Message from the Charlotte in 2012 Convention Host Committee - Visit CharlotteIn2012.com for more info.

CarolinaFest is a free family-friendly Labor Day celebration that will occur in Uptown Charlotte and will feature interactive expositions, family oriented-activities, live music, speakers, and history in the making. The event will be held on Tryon Street in the heart of convention facilities and serve as the kick-off to the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

CarolinaFest will feature two stages with live performances and speakers. The Main Stage will be located at the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets in Uptown Charlotte and the “Carolina Stage” will be located at the intersection of Levine Avenue of the Arts and Tryon Street. Jeff Bridges and the Abiders, Janelle Monáe, and James Taylor were recently announced as Main Stage entertainment.

In a continued effort to make the 2012 Democratic National Convention the most open and accessible convention in history, in partnership with the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) and with the generous support of AT&T, the Charlotte in 2012 Host Committee is excited to present the most technologically advanced way to be a part of a Convention through the release of the official convention mobile app for smartphones and tablets.

Called “DNC 2012,” the mobile app is part of both the Charlotte in 2012 Host Committee and the DNCC’s broad digital media efforts to make it possible for people to participate in this historic event both in person and virtually. At the touch of a finger, users can watch the convention via live-stream footage as well as navigate through Charlotte and convention venues via an interactive map. The app is available now for iOS and Android devices.

Catalyzed by the historic 2012 Democratic National Convention, the Charlotte community has undertaken significant efforts to show rather than just tell the world how we come together and problem solve. As a result, for more than a year, we have been working hard to create an enduring legacy of across four key areas: reducing childhood obesity, lifting the ambitions of young people by engaging them in putting the convention together, making our city more sustainable than any other convention city and promoting inclusive business practices. By the time the convention happens, we want you to see what we’ve done, not what we promise to do. Volunteers, partner organizations and supporters are working hard every day and showing that we make it possible to shape our future here in Charlotte and North Carolina. Learn more >>>

Learn more about Charlotte!

As people from all over the country funnel into Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention, it’s important we introduce them to our city. We decided to do this in two fun, yet informative ways:

Exploring Charlotte: Our Exploring Charlotte Series is a set of blog posts written by our outstanding high school student interns detailing the city they live in and letting readers know what to experience and where to eat and shop while in town.The blog posts also detail the history of each neighborhood, so you can not only see what the neighbors have to offer, but also how these communities are part of the American fabric as we gather to celebrate during the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Read more about Historic South End, NoDa, Trade & Tryon and Plaza-Midwood.

Hey Intern: The “Hey Intern” series is a set of blog posts/videos designed with a simple format: directing our interns to give our visitors a peek at what the Queen City has to offer. So far, they’ve been on the Carolina Thread Trail, The Green, NASCAR Hall of Fame and Discovery Place. They even made a cat video! We plan to feature several more places before and during the convention!

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Preserving and Strengthening Medicare

08/27/2012 Nativegrl77

The White House

Weekly Address: Preserving and Strengthening Medicare

President Obama speaks to the American people about the critical need to strengthen and preserve Medicare for our seniors and future generations.

Watch President Obama’s weekly address.

President Barack Obama tapes the Weekly Address in the East Room of the White House, Aug. 23, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Weekly Wrap Up

First Lady Michelle Obama Hosts First-Ever Kids’ State Dinner: On Monday, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the first-ever Kids’ “State Dinner” at the White House, welcoming 54 budding chefs to a formal luncheon in the East Room as part of her Let’s Move! initiative. The guests, all between the ages of 8 and 12, represented all U.S. states, three territories and the District of Columbia.

Each of the guests, along with their parents, submitted a healthy recipe as part of Epicurious’ Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, which invited families to create an original lunchtime recipe that is healthy, affordable and delicious, and follows the nutritional guidelines of MyPlate.

President Obama Held a Press Conference: Also on Monday, President Obama took questions from reporters and discussed a big new announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“Today, HHS announced that thanks to the health care law that we passed, nearly 5.4 million seniors with Medicare have saved over $4.1 billion on prescription drugs. That’s an average savings of more than $700 per person,” he said. “This year alone, 18 million seniors with Medicare have taken advantage of new preventive care benefits like a mammogram or other cancer screening at no extra cost.”

Assisting Iranians in Need: On August 11, strong earthquakes in northwest Iran destroyed and damaged hundreds of villages, causing the loss of many lives, leaving thousands without electricity, water, health care and other essential services. The United States immediately sent the Iranian people our condolences and offered direct earthquake relief to the government of Iran. Despite our strong differences with the Iranian government, we have a deeply held obligation to help those in need in times of disaster. To learn more about the United States’ assistance to the Iranian people, please read Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough’s comments.

First Lady Announced a Major Milestone for Joining Forces: On Wednesday, at Naval Station Mayport near Jacksonville, Florida, First Lady Michelle Obama announced that 2,000 companies had hired or trained an amazing 125,000 veterans and military spouses in the past year through Joining Forces. This effort, combined with policies and legislation put in place by the President have resulted in a 20 percent decrease in veteran unemployment compared to this time last year.

International Traveler Spending On Pace For a Record Setting Year: Also on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Commerce released data showing that international visitors have spent an estimated $82.2 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services year to date, an increase of 11 percent when compared to the same period last year. The new data indicate that the first half of 2012 set a new record for U.S. travel and tourism exports, and, if these trends continue, international visitors could end up injecting close to $170 billion into the U.S. economy by year-end.

The Department of the Interior recently redesigned Recreation.gov to engage visitors with enhanced interactive web content and more multimedia, mobile, trip-planning tools. Check out the new Recreation.gov website to see the 90,000 federal sites, including national parks, wildlife refuges, waterways, and forests for you and your family to explore in the United States.

#InnovateGov: On Thursday, the inaugural class of Presidential Innovation Fellows, top innovators from all over the country who are working to create solutions that will boost government innovation for the American people, was welcomed by US Chief Technology Officer Todd Park. Learn about these projects at wh.gov/innovationfellows and read Todd Park’s blog post.

Open-Sourcing We the People: Also on Thursday, the White House published the source code for We the People, the online petitions system for the public to connect with the White House. When President Obama talked about We the People at the Open Government Partnership last year, he promised to, “share that technology so any government in the world can enable its citizens to do the same.” Now anybody, from other countries to the smallest organizations to civic hackers can take this code and put to their own use. One of the most exciting prospects of open sourcing We the People is getting feedback, ideas and code contributions from the public.

First Lady Michelle Obama Visited Sikh Community in Wisconsin: Also on Thursday, First Lady Michelle Obama visited with the Sikh American families affected by the tragedy on August 5 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. She not only expressed her condolences but also underscored how strong those who died were, and how strong the Sikh community continues to be. The First Lady expressed her pride in the community, and looked into the eyes of the children in the room and said that she expects them to achieve ever greater things as well. The First Lady also greeted the family of Oak Creek Police Lt. Brian Murphy, who was shot and injured while defending the temple. Learn more about First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to the Sikh Community.

Stay Connected

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You cannot make this stuff up –

08/27/2012 Nativegrl77

Reporters talked to a few people waiting to get into the Mitt Romney fundraiser at the Koch estate in the Hamptons over the weekend.

Here’s what one of them had to say:

“A New York City donor a few cars back, who also would not give her name, said Romney needed to do a better job connecting. ‘I don’t think the common person is getting it,’ she said from the passenger seat of a Range Rover stamped with East Hampton beach permits. …

‘We’ve got the message,’ she added. ‘But my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies — everybody who’s got the right to vote — they don’t understand what’s going on. I just think if you’re lower income — one, you’re not as educated, two, they don’t understand how it works, they don’t understand how the systems work, they don’t understand the impact.”‘

Whenever you hear about Romney’s fundraising advantage, I want you to remember this quote — because this is the kind of person making huge contributions to give him that advantage. If you do nothing, that’s who gets to win.

Donate TO: BarackObama

This isn’t just about the kind of people supporting Mitt Romney. This is also about who benefits from a Romney presidency: Millionaires and billionaires would get a $250,000 tax cut, from a plan costing $5 trillion, while Wall Street would be allowed to write its own rules.

That’s Romney’s plan — a return to Bush-era policies. It’s hard to forget how that ended.

The outcome is in your hands:

– Messina

Jim Messina Campaign Manager Obama for America

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Palermo Workers Union

08/27/2012 Nativegrl77

A lot has happened since we last e-mailed you with an update on our fight for justice at Palermo’s Pizza.

You may have seen in the news recently that after tens of thousands of e-mails and dozens of actions outside Costco stores around the country, Palermo’s CEO Giacomo Fallucca reached out to us about meeting to come to a resolution to reinstate fired workers and recognize our union.

This is a good step and we couldn’t have gotten here without your help. Palermo’s executives are really feeling the pressure, but this doesn’t mean we can let up now.

Over the coming week, thousands of people will particiapte in a national week of action outside Costco stores, including at an event outside of Costco headquarters in Seattle today, to make sure the company keeps the pressure on Palermo’s to follow through with their commitment to resolve this issue in the right way for its workers and customers.

Even though there isn’t an action planned in your area, you still can help.

Call Costco now at 425-313-8100 (dial zero to speak with an operator who will direct your call) and tell the person you speak with you want the company to call on Palermo’s to reinstate fired workers and recognize our union. You may be put on hold for a few minutes while they transfer you but stay on the line.

The bottom line is Palermo’s is scared because you are helping to expose their dirty tactics and motivated Costco, the largest purchaser of its products, to question whether Palermo’s meets the high standards the company sets for its suppliers.

It is more important than ever that we do everything we can to show people are still watching and will not rest until fired workers are reinstated to their jobs and our union is recognized.

Can you help us keep the pressure on Palermo’s by calling Costco now at 425-313-8100 (dial zero to speak with an operator who will direct your call and stay on the line if they transfer you)?

We hope Palermo’s will end its misinformation campaign and sit down with us to find a resolution that will get everyone back to work, provide us with a voice on the job and create a safer workplace so we can continue to provide the best quality pizzas to Palermo’s customers.

But until that happens, we cannot let up. Thank for you for continuing to stand with us.

In Solidarity,

Raul de la Torre
Organizing Committee, Palermo Workers Union