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City Council: Fully fund safe access to Seattle parks ~~ Nick Licata: Fund initiative 4.9 to create safe and equitable access to our parks!

04/12/2014 Nativegrl77

By Seattle Neighborhood Greenways

Sign the Petition

It’s a sad fact that people throughout Seattle are often separated from their favorite parks by dangerous roads and street crossings.

We envision all Seattle parks being places that our kids can safely bike to and through for fun or simply to get home. We envision all Seattle parks being places that grandparents can safely walk to and through as they enjoy staying active, or as they pick up a quart of milk from the grocery store.

We believe equitable access is a basic, core function of our park system. Much attention has been given to equity in terms of geographic distribution of park resources, and rightly so. In addition, we need to start considering how physically accessible parks are to the people who live near them. Parks should be accessible to people of all ages and abilities, not just able bodied adults who can dash across lanes of traffic. One quarter of our population do not own a car, and they deserve safe and comfortable access to their parks.

Part of the Mayor Murray’s Seattle Parks district funding proposal is for Investment Initiative 4.9. This Initiative, entitled “Activating and Connecting to Greenways,” is currently budgeted at $321,000 and will allow the Parks Department to start proactively working with SDOT to activate and enhance connection points from our communities to our parks, with parks-oriented expertise. The current proposed funding is critical to providing equitable access to our parks. However, with an increase to $2 million per year we could truly create equitable access to and through our parks for people of all ages and abilities.

We know there is a large need to provide safe and comfortable access to and through our parks for people of all ages and abilities. There are roughly 200 potential access opportunities between neighborhood greenways and parks. If funding were increased from $321,000 to $2 million dollars per year, the Parks Department would be able to fund capital improvements to make equitable access to our parks a reality. I hope you strongly consider not only maintaining the current funding for this Initiative, but also increasing the funding to $2 million dollars per year. Please make safe access to our parks a reality, and pass the Mayor’s proposed parks funding package!

Thank you,

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Gun violence against women [Trigger Warning]

04/12/2014 Nativegrl77

Team –

Since Gabby shared her letter with the Senate Judiciary Committee, over 30,000 supporters have joined her call for a hearing on the steps Congress can take to keep women safer from gun violence.

Can we count on you to sign on, as well?

We’ve yet to hear back from the Chairman and Ranking Member, so there’s still time to put your name on the letter. You can do that here:

http://action.americansforresponsiblesolutions.org/protect-women

As you can tell from Gabby’s initial email on the subject, this is a pressing issue that calls for a real conversation about how to close some of the loopholes in the current law that make it easy for abusers to get their hands on deadly weapons.

Thanks for stepping up to make sure it happens.

All the best,

Peter Ambler

Co-Founder & Strategy Director, Americans for Responsible Solutions

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Thank You

04/12/2014 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

After Overseeing The Largest Expansion Of Health Care In 50 Years, Sebelius Steps Down

News broke last night that Kathleen Sebelius is stepping down from her role as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Sebelius served at HHS for 5 years, working to help pass the Affordable Care Act and oversee its implementation through the first open enrollment period. President Obama has nominated Sylvia Matthews Burwell, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to fill the post (learn more about her here).

Sebelius stepping down is a clear sign that Obamacare has won. As President Obama said: while “we lost the first quarter of open enrollment period with the problems with HealthCare.gov,” Sebelius and her “team at HHS turned the corner, got it fixed, got the job done, and the final score speaks for itself.”

That score?

7.5 million: The (newly updated) number of private signups on the exchange during open enrollment, beating even the rosier predictions.
3 million: The number of young people who now have health insurance because they are able to stay on their parents’ health plans.
3 million: The number of new low-income adults and children who have enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
9.3 million: The net gain in the number of American adults with health insurance coverage from September 2013 to mid-March 2014, according to the most recent study.

Beyond overseeing this historic expansion in health care for millions of Americans, perhaps Sebelius’s biggest accomplishment is the one no one is talking about: her ability to work across the aisle to convince numerous Republican lawmakers in bright red states to extend health care coverage to lower-income working Americans. Sebelius came to HHS from being a Democratic governor in the very Republican state of Kansas, and her track record of problem-solving and bipartisanship, which was often obscured in the highly politicized debate over the ACA, proved essential in this regard.

Health care writer Jonathan Cohn at The New Republic considered Sebelius’s legacy in the context of her work getting GOP-led states to expand Medicaid:

Authorities from one of those states, Ohio, reported on Thursday that more than 100,000 low-income residents were getting coverage through the state’s expanded Medicaid. The announcement came just hours before the news about Sebelius’ resignation broke—and the juxtaposition seems fitting. The memories of Obamacare’s difficult start will certainly linger. But to the millions of people around the country who now have access to affordable medical care, I’m not sure that really matters.

BOTTOM LINE: After serving as a cabinet official for 1,809 days; giving hundreds of interviews and taking dozens of trips to promote the ACA; and bouncing back from a difficult open enrollment roll-out to oversee millions of Americans get access to affordable coverage, Sebelius deserves not ire but thanks. The fight to defend and improve law will continue. But for now: thanks, Kathleen.

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Top and Exotic Places to Visit on Botswana Safari

04/11/2014 Nativegrl77

Botswana forms a huge part among the top countries in Africa, where abundance of people immerse every year for some mind-blowing and thrilling African Safaris. Botswana is also a beautiful country surrounded with great scenic landscapes, diverse culture and an array of appealing things that would strike your interest immensely. Below is a summary specifying […]

the Senate CONGRESS 4/11 the House

04/11/2014 Nativegrl77

The Senate stands adjourned until 4:00pm on Friday, April 11, 2014. boycott the KOCH’s

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #574, the nomination of Michelle Friedland, of California, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit with the time until 5:00pm equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees.

At 5:00pm, there will be up to 3 roll call votes on the following:

– Confirmation of Executive Calendar #574, the nomination of Michelle Friedland, of California, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit,

– Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #613, the nomination of David Weil, of Massachusetts, to be Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor, and

– If cloture is invoked, confirmation of the Weil nomination.

Updated schedule:

When the Senate convenes at 4pm tomorrow, we anticipate reaching an agreement to postpone tomorrow’s votes until 5:30pm Monday, April 28^th, notwithstanding cloture having been invoked on the Friedland nomination (9^th Circuit). There will be no roll call votes during Friday’s session of the Senate.

At 5:30pm on Monday, April 28, there will be up to 3 roll call votes on the following:

– Confirmation of Executive Calendar #574, the nomination of Michelle Friedland, of California, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit,

– Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #613, the nomination of David Weil, of Massachusetts, to be Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor, and if cloture is invoked,

– Confirmation of the Weil nomination

Senator Reid filed cloture on the following nominations:

Executive Calendar #585 Sheryl H. Lipman, of TN, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee;

Executive Calendar #586 Stanley Allen Bastian, of WA, to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington;

Executive Calendar #587 Manish S. Shah, of IL, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois;

Executive Calendar #588 Daniel D. Crabtree, of KS, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Kansas;

Executive Calendar #589 Cynthia Ann Bashant, CA, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California; and

Executive Calendar #590 Jon David Levy, of ME, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Maine.

The first cloture vote is expected to occur at a time to be determined on Tuesday, April 29. If cloture is invoked on any of the district judges there would be up to 2 hours for debate equally divided prior to a vote on confirmation of the nomination. Senators will be notified when the votes are scheduled.

Senator Reid filed cloture on the following nominations:

Executive Calendar #585 Sheryl H. Lipman, of TN, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee;

Executive Calendar #586 Stanley Allen Bastian, of WA, to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington;

Executive Calendar #587 Manish S. Shah, of IL, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois;

Executive Calendar #588 Daniel D. Crabtree, of KS, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Kansas;

Executive Calendar #589 Cynthia Ann Bashant, CA, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California; and

Executive Calendar #590 Jon David Levy, of ME, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Maine.

The Senate has reached an agreement to consider Executive Calendar #648 Katherine M. O’Regan, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. On Monday, April 28, upon disposition of the Weil nomination, the Senate will proceed to vote on confirmation O’Regan nomination. As a result, there will be up to 4 roll call votes at 5:30pm on Monday.

Confirmation of Executive Calendar #574, Michelle T. Friedland, of California, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit;
Cloture on Executive Calendar #613, David Weil, Massachusetts, to be Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor;
Confirmation of Weil nomination; and
Confirmation of Executive Calendar #648, Katherine M. O’Regan, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

WRAP UP

Wrap Up for Friday, April 11, 2014

NO Roll Call Votes

Legislative items

S.Res.423, Designating April 2014 as “Financial Literacy Month”

Notwithstanding the Senate’s recess, committees are authorized to report Legislative and Executive matters on Friday, April 25^th, from 10am until noon.

Additional Executive items

The Senate confirmed the following Foreign Service nominations by unanimous consent:

PN1317 Foreign Service

135 nominations beginning with Ranya F. Abdelsayed and ending with Fireno F. Zora

PN1374 Foreign Service

3 nominations beginning with Christopher David Frederick and ending with Julio Maldonado

PN1375 Foreign Service

11 nominations beginning with James Benjamin Green and ending with Geoffrey W. Wiggin

PN1376 Foreign Service

23 nominations beginning with Scott Thomas Bruns and ending with Janelle Weyek

PN1377 Foreign Service

42 nominations beginning with Roberta Mahoney and ending with Ann Marie Yastishock