Tag Archives: Associated Press

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Ballot #594


 

It’s official.

Last week we got our ballot number — 594.

And this week, we got the language from the secretary of state, which will be finalized the week of July 8. After that, we can start our petition drive to make sure that criminal background checks are on the ballot in 2014.

With your help, we’re going to make sure that every single person purchasing a gun in Washington has to pass a criminal background check — and keep our families safe.

Thanks for pledging your support to help us make this simple, commonsense reform the law.

We’d love to hear your ideas about the campaign. Click here to join us on Facebook!

We’re very excited by how quickly this campaign has been coming together, and that is a direct result of the support of thousands of folks just like you.

Thanks for stepping up.

Talk to you soon,

Zach

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a message from Gov.Jay Inslee


mapofWashingtonstate

As we wrap up the second week of our second special session, I want to share an update from Olympia.

While quite a bit of time has passed, my priorities remain the same. Every day, I am working to protect our commitment to funding education, while keeping our vital services to our most vulnerable intact, and every day, I’m pushing to pass a transportation package to protect our communities and grow jobs.

All over the state, Washington’s transportation infrastructure helps people get to work, moves crops from the field to the store, and carries freight to market.

Keeping that system safe and strong is mission critical to our state’s economy and it’s one of state government’s most important responsibilities. The recent Skagit Bridge collapse is a stark reminder of the critical role our transportation system plays in our communities and economy.

My team, along with a diverse coalition of stakeholders, is working day and night to get a transportation package passed that keeps Washington moving forward.

But this isn’t just about supporting the economic activity moving through our transportation system — it’s also about the jobs a transportation package would create. If we can come together in Olympia and pass a strong transportation package, it will generate well-paying, middle-class jobs in every corner of the state and help jump start Washington’s economic recovery.

My team and I are also working hard to support our long-term economic recovery by meeting our moral and constitutional duty to fully fund our kids’ education. My budget principles continue to reflect my values — making sure our kids get the best education without continuing to slash the critical services kids need to help them be successful in school.

Your support, and your commitment to the values we fought for during my campaign, helps me stand strong for our shared beliefs every day.

As the budget deadline nears and we seek to avoid a government shutdown, I will continue to insist on a budget compromise that reflects our values. Thank you for your continued engagement. I’ll keep you posted.

Very truly yours,

Jay Inslee

~ FDA/USDA ~~ Alerts & Safety

U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)


English: Logo of the .
English: Logo of the . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

05/21/2013 03:41 PM EDT
LL Bakery Inc. of Torrance, CA is recalling all White Farm Enriched White Bread, Butter Farm Enriched White Bread, and Italian Cream Danish because product labels fail to declare the allergen “milk”, in the whey powder listed in their ingredient statements. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of a life threatening allergic reaction, anaphylaxis, that requires immediate medical attention should they consume these products.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

First Lady Honors National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award Recipients.


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Twelve exemplary after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities program are honored by FIrst Lady Michelle Obama as recipients of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards. November 19, 2012.
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Stop the African hunger games …Baaba Maal – Avaaz.org


18 million people are desperate for food in Africa’s drought-struck Sahel, but urgent appeals for help are being met with deafening silence by governments worldwide. Senegalese musician Baaba Maal has started a petition to get the US, Japan, France and Germany to pledge their fair share of aid. Let’s join him— sign the urgent petition below and sound the massive alarm needed to shake these leaders into action:

Sign the petition

My name is Baaba Maal    …

 I’m a Senegalese musician writing with a personal plea for help. I live in Africa’s drought-struck Sahel region where 18 million people are on the brink of disaster, including 1 million children at risk of starvation. But our urgent appeals for help are being met with deafening silence. Only a targeted and overwhelming demand for action can stop this catastrophe from turning deadly.

The UN says millions of lives could be destroyed unless $1.5 billion in aid is channeled in immediately, but governments have pledged less than half the required sum. The countries who can make all the difference are the US, Japan, France and Germany, but they’re stalling — that’s why I started a petition on Avaaz‘s Community Petitions website to appeal to the world for help.

In days, world leaders will gather in Brussels to discuss the Sahel — if they decide right there and then to pledge their fair share, we can avert disaster. Sign this urgent petition now — Avaaz, Africans Act 4 Africa, and Oxfam will deliver it in a coordinated stunt when we reach 1 million signatures:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/The_grain_sacks_are_empty/?biEWLbb&v=15195

Terrible drought, political unrest, and sky high food prices have wreaked havoc on an area the size of the US, stretching from Senegal in the west all the way to Sudan in the east. People here are doing everything they can to survive, but the crisis has hit so hard that it’s difficult to stay hopeful. I’ve seen women and children trying to grow food in patches of land that are bone dry. They know that people are talking about what is happening in the Sahel, but they don’t know if aid will ever arrive.

The UN has only received 43 percent of the $1.5 billion needed — it’s a shortfall of gargantuan proportions. But this gap must be filled, and can be filled by the world’s richest countries, if there’s political will. We don’t have much time to avert mass suffering, and I’m determined to speak on behalf of the people here until they get the help they need.

The world has turned a blind eye to crises like this before, but this time we can make the difference between life and death by forcing our governments to respond. Sign this urgent petition now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/The_grain_sacks_are_empty/?biEWLbb&v=15195

Avaaz members have come together time and time again to respond to natural disasters, saving thousands of lives by ensuring that crucial aid was delivered to Burma, Haiti, Somalia and Pakistan. We have the power to force our leaders to stop idling away in the face of a crisis we can prevent. Let’s stand together now to demand that the world respond to the pleas of the millions living in the vast Sahel region.

With hope and determination,

Baaba Maal, with the Avaaz team

MORE INFORMATION

A distress call from Africa’s Sahel: Millions might starve (CNN)
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/05/world/africa/sahel-hunger/index.html

UN: 18 Million in West Africa to Go Hungry in 2012 (The Associated Press)
http://news.yahoo.com/un-18-million-west-africa-hungry-2012-142100935.html

Meeting of like minds can save the hungry millions in Sahel (Sydney Morning Herald)
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/meeting-of-like-minds-can-save-the-hungry-millions-in-sahel-20120529-1zgm8.html

Baaba Maal: people in the Sahel region need food and water now (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/may/25/baaba-maal-sahel-food-water

Coming weeks critical to tackle Sahel hunger – U.N. humanitarian chief (AlertNet)
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/coming-weeks-critical-to-tackle-sahel-hunger-un-humanitarian-chief