One year ago today, I was sworn in as governor of the great state of Washington — and what a year it has been.
We made historic investments in education — without cuts to vital services. We passed important legislation that will protect the future of Washington’s aerospace industry. We implemented a health insurance exchange that is the envy of the nation.
But the Washington Supreme Court underscored last week that we have a lot more to do. According to the court, we are not moving fast enough to fund basic costs. We must show “immediate, concrete action… not simply promises.”
That’s why I am proposing that this legislative session we approve $200 million for school districts and fund a voter-mandated cost-of-living adjustment for our educators. And I propose we pay for it by eliminating tax breaks and loopholes that, when weighed against our moral and legal obligation to educate Washington’s kids, fall short.
Of course, we also need to pass the DREAM Act, and send thousands more young Washingtonians to college.
We need to pass a new transportation package and prevent dozens of key thoroughfares from becoming structurally deficient.
We need to raise our state’s minimum wage, an immediate step to begin correcting 50 years of widening income inequality.
We need to make good on Washington’s chance to lead our country and the world in realizing the possibilities of a new, clean energy economy.
And we need to build on our momentum and take steps to improve childhood health, drive down the cost of healthcare, and better serve patients by helping integrate care across providers.
None of these will be easy to do — but all of them are worth doing, and I will need your support to accomplish any of them.
Will you sign on today as a citizen endorser of my 2014 agenda, and show that you’re with me?
I know it’s an ambitious agenda for a 60-day legislative session, but I didn’t run for governor because it would be easy. This is Washington, and when we work together, we really can do big things.
Thanks for your continued support, and for joining me today on the next step of our journey together.
Let’s go get ’em!
Jay Inslee
Governor
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Drop charges against transgender teen defending herself! |
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My sister, Jewlyes Gutierrez, is a 16 year old teenager, who identifies as a transgender female. Her gender identity has caused her to be a victim of taunting, harassment, and bullying by her peers. On November 13, 2013, Jewlyes defended herself against three girls who were tormenting and then physically attacked her. This was captured on video and you can see Jewlyes trying to run away. The students involved were suspended but to our disbelief, District Attorney Daniel Cabral then filed charges against Jewlyes for battery – she’s the only one charged.
Jewlyes should not be charged criminally. Rather, this altercation should be the responsibility of the school district, who should take proper action and implement the necessary resources to prevent incidents like these from happening again.
One of the girls who attacked Jewlyes had repeatedly bullied her – even spitting gum in her face. Jewlyes sought help from the assistant principal in fear of her physical safety but the issue was not properly addressed, no necessary action was taken by the administration. The bullying continued.
Jewlyes attends Hercules High School in Hercules, CA – part of the Contra Costa Unified School District. Even the school district president disagrees with the charges being brought against Jewlyes: “This is just a young child who is 16-years-old, already going through a lot of stress,” he said. “This is a remedy? Is this the way we want to deal with children?”
Violence towards transgender and queer youth is a serious problem. Recently in Oakland, CA, a transgender teen was lit on fire. What message is the District Attorney’s Office sending when they prosecute a transgender teen who school officials labeled as the victim in this incident?
Sign this petition and tell District Attorney we are outraged by the decision to charge Jewlyes and that we hope he will use his discretion to allow for a restorative and educational solution rather than the court system to deal with what happened at Hercules High School.
Please tell the District Attorneys Office that we want our tax dollars spent on teaching tolerance and on conflict resolution programs in schools, not on prosecuting youth who are in need of a safe learning environment.
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| Net neutrality is a big deal. Corporations are spending big money on lawsuits and lobbying to make the policy go away, and this week those corporations won a big victory. But the fight isn’t over: now is the time to speak out.John Whitehouse Twitter: @existentialfish Net Neutrality Matters A Lot
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Rights Versus Resources in the Amazon
Tar sands, hydraulic fracking, deep water drilling. All are examples that we are living in the age of extreme oil. With most major reserves of traditional crude found or tapped, the industry is encroaching into some of the most geologically-complicated, environmentally-risky and socially-conflictive terrain than ever before. As the price of crude hovers at $100, companies are eager to get at what was once impossible crude, much to the peril of people and the planet. In some cases, this means pursuing non-conventional sources of oil, once technologically or financially out of reach, but now lucrative, despite being more energy intensive to extract than the final crude produced. In other cases, this means attempting to access “shut in” reserves – oil fields trapped by local resistance or above-ground ecological importance. There is no greater example of this clash than what is playing out in the forests of Ecuador’s Amazon. There is a new oil boom underway, fuelled by the country’s rising debt, China’s energy demands, Ecuador’s leftist government’s plans to finance its “citizen’s revolution”, and the massive increase in public spending with expanded drilling. |
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