Tag Archives: Massachusetts

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Free Donald

02/20/2013 Nativegrl77

Release my boyfriend and soup kitchen manager Donald Perry, in prison since August for offering a ride to a homeless man.

Sign My Petition

In 2011, my boyfriend Donald Perry — a manager at a soup kitchen and homeless outreach center in western Massachusetts — was pulled over and arrested. His crime? He gave a ride to a homeless man who, though Donald didn’t know it, had stolen items with him including an iPad.

When the man realized the police were using GPS to track the iPad to Donald’s car, he fled — leaving Donald to be arrested. But although Donald was acquitted by a jury in July, he is still in prison seven months later.

At the time of his arrest, Donald was on parole for a robbery he committed 30 years ago. But since then, Donald has been one of the Parole Board‘s great success stories — especially because of his tireless service to the homeless. Donald isn’t a danger to society — he’s a loving father, grandfather, partner and public servant. He should be home with me, not in prison.

I started a petition on Change.org calling on the Massachusetts Parole Board to release Donald immediately. Please click here to sign my petition now.

When Donald first told me he was on parole, I wanted to cut the relationship off. But he won me over with his commitment to serving those in need and his boundless love for his children and grandchildren. We were working hard and we were happy — we were even planning our next vacation together.

As of today, Donald has been in prison for 17 months. He is surrounded by men who feel hopeless and in some cases are mentally ill and physically dangerous. It is terrifying that a hearing next month could decide whether or not he goes home — or stays in prison for years to come even though a jury acquitted him.

We’ve been so touched by the outpouring of support for Donald from our community that we’re ready to open up to the possibility that many more people around the country could stand with us to call on the Parole Board to let Donald come home. If thousands of people sign my petition, I think we have a real chance the Parole Board will listen.

Please click here to sign my petition and call on the Massachusetts Parole Board to free my boyfriend and committed public servant Donald Perry now.

Thank you.

Elaine Arsenault
Montague, Massachusetts

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Mitt Has A Plan For Women

10/18/2012 Nativegrl77

by Care2 Causes Editors

During last night’s debate, Mitt Romney sure had a lot of opinions about women in the workplace. He seemed to think he was connecting with women voters. Do you agree?

Here’s the transcript of Romney from last night:

I had the — the chance to pull together a Cabinet and all the applicants seemed to be men. And I — and I went to my staff, and I said, how come all the people for these jobs are — are all men?

They said, well, these are the people that have the qualifications. And I said, well, gosh, can’t we — can’t we find some — some women that are also qualified?

And — and so we — we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a number of women’s groups and said, can you help us find folks? And I brought us whole binders full of — of women. I was proud of the fact that after I staffed my cabinet and my senior staff that the University of New York in Albany did a survey of all 50 states and concluded that mine had more women in senior leadership positions than any other state in America.

Now, one of the reasons I was able to get so many good women to be part of that team was because of our recruiting effort, but number two, because I recognized that if you’re going to have women in the workforce, that sometimes they need to be more flexible. My chief of staff, for instance, had two kids that were still in school. She said, I can’t be here until 7:00 or 8:00 at night. I need to be able to get home at 5:00 so I can be there for — making dinner for my kids and being with them when they get home from school. So we said, fine, let’s have a flexible schedule so you can have hours that work for you.

I don’t know about you, but I’m insulted.

Top 10 #BindersFullOfWomen Responses

Top 5 Obama Punches from Debate 2

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Presidential Proclamation — Blind Americans Equality Day, 2012

10/16/2012 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

Disability UpdatesNote: If you received this email as a forward but would like to be added to the White House Disability Group email distribution list, please visit our website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/disability-issues-contact and fill out the “contact us” form in the disabilities section, or you can email us at disability@who.eop.gov and provide your full name, city, state, and organization.

Recent disability announcements include the President proclaiming October 15, 2012, as Blind Americans Equality Day, the Department of Labor launching a virtual Workplace Flexibility Toolkit, the Federal Communications Commission putting internet closed captions rules into effect, and the Department of Education awarding $24 million in grant funding to 22 states to improve training systems to help children with disabilities.

Presidential Proclamation — Blind Americans Equality Day, 2012

As business leaders and public advocates, teachers and scientists, musicians and athletes, and in countless other ways, blind and visually impaired Americans have profoundly enriched every part of our national life. Today, we celebrate their innumerable contributions, and we recommit to guaranteeing equal access, equal opportunity, and equal respect for all Americans.

Read the full text of the proclamation at the following link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/10/15/presidential-proclamation-blind-americans-equality-day-2012

US Department of Labor launches virtual Workplace Flexibility Toolkit during National Disability Employment Awareness Month

The U.S. Department of Labor has launched its online Workplace Flexibility Toolkit to provide employees, job seekers, employers, policymakers and researchers with information, resources and a unique approach to workplace flexibility. Workplace flexibility policies and practices typically focus on when and where work is done. The toolkit adds a new dimension — an emphasis on flexibility around job tasks and what work is done. Funded by the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy in partnership with the department’s Women’s Bureau, the toolkit makes more than 170 resources easily accessible

Read more about the toolkit at the following link: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/odep/ODEP20122014.htm#.UHwpRMU712w

Federal Communications Commission Internet Closed Captioning Rules Went Into Effect September 30

Rules requiring distributors of certain Internet video programming to provide closed captioning to assist viewers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing went into effect on September 30. Closed captioning is the visual display of the audio portion of video programming. These Internet closed captioning requirements were implemented pursuant to the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA).

Read more about the new rules at the following link: http://www.fcc.gov/document/internet-closed-captioning-rules-went-effect-september-30

$24 Million in Grants Awarded to 22 States to Improve Training Systems to Help Children with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Education announced the award of $24 million in grants to 22 states to improve personnel training systems to help children with disabilities. States receiving grants are: Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The State Personnel Development Grants Program, authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), provides funds to assist states in reforming and improving their systems for personnel preparation and professional development in early intervention, education and transition services in order to enhance results for children with disabilities.

Read more about the grant awards at the following link: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/24-million-grants-awarded-22-states-improve-training-systems-help-children-disab