Tag Archives: Rhode Island

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Victory


 

I can’t thank you enough.

L‌ast ni‌ght, thanks in large part to our calling on the Wes Knodel Gun Show in Tacoma to require background checks on all gun purchases, the Tacoma City Council voted to require all future gun shows on city property to conduct background checks on all gun sales.

We did it.

Please click here, and thank the Tacoma City Council for closing the “gun show loophole” and helping reduce gun violence.

As thrilled as we are, this is only the beginning, and only applies to gun shows on Tacoma city property. The next logical step is to pass 594 to make sure that all gun sales, no matter where they happen, go through a background check.

And that is just what you and I will do.

Click here to join me in thanking the Tacoma City Council for making this wise decision.

Thank you for being such a critical part of this campaign.

Zach Silk
Campaign Manager
WA Alliance for Gun Responsibility

 

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Support NMAAHC


National Museum of African American History and Culture

Help us ensure that we meet our goal and stay on schedule.

You’ll be surprised to see all that’s been done since we broke ground for the National Museum of African American History and Culture on February 22, 2012.

The concrete has been poured. We’ve begun building some of the exhibition galleries. We installed two signature objects: a Southern Railway railroad car (segregated) and a 1930s guard tower from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. And we have acquired more than 25,000 items.

But there’s much more to do. And to accomplish this work, we need your support to ensure that we open in late 2015.

To make this museum a reality, we were charged with raising $250 million from individuals and private resources. To date, we have raised approximately $160 million and need to raise an additional $90 million to meet our goal.

That’s why we urgently need your help to build this important cultural addition to the American landscape.

None of this is possible without support from friends like you. Your tax-deductible gift today will ensure that we keep our construction timetable on schedule and ensure that other elements of this grand project stay on track, too.

Together, you and I are creating a center of learning and inspiration that will attract millions of visitors from across the country and around the world. It is here they will come to understand the African American story in full — the moments of great pain and the moments of soaring triumph.

We’re moving closer to reality with each passing day!

Thank you for your support.

Lonnie G. Bunch All the best,
Signature
Lonnie G. Bunch
Founding Director
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Washington​: Tell the EPA to ban bee-killin​g pesticides


save-the-bees200Honeybees, native bees, and other pollinators are responsible for 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat. Many fruits and vegetables, including apples, blueberries, strawberries, carrots, and broccoli, as well as almonds and coffee, rely on bees. These beneficial insects are critical in maintaining our diverse food supply. 

U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100% of their hives. Widespread use of a new class of toxic pesticides, neonicotinoids, is a significant contributing factor. In addition to killing bees outright, research has shown, even low levels of these dangerous pesticides impair bees’ ability to learn, to find their way back to the hive, to collect food, to produce new queens, and to mount an effective immune response.

Already, 15 countries have imposed a two-year restriction on the use of several of these chemicals. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists—even those employed by the EPA—and has delayed action until 2018.

We request an immediate moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. Bees can’t wait five more years—they are dying now. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the power and responsibility to protect our pollinators. Our nation’s food system depends on it.

Europe has already fought back against powerful chemical companies and took a big step to protect bees by putting into effect a ban of the top bee-killing “neonic” pesticides. Now it’s our turn!

Bees are critical in producing the majority of our food crops, and the evidence is mounting that Bayer and Syngenta’s pesticides are a key contributor to mass bee die-offs. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists—even those employed by the EPA—and has delayed action until 2018. 

But the bees can’t wait—and neither can we!

U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100% of their hives, and are likely facing yet another season of historic bee die-offs.

We can’t let the EPA wait another five years to address this crisis. Please take action today and tell the EPA to ban bee-killing pesticides.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Peter Stocker

This petition was created on MoveOn’s online petition site, where anyone can start their own online petitions. Friends of the Earth didn’t pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

 

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New Rules …


nrccmapairwaves

40,000 New State Rules

Starting on Jan. 1

Greg Toppo, USATODAY

If you’re a pale 17-year-old in Illinois, get your indoor tanning sessions in now. Starting Wednesday, they’re strictly forbidden.

A new state law takes effect Jan. 1 that bans anyone under 18 from using tanning salons in the Land of Lincoln. Illinois becomes the sixth state to keep teens out of the facilities, part of a growing trend of regulating tanning facilities to help reduce the risk of skin cancer, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a Denver-based group that tracks lawmaking.

STORY: Minn. starts to test aid recipients for drugs STORY: Calif. law to require 3 feet between car, bike

The new measure is one of an estimated 40,000 new laws, regulations and resolutions approved by state legislatures in 2013, many of which take effect Jan. 1. Among them:

• Arkansas voters must now show a photo ID at polling places, while Virginia voters for the first time will be able to register online.

• In Colorado, 16-year-olds will be able to pre-register to vote, but must still wait until they’re 18 to vote.

• California students must be allowed to play school sports and use school bathrooms “consistent with their gender identity,” regardless of their birth identity.

• In Oregon, new mothers will now be able to take their placentas home from the hospital — some experts say ingesting it has positive health benefits. Another new state law bans smoking in motor vehicles when children are present.

Minimum-wage increases take effect in four northeastern states: Connecticut’s rises to $8.70 an hour; New Jersey’s to $8.25; and New York‘s and Rhode Island’s to $8. In nine other states, the minimum wage rises automatically because it’s indexed to inflation.

Perhaps most significantly, Colorado adults age 21 or older will be able on Wednesday to buy up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use from a state-licensed retail store. Marijuana advocates expect many of the new stores to be up and running by then, and observers say the new Colorado regulations are a sign of things to come.

“I think state legislatures will be faced with the marijuana issue” in 2014, says Jane Carroll Andrade, NCSL’s spokeswoman.

In Washington state, regulators are combing through more than 2,000 applications for similar stores after voters approved a similar measure in 2012, says Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). He expects the first Washington stores to open in a few months.

“Other states are watching Colorado and Washington because it will continue to come up,” Andrade says.

Armentano, who likens these developments to the state-led reversal of Prohibition in the 1930s, says a dozen states are due to debate marijuana legalization measures in the coming year or so. “The genie’s out of the bottle and it’s simply not going back in.”

Many new state laws take effect 90 days after they’re signed, but a few states, like California, Colorado, Illinois and Oregon, get extra attention this time of year because traditionally many laws in these states take effect on Jan. 1.

As a result, life changes a bit more radically for Illinois residents each new year: On Wednesday, in addition to the tanning measure, they’ll find that they can now return a pet or be reimbursed for veterinary costs if an illness was not disclosed by the seller. So-called “lemon pets” laws already exist in 21 states, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

 in Illinois: Anyone who flicks a cigarette butt on a street or sidewalk could be fined at least $50 for littering; police must receive training on the psychological and physiological effects of stun guns, and penalties are now tougher for inciting a violent flash mob or riot via social media.

Illinois also becomes the 13th state to prohibit handheld cellphones while driving. Meanwhile, school districts on Jan. 1 will be able to install cameras on school buses to photograph drivers who pass them when buses are stopped. And school-based sex education must include information about both abstinence and contraception.

Illinois is also home to tough new laws prohibiting unmanned aerial drones. Come Wednesday, it’ll be illegal to use a drone to interfere with hunters or fishermen — and police must get a warrant to use a drone for surveillance, except in cases of terrorism or if a suspect is fleeing a crime scene. Even with the warrant, police must destroy information gathered within 30 days unless it’s linked to a crime, says Ed Yohnka of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.

Lawmakers in both parties overwhelmingly passed the new surveillance prohibition, he says. “They understood that it was something that could occur in the relatively near future, and so there was a desire to get on top of it.”

Contributing: The Associated Press and Reuters

What’s new Jan. 1

A sample of other state laws taking effect Jan. 1:

Colorado: Drivers will see a new annual $50 fee for plug-in electric cars.  Colorado is one of several states looking to capture revenue from alternative fuel, electric and hybrid vehicles.•

Connecticut: New gun-control laws in the aftermath of the school shooting in Newtown include mandatory registration of all assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines bought before April 2013, and creation of a statewide registry that will track parolees whose crimes involved weapons.•

Delaware: Sale, possession or distribution of shark fins prohibited.•

Florida: Expanded early voting.•

Maine: Becomes the 48th state to require a check-off for organ donation on driver’s licenses to promote organ donation.•

Oregon: Privately run websites that feature police mug shots must take down photos for free if subjects can show they were not guilty or that charges were dropped.•

Rhode Island: Becomes the eighth state to enact a so-called “ban the box” law that prohibits prospective employers from inquiring into an applicant’s criminal history on written job applications.

Los Angeles start their grocery bag ban – gender id and bathrooms

Illinois :  organizing a violent flash mob is banned/could be a felony

NC: • Owners of plug-in electric vehicles must pay a $100 registration fee in addition to any other fees -• Health care facilities that perform mammography exams must report breast density information to patients

California: Homeless youth are eligible to receive food stamps. The previous law had a minimum wage requirement.

Delaware: Delaware is the latest in a growing number of states where residents can no longer possess, sell or distribute shark fins, which is considered a delicacy in some East Asian cuisine.

Oregon: Family leave in Oregon has been expanded to allow eligible employees two  weeks of pai d leave to handle the death of a family member.

Sources:

Cnn.com

Greg Toppo, USATODAY

Charlotte Observer

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Think Progress … and #ACA


By 

Yes, People Are Enrolling In Obamacare

Obamacare enrollment has been open for nearly three days now, and the initial interest has been staggering. Millions of people have checked out the health exchange websites, both for the federal exchange at healthcare.gov, and the state exchanges. And while it’s no surprise that opponents of the law are quick to claim that glitches and wait times associated with the demand indicate some kind of failure, the truth is plain: people want to learn more about the law, and people are signing up.

Over at Think Progress, Tara Culp-Ressler has a round-up of five people who have successfully signed up for Obamacare online:

Leslie Foster from California: 28-year-old Foster enrolled in California’s state-run exchange on Tuesday night, when traffic was a little slower and the site worked better. He told the Wall Street Journal that he settled on his choice on Wednesday morning. Foster is eligible for federal subsidies and will only end up paying about $62 each month for his new insurance plan. “It’s a great deal,” he said. He noted that people on other places have been experiencing more glitches, and said he’s glad that his state embraced health reform. “I’m grateful for being in California. They were definitely ahead of the ball,” he said.

Chad Henderson from Georgia: 21-year-old Henderson successfully enrolled in his state’s federally-run exchange early Tuesday morning. Hetold Wonkblog that he wanted to be one of the first people to sign up for Obamacare because he had read a few articles that said young people would be critical to the health law’s success, and “really just wanted to do my part to help out with the entire process.” He did experience delays with the HealthCare.gov site, and waited about three hours before he could create an account. But he said it was “pretty smooth sailing” from there, and enrolled in a plan with a $175 monthly premium.

Bill Henderson from Georgia: Chad Henderson’s father, Bill, also enrolled in Georgia’s exchange on Tuesday morning. In an interview with the Huffington Post, the younger Henderson said his dad has been uninsured for years, remarking, “I can’t remember a time when my dad has gone to the doctor. He’s just sucked it up.” The two enrolled in separate plans even though Obamacare allows Chad to remain on Bill’s plan until he turns 26. Chad said his father wanted him to take responsibility for his own insurance plan.

Kathy Kanak from Illinois: On Wednesday evening, Kanak tweeted that she had successfully enrolled in a plan on her state’s partnership exchange. Illinois worked with the federal government to set up its insurance marketplace, so Kanak used the federal HealthCare.gov site to enroll. “Success at Healthcare.gov! I’m enrolled!” she tweeted around6:50 pm on Wednesday, adding, “Just took patience. Works great once you are in. People at phone center answered right away and were so nice!”

Leslie Peters from Rhode Island: Peters, who has been uninsured for five years due to her pre-existing conditions, was one of the first people to enroll on Rhode Island’s state-run exchange. She said she was “chompin’ at the bit” to sign up, and was surprised at how easy it ended up being. Peters didn’t encounter website glitches and completed the process in about 15 minutes. “It feels great to know I will soon have insurance and not have to worry about this anymore,” she told Kaiser Health News. “Not having insurance is something I worried about all the time.”

BOTTOM LINE: Republicans fear the successful implementation of Obamacare so much that they are willing to shut down the government over it. But even the government shutdown can’t stop the enrollment process and can’t stop people from getting affordable health care coverage. Obamacare is here to stay.