Sign this petition to ask California Governor Jerry Brown to shut down California Rehabilitation Center at Norco in Riverside County. A recent report from the California State Department of Public Health revealed shocking conditions at CRC-Norco, a medium-security state prison. This prison houses an astonishing 3,400 prisoners in unsafe and unsanitary conditions that include broken floor tiles, rat and cockroach infestations, and standing pools of water. With a population capacity of 2,491 people, the facility is both overcrowded and structurally neglected. "CRC-Norco is dilapidated and unsafe…. We have known for years that this prison is in terrible shape," said California State Senator Loni Hancock. In 2012, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation publicly acknowledged the unsafe conditions at CRC-Norco and set forth a plan to close the facility by June 2016. One year later, however, prison administrators suspended the deadline, stating that a federal court order to ease crowding in California’s already overcrowded prisons mandated the CDCR to keep the facility open until further notice. That decision was reaffirmed in January 2016 when Governor Brown released the CDCR budget proposal for the 2016-17 cycle, which reflected an extended continuation of operations at CRC-Norco. It is unconscionable for Governor Brown and prison officials at the CDCR to continue to house incarcerated people at a facility that is publicly known to be infested with vermin and structurally unsafe. Keeping the prison open and operating creates a host of health and safety hazards for both the inmates and employees. In addition, it reflects an extraordinary disregard for the human rights of the 3,400 people who are forced to live at the overcrowded, decaying facility. CRC-Norco should be shut down immediately.

Trump will not release his tax returns. Trump refuses to divest himself of his vast business interests. That creates obvious conflicts of interest, especially when it come to overseas matters. That is forbidden under Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution and is grounds for impeachment. Trump should not be allowed to enrich himself and his family through sweetheart deals. Need I say more?

Rents across the country are skyrocketing. People cannot afford to pay a market rate for a necessity. If the market cannot stabilize rent as affordable then it must be mandated by law. It literally makes zero sense for a renter's rent to go up every year just because vacant property is in demand, so this fixes that. People on fixed incomes are particularly vulnerable to this treason.

In order for humanity to thrive we have to be willing to change our destructive economy. Working with nature is the answer. Helping people while growing business should be the bottom line of any business. Allowing society to embrace healthy ways of living while living in luxury is possible. Power Plant has many great ideas of changing our world for the better. From paper to fuel to plastic, we can still go about our daily lives and have all the necessities its just time to support new resources and companies willing to do so.

The federal government has secretly been working on a plan to transport highly radioactive liquid from Chalk River, Ontario, Canada, to the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC -- a distance of over 1,100 miles. A series of 250 truckloads are planned by the Department of Energy (DOE). Interstates 95 and 85 are two of the probable main routes. Based on published data of the US Environmental Protection Agency, a few ounces of this liquid could destroy a whole city water supply. These liquid shipments are unnecessary. The radioactive waste can be down-blended on-site, making it into a solid. This has been done for years at Chalk River. Records from the past are very clear about this liquid and how it should be managed. The report "Detailed Statement on the Environmental Considerations By the Division of Material Licensing, US Atomic Energy Commission" (December 14, 1970) -- which has within it Allied General's application for the Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant (Docket No. 50-332) -- describes the waste generated at that facility, and describes how to manage the waste. I knew of this report because of the successful legal challenge to this facility in the 1970s in which I participated. Here is the outline of the criteria needed: * Ensure absolute confinement of HLLW by multiple barriers (HLLW - "high level liquid waste") * Ensure cooling to remove self-generating fission product heat by redundant cooling systems * Provide adequate space in storage tank... * Control corrosion by appropriate design and operating measures * Control non-condensable gases and airborne particulates, including radiolytic hydrogen H2 * Store in form to facilitate future solidification A majority of these are not possible during transport. In addition, when this is repeated 250 times, just a small error, human or equipment, could be disastrous. And errors are to be expected. For example, in the first shipment (and only so far), they had a hot spot in the transport container, and at the Savannah River Site had to turn it around to face the wall, supposedly so as not to expose the workers. Mary Olson of Nuclear Information Resource Service, one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against these shipments, explains that "even without any leakage of the contents, people will be exposed to penetrating gamma radiation and damaging neutron radiation just by sitting in traffic beside one of these transport trucks. And because the liquid contains weapons-grade uranium, there is an ever-present possibility of a spontaneous chain reaction giving off a powerful blast of life-threatening neutrons in all directions -- a so-called 'criticality' accident." Despite the lawsuit, despite all the letters, despite email, despite petitions, from thousands of concerned citizens, the DOE claims the impact is "insignificant." Although the law requires it, the DOE has not done an Environmental Impact Statement. There has been a limited amount of news coverage; therefore, many people who would be affected by an accident do not know that this is happening. This needs to be stopped. Please ask the Governor to keep these shipments out of the state. Ruth Thomas Environmentalists, Inc.

The Republican Party is trying to gut affordable health insurance for tens of millions of people across the United States. But in California we have the opportunity to pass single-payer healthcare – Medicare for all. Assembly Speaker Rendon, a Democrat, has blocked passage of SB 562, the single-payer Healthy California Act, by moving it indefinitely to the Rules Committee. California should lead the nation by passing single-payer healthcare now. As chair of the California Democratic Party, Eric Bauman could show that he's serious about advocating for single-payer healthcare by applying maximum pressure on Speaker Rendon right away!

Climate Change is our most urgent common problem and legislators are not responsive to "we, the people" because of fossil fuel money! I wrote my SunTrust and asked them to live up to their name. Sierra Club offers a Green Visa and Environmental Defense Fund has Bank of America MasterCard, but big banks need to do more! Think Fox/O'Reilly when customers boycotted their products to get fast results!

To live without cancer is much better than trying to live with cure!

As a historic peace church originating from the 16th century Protestant Reformation, it is high time to embrace a name that acknowledges women, who constitute at least 50 percent of the denomination's population. During the major division of the 1880s the German Baptist Brethren splintered into three groups: the traditionalists such as the Old German Baptist Brethren, progressives led by the Brethren Church, and the conservatives, who adopted the name Church of the Brethren in 1908. By title, none of these groups even recognized the presence of women in their respective communities. The doctrine of the Priesthood of all Believers promotes a non-hierarchical pattern of church life, thus, an inclusive and egalitarian church ought to reflect such values in its name.

If the MDPD has its way, whenever you step outside -- on your way to the store, to the beach, or even just into your backyard -- you could be filmed by a plane flying over the county. It’s a radical new surveillance technology that will create an oppressive and stigmatizing environment in the communities that are targeted.

Consider the rhetoric from one of the most promising new House members, Democrat Jamie Raskin, at a recent rally near the Washington Monument. Reading from a prepared text, Raskin warmed up by declaring that “Donald Trump is the hoax perpetrated on the Americans by the Russians.” Soon the congressman named such varied countries as Hungary, the Philippines, Syria and Venezuela, and immediately proclaimed: “All the despots, dictators and kleptocrats have found each other, and Vladimir Putin is the ringleader of the unfree world.” He even blamed Vladimir Putin for Brexit. Watch the speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKml53OjzGY Later, asked about factual errors in his speech, Raskin floundered during a filmed interview with The Real News. Watch the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce0X7_48vGY Read "Dangerous Discourse: When Progressives Sound Like Demagogues," by Norman Solomon: http://rootsaction.org/news-a-views/1535-dangerous-discourse-when-progressives-sound-like-demagogues

In the wake of the state’s most severe drought in memory, California Governor Jerry Brown issued mandatory statewide water restrictions that require all public agencies to reduce their water consumption by 25 percent. Officials at the 34 prisons operated by the California Department of Corrections have responded by restricting inmates' showers, ability to flush their cells' toilets, and access to laundry services and clean clothes, according to interviews with inmates. Showers are running only three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) for a total of four hours, providing a little over an hour for hundreds of prisoners to take turns bathing on shower days. Any prisoner caught in the showers for more than 5 minutes, washing clothes while showers are running, bird bathing or flushing the toilets in their assigned cell could face disciplinary action, including 30 days added to their prison sentence (CDC-115 Rules Violation Report). Prison officials have been instructed to shut off water fountains, outdoor showers, and to stop hosing down sidewalks. As a result, California prisoners are denied water-breaks throughout the day and are refused the hygienic practice of washing off sweat after a workout. Women's prisons in particular have struggled with sanitary upkeep since the implementation of CDCR’s water conservation program. Shower and toilet restrictions affect female prisoners on their menstrual cycles most directly. CDCR’s water conservation program began in 2006 with a pilot project to install flush-restricting valves on toilets at nearly one-third of all California adult institutions, resulting in a host of unsanitary conditions ranging from foul odor to overflowing toilets. Water conservation methods have only grown more aggressive within the recent decade and California prisoners have borne the brunt of health and safety hazards associated with aggressive yet inadequate conservation planning. If California is serious about water conservation and water-use reduction in its prisons, state officials should consider developing policies that promote the depopulation of overcrowded state facilities -- starting with releasing disabled people, the elderly and non-violent offenders. Reducing the numbers of people incarcerated unnecessarily could result in significant water savings and help to make the prison environment more adaptable and suitable for rehabilitation. Other methods of reducing water waste, without violating the human rights of the imprisoned, can include updating sinks, toilets, showers, and appliances with advanced water-saving fixtures. Sign this petition to California Governor Jerry Brown asking him to immediately end all water conservation methods that violate the human rights of people in prison. Sources: http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-ff-to-save-water-california-turns-off-prison-showers-20150709-story.html https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/california-prisons-are-restricting-shower-and-toilet-use-to-fight-the-historic-drought-626 http://www.insidecdcr.ca.gov/2010/04/california-prisons-reduce-water-consumption/ http://www.inmate.com/prison-articles/california-prisoners-affected-by-drought.htm