Take The Initiative

In May of 2021 the city of Russell Kentucky decided to enact Eminent Domain on a 28 bed personal care home known as Russell Convalescent Home.

The city wants to put in covered pavilion to have a farmers market per the mayor of Russell. This is clearly an act of city gain due to charging for a booth at the farmers market.

The owners,employees and residents at Russell Convalescent Home found out of the situation due to a newspaper article. The city of Russell didn’t inform everyone in a proper way.

The facility currently serves as a home for mentally disabled adults. Our center serves to some as a permanent home and others as a temporary placement for guidance and life building skills for individuals to transition back into the community.

Recently the Eastern Kentucky hockey team was found guilty of hazing and suspended for four years. I am one of the freshman on the team that had participated in the incidents that had resulted in the suspension. I can solemnly swear that there is not a single ounce of hazing that is associated with Eastern Kentucky University hockey, everything that happened on rookie night was done willingly and not forced.

Kentucky is sick an tired of being 44th in the nation for animal laws. Kentucky is tired of all the animal abusers in this state. Kentucky is tired of flipping the bills for these animal abuse offenders. If we can make the animal laws better we would have less cases of hoarding an animals suffering. All animals unless you are a legit responsible breeder should always spay an neuter all animals. They should always be spayed or neutered before allowing to take animal home. No trust for oh I’ll bring it back. Some 501C3 rescues need to be investigated when they are charged with animal cruelty an animals seized from there control. It should be stripped. So please Kentucky email your representatives in your counties an let’s get this done. Please help these poor animals an make the bad people pay for mistreating them. This has to stop.

Faced with impassioned constituents, rampant misinformation, and evolving - and often conflicting - guidance from politicians and public health officials, Kentucky School Boards have faced an impossible task. Left afloat to build plans for the 2021-2022 School Year, Boards across the Commonwealth have adopted disparate approaches to mask policies and virtual instruction services, seemingly informed by a desire to minimize legal exposure or constrained by limited resources, rather than with students’ best interests at heart.

Similarly, families in many districts are now faced with gut-wrenching decisions. Each family across the Commonwealth considers numerous factors when deciding the best education plan for their children; priorities, with respect to academic needs, health, and emotional wellness of their children, household, and extended friends and family, are unique.

What is best for one is not necessarily best for all.

With COVID positivity rates rising state-wide and the increased threat of the Delta variant among the pediatric population, this is a non-partisan plea for Governor Beshear to extend the option for virtual instruction programs to all public school students from Kindergarten through 12th grade.

This is NOT a call for all learners to return to Non-Traditional Instruction.

We deeply value the benefits of in-person instruction for those who are able to continue. Additionally, we believe extending virtual options will actually improve schools’ abilities to keep children in classrooms for as many days as possible. However, one size does not fit all! There are families who, for a variety of reasons and legitimate needs, should have the freedom to opt into virtual academy.

This is NOT a call for a statewide mask mandate.

This is simply a call to revisit Governor Beshear’s previously instituted guidance:

“First, every school must provide a meaningful virtual option to students whose families opt into it that cannot negatively impact the virtual students GPA, class rank, or other educational opportunity or recognition.”

There is currently not a free, virtual public school option available to all Kentucky students. Students with special education needs do not have a virtual option which would sustain their Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) - either they compromise their individual needs and attend in-person instruction, or they forfeit all necessary services that the school would otherwise provide.

We strongly urge education officials to work to devise a scalable virtual solution - whether through a state-led program or district cooperative initiative - that alleviates the operational and financial burden from individual districts, ensuring no child is left behind to freely access a safe, consistent academic experience which meets the needs of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

———————

5/13 CDC revises mask recommendations, vaccinated not longer required

6/11 KDE Healthy At School requirements rescinded

7/27 CDC revises mask guidance for schools

7/27 JCPS extends virtual learning to all grades

“We have had at least one instance of a school system that did not offer its AP classes virtually, meaning we had students that have pre-existing conditions that make COVID especially dangerous for them having to decide whether their class rank is going to be impacted. Or whether they were going to go into an environment they believed is unsafe to operate. In a red county with community transmission this high, we can’t require and we can’t allow students to have to make that choice,” added Gov. Beshear.

Thank you for signing and supporting the freedom of Kentucky families to make education choices for their children.

Over the last 3-5 years we have been consistently battling slow internet speeds (as low as 1-2 Mbps), as I am sure you would agree in this day and age these speeds are unacceptable. I have spent upwards of 6 hours on average on the phone to our provider each time our speeds drop. Each time (after completing the mandatory troubleshooting steps) I am told there is nothing they can do as the issue is congestion at the exchange. I have at times swapped to a wireless back up which was slightly better speeds however we also have a very inconsistent 4G coverage.

Recently our speeds have again dropped to less then 1 Mbps. We are a family of 5 with children ranging from 11 weeks to 14 yrs, these low speeds won’t even allow my teenage daughter to complete her home work while my 3 year old watches Bluey.
Having put up with this for so long our family and is at the end of our patience, I know we are not alone in this. I am truly concerned we as developing individuals and as a community are being left behind and what this means for our future.

My concerns are not limited to only our family’s but; our elderly who may rely on the internet for medical or distress alarms, our local school who in this day and age rely on connectivity to provide a higher level of education, and our small town economy. I have on multiple occasions had to go back to the shop at a later date to pay as the eftpos machine would time out due to low internet speeds. This isn’t a massive issue when we are locals but given the significant amount of travellers now passing through, and our push towards a cashless society I see it continuing pose issues into the future.

Bring fixed NBN to Kentucky and give us the world standard of connectivity!

To the Tri-County and Jefferson County Health Departments --

Against the will of countless parents, you voted to force toddlers and young children to mask up. Even after you took a survey of parents and we overwhelmingly told you that our children should not be forcibly masked this school year, you chose not to care. This is unacceptable.

NO SCIENCE ON YOUR SIDE
The survival rate among children in the U.S. with confirmed cases is approximately 99.99%.

Children are 14 times more likely to die from drowning and 10 times more likely to die from cancer than from COVID-19. The odds of being struck by lightning are 41 times the odds of a child dying of COVID-19.

The CDC says "For young children, especially children younger than 5 years old, the risk of serious complications is higher for flu compared with COVID-19."

THE HARM OF MASKING CHILDREN
While the benefits of masks in preventing serious illness or death from COVID-19 among children are infinitesimally small, we know that masks are disruptive to learning and communicating in classrooms.

Science shows that babies and toddlers need to see mouths moving to learn how to talk. Speech delays among our 2, 3 and even 4 year olds could increase as you force toddlers to wear masks. One study found that 4 to 6 year old bilingual students rely on lip reading to understand English.

“Masking is a psychological stressor for children,” according to researchers from the University of Southern California. “The long-term harm to kids from masking is potentially enormous.”

“Children lose the experience of mimicking expressions, an essential tool of nonverbal communication. Positive emotions such as laughing and smiling become less recognizable, and negative emotions get amplified. Bonding between teachers and students takes a hit.

Overall, it is likely that masking exacerbates the chances that a child will experience anxiety and depression, which are already at pandemic levels themselves.” (Neeraj Sood, PhD and Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD).

BOTTOM LINE
Your extreme mask mandates for children, including 2 year olds, exceeds any level of mandate seen during COVID-19's peak last year. Children ages 0-5 have been in childcare centers for the past 15 months without masks. You have no proof that these mandates are necessary to keep childcare centers and schools open. You are not keeping the wellbeing of our children in mind.

You're forcing these extreme mandates on our families despite scientific evidence that the risk to toddlers and young children of COVID-19 is infinitesimally small, while the harm of masking is potentially enormous.

Our 2, 3, and 4-year-old children are developing socially, emotionally, and mentally. There is NO SCIENCE to back up your insistence on masking them all day at day care and preschool. As their parents, we know your unscientific decision will irreversibly hurt our children's futures, and we demand you reverse your position.

With the recent call to action on Climate Change, Colorado residents feel it’s time to go green and follow some of our sister states in introducing new recycling laws, statutes and regulations. For many businesses and households, recycling has proven to be cost effective-using less energy to obtain and process materials, and reducing pollution and waste management costs.

Questions people may have are:
How?
Recycle clean bottles, cans, paper and cardboard.
Keep food and liquid out of recycling.
No loose plastic or bagged recyclables.
Consumers will have several beverage container recycling options in Colorado. They can redeem their containers for recycling at either a supermarket-based recycling center or other privately-operated recycling center. Or they can "donate" their containers and redemption payment to either a non-profit recycling program or to their curbside recycling program.

All supermarkets in Colorado are required to have a recycling center within a specified area around the store (called a "convenience zone"). If a recycling opportunity does not exist in this zone, then generally the supermarket, and all other retailers that sell beverage containers in that zone, must take-back containers in-store. Supermarket-based recycling centers receive a premium payment, called a handling fee, to offset the additional costs these sites incur.

However, most beverage container recycling will not occur at supermarket sites, nor does most recycling take place through curbside recycling as most people assume. Instead, private-sector recycling centers that generally predate Colorado's Bottle Bill program recycle the bulk, 55%-65%, of beverage containers. Supermarket-based recyclers account for about 25% of beverage container recycling and curbside recycling accounts for about 20% of beverage container recycling

Who pays for it?
Like all bottle bills, the payment of a deposit by consumers is the backbone of the program. Consumers pay $0.05 for containers under 24 ounces and $0.10 for containers over 24 ounces. That money is returned to consumers when they recycle their containers, or is "donated" to a curbside operator or non-profit recycler depending on how the consumers chooses to recycle the container. This is essential to the recycling rate and its low beverage container litter rate; by putting a monetary value on the recycling of beverage containers, consumers are much more likely to recycle, not litter or trash, beverage containers.

Who regulates it?
State boards and environmental protection agencies.

Statistics?
94 million tons of MSW were recycled and composted, equivalent to a 32.1 percent recycling and composting rate. Jul 14, 2021 which is 2.5% LESS waste recycled compared to 2014. Using recycled glass and certain plastics instead of virgin materials can reduce environmental impacts more than 50 percent. Recycled paper and aluminum reduce environmental impacts between 70-85 percent. By reducing air and water pollution and saving energy, recycling offers an important environmental benefit: it reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons, that contribute to global climate change.

Give an example: California's Bottle Bill prevents the land filling or littering of more than 80%, or 17 billion, of the containers used in California annually.

Join me! Lets go green, save the planet and keep Colorado colorful by introducing the new Colorado Bottle bill and waste management regulations!

The global shark fin trade is a $400 million business that kills as many as 100 million sharks each year, 70 million of these sharks are killed just for fins! Beyond the devastating consequences for shark populations and ocean ecosystems, such wildlife trade is also linked to human rights abuses, as well as drug, weapon and other trafficking. Without sharks, the ocean would die, and frankly so would we.

A few states have already outlawed the transport of shark fins, but that just isn't quite enough, the United States is the 7th biggest distributor of shark fins, so we should try to outlaw this mafia-like business when we can, one state at a time. Outlawing this industry in the United States would do a lot for the rapidly decreasing shark population. If we can save our ocean's sharks, that's one step closer to saving the ocean from the commercial fishing industry and IUU Fishing.

I've loved sharks all my life, and seeing this happen to sharks is devastating for me alongside many others, and we need to take action while we can! The consequences of causing sharks to go extinct can result in us humans going extinct too. The shark product trade is a serious problem not many people know about, that's why I'm striving to spread the word about this problem.

I currently run my own shark conservation team called the USSCT, all profit we make from sales on our online store go towards shark conservation and research, and I would appreciate all the support i can get, so please check us out if you can, thank you so much! www.ussct.store

Dear Casa Bonita Owners...

You can go. We want Matt and Trey. You say you're not ready to sell, we say yes you are. Decades have passed, and you still haven't changed. There's no shame in serving horrible food to paying customers. Your prizes are lame and your games are broken. My last visit to your gift shop had embarrassingly few items. You got rid of Mariachi bands and balloons that inflated in front of you. The treasure room had rock hard tootsie rolls that were possibly years old. The hideous pink pony that played blaring music was not fun or cool! You need to admit you've failed, and let Denver see what our South Park friends can do to improve the current mess you've created.

According to END ROADKILL Pennsylvania, PA is currently the 3rd worst states in terms of animal-related collisions. Currently, the END ROADKILL organization aims to raise money to help animals avoid streets and highways through conservation corridors. However, a recent development in San Antonio, TX offers an interesting new solution. There, the Robert L.B. Tobin Land Bridge was just finished, and it includes an incredible amount of utilization opportunities for wildlife and humans alike. These features include disabled persons accessibility, showcases of prominent native flora and fawna, and even a rainwater catchment system to irrigate the surrounding areas! The reason for this petition is to garner support for Pennsylvania's very own land bridge, and for it to be paid for with the money from President Biden's new infrastructure bill; The American Jobs Plan! This project is in the early stages, but with enough support from the citizens of PA it can become a reality! After the signature goal is reached, a logistical plan can begin to be presented to Governor Tom Wolf that would outline the details of the bridge. This bridge would be a great addition to connect the citizens of Pennsylvania to their native wildlife, as well as reduce roadkill and save lives! All support is appreciated, and for more information on roadkill in PA consider reading this article!

https://www.northcentralpa.com/life/pennsylvania-ranks-third-in-u-s-for-most-animal-collisions/article_840fd1ae-0856-11eb-b434-db1a62acafe3.html

I am petitioning today to combat a very important matter to both the pagan and LGBTQ communities. Being part of both of these communities can be quite a challenge in certain circumstances, such as getting married.

It is amazing to be able to be out as Pagan and LGBTQ without fear, but we still have limitations. It is common for both communities to have difficulties finding a minister to officiate a wedding because there are still stigmas around. Churches refuse to officiate some who do not attend their church, or those that live outside the their lifestyle teachings.

It is becoming more and more important in some areas to have an increase in Pagan and non-denominational ministers. However, when going for an ordination, problems rise yet again. Pennsylvania is one of a few states that refuse to accept online ordained ministers, except in York county and Bucks county, who have won the right through court. Pennsylvania argues that a minister must have a "regular congregation" and uses this loose term to mean a physical church.

Pagans do not worship indoors. We honor the Earth and our spiritual center is out amongst it. Many pagans are also lone practitioners. Finding knowledge in solitude is a key element in pagan practices. Without a physical location or congregation, pagan priests/priestesses cannot become ordained. For many LGBTQ and Pagan couples, the courthouse is the only means of marriage, except marrying themselves. The fact that Pennsylvania allows self-marriage, but denies online ordination is preposterous.

I urge you to make a change in this matter. Please open up Pennsylvania to allow online ordination in all counties. We should not be limited in where we can marry. Nor should our ministers be denied because of how we worship. Please, I implore you to look at this matter and make a difference for the people of Pennsylvania.

Help me fight this. Please sign and let Pennsylvania know we will be heard, we want equality, and we want rights, no matter what we believe, who we love, or how we live.

Thank you.

Pennsylvania's jails and prisons continue to use the cruel and harmful practice of solitary confinement on our state's incarcerated populations. This practice is particularly damaging for incarcerated juveniles. Please sign this petition, urging Pennsylvania legislators to end solitary confinement in our state.

Here are some important facts about the damaging effects of solitary confinement, courtesy of Stop Solitary for Kids:

Solitary can have long-lasting and devastating effects on youth, including trauma, psychosis, depression, anxiety, and increased risk of suicide and self-harm. Solitary confinement can also exacerbate pre-existing mental health disorders. Research shows that more than half of all suicides in juvenile facilities occurred while young people were held in isolation. Solitary deprives youth of needed programs and services. Many youth in solitary do not receive appropriate education, mental health services, or drug treatment.

More than one-third of youth in facilities report being isolated. More than half of those youth report being in solitary confinement for more than 24 hours. Based on their overrepresentation in juvenile facilities, vulnerable populations – LGBTQ youth, youth with disabilities and mental health disorders, youth of color - are likely to be affected by solitary confinement.

Solitary makes facilities, youth, and staff less safe. There is no evidence that using solitary confinement reduces the levels of violence or that it acts as a deterrent. The use of isolation damages relationships between youth and staff and contributes to a volatile institutional environment. Solitary confinement can actually increase misbehavior, while jurisdictions that have reduced solitary have seen incidents of violence decrease.

In January 2020, Pennsylvania legislators (Senator Larry Farnese and Representative Tina Davis) introduced bills to significantly limit solitary confinement, including for youth under the age of 21. SB 832 and HB 497 apply to state and county facilities, as well as any facility which confines a juvenile.

While SB 832 limits solitary for most adults to 15 days, §5103 explicitly bans solitary for anyone under the age of 21. Instead institutions or clinicians must screen youth to determine if they meet the standards for civil commitment and, if so, place them in a specialized unit or the least restrictive short-term care or psychiatric facility.

Petition DC Mayor Muriel Bowser to paint Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House (a section that is not dedicated to another cause) to honor the 13 fallen soldiers in Afghanistan and ALL of the brave men and women of our armed forces. To the families who have lost loved ones protecting our great country - you are not in this alone. We are all mourning with you. Home of the free, because of the brave.

On November 4, 2021, the PIAA District 6 Committee voted to punish the Bishop Mccort Wrestling program by suspending the coach for one year, and suspending the wrestling team from post season competition for a period of 20-36 months, as well as putting the entire athletic program on probation for three years. This was for a recruiting violation that never occurred. The only evidence that was provided was two pictures of a young man in the presence of the coach, one was in his driveway at a public celebration for the coach's son (the coach was unaware of the celebration as it was a surprise) and a video of the student at an open workout in the coach's basement. Neither of these qualify as proof of any of the examples laid out in the by-laws, and both happened during the off season when the by laws expressly allow the coach to act as a private citizen.

This punishment is the harshest that has ever been handed down by a PIAA committee. It was handed down by the Bishop McCort's immediate rivals who were disgruntled that a number of middle school wrestlers transferred to Bishop McCort during the pandemic. Middle schoolers are below the jurisdiction of the PIAA, so the committee decided to fabricate a recruiting violation from a sophomore transfer student who was not recruited in any way. It was an extreme overreach by rival schools who should never have been given the authority to judge and punish a school against whom they compete. They have effectively been given the ability to gang up on a school that they decide will out-compete them in future seasons.

This all started with an initial transfer away from a public school in the district by a high school wrestler who was left to "deal with" a teammate who made racial slurs to this student who is black. The coach thought he was handling the situation best by telling the wrestler that he needs to just deal with it. That life is hard. The wrestler's family disagreed with the way he handled it, lines were drawn and sides were taken. Eventually, the wrestler's family chose to transfer. But it wasn't long before the wrestler's cousin, a world champion also began to feel fallout from the situation, and he too chose to transfer. Where they chose to go was a Catholic school that also had the benefit of conducting live, in-person classes while the public school was still virtual. It was basically a domino effect and about 10 middle school wrestlers also decided the environment at the Catholic school was an all around better situation.

But because they were all in middle school, the old school had no recourse to punish the kids for leaving. (The original transfer was punished for his high school transfer by losing post season competition eligibility last year).

So when another high school student from the old school experienced the same ostracizing, even though he wasn't a big wrestler, but he did work out with the group that transferred, he decided he wanted out too. This time, the district committee had a way to punish the whole program. They trumped up a bogus recruiting charge and voted to suspend the wrestling program long enough for those middle schoolers to feel the pain they wanted to inflict.

We are calling upon the PIAA to immediately hear Bishop McCort's appeal and respond to the facts with honesty and integrity. We are also calling on the PIAA to change their policies to make sure that violations involving coaches not be judged by the same district committee in which the school resides.

What has happened to Bishop McCort can happen to any school and any coach when the facts of the case can be misconstrued and contorted to fit the preconceived narrative that rival schools create. All so they can "level the playing field" to their satisfaction. This is a dangerous precedent, and should frighten every high school coach of any sport.

Please join us in calling on the PIAA to right this dangerous wrong.

Tar and Chip is used here in the Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania to 'preserve' roads. This archaic method creates huge road hazards and damages people's and business alike cars, trucks, van's, etc. Motorcycle are at a elevated risk of losing traction or being damaged due to this absurd method. The other type of damage and risk that it creates is to the human body as that body is bouncing off the pavement because their motorcycle lost traction and ejected the rider. The Classic Car Community and Custom Car Community also suffer the consequences, sometimes on parts not easily found like windshields and headlights.

Tar & Chip must be banned and done away with here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania!!!



The picture above shows two gouges in the road from the metal of a motorcycle being dragged into pavement as the residual gravel from T&C created the accident.

"Castle" is a gorgeous building in the heart of the University of Pennsylvania's campus, right behind the famous "LOVE" sculpture. Since its construction in 1890, it has housed members of the fraternity Psi Upsilon, which is notorious for its membership of extremely wealthy and predominantly white students who have historically been involved in a number of controversies. For example, according to a 1998 DP article describing a 1990 incident, "About a dozen brothers kidnapped a rival fraternity member, subjecting him to various forms of physical and mental abuse." After this, The University of Pennsylvania kicked Psi U off of campus and utilized Castle for a Community Service Living Learning Program. The fraternity was reestablished in Castle 8 years later, with the frat stating a goal of restoring their reputation.

Since then, the fraternity has continued to be the center of controversies including a lawsuit for negligence and, just earlier this month, an attack against a minority student by a Psi U brother. The one-sided assault, which included 10 to 20 punches until the victim appeared to be partially unconscious, is believed by many to be racially motivated. The attacker, college junior Nicholas Hamilton, had been previously reported for racist remarks. It has not yet been reported that Hamilton will face any consequences, and no arrests have been made.

Many students are outraged that Penn has continued to dedicate this central space to an exclusive and highly-privileged group that has continuously acted against the supposed morals of our institution. Whatever Castle goes on to be used for, it is imperative that Penn utilizes this space to foster a safe and accepting community that will be felt on the campus at large. Throughout the past, present, and foreseeable future, Psi Upsilon has repeatedly demonstrated that they are incapable of fulfilling this responsibility. By continuing to dedicate this space as Penn has, the administration has demonstrated a disregard for the safety, well-being, and inclusion of a substantial contingent of their students for the benefit of an elite few.

The hopes of this petition and those who sign it are that the University of Pennsylvania will act in accordance with their stated ideals, and repurpose the incredibly central Castle building for the use of common spaces that promote the inclusion and community of all types of Penn Students.



SOURCES:
https://www.thedp.com/article/2021/09/penn-castle-fraternity-assault-party-severe-injuries

https://www.thedp.com/article/1998/04/the_night_the_castle_crumbled

https://www.facilities.upenn.edu/maps/locations/36th-street-250-south

Scott Perry is the congressperson representing the 10th district of Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, January 6th, Perry violated his constitutional duty and objected to the ratification of the duly certified electoral votes of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

By the act of voting to object to the legitimate election outcome of our commonwealth, Rep. Perry has disgraced himself. A member of the U.S. Congress must have an unimpeachable reputation for supporting representative government, democracy, and the rule of law. Anything less than that is an affront to each and every citizen that member of Congress represents.

The terror committed at the Capitol on January 6th was the culmination of months' worth of misinformation propagated by the president and many of his supporters in Congress and other elected offices. Scott Perry is one of the perpetrators of this farce. We acknowledge and recognize the right of Rep. Perry to speak freely about their personal opinions; we condemn Perry's use of congressional authority in a bid to overturn a legitimate election - the very same votes that brought him into office.

We, the people of the 10th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, demand that Scott Perry resign as our congressperson.

It seems that COVID-19 has brought itself into our lives time and time again, now going on almost over a year. With the 2020-2021 school year halfway over, we are now entering PA state testing season.

Seeing that the school year has been completely rearranged, and completely disrupted, kids have not been able to get the proper education that they need to perform well on these state tests. Most students I have talked to are hoping that these tests will be canceled because they feel they do not have the necessary knowledge to do well on these tests—whether English, Math or Science.

Also, the teachers that I have talked to feel the test should be canceled because while they have tried their best to get the needed content to us, there are too many obstacles to overcome. The inconsistency of virtual learning mixed with in-person has not led to a positive learning experience. Knowing that if a student does not pass these tests they have to take a remediation class next year and re-learn the subject is frustrating. This can hurt the students schedule because they now can not take an extra class that they feel would be more beneficial or enriching. This extra class could expose them to something they may want to do for their job in the future.

This test will hurt the students, the teachers and the district because it will be an inaccurate representation of our ability seeing the struggle that everyone has had to go through. With all of the changes that have happened over the last two school years, why would we be forced to take a test that is founded on what a typical year looks like? This year and last have been anything but normal for all students. Please reconsider this test as a requirement for the 8th, 9th and 10th graders of all PA districts.


Respectfully,

A concerned student

In 2017, Act 43 allowed Pennsylvania residents to purchase commercial-grade fireworks. Despite laws severely restricting where these can be legally exploded some residents scoff at these laws and thus violate them repeatedly.

To my understanding, the police must directly observe someone lighting the fireworks in order to enforce the law. So, they may know exactly who the culprit is, they may even see the fireworks flying up from the backyard as they approach the house, but if the police don't see them actually igniting a firework there is nothing they can do.

This reality is a frightening fire hazard that threatens to damage and even burn down local properties. The loud, shocking and unexpected explosions lowers the quality of life not just locally, but for miles around as people, pets and wildlife experience sudden and unexpected shock, disturbance and trauma, often late into the night.

We strongly support and urge the passing of House Bill 988 and Senate Bill 757 in order to repeal Act 43 of 2017 and thus return to only “novelty fireworks” being permitted for use by residents of Pennsylvania.

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color or previous servitude.” “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

Whether it be a poll tax, literacy tests, voter purging, limitations on early and absentee voting, people of color have been disenfranchised for far too long. The right to vote is sacrosanct and paramount to a successful democracy. While the Constitution prohibits your right to vote from being denied based on race or sex, it does not prevent against voter inactivity. The right to vote is the only right that can be lost if not used. In the past decade, millions of law-abiding citizens have been purged from the voter rolls. Currently, right wing groups seek to purge up to 800,000 voters in Pennsylvania. We NEED our elected officials to fight hard to protect our right to vote by writing and passing legislation that eliminates voter purging. Voter purging is a form of voter suppression that impacts communities of color and impoverished communities. When entire communities begin to think the process is not for them, the notion of democracy begins to erode. YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE, and it should not be silenced.