ACTION: Please join Senior and Disability Action and SIGN THIS PETITION that will go to the AT&T Western Region President: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/we-need-free-wifi.  This petition provides more information and a way for you to express your concerns and needs for fast and reliable Internet access.

ACTION: There will be a rally and action on Monday, October 18, 12:45 pm at the AT&T flagship store at Powell and Market, San Francisco. For more information, CLICK HERE .

SITUATION: The U.S. Senate is currently working on a Reconciliation Package, including $400 billion for Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), funds which will allow seniors and people with disabilities to age in place, but the amount allocated to HCBS is in jeopardy, with opposition proposing less than half those funds, $150 billion.

The full $400 billion will:

• Increase federal matching funds to states for HCBS
• Expand and strengthen caregiving jobs for workers who provide these services and have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, a workforce which is predominately female, low-wage and BIPOC

A lower figure is simply inadequate to address the entrenched issues in the HCBS service system.

ACTION: Call our U.S. Senators ASAP to tell them we need the full $3.5 Trillion Reconciliation Package, especially the $400 Billion for HCBS.

ACTION: Send this email to friends and family in the U.S.

Contact information for California Senators:

Senator Dianne Feinstein
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 393-0707
click here to email Dianne Feinstein

Senator Alex Padilla
333 Bush Street, Suite 3225
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 981–9369
click here to email Alex Padilla

 Advocating for Vaccine Global Equity

SITUATION:  The United Nations General Assembly meets tomorrow, September 14, and continues until September 30.

High on its agenda is ensuring fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines around the world.  Global vaccine equity is the best way to make sure that this deadly virus is eradicated for good.

ACTIONS:  

1) Please urge President Biden to strongly support worldwide vaccinations at the UN General Assembly through their partnerships with WHO, COVAX, UNICEF and others–and to encourage other nations to do the same.

2) Ask President Biden to scale up vaccine production in the USA, share excess vaccine with countries that do not have vaccines, and encourage voluntary sharing of intellectual property rights worldwide during this global crisis.

Call the White House at: (202) 456-1111

Email the White House by clicking HERE

Write to the White House at:

The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20500

SUPPORT TAX CREDITS FOR UNPAID FAMILY CAREGIVERS AND STUDENTS

• Expanding the definition of work to make unpaid family caregivers eligible (work largely done by women)
  
• Expanding the age range for this eligibility to include anyone 18 years or older
  
• Including low income college students who struggle to support themselves while learning

U.S. REPRESENTATIVES, San Francisco and surrounding area:

Congressman Ro Khanna

YOUR CALIFORNIA VOTE IS CRUCIAL SEPTEMBER 14th!

Your mail-in ballot for California’s September 14th Gubernatorial Recall Election will arrive very soon.
Your vote is crucial!
Here is why:

The recall election will present voters with two questions.
The first will ask whether Gavin Newsom should be recalled from the office of governor.
A simple majority of votes will win for this issue.
If people do not exercise their right to vote, this decision could be made by a minority of voters.

The second will ask who should succeed Newsom if he is recalled.
The candidate with the most votes on the second question would win the election, no majority required.
There are 46 candidates on the ballot to replace Newsome if the recall passes.
This makes it possible for someone with less than 3% of the vote to become our next governor.

And this is at a time in the U.S when laws limiting voting rights are being enacted in states across the country.
EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE!!!

Please help us encourage every registered voter in California to participate in this election!

For more information, see California Recall Election Details.

One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 393-0707

TELL GOVERNOR NEWSOM TO STOP FRACKING NOW!

SAN FRANCISCO 2021/2022 AND 2022/2023 BUDGET 

SITUATION:  San Francisco Mayor London Breed has submitted the Mayor’s Proposed Budget for 2021/2022 and 2022/2023. The Board of Supervisors is currently considering adjustments to the Mayor’s Proposed Budget.  Now is the time for public input.  The Senior and Disability Action (SDA) organization has identified the following three items that need to be included in the budget to benefit Seniors and Persons with Disabilities:

1. $3,000,000.00 to fund an existing rental subsidies program for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities to avert evictions and homelessness.

2. $3,000,000.00 to expand the existing Senior Operating Subsidies program that provides funding for Seniors whose income is Social Security or SSI so they can afford rental units in Senior Housing.

3. $900,000.00 for desktops, laptops, internet service, and digital training for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities.

ACTION:  Call and/or e-mail your Supervisor by June 25, 2021 and ask for inclusion of these items in the City’s budget.

CONTACTS:

District 1: Connie Chan – (415)554-7410; ChanStaff@sfgov.org

District 2: Catherine Stefani – (415)554-7752; Catherine.Stefani@sfgov.org

District 3: Aaron Peskin – (415)554-7450; Aaron.Peskin@sfgov.org

District 4: Gordon Mar – (415)554-7460; Gordon.Mar@sfgov.org

District 5:  Dean Preston: – (415)554-7630; Dean.Preston@sfgov.org

District 6: Matt Haney – (415)554-7970; Matt.Haney@sfgov.org

District 7: Myrna Melgar – (415)554-6516; MelgarStaff@sfgov.org

District 8: Rafael Mandleman – (415)554-6968; MandlemanStaff@sfgov.org

District 9: Hillary Ronan – (415)554-5144; Hillary.Ronen@sfgov.org

District 10: Shamann Walton – (415)554-7670; Shamann.Walton@sfgov.org

District 11: Ahsha Safai -(415)554-6975; Ahsha.Safai@sfgov.org

Fight Back Against Pollution in the Bay Area

SITUATION: Big Oil Lobbyists are trying to kill a landmark rule before the Air District Board to demand installation of “scrubbers” to remove harmful particles, gases, or chemical byproducts from the industrial smokestacks of the Bay Area’s oil refineries.

ACTIONS: 

1. Call, email or write Supervisor Shamann Walton (the most pivotal SF member) urging him to vote in favor of the “strict scrubber rule for refineries.” 

Shamann Walton, Dist. 10, 415-554-7670, Shamann.Walton@sfgov.org

2. Call the Air District Board of Directors.

Leave a message (press option #5) at (415) 749-4900

Here’s a suggestion of your message

Dear Supervisor Walton / Board of Directors,

I’m counting on your vote to adopt the STRICT rule for scrubbers on Bay Area oil refineries.  This technology is already in use at most refineries in the US.  I know that you are concerned about the frontline communities who are most impacted by particulate air pollution.  Please help us protect them and ourselves!

 San Francisco’s City College Needs Your Help

SITUATION:  City College is more vital than ever as the pandemic ends.  Job training, English as a second language, completing interrupted skills training, and offering meaningful opportunities to seniors and those with disabilities to get back into the world. 

ACTIONS:  

1) Show up at the Rally supporting CCSF on Saturday, May 8 at 11:00 am in front of City Hall, the Polk Street side, 

2) Email CC Board of Trustees, scheduled to vote on Monday, and tell them you are a community member and want to see City College serving the community again, 

3) Contact your SF Supervisor about how vital City College is to the city!

Contacts: 

Shanell Williams, President, swilliams@ccsf.edu

Tom Temprano, Vice President, ttemprano@ccsf.edu

Aliya Chisti, achisti@ccsf.edu, Brigitte Davil, bdavila@ccsf.edu,

John Rizzo jrizzo@ccsf.edu, Thea Selby, tselby@ccsf.edu, Alan Wong, alanwong@ccsf.edu

Supervisors:

Connie Chen, Dist. 1, 415-554-7410, ChanStaff@sfgov.org

Rafael Mandelman, Dist. 8, 415-554-6968, MandelmanStaff@sfgov.org

Matt Haney, Dist. 6,415-554-7970, Matt.Haney@sfgov.org

Gordon Mar, Dist. 4, 415-554-7460, Gordon.mar@sfgov.org

Myrna Melgar, Dist. 7, (415) 554-6516 – MelgarStaff@sfgov.org

Aaron Pesking, Dist. 3, 415-554-7450, Aaron.Peskin@sfgov.org

Dean Preston, Dist. 5, 415-554-7630, Dean.Preston@sfgov.org

Hillary Ronen, Dist. 9, 415-554-5144, Hillary.Ronen@sfgov.org

Ashsa Safai, Dist. 11, 415-5546975, Ahsha.Safai@sfgov.org

Catherine Stefani, Dist. 2, 415-554-7752, Catherine.Stefani@sfgov.org

Shamann Walton, Dist. 10, 415-554-7670, Shamman.Walton@sfgov.org

Tell Governor Newsom Not to Wait Until 2045 to Halt Oil Drilling and Production in California!

SITUATION: California Governor Newsom has promised to use his executive powers to stop issuing fracking permits by 2024, and that’s great news!  But California cannot wait until 2045,  as proposed by the governor, to stop all extraction of fossil fuels.  We need action now to save the environment!

ACTION:  Write, call or fax the governor and tell him we can’t wait until 2045.  Ask Governor Newsom to ban all fossil fuel extraction make California carbon neutral NOW!

CONTACT: Governor Gavin Newsom
1303 10th Street, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-2841
Fax: (916) 558-3160        

OWL ALERT MARCH 25, 2021

HR 1 VOTING RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, ENDANGERED BY THE FILIBUSTER

SITUATION: . The critical stress test of any democracy is the ease with which its people are empowered to vote and participate in free and fair elections. It’s a promise enshrined in the Constitution that the United States has increasingly failed to deliver to its electorate. For several decades, American elections have averaged a turnout of 55.7%, a voter participation rate that lags behind most of the developed world. RanttMedia

 HR 1 expands access to the ballot box by taking aim at institutional barriers to voting, including cumbersome voter registration systems, disenfranchisement and limited voting hours.

 Senator Feinstein has recently signaled her willingness to move to end the filibuster which is the ability of 40 senators to effectively block most bills from being put forward for a vote by the Senate. This would include the very important HR1 that concerns election standards and reforms. President Biden, who has supported the filibuster in the past, has also spoken against the practice recently.

 Here is an article from the New York Times that explains how the two issues of voting rights and the filabuster are intertwined. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/us/politics/filibuster-democrats-voting-congress.html

 ACTION: Do you think It is time to end the unfair practice of the filibuster in the Senate?  

 If you prefer to leave a message, call during off-hours. Staff may ask for your zip code

SHARE THIS WITH FRIENDS ACROSS OUR NATION AND URGE THEM TO CONTACT THEIR OWN U.S. SENATORS – ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE INCLINED TO DISAGREE.
 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members

SITUATION: This week the US House of Representatives passed two landmark sensible bipartisan gun prevention bills and sent them to the US Senate. HR 8 would expand background checks on people who want to purchase or transfer guns.  HR 1446 would close the loophole used by the shooter to buy a gun to kill nine Black people during a Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. HR 1446 would extend the initial background check review period from three to 10 days.

 ACTION:  Please help to end the Gun Violence Epidemic!  Help to save lives.

If you prefer to leave a message, call during off-hours. Staff may ask for your zip  code

 SHARE THIS WITH FRIENDS ACROSS OUR NATION AND URGE THEM TO CONTACT THEIR OWN U.S. SENATORS – ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE INCLINED TO DISAGREE.
 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members

URGE SENATORS TO PASS THE VOTING RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT ACT H.R. 4

 SITUATION:  The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore critical elements of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that were gutted by a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2013 – a decision which has allowed states to engage in such racism-fueled voter suppression with impunity.

The attempts to disenfranchise Black and Brown voters in this last election were egregious – from attacks on vote by mail to cuts to early voting periods to unnecessary ID requirements.  This bill specifies that jurisdictions engaging in discriminatory thresholds regarding racial minority groups, language minority groups, or minority groups on Indian land, must preclear (be approved by the Dept. of Justice)  before changing certain practices,  including changes to methods of election, changes to jurisdiction boundaries, redistricting, changes to voting locations and opportunities, and changes to voter registration list maintenance. 

ACTION:  Contact your senators and urge them to pass the VRAA, HR 4 now!

Contact those listed below and your own Senators.

 SHARE THIS WITH FRIENDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND URGE THEM TO CONTACT THEIR OWN U.S. SENATORS – ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE INCLINED TO DISAGREE.
 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members

CA END OF LIFE OPTION ACT SB380

SITUATION:  California’s End of Life Option Act, that went into effect in June 2016 authorizing the compassionate option of medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults to get a prescription they can take to end their lives peacefully, will sunset in January 2026.  Recently introduced SB 380, will reauthorize and improve upon our current legislation.  OWL-SF supported the current law.

For more information on this legislation see https://compassionandchoices.org/in-your-state/california/?emci=87e6e24a-926c-eb11-9889-00155d43c992&emdi=c4713d85-996c-eb11-9889-00155d43c992&ceid=1920212

 ACTION: Call and/or write to let your state representatives know you support the reauthorization of the End of Life Option Act and that you plan to watch the bill as it goes through the legislative process.

Call or email your own Assemblymember

  Call or email your own state Senator:

URGE PRESIDENT BIDEN TO FILL USPS VACANCIES

SITUATION: Throughout the pandemic, postal workers have been among the most essential employees―working tirelessly to deliver medication, ballots, letters, and checks. But the leadership of the USPS deliberately slowed the mail.

There are four vacancies on the USPS Board of Governors.  President Joe Biden can fill them all and tilt the balance of power back to a leadership that believes in the simple, universal promise of the postal service!

 ACTION:  Contact the President and urge him to fill the vacancies immediately.

 The White House 202-456-1111 Leave comment

https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/  

 Sen. Gary Peters D-MI 202-224-6221 and Sen. Rob Portman R-OH 202-224-3353 Committee Chairs of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs which has jurisdiction over the USPS.

 SHARE THIS WITH FRIENDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND URGE THEM TO CONTACT OUR PRESIDENT