Attached is the PDF file for the USDA NASS Agricultural Prices Press Release.
email sender: co-releases@nass.usda.gov
Visit the website for more information: http://www.nass.usda.gov/
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A weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else — from the nation’s leading voice on education innovation and opportunity.
GUBERNATORIAL RACES PUT ED FRONT-AND-CENTER. Who are the education innovation and opportunity candidates? With 36 gubernatorial races at stake, and CER’s ED50 ramping up to serve you in the generals, your CER NEWSWIRE will highlight key races & what opportunity voters should know about each candidate from now until the final election day.
CALIFORNIA. In the Golden state, the front runner’s gold is clearly the teachers unions, who endorsed Lt. Gov and former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom because he says stuff like edreforms such as charters are an attack on public education. Antonio Villaraigosa believes in choice through charter schools, which earned him the endorsement of California charter advocates and some of their biggest financial backers.
But the State’s two leading Republican candidates are polling ahead of Villaraigosa. Businessman John Cox is pretty silent on education opportunity, and Assemblyman Travis Allen is a fierce advocate of educational choice. They are polling at 18 and 16 percent respectively ahead of Villaraigosa’s 9%.
GEORGIA. The winner of May 22nd’s Democratic primary, Stacey Abrams says educational choice is "diversion of funds to private schools" that "[undermine] our government's responsibility." (Hmmm, you mean the responsibility to educate kids which they can’t do in most states and communities, Stacey?)
The Republicans will run off Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp in July both of whom have supported education opportunity. Kemp also supports military vouchers.
UNIONS GEAR UP (BRACE) FOR JANUS. The U.S. Supreme Court will deliver a decision in Janus v. AFSME sometime in June, and true to form, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is focused on how to mitigate membership losses that will be inevitable if the Court rules in favor of Janus. AFT says it will lose members (aww, darn) and is buying up advertising to scare people that this decision is terminal… for… exactly who? Imagine if those funds were given back to the teachers who can’t make enough money in the prime of their lives thanks to A) the policies they lobby for and B) the dues they extract.
GET THE DETAILS with the latest Reality Check w/Jeanne Allen with guest Colin Sharkey, EVP of the Association of American Teachers, the largest non-union professional association for teachers. Colin is uniquely qualified to comment on the case and its implications for the public sector and the teaching profession. Mark Mix, the head of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Fund, also talks about the case he helped to take all the way to the Supreme Court.
EXCEL IN ED PLAYBOOK. Shout out to the Foundation for Excellence in Education for producing the first-ever playbook for state policymakers defining the case for strengthening career and technical pathways through cross-sector partnerships. Let’s strive to help learners at all levels, particularly those ill-served by traditional schooling all these years.
STUDENT-CENTERED FUNDING IN NORTH CAROLINA? Could a new funding model mean greater impact, and more money going to teachers students and classrooms in NC? The NC budget includes a 6-7% pay increase for teachers and principals, performance pay provisions for additional bonuses, increases for all education related growth and even includes a provision allowing property tax dollars to fund public schools or public charter schools directly outside district lines. Consider the impact of this on teachers, who recently took to the streets to protest what they get paid. If money flows to schools, the potential for more and better funding opportunities for teachers is enormous. Think about it!
JOIN US! Recognized for their accomplishments in ensuring the creation and advancement of opportunities and innovation across the education landscape, the 8 honorees for CER’s 25th Anniversary are change agents, innovators, and leaders of breakthrough options for learners at all levels. They will receive their awards and recognition for their unique accomplishments at the Center’s Silver Anniversary Summit & Celebration, October, 25 – 26, 2018 in Miami, Florida, “The Road to Innovation for ONE America.” Sit back and watch who’s driving opportunity & innovation!
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HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS
Release Die Colorful Documentary
Watch Here
A Look Into the Creation of Bad Frequencies
Available Now Via
and at http://hawthorneheights.com/
"Hawthorne Heights are back and they aren't missing a beat." - NYLON
"Hawthorne Heights came back with everything they had:
their past and a sense of where they're going. Through catchy hooks,
breakdowns, and even some surprises in between, they have struck the perfect balance
of reflection and projection." - Substream Magazine
May 30, 2018 - Dayton, OH- Hawthorne Heights recently released Bad Frequencies, their first full-length album in 5 years and 1st on Pure Noise Records. Throughout their time creating the album, Hawthorne Heights recorded footage and are celebrating the release of their documentary Die Colorful today. Fans can stream the documentary here.
Singer and Guitarist JT Woodruff shares "While writing and tracking Bad Frequencies, we set up some cameras to see what would happen. We let it unfold, naturally and organically, as the album began to bloom on camera and in session. Set to a musical score and spoken word passages meant to melt away anxiety and stress, Die Colorful is a journey into the making of Bad Frequencies, from our point of view."
Bad Frequencies gives fans a look back on why Hawthorne Heights has maintained such a strong presence in the genre while continuously growing, maturing and reflecting on life as musicians and as men. The album was produced by Hawthorne Heights along with Nick Ingram (Hotel Books, Capital House Studio), and mixed by Cameron Webb (Grammy Winner, NOFX, Social Distortion). Fans can stream, buy and check out Bad Frequencies on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music and at http://hawthorneheights.com/.
The album has already been garnering great responses from fans and press alike with outlets like Substream Magazine sharing
"The record is bursting with bittersweet reflection on moments long passed,
as well as a longing for escape that defies the understanding
one cannot escape themselves."
Alternative Press wrote that "the physical and emotional grind of growing up on the road and facing all of the mistakes you made while still being able to revel in the good times is a challenge that this record confronts head-on"
Hawthorne Heights is currently on the road for their massive USA Headlining Tour. With support from Listener, Hotel Books, Sienna Skies and Heavy Things, The Bad Frequencies Tour is gearing up to visit cities like Dallas, Boise, Billings, San Francisco and even Fairbanks, Alaska. The band will also be traveling to Mexico, the UK and Europe later this year, further adding to their legacy of non-stop hard work for fans. For all tickets and VIP packages, http://hawthorneheights.com/.
Upcoming Hawthorne Heights Tour Dates:
With Support From Listener, Hotel Books, Sienna Skies, Heavy Things
5/30 - Lubbock, TX | Jake's Backroom
5/31 - Dallas, TX | RBC
6/01 - Wichita, KS | Wichita Riverfest
6/02 - Greeley, CO | Moxi Theater
6/03 - Colorado Springs, CO | The Black Sheep
6/05 - Billings, MT | Pub Station
6/06 - Missoula, MT | Top Hat Lounge
6/07 - Spokane, WA | The Big Dipper
6/08 - Boise, ID | The Olympic
6/09 - Portland, OR | Hawthorne Theatre
6/10 - Seattle, WA | Chop Suey
6/11 - Eugene, OR | Hifi Music Hall
6/12 - San Francisco, CA | DNA Lounge
6/13 - Santa Cruz, CA | The Catalyst
6/14 - Reedley, CA | The Wakehouse
6/15 - Las Vegas, NV | Beauty Bar
6/21 - Honolulu, HI | Anna O'Brien's
6/22 - Honolulu, HI | Anna O'Brien's
6/29 - Anchorage, AK | Williwaw Social
6/30 - Fairbanks, AK | The Blue Loon
7/01 - Bakersfield, CA | 1933
7/04 - Big Bear Lake, CA | The Cave
7/05 - Tijuana, Mexico | Black Box
7/06 - Monterrey, Mexico | Café Iguana
7/07 - Guadalajara, Mexico | C3 Rooftop
7/08 - Mexico City, Mexico | Bajo Circuito
10/25 - London, UK | Electric Ballroom
10/26 - Antwerp, Belgium | Zappa
10/27 - Oberhausen, Germany | Turbinenhalle T2
10/28 - Haarlem, Netherlands | Patronaat
10/30 - Hamburg, Germany | Markthalle
10/31 - Nuremberg, Germany | Löwensaal
11/01 - Vienna, Austria | WUK
11/02 - Prague, Czech Republic | Lucerna Music Bar
11/03 - Budapest, Hungary | Dürer Kert
11/04 - Munich, Germany | Werk, Backstage
11/05 - Karlsruhe, Germany | Substage
For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/HawthorneHeights
https://twitter.com/HawthorneHgts
https://www.instagram.com/hawthornehgts/
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Hawthorne Heights is composed of JT Woodruff (Vocals, Guitar), Mark McMillon (Guitar, Backing Vocals), Matt Ridenour (Bass, Backing Vocals) and Chris Popadak (Drums). The band has remained dedicated to their fans and has maintained a hard-working DIY mentality over the course of their 14-year career while delivering monumental albums like The Silence in Black And White and If Only You Were Lonely.
Press Photo Download Here -
Credit: Kat Nijmeddin
Tour Admat Download Here
Album Cover Art Download Here
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UNITED UTAH PARTY CALLS FOR INITIATIVE REFORM AS PART OF MUCH-NEEDED ELECTION REFORM
Count My Vote setback demonstrates need for change
The United Utah Party called for reform of Utah’s initiative process in the wake of Count My Vote’s failure to make the ballot in November, along with other election reforms.
“Polls show that nearly two-thirds of Utahns want Count My Vote to become law,” said Richard Davis, United Utah Party Chair. “The legislature has set the bar too high for initiatives and made it too easy for them to be overturned by opposition groups. Something is fundamentally broken here.”
Count My Vote, which would have solidified the law allowing candidates to bypass the caucus/convention system by collecting signatures, received more than the 113,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot. However, because the law requires initiatives to get signatures totaling at least 10 percent of the vote in the last presidential election in 26 of 29 Senate districts, the initiative failed.
"It is always better to make policy through legislation rather than initiatives," Davis explained. "But there are times the legislature will not act. In those cases, initiatives should not be discouraged. The legislature has done its best to discourage any effort to overturn what the legislators want to do, or, in this case, do not want to do."
Davis suggested that the threshold should be set at 5 percent, not 10 percent. And the number of senate districts where that percentage needs to be reached should be reduced to two thirds (19), rather than 26. Moreover, voters should be informed when they sign that their signature is permanent. That would preclude efforts to get people to rescind their signatures, which led to the failure of the initiative.
“Clearly the current threshold to get ballot access is far too high,” Davis said. “And the underhanded and dishonest tactics of the Count My Vote opponents demonstrates how the system can be manipulated.
“The robocalls that lied about the initiative were anonymous,” he said. “We don’t know who paid for them, and no one can be held accountable for them. That needs to change.”
Davis said the support for Count My Vote demonstrates the demand for the United Utah Party’s reform-oriented approach. The United Utah Party supports other election reforms including term limits, stricter campaign finance limits, more non-partisan elections, and open primary elections.
“We have a broken system that neither Republicans nor Democrats are willing to fix because they benefit too much from them,” Davis said. “That’s why the United Utah Party will continue to be the voice for reform that listens to Utah voters, not party activists.”
