Sightings
A Denver Destination Vacation: Spun, Adventures in Textiles
Whether as warming layers that comfort us during sleep, decorative furnishings on our walls and floors that enhance our waking hours, or shields providing protection from the elements or evil spirits, textiles are present throughout all moments of our lives. more »
Bills Introduced: Abortion, Child Abduction & Protection, Workplace Discrimination, Breast Cancer Patients, Sexual Assault in the Military
For instance, a bill to eliminate discrimination and promote women's health and economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. A bill to raise awareness of, and to educate breast cancer patients anticipating surgery, especially patients who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups, regarding the availability and coverage of breast reconstruction, prostheses, and other options. A bill to provide for the assignment of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners-Adult/Adolescent to brigades and equivalent units of the armed forces. more »
Jackie Speier: Proposing Legislation to Change the Military Justice System’s Treatment of Cases of Rape and Sexual Assault
"It is time for us to roll up our sleeves and do something real about this. We have got to stop just kind of nibbling around the edges in an effort to try and fix a broken system. 121 members have joined me as co-authors of legislation that would take the reporting of sexual assault out of the chain of command, keep it in the military, but place it in a separate office, staffed by persons who are experts in investigations, experts in prosecuting these crimes. And until he we do something like this, the numbers of sexual assaults will continue to rise in the military. The number of unrestricted reports will not rise as fast as the number of restricted reports." more »
Touring a State Capitol 'Dungeon' and Other Renovation Stories
Stephen Fehr writes: The Oklahoma Capitol is one of many statehouses around the country that need fixing. Visitors enter the building under scaffolding so they don’t get bonked on the head by falling rock. Minnesota Gov.Dayton and Pennsylvania Gov. Corbett have called for money to repair their declining capitols, as have officials in Alaska, Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon and Wyoming. New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin have refurbished parts of their statehouses in the last few years, and major restorations are winding down in Illinois and Kansas. more »