It has been five years since Lehman Brothers collapsed, bringing the house of cards known as Wall Street crashing down and catalyzing a global economic catastrophe. While the people of Main Street have barely even begun to recover, the banks on Wall Street — after getting bailed out by the American taxpayers — are back to business, and profits, as usual. In fact, the very banks that cried “too big to fail” have only gotten bigger. In 2008, the four biggest banks in America — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wachovia/Wells Fargo — held $6.4 trillion in assets. Today, those four banks have grown nearly 22% bigger, with $7.8 trillion in assets. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. We simply must break up these colossal institutions so that they can never again hold us hostage to their own greed and shortsightedness.

For three years, a group of some 600 multinational corporations and trade associations have been quietly negotiating a trade pact IN SECRET that could void American laws that protect workers, jobs, health, and the environment. During negotiations in Washington last summer, news leaked of some of the provisions U.S. trade officials were prepared to approve, and a public outcry derailed the talks. Trade Representative Ron Kirk resigned. Now that Michael Froman has been confirmed as the new U.S. Trade Representative he is pushing to renew "fast track" authority so President Barack Obama -- a DEMOCRAT -- can sign the agreement first, and then force a quick vote in Congress without any public scrutiny, floor debate, or revisions.

One of the most heartbreaking cases of injustice I’ve ever heard was recently brought to my attention. It’s a story of a mother who refused to sit idly by while corruption occurred at a prestigious NYC private school and about the ultimate price she paid for daring to come forward in an attempt to end the fraud and greed going on behind the scenes. It’s important to share this story in an effort to illustrate the unscrupulous depths to which those with power will stoop in order to avoid the tarnishing of their own reputations. In 2011, Seema Kalia reported the law firm Wachtell Lipton for the mismanagement of the tax exempt status of the Trinity School, a New York City private school that has been around for centuries. In response, Wachtell Lipton published a “slam piece” online about Ms. Kalia in an attempt to distract the public and the Trinity School community from shady tax documents. Imagine Kalia’s surprise and dismay when, during her divorce proceedings a year later, new opposing counsel is brought in on her case and informs her that she will not see her kids again if she refuses to recant her prior incriminating statements about the law firm. Approximately a week later, Kalia’s children were removed from her home on the basis of an undated custody order from a hearing she was never told of. It’s been nearly a year that Seema Kalia has been without her children.

To keep our neighborhood strong and well connected. Zocalo is a part of the San Leandro community and it would be a shame for it to not remain in it's current location.

A new study co-authored by the Friends of the Earth and Pesticide Research Institute found that seven out of 13 samples of garden plants purchased at top retailers in Washington D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area and Minneapolis contain neurotoxic pesticides known as neonicotinoids. Neonics, made by Bayer CropScience and Syngenta, are the fastest-growing class of synthetic pesticides. They’re also linked to the mass die-off of honeybees. How do we get bee-killing plants out of garden centers? We start by asking the CEOs of two of the largest national chains – Home Depot and Lowe’s – to stop selling them. Help us, and our partner organizations, gather 300,000 signatures. When we reach that goal, we will meet with the CEOs of Home Depot (Frank Blake) and Lowe’s (Robert Niblock) and ask them to do what garden centers in the U.K. have done – commit to getting bee-killing garden plants out of their stores. About 100 crop species provide 90 percent of food globally. Of those species, 71 are pollinated by bees. In the U.S. alone, a full one-third of the food supply depends on pollination from bees. Can we afford not to pressure Home Depot and Lowe’s into getting neonics out of our gardens?

To prevent Congressmen for profiting from connections in office while they are serving constituents, thus preventing them from benefitting from special interest groups.

Richmond, California has Wall Street terrified. The City is planning to help some of the 46% of city homeowners currently underwater by offering to buy distressed loans from the Wall Street bankers who own them, then reset the mortgages to current market value. If the banks refuse, the City will consider using eminent domain to acquire the loans, still paying fair market value to the banks. This historic action is called Local Principal Reduction, and if it works in Richmond, it could help stop the housing crisis around the country. On August 7, Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank filed a baseless lawsuit and began a campaign of intimidation to scare Richmond out of standing up for homeowners. Tell the Richmond City Council to keep moving forward with the Richmond CARES program and not bow to Wall Street intimidation.

The small city of Richmond, California has Wall Street terrified. The City is planning to help some of the 46% of city homeowners currently underwater by offering to buy distressed loans from the Wall Street bankers who own them, then reset the mortgages to current market value. If the banks refuse, the City will consider using eminent domain to acquire the loans, still paying fair market value to the banks. This historic action is called Local Principal Reduction, and if it works in Richmond, it could help stop the housing crisis around the country. On August 7, Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank, with the support of a Wall Street lobbying group, sued the City of Richmond to stop them from implementing Local Principal Reduction and eminent domain. Please stand with Richmond and demand that the CEOs of Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank drop their lawsuit and sell the homes to the City.

It has been five months since a fertilizer plant exploded in West, Texas—killing 14 people and injuring 200. The plant stored explosive ammonium nitrate—but had no alarms, no automatic shutoff system, no firewall and no sprinkler system. And it was across the street from a school. But when Texas fire inspectors attempted to step up its enforcement, five chemical plants simply denied them access. And nothing under Texas law mandates that they allow such inspections. If Texas can’t protect its residents, the federal government must. Sign our petition to OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) demanding that they inspect the five chemical plants who have denied access to the Texas fire inspectors.

Please visit www.helpfortony.org for the detailed story. For over 7 years Tony only ever had one type of very mild psoriasis on his knees and elbows. He took part in a clinical trial for a new psoriasis treatment. After one year, he had to quit the study. 60 days after stopping the drug, 95% of the skin peeled off his body. For the past 5 years, he has been 65-90% covered with 6 different types of psoriasis. HE IS DYING. Johnson & Johnson, a family company has been unwilling to help in any way. Alex Gorsky, the CEO ignored the presentation you can see at the link below. Johnson needs to Give Tony the information, medical expertise and resources needed to determine what went wrong, seek the best treatment resources and let him live or die with some dignity. PLEASE HELP. Please sign this petition. Please forward this story to your friends and family and encourage them to do the same. Tony's life REALLY DOES depend on this. THANK YOU SO MUCH AND GOD BLESS Tony's Friends and Family Please see our VIDEO for the whole story at www.helpfortony.org This could very easily happen to someone you love, too. We DESPERATELY need your help, literally to save his life.

The Sorina household are dear friends - very good people. People who chose to return and rebuild their home after Katrina. Their neighborhood was hard hit and they put in the hard work of returning to their city. Only to be taken from their home years later by a ban. http://outfront.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/28/8-years-after-katrina-new-orleans-homeowners-forced-to-fight-for-homes/?sr=sharebar_facebook

Citizen Koch is an extremely revealing documentary by Academy Award-nominated filmmakers regarding corruption in our government. It was originally pulled due to the desire to avoid upsetting major PBS donor David Koch. As a public television station, WKLE (and the other PBS stations), doesn't answer to people like the Koch brothers, but instead to the viewers. The fears of upsetting a rich donor should come second to journalistic integrity. Please help me call for a national broadcast of "Citizen Koch."