The playground was in bad shape when maintenance removed the slide and some other components of the previous playground on 12/23/12. However, they left the swings up which were dry rotted and were ultimately destroyed by the some of the teenagers. The swings were removed sometime in May or June, 2013. Meanwhile someone decided that the children broke the swings and that was a completely false statement. Those of us who live back here know exactly who broke the swings. The CHILDREN are our main concern. We don't want them playing in the streets where they may be hit by a motor vehicle and according the Owners own words this past weekend they are "not allowed to play or dig in the sand". We have to warn them every time they go out to play that they have to play in the grass but look out for dog crap (because there are a lot of dog owners that don't clean up after their dogs) or if you smell urine don't play in that area. They are almost completely out of places to play. When it was brought to the Owners attention that the reason that they were playing in the sand was because they had no where else outside to play since the playground had been removed and there had not been a new one installed in over a year now they simply said "we are looking into it". They get our rent on time. If they didn't they would be having us evicted. We understand that process. But they can't find the time nor the money to put in a playground before we go into summer break which incidentally begins sometime in May this year. We already don't have a usable pool back here. So what are the children supposed to do be cooped up in the house the entire summer because you the Owners won't see fit to get this playground situation resolved. You know it is an issue. If it remains this way exactly how many tenants due you think are going to continue to renew their lease? Several have said they will not renew if there is no playground for the children. Some are holding on for one more lease period to see if you the Owners will ever fix the playground issue. There is also a false advertising issue here in that your brochures say that you have a playground, and yet you do not. We pay our rent on time or we can be evicted. Yet we have been waiting over a year for a new playground and nothing has been done to replace the old one. That pressure treated lumber is awful. The remaining pieces around the sand box are rotted. Well I called it pressure treated, but maybe it wasn't and that is why it is rotting away. Regardless, we the tenants are Petitioning you the Owners to put in a new Playground for our children so they can play safely. We are requesting this be done before Summer break as several of us have already been waiting a year or longer for this situation to be remedied.

Happy is now making us all sick. Scientist now working on vaccinations but for now we need to avoid the song along with Pharrell's hat.

Most people don't even know why we have Daylight Saving Time. It is rumored that it saves energy, but there is no proof of this. In the Northwest, with the natural season changes, darkness can be at 4:30pm in winter to as late as 10:00pm in the summer. We don't need this additional headache of changing the clocks an hour in one day, when nature does it for us nice and gradually. There is no reason to keep this system in place, other than perhaps some Wall Street traders making a killing with some trades on those days. And, of course, those will be the people with the money to oppose this petition.

I live in the OPNA neighbourhood, and along with my neighbours am very concerned

I am doing an IB Exhibition Project for school (5th grade, Fernbank Elementary). My project is about the 1996 Summer Olympics. I would like to save something so amazing from one of the greatest Olympics in history. This tower can't just be torn down with Turner Field. Help me save this landmark!

How do you put a price tag on democratic access to the powerful medium of television? For the last three decades, Tucsonans have been lucky enough not to have to answer that question. For nearly 30 years, Access Tucson Community Media has offered an open forum for recording and presenting the political, artistic and cultural life of Tucson on TV, including the City's own information channel, Channel 12. And the best part? Access Tucson is funded through cable franchise fees and donations, NOT CITIZEN’S TAX DOLLARS. The only contribution the City makes is a small operating budget as well as the building space Access Tucson shares with Channel 12. Unfortunately, the recent 2015/2016 budget proposed to City government would eliminate all funding for Access Tucson and force it to shut its doors as of June 30, 2014. If Access Tucson dies, we ALL lose an irreplaceable community resource, including a 30 year video archive of Tucson history created by Tucsonans, a free and accessible community media education center & gathering space, and a one of a kind resource for "newbies" to learn how to produce, create and distribute independent media. By losing the independent voices who now speak via Access Tucson, we lose not just a source of news and information, but a two way conversation between viewer and content creator, something that only non commercial community based channels can offer. This will not just be a loss for the Tucson community, but another nail in the coffin for independent media everywhere. For profit companies, whether large or small, should not be the only ones allowed to speak. We ALL need independent media. Is Tucson really willing to put a price on free speech and independent voices? Or will we remain steadfast in keeping community media accessible to all, rich or poor, popular or overlooked, young or old? Please sign this petition to the Mayor and City Council letting them know that we still need Access Tucson!

The historical and aesthetic significance of the original Godzilla score in the context of the approaching 2014 remake CORRECTION: The Footsteps of the Monster were not a Bass Drum. Instead, it was an amplifier box which was struck. Ifukube himself referred to the device as "the Magic Box" on the original Godzilla manuscript score.

I am the Campaign Director of GMO Free NY (www.gmofreeny.net and www.facebook.com/GMOFreeNYnet). Our mission is to advocate for the passage of a GMO labeling law in NYS. We are a founding member of the NY GE Food Labeling Campaign (http://gmofreeny.net/nygelabelingcampaign.html). GMO labels will give us the information we need to decide whether we want to continue being the unwitting guinea pigs of agrichemical and junk food companies. GMO labels will put the power back in consumers' hands, which is where it belongs. It's time for NY's lawmakers to stand up to corporate bullying and put people before profits.

Christians, we have become too desensitized to offensive material like the sign mentioned. Please help me take a stand to say that this is not acceptable in our community.

Microsoft announced that it was discontinuing support of Windows XP, one of its most successful and popular products, as well as Office 2003. It warns of possible risks without this support, without specifying the risks or the likelihood of their occurring. Microsoft's solution: buy Windows 8 (which has gotten terrible reviews) and Office 2010. Windows XP is about 12 years old. Would any appliance or car manufacturer discontinue producing parts for used cars or appliances in such a short period of time? Would any large corporation proclaim that it is incapable of continuing to support its older products, because it needs to concentrate on supporting newer products?! Of course not! Nonetheless, this hugely profitable corporation (net worth estimate: almost $70. billion) says it does not have the ability or wherewithal to continue to support its products. Computers are no longer luxury items. In fact, Microsoft was one of the companies that helped to make PCs first ubiquitous and then indispensable. However, not everyone needs the latest model or many of the additional features of newer versions, and spending hundreds of dollars on new models that are unnecessary can be really a blow to many people. I urge Microsoft to reconsider, and allow those of us who happily utilize this excellent product to continue doing so, without threats of risk, or actual risk, just to add to its profits.

Vladimir Spivakov, a leading Russian conductor, has signed a public letter pledging a full support to President Putin’s aggression toward Ukraine. Now Spivakov is coming on tour to the US and Canada. We do not welcome Spivakov here!

Keystone Progress has learned that a backroom deal by Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey may result in President Obama appointing a Tea Party lawyer to serve as judge on the Western Pennsylvania District Court in Pittsburgh. The nomination of David J. Porter is working its way to the White House as part of a deal between Pennsylvania’s two United States Senators. Senators Casey and Toomey are expected to jointly present Porter to President Obama any day now as part of a deal that will allow Casey to nominate people for 3 other vacancies. Insiders say Toomey and the Republican Party are willing to make any deals necessary to get Porter on the bench. He represents the type of jurist the GOP hopes to place on the bench across the country. Porter is not just a lawyer with a right-wing point of view. He is a right wing activist and leader in anti-choice, anti-marriage equality, pro-gun movements in Pennsylvania. He is not just a member of the Republican Party. Porter is well-known in legal circles for being part of the Rick Santorum wing of the Republican Party. In fact, he has served as Santorum’s counsel. See more at: http://keystoneprogressblog.blogspot.com/