The San Francisco Bay Area's public transportation network cannot adequately serve the region's transportation needs. In response, employers and institutions around the Bay Area have begun providing bus services to their workers and students. These buses have been shown to reduce car ownership, eliminating 45 million vehicle miles travelled from Bay Area roadways each year, and reducing carbon emissions by 11,000 metric tons. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has developed a pilot program that would allow such buses to pay to use SFMTA bus stops to load and unload their students and workers. The program would allow San Francisco residents to continue to use shuttles to commute, while reducing negative impacts on Muni services.

The Home Defenders League, a Campaign for a Fair Settlement/Action for the Common Good partner, alerted us to an outrageous provision in New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposed budget. Here's the background. Last year JPMorgan Chase agreed to a $13 billion settlement (the largest ever between a corporation and a government) for helping to create the Great Recession and then stealing thousands of homes from struggling homeowners. $600 million of that goes to New York State and it’s supposed to be used for direct relief for homeowners. But not if Gov. Cuomo has his way. Instead of helping homeowners, the Governor wants to use that money to pay for a major cut to corporate taxes, including one called... the Bank Tax. That’s right. Gov. Cuomo wants to steal the settlement money from struggling homeowners and give it back to Wall Street criminals. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was able to use $136 million from a previous settlement to help thousands of families stave off foreclosure. We need the $600 million to alleviate the continuing pain from foreclosures and underwater mortgages. Adding to the outrage is the fact that Gov. Cuomo is stealing this money from New York's most vulnerable communities. Communities of color lost the most when Chase and other Wall Street bankers pushed us into the Great Recession – the median black household lost almost 84% of its household wealth in the recession. Latinos lost 66%, while white households lost some 34%. Now Gov. Cuomo wants to make sure the biggest losers stay the biggest losers. Because New York is one of the most populous states, if we let Gov. Cuomo get away with this, then Governors across the United States will think they can use this money for whatever they want, including paying off Wall Street criminals. We must stop this. Tell Gov. Cuomo: Don’t steal the Chase settlement money from struggling New York families and give it back to Wall Street criminals.

As a local resident that would be directly affected, I believe this location is not the best choice and that there are several land options in West Dundee that would be better suited for development. The density and architectural design of this project is not suited for West Dundee nor the neighboring community. We have serious concerns about how this overcrowd the current school system. We understand that more household brings more businesses, which is needed. But a focus on townhouses or single family homes with less density would be much better suited for West Dundee. This would fit the future of our small town and also accomplish a higher revenue of tax dollars.

I was at Whole Foods just before closing one night and the meat counter was almost full. I asked the employee behind the counter what they do with the meat at the end of the day. After me asking "Is it donated? Is it cooked for the salad bar? Is it given to the employees? Is it put out another day?" he acknowledged that, indeed, the expensive meat is thrown away at the end of everyday. The management refused to answer questions about what is wasted.

I'm am just a young man who believes that the world must stand as one against the oppression and extermination against people all over the world. Recognizing these acts as exactly what they are, genocide, is a vital first step in ending them once and for all.

We applaud Mayor Hancock for creating a Housing Advisory Committee and pledging to tackle affordable housing in his State of the City address. We believe that the housing plan the committee is creating is an essential step and that the public should be involved. We call on the Mayor and committee to host public meetings to discuss how this plan can address the housing crisis working families in the City of Denver are facing. This is an opportunity for our communities and we have the right to be a part of the decisions that will affect our neighborhoods. Estamos contentos que el Alcalde Hancock ha creado un comité de casas y esta comprometido con afrontar el problema que necesitamos viviendas económicas en su discurso sobre su estado y la cuidad. Creemos que el plan de viviendas económicas que el comité está creando se encuentra en una etapa esencial y creemos que el público debería de estar involucrado. Nosotros estamos pidiendo al alcalde y al comité a organizar juntas públicas para discutir como este plan puede solucionar la crisis de alrededor de viviendas económicas que familias trabajadoras en la Cuidad de Denver están enfrentando. Esta es una oportunidad para nuestras comunidades y tenemos el derecho de ser parte de las decisiones que van afectar a nuestra comunidad.

Future generations are going to run out of trees and Iron ore. We must start recycling before it is too late.

Rep. Darrell Issa of California -- the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee -- could make retail giant Target’s security breach look like child's play. He subpoenaed confidential documents from the federal contractor behind the healthcare exchange website despite repeated and explicit warnings, effectively putting millions of Americans’ privacy at risk. If leaked, these documents -- containing software code and technical information -- could make the site and its users vulnerable to hackers. The Chairman has a horrible track record of publicly leaking sensitive information, and he has already revealed portions of the documents in a public letter to Secretary Sebelius. Now that the documents are in the hands of Rep. Issa -- one of the loudest critics of the Affordable Care Act and HealthCare.gov -- there’s no telling what he might do.

With this sudden deregulation companies will be able to deny service to sites linked to their competitors, keeping consumers from looking at different services and deciding which company is best suited to their needs. This will also give service providers free reign to decide on pricing as well as increasing rates without having to conform to the government's standard, making millions pay more for the internet they have always had. If these deregulation efforts continue then companies will try to force us back into an old outdated media rather than innovate their own industry to adapt, something that has already held us back as a nation for the longest time.

The FDA does not require the labeling of GMO (genetically modified) food products, leaving consumers in the dark about the ingredients in their food. Without knowing, consumers across the country regularly consume food that contains GMOs. Most of the food available on store shelves today contains GMOs—and they’re not without risk. For one thing, studies suggest that genetically modified crops require a dramatic increase in the use of pesticides and herbicides, which have been linked to serious health impacts. In addition, there may be other serious dangers, but we just don’t know - there is very little independent research done on the health implications of GMO consumption because the seeds are patented and the companies that own them prohibit their cultivation for research purposes. It’s time that we label all foods that contain GMOs so that consumers can make informed choices. However, some big food manufacturers, along with chemical companies like Monsanto, are spending millions of dollars to oppose labeling. Consumers overwhelmingly want to know what they’re eating, and grocery stores are beginning to heed the call – just last year, Whole Foods committed to labeling. Now, we’re calling on Safeway to side with its customers and label its brands too.

Only through identifying committed supporters of Gerrymandering elimination and channeling our joint efforts, can we win this battle for voter rights and democracy as it will be fought in Ohio and eventually the rest of our Nation. With this petition, we can start to band together for this upcoming battle.

Myself and past students that have studied at the Prato campus found a warm and welcoming home at Caffè al Teatro Ristorante. They were amazing to us and provided us with not only great Italian food but also a wonderful Italian experience. They catered to our every need without any hesitations and did all they could to make our semester a great one without asking for anything in return. At UNH we consider each other family and at the university we take care of our family members. Caffè al Teatro is family and they should be treated like it!