More than a month after Hurricane Sandy, thousands of families in New York neighborhoods are still without heat, light or hot water. The delays in getting repairs to hardest-hit neighborhoods have resulted in a mounting mold problem. (Current mold issues are compounded for public housing residents who have dealt with city neglect on this issue more broadly for years.) Despite promises by officials, the re-building effort is too small and too slow. As of last week, more than 10,000 homes were still without electricity, and more than 8,500 families were still waiting for home assessments to be completed so they could start repairs. Thousands of families need action. They need electricity, heat and help with mold clean-up – and they need it now. Please join our petition to ask Mayor Bloomberg to expand the Rapid Repairs Program to include getting the electricity and heat turned on for all families currently on the waiting list by December 31 and to expanding the program to cover mold remediation. Alliance for a Greater New York (ALIGN) Center for Popular Democracy Community Voices Heard The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island Make the Road New York New York Communities for Change Occupy Faith Occupy Sandy PICO National Network Queens Congregations United for Action SEIU 1199

We need police protecting our schools, parks and public spaces on a much larger scale than currently afforded. We are spending billions to protect foreign nations whilst leaving our people in harms way. Yes to more First Responders.

My Parents are on Disability and are on Medicare. If the Government decides to cut Benefits for those who need these or other Services like it, then it will hurt Millions.

While the heartbreaking school massacre in Connecticut has us all rightly thinking about gun-control laws, our psychologists, sociologists, and physicians should also be studying causes of violence in American society and possible means of prevention. And yet, because of pressure from the gun lobby, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC has been denied any funding that “may be used to advocate or promote gun control” since 1996. How can we allow a business lobby to prevent not only legislation on so important a topic but even study and debate on the subject?

There has been an obvious link to the mental health issue of young adults, particularly males ages teens to early twenties, and the escalating number of horrific, violent incidents currently in outbreak in our country. We must take serious and diligent stock of this crisis now, before any more lives are lost.

There is an epidemic of mass murders. Our prisons are overflowing with mentally ill patients. The number of mentally ill patients that are homeless is staggering. We have to do a lot more. But this is one politically acceptable solution that could be approved soon. This is a first step, a step you could take in the presence of a highly divided political environment.

This week we all grieve as a nation for the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook Massacre that took place this week. We cannot make sense of this tragic loss of life. President Obama, you have called for meaningful action to prevent tragedies such as this, and I agree wholeheartedly. While gun control is an issue that should be addressed in due time, the more pressing issue is the paucity of access to adequate healthcare for the mentally ill.

We've been conditioned to think we need a barracuda to fight for distribution of assets and custody, but there's a better way: a family agency with a panel of experts working together to devise the best plan for the family. Husbands and wives don't need to be pitted against each other in a divorce. They just think they do because that's the dumb system. That system can be changed and so can your mindset. As an attorney, I am witness to the destructive nature of the family and domestic relations courts which treat family matters as if they were criminal proceedings. Violence should be handled in a criminal court, divorce and custody should not.

The tragedy in Connecticut may not be about gun control; this may be about dealing with mental health and illness issues. We need to call on local, state and federal government to work together to empower, support and enliven the mental health services in our communities. I still believe in the power of community, education and outreach. For a powerful perspective on this issue: http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html?m=1

We keep seeing people that communities identify as "not right" and "very disturbed" end up on the news after another mass shooting. Our state governments have walked away from their responsibility to keep our streets safe from people that do not fit in with our society. It is time for us to enact legislation that will create a positive movement to keeping our society safe without limiting our rights.

The Mayor's office says he wants a change of attitude toward public transportation - here is a start.

As a city resident the delay in response time vs. the $2000 savings Jon Arnold, Police Sgt. was quoted saying, is not worth the lives or homes that stand a loss because of the delay in dispatching. The citizens of Sandy, Utah are worth more than this savings.