Squatters Action for Secure Homes (SQUASH) have produced two reports, “The Case Against Section 144” (March 2013), and “Homes, Not Jails” (April 2015) outlining the failings of s144 LASPOA, and how the new law is disproportionately affecting the homeless and vulnerably-housed. Many young people have been arrested, prosecuted and jailed unnecessarily under the law, while others have died from exposure in the winter months. For more info: http://www.squashcampaign.org/resources/

Junipero Serra High School is participating in a "Lenten Justice Project" where our focus is on raising money and awareness for the financially impoverished of San Mateo County. We also want to make policy changes. The bay area is a very expensive place to live. More and more people are becoming homeless because of the cost of living and low wages. We don't want to kick them off the streets or make criminals out of them for not having a place to call home. Our mission is to be in solidarity with and to fight for those who don't have a roof over their heads.

Sound Transit's Link Light Rail has recently expanded to include service to Capitol Hill and UW. While this is an excellent addition, the last service both to and from these areas is before 1AM. Most bars close at 2AM, leaving riders to take a taxi or rideshare back, so instead some people choose to drive - and then drive home drunk. Expanding service until 2:30AM on Fridays/Saturdays and 1:30AM on other days would not only help decrease drunk driving but likely be cost effective given the high demand of Seattle's excellent bars, which are now served by the new stations. This petition is to request that the Sound Transit Board of Directors expand operating hours for the good of public safety and service to our community.

Not only is the Central Library Marcel Breuer's final building, but it's considered one of his finest by architects and scholars. Opened in 1980, the Central Library is one of the best examples of late Modernist Architecture. It is the result of an era in which Atlanta emerged as an international center for culture and business. Breuer's Central Library, along with John Portman's Peachtree Plaza Hotel and Richard Meir's High Museum, among other projects, were built not only to serve the people of Atlanta, but to be an expression of the city's unique energy, vitality and sophistication, a role the library continues to play to this day. Preserving the Central Library will ensure that future Atlantans and visitors can experience an important piece of art in the museum of architecture that is our city. Renaming the building for its architect would emphasize Atlanta's reputation as an international center for business, culture and architecture by honoring one of the world's great architects.

We oppose this application in order to prevent destruction and pollution of this property which is near our beautiful Roosevelt Forest, and threatens our wetlands.

Thousands of local soccer-playing children in Annapolis, Maryland, many of whom are low-income minorities, are being denied equal access to modern, new, recreation and athletics facilities in publicly-owned parks located in their neighborhoods because of favoritism and cronyism on the part of the Director of Recreation and Parks, Rick Anthony. Mr. Anthony and his staff consistently award preferential access to the newest and most modern park facilities to elite groups from outside our town, who shouldn't even be permitted to use the facilities, and they deny equal access to the local residents. Elite travel teams from outside our town are being awarded most of the access to modern, newly constructed, recreation and athletics facilities in publicly owned parks in our town, while local children, many of whom are low-income minorities, are being relegated to inferior, poorly maintained, mostly dirt and stone fields that are not safe places to play. Mr. Anthony and his staff do not even follow the department's own adopted and published guidelines and policies. They violate the county's own guidelines and policies to make exceptions for a privileged group. They consistently make exceptions for one particular elite travel soccer group that seems to have Mr. Anthony's ear. Stop the conflicts of interest. Stop the insider deals. This must be stopped. Fair and equal access for the local residents must be restored.

The City of Eugene has been criminalizing our homeless community members for years and continues to do so at great cost. People have been arrested for violating no trespassing signs when sheltering themselves from the weather. Their RV's in which they live have been impounded along with all the belongings in them. They have been giving out violations and tickets for "illegal" camping and yet the City has not put the necessary effort needed into providing adequate shelter. In fact they have been doing things to make it even more challenging for people to self-shelter, such as constructing fences. Fences were constructed by the City (Parks and Open Space) under the overpass near 1st and Jefferson, near Washington Jefferson Park with a budget of $67,000. They were built in addition to the fences that were previously constructed in the park. Instead of using that money to come up with a solution to people having to live without shelter, they are using it to push people out of spaces that provide some shelter from the rain as well as a safer place to sleep. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights lists all of our human rights, including the right to housing. The City is not only in violation of this human right, but is also exacerbating this violation by not allowing people to self-shelter themselves. Recently the U.S. Department of Justice issued a brief in a court case that said punishing people who are sleeping outside when there are insufficient numbers of shelter beds being provided is a violation of the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and thus "cruel and unusual punishment. Preventing people from accessing a place to self-shelter it seems is equally a violation. There are plans for more fencing to be constructed in other areas as well, which means more of our taxpayers' money being used to do so. Please tell the City of Eugene, to remove any and all fences already constructed and to stop plans of any future fence construction as well.

The Green Meadow Elementary School's playground has drainage problems so our children cannot play on it for much of the school year, and it is not accessible to children with disabilities. The taxpayers in Maynard have already set aside funds to improve recreation opportunities in town through the Community Preservation Act. We need full funding to move forward with the construction phase of this project.

To bring to their official attention public opposition of the proposed western bypass around Ashland for High Speed Rail.

Well over a hundred households are impacted by the condition of our road. We travel it daily commuting to and from work. Our children are transported to their schools. The road conditions impact the condition of our vehicles, the values of our properties, the health of our neighbors. Flash flooding blocks roads for emergency personnel and further erode the remaining asphalt. We want our road fixed and will not be ignored.

The issue at hand has caused havoc in my community as well as surrounding communities. The fact that the state laws that are in place are not being enforced is causing issues. These issues range from rent spikes, living conditions, health concerns and much more. The laws need to be changed so inspections are done on a local level, as well as enforcements. The fact that the states Licensing and Regulation Agency has not enforced codes and has a lax system of approving licenses to operate is causing deplorable living conditions as well as health concerns. These communities were created for an affordable means of living. However, the elderly, limited income residents, residents with handicaps, along with others are being taken advantage of. This needs to stop! And this starts with you helping to give voice to this concern. Please take a moment to sign and share so we can make a change in your community as well as ours. Don't let the silence cause evictions for others, and let's not let the state and nation sit idly by while it happens! Thank you in advance for your support on these issues, have a blessed day. Sincerely, Ginger Dowdle Community organizer in MICHIGAN

More than 5,000 children are in the custody of Mississippi's child welfare system. Despite a lawsuit settled several years ago, the child welfare system is still under-funded and over-burdened. The Division of Family & Children's Services is asking the state legislature to fully fund its programming so the agency can hire the case workers needed to properly care for and improve the child welfare system.