The Cabot project has been in the Schematic Design phase of the MSBA process since August 6, 2015. The project entered this phase with the current design as the preferred design, and the project team has been working on refinements to the design for the past 8 months. The project team has sought and considered input from the school administration, parents, neighbors and organizations such as Safe Routes to School and the Newton Historical Commission throughout this time and has worked in an open and transparent manner. The Cabot School Building Committee voted unanimously, excepting one abstention, to approve the current design on April 5, 2016. The city’s agreement to purchase the property at 23 Parkview Avenue this winter helped in this process by providing the opportunity to improve the traffic flow around the school site. It did not, in any way, offer new options for the placement of portions of the school building. All land that is currently available for siting the school structure has been available to the team throughout the design process. While there has been a request by the Ward 2 City Councilors to explore alternative design options subsequent to the approval of the current design, these options are not new concepts. Moreover, their request stems largely from meetings with a small group of residents outside the public process focusing on the aesthetics of the design that are, by nature, subjective . Re-examining alternative design concepts now, would obstruct the open, collaborative committee process and would result in costly delays to this and other school projects in the city. If this delay and reconsideration is permitted, a precedent would be set for similar obstructions to this project later in the process and/or to future building projects throughout Newton. Additionally, the community’s trust in the honesty and fairness of the building process would be significantly eroded. Residents of Newton want to avoid the type of delays and cost overruns experienced in the Newton North High School project, not repeat them. This is precisely why adhering to the open, public design process and supporting the design approved by the CSBC on April 5, 2016, is so important.

The U.S. government, through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), has unjustly tried to evict me and my son from my home of 15 years. Having been hurt on the job, I became re-employed but the bank would not accept payments or modify the FHA-backed loan. Through the FHA/HUD mortgage program, the Secretary of HUD has not only allowed thousands of unjust foreclosures across the country, but Secretary Castro continues to encourage banks to profit off the suffering of our communities by peddling massive bank bailouts for foreclosures (FHA is planning to write a check to MidFirst Bank for over 240% of the original value of the loan for my family home.) Together we can stop the foreclosures! Take a stand for community land! -Elizabeth McGriff

I have been working on fighting against the devastation caused by the existence of the four beer stores in Whiteclay since 2009, and allegations of many illegalities (including sex trafficking) are rampant among the native people. Alcohol is wreaking havoc on the lives of the tribal people: addiction, fetal alcohol syndrome, domestic violence. I am a Nebraskan and feel compelled to campaign against this situation.

Changing Walton Dune’s Neighborhood Beach Access to Regional Beach Access will have a significant negative environmental impact, destroying dunes and a critical habitat area as designated by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. It will also increase safety and traffic concerns, as this area has neither outlet nor turnaround for public or emergency vehicles, and the added congestion created will exacerbate the already present overcrowding issues on the narrow road and small beach. More information can be found at 30abeachside.com. ---------------------------------------- 6/4/16 - Some confusion has surfaced by combining the issue of changing the Walton Dunes (NBA) into a Regional Beach Access an (RBA) and the issue of private landowner/customary land use. These are completely separate and distinct topics. The Walton Dunes Neighborhood Beach Access (NBA) has been a public access point not only for the neighborhood but the general community for decades. I hear no one suggesting that this access should or could be private. Opposition to the RBA is largely based on preventing the escalation of unsafe traffic conditions and preserving a pristine area for residents and visitors alike. The area in question is pristine. The dunes, which were decimated by Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis, are making a comeback. The Walton Dunes NBA was scraped clean when used by the county to remove debris from the beach area. The dunes now are several feet tall and growing each year. The area is home to nesting turtles, flora and fauna. Words from a song "They paved paradise to put up a parking lot" come to mind. The Walton Dunes NBA is located 1/2 mile from County Highway 30A off of Lakewood Drive. This area is congested; with no other outlet or turn around, narrow streets, blind corners and no continuous sidewalk to the beach. The area consists of hundreds of residential and multi-unit complexes, with construction at an all-time high. This area provides over 1,000 rental opportunities for individuals a day, not to mention the full time residents - most of which use the Walton Dunes NBA. When combined with pedestrian, bicycle, construction, service and local vehicular traffic, the traffic and safety concerns only escalate. The placement of a parking lot on Beachfront Trail will only magnify already dangerous conditions and will require several homeowner associations to drive through said parking lot to access their residences. If the goal is to provide additional access/parking to tourist and locals outside of the neighborhood (1/2 mile radius of the location in question), we must deal with reality. Changing the Walton Dunes Neighborhood Beach Access (NBA) into a Regional Beach Access (RBA) changes nothing except increasing traffic tension and paving a portion of this pristine area. The neighborhood who has learned to use the NBA "as is" will quickly park in the parking places and compete for what little beach is left after construction. This will bring us full circle, leaving those tourist and locals outside the neighborhood still frustrated with no access/parking and heavily used beach.

I am a Puerto Rican American who along with the other 8.5 million, cares about Puerto Rico, its culture and its heritage!

At 19 years old, Robert Chambers was shot in the back of the head by deputy Steven Glidden of the Houston County Sherrif's office. With mounting evidence of police misconduct and a cover up, civil rights attorneys for Robert's mother, Sharese Wells, have filed paperwork to bring this case to trial. There were fingerprints that were never analyzed, a gun that didn’t match up to reports and another possible suspect in the burglary he was a suspect in, among other inconsistencies. By his own admission, Glidden says he didn’t see a gun on Chambers as he ran. Please sign this petition asking Loretta Lynch and GF Peterman of the Department of Justice to bring civil rights or criminal charges against the officer so that Robert's loved ones can have a chance at justice.

I have been doing research on childhood obesity in Mississippi; this is an urgent problem for which solutions exist. I believe the children of Mississippi need more than simply a law in words. They need a law in action.

I think the rise of Donald Trump is evidence enough that the educational standards of this country have sunk well below acceptable. They need to be supreme.

Roadside Memorials around the Tucson area are considered by many to be sacred sites, worthy of protection. They stand as as a reminder that life is precious and driving with caution saves lives. Don't let them be removed from our landscape. Let's spend the money being used to remove these sacred sites on improving the quality of the roads themselves-

The proposed Pescadito dump will be bringing industrial, demolition and special wastes that are toxic into Webb County by rail and truck, from industries within an 800 mile radius. This includes materials like coal ash, which carries significant health risks for humans, livestock and most importantly, our air and water. Pescadito will also accept maquiladora and other industrial waste by rail from Mexico, which will not even be inspected until it has already crossed the Rio Grande. The proposed site is within the floodplain, on the Pescadito creek, which empties into the Rio Grande. Local landfills have more than 100 years of life remaining. We don't need this dump. Read more at http://NoLaredoDump.com. Sign this petition, or sign a paper petition when you see our volunteers in public. Just stand with us and CALL them out!

We applaud reforms outlined in Senator Sanders' plans for combating detriment to our ecosystem; however, there is one immensely destructive industry not addressed. Animal-agriculture is a major cause of climate-change pollution, water pollution, drought, water shortage, deforestation, land degradation, species extinction, and contributes to world hunger. We are calling to end animal-agriculture subsidies. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found animal-agriculture responsible for 14.5% - 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions - more than the entire transportation sector. Climate scientists published a report detailing missing data from the FAO's calculations, and pegged the real figure at a whopping 51%. In the 2000 National Water Quality Inventory conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency, agricultural activity was identified as a source of pollution for 48% of stream and river water, and for 41% of lake water. The top source of this pollution is the storage and disposal of animal waste. First, storage tanks often leak, rupture, or overflow. Second, the way the industry disposes of the waste is by spraying it onto farms as fertilizer; however, the farms produce far more waste than is needed for this application, so the (excessive) excess runs off into surrounding water systems. High levels of nitrogen and phosphorous, an effect of fertilizer runoff, is the most common form of water pollution in the United States. In addition, there are toxic substances in the animals’ excretions, such as pharmaceuticals and bacteria, which cause damage to the environment, wildlife, and human health. The amount of water used to raise animals for human consumption dwarfs the amount used for growing plants for us to consume. A hundred billion gallons of water is being exported from California each year - in the form of alfalfa, to feed livestock. That’s enough to provide for the yearly water usage of a million families. The UN estimates that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world's population could be living under water stressed conditions. Occupying over half of Earth’s arable land; animal-agriculture is behind the majority of deforestation, land degradation, and species extinction. Despite these intensive impacts, it has been estimated that one in eight people still suffer from food scarcity - and it's only getting worse. According to the FAO, "the number of hungry is currently climbing at the rate of some four million a year." Animal-agriculture is in fact a contributor to world hunger. For example they use land in Africa to grow soybeans to feed to cattle in the United States instead of feeding soybeans to starving people in Africa. Even those still consuming products of animal-agriculture ought to end taxpayer money propping up this destructive industry, as many in the scientific and health communities have warned us of the need to curb consumption. Also, there are no two ways about it: animal-agriculture is unconscionably cruel to the individuals who are its commodities. In contrast; fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds build health and prevent and reverse disease affordably with healthy carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. Fruit trees and plants actually sequester carbon in the soil where it belongs. In light of all we know about industrialized animal-agriculture's devastating impacts on the health of the planet and people, as well as its inherently inhumane exploitation of sentient beings, it does not make sense for us to be subsidizing it. This is a case of the profits of a few taking precedence over the benefit of the many. Bringing an end to all funding, both direct and indirect, of animal-agriculture by the U.S. government would be a huge step with many positive effects, not the least of which is helping to reverse catastrophic environmental deterioration.

As an objective observer, it's plain to see that Detroit school children and their education are continually place in jeopardy because the state of Michigan regards them as little more than expendable pawns in a political chess game. No child's education--and by extension, their lives--should ever be so easy to play with.