There is a public hearing on Monday, Oct. 26th at 5:30, City Hall Room 416. If you can't attend, please sign the petition and let the Director of Public Works know you are opposed. We are outraged that these valued trees may be lost from our urban landscape! These two trees are part of a much longer buffer on the edge of USF and our neighborhood. They block out the ugly USF dormitories and baseball field from our neighborhood and they absorb cheers and the PA system sounds from the stadium. They are Significant Trees, not merely street trees! Thanks for your help!

We, the undersigned, together with Don’t Shoot Portland, the Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs, SURJ Portland, and members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem's Social Justice Team, call upon Governor Kate Brown, Senate President Peter Courtney, House Speaker Tina Kotek, and every other state legislator to acknowledge that Black Lives Matter and to acknowledge the following: The Problem—The Mississippi state flag, prominently displaying the Confederate battle flag in its design, flies in “Walk of Flags” Park. The Confederate battle flag is problematic in the following ways: —As a symbol of terror, hate and racist ideology, now and in the past. The symbols on the Confederate battle flag have always been used in conjunction with white supremacy. —As a symbol of the fight to maintain institutional human slavery. Flying the flag conveys the message that “The South will rise again” which, to people of color, means a return to exploitation and the enacted belief that some people are inherently worth less than others. —As a symbol used recently in Oregon, for example, to protest President Obama’s visit supporting the families affected by the terrorist shooting in Roseburg. Racism has no place in Oregon. The symbology of hate and terror are not acceptable. The Impact—The impact of the State of Oregon flying the flag of the State of Mississippi is that Oregon symbolically supports the legacy of racism. People who live in Oregon both expect and deserve more, specifically expressions of government that aspire to equality and justice for all, rather than lifting up and affirming white supremacy, which does real harm in our state every day. Flying this flag says that Oregon is home for some, but not all, which is the wrong message for our state. The Solution—For too long, Oregonians have remained silent in the face of state-supported racism. This time, Oregonians will not remain silent and will begin to loosen the stranglehold that racism has on the state. The time to face this facet of the problem is now. The removal of Confederate flag symbol is a significant step towards racial equity and sends a clear signal to Mississippi and the rest of the nation that everyone must begin the real work needed to dismantle racism. As Oregon confronts the legacy of this flag, it must confront its own legacy of forming redlines, sundown towns, and other ways it continues to systematically marginalize and hurt people of color. The Action—Therefore, we call upon Oregon state lawmakers to take immediate action to remove the Mississippi flag from the “Walk of Flags” Park until such time as the citizens of Mississippi remove all racist symbology from their banner. January is not soon enough; the time to act is now.

My fiancé has been gainfully employed since he was 18 years old, has four children to support, and was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, which hit him out of nowhere and has left him unable to work in his previous field or any other as he has no energy, shakes horribly, cannot drive, write or walk unassisted most of the time. Despite all of this Disability has consistently denied him disability benefits. We are finally at the point that he gets a determination hearing in front of a judge, but disability has 414 days to schedule the hearing, which leaves us in a horrible bind for an additional year.

I am very concerned about how easily guns are accessed.

I am a citizen of Chicago and therefore deeply concerned about justice in our city. As Aristotle observed, a city without justice is no city at all.

As a candidate for Canadian Prime Minister, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau committed to scrapping any purchase of the costly Lockheed Martin F-35 jet. [1] Now that he is Prime Minister-designate following Canada’s election, we encourage him to follow through on his pledge, dismissing claims that this would make the US unhappy. Refusing to purchase the F-35 has been portrayed in some US media as a slap at the US. The New York Times even claimed that if the US didn’t approve the Keystone pipeline, Canada could retaliate by refusing to buy the F-35. [2] But US taxpayers have no interest in the Pentagon’s efforts to keep this costly program alive. [3] On the contrary, US taxpayers will be better off when the taxpayer-ripoff F-35 program is killed completely, and Trudeau’s fulfillment of his pledge will bring that happy day closer because the Pentagon’s plans to keep the boondoggle alive depend crucially on foreign purchases. Encourage Prime Minister-designate Trudeau to dismiss claims that canceling Canadian purchase of the F-35 is “anti-US” and fulfill his pledge by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/09/20/liberals-would-scrap-f-35-jet-purchase.html; http://www.defenseone.com/management/2015/10/what-if-canada-doesnt-buy-f-35/122976/ 2. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/business/energy-environment/obamas-keystone-pipeline-decision-risks-new-problems-either-way.html 3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/07/25/how-the-f-35-boondoggle-shows-that-deficit-hawkery-is-a-sham/; http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/07/14/pentagons-big-budget-f-35-fighter-cant-turn-cant-climb-cant-run/; http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/07/09/3458101/f35-boondoggle-fail/

On October 12th, Derral Hodgkins became the 26th person released from Florida's death row due to wrongful conviction. Florida has released more people from death row than any other state. Governor Scott has overseen 21 executions during his tenure. If he allows the next scheduled execution to occur on October 29th, he will have overseen more executions than any other Florida governor.

My son name is Darmen Taylor He is now 20 years old he was charged when he was 16. Then he was bonded over at 17 the judge stated he could not be rehabilitated in the juvenile system. Because he had counseling when he was ten. During the same time one of the alleged victims wrote a letter to the judge starting that her mom put her up to this. She was took to the detective by her aunt and wrote another statement. The judge asked her did she right it she stated no and they bonded him over. Then we are getting ready for trial. These charges came about when my friend for 15 years was sleeping with my son. In turn she called the police and said he raped her two daughters. Now in the mean time I found out that 3 other adults we're sleeping with my son before all these charges came up. I called rape crisis they told me that I would have to call the police or they would. I did. But nothing was done. The prosecutor on the case stated that my son manipulated the mother to get to her children. He has been around this family since he was 3 or 4 years old. Then the lawyer leaves me out of the court room because I have to testify and the aunt of the alleged victims. But he put no one on the stand. Then they found my son guilty of 2 of the three charges of rape. He did not have a far trial. Then the lawyer says the judge is going to send my son to jail for 45 years to life and say he need to take a plea or I will never see my son again. He told my son that he would not do anything but 10 years and will be out in 5 and it wasn't a mandatory sentence. But it was all a lie he was sentence to 20 years mandatory. Its so much to this story please help my son please!

I'm conservative, a gun owner, and I voted against President Obama twice. But as a responsible American, I have come to accept the reality that gun violence has reached a point of crisis in our country, and that we all need to set aside political differences to unite on this important issue. Since the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon two weeks ago, there have been seven more school shootings—a total of 152 school shootings since the Sandy Hook massacre. Each year, countless numbers of guns are sold by unlicensed, high-volume sellers through internet websites and at gun shows. Nearly a quarter of a million gun sales originate from one single website. Unlicensed sellers at gun shows often openly advertise guns for sale with prominent signage saying, “No Paperwork Necessary.” All entities “engaged in the business of selling firearms” should be held to the same standard of requiring background checks. President Obama should close this loophole through executive action by clearly defining in the law the difference between an “occasional seller” and one that is “engaged in the business of selling firearms.” But given the power of the well-funded gun lobby, it's only going to happen if we set aside political differences and unite on this ever so important issue for the safety and security of our nation. Please join me in encouraging President Obama to utilize his executive authority to move on this issue quickly and decisively. We need action NOW!

Who hasn't been personally affected by Brett?

We need to help put an end to Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, as well as their inhumane treatment of the Palestinians.

On October 24, 2015, the International Association of Chiefs of Police are convening in Chicago, IL. In the midst of this growing crisis, they should be discussing how to share power with impacted communities. A strong coalition of community, social justice and labor organizations are mobilizing to demand the chiefs of police- our employees- support community control over police and independent special prosecutors to investigate every instance of death at the hands of police. The counter protest is scheduled for Saturday, October 24 beginning at 12 noon, from SEIU HCII 2229 South Halstead in downtown Chicago. For more information, to participate or to support the counter convening, visit IShockedtheSheriff.org.