because he is mean

It has come to the attention of the Cape Ann Performing Arts Community that Mr. Ian McColl, former Director at the Gloucester Stage Company, The West End Theater, Co-Producer of Gloucester Chicken Shack, Producer of Family Theater, Scrooge, etc. - has become homeless. He finds occasional respite in friends homes. He has been living on the street since May 2015. He is homeless by no fault of his own. The following is confirmed through discussion with Mr. McColl, the GHA, and Action Inc. Mr. McColl is a 63-year-old, former home owner in East Gloucester. A series of difficult personal losses have been compounded by the natural effects of alcohol dependency. He lived on Chestnut Street in a lodging home run by Wellspring, subsidized by GHA, for three years. There were no official requirements of any kind attached to his occupancy other than that no alcohol be on premises. November 2014 he was informed by the house manager that in January 2015 Wellspring would not renew his lease. There are no known official violations, broken rules nor outstanding rent of any kind. They had arranged for him to go to a 60 day Detoxification Program. They had no legal right to require him to do this. This left Mr. McColl with no options for housing, no income, not yet receiving social security income. He was advised by two attorneys to remain in his room. This led Wellspring to take action to move him. He was granted the right to remain until May 2015. In December of 2014, he filled out the application for an apartment through Gloucester Housing. There is an expected wait time of approx 18 months. He needs housing now. Once Mr. McColl is settled into his own apartment he will likely be a wonderful, entertaining addition to the community. He will be honest, thoughtful, helpful and kind, will help the more elderly and volunteer at the meal sites. Correspondence and communication may be mailed to Mr. McColl c/o 84 Prospect Street, Gloucester, MA. You may call Mr. McColl at 978 873 1688.

I'm a teacher in Wyoming and am about to have my second active shooter drill at the elementary school where I teach. It's time to stop having drills and start changing the law. If I didn't live in a such a gun-loving state, I would even go as far as to say all guns, or at least automatic weapons, should be banned from WY.

National and state legislators as a whole seem unable to stand up to the NRA and gun manufacturing lobbies. I would hope that our local community leaders can stand up to likely political or financial pressure to continue these gun shows at the large Cow Palace venue; if they take a strong position against the gun shows, a powerful point would be made. How many deaths and injuries will it take to turn this situation around?

Thanks again!

Thanks!

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired of gun violence. I worked with Brady and local anti-gun groups after Newtown.

East St. Louis teachers and support staff have been on strike since October 1st. Superintendent Culver’s priority seems to be hiring more top-level administrators rather than negotiating a fair deal with teachers and support staff who have had their pay frozen for three years. More information ---> http://ow.ly/TbT8z

This petition has been started because John McCain needs to be reigned in, and publicly condemned for his public threats and provoking of war in the Middle East and across the European Union in places like Ukraine and Crimea against Russia. Whether it's the nuclear deal with Iran or the arming of Syrian rebels against a sovereign and elected leader in President Bashir al Assad John McCain is looking for a fight, looking to send our sons and daughters off to war, yet again, while his children, both natural and adopted, stay home and live off their mother's brewery inheritances and his personal financial investments. John McCain has never, ever been held to any kind or sort of public accounting at any time in his historic life, and it is time for that to change. He should be censured by his colleagues in the United States Senate for invoking war or the public threat thereof. Thank you for your help with this petition, and please share this petition with all that you think would be interested in adding their names to our effort here.

Gun violence and arguments in favor of "the right to bear arms" are contributing mightily to a culture of self indulgence in this country. If we can tolerate/justify mass shootings, increased suicides, the message is anything goes in the realm of individual rights. My brother was one of the suicide by gun victims so its personal but it is also political. I prefer to live in a country that acts to preserve community, serves the populace as a whole as best it can. Get it safe. Enact strict gun control now.

This is a violation of human rights! We want Igor back to his family! Our friend, Igor Kuznetsov, has been arrested and detained by immigration. Igor is a green card holder and his wife and children are US citizens. Igor applied for his citizenship and his criminal history as a teenager came up. He was young, he was stupid and it happened one time and he learned his lesson. He plead guilty, served a few months of his probation and was over and done with it. He didn't hurt anyone, this was not a violent crime at all. He paid his dues to society. It was 15 YEARS AGO!!! He is now a husband and a father of three kids, with a stable job as an MTA bus driver for the City of New York. His wife and he had recently bought a house and now he so suddenly has been torn away from them! This is not some career criminal, this is a family man who did something stupid as a kid. Why does he have to pay for it twice? Why does his family, his wife and his children have to pay? Why didn't they tell him 15 years ago : " By the way, don't start a family, don't live a normal life, cause we'll come back to get you!"? Or is it too difficult to chase after real criminals that need to be deported, and it's oh so easy when people like Igor come straight into your hands for a citizenship interview? Igor's next court hearing is scheduled for March, 2016! THAT'S 6 MONTHS!!! How is his family supposed to handle this? How can a father be so easily torn away from his children? How can a hard working man that provides for his family be just taken away and his family left struggling? It makes no sense!!! Igor has to be with his family, hearing his little girl say her first words, not away in jail! What is the purpose of keeping him there? He only wants to be with his family. Please sign our petition and help us to bring Igor's story out there. People need to know that the government can just do that, rip people away from their families. Their own American citizen families. Help us bring Igor home!

The media monopolists are at it again. This time, Charter Communications (a $20 billion cable, phone, and broadband corporation) wants to buy Time Warner Cable and create a mega cable-and-internet company. This comes on the heels of Comcast’s attempts to buy Time Warner last year -- which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) blocked because consumers barely have a choice in the broadband market already, and limited competition can lock consumers into bad service at high prices. This merger can’t happen without the FCC’s approval -- and we can stop this bad proposal if we speak out. That’s what we did when Comcast tried to merge with Time Warner Cable -- more than a million Americans submitted public comments opposing the deal to the FCC, and the FCC listened. Now, we need to tell the FCC to stop another bad merger deal -- join us!