The People of Santa Cruz are put through the distressing task of trying to get to the Eastern Main Road every morning, which takes at least two hours in traffic from upper Santa Cruz to the Santa Cruz old road. While we acknowledge that traffic is a nationwide problem, we continue to experience further delays as our roads deteriorate with widening pot holes along the saddle, causing undue stress to those leaving Santa Cruz. This is unacceptable and the people of Santa Cruz are demanding that our roads be fixed immediately. We have lived through months of this distress. The roads are patched poorly and return to their obscene condition shortly thereafter. We have a newly elected government, but the local government body has not changed! We demand attention NOW! This is our democratic right!

Natural resources such as water and gas belong to future generations as well. We cannot simply burn it all up, sell if off cheaply and trash our planet with more plastics. Building a huge chemical refinery within an urban center holds too many dangers for our safety, air and water and the well being of our sensitive natural environment.

Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) outnumber real women's health centers by 3 to 1. These centers do not have medical personnel on staff, do not provide effective contraception to women or men, provide no actual health services and dupe vulnerable women into believing that they are actual medical facilities. According to Salon.com: "More often than not, CPCs — which now outnumber abortion clinics by an estimated 3 to 1 — can be misleading, manipulative or downright coercive, pushing a distinctly antiabortion agenda that relies heavily on lying to clients. Investigations have time and again uncovered evidence that these centers, many of which are religiously affiliated, purposely attempt to portray themselves as secular medical providers that provide comprehensive care for women facing unintended pregnancies. They don't, though, and often don’t even have licensed medical professionals on the premises." In fact, California just passed a law requiring CPCs to disclose to women ALL of their legal options regarding their pregnancies. Not surprisingly, this is being challenged in court, as the CPCs wish to continue their blatant campaign to misinform and lie to women. Even worse, there are those in Congress who wish to honor these institutions who knowingly take taxpayer money to misinform and harass women. From the Lady Parts Justice League: "Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) introduced resolutions in the Senate and House that designate the week of November 8, as "National Pregnancy Center Week." National Pregnancy Centers are not medical institutions. They are not staffed by doctors or trained medical professionals. These are fake clinics created by anti-choice activists with the sole purpose of shaming women into continuing their pregnancies. They actively deprive women of reproductive health information in the name of discouraging them from choosing abortion." It is a complete waste of taxpayer dollars, not to mention an affront to the basic tenet of "separation of church and state" to continue to funnel taxpayer dollars to these religion based institutions. Please stand up and say "No" to taxpayer funding of these dishonest, religion based faux medical facilities.

The Bureau of Land Management proposes to lease 31,000 acres of public mineral rights under the Wayne National Forest to fracking companies. Fracking on the Wayne would cause significant socioeconomic and environmental problems. The Wayne Forest Supervisor has the power to withold consent and block the sale. Instead of bowing to political and corporate power, Scardina needs to listen to the public, follow environmental law, and just say #leaveitintheground

We want healthy and safe school hours for ALL Greenwich students. When teens get the required 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep: • School attendance goes up • Tardiness decreases • They sleep less in class • They have fewer car accidents • They visit nurses and counselors less often • They report less depression and irritability • They suffer fewer concussions and sports injuries Starting school early, without a doubt, undermines optimal health and success.

Closter Dock Road is a county road that runs through the towns of Closter and Alpine in Bergen County. Closter Dock Road is traveled by tractor trailers and over-sized vehicles every day, which not only create excessive noise and pollution, but even more alarming, these vehicles create a safety hazard to anyone living or traveling along this road. The trucks also clog up downtown Closter, and once Closter Plaza is finished, traffic and congestion will be even worse. Local government’s hands are tied by the county, so we need your support to force the county to change the conditions that exist on Closter Dock Road and help make our towns safer and a better place to live. Our beautiful, historic town is being negatively impacted by all these commercial vehicles. Please sign our petition; we need your help!

I am a Native American student who attends Norte Vista High School in Riverside, CA. Seeing the misrepresentation and dehumanization of my culture is demeaning and morally inappropriate. This mascot falsely iconizes Indigenous people and treats us as if race is a logo. Let's settle this once and for all; this is the first step in recognizing Natives as actual people not a mystical joke. Next Thursday I will be going in front of the Superintendent of the District and the other Board Members to present my proposal of a Mascot change for my high school Norte Vista. Though our mascot isn't the Redskins, it is still a Brave. The portrayal of the two are still the same just with a different name. According to "Missing the Point Center for American Progress": Research shows that these team names and mascots can establish an unwelcome and hostile learning environment for American Indian/Alaskan Native students. It also reveals that the presence of AI/AN mascots directly results in lower self-esteem and mental health for AI/AN adolescents and young adults. And just as importantly, studies show that these mascots undermine the educational experience of all students, particularly those with little or no contact with indigenous and AI/AN people. In other words, these stereotypical representations are too often understood as factual representations and thus “contribute to the development of cultural biases and prejudices.” Racist team names and mascots provide a misrepresentation of AI/AN people that masks the very real and continuing hardships that these communities endure today. " It's sad to say, but we need the US government's help in some way when it comes to bettering our communities. This is all due to the point in history where the US intentionally wanted to make the Natives reliant on the government in a way to get rid of us and assimilate us (Termination Era, Allotment, Federal Indian Law, Federal Trust Responsibility etc etc). Up until President Obama, no US president has paid any attention to the sovereign nations. They pushed us to the side and paid no attention to us. How can we expect to work with the US when it is filled with people who think of us as a joke, as something of the past because of these mascots and Hollywood portrayals and being cut out of the History curriculum (which is another thing I want to change, but one step at a time). The change of mascot is one step in the right direction. Adidas even said they're willing to help out financially, so what's stopping us? Thank you for your time and your support. It would mean a lot if you shared this link with everyone you know, Native and Non-Native. Wopila!

Many of us have first-hand knowledge of the sacrifices that our veterans have experienced. For countless veterans, the sacrifices continue. Veterans Day is the day that we as a nation honor our veterans. Yet, veterans employed in the private sector compete for this day off with their non-veteran counterparts. Those veterans are required to use their accrued time off. All veterans should have this day off without reservation.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing to increase the mandatory minimum sentence for gun crimes from one year to three years. There is no evidence that this approach has a significant effect on gun violence. Illinois should reduce gun violence through strategies that work: improve economic conditions (increase jobs) and reduce the number of firearms in circulation, particularly firearms that are not legally owned (registered).

The payment of dues in the 2014/2015 academic session was compulsory for all NUESAITES, the association led by Salami Oluwafemi, aka Anomalous has in no way or the other give back to the students in spite of large turn up, for the dues, we are suspecting an act of embezzlement, we hereby demand for the investigation of his regime, before we are forced to pay another which might follow the same trend. #SayingNoToCorruption

There are so many more boy characters in Pokemon. I'm 7 years old and go to Jackson Street Elementary School. My sister Chloe, my friends, and I like to play Pokemon and we like things to be fair. If there aren't as many girl characters, it's not fair and it's not as much fun to play.

Dear Friends and Allies, Building off the momentum from the success of the Soil Not Oil Conference, we are reaching out to invite you to support THE SOIL NOT OIL PLEDGE, as part of our ongoing campaign in defense of soils worldwide. (Please forward widely)