Although they were reintroduced to the Southwest in 1998, there are still only 110 Mexican gray wolves in the wild, making them one of the world's most endangered wolves. They suffer from inbreeding and from ongoing persecution. The AZ Game and Fish Commission has advocated for killing wolves, even whole families, accused of depredating on livestock. It has sent letters to Congress advocating that Mexican gray wolves be stripped of their Endangered Species Act Protections. And it has done everything it can to stop the release of new adult wolves from captivity, desperately needed to boost the genetic health of the wild lobo population. Recently, the Commission voted to keep genetically valuable wolves in captivity instead of allowing their release into the wild where they are needed and belong. It bullied the US Fish and Wildlife Service into capping the number of endangered Mexican gray wolves allowed to live in the wild at only 325, with no basis in science or recovery planning, to trap any lobos who travel to key habitats north of I-40, and to make it easier to kill and remove these highly endangered wolves. We can't stand by while these beautiful, intelligent, extremely rare wolves are threatened with a second extinction in the wild.

The Linden Hills neighborhood spent $60,000 and 18 months of neighborhood meetings working with the City to write a Small Area Plan that provides a policy framework to guide developers proposing new buildings. The Linden Hills Small Area Plan is now part of the Minneapolis Plan for Sustainable Growth, which is intended to "protect the character and stability of residential areas within the city and to promote the orderly and beneficial development of those areas." The proposed building for 43rd & Upton is inconsistent with the Linden Hills Small Area Plan and is out of scale and character with surrounding uses. Against the wishes of the neighborhood, the developer wants a conditional use permit (CUP) to build a four-story 56' building (with parapet) that is 14 feet taller than C1 zoning allows as of right (42' without a CUP) now. The overall height of 56' is the maximum allowed for a four-story building in a C2 zone, but this corner is zoned C1 and the height limit is 42’. The proposed 19' height for the first floor alone is out of scale with all the adjacent buildings, and taller than the first-floor height of any previous proposal for this corner. This proposal is detrimental to the neighborhood and injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in downtown Linden Hills. Approving a conditional use permit would also set a precedent that would lead to effectively rezoning the other parcels in our C1 zone to C2 without the required legal process of public hearings. If the City grants this CUP, the builder will be allowed to ignore and bypass the vision and goals in the Linden Hills Small Area Plan, as well as the guidelines for height, setbacks, and transition areas between adjacent properties.

There is growing testimony, and statistical evidence, that someone altered the vote counts to tilt all close, state elections to the Republican candidates. To date, secretary of state Kobach has flatly refused to allow any sort of verification to occur, and is even fighting it in court. What are you hiding? Open the books!

A violent threat toward teachers is inexcusable, especially made by the leader of a state. This derogatory statement to punch teachers in their faces also influences students to be disrespectful towards teachers, as well. I am a hard-working public school teacher and I do not deserve this disrespectful comment made by an individual who should be a role model to those in his state and elsewhere in the U.S. A public apology should be made to teachers as this type of behavior cannot continue to be a part of Gov. Chris Christie's rhetoric or plan for the White House.

Please join our interfaith coalition in asking Gov. Brown to sign Senate Bill 23, which will repeal the Maximum Family Grant rule. Right now, a child who is born into an impoverished family that already receives CalWORKs assistance receives no additional benefits – not even the modest additional benefit of $128 a month to help provide the things all young children need. (State law provides for a very few exemptions for children conceived as a result of rape or incest, or from the failure of certain types of birth control – forcing a mother to disclose personal and confidential medical information in order to receive aid for the newborn.) This harsh rule was instituted in the 1990's with the supposed goal of reducing birthrates among impoverished parents. There is no evidence that this has happened. Instead the policy has harmed children, driving families deeper into extreme poverty and homelessness and subjecting little ones to long-term negative consequences during their most vulnerable years. Our state is wealthy - the seventh largest economy in the world, yet 27 percent of our children live in poverty - the highest rate in the nation. Surely we can do better by our children. Repealing the Maximum Family Grant rule is a good place to start. Please sign this petition today and let Gov. Brown know where you stand. National Council of Jewish Women, California Lutheran Office of Public Policy, California California Catholic Conference California Church IMPACT Friends Committee on Legislation of California

As a New Yorker and retired Navy Nuclear trained Senior Chief, I have the utmost confidence in the assurance given by Energy Secretary Moniz that we are getting a good deal. It is imperative Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. Senator Schumer has, in my opinion, succumbed to Isreali pressure because of his Jewish heritage and in doing so, contradicted his own statements. Furthermore, he has undermined his political party at a time when he is needed most.

As a mother of 4 school aged children and a current charter school operator, I know the importance of a child's educational experience. We need to offer our children a purposeful, focused education from Kindergarten through 8th grade to help them move forward into competitive high schools, colleges and careers. A STEAM based school that fully integrates all components throughout the instructional day is the key to giving our children the best chance we can to become highly motivated, academically superior, civic minded citizens.

Non-profit organizations, like Girl and Boy Scouts, are made up of people from the local community and free meeting space is necessary to maintain the effectiveness of these programs and to reduce costs for all of the participants. For Girl Scout troops, some whose numbers are small, or have challenges to fundraising, having to sell 216 BOXES OF COOKIES for funds dedicated just to meeting space, will hamper their efforts of giving back to the community in which they live. There is a mandatory limit on dues for participants, so these fees can not simply be an added overhead cost. Additionally, most of these troops give back to the district through volunteer projects-either earning a badge or through Make A Difference Day. Without a connection to their meeting space the incentive for organizing these projects will significantly decrease and the district buildings will actually suffer from this change. Please reconsider charging these groups a fee for simple meetings and activities. The participants are local members of the community who already pay taxes for these buildings, and should be allowed to utilize them whenever time and scheduling allows, to make as much use of those public buildings as possible. Remember, we are all connected in this community, and this decision will have only negative consequences.

Senator Schumer has demonstrated that he places the interests of the Natanyahu government before the interests of the United States and the majority of Democrats who enthusiastically support the Iran agreement. Note that Schumer also supported the Bush war against Iraq over non existent WMDs. In opposing a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program, he is willing to once again risk the lives and limbs of young Americans in another bloody and bankrupting war against Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program. The Democratic Senate leader should be an honest, reliable and eloquent voice for the Democratic Party, not a hack for special interests like Senator Schumer.

Great communities like Brookings aren't complete without bike lanes. In 2008, the city of Brookings approved a plan to make Brookings a bikeable community. However, after nearly 8 years, that plan was never fully implemented. Studies show that bike lanes promote public safety and increase the quality of life for all community members. Brookings has an amazing bike trail, but it's still difficult to navigate the city streets on your bike -- and sidewalks are for pedestrians. Now is the perfect time to tell Jeffrey W. Weldon, the City Manager, to make Brookings complete by making Brookings a bikeable community. We're delivering this petition to Jeff Weldon, so please sign your name and send it to everyone you know who supports bike lanes in Brookings!

In 33 states there's been a ban against feeding the homeless, people are facing fees, even jail time for feeding the homeless. Times are hard, even harder for those that are homeless, so to ban charities from feeding is morally wrong.

Due to the economy, many homeowners fell behind on their mortgage. The Federal Government and President Obama signed into law many programs to assist homeowners to stay in their homes. The banks and mortgage companies accepted the monies/grants and do not assist the homeowners; they hold onto these funds for corporate greed and profits. I unfortunately know several people who qualified for these programs and were never assisted and had their homes foreclosed. I am also personally in this situation. I have had two predatory lenders. Instead of assisting and informing me, they added over $200K to my principal and then sold my loan to another lender. I now allegedly owe $425 on a home I purchased for $160K in 1998 and have over 12 years of perfect payment history. Where did my 12 years of payments go to ? Who is in charge of this Federal government program ? Who is overseeing this program that is supposed to keep people in their homes and not thrown out into the street with nowhere to go and who have a family to care for. Someone needs to be held accountable and needs to enforce the mortgage companies to assist the homeowners to stay in their homes, And not to be put into the street. The banks wins twice by double dipping; they get the funds for assisting the homeowners foreclosure and get even more revenue. We need to stand united and stand up to these giant conglomerates that squash the helpless homeowners like bugs.