New York City has been home to a business sector that is unique due to its lack of corporate chains, and a diverse population that can always somehow find a way to make it in NYC. All of that has changed over the last decade, as commercial property owners have been allowed to raise rents beyond a level that small businesses can afford, and renters are pushed out of their homes and communities to make way for wealthy tenants. Rent control laws must be rewritten to account for inflation and higher costs of living, so that New York can keep its diversity and integrity intact.

Roughly 33% of California’s workforce, nearly 6 million California workers, cannot take an hour off of work to care for themselves or a loved one who is sick without putting their pay or job in jeopardy. Workers without paid sick days must either work while sick or forego wages -- losing three days of pay can equate to a whole month’s worth grocery bill for a low-income family. Public health is very much at risk when we force people to work while sick and expose customers, co-workers, and others to often very contagious illnesses. Additionally, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research shows that 1.3 million emergency room visits could be avoided if the patients had access to paid sick leave, giving them time to visit a doctor when they were sick. Research shows that sick workers are roughly half as productive as healthy workers—a disparity that dwarfs the cost of three sick days per year. More than $160 billion is lost annually in our national economy because of low productivity when workers show up to work sick. Nearly 23 percent of adults in the US report that they have lost a job or have been threatened with being fired for taking time off due to illness or to care for a sick family member. In the recently released “Shriver Report,” more than 90 percent of single women said paid sick day reform was the most important policy that their employer could adopt to improve their lives. Connecticut is currently the only state with a statewide law on sick days. The Center for Economic and Policy Research found 3 out of 4 employers in Connecticut said the law had a positive impact on business. Fifteen percent of employers said productivity increased and 30 percent said it resulted in increased morale. AB 1522 creates a new workplace standard similar to minimum wage or the 8-hour workday. AB 1522 allows workers to seek redress for being cheated out of the sick days they earn.

If an investment banker made the wrong call on 61 stocks in a row, their clients would take their money somewhere else. But that’s exactly what the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has done when it comes to forecasting how much Americans drive. They've overestimated driving levels for 61 consecutive forecasts, causing billions of dollars to be wasted on unneeded new highways, and causing lagging investment in transit and maintenance. In reality, Americans have cut back on driving for nine years in a row. And as the DOT updates their next forecast, we need them to get it right. In the 61 forecasts released by the DOT since 1999, actual driving totals have been far below forecasts every single time. This year’s forecast was bizarrely even wrong about the past, projecting that Americans drove five percent more in 2012 than they actually did. Our spending of transportation tax dollars should match how we actually get around -- and right now, that means new rail and bus routes, improved paths for bicycles and pedestrians, and maintaining and repairing our existing roads and bridges. Alternative kinds of travel are growing increasingly popular, especially among the Millennials -- who will be the chief users of our future transportation system. Part of the problem is that state governments make bad forecasts, too, and when the feds aggregate them together, it’s a case of garbage in, garbage out. Nevertheless, it’s time for the DOT to start making good forecasts, instead of just relying on state projections stuck on cruise control in the past. That way, we can get the investments in 21st century transportation that we need.

The WCC has an influence on how the WI DNR "manages" wildlife. Do the citizens of WI want an affirmed wolf-hater and wolf killer on this committee? Groskoph has also made statements to the effect that there is "...zero carrying capacity for wolves here". Further, Groskoph has made remarks to incite fear about wolves by making statements such as fearing for children's safety at bus stops due to the presence of wolves. She needs to go, period.

My reason for this petition is to not only inform people of the Synthetic Drug but to get it removed from the shelves entirely. Until a few months ago I had never heard of "Spice" and my concern is I am among the greater population. I fear the curious teen, as most of us were, may stumble upon this drug and being it is legal, not fear they are doing anything wrong... Or just curiosity as a teen leads them to give it a try and one hit can cost them their life. I hit my mom's liquor cabinet as a kid, didn't kill me; tried marijuana, again didn't kill me. This is not the case with Spice; your curiosity can kill you if you attempt to smoke this glorified plant-like material that I refer to as Lethal Potpourri! I met a boy who took 4 puffs that put him in a coma for four days. Another boy watched his friend have a heart attack after one hit of Spice. I do not want my friends, family, co-workers or people of my community to learn of this drug at the hospital or funeral of a loved one. With your support we can make a difference... It may be tough, but if we save one life, it will be worth it!

Currently, as many as 6 million California workers cannot take an hour off of work to care for themselves or a loved one who is sick without putting their pay or job in jeopardy. Losing three days of pay can equate to a whole month’s worth grocery bill for a low-income family. Additionally, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research shows that 1.3 million emergency room visits could be avoided if the patients had access to paid sick leave, giving them time to visit a doctor when they were sick. More than $160 billion is lost annually in our national economy because of low productivity when workers show up to work sick. Nearly 23 percent of adults in the US report that they have lost a job or have been threatened with being fired for taking time off due to illness or to care for a sick family member. In the recently released “Shriver Report,” more than 90 percent of single women said paid sick day reform was the most important policy that their employer could adopt to improve their lives. Connecticut is currently the only state with a statewide law on sick days. The Center for Economic and Policy Research found 3 out of 4 employers in Connecticut said the law had a positive impact on business. Fifteen percent of employers said productivity increased and 30 percent said it resulted in increased morale. AB 1522 creates a new workplace standard similar to minimum wage or the 8-hour workday. AB 1522 allows workers to seek redress for being cheated out of the sick days they earn.

Big Oil has big plans to mine Tar Sands in North Alabama. These plans threaten our land and our people. Strip mining and fracking wells will be used to remove the Tar Sands from thousands of acres. How do we benefit? For a few temporary jobs that will last for about five years, Governor Robert Bentley will destroy our forests, contaminate our air, and poison the water we drink. It is a dumb idea and one based on an obsolete fossil fuel technology. The Alabama Oil and Gas Board is writing a new regulation for this dangerous activity, and claims they want to mine the Tar Sands in a safe manner. Tar Sands Mining is inherently dangerous and cannot be done safely, and so far Alabama has not proved capable of writing a regulation that does not favor industry. This state has long been known as pollution friendly and the state EPA, known as ADEM, would not say "boo" to big industry. They can't even police the damage already done by the developer. The Alabama Oil and Gas Board regulation, once written, must state clearly that, "TAR SANDS MINING IS NOT PERMITTED IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA!" Thirty pieces of silver in a politician's pocket is not worth the risk.

Help Our Military Heroes Like They Have Helped U.S. - We demand President Obama remove Brigadier General Allison A. Hickey, Under Secretary for Benefits, for failure to take care of our military heroes! My name is Faatimah Sabir; I am the wife of Sgt. Bilal Sabir, a highly decorated Viet Nam veteran. My husband has been fighting to get a decision in his VA benefits claim for over 8 years and counting. Many veterans' families are in the same position; military families need her gone. Many military heroes have died, many VA claims have been destroyed, many VA employees have violated employment rules and regulations while under the supervision of this woman! Few have been held accountable, especially directors, managers, and supervisors. How many more of our military heroes have to die, never receive benefits they're entitled to, and struggle to find housing, good medical care, and employment under this wicked, uncaring, impersonal, unsympathetic General? Petition President Obama and request General Hickey resign. Force the Veterans' Board to finalize my hero’s claim once and for all. According to Congressional Submission, FY 2015 the VBA will forward over $1.2 billion from FY 2014 – money is not the problem; it's General Hickey! Thank you.

The right wing has spent millions of dollars spreading false information about the Affordable Care Act. Cory Gardner has made Obamacare scare tactics the central theme of his campaign. Their willingness to mislead voters for political gain on this critical issue has done a terrible disservice to the entire nation.

It effects me directly. My daughter is being cyber bullyed and she is not even on social media. The school is doing nothing about it. She is being called a Kike among other things.

Lincoln Village is one of the major development parcels in our community, and it is set to return to being one of our most important activity and amenity centers. We have seen the center decline over the years, in part because of the changed landscape of highway infrastructure surrounding it. It has become buried in the adjacent highway. For this reason, many tenants have either failed at the center or have chosen to or had to relocate to other properties. Updated, visible signage will help tenants like the ones we have lost be seen on the site so that patrons can find them and utilize their businesses. Although we know the Board has been very cautious in the past about allowing increased sign heights on any property, we believe that in this location taller, larger, and more unique signs will not create any blemish whatsoever on the surrounding landscape while greatly benefiting the ability of Lincoln Village’s tenants to thrive. In fact, we think that attractive signage at this site will actually serve to enhance the landscape and improve it.

Abuse of Professor Henry Louis Gates in Massachusetts, Murder of Eric Garner in New York., Murder of Michael Brown in Missouri. Murder of Trayvon Martin. Murder of countless others.