When John Oliver went on a 13-minute rant in favor of net neutrality, the Federal Communications Commission was so bogged down by the 45,000 comments that followed that its site shut down.

UPDATE! The Lake County Commissioner's office has decided to allow the access to be open from Saturday mornings at 7am to around sunset on Sunday evenings. They see this as a temporary solution while they decide about the future of the site- whether that be permanent closure or expansion of the current location. They are also considering some other options, like an additional parking area near the current access. ___________________________________________________________ My husband and I float the Swan many times throughout the Spring and Summer- as many local residents do. We love being able to hook up the raft to go and float this beautiful river that is located so close to our home. We noticed recently that the access has been temporarily closed and are respectfully asking the county to reopen this area for public use. We have always used this area responsibly (parking in defined areas, packing out trash, etc.) and I have personally never seen any bad behavior from other users. Unfortunately, a few incidents have caused some of the private landowners to call for this closure. There are also some safety concerns with the overflow of parking. It is our understanding that the landowners were able to have Bill Barron close and lock the gate. After a call to the commissioner's office, we were told that it would remain closed for the summer until a solution could be found. Because of this closure and the limited areas available for public put in, I am afraid that we will no longer be able to enjoy this section of the river. We hope that a solution can be found- for all parties - but we are asking that they please not take it away indefinitely. For those of you who love the lower Swan as much as we do, and use it responsibly, please sign this petition and either CALL or EMAIL Bill Barron to let him know how you feel! Lake County Commissioner Bill Barron (406) 883-7204 [email protected]

If solar rebates are ended in Massachusetts, it could badly hurt Solarize Mass, which is a group incentive program to encourage businesses and homeowners to install solar photovoltaic systems. The solar rebate now provides homeowners up to $2,000 (sometimes more) for new installations. I'm chair of the Plainfield (MA) Energy Committee and ending solar rebates would negatively impact our efforts to promote solar energy.

Trader Joe’s has been responsive in the past to consumer concerns: they source their private label products with non-genetically modified ingredients, and have agreed not to sell genetically-engineered fish. And they already sell some antibiotic-free chicken and beef. As a champion for healthy eating, Trader Joe’s should refuse to sell meat containing antibiotics.

Many of my friends were deeply affected by the UC Santa Barbara shooting. As a college student myself, this issue is something close to my heart.

At a time when the state government is deadlocked in a struggle to provide affordable health care to over 400,000 low income residents of the State of Virginia, it is unacceptable for a state Senator to abdicate his position or someone else to induce him to in what appears to be a direct quid pro quo transaction made in order to receive a state job for himself and an offer of Judgeship for his daughter . It is wrong both to make such an offer to obtain a political end and to accept such an offer to obtain a highly paid or powerful state position.

If true, this deal raises serious questions about Speaker Bill Howell and Terry Kilgore’s manipulation of government jobs as leverage to prevent closing the coverage gap for 400,000 Virginians. This isn’t the first time accusations have arisen regarding mismanagement and patronage at the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission. In fact, in 2010 a commissioner was convicted of defrauding the Commission of $4M and a 2011 JLARC report questioned the Commission’s governance practices and called for better oversight. Virginians deserve answers over how state jobs were used as leverage in a political fight over extending affordable health care to Virginia families, and assurances that Tobacco Commission resources haven’t been misappropriated for political purposes under the current management. Join us in calling for an investigation right now.

Please grant either ankle monitoring or house arrest for Chantel Jones. From my experience with her I do not believe her capable of the charges in question, and would request her monitored release until such time as this can be resolved as it should be.

Observation status is a designation used by hospitals to bill Medicare. As a result of this designation, more and more seniors are experiencing difficulties getting Medicare coverage for admission to skilled nursing facility (SNF), along with other billing issues. In fact, Medicare estimates show that 1.6 million seniors were placed in “observation status” during a hospital stay in 2011. This is a 69 percent increase over the previous 5 years. Medicare beneficiaries who have played by the rules and contributed their entire working lives to the program so that they can have peace of mind and be covered for medically necessary services should not find themselves incurring unexpected costs and having to hire attorneys to get the coverage they already paid for. One solution that would solve this situation is for Congress to pass the bipartisan bill Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2013, S.569 and H.R. 1179, introduced by Senators Sherrod Brown and Susan Collins and Representatives Joe Courtney and Tom Latham, which would amend Medicare law to count a beneficiary’s time spent in the hospital on “observation status” towards the three-day hospital stay requirement for skilled nursing care. The measure would also establish a 90-day appeal period following passage for those that have a qualifying hospital stay and have been denied skilled nursing care after January 1, 2013.

Ensuring that current and future architects have the capability and expertise to design human-centered environments is critical for the future of the profession. The proposed changes are not adequate to protect the health, life, safety, and welfare of the public, nor are they consistent with the standards of engaged and responsible practice or global citizenship. It is essential that Accredited Architectural programs ensure students understand how to integrate research evidence into design decision-making, the critical relationships between humans and designed environments, the changing dynamics of people and environments, and are able to work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams.

The state of Texas has a long history of demanding that text book publishers include Creationism or "Intelligent Design" in science textbooks. Texas has also insisted on serious misrepresentations and omissions in history textbooks. These historical misrepresentations include downplaying the struggle for civil rights, ignoring LGBTQ people entirely and portraying the countriy's founding fathers as staunchly religious individuals to name just a few. Because of the large population in Texas and the high cost of printing multiple additions, many publishers simply acquiesce to Texas' demands and these textbooks become the standard for all states. This petition aims to correct that by using the even larger population of the state of California as a counterweight to the excessive influence of right wing Christian political influence that has unfortunately robbed many Texas school children of true and accurate study materials free of religious and political bias.

The removal of the Paddle Barbados shop from the Barbados Cruising Club was forced upon us by Town & Country Planning. This petition demonstrates the desire of the community of locals and tourists to put the shop back in its place.