As a former ANC representing 16th Street, and as someone who frequently picks up the 16th Street bus lines from the V Street stop, I can tell you that even with increased bus service and the addition of the S9, these buses are incredibly packed. During rush hour, I often see more than 2 buses fly by this stop without stopping, because they are at capacity. That is coupled with the fact that when a bus with available space does arrive, it is often at the same time as another bus, stacked right behind one another, demonstrating a lack of coordination and efficiency. In the meantime, cars traveling in the outside lanes are often caught behind or between these buses, adding to delays and frustration for both drivers and transit users. We know from studies that have been done in recent years that this route has the highest ridership of any in the entire system. In fact, S buses serve more than fifty percent of all the people traveling on 16th Street during rush hour.

Texting and driving, an issue that affects drivers of all ages, has been increasing rapidly and killing hundreds of innocent victims each year - an epidemic equaling, if not surpassing the death toll of drinking and driving. According to "IT CAN WAIT," an award winning documentary by AT&T, research has shown texting and driving is involved in more than 200,000 vehicle crashes each year. We respectfully ask you to STANDD with us and help us reach out to Governor Cuomo to formalize our initiative by pledging to put your phone in your glove compartment and not be distracted while driving. STORE IT then START IT.

As a musician, community organizer and general supporter of the City of St. Louis and its culture, I think Festival Reservation Bill 328 is a bad idea for the City of St. Louis as it is currently presented. The Bill has been disruptive and divisive, even without its passage . I think the City of St. Louis should take the time, listen to the people, and diligently investigate what is best for the city and its residents in the long term.

• City of Saline appointed and elected officials are considering outsourcing police dispatch operations to an agency outside of the City of Saline between 8:00 pm and 8:00 am. • We believe that this will reduce the quality and timeliness of service to the residents of Saline. • The Saline Police Department Dispatch is an integral part of law enforcement efforts to maintain low crime levels in the city with officer safety and the city community as being the first priority. • Our local dispatchers are not only familiar with current investigative efforts, city streets and businesses; they are acquainted with community members, the organizational structure of the city, call history of local residences and businesses and know the officers. • Losing dispatch would further erode what makes Saline a community, similar to the loss of our community hospital. • We also feel this effort is the beginning of an attempt to completely eliminate dispatch operations as was attempted in 2011.

My name is Dawn Neely-Randall and this is my 24th year of teaching. I am becoming increasingly alarmed at the amount of test prep, testing, retesting, and data-collecting that is being done based on phantom test scores in our nation's schools. My knees are shaking, but I am speaking out on behalf of my students who are expected to test for hours and hours yet again next month. Our legislators need to do their homework on child development and the adults in our children's lives need to say Enough is Enough!!! Please advocate for SANER Standardized Testing Practices on behalf of our children.

The inland waters of the Eastern North Pacific particularly Puget Sound and the Salish Sea are experiencing stress already and the science and governmental action needed to prevent or remediate problems is not being supported. The Navy’s EIS admits that Midrange sonar testing is damaging to threatened and endangered Dolphins and Whales who are dependent on the use of sonar for hunting. The Navy already conducts hundreds of explosive tests and training exercises in the test area with potential for ingestion of pollutants, entanglement, physical damage, and stress on the entire marine environment. These stressors can be cumulative and have widespread affects on the whole ecosystem besides threatened and endangered mammals. The Environmental Impact Statement can be viewed at: www.nwtteis.com

Parents for Public Schools of Syracuse has been urging our elected officials to make school funding equitable for more than 10 years. With an ever decreasing tax base and an increase in the number of children living in poverty, the inequity has reached crisis proportions. The Syracuse City School District is dependent on the state for the majority of the school funding and the residents do not vote for a school budget. It’s time to take the politics out of education funding and start equalizing the funding between poor and affluent districts.

North Carolina's citizens have been subjected to a monopoly in energy, and Duke has been at the center of it. In spite of having one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, the citizens were subjected to an unjustified 7% rate increase as bulled through by a political supermajority in our state capital. Not even a year after, Duke's own internal irresponsibility towards their customers and their environment was revealed--and we were asked to fit the bill. This is unethical, dishonest business--and our citizens and environment deserve better. Duke should pay for their own lack of maintenance and oversight, as any other business would be expected to.

Poverty can be reduced by raising the wage. It diminishes dependence on federal programs such as food stamps(SNAP). The private sector is required to help lower income workers instead. Raising the wage puts more money into the economy.

Millions of pounds of arsenic-laced coal ash rushed into the Dan River last month, near Eden(!), North Carolina, because Duke Energy ignored danger warnings and regulators looked the other way. The disaster in the Dan River is the inevitable result of mixing coal ash with cold cash. For years, Duke Energy has spent millions on political donations and lobbying to avoid more expensive pollution controls that protect public health and the environment. Duke Energy took a big risk – and its stockholders should pay the price, not the customers. The price tag to clean up all Duke’s coal ash dumps in North Carolina will likely exceed $1 billion. Duke must be held accountable, and so must the politicians who accept its money and its excuses. Democracy North Carolina’s research shows that Gov. Pat McCrory’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns benefited from $1.1 million in Duke political donations – the most from any corporation. Gov. McCrory is talking tough now, but he’s prospered in a political culture that accepts corporate cash and pollution. Duke has a new Chief Executive Officer – Lynn Good. She could do “good” and put the company on a new path for clean energy and clean government. She needs to know she’s being watched. Sign the petition to CEO Lynn Good to demand that Duke clean up its act!

Senator Jeff Klein is the biggest obstacle to the progressive agenda in New York State. In 2012 New Yorkers elected a Democratic majority in the NYS Senate. Jeff Klein, claiming to be an "independent Democrat", abandoned the Democrats and made a self-serving deal with the Republican minority, transforming what should have been a powerless Republican minority into wall of obstruction. By standing with the Republicans, Klein bears responsibility for blocking the progressive agenda on countless issues -- a minimum wage increase, strengthening tenant protections, financing Mayor de Blasio's plan for Universal Pre-K, campaign finance reform, protecting women's rights and a ban on hydro-fracking to name a few. Jeff Klein has not acted like an "independent" Democrat -- he has empowered Republicans, and joined their obstructionist agenda. Oliver Koppell, throughout your public service career many have called you an independent Democrat. We applaud your independence. We even applaud those times some of us may have disagreed with you. We trust your history of independent, progressive Democratic leadership. You should run to defeat Jeff Klein and give progressive New Yorkers back the State Senate. Original Signers (all residents in the 34th Senate District of NYS): Dart Westphal / Margaret Groarke / Barry Soltz / Susan Moscou / Jack Marth Mollie Welsh Kruger / Alex Kratz / Elena Mora / John Kruger / Robert Jackson

We can't make the Honduran orphanage do what is right but the US has the opportunity to step in and rectify it. With almost 200,000 orphaned children in Honduras and less than a handful adopted per year, Honduras refuses to process the adoption so that we can bring them to the US. They simply say that they don’t need to be adopted because we are their legal guardians and that is sufficient. However, the US Embassy in Honduras will not issue an immigrant visa nor will they allow them to visit us until they are adopted. It's a catch-22 that only the Secretary of State can resolve. There is no possibility of getting the adoption finished in Honduras due to existential corruption and an uncaring bureaucracy. The US embassy under State Department rules will not issue a travel visa until the adoption is finished. Only the Secretary of State can make an exception and grant a travel visa. Once in the US, we can easily adopt them due to their status, ie, they have been legally abandoned and we are their legal guardians. When my half-brother abandoned these girls to the state orphanage IHNFA, they were 6, 9 and 10 years old and were not in school. They are now 10, 13 & 14 and have reached educational parity because of their hard work and the opportunity we gave them in Honduras, but they need a real home with us and not just with a caretaker in the most dangerous country in the world (2012 UN Report). After 4 years, we have run out of options in what we thought was going to be a temporary arrangement. This petition is to ask the Secretary of State John Kerry to approve of the legal exception he is authorized to do under US law. To instruct the US Embassy in Honduras to issue visitor visas so they these children who are legally abandoned, who have no parents and whom we are their legal guardians, may come to the US and live in our home which they deserve.