Rezoning to allow 36 attached town homes on Lavista Road between North Druid Hills Road and Clairmont Road is unnecessary as 11 detached single family homes can be built under the current R100 zoning. Allowing 36 town homes in this stretch of Lavista Road will set an unwanted precedent in a suburban R100 area where roads and high-quality schools are already overburdened. A more appropriate area for town home development is around the corner on North Druid Hills Road where 86 town homes are already under construction in two separate developments. Residents of the proposed 36 town homes would be forced to access Lavista Road on a dangerous curve with line-of-sight issues where many accidents and one recent fatality have occurred. Approval of the town homes would also exacerbate an already-existing problem with cut-through traffic in the nearby Lavista Acres neighborhood. Finally, an increase in impervious surfaces will increase the load on a creek adjacent to the proposed town homes. For all of these reasons, the Weiland Homes' rezoning application should be denied. The sellers and Weiland Homes can develop a plan under the existing zoning for detached single family homes that will be mutually profitable and consistent with the surrounding neighborhoods. Note: This application for rezoning does not involve the existing apartments beside the CVS at the corner of Lavista and North Druid Hills. The proposed town homes would be built on land currently occupied by two homes.

Newspapers need to stop publishing letters that deny climate change. The science is beyond compelling, and the consequences way too extreme to justify rolling the dice for short term profits,

The Army JROTC program at East High School was the first one ever in Utah. This battalion has been a strong and functioning unit for over 100 years. This program is a major service to the larger community surrounding East High. It helps troubled kids get back on track for a better future. It helps people who are already on a good track stay on a good track. It is meant to show people how to be better citizens; on the whole, it is meant to build stronger connections, stronger people, and to make a positive change in this world. Dr. Sagers, our school principal, wants to dismiss this program because we are "a drain on funds." The cadets of the Leopard Battalion believe that through the hard efforts of our motivated cadets and supporters funds can be found. The cadets of this fine unit thank you for your support. We hope that we can keep our unit from being dismantled this coming January. Please help. - East High JROTC

We have the right to know what is in our food. GMOs (genetic modified organisms) are not categorized as vegetables, because they are not! Their DNA, is the DNA of a virus. They are categorized as herbicides/pesticides. GMO seeds are made in labs and their trade marks are own by Monsanto and other bio-tech corporations (Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey Smith, ResponsibleTechnology.org). In other words, GMOs are pesticides that look and taste like food! GMOs change our DNA. They make us sick. Unknowingly, we are feeding our family poisons. We don’t want GMOs on our plates! Please sign this petition specially if you live in the City of Los Angeles. Also sign it if you live in the county of Los Angeles. We have to deliver thousands of signatures by March 16. Let's show Los Angeles Politicians that we care!!! Please send this petition to your family, friends, and post it in Facebook. WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW. We are making history together. Thanks.

Nigeria and its supporters from Europe killed 3.5Million Biafrans between 1966 and 1979 in a civil war, added to mass killing of Biafrans since 1945 by Notherners,- till today by Boko Harram all goes up to10Million. APC Party of Nigeria says: it will starve Biafrans to death once more. The world FOLK stop this and let Biafra go away from Nigeria for Peace.

"It is kidnapping," said the girl's father, Lou Pelletier. "It's beyond any wildest nightmare that you could think of." The clinical psychologist known by the family says, "It's the most bizarre situation ... I've ever been involved with."

Our mission is to save lives and prevent injury by providing protection against convicted domestic violence offenders through a National Domestic Violence Offender Registry which requires MANDATORY registration of convicted offenders. Enabling people to protect themselves with information BEFORE they enter into a relationship or become involved with someone that has convictions for domestic violence offers a great deal of protection by prevention. We recognize that domestic violence is a human issue: although women are most often affected by this crime, children and men are also victims. We recognize that domestic violence occurs in all types of relationships: casual, dating, engaged, married, same sex, and parent/child. We believe all persons deserve protection from those convicted of domestic violence charges. Whether you have been a victim, a parent, friend, colleague, neighbor, employer, or witness to an incident, you can help. Even if you don’t feel you’ve ever encountered or been affected by domestic violence, your signature can still save lives. This is one survivor’s story: “I am a survivor of Domestic Violence; however, my abuser continues 20 years later to repeatedly offend with at least 4 more convictions with different women who had no knowledge of his history. This information is kept private and out of public view by the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in my state. If his convictions were PUBLIC and VIEWABLE nationally, then it could protect others from his abuse. It would definitely make a huge difference in entering into any kind of relationship with this person. So much pain, injury and potential death could be prevented if there was a Registry in existence for Convicted Domestic Violence just was we all use and appreciate the National Sex Offenders Registry.”

Mayor Nutter is considering privatizing Philadelphia's gas utility, which would take all decisions about liquefied natural gas -- and by extension, fracking -- out of public hands. The fracking industry plans to make Philadelphia a shale gas hub, so it is critical that we keep public control over our gas utility to ensure public input in decisions about gas infrastructure. A private gas company would increase rates, potentially leaving thousands of Philadelphians in the cold. We're fortunate that our gas utility is publicly owned, as this is rare among gas companies. Now, let's make sure it stays that way!

Nearly 50 countries require labels on GMOs, and many of these also have severe restrictions or bans against GMO food production or sale. We deserve the same level of protection and information as citizens in other nations around the world.

The nonpartisan Politifact, who has come out with a summary of Scott Walker’s half-truths, falsehoods and full-on “Pants on Fire” lies in his new book, Unintimidated. We as Wisconsinites and those committed to the truth, ask that Barnes and Noble lead the book market in a commitment to representing the facts by moving this revisionist history to the appropriate Fiction Section.

Newspapers need to stop publishing letters that deny climate change. As an educator of Hurricane disaster relief, I have seen how false debate over climate change gets in the way of students as young as 6th grade taking steps to learn and make real change in their world. When we teach and learn Katrina, Sandy, and now Haiyan among others, we need to be able to focus on what will make a healthier, more resilient society:It's not about saving the Earth nor about simply re-building, but rather about building ourselves up and in new ways. This kind of change is cultural and the popular culture needs to lean toward being informed by what newspapers can only rightly report about how the world works.

As noted in a recent report of the Children's Defense Fund, U.S. children and teens are 17 times more likely to die from a gun than their peers in 25 other high-income countries combined. In 2010, children and teen gun death rates in the U.S. were over four times higher than in Canada, nearly seven times higher than in Israel, and nearly 65 times higher than in the United Kingdom. [CDF, "Protect Children not Guns Overview," p.1] The events in Newtown, CT in December 2012, were unimaginable, and yet, thus far, our nation has been unable to make legal and cultural changes to sufficiently protect children from the effects of gun violence. A campaign to develop awareness is necessary. We must never forget the horrible massacre of school children and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary in December of 2012. We must also be mindful of the children we may or may not hear about but whose death by gun violence most assuredly is felt deeply by their families, friends and communities. The proclamation of December as "National Children and Gun Violence Awareness Month" will honor the memory of those we have lost and build the awareness needed to create lasting change.