The oldest and most beautiful trees in the City of Decatur are disappearing at an alarming rate due to rapid development and a weak regulations. City Officials are considering a possible amendment (including adoption of a stronger Tree Protection Ordinance) to improve City of Decatur Tree Protection Program in the near future but will only do so if local residents support it. This petition describes many of the documented program weaknesses and suggestions on how to improve Decatur's Tree Protection so we can to preserve and promote a healthy tree canopy. We must work together to preserve the best of Decatur. Thank you for your support! We will present the petition in October at the City Commissioners meeting when trees are discussed on their agenda.

It has been five years since Lehman Brothers collapsed, bringing the house of cards known as Wall Street crashing down and catalyzing a global economic catastrophe. While the people of Main Street have barely even begun to recover, the banks on Wall Street — after getting bailed out by the American taxpayers — are back to business, and profits, as usual. In fact, the very banks that cried “too big to fail” have only gotten bigger. In 2008, the four biggest banks in America — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wachovia/Wells Fargo — held $6.4 trillion in assets. Today, those four banks have grown nearly 22% bigger, with $7.8 trillion in assets. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. We simply must break up these colossal institutions so that they can never again hold us hostage to their own greed and shortsightedness.

More than 40 organizations have written the President and the White House to communicate their convictions that a 2015 White House Conference on Aging should be held. The value to the Nation of holding such a Conference has been well established through the positive initiatives stemming from previous Conferences. We are Americans advocating for Senior Citizens. Some of us participated in previous White House Conferences on Aging. As far as we have been able to determine, no indication has been offered by the White House that the President has given any priority to consideration to holding a 2015 White House Conference on Aging. A 2015 White House Conference on Aging would serve as a forum to discuss aging-related policy, to influence decision-makers at the state and federal levels, and to guide the public and private sectors in contributing to the well-being of older adults. If funded, it will cost the American tax payer $5-7 million. However, our group of Seniors is expanding by 10,000, daily, so the dollar amount is small by comparison. Since women are longer-lived, aging is a key women's issue, as well. In addition, many of our country’s legislative and economic decisions will of necessity be shaped by the policies The White House adopts to address the issues of importance to the Senior Citizen population, as well as to their families. Because Senior Citizens will be directly and personally impacted by the policies the White House adopts to deal with Senior Citizen issues, we believe our voices should be heard as those policies are being shaped. The White House Conferences on Aging, in past years, have been held for that precise purpose: to hear the concerns and solutions voiced by those most impacted. On behalf of the many, many millions of citizens who will be well over age 60 in 2015, we urge you to confirm before this year has ended that you intend to hold this Senior Citizen forum--a 2015 White House Conference on Aging.

Prices for gasoline and heating fuel are unjustifiably higher than the national average which seriously impacts the cost of living and the quality of life for all Nome residents.

Connecticut is a leader in ensuring that workers are protected when they, or a family member, gets sick. We passed the first statewide paid sick days guarantee in the country, and we have taken serious steps toward becoming the 4th state to offer paid family and medical leave. These protections ensure that workers aren't punished for being sick, or taking care of a family member. These types of protections ensure that workers don't have to choose between their health, or the health of their families, and their jobs. We know that these programs work, and it is time for congress to pass these laws federally so that every worker across the country is protected. Tell your member of Congress and senators to support laws like paid sick days and paid family and medical leave!

For over 40-years, hundreds of thousands of men and women have been arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and imprisoned for a combined hundreds of thousands of years for conduct alleged, admitted, or found to be; "[i]n violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1)" from which, "any person" NOT REGISTERED for federal jurisdiction to be federally regulated is STATUTORILY EXEMPT!

I am a volunteer serving on an advisory council for the Office for the Aging in Upstate New York, and I see the staff unable to meet the needs of our exponentially growing population of seniors, especially since the Sequestration. If the OAA is not reauthorized this year, the services that now have a large wait list, such as Meals on Wheels, At-Home Personal Care, Caregiver Assistance, and Transportation Aid, might go away entirely. Tell the President and your Congress Person and your Senators to get on board and not let the Older Americans Act die this year!

Our country's public defenders (PDs) are already grossly underpaid and overworked and our poor are already significantly over-represented in our criminal justice system. Because our legislators will not approve a federal budget, federal PDs are being forced to take pay cuts and furlough days and the poor are not receiving the representation provided in the Constitution. PDs are the only hope our poor have when they are arrested - often falsely - for a crime. I cannot be silent while once again the poor suffer, often sitting in prison while legislators play political games. Please intervene and see to it that budgets are restored to our federal public defender's offices immediately.

Eviction for the use of Marijuana is stupid when people actually die from alcohol every year and there are two strikes for that.

Everyone I know regardless of political affiliation is fed up with Washington. No one feels that they are represented. Without reform, we keep electing more of the same and the cycle continues.

According to credible sources, Ricardo Esquivia Ballestas, Director of Asociación Sembrando Semillas de Paz (Sembrandopaz),faces the threat of detention by the Colombian authorities. Ricardo and Sembrandopaz work with conflict-affected communities of the Caribbean Coast in Colombia to peacefully reconcile differences and build a better future. This threat to Ricardo Esquivia constitutes political persecution and must not stand unchallenged by defenders of democracy and human rights. Ricardo Esquivia has been a driver of peace and community development in the region for over 40 years, as evidenced by international peace awards from the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. He is Co-founder and Director of the Commission for Restoration, Life and Peace of the Evangelical Council of Churches of Colombia (CEDECOL). He is also the founder and former Director of Justapaz, the Christian Center for Justice, Peace and Nonviolent Action of the Mennonite Church of Colombia. For many years he represented all non-Catholic religious groups on the National Council of Peace, which advises the President of Colombia. Despite his record (or because of it), Ricardo has been repeatedly threatened, baselessly, with detention or legal action. It is time to end this harassment of a proven servant of the Colombian people. Public pressure has been effective in detering the detention of Ricardo Esquivia in the past. Add your voice to help end this harrassment so that Ricardo and his colleagues can continue the pursuit of peace in Colombia without threat. Join us in calling on President Santos and other officials to ensure the safety and security of Ricardo Esquivia Ballestas, and to investigate the political persecution of the peace movement of the High Mountain Zone of El Carmen de Bolívar, Colombia.

For three years, a group of some 600 multinational corporations and trade associations have been quietly negotiating a trade pact IN SECRET that could void American laws that protect workers, jobs, health, and the environment. During negotiations in Washington last summer, news leaked of some of the provisions U.S. trade officials were prepared to approve, and a public outcry derailed the talks. Trade Representative Ron Kirk resigned. Now that Michael Froman has been confirmed as the new U.S. Trade Representative he is pushing to renew "fast track" authority so President Barack Obama -- a DEMOCRAT -- can sign the agreement first, and then force a quick vote in Congress without any public scrutiny, floor debate, or revisions.