On Tuesday, September 3, the North Carolina legislature will be back for a short session. They need to reinstate the $110 million they cut from public school teacher assistants from the $250 million Rainy Day Fund. The law says that all public school students must read on grade level by the end of third grade, but they cut funding that would help those students. Some first grade classes only have a teacher assistant for a half day! It is the same with second grade, and less for third and fourth!

The proposed North South corridor highway does not address the existing east - west traffic problems and instead will result in increased traffic and carbon emissions on currently over congested roads, particularly by dumping traffic on Route 7. The County needs "smart" growth and appropriate infrastructure that will address existing commuter problems and which will support the upcoming expansion of metro to Ashburn. Loudoun County does not need this highway nor the development it will bring to both Loudoun County and Prince William County.

This petition is in response to the California State Prison San Quentin Condemned Adjustment Center Collective's good faith Request, by Warden Chappell to end their peaceful hunger strike. This good faith showing to end their hunger strike was soley made upon Warden Chappells promise to implement by the end of the year. (A) Behavior based program. (B)Cease Indeterminate Status in the AC. (C) Implement more privileges for ALL AC inmates. (D) Proper Due Process during the validation process, ie: sent to Sacramento not I.c.c. (E) Integrated Yard. (F)Grade B no longer be of a double standard (G) AC Condemned will be given an equal oppurtunity to gain their Grade A after 4 years of good behavior retroactive. (H) Honoring all the privileges and rights all C.D.C.R inmates are equally entitled.

Lynda Tuttle, owner of Lynda Tuttle's Art Center, and her neighborhood board had grant monies revoked by Stark Community Foundation for two reasons: 1) Missing the deadline of August 15th, despite the fact that the project was done and the documented (10-day) installation delay, due to a city security alert, was not under her control. Not accepting the delay threatens 2011 grant money already awarded and used on this project. 2) SCF now claims they gave verbal notification that 2012 grant money was not to be used on the project despite written contracts that do not state this claim. In addition, numerous negative accusations have been made by SCF that may put other past years’ grants in jeopardy. We urge SCF to dismiss unfounded accusations and positively acknowledge her and North Lehman Neighborhood to make our communities stronger.

On Sunday, August 25, Republican Sen. Bob Corker and Rep. Eliot Engel - a Democrat who voted for the Iraq war - told Fox News that President Obama should strike Syria first and get Congressional approval afterwards. That's not how the U.S. Constitution says it should go. That's not how the War Powers Resolution says it should go. The Constitution and the War Powers Resolution say that absent an attack on the United States, Congress must approve military action before it takes place. According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, 60 percent of Americans surveyed said the U.S. should not intervene in Syria's sectarian civil war, while just 9 percent thought President Obama should act. Even if Assad's forces used chemical weapons to attack civilians - an allegation which has not been proved, and didn't hold up in the past - only 25 percent of Americans would support U.S. intervention, while 46 percent would oppose it. On July 24, the House approved an amendment by voice vote that would prohibit funding of any military action that violates the War Powers Resolution. If President Obama can get us into war in Syria without Congressional approval, it will set a terrible precedent: a future president can get us into war in Iran without Congressional approval. Tell President Obama not to take any military action in Syria without Congressional approval, and tell Congress to stand up for the U.S. Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. Links for the above information can be found here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/26/1233940/-President-Obama-Don-t-Strike-Syria-Without-Congressional-Approval

The very endangered Desert Tortoise is on the brink of extinction, and the BLM is going to close down one of the only sanctuary facilities that exists for them. They will euthanize any animals that are there when the time comes (they say SOON), and will be euthanizing any that come in as they don't have funding or space. The facility houses hundreds of tortoises. These animals are vital to their ecosystem, our ecosystem. There has to be another answer. More info here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/desert-tortoise-faces-threat-refuge-20060609

My Name is Stephanie Stanhope. I am the mom to Autumn Brooks Grandma to Jade Javen and Aaron. My grandson Aaron passed away on June 27 2013 from unknown causes. The Phoenix Police left my grandson laying on the apartment floor for more than 6 hours while they tore the apartment apart looking for Aarons Breathing Machine. The following day after CPS had only saw an apartment created by this illegal search places my grand children in there custody in a non family members home stating family couldnt have them. In July taking Dependency custody and giving Neglect on Aaron based on supervision. Aaron and my daughter Autumn had been up until 3 am that morning. As Aaron was taking a nap Autumn napped to. When his granddad came home for lunch he noticed Aaron wasnt breathing began cpr called 911. CPS has stated in court documents Aarons cause of death "positional asphixiation" to date Aaron cause and manner of death is pending in the Science Lab in Phoenix Arizona. The only other reason cited for removal of my Grand kids is my Daughter is Unemployed. So watch out America the government can take your kids for not having a job in the mess of an economy the government has them selves created. MY GRANDKIDS ARE NOT NEGLECTED NOR ABUSED IN ANY WAY BY THERE PARENTS AND IN FACT CRY AT VISITS TO GO HOME. IT TOOK ME A MONTH OF WAITING FOR CPS TO FINALLY RUN MY INFORMATION TO BE ABLE TO VISIT MY GRANDKIDS. PLEASE HELP ME PUT THIS FAMILY BACK TOGETHER . SIGN MY PETITION IN MEMORY OF MY ANGEL AARON BROOKS.

These two companies are among the biggest employers of low-wage workers in America, and they can easily afford to give their workers a raise -- a perfect way to celebrate Labor Day week. McDonald's posted strong results during the recession by attracting cash-strapped customers, and its sales have continued to rise. Between 2010 and 2012, its annual return to investors was 15.7 percent, far better than the Dow Jones industrial average. McDonald's CEO, Steve Easterbrook, gets a big-whopper of a compensation package, valued at $7.9 million—about 400 times the earnings of a typical McDonald's worker, who earns roughly $10 an hour or less. Walmart, the nation's largest employer, also continues to do well—so well, it's hiking shareholder dividends 18 percent this year. It also pays its executives handsomely. Total compensation of Walmart's CEO, Doug McMillon, is now $25.6 million—more than 1,300 times the earnings of a typical Walmart worker, who earns $22,591 per year. Not incidentally, the wealth of the Walton family—which still owns the lion's share of Walmart stock—now exceeds the wealth of the bottom 40 percent of American families combined, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. So please join me in asking McDonald's Steve Easterbrook and Walmart's Doug McMillon to pay their workers at least $15 an hour.

Equality Florida’s Executive Director, Nadine Smith, wrote a letter to St. Petersburg Mayor Foster and the City Council on August 12th urging them to suspend their “sister/friendship-city” relationship with St. Petersburg, Russia. Dear Mayor Foster, I am writing to urge the City of St. Petersburg, Florida to suspend it’s Sister City relationship with Saint Petersburg, Russia due to the recent rise in anti-gay violence and passage of extreme anti-gay legislation. Over the past year, Russia has passed several appalling laws aimed at dehumanizing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Russia and abroad. First was the ban prohibiting gay couples, or any couple or single parent living in a country with marriage equality, from adopting a Russian-born child. Next came a law allowing law enforcement to arrest tourists that are suspected to be lesbian, gay or even “pro-gay” and detain them for up to two weeks. Most recently the “gay propaganda” law was passed that said anyone organizing a Pride parade, any health official distributing information regarding safe sex between same-sex partners, or anyone talking to a child under the age of 18 about anything LGBT related can be subject to arrest or fine. The “gay propaganda” law specifically was conceived in our Sister City of Saint Petersburg, Russia. These laws send dangerous messages that LGBT people are not fit to be full members of society with all of the freedoms afforded to everyone else; that their mere existence is a danger to children. While Saint Petersburg, Florida joins so many other communities in guaranteeing workplace and family equality, ending hate violence, and celebrating our diverse community, we cannot stand silently by while close partners of our pursue policies of hate and violence. One important goal of the Sister City relationship is to encourage travel and cultural exchange amongst the citizens of our two cities. The anti-gay laws and lawless violence now being encouraged in Saint Petersburg, Russia negate this promise for not only Saint Petersburg, Florida's LGBT citizens, but for all who believe in equality, diversity and tolerance. Equally disturbing is the increase and public display of anti-gay violence. Russian white supremacist hate groups have been going online, luring young gay men (often minors) to a location where they are tortured in unimaginable ways, then releasing the photos and videos of the torture online. Law enforcement has done little to prevent these heinous attacks, or prosecute those responsible, sending clear signals that violence to LGBT people is officially acceptable. As a resident of St. Petersburg, Florida, I know our city has always been a leader in ensuring LGBT people are treated fairly and with respect. We take pride in knowing that all are welcome to live, work and play here. By continuing a Sister City relationship with Saint Petersburg, while these conditions are being not simply allowed, but promulgated by our Sister City government partners, we are turning a blind eye to the atrocities that are happening in Russia. I urge you and the entire St. Petersburg City Council to immediately suspend your Sister City relationship with Saint Petersburg, Russia and in doing so, tell them their treatment of LGBT is unacceptable. Sincerely, Nadine Smith Executive Director Equality Florida CC: Councilman Charles Gerdes Councilman Jim Kennedy Councilman Wengay Newton Councilman Bill Dudley Councilwoman Leslie Curran Councilman Steve Kornell Councilman Karl Nurse Councilman Jeff Danner Helen Rhymes

About 270,000 Florida properties could face huge flood insurance rate hikes. Over 30,000 in Pinellas County alone.

We’re learning more and more about National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance of a massive percentage of domestic phone and Internet communications involving ordinary Americans. National security has not suffered one bit — because any terrorists already assume that everything they do is being monitored — but these revelations have initiated a vital discussion over Americans’ legitimate concerns about their privacy. All major phone companies turn over vast quantities of data for government surveillance. The U.S. Postal Service photographs the exterior of every piece of mail it handles. The NSA can touch 75% of all Internet traffic in the country. What else is the government tracking indiscriminately: credit card transactions, medical records, who flosses and who doesn’t? There is no conceivable danger to national security in revealing how much our own government is spying on us. But we are in grave peril if we don’t know the true extent to which our constitutional rights to privacy, freedom of speech and freedom of association are subject to the prying eyes of Big Brother.

I am starting this petition because Cupertino is the only city in South Bay that doesn't have its own skate park. Skateboarding is becoming more and more popular every day. Skate boarding is a healthy activity for kids and teens. It is hard for Cupertino residents to have to go all the way to Sunnyvale or Santa Clara to do any skating. There is plenty of space in Cupertino to build a proper sized skate park so why haven't we built one.