• Bring back Buses to Castle Pines Village!
    1. DSCD school buses have been coming into Castle Pines Village for at least 20 years. a. Parents have relied on the buses to take our children to school. Suddenly, without any rationale or even any notice, the buses will not be stopping inside the gates. b. Children who used walk to the bus stop had options nearby, but the changes will now require parents to make new arrangements in an already very trying time for everyone. 2. There is a huge safety issue. a. There are no sidewalks for the kids to walk where the new bus stops are intended outside of the village. b. There is nowhere for parents to park with their kids to wait for the buses. c. There is increased danger since the buses for Middle and High School come in the dark in the winter mornings. d. Kids will need to walk 30 - 60 minutes to a bus stop outside the gates (in the dark in the mornings) if their parents can't drive them. 3. Traffic on Happy Canyon and Chase will be highly impacted. a. There is not a safe place for kids to wait for the buses, they will be lined up on Happy Canyon (in the dark in winter). b. Parents who will drive their kids to the bus stop have nowhere to park and they will be off the shoulder on Happy Canyon and off in the ditch/shoulder on Lagae/Chase. Although this year there will be a smaller number of kids on buses due to Covid restrictions, in future months/years this will be MANY cars. c. Due to the above reasons, there will be a large number of cars lined up waiting for the kids to board/un-board the buses every morning and afternoon. It will take quite a while for ALL the kids to board because of the minimal number of stops outside the village. Traffic will be very congested in these areas. 4. Bus Fees are charged for our kids to ride the bus. This is acceptable when our kids only have to walk a few blocks to a stop. Moving the bus stops to outside of the village, creating a huge inconvenience for parents and kids, does not justify the same bus fee.
    232 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Kimberly N.
  • COVID-19 Global Solidarity Manifesto
    A group of around 50 people from more than 12 countries drafted the Manifesto in recent weeks. Many prominent people are supporting it. People in general are more awake to the absurdity of a planet in which the richest 8 people have more wealth than the poorest 3.8 billion than ever before as this pandemic spreads. We are circulating this widely in multiple languages to help frame the debate and actions moving forward, raising global demands that address the inequity resulting from decades of neoliberal economic policies and rampant and unbridled militarism.
    3,983 of 4,000 Signatures
    Created by Peter K.
  • Pass the Bank of Virginia Act
    • There is an increasing need for municipal governments and state agencies to transition to sustainable alternatives requires accessible and affordable financing • There is an increasing need for small farmers to have access to affordable credit in the state, that is inaccessible through current day financial market conditions • There is a need to decrease overall costs for financially burdened municipalities and state agencies to better allocate resources to important aspects of each entity • There is a need to decrease financial risk municipalities and state agencies are exposed to by risky corporate lending behaviors
    11 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Austin S.
  • Cut defense budget
    Spend money on helping Americans not involved in a war economy
    25 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Greg D.
  • Academic Institutions Must Defend Free Speech
    Academic institutions are restricting free speech, due mainly to organized pressure campaigns. This is destructive to academic activity and to free pursuit of ideas in the institutions and the wider societies which they serve.
    3,431 of 4,000 Signatures
    Created by PAUL L.
  • Change The Name of Dixie School District
    It's time to lose the lost cause in Marin County. Dixie is a synonym of the Confederacy and the national anthem of the Confederacy. The school district should have a name that welcomes all students regardless of the color of their skin. We are all stakeholders in Dixie School District. 78% of their funding is from state and federal funds. We should teach our children the historical meaning of words like Dixie. Changing the name is a simple gesture for respect, equity and inclusion.
    2,332 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Kerry P. Picture
  • Pass the Equality Act to Protect LGBTQ Americans from Discrimination
    While the groundbreaking Marriage Equality Act expanded marital protections for LGBTQ people in 2015, there is still much to be done to ensure non-discrimination protections and equal treatment under the law. Federal law and the majority of states lack explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people at work, at school, and elsewhere, leaving them vulnerable to discrimination. In other words, a person can be fired from their job, evicted from their home, denied access to housing, credit, loans, hotel services, and even jury duty on the strict basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other key federal non-discrimination laws to provide clear, explicit federal protection against discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, credit, federally funded programs (including education), and federal jury service. The bill would provide clear, explicit federal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the following six areas: ● Employment: The Equality Act would explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and in the workplace. ● Federally funded programs and activities: Any program that receives federal funds would be prohibited from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. This provision would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination by institutions that receive federal funds – including schools, hospitals, domestic violence shelters, and police departments. ● Housing: The Equality Act provides explicit protections for LGBTQ people against housing discrimination. ● Public Spaces and Services: LGBTQ people would be protected from discrimination in “public accommodations,” including stores, restaurants, hotels, transportation, and healthcare services. ● Banks and Credit: The Equality Act would explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in credit, financing, and lending. ● Federal Jury Service: The Equality Act would explicitly prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people in selecting federal juries. All LGBTQ Americans deserve a fair chance to live, love and provide for their families without the burden of legalized discrimination. This bill will help ensure that no one is fired, evicted from their home, or denied basic services because of who they are or whom they love. Urge your members of Congress to support this critical piece of legislation. H.R. 2282, The Equality Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2282?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Equality+Act%22%5D%7D&r=1 Human Rights Campaign: Why the Equality Act? https://www.hrc.org/resources/why-the-equality-act
    10,551 of 15,000 Signatures
    Created by Jamani M.
  • Keep and Maintain Digital DNA (Save the Egg!)
    Unveiled in 2005, Digital DNA is very arguably the most popular and culturally significant work of public art the City has ever commissioned. (As one measure of the work's popularity and impact, searching Instagram public posts by #[artwork title] shows that through 2017 Digital DNA had by an extraordinarily wide margin more posts than all of the City's other permanent sculptures combined, comparable to the number of posts of Rodin's Burghers of Calais at Stanford University.) Digital DNA is so popular in part because it recognizes Palo Alto (indeed, the HP garage) as the birthplace of the Silicon Valley and the computer revolution in such a visually engaging, almost whimsical way. At the same time, the sculpture poses challenging questions about what it means to live and work in the Silicon Valley where every day companies determine and produce new technologies and make decisions that profoundly change the DNA of both it and every other society on the globe. Based on social media metrics, it appears that Digital DNA has resonated with Palo Alto citizens and visitors alike to a much greater extent than any other permanent public artwork commissioned by the City. Visitors from all over the world make a point to visit Digital DNA as part of their exploration of Silicon Valley. Can the same be said of any other public artwork in Palo Alto? When the City does succeed in commissioning artwork that has significant popular and cultural impact as it has with Digital DNA, it seems self-evident that its Public Arts staff should concentrate its efforts and resources on properly maintaining such work. Otherwise, the City will find itself expending significant financial resources to acquire and maintain a collection of public artwork that has much lower public impact. It is clear that the City can properly maintain Digital DNA. In 2015, the City hired ARG, a leading San Francisco arts conservator, to provide guidance on maintaining its outdoor public art. ARG advised the City that if a "water based coating is applied annually and the artwork inspected regularly, it will be acceptable to keep [Digital DNA] in its current location." After it had spent taxpayer funds to obtain it, the City omitted ARG’s assessment from it Deaccession Request for Digital DNA even though its Deaccession Policy requires it to include the opinion of a "qualified visual arts conservator." Experienced arts caretakers such as the Getty Museum have routinely maintained outdoor plastic sculptures in excellent condition for many decades through regular maintenance and periodic restoration. There is no excuse for the City not to maintain Digital DNA using these same standard procedures. The cost of maintaining Digital DNA through annual maintenance and periodic restoration as needed is several thousand dollars per year, a small price to maintain very arguably the City's most successful public artwork and a tiny fraction of its total Public Arts budget.
    226 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Friends of D.
  • Protect Bethesda African Cemetery
    This community built the main thoroughfares in the county. It manufactured building materials and provided the manpower building the bunker under the White House. By around the 1850s free Africans owned property in Bethesda but were confined to a small area by covenants preventing them and Jews from living elsewhere. A community once thrived there. That history has been erased, but needs to be preserved. A museum could provide the archive for that history as well as serve as the vehicle for conveying the story to future generations. Washington Post death notices, County plat and plot maps, oral histories, aerial photos and other historic materials substantiate the existence and location of the cemetery. No documentation of bodies being disinterred has ever been produced. Currently there is a Sector Plan that seeks to place a parking garage and housing units on top of what is now a parking lot that was placed on top of the African Cemetery (allegedly at least in part to prevent erosion from exposing the remains). History of the enslavement of Africans is American history. More importantly, the triumph of Africans against enslavement in a living museum and memorial will be an ongoing testament to these people, their heritage and their legacy.
    416 of 500 Signatures
    Created by Honor O.
  • Natural Resource POWER PLANT
    In order for humanity to thrive we have to be willing to change our destructive economy. Working with nature is the answer. Helping people while growing business should be the bottom line of any business. Allowing society to embrace healthy ways of living while living in luxury is possible. Power Plant has many great ideas of changing our world for the better. From paper to fuel to plastic, we can still go about our daily lives and have all the necessities its just time to support new resources and companies willing to do so.
    19 of 100 Signatures
    Created by brittney y. Picture
  • Keep the pressure on! Demand Mumia & all affected prisoners get the hep C cure
    The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections has shown a blatant disregard for both judicial authority and the thousands of PA prisoners affected by hepatitis C. In January 2017, Pennsylvania Judge Robert Mariani ordered the Department of Corrections to provide Mumia Abu-Jamal with hepatitis C treatment. Mumia has an active, chronic hepatitis C infection, and is at serious risk of experiencing medical complications. The debilitating symptoms of an active hepatitis C infection include extreme skin irritation, limb numbness, vision problems, and swollen feet. Mumia’s organs are extremely vulnerable due to the infection. Despite Judge Mariani’s order, the Pennsylvania DOC has not provided Mumia Abu-Jamal with the hepatitis C treatment. Mumia's lawyers have filed a motion for contempt against the Department of Corrections. The PA-DOC and their private health care provider, Correct Care Solutions, have retaliated by filing an opposition motion to the contempt motion with the 3rd Circuit. Throughout this petty battle over court orders, Mumia's life and the lives of over 6,000 hep C+ prisoners have been disregarded. It is imperative that Mumia, and all other prisoners who need it, get the hepatitis C treatment they need.
    3,431 of 4,000 Signatures
    Created by Jamani M.
  • Ban Solitary Confinement for Youth Prisoners in State Custody
    Thousands of adolescent youth, ages 11 to 18, are being held in solitary confinement in jails and state prisons across the U.S. These youth spend 22 or more hours each day alone, often in a small 8-by-8-feet cell, completely isolated both physically and socially, often for weeks, months, or even years at a time. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, as many as 10,000 youth prisoners are held in isolation in juvenile jails nationwide. For youth being held in isolation in adult facilities, there is no official count. The ACLU reports that solitary confinement can "cause serious psychological, physical, and developmental harm, resulting in persistent mental health problems, or suicide." Since youth are still developing, the physical and neurological effects are even more detrimental. These risks are magnified for children with disabilities or histories of trauma and abuse. On Jan 26, 2016, President Obama announced a ban on solitary confinement for juvenile offenders in the federal prison system. He said that the practice is often overused and has the potential for devastating psychological consequences on young people. Although Obama’s ban affected close to 8,000 youth in federal prisons, it had absolutely no impact on those in solitary confinement in state and county facilities. It is up to us to pressure Congress and state prison systems to follow suit!
    4,005 of 5,000 Signatures
    Created by Jamani M.