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Rooftop gardens growing in popularity in notoriously smoggy Mexico City

“A green revolution is sweeping across the car and concrete jungle of Mexico City, an infamously smoggy capital that was once dubbed ‘Makesicko City’ by novelist Carlos Fuentes. Residents are growing vegetables on rooftops, planting trees where buildings once stood, hopping on bicycles and riding in electric taxis, defying the urban landscape in this metropolis of 20 million people and four million cars. ‘This is our vote for the environment,’ said Elias Cattan, a 33-year-old bespectacled architect pointing to the lettuce, onions and chilies growing in a planting table and inside used tires on the balcony of his rooftop office.” Continue reading →

Occupy debt-relief campaign buys, forgives $100,000 worth of debt

“Members of a debt relief project borne from the Occupy Wall Street campaign said Wednesday they have purchased more than $100,000 worth of medical debt in a second trial run for their efforts. Thomas Gokey, a spokesperson for the Rolling Jubilee campaign, said the debt was purchased for $5,000. Earlier this year, the group bought $14,000 worth of debt for $500. ‘We are buying debt that is being sold on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar,’ Gokey said in a conference call. ‘We are doing it in exactly the same way that [debt collectors] do it, with one big difference: we are abolishing the debt as we buy it.'” Continue reading →

Ron Paul and Barney Frank tell Obama: Respect state marijuana laws

“Reps. Ron Paul (R-TX) and Barney Frank (D-MA) on Thursday called for the Obama administration to respect state marijuana laws, as California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) did on Sunday. Voters in Colorado and Washington state both approved referenda legalizing the limited recreational use of marijuana. However, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration still classifies marijuana as a schedule I drug: the most restrictive classification, reserved drugs with a high potential for abuse and no accepted medicinal value.” Continue reading →

Homeless man jailed for charging phone in park

“A homeless man spent the night in jail Sunday after police arrested him for charging his cellphone in a public picnic shelter at Gillespie Park. Darren Kersey, 28, was charged with theft of utilities after Sarasota Police Sgt. Anthony Frangioni spotted him charging his phone at about 9:20 p.m. Sunday. Unable to come up with the $500 bail for the misdemeanor, Kersey had no choice but to stay in jail.” Continue reading →

NYC Housing Authority ordered workers not to speak to media or politicians after Sandy

“In the chaotic days after Hurricane Sandy made landfall, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) general manager Cecil House sent out a memo ordering staffers not to speak to elected officials or members of the press. According to the New York Daily News, the memo went out on Nov. 2, after the storm had knocked out power, heat and hot water to some 80,000 residents in 400 buildings. Critics charge that the agency has moved too slowly in the wake of the storm, which struck on October 29. An estimated 7,000 residents of the city’s housing projects are still without basic services. Some workers and local politicians are furious.” Continue reading →

Gov. Perry vows to drug test unemployed Texans

“Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said Tuesday that he’s throwing his support to proposals that would require applicants for unemployment benefits and food stamps to submit to a urine analysis drug screening. In addition to the drug tests being a potentially illegal search, The New York Times noted in April that only about 2 percent of applicants in Florida were denied benefits due to failed drug tests, saving just $45,780 in total, even though the program itself cost $118,140.” Continue reading →

Brooklyn pot dealer donates proceeds to hurricane survivors

“A man in Brooklyn says that he raised $700 for victims of Hurricane Sandy in two days by selling pot. The marijuana dealer told The Huffington Post that he came to the conclusion that storm victims without power in Rockaways, New York needed money more than they needed weed. The dealer said that he told his customers that he would be donating money to buy ‘hot meals, diapers, formula, clean water and other supplies’ so they stocked up on pot for the cause.” Continue reading →

Veterans struggle with benefit claims thanks to missing war records

“Over the last decade, millions of military field records from Iraq and Afghanistan have been lost or destroyed, making it difficult for some soldiers to prove their combat experiences and obtain medical benefits or other veteran awards and services. Our reporting found a few reasons behind the problem. The loss of field records – after-action write-ups, intelligence reports and other day-to-day accounts from the war zones – has far-reaching implications. It has complicated efforts by soldiers like DeLara to claim benefits. And it makes it harder for military strategists to learn the lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan.” Continue reading →