Change.org

UC Berkeley Helps Facebook Be as Emotionally Rich as Possible

Whether it's posting pictures of breakfast cereal or "liking" a Change.org petition on immigration reform, Facebook has become one of the primary vessels through which we express sentiments and emotions. In some ways, that's deeply problematic -- and even Facebook knows that. Which may explain why ... More >>

Michelle Shocked Concerts Canceled Nationwide After Anti-Gay Tirade in SF

Alt-folk singer and self-proclaimed hillbilly Michelle Shocked went on a vicious, anti-gay rant during her concert at Yoshi's on Sunday, infuriating fans with comments like "God hates fags," and causing the venue to pull the plug on her show. See also: * Here Are the Best Michelle Shocked Anti-Gay ... More >>

Why Does UFC and Boxing Hate Marijuana So Much?

A few years ago SF Weekly sat down for an unconventional interview where an up-and-coming mixed martial arts fighter credited cannabis for some of his success and he wanted to tell us all about it.He was in a difficult position: marijuana, he said, is on the "performance-enhancing" banned list becau ... More >>

Ties That Bind: Once an Eagle Scout, Always an Eagle Scout

Ryan Andresen's Eagle Scout Application Denied Because of His "Avowed Homosexuality"

Last month, a local Boy Scout review board bucked the national organization's intolerant policy and recommended that the Mt. Diablo-Silverado Council Boy Scouts approve Ryan Andresen's application for Eagle Scout. For the previous three months, the 18-year-old from Moraga had been denied considerati ... More >>

Boy Scouts Man Up, Accept Eagle Scout Application From Ryan Andresen, Gay Teen

The Mount Diablo-Silverado Boy Scout Council said "screw it" to the Boy Scouts of America's anti-gay policy and finally approved 18-year-old Ryan Andresen's Eagle application after more than 460,000 people signed his petition. On December 19, the local Boy Scout leaders granted Ryan an official Eag ... More >>

California Tax Commissioner Betty Yee Takes on Google Over "Make Me Asian" App

Board of Equalization Member Betty T. Yee stepped out of her usual not-so-politically charged role as the elected tax commissioner and took on the really politically charged issue of race. Yee, a Chinese American who hails from San Francisco, jumped on the bandwagon blasting Google for several rac ... More >>

Ryan Andresen, Gay Boy Scout Denied Eagle Award, To Be Honored by California Pols

Ryan Andresen, the incredibly badass 18-year-old who was booted from boy scouts because he's gay, is getting the recognition he so deserves. After scoring a spot on the Ellen Show and Anderson Cooper 360, the East Bay teen's next stop is the state capitol where he'll be honored by the California As ... More >>

Ryan Andresen, Gay Teen Denied Eagle Scout Honor, to Give 400K Signatures to Boy Scouts

Ryan Andresen, the incredibly cool scout who was recently booted from the Boy Scouts because he's gay, is taking on his troop like no other gay has before. Today, the Bay Area teen is planning to deliver 400,000-plus signatures from people across the nation who say the Boy Scouts of America should g ... More >>

Ryan Andresen, Gay Teen, Denied Eagle Scout Honor

Sadly, the Boy Scouts of America are once again proudly wearing their badge of intolerance. A Moraga Eagle Scout is being denied a top honor simply because he is gay.ABC News brings us the perplexing story about 17-year-old Ryan Andresen, who worked hard toward his dream of becoming an Eagle Scout - ... More >>

Tim Griffin, Eagle Scout Fired for Being Gay, Asks for His Job Back

What better way to help our young scouts "build character" than to teach them how to effectively discriminate?As readers probably recall, Tim Griffin, a 22-year-old Eagle Scout, claims he was booted from his job at Camp Winton in Amador County for being gay. Today, the former scout has big plans to ... More >>

Local Nerds to Hold Lock-In This Weekend for Hackathon

Don't let that headline turn you off -- this event is actually pretty cool.On Saturday, Change.org is holding its second annual hackathon, where more than 200 geeks from all over the Bay Area will spend 24 hours creating new apps for social good. The engineers and designers will head over to the Cha ... More >>

Facebook Campaign Asks Christian Bale, aka Batman, to Visit Hurt Kids in Aurora Shooting

Nothing can pack the pressure like organized social media -- and actor Christian Bale is certainly feeling it. A Facebook campaign is asking the Batman star to visit kids who were hurt in last week's shooting during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises where 12 were killed and 8 were injure ... More >>

San Francisco Immigration Community to Protest Deportation of Alleged Rape Victim

We've all missed a deadline, but how many of those missed appointments meant the difference between a life of refuge and a life of fear? That's what it has meant to Blanca Medina, an El Salvadorian woman currently classified as a fugitive after she missed her immigration court hearing. Medina had a ... More >>

Bay Area's DREAM Act Leader Prerna Lal Responds to Obama's New Policy for Immigrant Youth

Just like the gay community celebrated the president's newfound support for same-sex marriage last month, the immigrant community is now rejoicing in today's news that President Barack Obama would temporarily halt deportations of some immigrant youngsters.It's a remarkable feat for the hundreds of t ... More >>

Marin Kids Force Crayola to Make Its Mark on the Environment

The kids over at Sun Valley School in San Rafael are lamenting the fact that the Crayola markers they use to draw, write, and color, are pretty ... pretty polluting. And because the students are sick of seeing so much wasted plastic, they started a petition on Change.org asking the company to give c ... More >>

Cindy Chang, Sunday School Teacher, Released After Three-Week Detention at Arizona Immigration Checkpoint

​Cindy Chang was driving from San Jose to Phoenix for a friend's wedding early this month when she was stopped at an immigration checkpoint in Eloy, Ariz. These structures are common this close to the border. Chang, a 26-year old Sunday school teacher who has lived in the Bay Area since her f ... More >>

California Cottage Food Bill Could Make It Easier to Start a Small Food Business

​As SFoodie's "Going Legit" series last summer chronicled, starting a food business in this city is almost ludicrously difficult. Even if you go on the cheap, navigating city and state regulations and finding a commercial kitchen can be expensive, time-consuming, and bewildering. And with dying do ... More >>

Apple Consumers Protest Factory Conditions, Demand "Ethical iPhone"

Concerned Apple customers will be descending on the downtown Apple store today, where they will deliver petitions from local consumers demanding for a more "ethical iPhone." iPhone activists across the nation have been criticizing Apple for its "appalling" working conditions in factories overseas, i ... More >>

Greyhound Lovers to Protest S.F. Skechers Store over Super Bowl Ad

Greyhound lovers everywhere want Skechers to dump its new Super Bowl ad before it airs on Feb. 5 -- and it's not necessarily because they'd rather see a sweaty Kim Kardashian on screen.The group is upset by the fact that the ad was shot at a racetrack in Tucson, Ariz., which the group claims mistrea ... More >>

"Toss Ross" Campaign Launched to Oust Mirkarimi over Domestic Violence Allegations

​As Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi fights for his political survival amid allegations that he physically abused his wife and his former girlfriend, some of his critics have taken up the tools of social media in an effort to remove him from office.Two websites have sprung up in recent weeks to urge city vo ... More >>

Village Voice Media Responds to Clergy

Clergy across the nation took out an ad in The New York Times, calling on Village Voice Media company, which owns SF Weekly, to shut down the adult section of its Backpage.com website. They have also launched a petition in partnership with Change.org.Village Voice Media issued the following statemen ... More >>

S.F. Bartenders to Gov. Jerry Brown: Let Us Infuse Our Booze

Bon Vivants: Will Guv Brown have what they're having?​Josh Harris and Scott Baird -- two San Francisco bartenders, dandies, and "cocktail consultants" known as the Bon Vivants -- are trying to save one of the 600 bills sitting on the governor's desk from being vetoed. The two are shilling for ... More >>

Chrissy Lee Polis Update: Teonna Monae Brown Gets Prison Time for Beating of Transgender Woman

Teonna Monae Brown​SF Weekly readers might remember the horrific beating of a transgender woman inside a Maryland McDonald's that drew national attention. The suspect, 19-year-old Teonna Monae Brown, was arrested shortly after the April beating was caught on video tape. Brown, who plead guilty to ... More >>

Why Bert and Ernie Should Get Gay Married

It's about time someone pushed gay marriage on television's gayest couple -- Bert and Ernie. Even if you are a gay-hating, Christian-loving Republican, it's hard not to get a warm and fuzzy feeling when you see the two "roommates" together on television. But those two have been stuffed away in the c ... More >>

Animal Lovers Ask eBay to Stop Pet Sales

How else will he find a home?​Falling deep in puppy love is a hard thing to avoid when scrolling through eBay's classifieds and seeing pictures of pets who need a home. And although it's a great way to trap people into picking up one of those cuddly creatures, animal activists are calling for an e ... More >>

Oscar Grant Supporters Petition Department of Justice to Investigate BART

The fight continues​More than 500 people have signed a petition urging the United States Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division to speed up its investigation of Oscar Grant's death at the Fruitvale BART station in 2009. Last year, before ex-BART cop Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involu ... More >>

Giants Release "It Gets Better" Video

SF Weekly first reported that the San Francisco Giants would become the first professional sports team to produce an iconic "It Gets Better" video. Today, the World Series champs released a short video aimed to curb LGBT bullying and teen suicides. The roughly 60-second clip begins with Giants pitch ... More >>

Can Hackers Change the World?

changing the world, one hacker at a time ​We already know what harm hackers can cause. But what good can they do?San Francisco's Change.org, a online activist platform, is challenging local hackers -- designers, coders, and programmers -- to put their talents to good use and build philanthropic ap ... More >>

Will the Atlanta Braves Follow the Giants' Lead and Create an "It Gets Better" Video?

Case in point that it does get better​It isn't enough that the San Francisco Giants will be the first professional sports team to create an "It Gets Better" video for LGBT youth. What we need now is a more macho, unsuspecting, conservative group of athletes to follow the Giants' lead -- like the A ... More >>

Giants to Create "It Gets Better" Video for LGBT Youth

The champs are here to tell you that it gets better​The San Francisco Giants told SF Weekly today that the team will make an iconic "It Gets Better" video to encourage LGBT youth across the nation. The Giants will be the first professional sports team to join the spirited campaign aimed at curbing ... More >>

Giants Fan Petitions Team to Create "It Gets Better" Video for LGBT Youth

Do the Giants believe it gets better?​SF Weekly readers might recall the recent Giants games against the Atlanta Braves. Yes, we got swept, but what was even more upsetting was the fact that the Braves pitching coach, Roger McDowell, accosted Giants fans, asking a group of men if they were homos. ... More >>

"Dog Wars" App Is Back on the Market, the Fight Continues

The fight continues​Yesterday SF Weekly reported that the controversial "Dog Wars" app was mysteriously pulled from the Android market. But a quick search for the game now shows that the virtual dogfighting app is curiously back.The national uproar over "Dog Wars" could have been the reason it was ... More >>

Chrissy Lee Polis, Transgender Woman Beaten, Speaks Out (Video)

Chrissy Lee Polis speaks​Update: Police have charged Teonna Monae Brown, 18, with assault. A 14-year-old girl is also facing charges. Original story, 8:45 a.m.: By now, most people have heard about the truly jaw-dropping case of a transgender woman who was brutally beaten inside a McDonald's in Ma ... More >>

Change.org: Congress Pressures Hillary Clinton to Denounce Chinese Hackers

Ai Weiwei​Earlier today, we told you about the Change.org petition, a viral response to the beating of a transgender woman in Maryland. Seeing the significance of this San Francisco-based social-action platform -- which was recently attacked by Chinese hackers --  the pressure is now on for U ... More >>

DREAM Act Leader Prerna Lal to Be Deported

Me, scared?​While President Barack Obama voiced support for the DREAM Act today in Silicon Valley, one of the Bay Area's most vociferous leaders in the national student movement to get the bill passed is now facing deportation. If passed, the DREAM Act would pave the path of citizenship for any il ... More >>

Bay Area Runners Boycott Race Organizers; Support Peter Hass, Man Who Died at Half Marathon

Taking it to the finish line​More than 160 Bay Area residents have signed an online petition asking people to boycott all events organized by Rhody Co Productions, the company that was responsible for the half marathon event where Peter Hass, 36, died last weekend. The petition, which is being adm ... More >>