HELPING: Santa Monica Santa Monica officials are expanding the law which bans smoking in certain areas in an effort to control second-hand smoke. Residents living in apartment complexes and condominiums are unable to light up anywhere within 25 feet of a neighbor’s windows, doors or vents. Many smoker’s patios, porches, decks and balconies are now off limits to cigarettes. The law already forbids smoking in yards, upon walkways, within play areas and in other common areas of multi-unit housing complexes. Thankfully,… Read more

Helping: Meghan McCain With the release of her book “Dirty Sexy Politics” this week, author and columnist Meghan McCain is a moderate breath of fresh air in an increasingly partisan political climate. McCain chronicles her experiences on the campaign trail with her father, John McCain, and her ultimate ousting from the campaign bus five weeks before the 2008 presidential election after campaign managers deemed her “too controversial.” Her book maps out how the GOP must step back from its extremist… Read more

Helping: International Assistance Mission For more than 40 years, professional volunteers for the International Assistance Mission (IAM) have been dedicated to helping Afghanistan, in some cases giving up lucrative practices to do so. Earlier this month, a 10-person IAM medical team was gunned down in the Nuristan province. The Taliban claimed responsibility, alleging members of the group were Western spies trying to convert Muslims. Though IAM is a Christian organization, the group’s mission is not to proselytize.  Rather, they offer… Read more

Helping: Austin Heap When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was “re-elected,” the violence of the Iranian regime was personified through the viral video of protestor Neda Soltan’s death by armed militia and police. Ahmadinejad figured a reasonable solution was total internet censorship. But Austin Heap, a 26-year-old programmer from San Francisco, had other plans. Heap created Haystack, software which encrypts a user’s data and hides it to look like normal surfing and nothing a censor might deem dangerous. Now, I’m not… Read more