This past weekend, I visited a League at the far northwestern tip of the United States--only about 50 miles south of Vancouver, Canada--to attend "Access and Justice for All," a three-hour seminar that included a keynote speech, panel discussion, and question-and-answer session to explore diversity and the courts in Washington state.
Today, April 22 is Earth Day! Earth Day is a time to celebrate the beauty of our air, water and the environment around us. At the League, we try to celebrate Earth Day everyday by working to make the environment safer from pollutants, defending the Clean Air Act, and standing up for people not polluters. As you celebrate the environment around you today, we hope you will also take the chance to let your voice be heard on a historic regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The Regional Training for LWV State Coaches this past weekend was a great success! Thirty League leaders from 9 states (mostly in the central region of the United States) gathered with LWVUS board, staff, and 8 of the 23 Ruth S. Shur Fellows in Houston, TX from April 13-15, 2012.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) made news this week when they announced that they were discontinuing their Public Safety and Elections Task Force. This Task Force was responsible for the promotion of ‘model’ voter identification and stand-your-ground legislation that has recently been in the news.
This morning the House Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing examining the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) record on voting rights enforcement. Protecting voters’ rights is at the core of what the League of Women Voters does so we have to ask: Why is the Judiciary committee holding this hearing rather than taking on the anti-voter laws that were hastily passed in so many states around the country?
We have made a lot of progress since our post last week! We have reached out and secured a core group of friends and partners to work with us to complement our expertise by providing strategic advice on different themes.
Today, the Administration published their new proposed greenhouse gas rule for new power plants. This first-of-its-kind rule is a really important step in the fight to eliminate the ill-effects of global climate change. The League is pleased with this development and said as much in our earlier press statement.
LWVUS Board and staff will be training some 30 League leaders from 9 states in Houston, TX on Friday, April 13 until Sunday, April 15, 2012. The training will bring together individuals who have volunteered to be state coaches as part of the Membership and Leadership Development (MLD) program, funded and provided by the LWVUS Leaders for Leadership Fund.
