On March 15, as part of our celebration of Women’s History Month, LWV of East Nassau honored District Court Judge Andrea Phoenix, for her dedicated work in the special, problem-solving Mental Health, Drug and Veterans Courts of the county. Judge Phoenix and several of her staff and associates discussed how these courts work to keep people with certain extenuating situations out of prison, and help them to get their lives back on track. These are among the most successful alternatives to incarceration.
If Susan B. Anthony were alive today… was presented by LWV of Rochester Metro on April 11th. Catherine Cerulli, Director of the Susan B. Anthony Center at the University of Rochester was invited to introduce Ms. Anthony in a whole new (activist) way. Dr. Cerulli shared her extensive knowledge of Susan B., including the issues and causes Susan B. might support today. LWV of Rochester strongly suggests browsing the Center’s website for information on courageous suffragists of the past as well as research and advocacy activity on current social justice issues: http://www.rochester.edu/sba/.
Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul will be the speaker at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the LWV of Chautauqua in May.
The League of Women Voters of Huntington in conjunction with Harborfields Public Library presented a very special program for Women’s History Month, Madam Justice: The Women of the Supreme Court, on March 14 at the Harborfields Public Library. James Coll, a highly decorated NYC police detective, adjunct Associate Professor of American and Constitutional History at Nassau Community College and founder of the nonpartisan organization, ChangeNYS, which is dedicated to strengthening New York’s citizens’ knowledge of civics and political reform, presented a fascinating and informative program. He presented film clips where we heard the voices of Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan as youngsters, young women and mature attorneys and judges as they traveled along the paths that led each of them to become Justices of our U.S. Supreme Court.
LWV of Suffolk County has been partnering with LICET (Long Island Civic Engagement Table) which seeks solutions for ways to increase civic engagement through education and grassroots organizing, since there are ethnic and racial gaps in the proportion of frequent voters compared to percent of population /percent of eligible registered voters.
LWV of Broome Tioga participated in the Earth Fest activities with a voter registration table. See them in the video from the media coverage:
http://www.twcnews.com/nys/binghamton/news/2016/04/24/earth-fest-2016.html
LWV of Buffalo/Niagara will present the program Increasing the Minimum Wage is Good Economics on April 27. Speakers, Fred Floss Jr., SUNY Buffalo State, Dept. of Economics & Finance and Sam Magavern, co-director, Partnership for the Public Good (PPG), will discuss how a boost in the minimum wage would affect the economy.
LWV of Scarsdale is busy educating young people about our political system. The League will organize and run Presidential Pursuit for 7th and 8th graders at Scarsdale Middle School. Presidential Pursuit is an absorbing trivia game designed to support the curriculum by teaching presidential and government topics in the context of current events. And, for the first time, League members were invited to teach a 5th-grade class at Fox Meadow Elementary about the Scarsdale nonpartisan political system.
League of Women Voters of Schenectady County and ECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse presented a program about the water infrastructure in Schenectady County on April 14th. Jason Pelton, Schenectady County Groundwater Management Planner, spoke about the aquifer, its geologic history and what testing is done to ensure the quality of the groundwater. Paul LaFond, Director of Water and Wastewater for the City of Schenectady, discussed water infrastructure in the City of Schenectady.
LWV of White Plains presented the program, Vote 18, for the local Youth Bureau, and also registered high school seniors in multiple high schools. Finally, the League visited the Kensington Assisted Living Residence to provide information on the Presidential primary and to lead a discussion on the continuing struggle to protect voting rights.
League of Women Voters of Brookhaven’s annual luncheon is coming up on April 29th. With a special presentation by Stony Brook University Political Science Professor Helmut Norpeth: Trump Near Certain to Defeat Democrat in November. It is sure to be a lively discussion!
LWV of the Hamptons along with representatives from the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) will meet to discuss Climate Change and the Carbon Tax. CCL is a non-partisan international grassroots environmental group that trains and supports volunteers to build relationships with their elected representatives in order to influence climate policy.
On Sunday, April 17 LWV of Shelter Island held their Ninth Annual State of the Town luncheon. Town Supervisor Jim Dougherty was guest speaker.
A screening of the documentary, FIX IT, HEALTHCARE AT THE TIPPING POINT was presented by both the LWV of Syracuse and LWV of Tompkins County in April. The movie documents the current healthcare crisis in the United States. Despite recent reforms, Americans remain vulnerable to economic catastrophe with a serious illness or injury-insured and uninsured alike. A panel discussion followed the screenings by both local Leagues.
