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|  THE VOTER April 2016 |
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Mon, Apr 18
HOT TOPIC: Pro and con of moving city elections
Discussion with Thomas Hawkins and Joe Little
Millhopper Library
7 p.m.
Wed, Apr 20
Legislative Wrap-up
Santa Fe College
Library Lobby
2 p.m.
Tue, Apr 26
Education Committee Meeting
Alachua County Schools Finance
Speaker: Alex Rella
Santa Fe College Downtown
12 Noon
Tue, Apr 26
Social & Criminal Justice Committee Second Community Conversation
State Attorney Bill Cervone Office
120 W University Ave
6 p.m.
Wed, Apr 27
Village LWV Unit
Silenced Springs - Past, Present and Future
Speaker: Dr. Robert Knight
Village Tower Club Ballroom
10 a.m.
Fri-Sat, Apr 29-30
LWVF Council
Orlando
Wed, May 4
Natural Resources Team Meeting
"Up and Down the Floridan Aquifer"
Speaker: Jim Gross
Room DA-129
Santa Fe College Downtown
5:30 p.m.
Thu, May 12
Annual Meeting
Trinity United Methodist Church
5:30 p.m.
Sun, May22
Voter Services Meeting
Millhopper Library
1:30-2:45 p.m
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Thu- Sun, Jun 16-19
LWVUS National Converntion
Washington D.C.
Sun, July 31
LWVAC Candidate Forum Downtown Library Meeting Room A
1:00-4:30 p.m.
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Thu, Apr 21
Naturalization Ceremony
Federal Building
11 a.m.
Tue, May 3
Citizens for Strong Schools Trial
Bob Graham Center
Pugh Hall, UF
6-7 p.m.
Thu, May 5
Law Day 2016
Matheson History Museum
6:00 p.m.
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VP: Janet Allen
Secretary: Lorene Junkin
Treasurer: Karen Seabury
Elected Directors:
Arlene Brummer
Diane Dimperio
Voter Service:
Gail Sasnett-Stauffer
Dues Treasurer and Roster Manager:
Oak Hammock Unit:
The Village Unit:
Update contact information or obtain a current membership directory:
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Our local League website
Florida League website
http://thefloridavoter.org/
LWV US website
LWV Education Blog
http://lwveducation.com/
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HOT TOPIC:
Pro and Con of Moving City Elections
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A HOT TOPIC program on the pro and con of moving city elections from the spring to the August primary election to save money and increase voter participation will be held on Monday, April 18 at the Millhopper Library at 7 p.m. The discussion will be led by former city commissioner Thomas Hawkins and Law Professor Joe Little, provided that his trial recesses timely.
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Legislative Wrap-up at Santa Fe
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Come join us! Legislative Wrap-up program on Wednesday, April 20 at 2 p.m. in the Santa Fe College Library lobby.
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LWVAC Annual Meeting in May
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Come join us for our Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, 4000 NW 53rd Ave. Enjoy a lovely dinner, applaud the awards, meet the new board members, and chat with Leaguers. Everyone should have received an invitation in the mail.
Dinner reservations are required by Thursday, May 5.
Click here for another copy of the form. Members who do not wish to eat dinner are welcome to come for the 6 p.m. business meeting.
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By Jean Robinson
The Education Team met on March 22nd at the SFC downtown campus. Katy Byars of the Home School Help Desk informed us of the various home schooling options in Alachua County. She explained how these children enter home schooling and how they graduate and go on to college. She answered many questions from the Education Team.
The next Education Team meeting will be on Tuesday, April 26th at noon at the Santa Fe College downtown campus. We will have Alex Rella, Assistant Superintendent for Finance of the Alachua County School Board as our speaker.
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Natural Resources Report
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By Julia Reiskind
Bob Palmer of the Florida Springs
Cou
ncil (F
SC)
spoke at our April meeting. The FSC is made up of
35 groups that have been formed to protect one or more springs around the state, for a total of about 125,000 interested Floridians. FSC is made up of three committees: educational, legal (to face court challenges), and legislative of which Bob Palmer is the Chair. In the fall of 2015 FSC began working on its version of the 2016 water bill, hoping to convince Senate and House members to support it. In early January identical bills crafted by a group of legislators friendly to "big ag" were presented to both chambers; Adam Putnam, Commissioner of Agriculture, was the main spokesman. In response FSC reduced its original 17 amendments to four, which were introduced to both chambers. These amendments were: 1. Metering to determine quantity of water pumped, 2. Capping to require water management districts set caps on quantity of water pumped, 3. Charging to require pay for water used, and 4. Restoration of a focus spring to be completed within 15 years. These were summarily voted down by a voice vote, thus leaving no accountability. Bob describes the process as frustrating, more so because the environmental lobbyists were ineffective and certain groups, such as the Nature Conservancy and Audubon, supported the water bill as it was initially presented. The Springs Restoration amendment has gained traction, and FSC is focusing on this and how the allocated $50 million will be spent.
Several Committee members participated in two conference calls with the state LWV Natural Resources Chair on the solar co-op initiative. The partnership with a Community Power Network has been finalized, and the state League is in process of finding funding to hire a director. This individual's job will be to aid local leagues convene and educate groups interested in forming a co-op and to help find an installer with competitive pricing. Three members of the committee have volunteered to help with this initiative. A request for proposal should be out next week for approval of local league boards.
Our next meeting is May 4th. Jim Gross, formerly of the St. Johns Water Management District and presently Executive Director of Florida Defenders of the Environment, will speak. The title is "Up and Down the Floridan Aquifer". The meeting is at 5:30 in Room DA-129, in the main building (old railroad building), downtown Santa Fe College. Of additional interest is Robert Knight's talk to the League unit at The Village; his talk, "Silenced Springs - Past, Present and Future", will be April 27th at 10 a.m. in the Tower Club Ballroom.
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Florida League Announces a New Partnership to Expand Solar in Florida
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Community Power Network
(CPN) and the
Florida League of Women Voters have teamed up to launch Florida Solar United Neighborhoods (FL SUN), a nonprofit program that will help communities learn about and affordably participate in solar by using the principle of volume purchasing to achieve substantial discounts not otherwise available when individuals purchase solar independently. Click here for more information.
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Social & Criminal Justice Committee Second Community Conversation
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By Bennett Brummer
On April 26, the LWVAC is following up on our criminal justice forum and first Community Conversation using the School to Prison Pipeline(STPP)/System of Care model as a point of departure. The League has participated in a number of related events in order to broaden our perspectives. We are ready to learn from agency representatives how the LWVAC might be most helpful. Several elected officials, agency directors, and providers have accepted invitations to participate.
Our goal is to define a constructive, collaborative effort to focus on the STPP. We anticipate that we might work from our traditional strengths: 1) promoting community education and involvement, and 2) coordinating legislative priorities. Our challenge at the second Community Conversation will be to determine whether there is any cost-effective role that the League can play.
Our next Community Conversation will be hosted by the Office of State Attorney Bill Cervone, 120 W University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601, on Tuesday, April 26 at 6 p.m. Space is limited. Please let me know if you would like to attend at
bennettb53@gmail.com.
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Dr. Robert Knight to speak at the Village Unit Meeting
All League Members are Welcome
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By Rosalie Bandyopadhyay
On Wednesday, April 27 at 10:00 a.m. Dr. Robert Knight will speak to the Village League Unit at the Tower Club Ballroom in the Village. Talk is titled "Silenced Springs: Past, Present and Future".
Dr. Knight is the Director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute. He has 38 years professional experience in research and advocacy for the springs and groundwater supply of northern Florida.
All League members are invited. If you do not live in the Village (opposite Santa Fe College), please contact Rosalie Bandyopadhyay at 352-
317-1938 or
rosaliemb@hotmail.com by April 26. Your name will be left at the gate as a guest and gate personnel will give you directions to the Tower Club. Parking is available in front of the Tower Club.
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Voter Service Team Meeting - Getting Ready!
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By Rosalie Bandyopadhyay
The Voter Service Team needs additional members to the Team for another big election year. We will begin with an orientation, training and planning meeting on Sunday, May 22 from 1:30 - 2:45 p.m. at the Millhopper Branch Library. New League members will especially find this meeting valuable.
Even if you have served before OR are a longtime member, come and help us plan our events and get a refresher course on election laws.
If you can attend or, if you cannot attend but want to join the Voter Service Team and get involved, contact Rosalie at 317-1936 or rosaliemb@hotmail.com
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State League Membership Drive
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During April, the LWVF is encouraging increased membership. In our local League, we hope everyone can ask one person to join.
Some of the benefits:
- Be a valuable voting member of 3 organizations. LWVUS, LWVF and your local league!
- Be an active participant on our nonpartisan election team for this year's election! Register voters!
- Receive breaking news updates on important legislative activity at the local, state and national levels!
- Network with civic minded individuals all across our state and country. .......... And more!!
Click here for a membership form to share with friends.
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Summary of March Hot Topic: Re-Envision Alachua: Alternative Ideas for East
Alachua County
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By Julia Reiskind
Development plans for east Gainesville have energized our community, and the League is staying informed.
Alachua County Commissioner Robert Hutchinson presented the League's March 21st Hot Topics talk, "Re-envision Alachua County": a plan to develop employment opportunities in Gainesville along Waldo Road north of East University Avenue. His plan is an alternative to that of Plum Creek/Weyerhaeuser's (PC/W's) "Envision Alachua County Sector Plan", which projects the development of two job centers, one on SR 20 in Windsor and the other on US 301 north of Hawthorne.
The talk began with maps of the water flow through PC/W's land and the potential for watershed disruption due to the proposed SR 20 job center development. The area is also a designated strategic ecosystem, thus an additional concern is the development's impact on the presently existing wildlife corridor. In addition, the rural lifestyle that residents in that area have chosen would be lost.
In a broad sense the Commissioner's Re-envision plan involves a land exchange between the state, for its land along Waldo Road and east, and PC/W SR 20 job center areas. The state's Waldo Road area includes Tacachale, a state hospital for the developmentally impaired. (Of the original six such facilities only two remain, and gauging from the declining population (presently 350 from 1200) and the deteriorating condition due to lack of state investment, there is concern that this one will soon be closed.) The area in acreage of the PC/W SR 20 job center core is quite similar to the Tacachale site (1587 vs 1412). The question is what happens to the residents and the 1100 employees?
The plan specifies that three separate, but interrelated, transactions occur. 1. The State agrees to purchase the PC/W land that comprises the SR 20 job center using Amendment 1 monies. 2. In return, the State sells ("surpluses") its property along Waldo Road including Tacachale to PC/W.
3. And, PC/W agrees, either by itself or selling to an agreeing third party, to improve Tacachale, transitioning it to an assisted living facility. The remaining property could be developed for residential, agricultural, and commercial uses.
Hutchinson offers a variation if PC/W is not interested in developing Tacachale as described above. This would involve a land swap. 1. The State would transfer ("surplus") its property along Waldo Road to Alachua County. 2. The County, or a contracted third party, would agree to improve Tacachale with the County swapping the remaining lands surrounding Tacachale to PC/W in return for the PC/W lands that comprise the proposed SR 20 job center.
According to the Commissioner the bonuses of developing along Waldo Road as opposed to the SR 20 job center site are many. 1) It lies within the existing urban services boundary where the required infrastructure is in place. 2) The area is upland and thus more suitable for development than the SR 20 job center. 3) Development of this area would bring jobs to residents of East Gainesville, i.e., close to home. 4) The area is adjacent to the UF's East Campus and its development potential. 5) A transit loop could be established linking the airport, East Gainesville, Waldo Road, UF, the Loften Center and downtown Gainesville. 6) The Tacachale facility would be improved ensuring that its residents' needs are met. 7) Continued employment for the present staff. 8) The environmentally sensitive lands east of Newnan's Lake would be protected, designated as a state forest, and the Newnans Lake State Forest would remain. Commissioner Hutchinson is currently talking to various state governmental officials and local stakeholders about the feasibility of this plan. He feels there is definite interest. However, a groundswell of local support would be required to make this happen. If all the pieces of the puzzle can be put into place, this COULD be a "win-win" for all
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Profile: Carole M. Fernandez
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 My family and I moved to South Florida around January of 1987. From then until my retirement almost 27 years later, I worked as an Assistant United States Attorney handling federal civil litigation in Miami.
After retirement, my husband, Chuck Stewart, and I looked around for a place to relocate. We chose High Springs for its peaceful atmosphere and natural beauty and because Gainesville, with all it has to offer, is just a skip down the road. Since moving here in November of 2014 I've enjoyed walking around the area and attempting to garden. A couple of mornings a week I volunteer in a first grade class at W.W. Irby Elementary in Alachua.
I became interested in the League from reading the League's articles in the Gainesville Sun and following the League's redistricting litigation. My concerns include civil and political rights, criminal justice, education, and environmental protection.
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Community Event: Law Day 2016
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By Joanna Grey Talbot
Attached
is a press release for Law Day 2016, a nationally celebrated day promoted by the American Bar Association. We will be hosting, on May 5 at the Matheson History Museum, a program with the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association featuring a panel discussion of the Miranda v. Arizona Supreme Court case and its significance today.
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Community Event: Citizens for Strong Schools Trial
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By Sue Legg
Nathan Crabbe will moderate a discussion of the Southern Legal Counsel lawsuit against the State of Florida that alleges that Florida's educational system does not meet the constitutional requirement for a 'unified, safe, secure, efficient, and high quality system for ALL students. The case has concluded and awaits Judge Reynolds' decision.
Location: Bob Graham Center, Pugh Hall, University of Florida
Date: May 3
Time: 6-7 p.m.
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IN MEMORIAM: Elizabeth Harless Turlington
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By Kathy Kidder
Elizabeth Harless Turlington, age 98, a charter member of LWVAC, passed away on March 31, 2016. According to longtime member Barbara Scott, Elizabeth was active in many events and projects at a time when the League was promoting reform of Gainesville government to a more democratic and progressive stance. Barbara recalls that she and Elizabeth catered the first annual LWVAC meeting which included dinner, increasing attendance from a minimal quorum to 70-some members.
Elizabeth was married for over 70 years to Ed Turlington, also now deceased, who served multiple terms as city commissioner and mayor as well as county commissioner. Ed was very supportive of our League, even marching at the head of a local delegation lobbying in Tallahassee for reproductive rights. In 1973 LWVAC named him Outstanding Elected Official and in 1989 Outstanding Citizen in recognition of his many contributions to the community.
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The VOTER is the official newsletter of The League of Women Voters of Alachua County/Gainesville
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