|
June 25, 2017
In This Issue:
|
|
|
|
|
June 30-July 18, Donations for Book Sale accepted at Fort River School ONLY.
July 3, Pricing and Sorting for Book Sale begins.
July 28-30 and August 4-6, Book Sale at Fort River.
September 18, LWVA book group will discuss "Nightingale" by Kristen Hannah - 197 Pondview Drive, the home of Phyllis Lehrer. |
| To subscribe to the e-bulletin, visit lwvamherst.org, click on the blue tab "Sign up for Email Updates" and fill out the brief form found there.
|
|
|
At the LWVA Annual Meeting chairs of the committees gave very brief reports to the membership. Click here for the link to the full Annual Reports for 2016-17:
Communications Team
Energy Study Committee
Health Care Committee
Organizational Structure Task Force
Nominating Committee
|
|
Revising the LWVA Structure of Town Government Position
As decided at LWVA's Annual Meeting on June 1, a meeting will be held in the fall to discuss whether and how the League should address the statement in the existing League position on the Structure of Town Government, "The League supports a selectmen-manager form of government." Two motions were adopted at annual meeting concerning the options that need to be considered. If you have additional input or would like to work on planning this meeting, please contact Kathy Campbell.
|
|
Single payer bills hearing
On May 20, 2017, the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing (JCHCF) held hearings in the State House on the Massachusetts single payer bills the League supports (S619/H2987: An act establishing Medicare for All and S610/H596: An act to ensure effective health care cost control).
The Senate hearing room B-1 was filled - with people standing along the walls. Two hours was announced as the "official time" of the hearing. In fact, the hearing continued past the 2 hour limit with Senate Co-chair James Welch inviting anyone who was there for the hearing - but had not signed up to testify - to do so. Please click here for more of Jackie Wolf's write-up on the hearing.
|
GET INVOLVED! HELP WANTED! PLAN AHEAD for BOOK SALE!
The 2017 Book Sale will begin accepting donations
Friday, June 30. We recommend coming while the gym is open-Monday through Saturday, 8 to 1, July 3 through the deadline for donations, July 20, except for July 4. There will be an outside drop point at other times.
Pricing and Sorting Session Chairs are still needed, especially for those 8-10:30 slots. Where are all the early birds? (The feathered ones are up by 4:30!) Sign up at
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050a4eaca823a02-pricing1 . Short training for Session Chairs will be offered Monday, July 3 at 10 a.m. and Wednesday, July 5 at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Others welcome to attend as well.
Here's a link to a flyer for book sale donations:
Coming in early July:
(1) A flyer for the book sale itself; stop by the Fort River Gym to get copies or download from the web site.
(2) Sign-ups for cashiers and shelvers during the sale.
|
LWVA Website apprentices needed
The LWVA Communications team is looking for apprentice web masters for LWVA web site. Training provided. Required: logical thinking, good at detail, reasonable level of comfort with computers, and willingness to spend two to four hours per month working on the site. Not required: experience with web site design or management. Training provided. Bonus: if you are still in the labor force, familiarity with the Drupal platform, which you will gain, is worth putting on your resume. Contact Kathy Campbell if you are interested in finding out more.
|
Civics Education in Our Schools
The topic of improving civics education in our schools is receiving increasing attention in 2017. The are several bills requiring high schools to offer civics education as one of the criteria for graduation before the Massachusetts General Court. And the social studies department of the Amherst Regional High School is considering how to include the subject as it revises its curriculum.
The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts has established civic engagement and civics education as an action priority. After reviewing some of the state legislative proposals, it sent a letter to the sponsors of one of those bills, S.215/H.2016, as well as to the joint committee on education, expressing support for "the basic purpose of S.215 and H.2016 to promote and enhance civic engagement and learning in the Commonwealth's schools".
Useful links:
|
Interested in a new way of thinking about gerrymandering and what to do about it? Check out this article on how US mathematicians are tackling the issue. US judges are thinking carefully about what constitutes evidence of vote manipulation and math just might be the answer.
|
|
|
|
| This monthly message is for anyone interested in the League, not just members. If you know someone who might be interested, forward this message and invite them to subscribe themselves, using the link below. |
|
|
|
