April 2020

Published by the League of Women Voters of Rensselaer County

News & Events

Covid-19 Modifies the Election Process in NY

The April 28th Presidential Primary has been postponed and combined with the NYS Primary on June 23.  Governor Cuomo has declared that this year voters may vote by absentee ballot on June 23rd. Stay tuned to the New York State League, www.lwvnys.org as details and further changes develop.

Voter registration 2020 and Covid-19 Due to the new normal of social distancing necessary to slow and prevent the spread of Covid 19, the voter registration events planned for late March and all of April were cancelled. We are continuing to evaluate the feasibility of having a community table at the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market when it resumes outside in May and will keep you posted. Thank you again to all of the League volunteers who had signed up for the cancelled events!  Since our ability to interact face to face with members of the public continues to be uncertain, we will be remaining in contact with our community partners by sending updates via email. Our goal will be to resume a more personal and focused effort by late summer 2020 or early fall to get people registered and then to the polls to vote. Please stay in touch with us to learn of these future efforts to get all eligible citizens registered. The world is facing a health situation unlike any most of us have ever experienced and even when we remain healthy the stress of our current life can be overwhelming. Please take care of yourselves, check on your family and friends and stay informed about our upcoming elections.  -Shirley Buel

The 2020 Edition of " They Represent You " in Rensselaer County A Who's Who of Elected Officials is now available. You will note which positions have terms that expire in 2020 and will therefore be on the November ballot.

2020 Census Rensselaer County The Rensselaer County Complete Count Committee has just produced a website, You Count Rensselaer, as well as a Facebook page. Find a ton of resources there to promote the completion of the census.  The progress of 2020 Census returns is being mapped and you will find it here . Use the right hand drop down menu to find your county, city, town or census tract. In Troy if you are uncertain of your census tract, you will find a census map together with the street grid on the Troy City website. The response maps are updated daily and show steady progress and yet there is still a long way to go to achieve a Complete Count. Soon paper questionnaires will be arriving in mail boxes for those who have not yet filled out the census online or by phone. That should give another bump in responses by the end of April.  What can you do to advance the response that is so important to our community? Consider contacting your personal networks using social media of course or an old fashioned phone call in which you can also check on the well being of your friends and family in these stressful times. -Judy Meyer

An Annual Meeting contingency plan was confirmed in our recent ZOOM Board meeting. We did enjoy adding this new tech option to our repertoire. Our formal annual requirements will be completed by email. The proposed annual budget, nominations, and program will be sent by email with an attached form for returning votes. We will send this packet by the end of April with a request for returns by the end of May. Results to be announced by our original target of June 2.  The dinner and speaker will be postponed until we get the all clear for that type of gathering. We do look forward to seeing each other in person again.

The Mary Stierer Award is traditionally announced at the Annual Meeting. This year the Board chose Jill Nagy for "Making Democracy Work" in a variety of roles over many years in the League. We will complete the ceremonial honors during our rescheduled dinner hopefully later this year.

For the 2020 Students Inside Albany Conference we selected Elaina Champigny, an 11th grader from Maple Hill High School. While the Conference was cancelled Elaina would be our first choice for next year if she is still able to attend.  Despite the "in person" Conference being cancelled, Jennifer Wilson offered a presentation online via ZOOM which you can see here. Of course you miss Jennifer's narration but there are plenty of wonderful visuals.

Environmental News   Cuomo and lawmakers include a $3 billion environmental bond in state budget- Voters in New York will decide in November if the state should borrow $3 billion to spend on various environmental projects, including flood damage restoration and efforts intended to mitigate the effects of climate change.  For details of the bond and other environmental initiatives included in the recent budget, see this report from the NY League of Conservation Voters .

New York's Outdoors are Open, reports NYSDEC During the current COVID-19 public health crisis, getting outdoors and connecting with nature is a way to help maintain our mental and physical health. Scientific studies show that time outside in nature, especially among trees, significantly reduces stress and anxiety, lowers blood pressure, improves mood, energy, and sleep, and boosts the immune system. While indoor spaces and restrooms at DEC environmental education centers, hatcheries, and other public facilities are closed out of an abundance of caution to prevent community spread of COVID-19, our grounds and trails are open to welcome visitors during daylight hours, seven days a week. Any entry fees are waived. Public trails in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks and State Forests throughout the state are also always open (please note: there is still snow in many areas, please check local conditions). Find a location near you on our website, www.dec.ny.gov. For other environmental news see: Environmental Advocates of New York, https://www.eany.org/ New York Public Interest Research Group, https://www.nypirg.org/

Radio WOOC 105.3 has not been stopped by Covid-19 Have you tuned into WOOC's Hudson Mohawk Magazine yet? It airs each weekday evening 6-7PM featuring local public affairs programming. Segments are posted on Facebook as well as online. Find programs relating to Civic Education & Government here . Recent programs have included:  Lee Rowland, policy director for the New York Civil Liberties Union on Civil Liberties In NYS During The Global Pandemic, 4/3; LWVRC member Michael Halloran on Covid-19 at Beechwood Senio r Living 3/31; and Troy Mayor Madden on the impact of Covid-19 on the city 4/6.  LWVRC member Corinne Cary is a frequent interviewer on the show. She welcomes the opportunity to talk through story ideas and can be reached at corinne.carey@yahoo.com.

Follow LWVRC on Social Media Check out our new handle on Twitter @lwvrc!  We’ve used this platform to remind our followers (currently a small group) about candidate forums and other informational opportunities. We also retweet State League tweets.  Let us know how we’re doing!  Would you like to see more or less of certain kinds of information?  Do tell! Contact Ona Papageorgion at pagonapenelope@yahoo.com We're on Instagram too! Please share pictures that tell a story relevant to our League or the world of civic engagement!  Send pics to Carol Bell at cbell7153@hotmail.com

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