Wine, Cheese, & Camaraderie

Transcription

1 December 2014 Volume 63 Number 10 Wine, Cheese, & Camaraderie The second annual Wine and Cheese Party to welcome new members and honor life members was held November 15. Top Left: Mike Gelin, Shaheewah Gelin, and son Thabo; Top right: Terry Phillpott, Bernadette Revicky, and John Kent; Left: Carol Smith and Harriet Mathis; Center: Lynne Joshi with Ruth Marx; Right: Laura Simon and June Rabin. LWV Broward County VOTER 63(10) December

2 President s Message A statistic caught my eye last week and really tugged at my heart. And I learned a new acronym: ALICE. It s the United Way acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. ALICE represents those people who work hard, but due to high costs and factors often beyond their control must live paycheck to paycheck. Here s the statistic: A study conducted by Rutgers University for the United Way of Florida found that 45 percent of Florida s families do not earn enough to meet basic needs like housing, food and energy. Most of the families studied were employed, but worked in low wage positions that could not adequately support the household. The study s data shows it s 47% of the families in Broward County. These are the people whose lives are often affected by government and the very constituents lawmakers should keep in mind as they return to Tallahassee to begin work toward the 2015 session. The report on financial hardship was commissioned by the United Way of Florida and conducted by Rutgers University- Newark School of Public Affairs and Administration. It details the amount of money needed to cover basic necessities such as housing, child care, food, transportation and health care in each of the state s 67 counties. According to the study, 1.1 million Florida households live below the federal poverty line. But another 2.1 million households live below the ALICE threshold, a measurement that means the households don t earn enough to provide necessities and are vulnerable to collapse should a financial emergency as simple as a broken- down car arise. These are the struggling workers, holding jobs such as customer service representatives, laborers, retail sales people, movers and some health care aides. Many work more than one job to make ends meet and would benefit from the expansion of Medicaid. As we close out another year, let s renew our commitment as League members to continue to make a difference to the community that we have organized to serve. Each year the political environment and the ecological state of our country become more and more fragile because of the threat of terrorism, war, and natural disasters that may be caused by climate change. Now is the time as a League member to become more involved in the policy issues that will make a difference in the lives of others. As the holiday season approaches, I'm reminded of how thankful I am to be a citizen in our democracy and to have the opportunity to make a difference. I wish each of you a holiday season filled with joy and a Happy New Year! Lynne Joshi - President, LWVBC LWV Broward County VOTER 63(10) December

3 Voters Service Tamarac Health Fair Event: Margery Marcus and Laura Simon represented the League at the Tamarac Employee Health Fair on November 13. We received some good feedback from voters regarding their voting experience in the November 4 th election. Thank you to Faleasha Moss, Human Resources Department, for inviting us back to this well organized event which included health vendors offering flu shots, and blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar screenings. Survey: Watch for an election survey in your . We will be asking you about your volunteering experience with a focus on training, materials, and set- up. Ideas to help improve your experience will be appreciated. Please make notes before you forget anything that you might want to comment on. Voter Registration and Training Quiz: Several new members have already responded to our request to take the voter registration training and quiz. The January Voter will provide additional information on how to become credentialed to register voters. Voters Service and Speakers Bureau: Please let us know of any groups or events that would appreciate having the League update signatures, make address changes or register voters. We will have volunteers available during December and can also begin scheduling for January. We also have an excellent Speakers Bureau and can arrange for presentations on relevant issues from anywhere to 15 minutes to an hour. We especially like talking about the League, its history and current activities. Laura Simon - Voters Service Chair (c) (h) johnsimon@bellsouth.net Livable Community Workshop: What does Livable Community mean to you? Will your community continue to be livable for all? Do you want to help make your streets more friendly and walkable? Then this workshop is for you. When: Wednesday, December 10, 1:30 to 3 pm: Livable Communities 101 What: Workshop led by Laura Cantwell, AARP Florida Associate State Director and Anamarie Garces, MPH Director of Projects and Community Relations, Urban Health Solutions. Where: Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization Trade Centre South, 100 West Cypress Creek Road, Suite 850, Ft. Lauderdale. Parking is free. Sign- in sheet in lobby. RSVP: League members are invited, but please RSVP to Terry Elder, telder@aarp.org County Commission District 2 Election: Believe It or Not, there is still another election to be held. Check your Voter Information Card to see if you are in County Commission District 2. This is the result of a disputed section of the election law, which resulted in lawsuits challenging whether the race should be open or closed. As a result, residents of District 2 are without representation on the County Commission until after January 13. What: County Commission District 2; a closed Primary election- - only Democrats can vote When: Thursday, December 4; polls open 7 am to 7 pm o Vote by Mail Ballots available by calling or online at o No Early Voting hours Candidates: Lisa Kohner Aronson, Mark D. Bogen, Carmen Dixon Jones, Charlotte Elizabeth Rodstrom, Terry Williams- Edden The winner will face a write- in candidate on January 13, 2015 Carol Smith Speakers Bureau Chair ; cssmith@att.net LWV Broward County VOTER 63(10) December

4 Hot Topic: Advocacy 101 Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2015 Time: 12:00 2:00 pm. Where: LWVBC office, 5101 NW 21 st Ave., Suite 450, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Victoria A. Nowlan, Executive Director, Broward Legislative Delegation, will be the featured speaker. The Broward Legislative Delegation provides Advocacy 101, a quick look at the do s, don ts, what s and why s of effectively meeting with your members of the Florida legislature or any elected official. Contact Donna Meyers for more information: ; bmeyers461@aol.com News from The League of Women Voters of Florida Redistricting Update: On November 13, a unanimous Florida Supreme Court issued a decision overturning a Republican political consultant's effort to hide documents relating to the shadow process of drawing districts from the public view. LWVF president, Deirdre Macnab said the decision sends a clear message to the Legislature that partisan politics, shadow processes, and schemes to hide documents from the public's view have no place in our government. Announcing 2015 LWVF Legislative Summit in Tallahassee: Please save the date in your calendar, March 10-12, 2015 for Legislative Summit in Tallahassee! Support our intrepid Kathe Thompson, who spent seven months walking across America for action on climate change, and learn how we can move forward on this issue, fight for better public schools, protect our waterways, and much more. Additional information will be coming soon. LWV Broward County VOTER 63(10) December

5 Date Tuesday Dec 2 9:00 am 5:00 pm Tuesday Dec 2 2:- 00 3:30 pm Wednesday Dec 10 1:30 3:00 pm Saturday Jan 17 9:30 am Wednesday Jan 21 Noon 2:00 pm Event Broward Legislative Delegation Public Hearing All Day Public Hearing Covering All Subjects Broward College, Davie Campus, Bailey Hall 3501 SW Davie Road Get Smart with Your SmartPhones and Tablets Atlantic Technical College & High School Room Coconut Creek Parkway Coconut Creek, FL Livable Communities 101: Mini- Workshop Broward Metropolitan Planning Org Trade Center South 100 W Cypress Creek Road, Suite 850 Board of Directors Meeting LWVBC Office 5101 NW 21 st Avenue, Suite 450 Hot Topic Luncheon LWVBC Office Topic: Advocacy NW 21 st Avenue, Suite 450 LWV Broward County VOTER 63(10) December

6 WANT TO GET INVOLVED? CALL OR A BOARD MEMBER Lynne Joshi President lynnejoshi@gmail.com Bernadette Revicky V. President brevicky@comcast.net Elayne Garver Secretary elaynetg@aol.com John Kent Treasurer johnnkent@bellsouth.net Joanne Aye Director jayeaye@gmail.com Scherry Donato Director scherryd1@gmail.com Shaheewa Gelin Director shwah07@yahoo.com Jane Koszoru Director jkoszoru@aol.com Harriet Mathis Director mathis.lwvflbc@gmail.com Donna Meyers Director bmeyers461@aol.com Laura Simon Director johnsimon@bellsouth.net M Remember to Renew Send in your renewals now. (please J ) Our sincere thanks to the following members for financial gifts in celebration of Ruth Alter s 95 th birthday! Edith Hilton, Marjorie Head, Donna Meyers, Carol and Richard Smith We re on Twitter Follow Coming Soon! The League on Facebook The VOTER is a newsletter published by The League of Women Voters Broward County If you wish to submit articles to The VOTER, LWVBC, you can send them to: Jane Koszoru, Editor, 81 SE 11 th Street, Pompano Beach, FL jkoszoru@aol.com Or - Lynne Joshi, President lynnejoshi@gmail.com LWV Broward County VOTER 63(10) December

7 LWV Broward County VOTER 63(10) December