Conveners/Board Meeting

Monday, March 10.

All members welcome to help plan the direction of the League for the year.

For more information, call Liz Head 351-2269 or Joan Retsinas 272-0422.

LWVRI on Facebook

See photos of the recent Coalition for Reproductive Justice event January 21 on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/lwvrhodeisland

Play LWV State of the Union BINGO! - 1/28/14

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, January 28th, because we’re back this year with LWV State of the Union (SOTU) Bingo! Get your game boards ready and join us on 1/28 when we live-tweet the SOTU and track how the President’s speech aligns with the League’s legislative priorities.

Follow along @LWV and use the hashtags #LWV and #SOTU to join in and play along. Good luck!

Game Boards

Advocacy Meeting - FEBRUARY 1 - Bristol Library

Advocacy Organizational Meeting FEBRUARY 1 at 1:30, at the Bristol Library

·         Meet Others Working on Your Issues 

·         Get an Update on Current Issues on the Hill

·         Get pointers on how to lobby

·         Learn How to Track Legislation

 

Subcommittees include:

Accountable Government (including ethics and open records)

              Civil Liberties

              Election Procedures (voter id, master lever removal, early voting, etc.)

              Environmental Issues

              Gun Control and Gun Safety

              School funding

              Women’s Issues, reproductive rights

 

Or Monitoring of meetings of the  Board of Elections or

                                                             Ethics Commission

                   

Opportunities include tracking legislation by computer, talking to legislators formally or informally about League positions, attending hearings and presenting testimony prepared together with the Advocacy Committee and the League President. 

 

We will also update you on the Election Ready Schools Campaign

 

All League Advocacy is based on our LEAGUE POSITIONS.  Please read those related to your interests at http://lwvri.org/issues-positions-studies.htm

 

If you are interested in tracking legislation, please bring a laptop if you can. We will show you how.

Healthy Families Campaign Kick Off Meeting

Food & Water Watch Healthy Farms, Healthy Families Campaign Kick Off Meeting
When: Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014 7pm- 8pm
Where: West Broadway Neighborhood Association (1560 Westminster
Street, Providence RI 02909)
RSVP

Right now, 80% of antibiotics in the US are used on factory farms,
primarily to make animals grow faster and to compensate for filthy
conditions. This is not how our antibiotics should be used. Low doses
of drugs only kill some of the bacteria, leaving behind the stronger
bugs, and when humans get sick, these antibiotics may no longer work
to make us better.

Form the organizers: "I want to live in a world where life-saving
medications will be there when my family members get sick, but factory
farms are playing by their own set of rules and putting the rest of us
in danger. That’s why we're launching a nationwide effort right here
in Providence, to pass local resolutions showing Congress and Senator
Sheldon Whitehouse that the people want action to ban the overuse of
antibiotics on factory farms. And we need your help! RSVP here to join
the campaign to make factory farms stop abusing our antibiotics!"

State Health Care Innovation Plan

Healthy Rhode Island is a project of the Office of Lt. Governor, in conjunction with Governor Chafee’s Office, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Office of Health Insurance Commissioner, the Department of Health, and the Health Benefits Exchange, focused on the future of the health care system in Rhode Island.

State Health Care Innovation Plan

Conversation - Providence Water Supply Board

The Providence League of Women Voters

invites you to a Conversation with

Boyce Spinelli, General Manager of the Providence Water Supply Board

Thursday, January 30, 2014

7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Water: Our lives depends on it, yet it is also a commodity that we collect, treat, disperse  – and sell to two-thirds of the state. Come talk about the finances and politics behind our water.

For more information:
joan.retsinas@gmail.com or (401) 272-0422

Agriculture Study - Update

Although agriculture is not a big factor in the RI economy, there are a lot of agriculture issues that really do matter even to Rhode Islanders.

The Agriculture Update will focus narrowly on: 1) current technology issues in agriculture including genetically modified organisms (GMOs), herbicides, pesticides, agriculture water pollution, aquifer depletion, antibiotics in livestock, and accurate food labeling; and 2) current agriculture finance issues including consolidation in agriculture industries, crop subsidies and the federal agricultural regulatory process.

For more information on the LWVUS website:
Study Committee/Timeline/Background Reading
Consensus Questions
Study Papers (14 documents)

The LWVRI Agriculture Study Committee plans to hold informational meetings for the state prior to consensus meetings.

Coalition for Reproductive Justice Event

Tuesday, January 21, at 3:30 p.m.
Please show your support for Choice and join Coalition Members in the Rotunda at the State House.

This is conceived as an event, not a rally.  Tentatively we want to let the community know what the Coalition stands for- what does reproductive justice mean?  And we determined that having a “moderator” introduce the event, followed by 4 speakers, including one of faith, a physician, and a politician would be the format.

Save the Date! League Day at the State House

An exciting League Day at the State House is in the works for Wednesday, March 26, 2014. Save the date! More information will follow.

RhodeMap RI

RhodeMap RI is a coordinated and forward-looking effort by the state to make Rhode Island a better place to live and work by mobilizing state and community assets in a whole new way. 

Over the next year all Rhode Islanders will have a chance to contribute to the effort by talking about how they are able succeed in their community, what challenges they face every day, and their vision for the future of the State.

RhodeMap RI is funded with a Sustainable Communities Initiative Grant.  The grant is one of several offered through the Federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities, a collaboration of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

About
Events (Final Round)
Documents

Study Proposal - LWVUS Planning

Dear fellow League leaders --

Attached below is our three Leagues' proposal for a new national study called
"Alternatives to Partisan Primaries" or APP, which we hope you will consider and mention in your upcoming Program Planning feedback to LWVUS.  We are the three Leagues in greater Cleveland, OH:  LWV Cuyahoga Area, LWV Cleveland Area and LWV Shaker Heights.  We are hoping many other local and state Leagues, including our own LWV Ohio, will soon join us.

Full letter
Proposal

Rhode Island Statewide Planning Program

The Rhode Island Statewide Planning Program prepares and maintains plans for the physical, economic, and social development of the state; encourages their implementation; and coordinates the actions of state, local and federal agencies and private individuals within the framework of the state's development goals and policies. The basic charge is established by Sections 42-11-10 and 12 of the General Laws. The Statewide Planning Program consists of the State Planning Council and staff who specialize in land use, comprehensive planning, GIS, transportation and other related topics.

To read more: http://www.planning.ri.gov/

Conveners/Board Meeting

Tuesday, January 14 at 10 a.m. at the home of Maureen Romans.
All members welcome to help plan the direction of the League for the year.

For more information, call Liz Head 351-2269 or Joan Retsinas 272-0422.

Snow Closings

AAA and the Rhode Island Broadcasters Association maintain an automated Cancellation/Delay reporting system for Rhode Island and nearby states (MA and CT). They report on Schools, Day Care, Community Groups, Churches, Businesses, Health Services, and Parking Bans.

http://www.ribroadcasters.com/news_and_events/closings_delays/