Bulletin
League of WomenVoters of Greater Omaha
1941 South 42 Street, Suite
501
Omaha, NE 68105-2945
Phone: 402-344-3701
League of Women
Voters of Greater Omaha October, 2006
A non-partisan political organization open to all citizens 18
years of age or older Volume 49 No 4
CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE
Jim Esch and Lee
Terry,
Candidates for Nebraska's 2nd District
Thursday, October 19, 2006
11:45 a.m.
The Omaha Press Club
Call 345-8008 for reservations
Space is limited, so don't delay!
NEBRASKA
JUDICIAL NETWORKING COALITION
AND
THE UNO SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK PRESENT:
The
Robert M. Spire Rights and Responsibilities Lecture:
Battle for the Courts
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Scott Conference Center,
6450 Pine St.
7:00 pm
It is time to cut through the rhetoric and get
to the facts! The courts play a critical
role in protecting our rights and freedoms.
Come hear from local leaders on how you can help shape the look of our
government.
Speaker:
Professor Michael Kelly,
Creighton Law Professor
Questions,
contact the Nebraska Judicial Networking Coalition at omahanjnc@yahoo.com
CALENDAR
OF EVENTS
Tuesday, September 26, 7:00 p.m., 6450 Pine
St.: Battle for the Courts. See above.
Saturday, September 30, 9:45 AM: River City Roundup Heritage Parade. See page 5.
Thursday, October 12, 9:30 a.m., League
office. LWVGO board meeting. All members welcome.
Friday, October 13: Deadline for November Bulletin
Thursday, October 19, 9:30 a.m., League office. Education Study Group Meeting. See page 5
Thursday, October 19, 11:45 a.m.: Congressional Debate. See above and page 7.
October 24-November 7: League office phone
answered full time by volunteers. See HAVA, page 3.
Tuesday, November 7: General election. Remember to vote!
Thursday,
November 16, 7 p.m., UNO Alumni Center:
General Meeting: Immigration
Reform. See page 5.
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
Wow!!
Our annual fundraiser Shrimp Feed was a great success!!! Special thanks to Carol Hepburn and Shirley
Fritz, co-chairs, and to other Leaguers (and non-Leaguers) who contributed to
the accomplishment: Belinda Greiner, Peg
and Bill Adair, Barbara Rennard, Dominic Tripp,
Carolyn Kesick, Raquel Ahlvers,
Hedy Ahlvers, Virginia
Bigelow, Keri Reinfriend-Perkins, Sharon Conlon,
Linda and Charlie Duckworth, Rita Shaughnessy,
Carolyn and George Ireland, Annette and Rod Conser, Fred Rockwood who cooked
the shrimp, and to Bob Stratbucker, who donated
watermelon and corn on the cob. We
appreciate all of you!!
Membership
in League has declined over the last 10 years and between 2005 and 2006 League
lost over 3500 members. Without new
members, LWV cannot fulfill its mission.
LWVUS has retained expert help to design an effort to stop the slide in
League's membership by consistently communicating the unique value of League
membership to a specific group of potential new members. Specifics of messages and outreach techniques
need to be tried out before any attempt is made to launch it on a larger
scale. A one-year pilot project is being
launched and LWVGO has been selected as
one of the five pilot sites to run a comprehensive membership recruitment
program.
Barbara Rennard and Pat Galusha, Project Directors,
will be heading a group of 3-5 Leaguers to work on this year-long project. The target group will be 51-65 year old women
(or those of retirement age) who have expressed some interest in civic affairs. Unique messages and outreach strategies have
been specifically tailored to connect with this group of potential new members.
This initiative is unique in that it has been
designed to connect people of all races and ethnicities who are/or will be
retiring with the opportunities for civic engagement and leadership that LWV
offers. Past membership efforts have not
been specifically designed around the values that LWV holds in common with a
particular set of potential members.
The particular age group was chosen because they
are different than previous retirees - they are diverse in race, ethnicity,
family status, consider themselves young and energetic, and are interested in
an opportunity to make a difference in their communities. They have the time to contribute a wealth of
experience and skills from years in the workforce and can strengthen the League
as active members. League values
resonate with this group. Considering
the size of this group and the shared values with existing members, outreach to
this group will be the easiest way for LWV to begin to strengthen membership
now. LWV can reach out fairly easily to
this group for immediate growth in the near future, and after strengthening
League's numbers, focus can begin on other groups.
Men and youth are not being excluded!! People join the League for different reasons
and it is likely that young people will join for different reasons than
retiring women will. The focus on women
will be geared to talking to them about the specific things that LWV offers
that are of interest to them. In the
future, when the focus is on youth, men, other groups, it is likely that
different League traits will be highlighted and will appeal most strongly to
them. It is important to remember that
the target audience has to be targeted.
The Membership Recruitment Initiative is an ideal place for League to
begin to capture the group most likely to join in major numbers for the
organization as a whole.
It is important to realize that membership is
the core of our organization. Membership
is the responsibility of the entire League, and I hope you will be willing to
help when asked. Thank you in advance!
Barbara Tripp
LEAGUE
CONDOLENCES
We
will miss longtime League member Margy Schneider, who
died at age 53 in August. Our condolences go to fellow
Leaguers: Cynthia Schneider, her mother, and her aunts Sylvia Cohn
and Frances Blumkin, as well as her husband Greg Searson and two sons.
BOARD REPORTS
PRESIDENTS’
REPORT, Barbara Tripp
Thank you to Nancy Shugrue! She has worked hard to prepare the Yearbook
for the printer and you probably have your copy by this time. Thanks also to the mailers, Mary Ann
Kirchner, Betty Marlinee and Helen Patane.
I attended the Omaha Street Car Meeting last
week. A local group is advocating the
implementation of a streetcar system in Omaha.
This is an ambitious group who is certainly beyond the infancy stage,
but without political backing at this stage.
I do think we will hear more from them.
Get Out The Vote work continues with the HAVA
Task Force. Hopefully League will have
two tables at Race For The Cure--one for membership and one for voter
registration. A press conference is
planned for October 2nd, the first day of early voting; we hope you will be
part of the group participating in River City Roundup Parade on September
30th. There is still time to sign up!
Please plan to help with Voters' Guide
distribution this fall. Sharon Conlon is
organizing the delivery, so please contact her if you would like to be part of
that process.
HAVA
GRANT TASK FORCE UPDATE
Linda
Duckworth, Member, HAVA Grant Task Force
LWVNE’s
HAVA Grant Task Force has established an 800 number – 1-877-LWV-VOTE - for
Nebraskans across the state that they may call for answers to their questions.
The phone number will be in operation through the general election on November
7, 2006, with recordings of general information and an opportunity to leave a
message until October 24th. After October 24th, the phone will be answered
personally. The LWVGO has agreed to be in charge of this project and the
League’s office and phone will be used. We are seeking volunteers to help staff
the phone line. Training sessions are being planned for October 12 (11:00 a.m.)
and October 16 (6:00p.m.). If you are interested in helping with this project,
call or e-mail Linda Duckworth. This is
a wonderful opportunity for members who are not available during the day to be
involved, since we will be staffing the phones in the evening (6:00 to 8:00) as
well as daytime.
NEBRASKA
STATE BOARD MEETING REPORT
Virginia
Bigelow, State Liaison
Lois Poppe reported on
HAVA activities and distribution of the “accordion handouts” and the calling
cards. Lois asked for a coordinator to
organize the distribution of these materials.
She also stated they were looking for another coordinator for the Press Conferences
to be held state-wide.
The layout of the LWV of Nebraska brochure will
be changed slightly and printed in house.
The state Bylaws are being looked into in regard to future changes.
It has been decided that no Governor debate will
be organized (by the League) this fall, and these events will be
“re-grouped”. They will try to make a
tape for future elections so that the tape can be used by local channels as
needed.
It was reported that Nancy Intermill
has resigned as Women’s Issues leader, and that the position must be filled
soon. If anyone is interested, please
let President Sandy Powell know.
We voted to continue support for the coalition
against TABOR (Taxpayer’s Asso Bill of Rights).
Peggy
Adair reported that Legislative Resolution 274 (to combine probation and parole
departments) is progressing.
GOTV
(GET OUT THE VOTE)
Carolyn Ireland, Chair, GOTV
Once again, GOTV Committee members will canvass
residents in a low-voter turnout area of North Omaha (Ward 2, Precinct
28). In our face-to-face meetings with
residents, we answer questions, encourage them to vote and distribute our
Voters' Guide along with pertinent ballot information for their precinct. In addition, we offer them voter registration
and early vote forms and ex-felon voting information.
If you would like to join us in this fun and
rewarding experience, call or e-mail Carolyn Ireland. This year we are canvassing on the weekends
of October 14-15 and 21-22. We canvass
from 10:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.
The
City Desk and Beyond
Designing
a Sustainable Future
by
Bev Traub
A charrette to provide
a forum for building regional consensus on sustainable visions for growth and
change in the sixty-mile area between Lincoln and Omaha was held September 13
and 14 at the Strategic Air & Space Museum. A charrette
is an intensive workshop in which various stakeholders and experts are brought
together to address a particular design issue, from a single building to an
entire region. The keynote speaker was noted urban planner George M.
Crandall.
Over 130 participants including architects,
engineers, urban planners, and civic minded citizens were divided into six
groups to consider scenarios for growth in their respective environments:
Urban Core Center, Downtown Lincoln-Antelope Valley to the Haymarket, Near
Urban Core Neighborhood, Omaha's Drake Court District, Transformation of
Regional Shopping Mall - Fremont, Suburban Conservation Community - Rural
Bennington, Communities in the Path of Growth - Ashland, and I-80 Corridor
Environs. Using maps, charts, photographs, technical documents, and
previous planning reports each group identified and defined issues and created
a scenario for the future with a focus on sustainable communities.
A participant in the Conservation Community
group was an owner of a large certified organic farm which supplies a few of
Omaha's finest restaurants with fresh produce. He would like to have
local farms provide a substantial portion of food consumed in the region.
He suggested that the best productive land be zoned and preserved for
agriculture. The group designed a development with 50% set aside for open
space and agriculture.
The event was organized by the American
Institute of Architects, the Joslyn
Castle Institute for Sustainable Communities, and the Nebraska Innovation
Zone with support from the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund.
SOS!
You
will be asked to place a cap on the state budget on Election Day based on the
rate of inflation and population growth. The petition will be tempting because
it will not affect local government, except that all are under a levy cap.
Don’t
be tempted. The SOS Petition is the same Constitutional Amendment which is
debilitating Colorado and is being introduced in five other states. It's bad news because neither the amount of
funding received, nor the redesign of government, will prevent enormous
cutbacks in services and increase everyone's spending. And a Constitutional Amendment is almost
impossible to recall.
The Nebraska League and
LWVGO oppose SOS..
AIN'T IT SO
A
fool and his money are soon elected. --
Will Rogers
MARCH!
WALK! RIDE! MARCH! WALK! RIDE!
RIVERCITY
ROUND-UP IS COMING & THE LEAGUE IS MARCHING.
WE
NEED YOUR FEET!
Six years ago, the League participated in
Omaha's annual River City Roundup parade. It was great success, lots of fun and
excellent publicity for the League. Since this is an election year, we're going
to take to the streets again with our "get out and vote" message. We
need marchers, walkers actually, the more the better. We could even accommodate
a couple of riders, as we'll have a car through the generosity of Shirley Fritz.
The
parade is Saturday, September 30th beginning at 9:45. The two-hour event
progresses at a comfortable walking pace. Marchers will be wearing black pants
and LWV logo shirts. If you want to participate or want more information,
please contact JoAnne Draper by phone or email.
“Common
Sense and Immigration Reform:
What
People Really Want”
Speaker: D. Milo Mumgaard
Executive Director, Nebraska Appleseed
Thursday, November 16th, 7 p.m.
UNO Thompson Alumni Center - 6705 Dodge St.
EDUCATION
STUDY GROUP MEETING
The Study
Group for the Education Committee will hold its next meeting on Thursday,
October 19, at 9:30 a.m. at the Omaha
League office. Please let us know if
you plan on attending by calling or e-mailing Barbara Rennard. Our last speaker was exceedingly
informative. Meetings last under 2 hours
so there will be plenty of time to attend the legislative debate!
MEMBERSHIP
Hedy
Ahlvers
Membership Chair
IMPORTANT
INFO ON CHANGES
You
should have received your 2006-2007 LWVGO Yearbook by now. Please send any changes in your Yearbook
membership listing to Hedy Ahlvers. If you have e-mail but none is listed, you
are missing information, as we (and LWVUS) are using this method of
communication. If you change your address, phone number, e-mail, etc, during
the year, please let Hedy know so we can keep our
database up to date.