Dear Fellow Leaders,

As the snow melts, League activity heats up. We are learning about Women's Health at our forums and if you were not able to attend the first program, consider going to the March 12 program in Hadley,  or requesting a video from the MA League Office. 

Let us all make note of the honor to be paid to one of our own, Judy Deutsch, by Mass-Care on March 26, 2-4. Please join me by purchasing a ticket and filling a League table. For more information about this event contact director@masscare.com or click here.

April brings Transparency in Government and I'm sure I'll see all of you on the hill at Day on the Hill 4/13.  We will be asking you to contact your legislators, state and national, on matters critical to League positions. We have spent years creating a body of worthy positions and we must take time to in act (as action) on budgetary measures and legislation.

Please plan on attending convention 5/20-21 in Sturbridge. The body will make the final decision on the LWVMA strategic plan for the next three years. And if this isn't enough reason to attend, we promise exciting speakers.

I know all of the local leagues are planning forums in their communities. If I, or any of the board, can assist in any way, please be in touch.

Dear Local League Presidents and Treasurers,

Our LWVMA Nominating Committee welcomes nominations for the position of treasurer. Please consider nominating yourself or another member to serve in this important position. Eva Valentine, who has served with dedication and loyalty as our treasurer for nearly four years and is now retiring, has told us that the job of treasurer "is very manageable and personally rewarding, and offers wonderful opportunities for learning." She added that she would be pleased to help guide her successor.

 We Need An Alternative to the Plastic Bag!

The plastic bag has become an icon of our convenience culture, and by some estimates it is the single most ubiquitous consumer item on Earth, numbering in the trillions. They're made from petroleum or natural gas with all the attendant environmental impacts that come from harvesting fossil fuels.  Every year, Americans throw away some 100 billion plastic bags after they've been used to transport a prescription home from CVS, or a quart of milk, and a loaf of bread from the grocery store. It's equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil.

Only between 1 percent and 5 percent of all plastic bags are recycled -- and the rest, when discarded, can persist for centuries.  They don't break down in landfills, and they're so aerodynamic that even when they're properly disposed of they can make their way into the environment with deadly impacts on wildlife. Read more...

Dear Friends,

Below is a letter that I faxed to Senator Brown yesterday. Please, take time today to read it, fax it to the Senator (fax: 202-228-2646), or call his Washington office, or mail the letter. When you read it, you'll understand why I am very angry and ready to fight this issue.

Recently I sent an email to Senator Brown in support of the EPA, as part of a mass mailing from a national environmental group; can't remember which one. The Senator's office sent me a full page reply, prompting me write this letter, to let him know that I knew it was full of lies.