League of Women Voters of Santa Monica
VOTER
February 2014

February 11, 2014

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Join the League of Women Voters of Santa Monica

Our Mission
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Diversity Policy
The League of Women Voters of Santa Monica in both its values and practices, affirms its belief and commitment to diversity and pluralism, which means there shall be no barriers to participation in any activity of the LWV on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin or disability.

February 14 is the 94th Birthday of the League of Women Voters of the United States, formed just a few months before women, nation wide, were granted the right to vote. Much has changed in those 94 years but the need voters have for clear, non-partisan, factual information and the need to constantly be vigilant about protecting that right to vote for all has not changed.

This year is also the 80th Birthday of the League of Women Voters of Santa Monica--if you haven't noticed. Our Women's History Month Celebration of

Women Who Shape Santa Monica is also a Birthday Party!

Honorees this year are:

Eula Fritz
Kate Vernez
Irene Zivi
Rose Kaufman for the Pankhurst Award

Save the Date, Thursday, March 27 at 7:00p.m.

Two more events before then. League members are invited to join the Commission on the Status of Women and others in the City Hall Lobby before the Council Meeting February 25 at 6:00p.m. to kick off Women's History Month. Details and more events are on their Facebook page.

Then on Saturday, March 29th, will be the Consensus Meeting for the Agriculture Policy Update. See President's Corner below for more information.

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

Federal agriculture policy -

Sounds like an abstract idea, until you start digging into the particulars, as we'll be doing at our consensus meeting on Saturday, March 29 at 10:00a.m. in the Community Room of the Main Library, a meeting to which you are all enthusiastically invited.

For instance, water. How do we make sure our farmers have enough, particularly during a drought of historic proportions? Entire communities in California may run out of water, according to the San Jose Mercury News, which quotes Lois Henry, a Lompico water board member. "I'm frankly worried," Henry said. "I know people turn their faucet on and say, 'Oh, everything's fine.' And I know it's not."

So what can the federal government do? Well, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Natural Resources Conservation Service has granted California $14 million to improve water management and conservation, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Meantime, in a controversial move, the House of Representatives is likely to pass a water bill that opponents say would transfer water from environmental to agricultural uses, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Clearly, this is a complicated problem. And this is just an example of one of the many facets of federal agricultural policy we'll be considering. So join us as we learn and help the national League of Women Voters compile its position based on the consensus of Leagues throughout the nation. This is how League makes a difference.

LEAGUE IN THE NEWS
From our LWVUS President Keystone XL Report Deeply Disappointing, Misguided Is the headline of a press release from the national office. Click to read the full content.

LWVC NEWS

LWVC, ACLU and LCCR Charge State with Illegally Denying the Right to Vote to Tens of Thousands of Voters

According to the lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, the state's actions clearly violated state law when the Secretary of State issued a directive to local elections officials in December 2011 asserting that people are ineligible to vote if they are on post-release community supervision or mandatory supervision. These are two new and innovative forms of community-based supervision created under California's Criminal Justice Realignment Act for people recently incarcerated for low-level, non-violent, non-serious crimes. Court intervention is necessary because a state official should not be able to disenfranchise 60,000 voters with the stroke of a pen.

MEMBER NEWS
League member and SMMUSD Superintendent of Schools Sandra Lyon has been named "Superintendent of the Year" by Region 14 of the Association of California School Administrators. There are 19 regions across the state and this automatically makes Ms. Lyon a nominee for State Superintendent of the Year. Congratulations, Sandy!

DID YOU KNOW?
Big Blue Bus is starting community workshops this evening to start the planning for connecting bus service with Expo when it arrives next year. Information on these first meetings is here.

League of Women Voters of Santa Monica
P. O. Box 1265
Santa Monica, CA 90406
Phone: 310-692-1494
www.lwvsantamonica.org