Just as I promised, we have two study meetings, just around the corner.

 

In just a few weeks, on Saturday, October 24, we'll be meeting to come to consensus on a national League study on Amending the U.S. Constitution. Did you know that Congress can call for a Constitutional Convention for the purposes of amendment? Well, we'll be talking about whether they should, and what the ramifications of such an action would be.

 

And why are we doing this now? Because a month later, on Saturday, November 14, we'll be convening to discuss campaign finance reform legislation, a topic that has been closely related to the constitutionality of campaign donations by various entities and the First Amendment.

 

So you see, it's all related, and all highly topical. We hope to see many of our members at our consensus meetings. If you're not a member, you can either show up for a good education or join now and participate in the actual consensus process.

 

And be sure to pencil in Friday evening, December 11 for our Holiday Friendraiser. We'll have a lovely time enjoying libations and treats at the home of one of our members - keep watching our weekly newsletter for details. And Thursday, March 24, 2016 is the date of our annual Women Who Shape Santa Monica event at the Ocean House Penthouse, so be sure to save the date!

 

See you soon!

 

 

Last week, our editor pointed out that four of the five priorities for the City of Santa Monica that City Manager Rick Cole talked about at our Membership Meeting are actually topics of existing LWVSM positions.

 

For example, his top priority, transportation. Everyone can relate to this one - we've all had to sit in Westside traffic and watch the minutes tick by as we got later and later.

 

Well, in 2005, we saw it coming, and did a local study on Traffic Planning. Click here and scroll to Item 9, Traffic Planning, to see the results.

 

As you can see, we were right on target on some items - bike paths, light rail, fewer surface parking lots, the relationship of transportation with sustainable development, to name a few.

 

This year we'll be revisiting this and all our other positions at our monthly board meetings to see what, if anything, needs to be changed or dropped. Members are always welcome to attend these meetings. If you see anything that strikes your fancy just email Pres@lwvsantamonica.org to find where and when we'll be reviewing specific local positions.