League of Women Voters News - September 1, 2017
  UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday, September 20, 2017, 11:30 a.m. 
Atlantis Country Club
Why Courts Matter
    Speaker: Nancy Abudu, Director of Legal Operation for ACLU of Florida
   Topic: The Impact Federal Court Decisions Have on Daily Lives

COOL TOPIC    
Wednesday, September 27, 2017, 6 p.m. 
 Speaker: Irving Labovitz, J.D., Adjunct Professor Business Law at FAU
Topic: Constitutional Crises (de jour)
PBCLWV BOARD REPORT
by President Karen Wilkerson

At our August 14, 2017, Board of Directors meeting, we reviewed committee and treasurer reports for both our operating and educational budgets. We also submitted our recommendations for legislative priorities to the LWV Florida Board which will shortly consolidate all the local league recommendations and send them to us.

Our summer Hot Topic and Cool Topics events have been a huge success. In fact, we had to close registration for the Fake News presentation. Fortunately, these meetings were streamed live and made available on our website where they received over 4,000 views.
The League Presents…FAKE NEWS
By Marsha Vinson
On a hot, hot mid-August morning, the League Cool Topics featured a very steamy FAKE NEWS (Alternative Facts or Just Not True) panel discussion for another SOLD OUT crowd in the lovely Palm Beach Post auditorium. A simulcast is available on Facebook and those interested can now view this Cool Topic on the League website.

How can we League members fight Fake News? This question was asked repeatedly in different forms throughout the morning. The panelists shared steps we should all take as we evaluate the latest news.
IMMIGRATION COMMITTEE
by Barbara Eriv
 The League is:
  • For Comprehensive Immigration Reform
  • Against deporting undocumented immigrants without due process
  • Against the federal government threatening local governments into cooperating with ICE to detain immigrants.
In Palm Beach County, we are collaborating with other groups, such as the PBC Coalition for Immigration Rights, to take action. Earlier this year, the City of West Palm Beach and the Board of Education signed resolutions to protect the undocumented and their children and to promote the health and well being of all residents. We are now speaking with the City of Delray Beach and asking them to sign a “Welcoming Cities” ordinance.

The Immigration Committee could use your help. Please contact Barbara Eriv at eriv6296@bellsouth.net
AL GORE’S AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER
By Kathy Panko, Environmental Issues Group
Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, opened nationwide in mid-August. It’s a follow-up to his 2006 Oscar winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth . The theory in this new documentary is that a rise in extreme weather is making the impact of climate change harder and harder to deny. The movie touches on Hurricane Sandy, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the wildfire in Canada’s Fort McMurray, and the Zika virus.

League members and anyone interested in our environment and global warming will find this film most intriguing, especially because it hits so close to home.
READING FOR INSIGHT AND ACTION 
by Faith Schullstrom

Evicted by Matthew Desmond, recipient of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction
Evicted traces the experiences of eight families in Milwaukee through the empathetic eyes of MacArthur Fellowship awardee and sociologist Matthew Desmond. His portrayal is sensitive, insightful, disturbing—and, though dramatically told, he reminds us, all true.

The book is nonfiction and well-documented. We see the impact of eviction on lives, families and communities. We see how poverty for some translates to profit for others, how the loss of home creates both psychological and community instability, how stagnating incomes require the majority of poor families who rent to spend 50% of their income just for the roof over their heads. 
Evicted demands and rewards attention. Desmond not only provides vivid description and analysis of the problem, he offers reasonable, possible and affordable policy proposals to address the current, unacceptable condition.    
 
TREASURY NOTES
by Joan Karp

Members have received an electronic statement requesting the renewal payment of your dues to the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County.

Dues levels remain at the same level.
Payment entitles you to membership in the county, state, and national organization.

Prompt payment is appreciated. You may pay your dues on line at lwvpbc.org or mail your check to LWVPBC, P.O. Box 6208, Delray Beach, Florida 33482-6208.
LIVE STREAMING ON FACEBOOK 

If you missed or would like to review one of our events, log onto the LWVPBC Facebook page where many are archived. 
FOR LONG-TIME LEAGUE MEMBERS
by Joan Karp
Did you know that we have over 10 members who have been in LWV (sometimes in multiple cities) for 50 years or more? Those lucky few are exempt from paying yearly dues and are called Lifetime Members.
We think there may be more of you out there. If you have been a member for over 50 years, and have not received an official certificate from the National League, please notify EITHER
Joan Karp, at joankarp2800@gmail.com  
OR  
Karen Wilkerson, at karenwilkerson4498@comcast.net
NEWS EDITORIAL STAFF
Carol Stender, Managing Editor
Ken Horkavy, IT
Carol Nikov, Marsha Vinson, Kathryn Gettinger

Email questions or comments to info@lwvpbc.org
Making Democracy Work! The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan, political organization encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
Contact Your League:  info@lwvpbc.org | www.lwvpbc.org