President's Message

In-Person Lunch with League

Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead

and Live Without Barriers

Author/Stanford University Professor Jo Boaler, Ph.D.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Temple Emanu-El, Temple House Social Hall

1010 University Ave., San Jose

Recent years have seen an explosion of scientific evidence showing that there is a different way to learn, lead and live available to us all. When people take a limitless approach -- in learning and in life -- different pathways open up, leading to higher, more equitable and enjoyable achievement.

Stanford University Graduate School of Education Professor Jo Boaler, Ph.D. will discuss her book on this subject and challenge us to think about ways we can all become limitless as individuals and what could help the League become a limitless organization. Her extensive research on the impact of beliefs and bias on education led to her development of six keys to unlocking our boundless learning potential. Our brains are not "fixed," she declares, but entirely capable of change, growth, adaptability and rewiring.

Box lunches from Panera may be ordered in advance for $25, or you may attend for free with no lunch (or bring your own). Sandwich options are Mediterranean veggie, tuna salad, or turkey & cheddar and include potato chips and a chocolate cookie. Bring your own beverage.

REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND WITH OR WITHOUT LUNCH

Watch for email from national League

about new dues procedures

Starting Feb. 3, joining the League or renewing your membership will be done on a national membership platform. You will be asked to set up a profile on a national database and pay dues to LWVUS. Dues will be divided among local, state and the national League. Please review these Frequently Asked Questions to become more familiar with the new membership process. Watch for additional emails and eblasts about this new process as the system comes online.

LWV Bay Area's annual issue education forum on Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Zoom will focus on the inner workings of regional governance. Have you ever wondered how regional government works and how it affects your daily life? How do decisions made by MTC-ABAG affect a local jurisdiction? The event will include a keynote address and an update on LWV Bay Area's regional government and land use study, currently underway.

REGISTER HERE FOR THIS ZOOM EVENT

Local committee needed for national

Federal Judiciary Study

Members are encouraged to join a short-term group to participate in the consensus process for the national LWV Federal Judiciary Study. We will need:

• Several people to prepare as subject-matter “experts,” dividing up the various aspects of the study’s purpose which includes addressing concerns and clarifying judicial accountability, transparency, independence, and ethics.
• People to serve as discussion leaders during the 90-minute consensus meeting in March.
• People to serve as note-takers to record our consensus responses during that meeting and help the committee formulate the response to our Board and to national in April.

Please contact Martha.Beattie@lwvsjsc.org who is chairing our local study committee if you would like to get involved.

The LWVUS Federal Judiciary Study Committee will hold a town hall on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. Pacific time with leading experts, including speakers from the Brennan Center for Justice and The CATO Institute. This town hall is an opportunity for League members to pose questions and get more information about the federal judiciary study. The link to attend the town hall is now available. Please note that this is a direct link to the event.

San Jose City Council

District 3

Special Election

Our League will be organizing an in-person Candidates Forum on Monday, Feb. 24 for individuals running in the April 8 Special Election for District 3 San Jose City Council. More volunteers are needed for the team. If you would like to learn more about how you can help, please email Voter Service Co-chairs Sandy Mory and Michelle Fernandez at VoterService@lwvsjsc.org. Also contact them if you are interested in helping at the New Citizen Voter Registration event at the Heritage Theater in Campbell on Wednesday, March 26.

Keep track of California state government

actions with new online tool

Last November, our Lunch with League program featured Dave Lesher, co-founder and editor in chief of CalMatters, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization. He gave us a preview of a new tool called "Digital Democracy," an online portal built for CalMatters by the web development firm 10up and computer science faculty and students at CalPoly San Luis Obispo to encourage civic engagement. It uses the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence and an unprecedented database collected from government sources, to provide a general audience with fact-based information about legislators, bills and the state’s agenda on major topics.

With a substantial decline in media coverage of state government in California and a cacophony of partisan information online, it is difficult for a layperson to learn about individual legislators and about the policy decisions facing state lawmakers.

Digital Democracy makes it easy to search transcripts of every public meeting to find comments from a legislator, a hearing about a bill or any topic by keyword. A web page for each legislator displays their background, policy interests, campaign donors and their district. There is a page for every bill that includes a summary as well as supporters/opponents, votes and news coverage. And on the major state issues, CalMatters reporters describe the agenda for the year with key players, bills and facts.

In addition to the free public website, Digital Democracy provides reporters throughout California with access to “Tipsheets,” a one-page story idea generated by a custom-built AI tool that scans the database in real time with the goal of increasing news coverage of state legislators.