 Wine & Wisdom
Wednesday August 23rd
4:30-6:00
Burntwood Tavern in Mercato
9100 Strada Place
RSVP
Come join us for some summer fun as we Sip and Nosh together on some tasty appetizers and cocktails at the Burntwood Tavern in Mercato!
Please RSVP to let us know you’re coming as we’d like to let them know how many to expect. Contact Tina Palmese with any questions.
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On Tuesday, August 22nd at 9AM, the Board of County Commissioners will consider a proposed ordinance declaring Collier County a Bill of Rights Sanctuary City. This same ordinance was proposed 2 years ago and was voted down by the BOCC. The proposed ordinance requires a local official to disregard the law of the United States if the official believes that law is unconstitutional. That is concerning. Only the federal courts have the power to interpret the provisions of the US Constitution. Having local officials deciding for themselves which federal laws to follow will sow chaos in our community.
We need your help as individuals. Please contact the commissioners and make your personal opposition to this ordinance known. Better yet, show up at the BOCC meeting and speak out against it in your individual capacity. We need to rally community members to take a stand against this item so the BOCC can see that the ordinance is counter to the will of the majority of their constituents. The LWVCC will stand against this ordinance, but we need the community — and you — to stand against it, too.
| BACKPACKS + CIVICS GAME: LWVCC IN IMMOKALEE
It was a hot August day in Immokalee but hundreds turned out at 7 AM at the annual Lipman Backpack event. Five dedicated LWVCC members (Susan Goldman, Tina Palmese, Carolyn Moore, Cynthia Cromwell, Deb Williams, and new member Catherine Hackney) were able to interact with so many who came to earn a new bicycle, bike helmet and school backpack from the event organizers! At our League table, kids of all ages including their parents loved playing with the “wheel” to answer questions about elections and voting with the reward of candy or a flag for knowing about the importance of voting. We were busy signing “passports” proving attendance at our booth, as well as distributing coloring & question pages—both fun and educational. Several clean water and reproductive rights petitions were signed, a voter registration form was given to be mailed in, and of course we gave out info about the League. It was considered by all our volunteers to be a most successful day, especially thanks to LWVCC leader Tina Palmese! | RIVERGRASS LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT
Collier League has been working for several years to stop sprawl and inappropriate development in parts of Eastern Collier County, including filing an amicus curiae brief tin the lawsuit filed by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. At last, some good news has come from discussions held by the Conservancy with the developer.
The League is proud to have played a role in creating a better future for what is left in the wild.
READ THE FULL ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ARTICLE
READ THE FLORIDA WEEKLY ARTICLE
| SKIP THE STUFF --> PASS ON PLASTIC
The Environmental Affairs Committee Plastics Subcommittee has been hard at work providing an updated version of its Issues page. The new page has a new theme—"Pass on Plastics"—and is full of information about the problems caused by plastics and useful information about how we can help.
The Plastics Subcommittee has also announced that it is prepared to present its "Plastics 101" program beyond the League. If you belong to a group that would like to host the program, send them to LWVCC Request-A-Speaker
| RETURNING CITIZEN POSTCARD WRITING INITIATIVE
The League of Women Voters of Florida is committed to helping Returning Citizens regain the right to vote after completing their sentence. The State League is a founding partner in getting Amendment 4 on the ballot in 2018, which overwhelmingly passed with more than 64% of the Florida Electorate, and the League helped reduce the fees and administrative costs that returning citizens were required to pay. Cecile Scoon, LWVFL Co-President, established a state program to identify and educate returning citizens of their rights and developed training for attorneys to work pro bono for those in need.
Now, the LWVCC needs your help! Our League is assisting LWVFL in mailing postcards to returning citizens with the information they need to be eligible to vote. LWVCC wrote and mailed out over 5,000 cards in the past year with the help from many of you!
We received 2,000 postcards to be written and mailed. LWVCC will provide the postage. If you are interested in helping (or helping again) please contact me at Tina Palmese to receive the instructions, cards, mailing list and postage. You will also need to sign via Docu-sign a confidentiality agreement.
For those of us that have been part of this, it is truly a rewarding experience! | UPDATE ON LIMITING GOVERNMENT
INTERFERENCE IN REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
So far, 550,000 petitions for the amendment to limit government interference with abortion in Florida have been collected. The LWV of Collier County has been given credit for collecting 284 petitions so far. With the great momentum the campaign is showing, it looks very likely we can reach the needed one million petitions signed if everyone keeps working hard.
There are challenges with this campaign. Some petitions collected are not filled out properly so that they cannot be sent in. Many people forget to include the date of when it was signed. Some forget to include the county. They will mark it as US, thinking it says country or simply put in their zip code. No one else is allowed to write on a petition that is not theirs. So, getting the required number of petitions signed also means people need to fill out their petition form carefully. Some good news is that the petitions are now available in Spanish and Creole. Please let Janet Hoffman know if you need them. Hoping that if you support this initiative, you will find ways to help contribute to this cause. Please go to Floridians Protecting Freedom for information on the campaign and how to help.
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The petition drive for the
Clean Water Amendment
continues
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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August 23 @ 4:30-6:00
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Wine & Wisdom
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February 22, 2024
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Celebrate the League
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| ONLINE REIMBURSEMENT FORM IS NOW AVAILABLE
Board members, committee chairs, and others who need to submit reimbursement requests can now do so via our Submit Online Forms page. | UPCOMING COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Because LWVCC committee meetings are for members and their invited guests unless stated otherwise,
members should log in to the website to register
to get the Zoom links for committee meetings and other events. | Education Committee Meeting
August 21 @ 1:00-2:30 NOTE SPECIAL DATE AND TIME
Zoom
| Board Meeting
September 6 @ 9:30-12:00 | Social Policy Committee Meeting
October 5 @ 10:30-12:00
Moorings Park, Bldg O Social Room
| Environmental Affairs Committee Meeting
October 12 @ 10:00-12:00
North Naples Government Center
| MISSED AN ISSUE OF THE VOTER?
NEED TO CATCH UP ON THE NEWS?
Check out our updated News & Newsletters page, which has all our latest news and links to current and back issues of The Voter and The LWVCC Update.
| Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in Government. We influence public policy through education and advocacy. Our goal is to empower citizens to take an active role in shaping better communities worldwide. The League of Women Voters of Collier County does not support or endorse any candidate or political party.
| League of Women Voters of Collier County
P.O. Box 9883Naples, FL 34101
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