August 24, 2021 News Update | Cancelled League Event...Please Read....
| 19th Amendment Centennial Closing Celebration Canceled
With regret, the LWVLA has decided to cancel our 19th Amendment Centennial Closing Celebration scheduled for September 2. Given the current data about Covid/Delta variant transmissions in the La Crosse area, we feel we can't ensure the safety of those attending, and we want to be sure that everyone's health is at the forefront of any League-sponsored event.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us:
| Upcoming League Events...
the who, what, where, when, and how to attend LWVLA events
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September Lunch & Learn
Sept. 14, 2021
11:30 AM to 1 PM
La Crosse County Criminal Justice Management Council
Lunch & Learn
Criminal Justice Management in La Crosse County:
Progress and Prospects
Speakers from the Criminal Justice Management Council:
Tim Gruenke, La Crosse County District Attorney
Honorable Scott Horne
Margaret Larson, County Board Member
Dr. Suthakaran Veerasamy, Citizen Representative, UWL Faculty
The Criminal Justice Management Council was developed to evaluate the criminal justice system's implementation of the La Crosse County correctional philosophy. Members of the council will discuss progress made in the past ten years and aspirations for the next ten years of the criminal justice system related to the issues of sentencing diversion, inclusion, equity and transparency.
This will be a zoom meeting.
The September14 Lunch & Learn Zoom link will be sent in your confirmation email.
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Speaking of Democracy
Join the Conversation at LWVLA Book Club
Monday, September 27
6:30 - 8:00 pm
ALL ARE WELCOME!
| | | The Burning: Massacre, Destruction, and the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921
by Tim Madigan
On the morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob numbering in the thousands marched across the railroad tracks dividing black from white in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and obliterated a black community then celebrated as one of America's most prosperous.
34 square blocks of Tulsa's Greenwood community, known then as the Negro Wall Street of America, were reduced to smoldering rubble.
And now, 80 years later, the death toll of what is known as the Tulsa Race Riot is more difficult to pinpoint. Conservative estimates put the number of dead at about 100 (75% of the victims are believed to have been black), but the actual number of casualties could be triple that. The Tulsa Race Riot Commission, formed two years ago to determine exactly what happened, has recommended that restitution to the historic Greenwood Community would be good public policy and do much to repair the emotional as well as physical scars of this most terrible incident in our shared past.
With chilling details, humanity, and the narrative thrust of compelling fiction, The Burning will recreate the town of Greenwood at the height of its prosperity, explore the currents of hatred, racism, and mistrust between its black residents and neighboring Tulsa's white population, narrate events leading up to and including Greenwood's annihilation, and document the subsequent silence that surrounded the tragedy.
| LWVLA in the News...
local media coverage of our League in action
| On 8/22, Robin Schmidt, president of the LWVLA, expressed our League's support for the the Wisconsin DNR's new PFAS surface water quality criteria in a La Crosse Tribune letter to the editor:
The League of Women Voters of the La Crosse Area submitted comments to the DNR on its economic impact assessment for creating a rule that would regulate the source of PFAS compounds in effluent rather than treating PFAS after they enter the environment from point sources of discharge. The letter is at www.lwvlacrosse.org.
Both the costs and the benefits of this rule are not easily estimated. Based on the information included in the draft EIA, a rough estimate suggests that the costs for rule implementation are relatively low on a per-person basis. Given the significant costs now faced by residents in the La Crosse area with substantive PFAS contamination, the costs for pollution prevention at the source are miniscule compared to the costs of providing a clean water source, future health issues, and long-term impacts to the ecosystem and future generations.
This is just one step toward better management and regulation of these “forever” compounds. The League of Women Voters of the La Crosse Area is therefore in support of implementing the new surface water quality criteria. We applaud the DNR for initiating this rule and urge the Legislature to allow DNR to continue in an expeditious manner as possible in drafting this rule. While not as stringent as Minnesota, it is far better than having no standards, testing or PFAS minimization plan at all.
| Voting News...
information about ballot access, election law, and voting rights
| Where Are Wisconsin’s Fair Maps?
A League of Women Voters of Dane County
Virtual Public Issues Forum
September 1, 2021
7:00 PM - 8:15 PM via Zoom
The League of Women Voters of Dane County is offering a forum to examine the path to fair voting districts for all of Wisconsin. Panelists Doug Poland, Litigation Director with Law Forward, Matt Rothschild, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and Kriss Marion, Lafayette County Supervisor, will bring us up to date on the legal information/strategy, and the financial impacts of gerrymandering in Wisconsin.
Audience questions and commentary will be welcome throughout this Zoom webinar via Q&A.
| Wisconsin Legislature Announces New Fair Maps Portal
Speaker Vos announced via Twitter a newly created Legislative Portal that will accept public input on suggested communities of interest from around the state. The Portal will be open for map submissions from September 1 to October 15th. If you submitted a map to the People’s Map Commission, please make sure to send it to the Legislature for their consideration. Between now and September 1st, you can use the portal to access how-to information from various free map drawing software including DistrictR, Dave’s Redistricting and District Builder. After September 1st, you will be able to submit your maps .
Fair Maps Lobby Day
September 27, 2021
LWVWI and The Fair Maps Coalition will sponsor a lobby day to ask our elected officials to enact AB 395/SB 389 assuring that all future District maps will be drawn without the use of any voting information.
Appointments will be made with legislators and constituents participating in-person will go together to visit their legislators. This event will be a hybrid of virtual and in-person at the Capitol lobbying. We are hoping to contact all 132 Assembly Reps and Senators in an effort to get this important legislation passed. (Note: On September 13th organizers will decide whether the event will be entirely virtual.)
Lobbying training sessions will be held for this event. The registration form is available for you to RSVP. More information on training and how-to lobby will be coming soon! |  |
Dane County Grew, Milwaukee Shrank And Other Wisconsin Takeaways From 2020 Census
Population Changes Will Have Political Implications As New Voting Districts Are Drawn
By Rob Mentzer
Published: Friday, August 13, 2021, 4:15pm
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July 13, 2021
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with lawyer Debo Adegbile about how the Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder, which gutted Section 5 of The Voting Rights Act, lets states pass restrictive voting laws.
| | | For Your Consideration...
local events, virtual events, viewing and reading suggestions that reflect the League's mission and priorities. Please send us your recommendations. |
The Read will distribute 1000 free copies of the book, host 9 public presentations, and 20 small-group, facilitated BookChats.
The Waking Up White Regional Read’s intent is to encourage frank community conversations on structural oppression, prejudice, color blindness, dominant white culture, and its effects on people of color and to motivate us to take action to create a healthier multicultural community.
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website: lwvlacrosse.org
email: lwvlawi@gmail.com
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