October 2008
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LWVCT BOARD REPORT October 16, 2008
CALENDAR 2008-2009
October 2008 10/17 LWVCT Hamden office closed for staff vacation 10/18 LWV statewide voter registration day 10/19 LWV 4th Cong. Dist. candidates’ debate, Clune Center, Wilton HS 10/21 deadline for mail-in registration 10/22 Hartford Public Library Con Con panel discussion 10/24 Capitol Steps fundraiser, Klein Auditorium, Bridgeport 10/27 LWV Greenwich talk by Newark Mayor Cory Booker 10/28 deadline for in-person registration
November 2008 11/4 Election Day 11/18 LWVCT/EF Board meeting, Hamden.
December 2008 There will be no LWVCT Board meeting in December. 12/2 LWVNY UN Day. 12/6 Fall Conference, Old Judiciary Room, Capitol Building, Hartford
January 2009 1/1 3rd quarter PMP becomes due 1/13 LWVCT/EF Board meeting, Hamden. 1/7 Legislature opens long session. 1/30 deadline to send membership changes to LWVUS
April 2009 4/17 LWV Bridgeport Area theater night: “Moonlight and Magnolias” 4/23 SIR, Quinnipiac University
May 2009 5/1 deadline for LWVUS National Popular Vote consensus responses Announcements: US Constitution Booklets Available
The LWVCT has bought a few dozen pocket-sized versions of the US Constitution. If you would like a few to hand out to your members or the public, contact the Hamden office.
A Note on E-Mail
If you’re trying to reach the LWVCT office by e-mail, please remember to use lwvct@lwvct.org, and only that. The old back-up e-mail address of league@snet.net will not go through, as we have switched from SNET/AT&T to Comcast.
UN Day
The LWV NY will hold its annual UN event on Dec. 2 at the UN in NYC. This is a special day when they organize briefings on a particular subject, tours of the UN, and a luncheon in the delegates’ dining room. This year’s topic to be presented by UN speakers is: the Impact of Global Warming on Women and Children Around the World.
The registration form, which includes all the information about times and costs, is available from the LWVCT office.
Invitation to Prudence Crandall Ceremony
The Joint Leadership of the Connecticut General Assembly requests the honor of your presence at a statue dedication ceremony recognizing Prudence Crandall, October 23, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. in the South Lobby of the State Capitol Building. The event is being sponsored by the Connecticut General Assembly and hosted by Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz. RSVP to prudencecrandalldedi@cga.ct.gov, or call 860/240-0100 by October 21, 2008.
Fall Conference
The LWVCT is putting together the panel for the LWVCT Fall Conference on “Does My Vote Get Counted?” Hold the date: December 6 in the Old Judiciary Room, Capitol Building, Hartford.
Hartford Library Panel on Con Con
On Wednesday, October 22, Democracy in Action, a program of the Hartford Public Library, and Hartford 200 will present a program called “Shall There Be a Constitutional Convention?” Light Refreshments will be served. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. with Program at 6:30 p.m.. The Hartford Public Library is at 500 Main Street.
Moderator: Tom Monahan, Chief Political Correspondent, NBC TV 30. Panelists: Richard Blumenthal, Attorney General, State of Connecticut; Matthew M. Daly, Chairman, Constitution Convention Campaign, former policy scholar for the Yankee Institute and Republican nominee for State Senate in 2006; Kim Knox, Vote No Coalition; Horton, Shields & Knox Attorneys at Law; John Woodcock, Vice Chairman, Constitution Convention Campaign, Former Democratic State Representative, State Ethics Commission Commissioner, and Current Adjunct Political Science Professor at CCSU. fundraising opportunity Blue Tulip Day 2008
You can raise funds for your local league during the Blue Tulip shopping day on Saturday, November 1st and continue to spread the word about the new voting machine at the same time. Now that so many leagues are undertaking voting machine outreach, why not combine the two and get a little income while doing the outreach? Last year, LWV Fairfield earned several hundred dollars doing the good voter service work that they would have done anyway – just making it a revenue-earner as well.
The Blue Tulip has agreed to contribute 15% of the 11/1 sales to the LWVCT Education Fund if shoppers say they support the League and/or provide the promotional flyer at check-out. You will shortly be receiving the promotional flyer via email under separate cover.
This year the LWVCT will share the revenue with you if your league agrees to volunteer for 3 hours near any of the Blue Tulip stores on either of the following days: Thursday, 10/30 or Friday, 10/31. (Store locations will be sent in a separate e-mail shortly). If your League volunteers for one 3-hour shift, you will earn 20% of the day’s revenue that LWVCT receives from the store. If your League volunteers for two 3-hour shifts, your League will earn 40% of the day’s revenue that LWVCT receives from the store. Shifts will be from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sign-ups for store locations and shifts will be on first-come, first-serve basis. After you get the list, RSVP to Jean Rabinow at lwvct@lwvct.org with your desired store location and shift.
PLEASE NOTE: This year, LWV may have people nearby the store doing outreach but we cannot have people in front of the store or inside the store advertising the promotion. We may have people across the street, in parking lots, etc, but not in the store or directly in front. You can print out and reproduce the flyer and give it to any and all that stop by your table or that you chat with during the day. The key to the success of the event is having shoppers explicitly say that they support the LWV or handing the cashier the flyer at the time of purchase.
If you are unfamiliar with the interesting and varied items at Blue Tulip (many of them great hostess gifts or stocking stuffers), please visit their website at: http://www.bluetulip.com/
Public Issues Team Report by Cheryl Dunson and the Public Issues Team Specialists
Government
Constitutional Convention: The State League has created and distributed a brochure to local leagues spelling out our position opposing the constitutional convention question. The League also sent a letter to Governor Rell asking her to reconsider her support for an amendment to the Connecticut Constitution to enable initiative and referendum. The letter and brochure are available on the League’s website at www.lwvct.org.
Cheryl Dunson, VP Public Issues will be speaking at a “Vote NO” press conference on Oct. 23rd at 12 noon at the Stamford Govt. Center. League members are encouraged to attend to demonstrate our opposition to calling a constitutional convention.
Natural Resources
Energy: All members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation were contacted and asked to extend federal tax credits for people and businesses investing in solar and other green technologies.
Climate Change: The first auction of pollution credits among 10 Northeastern states occurred the end of September. The program puts a price on carbon dioxide pollution, giving power plants a financial incentive to cut emissions, thereby helping to reduce global warming. Auction proceeds go towards energy conservation and renewable energy programs in each of the 10 participating states.
1000 Friends Conference: Tying All Together: Transit, Jobs & Housing, Thursday, November 13, 2008, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Omni Hotel, New Haven. In addition to speakers and discussion, one workshop will be co-sponsored by Transit for Connecticut, of which the LWVCT is a member. The workshop will focus on jobs, mobility and transportation. For further information or to register, visit the 1000 Friends website, www.1000friends-ct.org.
Social Policy
Reproductive Choice The Bush administration and Secretary of Health and Human Services, Michael Leavitt, had proposed a new regulation that would hinder women’s health care. Under this new regulation any health care entity that receives federal financing, directly or indirectly, would be required, in writing, to certify that none of its employees would be required to assist in any procedure they find objectionable. This would certainly undermine the “ Connecticut Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Act” which became law in 2007. This law represented a compromise that both protected a rape victims right to receive all necessary health care, including emergency contraception, if requested by the victim, and also protected those health care practitioners who have moral or religious objections to emergency contraception. Even though the most onerous language was removed from the original draft (i.e. saying that birth control is the same as an abortion) this new regulation would allow health care providers to interpret these rules any way they like.
LWVCT, LWVUS and organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Naral and many others, worked on all possible fronts urging Secretary Leavitt to remove these onerous regulations. Governor Rell also wrote a letter opposing those regulations as did Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and 13 other attorney generals from across the country.
The comment period is over now. The hope is that all our efforts will have worked.
School Start Time: PI Team member Lisa Bogan went up to Mansfield to speak to their League about later school start times. Also joining us was Dr. Susan Rubman, PhD, and insomnia specialist at the Hospital of Central Connecticut. There were about 20 people in attendance, including the Region 19 Superintendent and a member of their Board of Education. This particular school district has some logistical issues, not the least of which is 5 towns feeding into one high school, which will make it more challenging to change the start times. But, they’re willing to continue the conversation about this that they started a few years ago. We encouraged them to persevere and offered guidance if they decide to conduct a community conversation on the issue.
Local League Service 990-N Tax Filing
Although we reported in an e-mail earlier this month that the IRS appeared to have fixed its website sufficiently so that local Leagues can (finally) file their 990-N forms on line, we were only partially right. However, although the IRS has only fixed the site for two local Leagues, it promises to get the rest fixed upon receipt of a correction letter which the LWVCT faxed to them on October 16. Therefore, we now say: go ahead and file, no matter what dates you see on your screen. Your filings will get amended if needed.
If you have tried to file previously but aborted when the wrong dates came up, do the following:
1) Open your browser to http://ePostcard.form990.org.. 2) Click the “Edit/View Existing e-Postcard:” link in the Quick Menu on the right hand side of the page. The system will ask you to Log in. 3) Enter Your Login ID and Password. The system will take you to the Control Panel. 4) Select the “Edit” link in the control panel for your Form 990-N. The system will then take you back into your e-Postcard. 5) Once you are back in the e-Postcard, finish entering the information and then submit the e-Postcard to the IRS.
If you have never tried to file, follow the instructions originally given to you at the Council session in June, except enter your League’s name in the “doing business as” box rather than in the “name” box.
If you have not already done so, please file now. And if you have any questions, please phone or e-mail the LWVCT Hamden office.
LWV Logo
If you’re ordering new letterhead, new banners, or anything that needs a League logo, there are some rules from LWVUS that you have to follow when you talk to your printer.
Logo Colors:
In 4-color printing, PMS 294 Blue for the square and PMS 200 Red for the slash MUST be used. (PMS stands for Pantone Matching System, a system for identifying ink colors.)
In 2-color printing, there is no restriction on the two specific colors to be used. However, the following TWO RESTRICTIONS do apply:
1. STANDARD TWO COLOR USAGE - The logo must be used in only ONE (the darker) of the two colors chosen for the publication. In this usage, the box would be the 100 percent of darker color and the "slash" would be 25 percent of that color.
2. REVERSE USAGE - The logo may be used in reverse on a solid, colored background. In this reverse use, the box would be a specified percentage based on the background color; the letters "LWV" would be in the solid background color, and the slash would be a specified percentage based on the background color. This is also allowed for one-color use where the color is not black.
Logo Typeface
It is desirable to use the League name in conjunction with the logo in order to strengthen the association between the two. Accompanying the logo, the name LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS should be printed in black or gray and should be all caps. The official typeface is Baskerville, but since that is not always available as a computer font, Times Roman is an acceptable substitute. The name of a specific local or state League may be printed either in a san serif face such as Helvetica or Arial AND horizontally spaced out or in Baskerville/Times Roman with normal spacing.
Logo Trademark
When it stands alone, the logo MUST be accompanied by the ® trademark symbol on the upper right hand side of the logo. When the logo is used in conjunction with League name, the ® mark should be placed only at the end of "League of Women Voters" to indicate that both the logo and the League name are trademarked.
Integrity of the Logo
The logo itself should not be modified in any way. For example, the shape of the box should not be altered, nor should any other text or graphic (e.g., outline of a state) appear inside the box except the LWV. Voter Service Post-Election Audit
The LWVCT will again be asking for volunteers to take part in Connecticut’s post-election audits as volunteers. Please watch for our Constant Contact e-mail to you and your members, explaining how to sign up. |
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