Author: Emily

Recent news and events: May- June, 2019

Recent news: DC statehood push

House committee to hold hearing on DC statehood bill this summer

Read the article at CNN HERE. This is an example of a non-partisan voter support issue that the League endorses and promotes.

Get Off Your Duff: Political Volunteering With a Disability

Read this article at New Mobility. The League actively supports voter rights and action at every level. Learn how you can help promote voting rights at the local or state level.

LWV Klamath county supports climate change lawsuit: June 4, 2019

Several members of the LWV Klamath County including Leslie Lowe, Diane Eastman-Shockey, and Courtney Neubauer gathered in front of the LNG pipeline offices to hand out 25 copies of this HANDOUT.

They received lots of thumbs up from drivers.  Even better, they observed no negative behaviors in pedestrians or drivers.  7 people total came to hold signs.  They accomplished what they set out to do, which was bring awareness of this lawsuit to our community. 
Event Signage was created by Teresa Wilson and Leslie Lowe.

lwv Oregon State Convention, Ashland, OR may 17-19

Two members of the LWV Klamath County attended the recent state convention to represent our rural area. Emily Strauss and Julie Ryder attended the day-and-a half- series of meetings to share, listen, and vote on business. Read a summary of the convention HERE.

League Endorses Creation of National Democracy Month

LWV-US takes action for democracy

6/5/2019

The League recently sent a letter to U.S. Senators encouraging them to support and pass a resolution making September National Democracy Month. This is an example of how the League works to promote democracy and voting rights for everyone. If you’re interested in supporting this work, contribute to the League, contact your Senator, or keep informed about the progress of this initiative.

letter to u.s. senators

Dear Senator:

The League of Women Voters, with affiliates in communities across your state, joins four former Senate Majority Leaders, Bob Dole, George Mitchell, Tom Daschle, and Trent Lott, who serve on the board of the American Democracy Month Council (ADMC) in urging your co-sponsorship of a bipartisan Senate resolution to establish September 2019 as National Democracy Month. Also joining in this effort are many distinguished members of the ADMC’s Advisory Board, including George Stephanopoulos, John Negroponte, Tony Blinken, Norm Ornstein, Olympia Snowe, and Tom Korologos, among others.

The Resolution is being introduced by the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham and Dianne Feinstein, respectively. The similar resolution passed last year with 25% of the Senate joining as co-sponsors.

history of the league of women voters

Born out of the movement that gave women the right to vote, the League of Women Voters is the only organization founded before the 19th Amendment that is still in existence today. Our mission of empowering voters and defending democracy puts us on the front lines of civic engagement and voter empowerment. There is growing awareness of the need to reform and support our democracy in our country. The 2018 election was a referendum in support of our democracy, but there is still much work to be done. We believe that the declaration of September as Democracy Month will also pair well with National Voter Registration Day (NVRD), a day where grassroots organizations work together to register voters. The League has maintained the status as the largest on the ground partner when registering voters in communities across the country on this day. Just as Black History Month helped educate Americans about African American history, so too National Democracy Month will focus American citizens on a revitalization of civic education and understanding and appreciation for our democracy.

To co-sponsor the resolution, please contact Blair Bjellos of Chairman Graham’s staff at Blair_Bjellos@judiciary-rep.senate.gov or Christopher Gaspar in Senator Feinstein’s office at Christopher_Gaspar@feinstein.senate.gov.

We look forward to hearing of your co-sponsorship of this important resolution.

                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                Chris Carson

                                                                President

Fundraising luncheon

  • Good news: We’re not raising our dues next year!
  • Good news: We’re working hard on our new website and Newsletter.
  • Result: We need $660 next year to operate.
  • Result: We need to raise funds! We’ve already received two contributions for a total of $160, leaving only $500 more to raise! WILL YOU HELP US?

We’re having a luncheon.

Who: The first 16 people who contribute $50 or more by August

Where: Leslie Lowe’s home and garden

When: September, 2019 date to be announced

What: Home catered food from our wonderful member-chefs

How: Write a check to “LWV Klamath County” and send to:

8880 Tingley Lane, Klamath Falls OR 97603

Don’t want to attend but want to help?

You can still contribute any amount by sending a check to the address above. We are happy for any contribution– $5? $10?

Rural Organizing Project, Community Action

rural organizing project

The Rural Organizing Project is a grass-roots organization that seeks to advocate democracy in Rural Oregon. It began in 1991 and today works in many areas. These include

  • Up in Arms: A Guide to Oregon’s Patriot Movement. ROP in partnership with Political Research Associates is releasing Up in Arms: A Guide to Oregon’s Patriot Movement. This is a groundbreaking toolkit designed to provide resources and tools to Oregon’s small towns and rural communities. These towns are under often siege from militias and other Patriot movements.
  • Rural Organizing Voices. Rural Organizing Voices is an oral history project to document and share the stories, lessons, organizing tools and wisdom amassed through ROP’s 26-year history of grassroots organizing in rural and small town Oregon.
  • Democracy & Civic Participation. ROP and Human Dignity Groups promote year-round rural civic engagement. This builds power on local, state and national levels and facilitates democratic participation in our communities.

upcoming local action

Courtney Neubauer, local organizer working with ROP and newly seated on the LWV Klamath County Board, is putting on a policy and karaoke night at El Palacio’s Mexican Restaurant May 18th, 2019 6-10pm. She will have tables set up so the public can learn about Paid Family Medical Leave, Driver’s Licenses for All, and No-LNG. All of the tables will be set up so that anyone can send their representative a postcard and share their opinion. There will also be an opportunity for folks to say what policy issues they want to learn about in the future! The RSVP form is: http://bit.ly/MayPolicyParty and the FB event is: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250988618384238/?active_tab=about

You may contact Courtney directly by email for further information.

Results of Annual meeting, 2019

Results of the annual meeting: our members and board met on April 18, 2019 for dinner and the annual meeting at the delightful new Terra Veg vegan restaurant on E. Main St. Our guest speaker was Klamath Falls mayor Carol Westfall, who spoke to us about city issues and what’s it’s like to be a woman in power in this traditionally male-dominated city political structure.

new study approved

During the meeting, members and board voted to begin a new study project next year. This will deal with the issue of merging the Klamath Falls city boundary with the “Urban Growth” boundary. The concept is to merge these two boundaries to form a single entity.

The League understands that various people in Klamath Falls have discussed this issue for many years but it has always faced partisan opposition from various groups due to a number of issues including taxation, provision of infrastructure, and public safety. Now the league would like to focus on identifying major stakeholders who should ultimately meet to resolve this issue. The goal would be to speak to all the relevant parties to try to form a basis for a committee to work together. This committee could bring issues to the ballot or otherwise work to merge these boundaries.

other decisions

The board will consider new board members and officers at the next regular meeting. Courtney Neubauer was elected to serve on the board. Leslie Lowe will continue as Treasurer, Karen Kunz will continue as Secretary. The position of President will become open and will be determined at the meeting of May 16.

LWV’s Position Paper on Climate Change

position paper on climate change, US map

position paper on climate change

The LWV’s position on climate change is important for all league members and voters interested in this issue.

Recently the LWV US has added a Toolkit of information for league members and other interested parties regarding the League’s position on Climate Change. The recent League Update included Talking Points on the Green New Deal, which can be found HERE.

Here you can read about the League’s Position Paper on climate change as of January, 2019. It includes several resolutions that provide further guidance and emphasis for Leagues wishing to engage in climate action. Here is where state and local leagues may find information and language to use when contacting local legislators. It also gives guidance on how to influence their support of federal legislation on climate change.

This is another example of how national and state leagues work together to support position papers developed after close study. When you join our Klamath County League, you also join the national league and lend your voice to discussions of national issues such as climate change.

climate change

Annual Meeting April 18, 2019

April 18, 2019 6:30 PM Terra Veg vegan restaurant, 249 E. Main Street, Klamath Falls

Join us for an informal dinner and meeting to elect officers and decide on major study issues for the upcoming year. This year we will visit the newly-opened vegan restaurant, created by the former chef at Leap of Taste, Liz Arraj, featuring Mediterranean, Spanish, Greek, Middle Eastern, Central-Italian cuisines. We will be there after regular hours, and will order from a list of special items. Expect dinner to cost around $10-$15. For more information and to RSVP, contact Leslie Lowe.

LWV joins LNG demonstration

LWV joins with Indivisible Klamath in demonstration
Demonstrating against LNG pipeline

On Thursday March 28, 2019, several members of LWV Klamath County joined with others to demonstrate against the proposed LNG pipeline. This was part of our continuing efforts to engage in activities relevant to our community. Attending were Valerie Lenardson, Diane Eastman -Shockey, Christina Pasillas, Julie Ryder, Leslie Lowe,  and former LWV member Barbara Turk. 

For further information: Indivisible Klamath

According to a recent Klamath Indivisible press release:

  • The proposed Pacific Connector gas pipeline would be built across public and private lands. After 13 years, 60 landowners object to this pipeline and could have their land seized by eminent domain;
  • The pipeline would cross 485 rivers, streams and wetlands including the Rogue, Klamath and Umpqua rivers, and impact the fishing and tourist industries;
  • Constructing the pipeline would require clear-cutting a 95-foot buffer through public lands, impacting a region with significant fire and earthquake hazards;
  • The pipeline would carry 1.6 billion cubic feet of fracked gas per year;
  • Despite Pembina’s claims in its thousands of TV ads and mailers, LNG pipelines are not safe. Gas pipelines and facilities are highly explosive, and have resulted in injuries, deaths and evacuations;
  • The pipeline would end at a huge refinery called Jordan Cove, built at Coos Bay, on our pristine and protected Oregon coast;
  • The project threatens cultural resources, traditional tribal territories and burial grounds of the Karuk, Yurok and Klamath Tribes. They oppose the project;
  • The project would not result in additional jobs. An estimated 1,000 temporary workers would be involved with the construction, most from out of state;
  • Promoting more Liquified Natural Gas is a huge step backward for fighting climate change. Fracking wells produce substantial amounts of methane which could be worse than coal in a 20-year timeframe. The U.S. Department of Energy says shipping natural gas from the U.S. to Asia could end up being worse than if China simply built a new power plant and burned its own coal supplies. And the terminal would become the largest source of climate pollution in the state;
  • The project benefits two foreign interests: Pembina, a Canadian fossil fuels company, and the Asian markets that will receive the LNG shipped from Jordan Cove.

Here is information from Pembina, Inc. Pipeline proposal

Pembina continues to progress its proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon, and the related Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline that will transport natural gas from the Malin Hub in southern Oregon to the export terminal. In September 2017, the Company filed applications with the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the construction and operation of Jordan Cove.  The Company received a FERC Notice of Schedule during Q3 2018 and based on that notice, currently anticipates a final FERC decision on Jordan Cove in November of 2019.  Pembina continues to anticipate first gas in 2024, pending the receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals, a positive final investment decision and other requirements.

Project highlights:

  • 7.8 MMTPA (~1.3 Bcf/d) greenfield liquefied natural gas export facility
  • Price competitive with USGC brownfield on a delivered into Tokyo basis
  • 9 days shipping to Tokyo with no hurricane risk or Panama Canal risk
  • Access to long-term and diverse natural gas supply from WCSB and US Rockies
  • Large-scale existing regional gas transportation network
  • ~229 mile (~369 km) greenfield pipeline to connect Malin Hub in southern Oregon to Jordan Cove Terminal