General Membership meeting - open to the Public.

Rosalinda Guillen, Community to Community + Executive Director
Paul Grey - Executive Director, WHATCOM Farm Friends
Hannah Stone, Immigration Attorney Immigration & the Law, how it is, how it could be
Dr. James Loucky, Prof. Of Anthropology, Western Washington University The Global Perspective of Immigration + Sustainability & Can Migration be Stopped?

Dr. Ken Vedra, Bellingham Superintendent of Schools and Nancy Oswald, active parent in PTSA's and sports coaching volunteer, Co-Chair of the 2008 Bellingham School District Levy Campaign Featuring a discussion about the school curriculum ~ especially civics education - including the League's "The State We're In" and facts about the March 11 levy

1) Dr. Andy Bach, Environmental Studies, WWU, will speak to us about water resources, world wide and locally. He concludes his portion with linking water and energy resources

2) Film - The Power of Community - Dr. John Rawlins, Whatcom Community College This film shows how Cuba resolved the sudden lack of oil.

The meeting will be at the Skagit Transit Center from 11:00 to 12:30. We set the meeting place and time so that for at least some of us, the meeting will be doable via bus. The buses from Whatcom County and from Island County get in at around 10:30. (Those of us coming from the south and from further away aren't as lucky and will need to carpool.)

After the meeting, adventurous souls could even do lunch and then take a bus out to LaConner and seeing gorgeous fields of tulips as the bus goes by. That bus leaves Skagit Transit at 3:00 and gets back to the transit center at 4:00, in time to catch the 4:10 buses back to Whatcom and Island Counties. Those of us in carpools will have even the choice of stopping and sniffing the tulips.

With climate change/greenhouse gas problems looming, it's important that we learn all we can about successful public transportation systems, so we can continue to work to improve the systems in our own areas.

So--please join us on April 15th!

Linnea Hirst Chair, Transportation Committee League of Women Voters of Washington

Speakers: Pamela Kiesner--Bellingham Public Library Director Joan Airoldi--Director of Whatcom County Library System

Topic: Our library directors will be speaking about the history of cooperation between the Bellingham Public Library (BPL) and the Whatcom County Library System (WCLS), as well as their services, issues and facilities. Special highlight of the meeting: a conversation on what privacy means to you today.

John Geyman, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Family Medicine, U.W. School of Medicine. Grant Hendrickson, Ph.D., former Trustee of Group Health Cooperative; Don Howard, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, CellNetix Pathology and Laboratories, Seattle Kathleen O'Connor, founder and CEO of CodeBlueNow!, a national grass-roots organization that examines health care system issues and solutions Washington State Senator Rosemary McAuliffe

and sponsored by:The League of Women Voters of Snohomish County, The League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County, AAUW +Everett; Communities of Color Coalition; Health Care for All--Snohomish, Washington State Council of County and City Employees, Council 2; Health Care for All - Washington; The New Everett Theatre; and The League of Women Voters of Seattle. LWV Kitsap and WA State Psychological Assn.

To Carpool to this event please contact Tanya Baumgart @ CoPres1@LWVbellinghamwhatcom.org or 671-5172

11 AM - noon Annual Business Meeting where members have the opportunity to give their directions to the board for the following year, vote on the budget, and program. Only members may vote. BRING YOUR ANNUAL PACKETS!!

Please note that 1. Macquarie Infrastructure Partners originates from an investment bank in Australia, and that the two following Macquarie companies (3 & 6), while located in the US, stem from the same original investment bank in Australia. The new owners of Puget Sound Energy and Puget Energy add up to 51.4% Australian owned (albeit not technically since two of the companies are located in the US) and 48.5% Canadian owned. This merger puts our local electrical energy supplies into foreign ownership. Is this what we want? The merger was already signed in October and is pending approval by the WUTC. The public is represented by the Public Counsel Section of the Washington Attorney General's Office. You can contact the office at: Public Counsel Assistant Attorney General 800 5th Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188

You may make comment to the UTC by:
1. attend the meeting
2. in writing - UTC, PO Box 47250, Olympia, WA 98504-7250
3. by telephone at: 1-800-562-6150
4. via UTC web form: http://www.utc.wa.gov/comment

5. by email at: comments@utc.wa.gov

6. by fax at: 360-664-4281

Please reference docket number U-072375 (merger) in your correspondence

Locally we will be taking a look at this issue and hearing from a forum of knowledgeable speakers: Dr. Frederic H. Braun, M.D., P.S. will address crucial early child development. Dr. Braun works with children who have autism and other brain disorders. He is also particularly concerned about educating parents of children from birth to two years old.

Senator Harriet Spanel will speak of past and pending legislation about early childhood education as well as funding problems.

Sally Holloway, Coordinator of ECE at Whatcom Community College and Wilanne Ollila-Perry, Child Care and Family Resources Program Director of the Opportunity Council will speak about their experiences with regard to early childhood education. They network regularly with other institutions and can answer questions beyond their own organizations.

All local Leagues in the state will be reviewing and answering consensus questions on this issue which will lead to a statewide League position on Early Childhood Education. Our meeting is educational and open to the public.

League Members: Please review the following report League of Women Voters of WA Study on Early Childhood Education prior to the meeting. To review the consensus questions please click here

Members Only Event

• League Lobby Day Columbia Room, Capitol Building, Olympia March 12 Download the program and registration form

Consensus Meeting Materials for Study:

LWVUS Study on the National Popular Vote Compact Background Paper

LWVUS National Popular Vote Compact Study, Opposing Arguments

LWVUS National Popular Vote Compact Study, Supporting Arguments

National Popular Vote Compact Suggested Resource List

Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by Nationwide Popular Vote

National Popular Vote Compact Consensus Questions

The League of Women Voters of the United States has a strong position on Health Care. We are working to help people better understand the problems and to discuss solutions to the challenges of health care in America. The American health care system is ranked 37th out of 40 developed nations. We can do better! But that will require some changes to the current system. Join us in hearing from our panel of health care professionals and advocates including:

• Dr. Greg Stern,Whatcom County Health Department
• Chris Lindbergh, President, United for National Health Care
• Mike Hoagland,Hoagland Pharmacy
• Keith Wallace, Rice Insurance Group
• Larry Kalb, President, Health Care for All.

To read more about our positions please see www.LWVbellinghamwhatcom.org

WHERE: The Bellingham Public Library's downstairs meeting room

WHEN: Saturday, April 18th from 9:45 AM - noon Coffee and Treats will be served.

WA State has a "Top Two" General Election. If a race has more than two candidates, we narrow it down using the "Primary Election". So the primary ballot only includes those races with 3 candidates or more, then we will vote for the top two in all of the races at the General Election. The Primary Races that we are covering will be the Port of Bellingham Commissioner Race, the At-Large Position for Whatcom County Council, and the Ward 6 race for the Bellingham City Council, in that order.

This program will air live on Bellingham TV Channel 10 (BTV10), then be repeated several times per week until the primary election.

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have been treated as second-class citizens and have not been entitled the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or institutional, which are available to male citizens of the United States; and WHEREAS, the women of the United States have united to assure that these rights and privileges are available to all citizens equally regardless of sex; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have designated August 26, the anniversary date of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, as symbol of the continued fight for equal rights: and

WHEREAS, the women of United States are to be commended and supported in their organizations and activities,

• By Reservation Only - book now! Space is limited! Please contact Phyllis at 734-5595 or plhaberstroh@juno.com to reserve a spot for you and a friend now!

Her presentation, "Checking the Pulse of Whatcom County," is the first in the YWCA's "Healing Healthcare" fall speaker series that offers three lunch programs and one evening panel through November. The League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County are co-sponsors of this series.

Noon programs are free and brown-bag lunches are welcome. Box lunches are available at $30 for the three noon presentations or $12 for individual talks. Coffee, tea and dessert are provided. To reserve a box lunch for Sept. 17 or the entire noon series, call 734-4820 or e-mail ywca@ywcabellingham.org by Sept. 15.

Races covered will be the Port of Bellingham Commissioner seats, the Bellingham City Council races, and the Whatcom County Council positions.

City of Bellingham, Comcast TV Channel 10 will be airing the debates live, and repeats of the broadcast will play until the election.

This event is the second part of a lunch series provided by the YWCA and co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County.

The noon programs are free and brown bag lunches are welcome. Box lunches are available at $30 for all three noon presentations or $12 for individual talks. Coffee, tea and dessert are provided.

PANEL MEMBERS:

• Todd Donovan, WWU Prof + Overview + Background Info
• Trent England, Evergreen Freedom Foundation + Pro Electoral College
• Sara Weir, WWU Prof + Pro National Popular Vote

This co-sponsored forum is brought to you by:

• The League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County
• Whatcom County Republicans
• Whatcom County Democrats
• Whatcom County Libertarians

This event is the third part of a lunch series provided by the YWCA and co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County.

The noon programs are free and brown bag lunches are welcome. Box lunches are available at $30 for all three noon presentations or $12 for individual talks. Coffee, tea and dessert are provided.

Lunch is included, Reservations are required. Cost is $25. You can find the reservation form in the LWVWA Voter, or in our Voter (our newsletter) - online Click Here

This is why our League sponsored this Civil Discussion Training Workshop, facilitated by Mary Dumas of Dumas Associates and Moonwater, Executive Director of Whatcom County Dispute Resolution Center.

David Webster, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Bellingham, and Dewey Desler, the Deputy Administrator for Whatcom County will participate in a panel discussion discussing the impacts of the state budget crisis on our local economy.

WA State Representative Kelli Linville, will join us if possible (contingent on timing of negotiations in Olympia); but if not possible has agreed to send a written report on budget negotiations to date.

• Program and Reception 11:30am - 1:00pm Come celebrate the Mayoral Proclamation proclaiming the month of March as Women's History Month and March 8th as officially International Women's Day for the City of Bellingham - Speakers and music Bellingham City Council Chambers

• Rally and March 4:00pm starting point Bellingham High School Parking Lot- 2020 Cornwall, Bellingham, WA 98225

• Women's Ways of Leading Celebration 5:00pm - 8:00pm St. Luke's Community Education Center- 3333 Squalicum Pkwy, Bellingham WA 98225 Workshops, Food, Art, Music, Speakers, Fun, Fun , Fun

The League of Women Voters of Washington State is concerned about the budget crisis facing our state. Our methods of paying for our government services are inefficient and unfair to many. To check out some of the research done on taxation in Washington click here This program will deal with the concept of Tax Reform - how do we have a good system of fair taxation, that adequately funds our priorities?

• * Jeff Chapman is an expert on economic and fiscal policy. As the research director of the Budget & Policy Center, his focus is on improving public policy through solid and accessible research. He has published reports on a wide variety of issues including tax policy and the low wage labor market and is an expert on microdata analysis. He serves on the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors. Previously, Jeff was an economist with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in Washington, DC. Jeff's research has been widely cited in print and broadcast media and published in places including the Monthly Labor Review and The State of Working America. Jeff has a BS from Oregon State University and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Allen's ninth CD features twenty songs commemorating women's journey to justice on this 100th Centennial of Women's Suffrage in Washington State; songs of weavers and quilters, suffragists and farmers, labor leaders and politicians, Rosie the Riveters and domestic workers. Allen is touring over twenty-five cities around Washington State with a multi-media presentation sponsored by Inquiring Mind, Humanities Washington.

On April 30th 2010, the Bellingham Whatcom County LWV invites its members to a March against Racism. Starting at the Taylor Street Dock (Chrysalis Inn end) at 2pm, League members and friends will march through Boulevard Park and back in solidarity with the YWCA's day of events highlighting and protesting racism.

Bring your friends and join us--rain or shine--buttons and bookmarks for the first 25 participants.