| An update for League friends and subscribers. | | | | Join Us for the League's Winter Gathering on December 3 | | "Save the Date" for the winter League gathering on Tuesday, December 3. The event will take place at St. Thomas Lutheran Church, 3800 E. Third St., Bloomington, IN from 6:00-7:30 pm. This is an opportunity for both members and friends to meet, socialize, and learn about what activities are coming up. Not a member? No problem! Anyone interested in the League is welcome. Refreshments will be served. We look forward to seeing you. Questions? Contact membership@lwv-bmc.org. No need to register for this event...just be there! - Nancy Riggert | | Have a Conversation With Your Legislators | All Indiana representatives and senators who represent a portion of Brown, Johnson, and Monroe Counties are invited to talk about their priorities for the 2025 Indiana General Assembly session and hear what is important to constituents. Join us for this Zoom meeting on Saturday, December 7, 2024, 9:30-11:00 am. Go to https://bit.ly/4fRP5mp to register and obtain the Zoom link. Questions? Contact voterservice@lwv-bmc.org.
Co-sponsors are the Leagues of Women Voters of Brown County, Johnson County, and Bloomington-Monroe County and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. - Monica Clemons and Ralf Shaw | | Join the League - Make a Difference! | As a volunteer in a large organization, it can be difficult to tell where you are making a difference. Recent data from the national League on the 2024 election, illustrated in the graphic above, shows that collectively the League is having an effect. More locally, In Indiana, we had 45,744 total users of VOTE411. Bloomington and Ellettsville residents contributed 11,704 to that total. The only cities above Bloomington were Indianapolis, South Bend, and Fort Wayne. If you are not now a member, you are welcome to join us in this effort! Just go to New Member Signup. Need more info? Go to Who We Are. If you'd like to talk to a member, contact membership@lwv-bmc.org. – Nancy Riggert | | Register Now for 2025 Legislative Updates | | Legislative updates are scheduled for four Saturdays in 2025 (January 25, February 15, March 8, and April 19), each from 9:30 to 11 am. These will be Zoom virtual sessions. All state legislators representing Brown, Johnson, and Monroe counties have been invited to report on their work and priorities for the 2025 Indiana General Assembly and take questions from attendees. These include State Senators Roderic Bray, Cyndi Carrasco, Aaron Freeman, Eric Koch, Greg Walker, and Shelli Yoder; and State Representatives Michelle Davis, Craig Haggard, Dave Hall, Bob Heaton, Robb Greene, Peggy Mayfield, and Matt Pierce. Co-sponsors are the Leagues of Women Voters of Brown County, Johnson County, and Bloomington-Monroe County. Go to https://lwv-bmc.org/legis-updates to register for any or all sessions. - Ralf Shaw and Monica Clemons | | Civic Conversations Podcasts Looking Forward to 2025 | | We've had a great year at Civic Conversations! Fascinating episodes with guests such as Erika Oliphant, Dr. Michael Hicks, Dr. Charles Geyh, joining us to discuss some of the most critical issues of today. Next year, we look forward to programs on the wetlands, school vouchers, the Supreme Court, to name a few. If you missed some episodes, you can go to our podcast webpage to listen. Feel free to share the podcasts with others. Government and history teachers, these are great podcasts to share with your classes. See you next year! - Becky Hill and Jim Allison | | Contact Congress to Remove Roadblocks to Clean Energy | As our LWVIN President Linda Hanson wrote in her post-election message, we “have important work to do, for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren.” And as we re-energize ourselves, let’s include action to fulfill our children’s and grandchildren’s right to a livable world.
We have a great opportunity to take climate action right now by asking our members of Congress to support the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024. This bill will remove roadblocks to the development of clean energy projects, while maintaining safety guardrails. The bill, as currently written, would apply to fossil fuel projects as well as clean energy, but over 97% of new energy projects awaiting permits are in the clean energy sector, thus ensuring a significant net reduction in carbon emissions.
The bill passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with strong bipartisan support, and it therefore has the momentum to get passed this year. The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 (S. 4753) will:
- Establish strong clean energy targets and faster timelines for getting new projects started. Right now, permitting processes can often take more than 10 years!
- Ensure more and better electrical transmission lines, sooner. For example, the bill requires transmission operators to include interregional transmission in their planning.
- Benefit Indiana's economic growth. Clean energy projects would be up and running more quickly, enabling Indiana to take advantage of our strategic "energy crossroads" location.
- Result in a significant net reduction in carbon emissions. Independent energy models show that the bill could reduce carbon emissions by at least 10% and by up to 25% by 2050.
Thanks for adding your voices to support the bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act. If we quack loud enough, hopefully we can turn the so-called “lame duck” session into a “proDUCKtive” one for climate solutions! – Kristina Lindborg | | Local Podcast Features Vote Centers | Moving from precinct-based voting to vote centers was the topic of a recent podcast hosted by Steve Volan. Volan, a recently retired five-term member of Bloomington's City Council, created The 812 podcast, which features interviews with elected and appointed officials in city government, as well as with members of boards, commissions and not-for-profits providing services to the city.
Interviewees were Debora (Ralf) Shaw, representing the League of Women Voters, and Ami Gandhi, who leads the Midwest Voting Rights Program. Both are members of the Monroe County Vote Center Study Committee. Ralf is our League's spokesperson and co-chair of the Voter Service Committee. The participants reviewed what vote centers are, how they might work in Monroe County, and advice received from listening sessions with local groups. Click here to listen to the podcast. - Ralf Shaw | | Learn About the Beacon Center | | Beacon, Inc, the largest nonprofit housing provider in Monroe County, plans to construct a center that will provide housing and related supportive services. Beacon representatives will outline their plans for the League’s DEI unit via Zoom on Thursday, December 12, 11:00-noon. If you would like to learn more about Beacon Center, contact Elaine Gaul (dei@lwv-bmc.org) for the Zoom link. - Elaine Gaul | |
Proofreader: Kristina Lindborg
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