TOUR OF THE CITY OF WILMINGTON

NEWLY RE-DEVELOPED AREAS ALONG THE RIVER FRONT AND THE CITY

You’re invited to join the League of Women Voters of New Castle County on a BUS TOUR of the newly re-developed areas of the City of Wilmington. Learn about issues/programs and services provided by the City and some of the challenges the Mayor and residents face and what the future holds for Wilmington.

This tour is free and open to the public.

Saturday, September 27

9 a.m. meet at the City/County Building for a light continental breakfast

9:30 - 10:15 a.m. Welcome - What's happening in the City of Wilmington

10:15- 11:30 a.m. tour of the city

Return to the City/County building

11:30 a.m. – Noon. Q and A and closing

Please RSVP to 571-8948 or e-mail lwvncc@voicenet.com by Thursday September 25 with your name and telephone number and/or e-mail.

Address: City/County Building, 800 North French Street, Wilmington. There is plenty of free parking available on street on Saturdays.

CANDIDATE FORUM FOR GOVERNOR

The LWVDE and LWVNCC will host the candidates for governor at a forum in the Auditorium at Cokesbury Village, 726 Loveville Rd, Hockessin, on Tuesday September 30 (possible alternate date: October 28). The event will begin at 6:30 PM with an opportunity to meet and engage in dialog with the candidates followed by the forum beginning at 7:00 PM. All candidates whose names will appear on the November ballot will be invited to address the audience and take questions from the floor.

Questions may be submitted in advance for early consideration by email to Carole Walsh, cnwwhw@verizon.net and Joyce Johnson, drjohntc@verizon.net. Cards and pencils will be available for those who wish to wait until the forum to pose their question.

The event is free and open to the public.

Carole Walsh

Above: Candidate Forum for Governor and Lt. Governor held August 21, 2008 at the Sarah Pyle Academy Auditorium, Wilmington. John Watson, WILM moderated a lively forum with a capacity crowd in attendance. Sponsored by MotiVote, a coalition of which the League is a member.

President’s Message

One look at the calendar on the last page is evidence of the many ways the League is active in important issues in the community. We wish we could give a firm date for the Gubernatorial Candidates Forum at Cokesbury but going to press before the Primary has left that tentative. We’ll get out an email.

In the meantime there’s Community Day in Newark which is the big event on the U of D campus on September 14. There you’ll be sure to meet candidates from all parties: to shake hands, get a support button, ask a question. The League will have a table there with information, registering voters and signing up new League members.

Save Saturday morning the 27^th for a tour of “in-fill” development in Wilmington with guides from the Mayor’s office. There are spaces for only 40 on the two small buses the Mayor is providing so don’t delay in reserving your place by calling in to the League office. Do invite your non-League friends to come along. We’d like them to see another of the ways we’re involved in our community.

Jane Dilley

Above: Carrie Hutson is registering a new voter at the Nzininga Cultural Connection at 827 N. Market Street September 9. Judy Taggart, Letty Diswood and Donna E. May all participated and enjoyed a performance of smooth jazz inside the center. The performance and paintings on display, with the artist present, was part of the art-loop which takes place the first Friday of the month.

Text Box: Sunday, Sept. 14 Newark Community Day

There will be a table all day and ONLY one of two people needs to be trained to do voter registration, Two people per shift needed. Set up: Nancy Breslin, Letty Diswood, Shifts 10 – 1, (volunteers needed), 1 -3, (volunteers needed)
3-5 Carole Walsh

VOTER OUTREACH

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

There is still time to register to vote for the November general election. The public is very exited and is requesting League members to come out to many venues. So please – if you took a training session please step up. Check below – we recommend two people to each shift or location. If there is no name next to shift please E-MAIL Patti Christopher at wjcjr4@comcast.net. Please do not call her at work, she is a nurse at a hospital and may not be able to return your calls in time. So - Confirm your shift and location by e-mail well in advance, unless you have an emergency.

Sunday September 7

Pilgrim Baptist Church, Newark

Carole Walsh, Nancy Breslin, Judy Taggart

Thursday, September 11 6:00 - 7:30 PM

Charter School, Market Street, Wilmington, (Need volunteer)

Saturday, September 13 11 - 2

SODAT Annual Walk/Run Rally for Substance Abuse Recovery @ Rodney Square, (Need volunteer)

Tuesday September 16

Delaware Technical Community College - Wilmington Campus, Shifts: 11:30 - 1:00 Letty Diswood, 5:00 - 7:00 (need volunteers)

Wednesday September 17

Wilmington Hospital, Washington Street

11AM - 1:00 PM Alice Davis, Lynne Joshi

Thursday September 18

Christiana Hospital, Newark, Delaware

11:AM - 1:00PM (need volunteers)

5:00 - 7:00 PM, Carrie Hutson, Ramona Marquez

Thursday September 18

Eden -Hamilton Park Civic Association, 50 South Street, New Castle, Delaware, 1 - 4PM (need volunteer)

Saturday October 4

Democratic Committee, Intersection of Milltown and Limestone Road, Time – need volunteer

Saturday October 4

CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) Thomas More Oratory (Catholic Campus Ministry) University of Del. 12:30 - 2:30 Sue Soltys, Ramona Marquez

Saturday, October 4

Christiana Fire Company Station # 3 / Salem Church Road

1 - 3 (need volunteer)

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ARE HELPING TO REACH OUT TO EVERY CORNER OF NCC.

Patti Christopher

Great Decisions

The group will meet Thursday, October 2, 10 a.m., at the home of Nancy Hannigan, 710 Severn Road, Tavistock, Wilmington 19803

Read Topic 7: U.S. - China economic relations: evolving rivalry. "China is booming and is poised to become the world's third-largest economy. Should the U.S. be worried"? This is written by Barry Naughton, professor at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies of the University of California whose newest book is The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth.

Urban Health/Justice Committee

The next meeting is September 25, Thursday at 6:00 PM in the League Office at 2400 W 17^th Street (Immanuel Church Highland in the Clash Center) The League welcomes anyone interested in this broad subject. The committee is learning about and updating its members and the League about the justice system and how it works. Their findings are printed regularly in the state voter as an insert and are listed as bulletins 1-IV. Most of them are on the web site at www.de.lwv.org. on the right hand side under LWVDE Urban Health and Justice Study (2007).

You may want to bring a sandwich or snack for yourself as it is the dinner hour.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Ms. Wendy Hicks-Powers

126 Weldin Park Drive

Wilmington, DE 19803

302-765-2397

wehinde@aol.com

League membership matters!

For those members who’s membership is up for renewal please look out for a first class letter that will be sent to you this coming week. For your convenience we now accept Master Card, Visa and Discover Card. Each member, no matter the level of activity, whether reading the newsletter, attending a meeting once in a while or just renewing membership, you are valued and help the League remain a vital part of this community.

Wanted-A Few League Members to be Officers and Board Members:

It is approaching the time when the slate for the Annual Meeting in April, 2009, is developed. We all recognize that every League member has other responsibilities, experiences changes in time commitments and brings to the League a variety of skills. As the election bloom wears off after November, we on the LWVNCC Nominations Committee are asking you to nominate yourself or another League member to be an officer (President of LWVNCC, Vice President, Assistant Treasurer) or board member (with or without a portfolio.)

If you are a new member, this is a great way to acquaint yourself with the workings of the League; if you are a long time League member, you may want to be an officer or Board member to advance a League issue which you have not had an opportunity to work on or complete.

Contact person-Janet Kramer, Chair of Nominations Committee and Board Member of LWVNCC, 1(302) 239-1518, Email at jkr5936763@aol.com.

Remember-We, the LWVNCC, are a non partisan volunteer organization and depend on the energy and skill of our members to encourage and educate citizens to become active in local government affairs so our democracy works efficiently and fairly for all of us.

ACTION ALERT!!

TRANSPORTATION – LAND USE

This action alert went out by e-mail earlier this week because of the time constraints. However, this is to inform you about the activities of the LWVNCC Transportation/Land Use Committee as well.

We need your help. If you go to the following web-site, http://www.wilmapco.org/tip/index.htm, you will find links to all the parts of WILMAPCO’s Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) for 2009-2012. The TIP lists all the transportation projects in our regional planning area (New Castle County and Cecil County). We hope that you will look it over, especially the transit portion, and email a comment in support of increased public transit to WILMAPCO. A comment from each of you is much more helpful than an august statement from the Board of Directors of the New Castle County League of Women Voters, since when the staff passes on the comments to the Council (which does the final voting on the document) they simply count the LWV statement as one comment. We need to have our position ring out to the Council, loud and clear.

Here is a little background.

The public transit portion of the TIP seems too small in view of

1) the 10% increased use of fixed route public transit in Delaware since the beginning of the year,

2) the high price of gasoline, (Continued on page 5 Action Alert)

(Continued from page 4 Action Alert)

3) the increased emphasis on reducing our carbon footprint,

4) the need to plan for ever-increasing use of public transport in ensuing years.

Randi Novakoff, a Planner for WILMAPCO, says that this year’s public transit request is 8% of the whole transportation budget. She says that last year public transit got 10.9% of the budget and in 2005 it got 11%. When you think of public transit’s share of the TIP in terms of percentage of the whole budget, as well as the increase in transit use, it’s clear that the Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC, or DART) is being asked to do more with fewer dollars. This is not a good time to reduce transit spending. We need to strike now when transit ridership is up, not only for the present transit situation but looking toward the future.

As of this minute Route #301 (connecting Wilmington and Dover) is maxed out, according to Stephen Kingsbury, head of the DTC, the public transit organization for the whole State. He says that use of public transit in the Middletown area has exploded. The Wilmington News Journal of April 13, 2008, reports that Mr. Kingsberry said that by increasing the number of transit users, the need for costly road construction is reduced. The same article quotes Carolann Wicks, Transportation Secretary: “Our plans have to embrace transit, not as an afterthought, but as an acknowledgement that transit plays a role in solving the transportation problems of our state.”

Official League positions which support public transit are:

Transit as an important factor in controlling development

A multi modal/interconnected transportation system, including but not limited to: highways, mass transit, rail, bicycle paths and pedestrian walkways.

* A transportation system that is consistent with protection of natural resources, including water quality and supply, and air quality.

* A transportation system consistent with conservation of energy resources.

Please call, email or write the folks at WILMAPCO: Comments can emailed to hdunigan@wilmap.org, mailed to WILMAPCO at 850 Library Ave., Newark, DE 19711, or called in at 302/737-6205. Your comments need to be in the hands of WILMAPCO staff no later than September 10th so that they can be collated and presented to the Council on September 11th.

Peggy J. O. Schultz, www.peggyjoschultz.com

OUR TOWN - A COMMUNITY FORUM - Sponsored by WILMAPCO

Make plans to attend Our Town, a community forum sponsored by WILMAPCO,

on Wednesday, October 22 from 4 to 7 p.m. This year’s theme, “Transportation and Energy: Setting Priorities for a Sustainable Future,” could not be more timely.

“Rising oil prices have focused attention on the inherent limitations of using fossil fuels to sustain our economy and quality of life,” said Tigist Zegeye, Executive Director WILMAPCO. “We are finally exploring other, viable, sustainable ways to power the transportation systems that move goods and people around our region and country.”

Speakers will include Senator Tom Carper; Steven Kingsberry, Delaware Transit Corporation; Lee Ann Walling, Office of Governor Ruth Ann Minner; Mark Barteau, Universityof Delaware; David Hodas, Widener Law; and more to be announced, including a nationally-recognized keynote speaker.

Our Town will be held at the Embassy Suites located at 654 South College Avenue in Newark (across from the Bob Carpenter Center). Admission is free and hordoerves will be provided.

Exhibits will include electric vehicles, the UD hydrogen bus, other alternative vehicles, and information from transportation-related agencies, including RideShare Delaware and TMA Delaware.

Attendees must RSVP by Friday, October 10 to WILMAPCO at 302-737-6205 or wilmapco@wilmapco.org. Our Town is held every two years and is open to the public.

Legislative News and Recommendations We Can Use

Mental Health Policy and Legislation

Women in Government has had a long history of providing its members with important policy information on issues relating to mental illness. In 2007, Ohio Governor Bob Taft signed into law a bill that requires health insurers in the state to offer the same coverage for mental illnesses as they do for physical illnesses. This is just one of the steps state legislators can take in ensuring access to care. Good mental health is fundamental to overall health. The quality of a person's mental health is essential to personal well-being and to the ability to lead a healthy, balanced, and productive life. Women in Government most recently addressed mental health policy at the 2008 Mental Health Task Force held March 13-15, 2008 in Point Clear, AL. The task force discussed ways in which to reduce the stigma of mental illness and devise strategies to increase access to and funding for mental health services. Please read the Mental Health Task Force Policy Recommendations discussed at our meeting. Women in Government is committed to raising awareness about mental illnesses, and the steps state legislators may take in order to ensure those diagnosed receive proper treatment. To read more of our Monthly Policy Feature please visit: http://www.womeningovernment.org/.

Accessible Birth Control Through Federal Legislation (From Planned Parenthood Legislative Alert)

In 1990, Congress passed the Medicaid Anti-Discriminatory Drug Price and Patient Benefit Restoration Act to allow Medicaid to receive the lowest drug prices on the market. The bill made a provision for pharmaceutical companies to offer nominally priced drugs to “safety net providers,” healthcare centers serving low-income populations. This allowed low-income women to have more affordable birth control at no cost to the federal government, thereby preventing unintended pregnancies that could cost the government more in pregnancy and childbirth-related costs.

In 2005, Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) to clarify the 1990 legislation. The DRA specified four categories of healthcare providers eligible for the nominal pricing, categories that unintentionally excluded all 1,370 college health centers nationwide as well as approximately 400 additional family planning clinics.

When the Deficit Reduction Act went into effect in January 2007, thousands of women saw the cost of their birth control skyrocket overnight, oftentimes doubling or tripling the cost. All told, three million college women and 800,000 low-income women have been affected by the price increase.

The Prevention Through Affordable Access Act (S. 2347/ H.R. 4054) seeks to restore the option for pharmaceutical companies to offer prescription contraceptives at a discount to university health centers and safety-net clinics. The Act would add language to a subsection of the Social Security Act designating college health centers and other nonprofit healthcare centers as eligible for nominally priced drugs, closing the loophole that currently exists and allowing health centers to pass the savings on to consumers at no cost to taxpayers.

On January 31, 2007, members of Congress recognized this crisis, sent a letter to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) (part of the Department of Health and Human Services) seeking a regulatory fix. In July, the CMS denied the fix, leading members of Congress to introduce the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act. The bill itself was initially intended only to serve as a vehicle for bringing attention to this issue; members of Congress instead aimed to include language in another bill to restore the nominal pricing exception. However, several attempts by Congress to do so in 2008 were ultimately unsuccessful. The Prevention Through Affordable Access Act therefore continues to attract new cosponsors and attention.

10 Drug and Alcohol Policies That Will Save Lives

(Excerpted from www.jointogether.org, a project of Boston University School of Public Health.)

1. Increase alcohol prices through taxes, particularly on beer.

2. Limit alcohol advertising and promotional activities that target young people.

3. Adopt laws that will prevent alcohol-related deaths and injuries among young people.

4. Require and enforce equal insurance coverage for drug and alcohol treatment.

5. Support the development and use of effective medications for addiction treatment.

6. Make screening for alcohol and drug problems a routine part of every primary care and emergency room visit.

7. Give higher payments to providers who get better results.

8. Require effective treatment and continuing, supervised aftercare programs instead of incarceration for non-violent drug and alcohol offenders.

9. Repeal policies that prevent ex-offenders from returning to full participation in society.

10. Support the work of community coalitions.

Editors Note-These were researched with recommendations coming from a consensus of experts. Food for thought for the next Delaware legislative session. For further information, discussion, and information sources go to www.jointogether.org and join the LWVNCC at the Urban Health and Justice Committee meetings.

(Continued on page 7 Legislative News)

(Continued from page 6 Legislative News)

Recommendations from the Delaware Housing Coalition

Ø Assertively address, rather than react to, housing challenges

Ø Review and reform the way housing is administered and financed.

Ø Designate adequate dedicated revenue for the Housing Development Fund

Ø Prioritize the extremely poor and the severely cost-burdened

Ø Set ambitious goals with clear cost estimates

Ø Preserve or replace on a one-for-one basis all housing for the very poor

Ø Use the Community Land Trust (British) model to preserve subsidy and make some affordability permanent

Ø Make affordable housing a pre-requisite of growth

Ø Create county-level affordable housing incentives and trust funds

Ø Take measure to preserve manufactured housing as an affordable housing option

Did You Know?

An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older, about one in four adults, suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. That is roughly 57.7 million people.

In addition to the devastating effects experienced by an individual diagnosed with a mental illness, in the United States mental disorders collectively account for more than 15 percent of the overall burden of disease from all causes and slightly more than the burden associated with all forms of cancer. The World Health Organization measures disease burden based on the impact of a health problem in an area measured by financial cost, mortality, morbidity, and other indicators.

Major mental disorders cost the nation at least $193 billion annually in lost earnings alone, according to a new study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

As many as eight million Americans who have serious mental illnesses do not receive adequate treatment each year. According to the U.S. Surgeon General's report on mental health, nearly half of all Americans with a severe mental illness fail to seek treatment. Many people do not receive treatment for mental health problems due to a lack of awareness of the problem, cost of insurance for mental illness, fear of stigma, or lack of access to appropriate services.

Women In Government has had a long history of providing its members with important policy information on issues relating to mental illness. In 2007, Ohio Governor Bob Taft signed into law a bill that requires health insurers in the state to offer the same coverage for mental illnesses as they do for physical illnesses. This is just one of the steps state legislators can take in ensuring access to care. Good mental health is fundamental to overall health. The quality of a person's mental health is essential to personal well-being and to the ability to lead a healthy, balanced, and productive life. Women In Government most recently addressed mental health policy at the 2008 Mental Health Task Force held March 13-15, 2008 in Point Clear, AL. The task force discussed ways in which to reduce the stigma of mental illness and devise strategies to increase access to and funding for mental health services. Please read the Mental Health Task Force Policy Recommendations discussed at our meeting. Women In Government is committed to raising awareness about mental illnesses, and the steps state legislators may take in order to ensure those diagnosed receive proper treatment.

To read more please visit: http://www.womeningovernment.org/.

NEWS FROM THE CCTF FOR THE LWV NCC VOTER

by Chad Tolman 9/4/08

In 2007, when the LWV US decided to give energy and climate change legislation a high priority, it also formed the Climate Change Task Force (CCTF), on which I have had the privilege to serve. In addition to writing position papers on various subjects, we have been providing information and guidance to the Board. President Mary Wilson, backed by work by the CCTF, recently announced that the League is calling for a moratorium on building coal-fired electric generating plants. These plants, like our own coal plant at Indian River, are responsible for releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide—causing global warming--as well as other air pollutants that cause acid rain, eutrophication of inland bays, asthma, cancer, and neurological damage in children.

James Hansen, the chief climate scientist at NASA, has been a strong advocate for a moratorium on coal plants until they capture and store the carbon dioxide they produce, pointing out that burning much more coal will cause serious damage to Earth’s climate system. When I sent him the press release on the League’s action, he wrote back, “Bless you, Mary Wilson, and whoever else contributed!” The LWV DE deserves a lot of credit for bringing the importance of energy and climate change to the attention of the national League at the 2006 Convention. Congratulations, Delaware!

A fact sheet on coal power prepared by the CCTF can be found at: http://www.lwv.org/Content/ContentGroups/StudyTaskforces/GlobalClimateChange/Coal_FactSheet_2008.pdf

Understanding Girls in the Juvenile Justice System

A Forum

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Clayton Hall, University of Delaware, Newark Campus

9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Lunch is included at no cost

In the AM, there will be presentations on the Girls Study Group research findings which shed light on female juvenile offending and ways to prevent and reduce female juvenile involvement in delinquency and violence. The research, conducted over three years, was funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).

Featured presenters:

Dr. Margaret Zahn, Acting Deputy Director, Research and Evaluation Division, National Institute of Justice, Washington D.C., Principal Investigator

Dr. Diana Fishbein, Director, Transdisciplinary Behavioral Science Program, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC, Chief Researcher in Brain Development

In the Afternoon, there will be a screening of “Girl Trouble”, an engrossing documentary film depicting the stories of three girls caught up in San Francisco’s juvenile justice system. One of the film’s participants will be there to answer your questions.

To register-contact Bebinn Cassel at bcassel@dcjustice.org or 302-657-0903

Registration Deadline: October 10, 2008

This Forum is Sponsored By Delaware Center for Justice’s Delaware Girls Initiative

Delaware Book Festival Dover DE November 1^st

The Delaware Book Festival was developed by the Delaware Division of Libraries, Delaware Center for the Book with funding provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The vision and effort contributed by these organizations and sponsors has created an event that brings books to life, celebrates the work of nationally recognized authors and illustrators, and inspires all who attend. Live appearances by over 35 authors and illustrators, to creative workshops and activities for children- a full day of activities is provided free of charge!

The Delaware Book Festival is held at the First State Heritage Park in downtown Dover, Delaware. A "park without boundaries," the First State Heritage Park links historical and cultural sites throughout Dover, the capital of Delaware. The Book Festival is situated in the park's Legislative Mall and in The Green, an adjoining area. Throughout the day, the nearby museums will be open free of charge.

Log on and keep updated on the 3rd Annual Delaware Book Festival at http://www.debookfestival.lib.de.us/festival/index.html

IN THE NEWS

Birth Control Is NOT Abortion!

From www.htpp//now@now.org

Date: August 19, 2008 2:05:27 PM PDT

“This summer, women's rights advocates discovered an impending administration attack on birth control. After hearing a multitude of protests, Secretary Mike Leavitt of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services blogs that it wasn't his intent however so far nothing has been changed in the draft administration regulation.”

In July, advocates learned of a draft administrative regulation which -- if implemented as written -- could:

1) Effectively redefine abortion to include commonly used contraceptive methods, and would discourage medical providers from offering those contraceptives. This expanded definition of abortion will discourage doctors and health care clinics from providing birth control products to women who need them, out of fear of losing critical federal funds.

2) Force family planning clinics to hire personnel who are anti-birth-control? No kidding! The drafted regulation would also have required agencies that receive family planning funding to certify that they will not discriminate in hiring people who object to abortion or who object to dispensing birth control on the basis of "religious beliefs or moral convictions."

3) Result in a dramatic influx of federal funding to fake clinics -- so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" that provide no family planning or abortion services, and often provide false and misleading information to women.

When all of this was pointed out to Leavitt, in letters from Congress, in comments posted on his blog, and in petitions circulated by Senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), he backtracked -- but the draft regulations haven't yet been changed. And according to the Washington Post, Clinton and Murray aren't satisfied, writing to Leavitt: "We remain concerned by the regulations' potential to create barriers for women seeking health care, to jeopardize federal programs that provide family planning services and to disrupt state laws securing women's access to birth control."

Background:

The draft regulation, prepared by the Bush Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and currently circulating among anti-women officials, redefines abortion as, "any of the various procedures -- including the prescription, dispensing and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action -- that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation." Taking a page from the extremist right, they are deliberately blurring the lines between contraception and abortion, providing an extraordinarily broad definition of abortion that could be interpreted to cover various forms of birth control, including oral contraceptives, intrauterine devices (IUD's), and emergency contraception.

This draft regulation requires entities and individuals that receive family planning funding to certify that they will not discriminate against people who object to abortion or to dispensing birth control on the basis of "religious beliefs or moral convictions." Under the guise of passing anti-discrimination laws to protect health care providers participating in federal programs, the proposed regulation would effectively undermine a health care provider's ability to offer the very services for which they are funded, as well as a patient's ability to access those services. All health care providers must be able to appropriately screen and hire individuals capable and willing to perform the core services that they provide.

The regulation puts laws and policies that protect women's access to birth control in serious jeopardy, including state laws that require hospitals to provide sexual-assault survivors with access to emergency contraception. The draft rule limiting Title X funding will create a direct conflict between Title X (America's Family Planning Program) and the Maternal Child Health and Medicaid programs, which requires that grantees provide a broad range of contraceptive services and supplies to their patients.

Currently, there are "crisis pregnancy centers" in communities across the country that look like health care centers, but deliver woefully incomplete care and only provide the reproductive health care options that fit their agenda: NO birth control, NO abortion -- and NO choice for women and families who need it! If Bush's proposed regulation takes effect, these "crisis pregnancy centers" are likely to receive a massive influx of our tax dollars.

At a time when 17 million women are in need of publicly-supported reproductive health care services, this regulation disparately impacts the low-income, uninsured and under-insured women who rely on these programs for their health information and services!

For more information, contact www.htpp//now@now.org.

(Continued on page 10 In The News)

(Continued from page 9 In The News)

Editor’s Note--The League of Women Voters of the United States supports choice for health and reproductive services as part of access to care.

Taking the 5th on torture?

Date:8/15/2008 11:02:44 PM Eastern Standard Time

From Physicians for Human Rights’ (PHR) www.phrusa.org

On August 14, Physicians for Human Rights' (PHR) called for ethics reform and accountability at the American Psychological Association (APA). More disturbing revelations about the role of psychologists in unethical and illegal interrogations of detainees in US custody at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba have been revealed.

It was reported by the military news service that Lt. Colonel Diane M. Zierhoffer -- a US Army psychologist who ordered the illegal torture of a juvenile, Mohammad Jawad -- invoked her right to avoid self-incrimination. Dr. Zierhoffer invoked her right not to testify under Article 31 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which prohibits compulsory self-incrimination as a right under the Fifth Amendment.

Dr. Zierhoffer had been called to testify before the National Military Commission trial of Jawad by defense attorney Major David Frakt. She had been slated to testify on August 14 in a hearing on his motion to dismiss the case, based upon alleged gross government misconduct in torturing Jawad. It was also revealed that during an interrogation of Jawad, a Gitmo interrogator had expressed concern that Jawad, who was then 17 or 18, was dissociating and beginning to break down. The interrogator consulted with Dr. Zierhoffer, who reportedly ordered that the torture continue.

Physicians for Human Rights has asked the APA to acknowledge the deep, structural involvement of psychologists in systems of detainee mistreatment that amount to torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. PHR ask the APA further to join us in demanding that Congress and the White House form an independent and transparent commission to investigate the role of military and intelligence psychologists in torture and other abuses of detainees in US custody.

PHR supported the Psychologists for an Ethical APA rally in Boston Saturday August 16, 2008, at the Hynes Convention Center, 415 Summer Street. PHR spoke along with leaders in the movement to end psychologists' involvement in abusive interrogations and illegal.

Ed. Note- Interesting how recent revelations of professional misconduct under orders from the military have triggered professional participation in citizen nonviolent protest. After all we are all citizens first and professional ethical standards embrace all of us.

Supporting the Pharmas and Noncompetition

By John Reichard, CQ HealthBeat Editor

Switching the poorest Medicare beneficiaries from Medicaid drug coverage to the Medicare prescription drug program that began in 2006 has added $2 billion a year to drug industry revenues, a "windfall" that Congress should end, California Democrat Henry A. Waxman said Thursday

Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, released a report from majority staff examining outlays for 6 million "dual eligibles"—Medicare beneficiaries whose incomes are so low that they also qualify for Medicaid benefits. In 2006, the Medicare prescription drug program, called Part D, paid drug makers $1.7 billion more for the 100 drugs prescribed most often for the "duals" than would have been the case had they remained in Medicaid, the analysis said. "The higher prices produced an even larger windfall of $2 billion for the drug manufacturers in 2007," the report added.

On average, Medicaid gets discounts of about 30 percent on prescription drugs while the plans that offer drug coverage through Part D get discounts averaging 8 percent, according to testimony at a committee hearing. Waxman said he will soon introduce a bill that "will guarantee that federal taxpayers cannot be charged higher prices for the dual eligible beneficiaries under Medicare Part D than under Medicaid."

The legislation "could save the taxpayer almost $90 billion over the next 10 years," said Waxman. The staff report estimated that duals are expected to use $432 billion worth of drugs over the next decade. "If drug manufacturers provided the Medicare Part D program with the same prices that Medicaid receives, these drug costs could be reduced by as much as $86 billion," the report said.

"Johnson & Johnson received the largest windfall: $615 million in 2006 and 2007, including over $500 million in additional revenue from sales of just one drug, the anti-psychotic Risperidal. Bristol-Myers Squibb received a windfall of $400 million, including over $200 million in additional revenue from sales of its heart attack and stroke medication Plavix," the report said.

(Continued on page 11 In The News)

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Bethesda, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Wilmington, Delaware

CALENDAR

September, 2008

Sept. 11, Thurs. 6:00 PM LWVDE Board Meeting, Wayside Inn, Smyrna.

Sept. 25, Thurs. 6:00 PM LWVNCC Urban Health and Justice Comm. meeting, League Office in Immanuel Church

Highland, 2400 17^th St., Call Janet Kramer, 239-1518 for meeting reports and further info.

Sept. 24, Wed. 9:30 AM LWVDE Action Committee, Place TBA, call League Office for information

Sept. 27, Sat. 9:00 AM - LWVNCC Tour of re-developed areas of the City of Wilmington all welcome 12 NOON SEE THIS VOTER FOR FULL DETAILS!

Sept. 30, Tues. 7:00 PM Gubernatorial Candidate Forum, Cokesbury Village, Hockessin

SEE THIS VOTER FOR FULL DETAILS!

OCTOBER, 2008

Oct. 2, Thurs. 10:00 AM Great Decisions, Topic-U. S. China Economic Relations: Evolving Rivalry?

Nancy Hannigan, 710 Severn Road, Tavistock

Oct. 7, Tues. 11:30-2:00 pm Russell W. Peterson Legacy Reception & Luncheon, at the Chase Center on the Riverfront

For information contact Cathy Klocko 302-652-1482 legacyluncheon@aol.com

Oct. 7, Tues. 6:00 PM LWVNCC Board Meeting, League Office, Immanuel Church Highland

Oct. 9, Thurs. 6:00 PM LWVDE Board Meeting, Wayside Inn, Smyrna

Oct. 11, Sat Last Day to Register Voters Before the General Election

Oct. 22, Wed. 4:00-7 PM WILMAPCO "Our Town" on transportation and energy, free, RSVP 10/13 @ 737-6205

Oct. 22 Wed. 9:00 AM - FREE FORUM-Understanding Girls in the Juvenile Justice System

3:00 PM Sponsored by Delaware Center for Justice Clayton Hall, University of Delaware, Newark, DE. To register contact Bebinn Cassel at bcassel@dcjustice.org or call 302-657-0903 More information in this Voter

NOVEMBER, 2008

Nov. 1, Sat. All Day Delaware Book Festival (See this issue for more information)

Nov. 10, Mon. 1:00-3 PM Land Use/Transportation Comm. meeting, home of Margo Perkins, 5 Bent Lane, Newark

SAVE THE DATE- LIFE Conference XI, January 22, 2009 8:00 AM -3:45 PM, Sheraton Dover, www.info@LIFEconference-de.org or call (302) 645-1490 (Delaware’s premier conference for persons with disabilities and those who support them.)

The League of Women Voters of New Castle County, Delaware