Calendar of LWV Events* (see below for other events of interest)

February 6: LWVNCC Carrie Chapman Catt Awards Planning Committee Meeting, 10:30 am, LWV office, 571-8948

February 9: LWVNCC Great Decisions, Wilmington, 10:00-noon, Nancy Hannigan's home. Optional lunch to follow at a local restaurant. Call the office for more information.

February 11: Environmental Summit, 8:30 am - 11 pm, Wilmington College in Dover. Email Nancy Moore for a registration form at nancymoore.desierra@gmail.com

February 13: LWVNCC Newark Area Great Decisions, 1:30, Newark Free Library. Topic: Middle East Realignment - the Arab Upheaval.

February 14: LWVNCC Membership Committee meeting, 12:30-1:30 pm, LWVDE office, Wilmington

February 16: LWVDE Board Meeting, 6:00 - 8:30 pm, Roma Italian Restuarant, Dover. RSVP to Letty if attending.

February 17: Energy/Natural Resources Committee Meeting, 1:30 -2:30 pm, Pat Todd's home 762-5995. , Dover.

February 20: Fun Lunch, location to be determined. Topic: dangerous household chemicals. Please RSVP to 571-8948 or lwvde@voicenet.com, but if you decide at the last minute then just show up!

February 21: LWVNCC Pot Luck and Program Meeting, 6-8 pm, Immanual Church Highland (LWVDE office location), Wilmington

February 28: LWVNCC Land Use/Transportation Committee meeting, 3-5 pm, Margo Perkins' home (call office for information)

March 1: LWVNCC Leadership Team, 7-9 pm, LWVDE office, Wilmington

March 8: LWVNCC Great Decisions, Wilmington, 10:00-noon, location TBD. Call the office for more information.

March 15: LWVDE Board Meeting, 6:00 - 8:30 pm, Roma Italian Restuarant, Dover. RSVP to Letty if attending.

March 19: Fun Lunch, location to be determined. Please RSVP to 571-8948 or lwvde@voicenet.com, but if you decide at the last minute then just show up!

March 21: League Day in Dover. Campaign finance and lobbying reform. Duncan Center.

April 5: LWVNCC Leadership Team, 7-9 pm, LWVDE office, Wilmington

April 13-15: LWVDE Retreat, Center for Inland Bays

April 19: LWVDE Board Meeting, 6:00 - 8:30 pm, Roma Italian Restuarant, Dover. RSVP to Letty if attending.

* Find more details on the last page of our latest newsletter or call the League office at 302-571-8948. You will need Adobe Reader software to read the newsletter. You can download it free by clicking http://get.adobe.com/reader/

All members are welcome at leadership team and board meetings

Other Community Events of Interest:

February 29: Delaware Wetlands Conference, Dover. 8:15 am - 4:30 pm. To register and for details, see here.

Leadership Team

Peggy Schultz, Leadership Team Convener, Land Use/Transportation Co-chair

Roberta Ray, Secretary

Valerie Driscoll, Treasurer

Patricia Christopher, Voter Services, Registration Drives Coordinator

Jacqueline J. Christman, Director

Letty Diswood, Associate Convener, Voter Editor, Membership Co-chair

Melba Lucas, Associate Treasurer

Moonyeen Klopfenstein, Membership Co-chair

Laura R. Swiski, Associate Secretary

Sue Radecki, Co-chair Justice System Urban Health Committee

Online Resources

LWVDE Delaware Local Government FOIA Audit 2010 (pdf)

LWVNCC Positions 2011-2013 (6 page pdf)

LWVNCC Positions 2011-2013 (short version - 1 page pdf)

LWVDE Position Papers 2007-2009 (37 page version)

LWVDE Program 2011-2013 (three page pdf)

Sea Level Rising and Delaware's Response (Feb. 2011)

LWVDE Energy Position

Toolkit for Climate Action

Energy Study Information Part I

Energy Study Information Part II

Energy Study Information Part III

Energy/Greenhouse Gas Subcommittee four page summary, 2011

Energy Study Supplemental Info 2011

LWVDE Energy and Climate Change Position 2011

PUBLIC ENTITIES' ENERGY EFFICIENCY SURVEY

Sandy Spence Letter to Cape Gazette on Climate Change, December, 2009

Delaware Government Information

They Represent You (contact information for Delaware elected officials), a pdf in legal size

Names and email addresses of your elected officials (get direct email links)

Visit vote411.org , the one-stop site for voter information!

"This Way to the Voting Booth"
(downloadable guide to registration and voting for Delaware citizens)

Electing the President
(downloadable, comprehensive guide to the electoral process)

LWVDE Position Papers

LWVDE League Day in Dover 2008 Summary
(topic:  Delaware Department of Corrections)

LWVDE Urban Health and Justice Study No. 2

LWVDE Urban Health and Justice Study No. 3 (focus:  Delaware Department of Corrections)

LWVDE Urban Health and Justice Study No. 4

Energy Study:  Education and Outreach Issues, 2008

Delaware Department of Elections
(comprehensive state website on voting in Delaware)

Delaware Division of Libraries

Mental Health information:

• Report on the Task Force to Study Mental Health Issues
• Mental healthcare terms
• Links to websites with information on mental health services and access
• Accessing Mental Health Services (1/09 issue of Delaware Medical Journal)
• League Day in Dover 2009 summary (on Mental Health Access)

LWVDE Reapportionment Study (2004)

U.S. Senate homepage

US House of Representatives homepage

News: Great Decisions North will now meet on the second Thursday of each month, beginning on February 9. See the calendar at left for details.

News: There is a new version of THEY REPRESENT YOU available in letter and legal size.

News: Check out two ways that you can support the NCC League. If you would like to advertise in the LWVNCC Voter, click here to download a form with more information. You can also make a donation in memory of a friend or loved one, or to honor someone's accomplishment. Click here for more information

Who we are and what we do

The League of Women Voters, which dates to 1920, has the following mission statement:

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

The LWV of Delaware, one of 50 state Leagues, has three local Leagues, in New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties. The New Castle County League is a vibrant organization of men and women who support the League's mission in many ways. Each year we hold a variety of events, including board meetings (to which all members are welcome), committee meetings, Great Decision meetings, general meetings on a variety of topics, candidate and issue forums, programming meetings, and social events. Some recent events are featured below.

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In March 2011, LWVDE held consensus meetings on An Energy Plan for Delaware, in each county. At right are speakers Chad Tolman and Mary Ann Edwards, presenting on green house gases and climate change at the meeting in Kent County. A position was arrived at by consensus of members and approved by the Board in March 2011, and you can see the consensus document here.

At the March 2010 Annual Meeting, local women who have been members of the LWV for 50 years or more were recognized by a proclamation by the Delaware House of Representatives.   Photo: Larry Diswood

In February 2010 the LWVNCC held a birthday party to celebrate the League of Women Voters 90th year! Guests sipped champagne and ate cake before hearing Mary Field speak about her great-great-grandmother, Lucretia Mott, one of the conveners of the Seneca Falls Convention and about her aunt, Anna Lord Strauss, president of the League of Women Voters of the U.S. from 1944 to 1950. Photo: Larry Diswood

In January 2010 the LWVNCC held two meetings to discuss healthcare issues in Delaware, including Delaware's "safety net" for the uninsured. Joann Hasse, at left, headed the discussion at each meeting.

In January 2010 the LWVNCC sponsored a meeting at the Newark Free Library to discuss a number of issues facing Newark residents, including the renewable energy purchase process, utility fees and their impact on the budget, the electric and water rate study, and the future of the Cleveland Heights site. At right, League member Amy Roe shares information with the group. photo by Judy Taggart

The LWVNCC is always welcoming new members. In September, 2009 we held two receptions, one in Wilmington and one in Newark, to orient people who had recently joined the League. At left Carrie Hutson (seated, center), the LWVNCC Membership Chair, is surrounded by new members from the Newark area. Some people join simply to support the League's work, while others want to stay informed about local, state and national issues, to provide service such as registering voters, or to be involved with one of our many committees and groups.

In April, 2009 the LWV and the Sierra Club, with many co-sponsors, brought Dr. Peter Schultz to Delaware.  Peter is the Director of the Global Change Science Research Program Office in Washington, D.C.  In the afternoon he spoke to legislators in Dover and in the evening he spoke to the general public at the Limestone Presbyterian Church.  He presented data which describe the undeniable onset of global warming, and discussed its potential impacts on the Mid-Atlantic region.  He emphasized that we need to consider adaptation as well as mitigation.  You can go to the church’s web-site to access both his talk and the slides in the talk: http://www.limestonepresbyterian.org/

LWVNCC President Jane Dilley speaks at the Annual Meeting, accompanied by secretary Peggy Schulta and parliamentarian Carole Walsh. Photo by Bob Kallal. New Castle County Executive Chris Coons commends Dr. Janet Kramer, one of the winners of the Carrie Chapman Catt Award. Photo by Letty Diswood.

The 2009 Annual Meeting and Carrie Chapman Catt Award Dinner was held on April 16 at Arsht Hall in Wilmington. The honorees were former LWVNCC president and health and justice advocate Janet Kramer; and Bill Perkins and Marcy Perkins who have helped over 15,000 homeless people through Friendship House. The evening's speaker was Governor Jack Markell. Carrie Chapman Catt was a key figure in the women's suffrage movement and, upon ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920, she founded the League of Women Voters. The LWVNCC has given annual awards in her honor for seven years.

In February 2009 the LWVNCC presented an "Open-Government Forum." About 30 people participated in the program, which was held at the Girl Scout Headquarters in Newark. A presentation by Dr. Margaret McKay, FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) chair for LWVDE, was followed by a panel which included Senator Karen Peterson (DE-9th District), Robert J. Valihura, Jr. (former 5-term State Representative), John Flaherty (lobbyist and open government activist), and Drew N. Fennel (Exec. Director of the ACLU of Delaware). There was a discussion of the background of open government legislation, of recent attempts to extend FOIA rules to the Delaware legislature, and suggestions of changes Delaware could make so information would be more readily accessible to the public.

 

In January 2009 the LWVNCC held a general meeting to discuss Delaware's energy plan. The meeting was held at the Girl Scout Headquarters in Newark. It featured presentations by five League members who have been participating in state energy work groups that have been making recommendations to the Governor's Energy Advisory Council on policy changes Delaware can make to improve energy conservation and efficiency, transportation, transmission, while decreasing its health and environmental costs and developing new jobs and industries.

The speakers included Brian Kramer, Chad Tolman, Lorraine Fleming, Peggy Schultz and Pat Todd. Maryanne Edwards, standing to the speaker's left, gave the audience background information on the topic, and introduced each speaker. Lisa Pertzoff contributed to Dr. Tolman's presentation, and she and Susan Edgar, another League member, helped all the committee members with their PowerPoint technology. The meeting, which was open to the public, attracted about 40 participants.

In June of 2008 the New Castle County League held its annual calendar meeting. Following a pot luck supper, President Jane Dilley sought suggestions for general meetings and other programming for the coming year. The Board will meet on July 1 to review these suggestions, which include topics ranging from energy issues to healthcare, and set a calendar. All members are welcome to attend board meetings.

New LWV members Ruth Kelly and Peter Caws attended the calendar meeting.

In April of 2008 the LWV of Delaware held its annual Legislative Day, by co-sponsoring an Energy Forum in Dover. This was a chance for legislators, League members, and other members of the public to learn about the current status of energy in Delaware and to discuss possible future energy plans for our State. Photo: Larry Diswood

The 2008 LWVNCC Annual Meeting and Award Dinner was on April 3 at Arsht Hall in Wilmington. As usual, it was a lovely occasion. After a brief business meeting there were cocktails and dinner. After dinner, two women received the Carrie Chapman Catt Award. Jackie Harris was recognized for her devoted efforts on behalf of Delaware libraries, and Fay Whittle for her work in prisons. This was followed by a talk by PBS film critic Patrick Stoner, who delighted the audience with stories from his many interviews with Hollywood actors and actresses.

Jacqueline Harris speaks after receiving the Carrie Chapman Catt Award. Photo by Larry Diswood. Board member Janet Kramer presents the Carrie Chapman Catt award to Fay Whittle. Photo by Larry Diswood.

photo credit: Anthony Carter

In February of 2008 the LWVNCC sponsored a meeting at Hagley Museum, honoring students who were awarded prizes by League members last spring at Delaware's National History Day event. Historian Jonathan Russ of the University of Delaware spoke to those gathered on "the value of understanding history in an election year."

The highlight of our January 2008 general meeting was a talk by LWV member and Delaware Assistant Attorney General Richard Gebelein, about his experiences in Afghanistan. Serving as the Rule of Law Officer for the Staff Judge Advocate, he helped transform a tangled and diverse legal system into one which could be fair and uniform while incorporating elements of local history and custom.  Everyone left with a better understanding of life and its challenges in that war torn country.

In May 2007 we invited Transportation Secretary Carol Ann Wicks to speak at a General Meeting on the problems facing Delaware in view of transportation budget shortfalls. The Transportation and Land Use Committee has been an active participant in NCC planning, and actively advocates for increased public transportation and sensible and sustainable use of land in the county.

 

The League is present at many community events, providing voter information, voter registration, and an opportunity for the community to learn more about us. Here Anita Puglisi and Peggy Schultz are working at the League booth at Newark's Community Day in September, 2007.

When new issues arise in local or national politics, the League often begins a study to determine whether members can reach a consensus as to how the issue should be dealt with. Once a position is established, the League and its members will lobby for what we believe are sensible solutions. At left, League members are learning about and discussing the complicated issues related to legal and illegal immigration, and its ramifications. This general meeting took place at the Woodlawn Library in Wilmington.

 

email us at lwvncc@voicenet.com

site designed and maintained by League member and Delaware photographer Nancy Breslin