|
|
|
|
| The Nashville Voter
Volume 77, No 7
| |
| Welcome to this issue of the LWVN Voter. You'll notice that the Emma page design allows you to access the LWVN Calendar by pressing a button at the top of the page!
Please note, you can increase your screen size within your personal information manager (i.e., Microsoft Outlook). In the Microsoft Outlook Message Bar at the top of the e-mail page, choose "Other Actions'' and then in the dropdown menu choose "Zoom." The Zoom window allows you to increase the file size; try 140% for easier onscreen reading.
Also, please note that if you want to share/forward this newsletter to others, you MUST click on the envelope icon at the upper right side of this emailed version.
| |
League CalendarWednesday, July 31st. Volunteer Opportunity: Help us register students at Hillsboro High School! If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact Beth (bethgordon524@gmail.com), Kathy (Kathryn.h.anderson@gmail.com), or Kalen Russell (kalennrussell@gmail.com).
Thursday, August 1st from 6:30pm-7:30pm. Choose How You Move. The McFerrin Park Neighborhood Association is having a Transit + Traffic, “Choose How You Move,” information session. This session will be held in person at McFerrin Community Center (310 Grace Street) .
Thursday, August 1st. Election Day! If you haven’t already, make a plan to vote. Click here to find your polling location.
Friday, August 2nd. July Hot Topic: Edible Nashville. Join us for a webinar featuring Jill Melton, Edito and Founder of Edible Nashville, as she shares the magazine’s journey and its impact on the local food community. With smart, inspirational content, it covers Nashville’s local food scene, and with that, the diverse chefs, farmers, artisans and cooks that shape it. Click here to register.
Thursday, August 15 from 7-8pm CT. Government Transparency in Tennessee. The League of Women Voters of Tennessee will be holding a webinar to discuss how Tennessee compares with other states in government transparency. This session will describe the increasing government secrecy throughout the nation and how Tennessee compares to other states. The presenters will show studies on government transparency, provide an update on new laws in the state, and provide ideas for what everyone can do to protect the public’s right to know. Click here to register.
Saturday, August 24 from 10-4:30pm CT. Tennessee Health Care Campaign’s Annual Advocacy Conference. The TN Health Care Campaign is hosting its annual advocacy conference at the Jubilee Banquet Facility in Knoxville, TN. This year's theme is Sustaining the Movement Toward Health Equity. Click here to learn more.
| |
President's Message
First, I want to encourage you to vote in the Summer primary. If you did not vote early, make a plan to vote on Thursday, August 1. Click here to find your polling location. Need to know who’s on your ballot? Check out Vote411.org!
The new board had our first meeting this month, and I am looking forward to working with this group of dedicated volunteers! It’s going to be a busy election season this summer and fall, and we are making plans to help people understand this election season. We are also working on some exciting events this fall. We will be sharing more details soon!
Earlier this month the LWVTN was concerned about a letter that naturalized citizens received in the mail. The league partnered with organizations to get to the bottom of this letter that we believed would discourage people from voting. See the full story here.
The month of July is also our annual membership drive. One of the many benefits is being part of the League on the local, state, and national level. Something like the letter sent to naturalized citizens might be something that you missed in the news, but League members on all levels are diligently working for free, fair elections.
I hope that you will renew your membership or join today!
Lara Webb, Co-President
| |
Hot Topics
By Karen Wieckert and Melissa Hanson
Edible Nashville is a food magazine about people. Its goal is to connect the community through what we all do best, eat. Jill Melton, Editor and Founder of Edible Nashville, will discuss its evolution and why you need to have it in your life.
Jill Melton founded Edible Nashville in December 2014, and launched the first issue in March/April 2015. Today the brand includes print, digital, social media, and events, including their signature Farm Dinners and cooking classes. It is Nashville’s favorite local magazine kept on coffee tables region wide. With smart, inspirational content, it covers Nashville’s local food scene, and with that, the diverse chefs, farmers, artisans and cooks that shape it.
Jill has 30 years-experience in cooking, food writing, editing and public speaking. She was recently named one of The Nashville Business Journal’s Women of Influence. Jill is a registered dietitian and professional cook. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, she earned her bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Ohio State University, and her master’s degree in public health nutrition from Case Western Reserve University. She is a mom of 2, avid runner and cooks and lives in Murfreesboro, TN.
| |
Healthcare/Public Health
By Patti Scott and Harper-Grace Neidermeyer
The Tennessee Health Care Campaign's 2024 Annual Advocacy Conference will be held on August 24, 2024. This year's theme is Sustaining the Movement Toward Health Equity. Continuing Education credits for Nurses and Social Workers are available.
Staci Lofton MPH, JD, Senior Director for Health Equity at Families USA, will deliver the keynote address, outlining the challenges to realizing health equity and describing promising federal and state advocacy efforts to overcome these barriers. Four workshops will follow, each highlighting areas of persistent or growing health disparities in Tennessee: threats to maternal health care; factors putting rural health access at risk; behavioral health care inequities for LGBTQIA+ communities in Tennessee; and the economics underlying racial/ethnic inequities in health outcomes.
The closing panel will focus on conservative states’ approaches to Medicaid expansion and the benefits they have gained as a result. Carole Myers, PhD, RN, FAAN, will share analysis of how other states have handled issues that have prevented Medicaid expansion from moving forward in Tennessee. State Rep. Edward Buttrey of Montana, one of the architects of that state’s successful Health and Economic Livelihood Partnership (HELP) Act, will share its economic successes, and State Sen. John Horhn of Mississippi will discuss the status of state legislation to enact Medicaid expansion there. We are honored that Tennessee State Sen. Rebecca Duncan Massey will moderate the panel.
| |
Voter Services
By Kathryn Anderson and Kalen Russell
The Voter Services Committee will be registering voters at the EL Block Party at Issac Litton Middle School from 5-7 on July 30. On July 31, we will volunteer during Teacher’s Day at Hillsboro High School and will set up an information table in the Social Studies Vendors Hall from 7 a.m.-lunch.
If anyone is interested in helping us work at these events, particularly after 9 a.m. for the Hillsboro High School event, please contact Beth (bethgordon524@gmail.com), Kathy (Kathryn.h.anderson@gmail.com), or Kalen Russell (kalennrussell@gmail.com).
| |
Environment
By Russanne Buchi-Fotre and Jack McFadden
Nashville’s ‘Plastic-free July’ Movement was this month. We may already be well into the month of July but you can push this out into August and BEYOND……….
By refusing single-use plastics we can create a healthier earth and cleaner communities. Here are some easy ideas to help get you started:
- Reuse what you already have
- Refuse plastic bags/ take your own cloth bags instead
- Skip the straw
- Shop in bulk
- Pick up litter
- Avoid pre-packaged produce
- Swap out bottled soap for bar soap
SMALL STEPS LEAD TO BIG DIFFERENCES! – get started today and help spread the word to 3 of your friends. Let us all look to a sustainable model for our planet’s future!
| |
Metro Government
By Karen Hernan and Pat McCauley
Here’s a summer recap on what happened at the Metro Council Meetings and the Election Commission Meetings:
GENERAL
Bill 375 – passed 3rd reading - Build It Right--- Establishes a contract and compliance board for
existing construction contracts of the Metropolitan Government to eliminate loopholes in
construction site safety practices and accountability. Bill was funded with $300K in budget. The
board would be tasked with studying worker safety and wage theft on Metro work sites but
would not have enforcement powers.
Council voted No for a short-term rental variance proposed to erect Short Term rental
properties on Second Ave So. (former site of Spaghetti Factory restaurant) – 62 units with two
additional floors added to building. It had to be approved by council because it was within 100
feet of Riverfront Park. Councilmember Jacob Kupin brought back a new proposal at next
council meeting for the same location which passed on 1st reading. The number of units was
decreased from 62 to 55. The new bill ensured that long-term rentals would not be viable
option for the site.
COUNCIL BUDGET SUBSTITUTE
Council must have 3 readings of Nashville’s Improvement and Operational Budgets. Readings
were held on 6/4, 6/11, and 6/18.
Public Hearing on 6/4 for Nashville 2025 Operational Budget public comment period was
robust. Groups from various MNPS departments advocated for 5% cost of living raise. Several
other community groups advocated for money allocation.
Highlights from substitute budget that passed council:
The substitute increased the cost-of-living adjustment for most Metro workers to 4 percent.
That increase matches the recommendation of the Civil Service Commission and is higher than
the 3.5 percent recommended by Metro Human Resources and the mayor’s office.
Budget substitute allocated $1 million for the Varsity Spending Plan, an idea from the Southern
Movement Committee to solve gun violence. The full ask was for $10 million. $250,000 would
go to the Metro Parks Department for additional programming at community centers, and
$750,000 would be used for creating an Office of Youth Safety within the mayor’s office and
begin work on a restorative justice pilot program. (VSP asked for community center access to all
high schools. Many high schools have no location for students to go to after school.)
Budget has an additional $750,000 to expand the Responders Engaged and Committed to Help
(REACH) program to nights and weekends. The initiative pairs paramedics with mental health
professionals to respond to mental health crises. The substitute budget also includes funding
for additional emergency opioid overdose-reversal kits.
Nashville Public Defender’s Office would receive $900,000 for additional staffing, while
$400,000 would be set aside for an indigent defense fund. The substitute also includes funding
for two housing navigators to help residents facing eviction proceedings.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING/ UNHOUSED
BL2024-187 passed on second reading would open up all commercially zoned parcels to the
potential for housing — referred to as “adaptive residential development” in the zoning code.
Hermitage Councilmember Jordan Huffman had an unexpectedly controversial bill. It would
require Metro’s Office of Homeless Services to maintain an inventory of homeless service
providers throughout Davidson County. The council approved an amendment to the bill that
would clarify that joining the registry is voluntary for service providers and that Metro will not
be vetting any of the information or necessarily approving providers’ approach to service
provision. While this may be an important clarification, it sort of defeats the purpose of service
coordination. The bill as amended passed on a vote of 21-15. Huffman will need to hold onto
all 21 “yes” votes to pass the bill on third and final reading at the next council meeting.
PUBLIC SAFETY/ TRANSPORTATION/ TRAFFIC/ POLICE
Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit improvement plan passed the second reading of the bill to
put it on the November election ballot. The plan approves a sales tax surcharge of $0.005 to
fund four key areas: 86 miles of sidewalks, 600 signalized intersections, bus service improvements such as new 24/7 offerings and safety upgrades to bus stops and to 35 high- injury network intersections.
| |
Membership
By Reba Holmes
With great delight, we announce and welcome our new and returning members that joined the Nashville League of Women Voters. It is our privilege to welcome these individuals to the organization:
Kathyrn Anderson, Curtis Baysinger, Ann Beckham, Amy Bush, Kathy Calhoon, Guy Cammilleri, Patricia Dishman, Ophelia Doe, Ann Ercelawn, Lee Fairbend, Winnie Forrester, Madeline Garr, Barbara Gay, Debbie Gould, Linda Harperin, Sara Harvey, Karen Hernan, Reba Holmes, Sherry Loller, Sandra MacDonald, Perry MacDonald, Gail Markert, Susan Mattson, Jack McFadden, Hasina Mohyuddin, Sabina Mohyuddin, Jill Moses, Maureen Organ, John Organ, Marian Ott, Craig Philip, Robert Rittle, Lauren Statts, Shantoiria Taylor, Lara Webb and Karen Wiekert.
We are grateful to these members and all our members that support the League’s activities, programs, and underwriting.
Annual Membership Drive Continues
Our annual membership drive is currently underway, and we are grateful to those who have recently renewed their membership or joined our league for the first time. Outstanding effort and thank you!
You matter, and your involvement in all we do makes a difference. Our collective voices will make a difference. We are counting on you to serve or continue to serve as an advocate to defend and protect our system of democracy and its cornerstones. We need more advocates like you; please encourage your family, friends, and colleagues to join the league.
Membership allows you to share a year’s worth of experiences promoting democracy, educating others in the community, supporting redistricting reform and ending gerrymandering, registering new voters, participating in the overall political discourse, to name a few. Plus, the annual membership includes membership to the national, state, and local LWV organizations. Details regarding various support levels may be found on https://lwvnashville.org/membership/.
If you prefer to pay by check, please mail it along with a “Membership Form”. The words “Membership Form” is an active link, if you click on it a form will appear for you to download or print.
Volunteer Opportunity Voter Services
Work with Voter Services committee to:
- Help identify and organize voter registration events
- Help inform voters about the overall civic process
- Help communicate with voters on issues and how to take action
If you are interested in serving on the Voter Services committee, please send an email expressing your interest to lwvnash@gmail.com.
Share Your Comments
We want to hear from you. Share your comments regarding in the League of Women Voters? Protecting Voting Rights, Fairness in Voting, etc. Email your comments to lwvnash@gmail.com.
| |
| Stay Informed about Upcoming Calendar Events!
If you get the electronic version of the Voter, we want you to know that the upcoming calendar events are available on our wonderful, new website – www.lwvnashville.org. On The calendar scrolls on the events of the current and upcoming events thanks to Tracy Depp, who keeps the calendar current. If you haven’t taken a look, do so to make sure you mark your calendar so you won’t miss a thing!
| |
|
ATTENTION: The Nashville Voter is a digital publication. If you have received this copy of the Voter in the mail, it means the League of Women Voters of Nashville does not have an e-mail address for you. Please help us by sending your e-mail address to LWVNash@gmail.com. Being on the LWVN e-mail database ensures your receipt of all LWVN newsletters, event invitations, meeting announcements, and Call to Action alerts.
| |
| 2024-2025 LWVN Board of Directors
Co-Presidents: Lara Webb and Ophelia Doe
1st Vice Presidents: Melissa Hanson and Karen Weickert
Secretary: Ethel Detch
Treasurer Susan Mattson
Portfolio Chairs
Communications: Yolonda Beech
Community Connections: Sabina Mohyuddin
Education: Patricia Brock
Environment: Russanne Buchi-Fotre and Jack McFadden
Health Care/Public Health: Patti Scott and Harper-Grace Niedermeyer
Membership: Reba Holmes and Cindee Gold
Metro Government: Pat McCauley and Karen Hernan
Voter Services: Kathryn Anderson, Kalen Russell, and Beth Gordon
Williamson County Representative: June Bond
Nominating Committee Chair: Senator Brenda Gilmore
Nominating Committee Members: Betsy Walkup, Constance Caldwell, Hasina Mohyuddin, Ophelia Doe, and Brenda Wynn
| |
|
|
|
|
|
