Holiday Gathering

Annual League Holiday Gathering

Sunday, December 9

2-4 p.m.

Holly House, Broadmead Retirement Community*

(13801 York Road, Cockeysville)

Please bring an hors d’oeuvre or dessert to share.

Guest Speaker:

County Council Chairwoman Vicki Almond

Councilwoman Cathy Bevins will try to attend as well.

Directions: Broadmead is located ¼ mile north of the intersection of York and Shawan Roads in Cockeysville. From York Road, turn right into Broadmead entrance at Broadmead Way. At the stop sign turn right onto the perimeter road. Then turn into the 1^st driveway on the left at the “Holly House” sign. Park in the staff lot and look for Holly House on the right. There are a few disabilities parking spaces up at Holly House.

We have not arranged a toy or clothing collection this year, but will do so next year.

 

Your Vote and Your Wallet

Join our League Election Year Lecture series at Towson Public Library.

Your Vote and Your Wallet Thursday, October 25, 6:30- 8:30 PM Join Anirban Basu, Chairman & CEO, Sage Policy Group, Inc.; R. Andrew Bauer, Baltimore Office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond; Dr. Daraius Irani, Associate Vice President, Division of Economics and Community Outreach, Director, Regional Economic Studies Institute, Towson University; and moderator, Brian Sullam, Internal Communications Editorial Manager, T. Rowe Price, and past reporter and editorial writer at the Baltimore Sun, as they discuss economic issues and your vote.

Book Club

In June we met to discuss An anatomy of addiction : Sigmund Freud, William Halsted and the miracle drug, cocaine by  Howard Markel.  Our lively discussion not only brought up the affects of substance abuse past and present, but how each man was still able to push through the additions and make brilliant contributions to the world.  The added information about Johns Hopkins Hospitals beginnings tied in nicely to other books we've read.
Next on our list is Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robbert K Massie.  Book club will meet again August 22, which leaves a lot of time to read this 656 page epic.

The world of wives of famous politicians

During April's presidential challenges, there has been a commotion around comments by Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen about Ann Romney. Dan Rodricks of WYPR.org hosted a variety of guests discussing the implications of the statement that she has never worked a day in her life.  Listen to the podcast and form your own opinions.

http://www.wypr.org/podcast/tuesday-april-17-12-1-pm-midday-politics

From the podcast:
"Last week, Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen said that Ann Romney, who raised five sons, has “never actually worked a day in her life." This off-key comment set off a media firestorm. In this week's edition of Midday Politics, we take a look at the wives of famous politicians, such as Ann Romney, Callista Gingrich, and Michelle Obama, and discuss the roles they play during political campaigns. Our guests: Midday’s American culture commentator Sheri Parks; Shawn Parry-Giles, director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership; and Holly Henderson, former member of the Prince George's County Republican Central Committee."

March Madness

Get out your calendar and get ready for some fantastic League opportunities.

Thursday, March 8th is the LWVMD annual excursion to Annapolis to meet with legislators.

Friday, March 9th is a chance to answer phones at MPT and promote our Capitol Steps fundraiser for our Jessa Goldberg Education Fund. From 7:00-10:00 p.m. 12-20 volunteers will be anwering phone calls from viewers in our studio during the live broadcast. We are planning to arrive at 7:00pm, for training and dinner. Following training, the live broadcast in our studio will begin. Anyone who wishes to be seen on camera, can be. Our group will be mentioned several times on-air.

March 14th is our monthly book club meeting at Judy Miller's home to discuss House on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Shanghai Girls.

Our Baltimore County Rally for the Homeless is Monday, March 19th. We'll begin at 5:00 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church, Towson, to walk over to the County Council meeting. Email - tkingeter@comcast.net for more information about the rally.

Printed Voters Guides go out to libraries, retirement communities and some county schools on March 20-22. Once again, thanks to Patuxent papers and league volunteers.

And finally Sunday, March 25th we host the Capitol Steps Fundraiser at Stephens Hall, Towson University beginning at 2:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online http://tickets.tuboxoffice.com or by phone 410-704-2787.

Additional details on all events can be found in flyers on our website, http://www.baltimore1.lwvmd.org/ or by calling the office at 410.377.8046

Come participate in any of our March Madness.

Maryland's Primary Election: Not Just for Republicans!

This is the text of a letter sent to the Sunpapers.

To the editor:

As we read the news and follow television coverage, we might get the erroneous impression that only Republicans need to pay attention to election issues. It’s not so!

At the moment the Republican field for the presidential election is more crowded than the Democratic, but many of the national offices will have contested primaries in both parties. Not only will the presidential candidates be on the primary ballot, so too will be candidates for U.S. Senate (Senator Cardin’s seat will be contested) and candidates for all Congressional seats. Due to the recent redistricting, many voters will be voting in different congressional districts from those of the last decade and so will need to learn about different candidates.

We urge all citizens of Maryland to pay attention to non-partisan publications like the League of Women Voters’ Voters’ Guide. This guide, available online February 18th at www.VOTE411.org, compares the views of all candidates on issues important to Marylanders.

The voter who studies it goes into the poll on April 3 with an educated idea of the best candidate to represent him or her.

Tracy Miller and Betsy Sexton
Towson
Co-Presidents, Baltimore County League of Women Voters

High School Voter Registration Opportunity in February and March

Probably the most prevalent reason that people join the League of Women Voters is to encourage people to vote. When we ask for volunteers, "Register People to Vote" is the most popular request.

We have a need now for volunteers to register students in our high schools. We ask for a commitment of approximately three hours around the 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. lunch hours. We will provide training, and in most cases you will be working with another League member.

If you are interested, please look at the attached schedule and call or email the office 410-377-8046; lwvbaltimore@comcast.net and let Wilma Rosenberger, our office manager, know your preferred date(s). We will be back in touch with you right away.

Our voter registration dates run from February 21 to March 9. Students who meet the age requirement of turning 18 by the November General Election will be able to vote in the April 3 Primary Election! Please join us in providing this valuable service for our young people.

Tracy E. Miller Co-President

Dear League Members,

Tickets for our Capitol Steps fundraiser are now on sale! All seats are good, but you can choose your favorite spot now!

Date: Sunday, March 25
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Location: Towson University Stephens Hall Theatre - Stephens Hall is easily identified by its clock tower, located in the 7900 block of York Road.
Price: $35 reserved seat tickets

http://baltimore1.lwvmd.org/n/sites/default/files/Capitol%20Steps_1.pdf has details about purchasing tickets online or by phone through the Towson University box office.

When your reserved seat tickets are mailed to you, a map will be included.

We have printed post cards and flyers. If you can distribute some to friends and businesses, please call the office and we will provide them to you.

Many thanks for your support of this fundraiser! What better way to prepare for the April 3 Primary Election?

Please call the office 410-377-8046 if you want to help with Primary Election Voters Service activities, including voter registration, Voters' Guide publicity/distribution and election day poll evaluations.
Betsy Sexton