Kudos to all on a great lobbying workshop!

I came back energized after last weekend's fabulous lobbying workshop. The turnout was phenomenal- we easily had over 100 people show up, on a Saturday, to spend 5 hours learning how to navigate the Nevada political process. Thanks to all of you who attended and asked great questions. A special thanks to Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick, Senator Joyce Woodhouse, Commissioner Lawrence Weekly and Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian and lobbyists Dylan Shaver, Sabra Smith-Newby, Piper Overstreet and Jason Frierson. And of course, a super thanks to Launce Rake of PLAN and Jon Ralston, who moderated the panels and fielded great questions from attendees. Perhaps the biggest thanks goes to the wonderful women of the southern NWL Steering Committee, who put all of this together: Constance Brooks, Tiffany Hesser, Barbara Straight, Emmily Bristol and Bobbie Gang. Thanks also to Lynda Savage and her son David for capturing the event on video. I know how busy people are, and most people probably wanted a little break after the election, so we were especially pleased to see how many people were interested enough to show up. We are looking forward to partnering with attendees on critical issues that need our attention.

Learn how to lobby with NWL!

Nevada Women's Lobby is sponsoring a lobbying/advocacy workshop in Las Vegas, Saturday, November 15, 8:30-1:30pm at the Clark County Government Center. This workshop is free and open to the public. Meet legislators, city and county elected officials and lobbyists, and network with like-minded individuals. For more information, or to register for this event, email nvwl@aol.com.

IOUSA documentary in Reno and Las Vegas

If anyone is interested, a documentary titled IOUSA will be shown in cinemas on Thursday 21, at 7:30 pm. It is about the economic crisis we are facing, and will be followed by a panel discussion including Warren Buffett. In Reno the Summit Sierra will show it, as will a number of cinemas in Las Vegas. More details are at:http://www.fathomevents.com/details.aspx?eventid=728

Access to Care Symposium Lake Tahoe Aug 20-22

I will be attending Great Basin Primary Care Association's Access to Care Symposium next week, August 20-22 at beautiful Lake Tahoe. on behalf of the Lobby. It promises to be a great opportunity for building an agenda around access to care issues, and a great time for networking and finding allies. Please consider attending, if you are able. For you social workers, the Symposium has been approved for 9 CEUs. For those on a budget, the Symposium may have scholarships available. For more information, click here: http://www.gbpca.org/symposium/.

Redefining abortion

From the Houston Chronicle: "The Bush administration has consistently opposed providing funding for international birth control programs, but until now has not tried to limit the use of contraceptives inside the United States. That could change in the president's final months in office. Health and Human Services officials are considering a draft regulation that would classify most birth control pills, the Plan B emergency contraceptive and intrauterine devices as forms of abortion because they prevent the development of fertilized eggs into fetuses."

To read more, click here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5935532.html.

To take action, click here: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/issues-action/birth-control/stop-president-bushs-massive-sellout-womens-health-care-21522.htm.

Aug 14 rally cancelled, BDRs and public meetings on the budget and TANF and childcare policy changes

First, the August 14 rally re: proposed TANF/budget cuts has been cancelled.

The bill draft request (BDR) list is available online at http://www.leg.state.nv.us/75th2009/BDRList/. It includes a number of bills that NWL will be following in 2009. Be sure to check the list often for updates.

There are some meetings coming up that may be of interest to you. The Legislature's Interim Finance Committee meets Thursday, August 14, at 10:00am to discuss/approve the latest round of budget cuts, including cuts to K-12, higher education and health and human services. You can attend in person in Carson, Reno, Elko and Las Vegas, or view online. To view the agenda and more, go to http://www.leg.state.nv.us/74th/interim/Interim/IFC/index.cfm?committeename=Interim%20Finance%20Committee.

The Department of Welfare and Supportive Services is holding two public meetings. The first meeting, scheduled for August 19 at 9am in Carson City and Las Vegas, is a discussion of the proposed changes to TANF, Medicaid, food stamps and the child care program. The agenda and lcoation information is here: http://dwss.nv.gov/dmdocuments/Gen_081908_Agenda.pdf.

The second meeting is scheduled for September 30 at 9:00am, also in Carson City and Las Vegas, will focus on child care policy changes. That agenda can be found here: http://dwss.nv.gov/dmdocuments/Gen_093008_Agenda.pdf.

Grassroots Lobby Days 2009

Grassroots Lobby Days will take place March 8-10, 2009 in Carson City at the Legislature and other local venues TBD. Grassroots Lobby Days has long been recognized as one of the preeminent grassroots training and advocacy programs in Nevada. For more information on past Grassroots Lobby Days programs, visit the Nevada Women's Lobby website at www.nevadawomenslobby.org. Information on Grassroots Lobby Days 2009 is forthcoming.