_______________________________ | Happy 105th Birthday, LWV! | LWV Celebrates 105th Anniversary
It's hard to believe that in just a day, the League will be 105! We’ll celebrate our legacy and honor our commitment to empowering voters and defending democracy with a virtual rally on Friday, Feb. 14 at 11am ET. Tune into the event on our Facebook. We’ll also share a recording of the event on YouTube shortly afterward.
You are invited to a virtual birthday rally on Facebook on Friday, Feb. 14, 8 a.m. Pacific time to honor the accomplishments of the League of Women Voters and uplift our commitment to empowering voters and defending democracy.
RSVP HERE. | | | LWV US Birthday Rally
Join LWVUS leadership and musician Tay Powers to honor the work we’ve accomplished so far and look ahead to our 105th year!
LEARN MORE
LWVUS Teach-In: 60th Anniversary of the Selma Jubilee - Feb. 21, 3:30pm ET
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Join a conversation on the legacy of the Selma Jubilee with LWVUS CEO Celina Stewart and members of the Selma civil rights community, featuring musical selections by local performers.
LEARN MORE
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|  | | Program Planning 2025
Please join us for our annual review of possible projects we will prioritize in the coming year. There are so many interesting things we can be doing but we need to identify the most important three or four. Critical to the success of Program Planning is finding people who are interested in working on the projects that we select.
Tara Martin-Milius, Executive Director of Leadership Sunnyvale and her co-teacher Bruce Paton, will explain what they do to make Leadership Sunnyvale successful and how it benefits our community. We will also discuss what we might be able to do to expand this concept to other cities in our county.
Join us to plan our future - we need your ideas and participation!
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LWVCS Coffee Hour - Third Thursdays,
11am, February 20, with LWVCS leaders and members to share your voting-related experiences
and learn about LWV National, LWVCS and LWV activities
- Join here - or via our website calendar link
To catch up on previous Coffee Hours, check here.
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Wishing All Good Times,
Much Luck and
Health
in the Year of the Snake! | | | _______________________________ | | Heads Up—NEW INFO—New Membership Dues System coming in February!
League of Women Voters US will be switching to ChapterSpot as our membership management system.
Watch out for an e-mail from membership@lwv.org some time between February 2 and February 27. Sender’s name will be League of Women Voters. Do not delete! This e-mail includes an important link for you to access your account on the new system.
You will be renewing your membership with this account.
For more information about the change in the League's membership management system, check out the Frequently Asked Questions article at www.lwvcs.org/new-dues-faq |  |
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Bridging the Gap through Respectful Conversations: A Community Conversation - Thursday, February 20, 4:00 – 5:30 pm via Zoom
Americans are concerned about the growing partisanship in our country and the difficulty this has created in communicating with one another. Whether it is with our families, neighbors, friends, or with community members, people are looking for tools to help them have civil and respectful conversations with one another.
The speakers willoffer resources, skills, and opportunities for individuals to help build bridges across divides in our families, communities, and country.
Panelists include:
- Ellie Searsand Dick Patterson from Braver Angels.
- Kristin Connelly, Clerk-Recorder-Registrar Contra Costa County.
- Cheryl Graeves from the National Institute for Civil Discourse.
Register for the Zoom webinarhere!Information on how to access the Zoom webinar will be sent to your email.
The webinar will have simultaneous Spanish interpretation.
Community Conversations are co-sponsored bythe League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley, the League of Women Voters of West Contra Costa County, CCTV, and the Contra Costa County Library.
This program will be recorded and uploaded to the Library and LWVD YouTubechannels after the event.
Contact programs@lwvdv.org for more information.
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From LWV SJSC:
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Last November, our Lunch with League program featured Dave Lesher, co-founder and editor in chief of CalMatters, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization. He gave us a preview of a new tool called "Digital Democracy," an online portal built for CalMatters by the web development firm 10up and computer science faculty and students at CalPoly San Luis Obispo to encourage civic engagement. It uses the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence and an unprecedented database collected from government sources, to provide a general audience with fact-based information about legislators, bills and the state’s agenda on major topics.
With a substantial decline in media coverage of state government in California and a cacophony of partisan information online, it is difficult for a layperson to learn about individual legislators and about the policy decisions facing state lawmakers.
Digital Democracy makes it easy to search transcripts of every public meeting to find comments from a legislator, a hearing about a bill or any topic by keyword. A web page for each legislator displays their background, policy interests, campaign donors and their district. There is a page for every bill that includes a summary as well as supporters/opponents, votes and news coverage. And on the major state issues, CalMatters reporters describe the agenda for the year with key players, bills and facts.
In addition to the free public website, Digital Democracy provides reporters throughout California with access to “Tipsheets,” a one-page story idea generated by a custom-built AI tool that scans the database in real time with the goal of increasing news coverage of state legislators.
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Electoral College
How the Electoral College Works – from LWV: here
Thousands of supporters tuned in to watch the LWVUS panel on the Electoral College. It featured an all-women panel of experts and was moderated by Celina Stewart, Chief Counsel for LWVUS.
Check it out to hear what panelists had to say about:
- what makes a healthy democracy;
- wow the fight for fair representation is connected to the 2024 federal election; and
- how we can take meaningful action.
The fight for fair representation is more than just a battle for a new system — it is a crucial step towards saving our democracy.
Watch the "What's Not Right With the Electoral College" Video
The One Person, One Vote fight for fair representation is more than just a battle for a new system instead of relying on the Electoral College for a presidential election outcome - it is a crucial step towards saving our democracy. Learn how the fight for fair representation is connected to the 2024 federal election and how we can take meaningful action.
Watch the LWV organized panel on the Electoral College. Moderated by Celina Stewart, LWVUS Chief Counsel, Senior Director of Advocacy & Litigation, hear the thoughts from Na’ilah Amaru, Advocacy Strategist; Carolyn Dupont, University of Kentucky; and Keesha Gaskins-Nathan, US Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
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- Civic Listening Corps Signup
The League of Women Voters and the Algorithmic Transparency Institute have partnered to establish a volunteer program for League members and their community to combat mis- and disinformation. The Civic Listening Corps is a volunteer network of individuals trained to monitor for, critically evaluate, and report misinformation on diverse topics central to our civic life: including voting, elections, public health, civil rights. When you join, you will get training on how to monitor for and report examples of misinformation, and then you can sign up to participate in civic listening shifts where you commit to join fellow volunteers in actively identifying problematic content circulating in your community. You can read more about the program here: https://www.civiclistening.org/what-is-clc
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Certified Election Observer program Contra Costa County: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDr8q5qGRZs |
| __________________________________ | | From Fremont Union High School District
FUHSD News here
| __________________________________ | | LWV Santa Clara County Council Civil Discourse Committee
Planning and Practicing Civil Discourse
Join our Planning Meeting to develop Future Events - we want your ideas and your participation!
Our focus is how we can battle misinformation and biases.
In addition, we are reviewing the potential for sharing the film "Stripped for Parts" about the loss of local news resources.
Join us to continue planning civil discourse events via ZOOM on Monday, February 17th, 1pm here.
We need your ideas, suggestions - and participation.
What are your burning topics for discussion?
What issues in our communities should we talk about - all sides? Elections? Immigration? Polarization? Economic inequity?
This 5-minute video with Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, addresses the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in a self-governing nation:
Why Have a Civil Dialogue?
You can view previous event recordings here.
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- Cupertino State of the City, Feb. 26, 6:30pm
Cupertino Mayor Liang Chao will present the State of the City address on February 26, 2025, 6:30 P.M. at the Quinlan Center. During this speech, Chao will outline her vision to help Cupertino succeed by prioritizing residents’ needs, increasing fiscal accountability, and fostering thoughtful growth.
This event will also launch the Mayor’s Initiative, Cupertino Stories, which will serve as a portal to connect our vibrant and diverse community together through our shared love of Cupertino. Join us to create history together.
Please RSVP here. This is a free event, and light snacks will be provided!
- Latest News on The Rise (Vallco Center Development)
More information on the project can be found at: The Rise (former Vallco Town Center) | City of Cupertino, CA
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Council meetings are held at least two Tuesdays a month at 7 p.m., Council Chambers, 456 W. Olive Ave.
Viewing Options Council meetings are:
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To watch:
AT&T Channel 99
Comcast Channel 15
To stay informed:
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City Manager's Update Sunnyvale Report Posted
The City Manager's report, Update Sunnyvale, is a summary of updates related to City programs and projects, responses to City Council inquiries, and events and activities of interest to the community.
In this issue:
- Unveiling Sunnyvale's 26 Sun Sculptures
- Community Center Grounds Renovation Construction Underway
- Registration Software Update
- New Special Event Permit Application
- Join Sunnyvale's Teen Advisory Committee (TAC)
- Community Emergency Response Team Class 65 Kickoff
- California Jobs Report
- Super Safari Preschool: Virtual Parent Info Night
- Career Search Workshops
- Save the Date - Summer Recreation Job Fair
- EV Ride and Drive
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- LWV Bay Area Board Update
Our speakers are Supervisor Sylvia Arenas who represents District 1 on the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors and
Dr. Rachel Gilgoff, an advisor with the California Aces Aware Initiative. Join us via Zoom on 02/27/2025 -12:00pm to1:15pm
- LWV Bay Area’s Annual LEAGUE DAY 2025 on Regional Government: How Does It Affect You?
Saturday, March 8 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm via Zoom only, registration link here.
Have you ever wondered how regional government works and how it affects your daily life? How do decisions made by MTC-ABAG affect a local jurisdiction?
We will begin with a keynote address by Rep. Josh Becker, continue with three panels and end with an update on LWV Bay Area’s regional government and land use study now underway. Contact us with your suggestions and comments at lwvbayarea@gmail.com.
- Have you subscribed to the LWV Bay Area Monitor News? Get all the League regional news delivered to your email regularly here!
- LWV Bay Area will be visiting Local Leagues - look for our outreach program- it started in February!
- If you missed the LWVBA Public Health Series, You can view the recordings here
- Stay tuned for our next event on Stress! | __________________________________ | Members, Friends and Supporters, Help Us to Make Things Happen! | __________________________________ | | The Cupertino-Sunnyvale Event EBlast
Published 10 times a year by the
League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale.
This newsletter is posted on our website:
| | The LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
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Permission is granted to reprint any part of this newsletter with credit to the League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale | | | |