September Newsletter, Election Season! Upcoming Events!

September Newsletter!

Check out our:

• Website: www.juneaunow.com
• Blog: nowjuneau.blogspot.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Juneau-National-Organization-for-Women/273059094878
• Twitter: twitter.com/juneaunow

REMEMBER: RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP!


Next events for Juneau NOW

• General Meeting: October 13, 5:15 pm Silverbow October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Come, listen and participate with speakers Peggy Brown, the Executive Director of Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and Saralyn Tabachnick, Director of Aware
• November: Subject: How can we support women in the holidays?
• December: holiday party and food and gift donations

Upcoming Events:

• Sept. 24: West coast premier of the new film “Hand Held” a story of 160,000 orphans. Thunder Mountain H.S. 7:30 pm
• Sept. 29: Municipal and School Board Candidates forum: sponsored by the League of women Voters. Municipal building 6:30pm.
• Oct 1: Speaker Dr. Ken Doka, clinical psychologist and noted expert on grief and spirituality at the JACC from7-8:30pm
• Oct 2: Health Fair Nugget Mall
• Oct 3: What does poverty look like in Juneau? Juneau Unitarian Fellowship is holding a forum open to the public. Please come. 10:00 a.m. Sukkat Shalom (Jewish Synagogue) on Cordova St. Scott Ciambor from Homeless Coalition and Dareen Adams for the Food Bank, speakers.
• Oct. 8-10: Juneau World Affairs Council: presentations on Peace , Justice and Reconciliation. Egan Lecture Hall
• Oct. 15: Capital city Rotaract presents October fest for Breasts. 8pm in Hanger Ballroom. This is a fundraiser for women with breast cancer, and all proceeds go to Cancer Connection. Dance, silent auction and guest speaker! Contact number?
• Oct 16: Juneau Women’s Health Fair: Centennial Hall
• Oct. 16: AWARE: Walk a mile in her shoes. 10:00pm at Sandy Beach .
• November 13: Alaska Women’s Lobby. Fund raiser… more details to follow.

CAMPAIGN, VOTE! ELECTIONS ARE UPON US!
Municipal Election: October 5
State, National Elections : November 2

This election, with pro-choice candidates taking on extremists, is one that we urge all NOW members to engage in. The only way extremist candidates can be defeated is through our active involvement in the campaigns.


Scott McAdams: running for U.S. Senate. He is opposing Joe Miller, tea party candidate. Mr. Joe Miller opposes abortion for women under any circumstances including rape. He also intends to dismantle medicare and social security.  Scott’s office is on the 3rd floor of the Senate building. Kate Troll, office and campaign manager is looking for volunteers.


Harry Crawford: running for U.S. Congress. He is opposing Rep. Don Young. Harry is a sound, thoughtful and caring candidate. To reach his office call his legislative office at 465-3438 and speak to Paul Grossi. Harry is looking for campaign office space and for someone to run it.

Ethan Berkowitz and Diane Benson. They are running for Governor and Lt. Governor respectively. Their office is located at 119 Seward St. Melissa Griffiths, office manager, is a one woman show there and really really needs your support. Ethan is opposing Sean Parnell who, while not a tea party man per se, is definitely right wing and who is definitely not pro choice.
Ethan is in town this week and is having an event: Sept. 22 6-8 pm at Parkshore Condo’s. Please come.
.
Municipal Elections October 5:
There are 5 candidates running to represent downtown and valley and district wide.
Karen Crane: District 2 (Valley) She is solid on women’s issues, pro-choice and defender of seniors.

Greg Brown: District 2 (Valley) A candidate with creative ideas and who knows how to make defense of our environment a economically profitable idea. Phone: 209-4221 email: brown_greg@yahoo.com

Christopher G. Nelson: District 2: Position on issues? Juneau NOW only knows that Juneau Pro Choice coalition gave him a negative rating.

Mary Becker: District 1 Running unopposed . Juneau Pro-Choice gave her a full Pro-Choice Endorsement.

Johan Dybdahl: Running area wide- he is unopposed.

School Board: two seats
Ivan Nance
Barbara Thurston
Kim Poole




OTHER ISSUES OF CONCERN
Nationally
While the nation is totally preoccupied with elections there are some important bills that absolutely effect women and need to be passed!

YOUR PARTICIPATION: Take a minute and write to your Congressman, Senator to get these bills to the floor …in other words: TELL YOUR SENATORS ---GET GOING!

Congressman Don Young       

PO Box 21247 

Juneau, AK  99802 

Senator Murkowski

709 Hart Senate Building

Washington, D.C.  20510

Senator Mark Begich 

PO Box 21850

Juneau, AK  99801

International Violence Against Women Act HR 4594, S. 2982.
This bill has broad-based support with 32 sponsors in the Senate. No one in Alaska’s congressional delegation has co-sponsored this bill. It was originally sponsored by Amnesty International, Women Thrive and Family Violence preventive Fund.

Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2011.
When VAWA was first introduced by Senator Joe Biden in 1994 it was declared the “greatest breakthrough in civil rights for women in nearly two decades”. This act enhanced investigation and prosecution of the violent crime perpetrated against women, increased pre-trial detention of the accused, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress in cases prosecutors chose to leave unprosecuted.

Paycheck Fairness Act: (SB 182)
This Act would close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and strengthen it by creating incentives for employers to follow the law. It would assist women in effectively negotiating for better pay and promotion, and would prohibit retaliation against employees when salary information is shared.

NOW needs your support.
How?
1. We are looking for a media person. Someone who can publicize our views.
2. Connecting and Partnering with organizations in the Community that do good work for women, families and children.

Like what organizations?

• AWARE. They are stalwart supporters of women and teens 100% of their day.
• AEYC (the association for the education of Young children) they are devoted to supporting moms. (one of their strategic goals: All parents, especially single parents, will have access to support and resources they need for successful parenting) They help moms find quality and affordable child care and advocate for more of..
• Juneau Birth Center sponsor parenting classes
• Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Juneau Pro Choice Coalition, The Four A’s (provide services for those living with AIDs)

There are many wonderful organizations. Let’s publicize them and support them. We can do this best with your help.

So please, we would love your involvement in NOW. Please come to our meetings and would also love to see you at our board meetings: Silverbow: 4th

On Wednesday September 8, 2010 NOW Juneau had a successful meeting with local Democratic candidates about the upcoming general election.  

Letter Featured in the Juneau Empire September 2, 2010

Here is the link to the opinion letter  that Juneau NOW board members wrote.  

The letter was featured in the Juneau Empire on September 2, 2010. 

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/090210/let_703933881.shtml

Here is a copy of the article: 

Proposition Two

      Unfortunately, the people whose lives will be most impacted by proposition two were not old enough to vote in the primary election August 24. Proposition Two, which requires that a physician notify parents before performing an abortion and requires teens to notify or in lieu of, go to court to obtain a notarized statement about abuse, won voter approval.

      Being a teenage girl is hard, especially in a state with some of the highest rates of teen pregnancy, interpersonal violence, rape and abuse. Now, more than ever Alaskans must stand together as allies to young women (and men) in our communities who face incredibly hard choices everyday.

      Luckily, there are many services available to teens in Juneau. Men and women, including teenaged victims, can continue to look to Planned Parenthood for a range of legal options when face with the need for confidential medical services. Juneau Youth Services and AWARE provide counseling to students at Thunder Mountain and Juneau Douglas High School. Young women who are experiencing abuse can also seek counseling and support services through AWARE, even if they are not residents of the facility. Finally, Zach Gordan Youth Center hosts healthy relationship classes and support and services for young parents.

      While we, at Juneau NOW, are disappointed in the Proposition Two election results, as is much of Alaska, we are heartened by the progress made towards developing a strong coalition in support of a voice for women’s rights. This political force must continue forward by supporting young men and women. We can do this by prosecuting to the full extent of the law sexual offenders, support community services and by promoting comprehensive sex education in every school district, so that no teen ever has to make the difficult choices surrounding pregnancy.

NOW Newsletter 8/12/2010

NOW NEWSLETTER 8/12/2010

I want to thank each of you for your membership in NOW, your enthusiasm and desire to make a difference in our Juneau community.

NOW had its annual meeting on Aug. 2 and we had a terrific turn out! 

Probably the most immediate event is the August Primary which has two Propositions which need to be DEFEATED. Most particularly Prop. 2: This proposition would mandate that an adolescent have parental consent before having an abortion. She could avoid this by going to court. Nationally, the Pro-Life people have tried to make inroads into Roe vs. Wade for decades and this proposition is such an attempt. Obviously the teenager is under great stress and these conditions may present an insurmountable obstacle. Juneau Pro Choice Coalition has been working hard to defeat this. Let’s show our support by attending a planned parenthood rally at the clinic August 20^th from 11:30 to 1:30. 

AND on election day rally at 10^th and Egan urging folks to Vote NO and finally urge all your friends to Vote NO!

NOW Juneau has new officers!

And..Thank you so much to our out- going officers!

How can we support NOW’s mission?

Mission: NOW works to eliminate discrimination and harassment in the workplace, schools, the justice system, and all other sections of society: secure abortion, birth control and reproductive rights for all women; end all forms of violence against women; eradicate racism, sexism and homophobia; and promote equality and justice in our society.

There are many ways our Juneau chapter can support this mission and one way is to be a public voice behind those organizations that are already in the field. For example, how can we better support AWARE? AWARE is doing what NOW is all about! They shelter women, they fight against domestic violence, they are involved in educational programs for girls 8-12 years old.

What are some other organizations? Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Gay Pride, Turning the Tide (toxic free environment) Senior Centers, Association for the Education of Young Children (advocating for quality and affordable childcare) Juneau Pro Choice. All of these organizations do outstanding work and NOW can add its voice of support.

And…what about our own actions? The legislature will reconvene in January. Melissa urged us to lead a workshop on how to effectively testify and lobby. It was suggested that we also have a city candidate forum in late September.

So many opportunities to make a difference in Juneau. Please come to our next meeting. We will establish priorities, examine how we might be most effective. 

Remember to visit our website juneaunow.org or find us on twitter or facebook! 

See you at the voting booth!

-Juneau NOW President