Monday, January 28, 2008

More (last minute notice) important stuff to do RIGHT NOW!

[from Guy]:

Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America. The local event will kick off at 6 p.m. Wednesday with local organic food vendors and video presentations at Viterbo’s Reinhart Center. At 7 p.m., Stephen Schneider, a climate scientist at Stanford University, will speak via remote video.

Thursday’s events begin at 9 a.m. with fair trade goods available in the Reinhart Center lobby. Speakers include Chris McClead, the campus minister, who will speak on faith and environmental justice, and Chris Schneider from Honda Motorworks. Val Schute of River Architects and Nick Nichols from Gundersen Lutheran will speak at 4:10 p.m. on LEED certified buildings.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

IMPORTANT PUBLIC HEARING ON DNR VARIANCE PERMIT FOR DAIRYLAND POWER

January 30, at 5 p.m.
DNR Service Center
3550 Mormon Coulee Road
Rooms B-19 and B-20

Dairyland Power recently re-issued a mercury variance permit to the DNR for their Genoa coal power facility. (Genoa is a city 20 min south of Lax)
Coal generation accounts for 60% of all Mercury emissions that originate from human activity. According to EPA numbers, Dairyland's 350MW Coal facility is already releasing 94 pounds of Mercury into the air.

This permit would allow Dairyland to release mercury into the Mississippi above legal standards. For the Genoa area, the current limit for water emissions is 5.4ng/L (nano-grams / Liter) while Dairyland hopes to increase this limit to 12ng/L. At the current discharge rate of 188 million gallons / day into the Mississippi, the translation equals 3 pounds of mercury per year.

The DNR will host a public forum to submit written and spoken comment on this issue. We need every concerned individual to show the DNR that WE WANT TO KEEP WISCONSIN WATER HEALTHY AND SAFE. There will be a brief informational session at 4pm to clear up any concerns on public hearings. We can also talk about this in progressives.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Kind "Call-In Town Hall Meeting" TONIGHT


from Kind's website:

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) today announced that he will hold his first-ever LIVE Telephone Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 from 6:15-7:15 p.m. CST. The Telephone Town Hall Meeting uses new technology that will allow Rep. Kind to reach thousands of Third Congressional District constituents at once, providing an opportunity for constituents to hear directly from Rep. Kind on the issues affecting them, and communicate their questions and concerns directly to Rep. Kind from their own home.

“Between work, school, family, and everything else, I understand it can be difficult for people to attend a conventional town hall meeting,” Rep. Kind said. “This way, people can participate from their own home. I am looking forward to this opportunity to address constituents from across the district, and hear directly from them about the issues affecting their lives.”

New teleconferencing technology allows Rep. Kind to set up a large-scale conference call involving potentially thousands of Third Congressional District constituents. At the start of the call on Tuesday (approximately 6:15 p.m.), a random selection of households in the 3rd CD will receive a call from Rep. Kind, inviting them to participate in the Telephone Town Hall. Constituents will then have the option of staying on the line to hear a few comments by Rep. Kind followed by the opportunity to participate in a question and answer session.

Constituents may also dial-into the Telephone Town Hall themselves by calling toll-free (866) 447-5149, and entering the code 13433.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Consciousness and Commitment

Martin Luther King Jr event in La Crosse
Please plan to attend the La Crosse community celebration of the life and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and help us spread the word by downloading the poster (right click on the graphic and save the .pdf file to your computer). If you prefer a .doc, right click and save this link.

A community celebration honoring the life and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 21 at English Lutheran Church at 16th and King Streets. Co-sponsored by several area organizations, the event will feature gospel artist, Myron Jones, and local attorney, Keith Belzer, who will discuss "Consciousness and Commitment." The program will include a multimedia presentation, music, and poetry and a display of art by area students. The first annual Martin Luther King Leadership Award will be presented. A reception with refreshments will follow the program.

This event is FREE and OPEN TO ALL. Non-perishable food items will be collected for area food pantries.

For more information, please call Curtis Miller, Jubilee Center, 782-1394 or Pastor Mark Solyst, English Lutheran Church, 784-9335.

Co-sponsors: AmeriCorps, English Lutheran Church, Franciscan-Skemp Foundation, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, Jubilee Center for Justice and Peace, La Crosse Interfaith Justice and Peace Coalition, Onalaska United Methodist Church, NAACP- La Crosse Branch, UW-La Crosse, Western Technical College, YWCA, Coulee Progressives.



Plan to attend and make a commitment to work in our community to realize Dr. King's dream.

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

PLEASE JOIN

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind & State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster for an important discussion about the future of education, as Congress prepares to reform No Child Left Behind.



Tuesday, January 8, 2008, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Holmen High School, LGI Room

1001 McHugh Road, Holmen


Educators, Parents & Concerned Citizens Welcome


Contact Mark Seitz with U.S. Rep. Kind at 608-782-2558 for more information.





About the Event:

Six years ago, on January 8, 2002, President Bush signed into law No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which was designed to close the achievement gap and hold schools accountable. Since then, there has been much disagreement about the effectiveness of the law, due to funding issues and the concerns of educators and parents across the nation.


Congress is set to reform No Child Left Behind in 2008, and this forum will allow teachers, school administrators, and parents to discuss with Rep. Kind and State Superintendent Burmaster the effects NCLB has had on students in western Wisconsin and what changes would best address its shortfalls.


Please join us for this important forum about the future of education.