Friday, February 26, 2010

Western Wisconsin Bicycle Summit - March 23

The La Crosse area is home to many passionate bicyclists from recreational family riders to commuters to off road riders to racers. But often the different groups do not have many connections.

[Update: GRAB, PRINT AND POST A FLYER!]

On March 23, that will change. The Western Wisconsin Bicycle Summit, organized by a variety of local bicycle groups in coordination with the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, will offer networking, learning and idea sharing opportunities for businesses, individuals and policy makers and will connect those of us interested in bicycling to the wider state, regional and national family of bicycle advocates.

The event will be at the Radisson Center, 200 Harborview Plaza in La Crosse. A networking, idea sharing, social hour with cash bar will be from 5 to 6:40 p.m.

At 7 p.m., keynote speaker, John Burke, President of Trek Bicycle Corporation. Burke passionately spreads the word about the bicycle as "a simple solution to complex problems."

More details will be released soon. For now, please mark your calendar and save the evening of Tuesday, March 23

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

A Million Calls


A consortium of grassroots organizations including MoveOn.org, the Center for Policy Analysis, the Progressive Congress Action Fund, HCAN, DFA and SEIU are urging at least one million Americans on Thursday, February 24 to call their senators and representatives and demand that meaningful health care reform be passed.

The Fix It and Pass It campaign is "making a HUGE push to fix the Senate bill via reconciliation and to pass it!"

When you call, please ask for these items to be included in a reconciliation fix:

* Inclusion of the public option (MOST Americans want a public option)
* The Medicare buy-in (allowing younger people to buy in to Medicare coverage)
* Fixing the excise tax
* Getting rid of the Nebraska Cornhusker Kickback deal
* National exchange NOT state exchange
* Drug re-importation
* Drug price negotiation in Medicare Part D
* Increasing subsidies.

Everything is still on the table. Now is the time to demand what MOST people want.

Contact your reps directly (see below) or use the MoveOn.org tool.

Senator Russell Feingold
La Crosse
425 State St., Room 225
La Crosse, WI 54601-3341
(608) 782-5585

Senator Herb Kohl
La Crosse Office
205 5th Avenue South, Room 216
La Crosse, WI 54601
(608) 796-0045
Fax: (608) 796-0089

Representative Ron Kind
205 Fifth Avenue S. , Suite 400
La Crosse, WI 54601
8:30am to 5pm
PH: (608) 782-2558
FX: (608) 782-4588
TTY: (608) 782-1173

Sunday, February 21, 2010

FRESH

Fresh the MovieDon't forget to attend the screening MONDAY NIGHT of the new film, FRESH, Monday, February 22, 7:00 p.m., Graff Main Hall Auditorium, UW-L.

From the website:
FRESH is more than a movie, it’s a gateway to action. Our aim is to help grow FRESH food, ideas, and become active participant in an exciting, vibrant, and fast-growing movement.

When I write we, I don’t mean our small team (officially two of us, with lots of amazing helps from our interns and volunteers) but I mean YOU. All of you. FRESH is a grassroots efforts for a grassroots movement. It’s been tremendously exciting to see the movie catch on and spread like wild fire, being used all over the country as a platform to raise awareness and connecting people to the solutions available in their community.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Senator Feingold office opening open house

Please join Senator Feingold on Saturday for the official opening of his La Crosse Field Office.

Saturday, February 19 from 9 to 10:30 a.m.
116 5th Ave South, La Crosse

Thursday, February 18, 2010

WTC Board Positions Open

[from June]

Western Technical College is accepting applications for their WTC District Board. The Application materials will be available starting Friday. February 19 and must be returned by 4 p.m. March 5. Three appointments are for three-year terms that start July 1. They will made at a public hearing and meeting March 25. For more information,
call (608) 785-9563.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Speak out about CAFOs!

[from Guy]

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture is holding listening sessions around the state on the Livestock Siting Law, which governs Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs. The Livestock Siting Law went into effect in 2006 and is now up for review.

This is our opportunity as citizens to speak and bring written comments. The closest session to our area is from 3 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Dodger Bowl, 321 King St., Dodgeville.

Comments can be sent by March 10 to michael.murray@wisconsin.gov or Michael Murray, DATCP, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911.

The Livestock Siting Law limits local control. As long as CAFO applications are filled out correctly, local governments are pressured by the rules to accept an application. The maximum application fee a local government can charge is only $1,000, which does not cover costs, especially if more research or additional expert opinions are warranted. Local governments should be able to set their own timelines and fees.

Further, the law allows facilities to build before permits and licenses are in place, and thus, under pressure of possible lawsuits, permits are granted.

If a local community zones agricultural, it is required to include CAFOs. These are for-profit businesses that are allowed an unfair advantage with this law. For things such as utilities, we have laws that cover the state for the public good. This law grants an unfair advantage in promoting large-scale, industrialized operations for the profit of less than two percent of the livestock industry. We need to be supporting agriculture that is of a scale the land can support. We are letting family farmers suffer economically while supporting CAFOs.

To read more specifics on the issues surrounding the upcoming Livestock Siting Law rules review, visit www.crawfordstewardshipproject.org.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Update on plastics recycling


[from Carolyn & Glen]

Thursday, February 11, 2010 the Common Council voted to support the recycle resolution. The Public Works department has up to 60 days to negotiate with Harter waste removal. Earlier in the week Harter offered a better rate/cost for adding the recycling of plastics #1 & #2. The new offer was $.07 per month per household verses the $.25 per month per household. In addition to this better rate Harter also wanted their contract extended to 2015. Presently the contract is through 2012. After the Public Works department has negotiated with Harter they will bring back a proposal. By mid April we will probably hear something, if not sooner.

When the city and county agreed to become an Eco-municipality with that came the responsibility of governing and living with The Natural Step principles guiding environmentally purposeful decisions. ... The recycling of plastics #1 and #2 and not creating more virgin plastics from fossil fuels is an opportunity for this community to eliminate our fossil fuel dependence. Recycling also eliminates our community's contribution to wasteful use of synthetic substances (plastics) which research is finding to be more detrimental than once realized. Although reduction of use would be the best for the planet, recycling is a good start.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Helping

We've all heard about and, probably, donated to relief of the Haiti disaster. But there's another disaster in our midst - the weather - snow, ice and freezing temperatures - in South Dakota and particularly its effect on the residents of the several reservations in that state.

Unlike Wisconsin, in SD if you don't pay your power bill, utilities can shut you off even in the middle of winter. That, plus an unprecedented ice storm, lots of snow, freezing weather, have combined to make life even more miserable for poorest of the poor.

This disaster has been covered extensively on the website DailyKos and, more recently, by MSNBC program host, Keith Olbermann.

Money donations are especially needed, though donations of CLEAN clothing are also being accepted. Visit the dKos diary for info about donations.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Pass the public option

Health (insurance) reform is not dead. Many pols believe the best way to get real reform passed is two bills at once - a "fix it" reconcilliation bill and the Senate's flawed bill. How to do it is outlined here (it's a sorry day when new Democrat Arlen Specter shows them how to do it.)

Now, 120 House Democrats have sent a letter to Sen. Harry Reid demanding that what most people want - a public option - is included in the reconciliation process.

But, Ron Kind's name is not on the letter! Horrors!!

So, please contact Ron Kind (or call his office - La Crosse = 782-2558) and get his name on that letter!