BSU Reflections of Ebony Feb. 27

We're glad to see Reflections of Ebony is on and online this year! 

​​Reflections of Ebony 

Guest Speakers:

Jason Sole and André Wright of 

Humanize My Hoodie

Saturday, February 27 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Free Virtural Event

Register:  

https://forms.gle/pb5NFDtfETHNHUn39 

Black Youth Leaders Feb. 23

 

Virtual panel discussion with La Crosse's

Black Student Leaders

February 23 at 7 p.m.

A panel discussion with some of the youth who were interviewed for the film "Amplifying The Voices of Black Youth and Their Parents in the La Crosse Area" will participate in a virtual panel discussion hosted by Bridges Church   

You are invited to attend.

You can link to this virtual event by going to Bridges Church  webpage  and clicking  "online activities" at the top of the page. 

Help, Share, Connect!

Tonight at 6 p.m. ONLINE Join Citizen Action of Wisconsin to learn how you can work toward cancelling student debt.

Saturday, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. join OWR at the La Crosse Public Library, share basic supplies with those in need.

Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m., view the film and share the discussion: Amplifying the Voices of Black Youth and their Families in La Crosse

Tournament in La Crosse = Bad

The LaX Tribune selectively prints (or doesn't) letters to the editor on its website. This letter was in the Saturday, Feb. 13 Tribune but isn't showing up in the open online version. It was written in response to the Tribune editorial applauding the La Crosse Center decision to host hundreds of people from around the state for a basketball tournament. How much did that decision prioritize bringing in money for the La Crosse Center over the safety of La Crosse residents' health and lives?

Tournament is BAD Idea

Recent news stories and experts' warnings indicate that inviting hundreds of people from across the state to La Crosse at this time is a very bad idea.

We're in the middle of a deadly pandemic with a highly contagious, mutating virus. The virus thrives by community spread, allowing more opportunities for more, and possibly more contagious or deadly, variants to develop. The vaccine rollout is spotty and relatively slow, and current vaccines may not work well against new variants.

About half a million people in the United States have died from COVID-19. "Super spreader" events, from big motorcycle rallies to smaller gatherings of people from different households, can have grave health and economic outcomes. To stop the spread and mutation of the virus, people should not be traveling, mingling, shopping, eating in restaurants, and staying in hotels.

Even if the La Crosse Center is 100% safe,
HUNDREDS of visitors will be in contact with and potentially spread the virus to people and places where vulnerable local populations must work and buy essential goods. Nodes of potential transmission will increase. Many Wisconsin residents don't take mask-wearing or even the virus seriously. Even in La Crosse, some businesses don't follow mask rules and official enforcement is weak at best.

I'm surprised and disappointed that city political and health leaders have apparently signed off on this. Inviting people here knowing they'll probably help spread a deadly virus is the opposite of good leadership and public health policy, I think.

Cathy Van Maren

Complete the ENERGY SURVEY!

As the city prepares to put together a climate action plan, they are seeking your input.

Complete La Crosse’s Energy Survey

This survey will help planners understand how our community thinks about and uses energy. Please complete the survey before March 5. This survey should take about 10-15 minutes to complete.

UPDATE: If you are interested in attending any of the three upcoming 90-minute virtual workshops on energy action planning, please contact Lewis Kuhlman at kuhlmanl@cityoflacrosse.org.

We may be nearing some kind of peace with the coronavirus, but the climate crisis will require much more effort, determination, and change.

A new study on 2015 Paris climate goals concludes that, "the probabilities of meeting their nationally determined contributions for the largest emitters are low, e.g. 2% for the USA and 16% for China. On current trends, the probability of staying below 2°C of warming is only 5%, but if all countries meet their nationally determined contributions and continue to reduce emissions at the same rate after 2030, it rises to 26%. If the USA alone does not meet its nationally determined contribution, it declines to 18%. To have an even chance of staying below 2 °C, the average rate of decline in emissions would need to increase from the 1% per year needed to meet the nationally determined contributions, to 1.8% per year." Or, in short, our targets are waaay too low and we're not even close to meeting them. and even if we do, 2% is too much.

This is a crisis for all of us exacerbated by the worship of money and the power of the wealthy to spread the other big lie, that human-cased global heating is a myth (and that includes the La Crosse Tribune through its favorite climate-denier editorialists).

Completing this survey is one small step you can take to tell local leaders that this is important. There are others. 

• Do your own personal energy use/carbon assessment and make changes as you can. 
• Be a climate hawk at your school or place of work--not just about changing light bulbs, but about changing priorities. For example, tell your employer to quit subsidizing single-occupant commuters with free parking and, instead, provide and reward public transport/carpool/bike-ped options ("parking cash out," which has other community benefits).
• Join or start a divest from fossil fuels effort at your school or church and in our community. 
• Tell Dairyland power we do NOT want a polluting, GHG-emitting fracked-gas-fueled power plant in northern Wisconsin. 
• Tell stores you refuse to buy products swaddled in fossil fuel plastics. 
• Tell the county to not renew its agreement with the  the Xcel Energy trash-burner. 
• Engage in budget advocacy that prioritizes clean and green in ag, transportation, and economic development.
• Make a pledge to pay attention to climate news and strongly support climate solutions in 2021.

Community input needed!

 

You are invited to COMPASS Now 2021’s La Crosse County Community Needs Stakeholder Meeting on Friday, February 12 (7:30 to 9:00 a.m.) and Monday, February 15 (3:30 to 5:00 p.m.) via Zoom. 

The purpose of this meeting is to help identify and prioritize the most critical needs in our County. Your input will become part of the Compass Now 2021 Report. The Compass Now report is used to develop important programs, interventions, and policies by local hospitals, health centers, health departments and is used in policy and development by state and local leaders. This report is a key piece of our Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Planning Process. This is an opportunity to share your perspective on the most critical issues and needs facing the county. 

To participate, register via Eventbrite:

* February 12 registration 

* February 15 registration

Participants will receive an advance copy of the data collected for the La Crosse County Compass Now 2021 report. During the meeting, we’ll have short brainstorming discussions on the top community needs within each of the sections of Compass: Length & Quality of Life; Health Behaviors; Health Care; Social & Economic Factors; and Physical Environment & Safety. And then have a series of votes to eventually boil those ideas down to the top five needs of the county.

If you are unable to attend, please consider sending someone from your organization in your absence. Also, please feel free to share this invitation with others. Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me or Liz Evans, Community Impact Director-Great Rivers United Way, at levans@gruw.org 

State Dems Celebrate Black History Month

First: WI Republicans' emails show complete disinterest in addressing racial disparities through Speaker's Racial Disparities Task Force. Not a surprise.

Now, celebrate Black History Month with the Legislative Black Caucus.

The Legislative Black Caucus will celebrate Black History Month with a series of programs,  speakers, and films. Check out the schedule and get links at their FB page.

Sunday, watch GOOD TROUBLE, the film about U.S. Rep. John Lewis,  with Rep. LaKeshia Myers and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore from 4 to 6 p.m.

Do this

First, remember to check out mayoral candidates' responses to the La Crosse Area Transit Advocates' survey on local and regional public transportation.

Coming up - lots of ways to discuss, ask, collaborate, plan ... Some local, some global. All online.

Saturday, February 6

• OWR La Crosse Organizing Meeting at 10:30 a.m.
• Learn to Build Political Will with CCL at 2 p.m.
  

Sunday, February 7

• GOOD TROUBLE (film), 4 to 6 p.m. 

Monday, February 8

• Last week to vote ABSENTEE IN PERSON for the spring primary (mayor and school superintendent). See the Voter Resources page.

Tuesday, February 9

• LWV: Womens Health Legislation in Wisconsin at 11:30 a.m.
• Between the Lines: 400 Souls with Ibram X. Kendi at 6:00 p.m.
  
• LPL: Jazz & the Civil Rights Movement at 6:30 p.m.
  

Wednesday, February 10

• Seeds of Opportunity: Rural America and the Economic Benefits of Renewables 11 a.m.
• The Case for Climate Reparations: A Philosophical Conversation 4 p.m.

Thursday, February 11

• How to Advance Racial Justice - ACLU 3 p.m.
  
• Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legend of Ida B. Wells 5 p.m.
• Healing the Political Divide - a path forward 7 p.m.
  

Friday,  February 12

• Frozen Obsession - world premier of feature length film 5:30 p.m.

Transit Equity Day Survey and Election Resources

The La Crosse Area Transit Advocates has published results of its Mayoral Candidate Survey on Local and Regional Public Transportation. Only four of ten candidates have responded, but the survey will be updated as more candidates respond. Please read the survey and encourage candidates you know to participate. Talk to mayoral and city council candidates about public transportation and its importance in our community! 

 

Several local groups, including OWR and Citizen Action Driftless Co-op, are working on getting out the vote and supporting local council candidates. If you can volunteer, please do. In the meantime, now is the time to get your voting plan together!

 

FEB. 16 ELECTION PRIMARY

Request your ABSENTEE BALLOT now at myvote.wi.gov OR by emailing or calling your municipal clerk. IF YOU VOTE ABSENTEE FROM HOME, be sure to sign and have a WITNESS sign and put her address on your ballot envelope. You can mail your ballot back, but if you are able, it's better to drop your ballot in the GREEN ballot drop box in the City Hall parking lot.

Vote ABSENTEE IN PERSON now through February 12. Check with your municipal clerk for hours. In La Crosse, AiP voting hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday hours are 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Except Friday, February 12, the hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Use the designated entrance on the north side of City Hall. 

Vote IN PERSON AT YOUR POLLING PLACE ON ELECTION DAY, February 16. 

Get all the voting info you need at myvote.wi.gov.

=====

There are ten candidates for mayor of the City of La Crosse. Here are some resources that might help you decide.

• La Crosse Independent/La Crosse Local January 21 candidate forum
  
• WIZM - two nights of mayor forums
• La Crosse Tribune candidate Q&A collection  
• La Crosse Area Transit Advocates published results of a mayoral candidate survey on local and regional public transportation
  

There are seven candidates for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Here are some past and coming opportunities to hear from them:

• January 7: League of Women Voters candidate forum
  
• January 21: Association for Equity in Funding online forum
  
• February 4: Wisconsin PTA candidate forum 7 p.m. ONLINE

 UPDATE: Voter guide from Cia Siab, Inc.

MTU Celebrates Transit Equity Day, Feb. 4

 

 The City of La Crosse MTU would like to invite you to participate in Transit Equity Day on Thursday February 4^th, 2021.

 

For the past four years on February 4, a network of transit rider unions, community organizations, environmental groups and labor unions have organized Transit Equity Day–a national day of action to commemorate the birthday of Rosa Parks by declaring that public transit is a civil right. Rosa is an iconic figure of the civil rights era who chose the tactic of refusing to give up her seat on the bus to demand an end to segregation in the Montgomery, Alabama, transit system. We make the connection to this act of resistance to highlight the rights of all people to high-quality public transportation run on clean/renewable energy.

The MTU will Honor Rosa Parks by reserving one seat on each bus by placing the poster shown (left) along with a single rose.