RENSSELAER
COUNTY

THE LATEST NEWS...

Updated March 20, 2009

20th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT SPECIAL ELECTION. There are several opportunities to learn first hand what candidates Jim Tedisco and Scott Murphy have to say.  The first is on Tuesday, March 24 at 7:00 at the WNYT studios.  News anchor Jim Kambrich will moderate.  You can also watch another debate on Thursday, March 26, on Capital News 9 from 7-8 PM (if you have cable) or listen to it on WROW 590 AM radio from 7-8:30 PM.  The March 26 debate is League-sponsored.  See item #2 below for more information. 

SUNSHINE WEEK (March 15-21) JUST IN TIME FOR SPRING.  Sunshine Week is a national initiative, started in 2005, to open dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.  The League of Women Voters has been an active champion of openness in government throughout its history.  The League supports key principles that require government bodies to protect the citizen's right to know by:

        * Giving adequate notice of proposed actions,

        * Holding open meetings, and

        * Making public records accessible. 

See below under "News on Issues/State" for more "Open Government" information.

MARCH IS "WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH".  For nearly nine decades, the League of Women Voters has worked to ensure that our democracy is transparent, effective, and truly representative.  Today, we continue the tradition of our suffragist foremothers by fighting for voting rights for all those who remain disenfranchised, including those who call the District of Columbia home. The US League has created a special web page to celebrate Women's History Month.  Click on US LEAGUE above and make your way to the site.

PRESIDENT SIGNS LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT.  The first bill signed by President Obama was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, named after an Alabama woman who at the end of a 19-year career as a supervisory in a tire factory complained that she had been paid less than men in the factory.  The law calls for equal pay for equal work and, in the President's words, "send[s] a clear message that making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody."

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES.....

• HEALTH CARE FORUM. "AGING IN THE COMMUNITY: THE FUTURE OF LONG TERM CARE, MARCH 20
    
• CANDIDATES' FORUM: SPECIAL ELECTION FOR 20TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, MARCH 26
  
• NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE:  RENSSELAER LEAGUE CONSENSUS MEETING, APRIL 23
  
• NEW YORK STATE LEAGUE CONVENTION, MAY 15-17

• TROY RECORD PUBLISHES RENSSELAER LEAGUE'S LETTER ON TROY CITY CHARTER REVISION

STATE...

• THE BIGGER BETTER BOTTLE BILL IS BEFORE THE NYS LEGISLATURE ONCE AGAIN
  
• OPEN GOVERNMENT:  THREE WEBSITES LAUNCHED ALL DESIGNED TO INJECT MORE TRANSPARENCY INTO NYS GOVERNMENT
  
• NYS LEAGUE PRIORITIES THIS YEAR

• BROAD-BASED COALITION OUTLINES GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE PRINCIPLES
  
• US LEAGUE URGES CONGRESS TO SUPPORT WASHINGTON DC VOTING RIGHTS
  
• US LEAGUE ENDORSES CONGRESSIONAL INSIDER TRADING LEGISLATION
  
• SAFEGUARDING U.S. DEMOCRACY: THE US LEAGUE ISSUES A STATEMENT ON LANDMARK U.S. SUPREME HEARING

DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE

• RECYCLING GUIDE