We’re joining in with the VISION people’s campaign to drive calls to legislators over SB-467, which is being heard in the Senate Natural Resources Committee on April 13th. Hopefully, it will also put the kibosh on our “local” oil industry’s recall election of the Board of Supervisors decision to require minimum setbacks and up-to-date safety measures. This is a win-win for our county, so let’s help push this out.
- Our post: https://indivisibleventura.org/2021/04/03/sb-467-and-sb-47-its-time-to-push-these-environmental-justice-bills-through/
- VISION’s post: https://www.vision-ca.org
Our Sen. Monique Limón co-authored the bill. Call or email her and thank her for her commitment to the health and safety of her constituents.
Here are other members of the committee that need to be called. If you have friends and family who live in their districts, please get them to call too!
- Call 202-618-4297 to tell Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman to vote #YesonSB467(5th Senate District, which encompasses western San Joaquin County, including the cities of Stockton, Manteca, Tracy, Escalon, Riverbank, Lodi, Galt, Ripon and part of Modesto)
- Call 218-209-4082 to tell Senator Robert Hertzberg to vote #YesonSB467(18th Senate District, representing nearly 1 million people in the San Fernando Valley, including cities of Sylmar, Granada Hills, Tacoma, Arieta, Panorama City, Sun Valley, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Valley Glen, Valley Village, North Hollywood, Toluca Lake, parts of Northridge and Universal City.)
- Call 844-672-5067 to tell Senator Ben Hueso to vote #YesonSB467(40th Senate District, which encompasses Imperial County and the border regions of San Diego County. Includes El Centro, Brawley, Imperial, Calexico, Holtville, Chula Vista and National City.)
- Call 202-883-6199 to tell Senator John Laird to vote #YesonSB467(17th Senate District, contains Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo Counties in their entirety, as well as portions of Monterey and Santa Clara Counties. The cities include Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Gilroy, San Luis Obispo, Morgan Hill, Seaside, Paso Robles, Atascadero, Monterey, and several smaller cities. A small portion of San Jose was included in this district to achieve population equality.
Monday 4/5 – Wed. 4/7- ONLINE – “Health Policy: Race, COVID-19, and Policy Reform” (1:30 pm PDT)
Info and to register here http://spr.ly/6016Hav7EOn April 5-7, Boston University’s School of Public Health and the Center for Antiracism Research will host a series of panels exploring how we can address racism and racial health disparities to support a healthier world. I’m thrilled to join Dean Sandro Galea in conversation on Monday, introduce Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley on Tuesday, and converse with Senator Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday. Congresswoman Pressley and Senator Warren were the first members of Congress to call for racial demographic data of COVID-19 patients around this time last year; and along with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, in February, they reintroduced the Anti-Racism in Public Health Act to confront structural racism as the public health crisis that it is. Dean Galea leads BU’s School of Public Health and the school has supported the Center’s COVID Racial Data Tracker. Dean Galea, an epidemiologist, is also coming out with a new book, The Contagion Next Time, that offers lessons from the pandemic. I look forward to with these thoughtful and courageous leaders, and learning from all the experts we’re convening for this three-day event.Tuesday 4/6 – ONLINE – “Rapid Response Team: Tuesday Phone Bank to Stop Voter Suppression!” (2:00 – 4:00pm PT) (4/6, 4/13, 4/20, 4/27, 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 5/25, 6/1, 6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29)
Sign-up link here. (https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/378348/)
Welcome to the Blue Wave Brigade Rapid Response Team! Rapid Response Phone Banks are a new initiative to respond to attacks on our democracy AS THEY HAPPEN. As we saw after November, attempts to undermine democracy and take away people’s basic rights can happen at a moment’s notice. We need to be able to respond just as quickly. In addition to our longer-term initiatives, these rapid response phone banks will respond to what’s happening NOW. It won’t be easy. You’ll need to be nimble. But if you want to make calls that you KNOW will have an immediate impact, then these are the phone banks for you!! To date, 43 states have introduced over 250 bills to restrict voting according to the Brennan Center for Justice. These laws seek to limit vote-by-mail access, impose strict voter ID, slash early voting, and enable more aggressive voter roll purges. The most egregious of these laws are happening in Georgia and Arizona. In Georgia the Republican legislature is trying to outlaw no-excuse absentee voting (which they instituted in 2005), restrict access to ballot drop boxes, and limit Sunday voting, a thinly veiled attempt to suppress black voters who often participate in “Souls to the polls” events after church on Sundays. In Arizona, they’re trying to enforce strict voter ID for absentee voting, reduce access to early voting, and throw out mail-in ballots not postmarked by the Thursday before the election. This means that even ballots that arrive before election day could be thrown out! Needless to say, these laws will have a deleterious effect on voters, especially voters of color. That’s why we’re teaming up with the Center for Common Ground to call underrepresented voters in these states and let them know what their legislature is trying to do. We will then offer to patch them through to their representative so they can tell them exactly what they think of these bills. Voters in Arizona and Georgia, especially voters of color, really came through for us in 2020, electing Joe Biden and FOUR Democratic Senators. Now it’s time to return the favor! Tuesday 4/6 – ONLINE – “Protecting our Communities: Demanding Racial Equity in COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution” (3:00 pm PT))Facebook link here. (https://www.facebook.com/events/2829863443920867) Black people represent nearly 30% of total Covid-19 cases and 16% of total deaths. Yet, despite the fact that we are suffering from the virus at disproportionately higher rates than others, we account for only 7% of vaccine recipients. There are a number of reasons for this difference; the top among them being a lack of access to the vaccine due to inequitable distribution and widespread misinformation about the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness.The bottom line, however, is that our communities have too much at stake to not know the truth about the Covid-19 vaccines. This is why we’re teaming up with CEO of Miami Workers Center, Santra Denis, and Dr. Imani McElroy, Resident Physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, for a not-to-be-missed conversation on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and prioritizing vaccine access for Black communities. Bring your questions and join the conversation live on Tuesday, April 6th at 6pm EST on our Instagram page, @black2thefutureaction!Tuesday 4/6 – ONLINE – “Black Mandate Textbank” (Check for times) (4/6, 4/10, 4/13, 4/19)We’re back at it again with another series of Black Mandate text banks! We’re calling on Congress and the Biden Administration to take BOLD action for relief and recovery for our communities, and need your help. Take action and sign up for one of our upcoming text banks. Just click the date(s) of your choice:- Tuesday, April 6th at 4pm PT (https://secure.everyaction.com/p/6HX7Yx5xBUKnzdfkxacTsA2)
- Saturday, April 10th at 11am PT
- Tuesday, April 13th at 4 pm PT
- Monday, April 19th at 3 pm PT
- Tuesday, April 20th at 3 pm PTTuesday 4/6 – ONLINE – “TIME100 Talks – Allyson Felix – Race to Justice” (5:00 pm PT) Tickets $10 virtual, $0 – UCSB Student.
“Felix has been all about the fight – for her health, for her daughter, for women and mothers, and for what she and other working athlete mothers deserve.” Sports Illustrated
Buy ticket here. (https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu/SelectTickets.aspx?PerfNum=4592) FAQ on how to watch here. The most decorated track and field Olympian in history, Allyson Felix is a nine-time Olympic medalist, six-time Olympic champion, world record holder and one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020. An outspoken critic of pregnancy discrimination in athletics, an advocate for underserved children and a proponent of maternity rights, Felix shares her experiences with racism and discrimination even as a professional athlete. As she gears up for the Tokyo Olympics, Felix remains at the forefront of the fight for equality for all – in sports and in life.
This conversation with Dr. Ingrid Banks, Chair of the UC Santa Barbara Department of Black Studies, will be followed by a Q&A.Tuesday 4/6 – ONLINE – “Recovery Recess: Come Write Letters to the Editor with WFP!” (6:30 – 8:00 pm PDT)Online link here. https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/380128/
The Working Families Party is ready to show up over March Recess to demand that Congress deliver on a bold plan for economic renewal this year. Want to join the effort in California? Come write letters to the editor (LTE) with us! A LTE is a short (2-3 paragraph) statement often written in response to a recently published article. We’ll be walking attendees through the process and talking about how to practically guarantee your letter makes the cut. Even better? We’re writing in real time, so no need to worry about sending after the event. We promise a fun learning experience that everyone can enjoy. No experience necessary and all are welcome. Reach out to Ravenn Triplett at rtriplett@workingfamilies.org if you have questions! ANY TIME3/29- 4/12 – ONLINE – “Write Postcards from Home!“
Facebook link here. (https://www.facebook.com/events/507061306954275/)
President Biden and Democrats in Congress have passed the American Rescue Plan! This historic legislation will send $1,400 checks to working class Americans, help get every American vaccinated by the summer, and cut child poverty in half. However, not a single Republican voted for this bill, which means Rep. Mike Garcia didn’t vote to deliver relief for his own constituents! That’s why we’re writing postcards to folks to let them know about their Republican representatives’ inexcusable votes against helping Americans struggling to get through the pandemic. Once you fill out the linked form, one of our team members will send you the script along with a list of addresses within 24 to 48 hours. (Also, we’d love to see your work! Please post your postcard-writing pictures here, send them our way, or tag us in your post @SCVDems on any social media platform!)
Thank Democratic voters in Georgia!
In relentless reports that Republicans are doubling down on bills to suppress voting (Texas, Kansas, nationwide), criminalize protesters (Florida‘s HB1) and remove all federal gun laws (Arkansas), it’s easy to lose sight of some heroes who should be recognized – the Democratic voters of Georgia who stood in long lines to help elect Senators Rafael Warnock and Jon Ossof. (From R. Hubbell) Thank those Democratic voters in Georgia who gave Joe Biden a narrow majority in the Senate. We should all shudder at the thought of another two (or four) years with Mitch McConnell as a majority leader in the Senate. That is where we would be if either Rafael Warnock or Jon Ossoff had lost. We owe a debt of gratitude to Georgia voters. Let’s take a step toward repaying that debt. Read on for details! Vote Forward (https://votefwd.org/district/GA2021_A_THANK) is running a letter-writing campaign to thank voters in Georgia for their part in snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Here is Vote Forward’s description of its current campaign: Many of the people [in Georgia] who turned out to vote in the 2020 general election are new to voting, or vote infrequently. By celebrating their vote and reminding them of future voting opportunities, we can help them become committed voters. Help us send letters to show appreciation to voters from underrepresented groups for turning out in 2020, and encourage them to vote again in upcoming elections. Think about how nice it is to receive an unexpected note of thanks in the mail. Let’s share that feeling with hundreds of thousands of Georgia voters. Join the letter-writing campaign here: Vote Forward.
As ever, if we’d screwed up on a link, go back to the source – tinyurl.com/Antiracist-events-Ventura.
Adriene
Co-Director
Indivisible Ventura
indivisibleventura@gmail.com