LWV Muscatine County Voter January 2017
From the President,
Happy New Year! It’s January 4 and two Action Alerts prompt us to contact our Senators and Representative urging Congress to address 1) President-elect Trump's unprecedented and unconstitutional conflicts of interest and 2)oppose efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Check your emails for Action Alerts from LWVUS President Chris Carson for details.
PORT AUTHORITY
January offers an opportunity to learn more about issues close to home. Port authority was on member’s minds at calendar planning time. Dave Gobin, Muscatine’s Community Development Director, will share information about moves to make Muscatine a port authority on January 24, at 7 pm, in the Duncan Room, 315 Iowa Ave. Did you know that Muscatine received a Linking Iowa’s Freight Transportation System (LIFTS) grant in February? The LIFTS Grant is an 80/20 match, meaning the grant would provide $80,000 in funding which will be paired with $20,000 from private sources, totaling $100,000 that will be used for the feasibility study. The feasibility study is a necessary first step toward establishing a port authority in Muscatine because it has the potential to provide justification to move forward with applying for larger grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Find out the results of the feasibility study on January 24, 7 pm, in the Duncan Room.
COMMUNITY READ - February 28, 2017, 7PM @ Strahan Hall
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander Discussion Facilitator – Dean Adrien Wing, U of I
The League of Women Voters of Muscatine County and the Alexander G. Clark Foundation will co-sponsor an evening of discussion of the book The New Jim Crow. The Musser Public Library supports this initiative by providing a book kit of 10 copies of The New Jim Crow for check out to all interested readers.
The New Jim Crow is a must read for anyone interested in justice reform. Whether you read all of the book, the first chapters, or none of the book, you are encouraged to attend.
JOHN COUNTY LWV SUNDAY SPEAKER SERIES
Dave Swenson discusses “Iowa’s Economy &Economic Consequences / Tradeoffs of TIF” Sunday, Jan. 29, from 2—3 p.m. at the Iowa City Public Library. An economist and Iowa State University associate scientist in the Department of Economics College of Agriculture & Life Science, Dave Swenson also lectures in the graduate program in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Iowa. He opens the LWVJC Sunday Speaker Series in January. Mr. Swenson provides community economic analysis, technical assistance, outreach and economics education services to the public. He will provide a review of Iowa’s economy and the economic consequences and tradeoffs of TIF for Iowa communities. His areas of research and specialization include community and regional economic studies and evaluations, economic development research and technical assistance, input-output(economic impact) studies, 4iscal impact research, public 4inance and tax policy, community change and worker mobility issues, and public program and project evaluation. Mr. Swenson also provides services to public and private organizations and local and state governments via research, on-site training and education programming, and seminars and public speaking appearances. Linda Schreiber 2017
Legislative Forums in Muscatine Legislative forums are held the first Saturday of the month during legislative session at MCC’s Student Center at 9:00 am - 12:00. These forums are open to the public for information and to ask questions of legislators. The Chamber of Commerce of Greater Muscatine and MCC sponsor the forums on:
February 4
March 4
April 1
May 6
Note : If you are interested in issues of race, mass incarceration and colorblindness in the legal system, a movie that will add to your understanding is 13th.