NEWS Archive

League of Women Voters^®
of Nashville

Education Concensus. Cumberland Region Tommorrow. Election Day Poll Watching - Nov. 2, 2010. Flood Recovery Design Workshops (10/23/10). DISCOVERY OPEN HOUSES (10/12/10). Health Care Forum (6/9/09). IMMIGRATION: League stakes out new position (August ____). CREATING SOLUTIONS: A State Budget Forecast and Policy (9/15/10). Poll Watching (November 2008).

Education Concensus

Leagues across the country are participating in this consensus process, initiated by members and coordinated by the LWVUS. The result of the national consensus will drive LWV education policy and advocacy in the future.
LWVN members can be part of the conversation that helps the national organization reach consensus on proposals for Common Core Standards and the role of the federal government in determining equity in funding for local education. This is a particularly timely question for Tennessee as the state moves forward with ambitious education reforms.
Click Here for the Education Study & Consensus Resource Manual.
Participants may brown bag a lunch of their own or order a lunch from Kalamatas Restaurant in advance through Debby Gould (debbygould@bellsouth.net or 615-403-6478). Orders must be placed by the Wednesday before each meeting. Check out the Kalamatas menu (http://www.eatatkalamatas.com/menu1.html).

Cumberland Region Tommorrow

More Regional Thinking and Action Underway by Key Groups in our Region
It is a great thing to see many key groups across our region working together to address some of our top regional issues and opportunities. Within the last two weeks, three major regional events occurred that brought hundreds of regional and state leaders together to discuss and present new regional strategies for future action:
Middle Tennessee Mayors Caucus members met on September 29th, 2010 and discussed our region's top priorities with both candidates in the Tennessee Governor's race.
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce members met on September 28th, 2010 for their Annual Meeting and presented results and future economic development plans and strategies through Partnership 2020 and other Chamber initiatives.
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Nashville Career Advancement Center, WorkForce Essentials Inc., South Central TN Workforce Alliance, and Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development officials hosted a Regional Workforce Development Summit on September 30th, 2010 and presented results of their new study Leveraging the Labor Force for Economic Growth...Assessing the Nashville Economic Market Area's Readiness for Work after the Recession prepared by the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness. Read the study and regional recommendations at http://www.nashvillechamber.com/workforcestudy
Upcoming Events
Oct 13 @ Nashville, TN - Living the Plan of Nashville - A Must See event. The Nashville Civic Design Center and the UT College of Architecture + Design will be hosting Maurice Cox from the University of Virginia School of Architecture. Register at http://www.civicdesigncenter.org/living_the_plan
Oct 12-15 @ Knoxville, TN - Annual TPTA Conference & Expo - The Tennessee Public Transportation Association will be hosting their annual conference in Knoxville this year where you can discover the latest in technology, vehicles and other transit products. http://www.tntransit.org
Oct 19-20 @ Nashville, TN -2010 Governor's Housing Summit - The Summit offers training, exhibits and access to successful programs and those who run them. This year's Summit will feature a mix of plenary and concurrent sessions. Register http://www.thda.org/govsummit/cover.html
Oct 28-29 @ Chattanooga, TN - 19th Annual Urban Forestry Conference - The Tennessee Urban Forestry Council's annual conference will be focusing on Sustainable Sites and Natural Resources through an urban forestry approach. Register online. http://www.tufc.com/
Nov 5-6 @ Lebanon, TN - 2010 Sustainable Tennessee Summit - Leaders of statewide conservation groups, businesses and other agencies come together each year to discuss the action steps necessary to create sustainability for Tennessee.
Nov 11-12 @ Pigeon Forge, TN - Tennessee Farmland Legacy Conference - The conference will take place on November 11-12 at the Music Road Hotel and Convention Center in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Farmers, landowners and community leaders will have the opportunity to learn about protecting and growing today's farms for tomorrow's families and communities. Register online at http://www.farmlandlegacy.org
Nov 14-17 @ Chattanooga, TN - 20th Annual American Trails National Symposium - This is a great opportunity to network with the nationwide trails community and learn state of the art trail planning, development and management techniques. Register online. http://www.americantrails.org/2010/

Election Day Poll Watching - Nov. 2, 2010

Self-select to be an official League of Women Voters non-partisan poll watcher at one or more precincts for a minimum shift of 4 hours. Contact Lynn William by Friday, October 22, for credentials and more information at 289-6499 or lynn.wms@comcast.net.

Flood Recovery Design Workshops (10/23/10)

Citizens Invited to Participate in Flood Recovery Design Workshops This Saturday
Discussion groups to explore planning for housing, jobs, sustainability and other topics
NASHVILLE, Tenn. + The next opportunity for Metro residents to provide input for the city's strategy for long term flood recovery will be Saturday, October 23, when a series of six community planning and design workshops will be held throughout Davidson County.
Three sessions are planned Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Antioch, Bellevue and the Delray/Charlotte Avenue area. Another three will take place in Bordeaux, East Nashville and the Pennington Bend area on Saturday afternoon from 2-5 p.m. All workshops are free and open to anyone who lives or works in Metro Nashville, whether or not they were directly impacted by the May flood.
At each workshop location, citizens will be able to participate in small, round-table group discussions in one of the following areas: housing; education; social services; jobs and economic development; and sustainability. The intent is for each group to assess the needs of flood impacted neighborhoods and develop workable solutions that will help to stabilize and strengthen these communities. Outcomes from the workshops will be included in the Long Term Recovery Plan (LTRP) for Nashville and Davidson County.
The LTRP is a transparent, community-wide process designed to identify lessons learned from the May flood and prioritize projects and activities to help the city recover with stronger neighborhoods, a more disaster-resistant infrastructure, more secure housing, a more resilient economy and sustainable future.
The Recovery Plan will be implemented by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County in coordination with other government, nongovernment, civic, business and community partners.
WHO: Mayor's Flood Recovery Team Long Term Recovery Plan Consultant Team
WHAT: Six Community Planning and Design Workshops where citizens can participate in smaller group discussions to explore what's needed to address the long-term revitalization of our city.
WHEN: Saturday, October 23, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., and 2-5 p.m.
WHERE: MORNING SESSIONS, 9 a.m.-noon:
Area: Antioch
Location: Hickory Hollow Mall, 5252 Hickory Hollow Parkway
South Wing; across from Electronic Express in the Mall
Area: Bellevue
Location: Cross Point Community Church, 7669 Hwy 70 South
(former Circuit City building, next door to Home Depot), Church Lobby
Area: Delray/Charlotte Avenue/The Nations
Location: St Luke's Community House, 5601 New York Avenue, Rogers Center
AFTERNOON SESSIONS, 2-5 p.m.: Area: Bordeaux/West Hamilton Area
Location: Temple Baptist Church, 3810 Kings Lane, Phillips Chapel
Area: East Nashville
Location: St Ann's Episcopal Church, 419 Woodland Street, Martin Hall
Area: Pennington Bend Community
Location: Donelson Fellowship, 3210 McGavock Pike, Parquet Lobby
The Saturday workshops are part of a public input process that will continue through next month. Initial input about the city's long term recovery was received at several Discovery Day Open House meetings held October 7-14. In November, there will be a community wide recovery public meeting to prioritize the projects that are emerging from the planning process.
The public can also post their ideas online through an interactive website provided by the Mayor's Office of Flood Recovery. The full website address is http://townhall.nashvillerecovery.com/ and can be accessed directly or through the Mayor's Office of Flood Recovery at http://www.nashvillerecovery.com. The first 500 people to visit the site and post an idea will each generate a $5 donation to a flood recovery organization of their choice. Comments will be accepted online through November 29, 2010.
Visit http://www.nashvillerecovery.com for more information about the LTRP and Nashville's ongoing flood recovery efforts.

DISCOVERY OPEN HOUSES (10/12/10)

These public meetings are for everyone in Davidson County who cares about the future of our neighborhoods, our economy, and our quality of life. Join us whether or not you were directly impacted by the flood. Your ideas for our long term recovery over the next five to fifteen years are important.
Nashville united in response to the flood. Now is the time to unite again to make sure we emerge even stronger in the years to come!
DISCOVERY OPEN HOUSES Come in to share your ideas anytime between the hours indicated.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 11:00 am to 1:30 pm Nashville Farmers' Market, 900 8th Avenue North, Nashville, 37208
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 5:30 + 7:30 pm North East Davidson County: Pennington United Methodist Church, 2745 Pennington Bend Road, Donelson, 37214
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 5:30 + 7:30 pm South West Davidson County: Belle Meade United Methodist Church, 1212 Davidson Road, 37205, Meeting in Fellowship Hall.
If you can't make a meeting, please visit us at the Long Term Recovery Plan Storefront at 300 Eleventh Avenue South or http://www.nashvillerecovery.com.
For More Information: Gwen Hopkins-Glascock, Mayor's Office of Flood Recovery, (615) 880-1507

Health Care Forum (6/9/09)

Follow up to the June 2 Health Care Forum
On June 2, 2009, the League of Women Voters of Nashville hosted a forum about health care--What Comes Next: Understanding Legislative Options for Health Reform--at Vanderbilt First Amendment Center in collaboration with the Center for Child and Family Policy at the Vanderbilt Institute of Public Policy Studies and the Vanderbilt Center for Health Services. More than 80 people from across the Middle-Tennessee community attended and Public Television Channel 10 video-tapped the program for rebroadcast during July, August & September.
The program was edited to 58 minutes and represents the forum and its participants well. Kim Milligan, executive director of Public Access TV, has scheduled the rebroadcast on Channel 10 during several time slots each week: Tuesday at 9 pm, Wednesday at 5 pm, and Saturday at 11 am.
The forum was also taped by the Vanderbilt IT Department and live feed is available in Windows Media: http://media-srv1.its.vanderbilt.edu/asxgen/lectures/health_reform_090602.wmv OR Real: http://media-srv1.its.vanderbilt.edu/ramgen/lectures/health_reform_090602.rm Good viewing, however, is dependent on high speed Internet access.
The forum was designed to focus on how national health reform currently being structured and debate d in the U.S. Congress will be able to expand community health and protect those of us who are uninsured, underinsured, and often just one health care emergency away from financial disaster. While some have labeled the need for health care reform a problem of poor people, the reality is that of the over 47 million uninsured and additional 80 million underinsured are middle-class Americans. They face loss of health insurance related loss of a job, loss or changes in insurance offered through their jobs, increased premiums and deductibles that make coverage or use of insurance unaffordable, or the inability to obtain insurance because of a pre-existing condition. They have found that use of insurance can lead to rescission of policies (policies canceled retroactively on the grounds that the insured failed to disclose pre-existing conditions they did not know they had) or insurance companies declining payment for care that was supposed to be covered. As Mary Bufwack mentioned during the forum, the 30% of our populations that has been affected by lack of insurance is quickly growing to 50%--without comprehensive national reform, our broken health care system will continue to spiral out of control.
Click here for additional information about the forum and the participants.

IMMIGRATION: League stakes out new position (August ____)

The League of Women Voters of the US recently completed a two-year Immigration Study aimed at helping communities understand the implications of immigration at the local, state and federal levels. As part of this project, League members in Nashville explored the reasons for immigration in our community, current federal immigration policy and the impact of immigration on American society .
The LWVUS recently adopted the following position, which State and Local Leagues can apply to education and advocacy work on issues at state and local levels: "The League of Women Voters believes that immigration policies should promote reunification of immediate families; meet the economic, business and employment needs of the United States; and be responsive to those facing political persecution or humanitarian crises. Provision should also be made for qualified persons to enter the U.S. on student visas. All persons should receive fair treatment under the law."
Learn more about this timely topic by checking out the National League's web site at http://www.lwv.org follow the link on the home page to access copies of National Voter articles and 8 excellent background papers. Learn more about Immigration Issues in Tennessee by reading the report issued August 1, 2007 by the Tennessee Comptroller's office, http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/RA_NR/newsreleasearchive.asp. This insightful report includes a 2-page executive summary.

CREATING SOLUTIONS: A State Budget Forecast and Policy (9/15/10)

CREATING SOLUTIONS: A State Budget Forecast and Policy Forum http://www.tn.gov/tccy/Collab-Convening.pdf
September 15, 2010 10:00 a.m. - Noon Nashville Public Library Auditorium 615 Church Street Nashville, TN 37219
Register Online @ http://creatingsolutions.eventbrite.com/
It's January 2011 -- Do you know where your state revenues are? Our next Governor and Legislature will face daunting challenges: a damaging recession, a still-ailing economy and the expiration of federal stimulus funding. The public infrastructure we have long taken for granted, encompassing everything from education to environmental protection, is at risk. Our state leaders and elected officials often turn to us, the people who make up much of that infrastructure + working within and without state and local government to provide the linkages and services that support our communities. Now is the time to equip ourselves to help them find answers to weather these challenges. The most important tool we have is knowledge + knowledge about the severity of the budget problems that state and local governments will face next year, and the implications for programs and services that we all care about. From that knowledge we can create solutions for today and for the future. You are invited to a nonpartisan budget forecast and policy forum on September 15. There will be bad news + the current state of the budget and the metaphorical winds buffeting in the state's service infrastructures + but working together we can create some good news + solutions. THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. FOR PLANNING PURPOSES, PLEASE REGISTER ONLINE AT http://WWW.CREATINGSOLUTIONS.EVENTBRITE.COM

Poll Watching (November 2008)

With the help of 40 enthusiastic volunteers, the Nashville League conducted poll watching for the November 6, 2008 general election in Davidson County. Overall, individuals voting on election day and during early voting found polling places staffed with professional, helpful poll workers, waited just a few minutes to vote, and found the electronic voting machines functioning without problems. Poll watchers collected valuable data from their observations.
See the full report Click Here for a 3 page summary of the project, recommendations to the Election Commission. For a table summarizing our observations Click Here.
We are proud to offer this report to our community, and want to thank everyone who participated in this exciting project.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: May 7, 2012 07:03 PDT.