 | | Do you ever get surprised when you find out WHO is actually in the League of Women Voters of Orange County? Maybe it's a neighbor (on the front page of the newspaper) who helps her community solve a problem that then leads to helping everyone in the county! That's what happened this month when our own Jill Shargaa led the effort to reign in her neighborhood's fireworks fanatic.
Orlando Sentinel, June 18:
"Under the old rules, a deputy had to witness the alleged violation to issue a citation. A video or citizen complaint may suffice now.
Based on that “probable cause,” a written warning or a citation can be issued. Citation penalties follow an escalating scale — $200 for a first offense, $400 for a second and $500 for subsequent infractions, plus a mandatory court appearance for the offender.
“This guy is shooting off bombs and mortars to our homes…sometimes two and three times a day,” said Jill Shargaa, who has kept track of the ka-booms on poster boards festooned with cartoon bombs — more than 100 combined in February, March and April."
Be like Jill...a defender of quiet non-holiday evenings, someone who understands that people-power and record keeping can usher in much needed change, and also, a League member! JOIN HERE
|  |  | | As another Pride month comes to an end, you may be wondering what you can do going forward.
Our RECAP here of this month's Hot Topics: Pride under Attack has some ideas in our "Calls to Action" but we also want to bring your attention to a recent webinar from Leadership Inclusive that you may find helpful.
View their recorded session on YouTube:
|  | At the June 21st nonpartisan "State of the District-10th Congressional" meeting (FL Sunshine Law requires these meetings to be open to the public, ensuring transparency and citizen participation) at Boone HS with Rep. Maxwell Frost, many interested Leaguers were in attendance.
Two shown with Rep. Frost, left, Barbara Lanning 1st VP of LWVFL and right, LWVOC Government Committee Co-Chair Sandy McAdams. | | |
Check the calendar for all upcoming events and become an active Leaguer!
JULY 15, 6pm New Member Welcome
Virtual Meeting; learn how to be a Leaguer, enjoying all the benefits of what we offer!
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Check Volunteering Opportunities page often and sign up. *We table and sometimes provide power points to provide voter registration and civic information at the following opportunities. You must have taken and passed the League voter registration test HERE
AUG 21, 9:45am VOLUNTEER
Naturalization Ceremony
| | |  |  | | Beth Kassab, editor of the Winter Park Voice will be moderator for the AUG 13 Hot Topics. Panelists announced so far include:
- Stephanie Vanos, member of the OCPS School Board
- Annie Martin, an investigative reporter for the Orlando Sentinel who has worked extensively on education
stories
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Hot Topics will be on summer break in JULY.
The next program will be AUG 13, a back-to-school edition considering "Diverted Dollar$ The Real Cost of School Choice," moderated by Beth Kassab.
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We welcome back Jennifer and Phil Anderson as returning Visionary Sponsors for 2025. They're ready to challenge you to another WINNING match! Thanks to their generosity, we are pleased to announce that any gift you make this summer by July 31st will be doubled by a matching grant up to $25,000.
Your gift can provide twice the resources that will be greatly needed as we face a tumultuous summer of our democracy being tested in ways that most of us have never seen. We seek to EXPAND our fight against the spread of mis- and disinformation, contribute more to voter education, and advocate for our top priorities. Read more about our work here.
*Perhaps you've seen a similar "Freedom Match" from the national LWVUS for their Educ. Fund in your email box. Although a worthy effort, it IS NOT associated with our local fundraising efforts and proceeds do not directly benefit us locally.
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We're doing it! We're at $7k plus and on the way to "win this match." We are so grateful to the supporters who are stepping up to the baseline for this summer matching campaign.
THANK YOU to the donors shown below! Join them and GIVE HERE
**Also, please note that we are challenging each of our LWVOC Committees to raise $1000 in this effort. If you're a committee member, make note of it when you give!
| | | | Martha and Del Harriman
Judith Sanborn, Giving Society
Ann Patton, Committee Challenge/Communications
Linda Coffin, Committee Challenge/ GVP
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| Susan Crean
Anonymous
Fiona E. Shannon, Committee Challenge/GVP
K. Sue Foreman, Giving Society |
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| Elizabeth Maupin and Jay Yellen, in honor of Jean Siegfried
Susie Haralson
Anonymous, Committee Challenge/Communications
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| Caleigh Gilfillan
Erica Diaz
Kelley Allen
Visit JOIN HERE and learn about becoming a Leaguer!
SHARE this newsletter with your social and family circle so they can see the great benefits of becoming a Leaguer!
| | | Sponsors are vital to our work to empower voters by providing timely information for the benefit of non-partisan civic engagement in our community and we have a range of sponsorship levels available. To further explore how to become a sponsor, please contact LWVOC Vice President and Fund Development Chair Lee Rambeau Kemp HERE
|  |  | SPECIAL "Take Action" Alerts Now Available from Pres. Kathy Schmitz
“Alert lists” are open to both LWVOC members and non-members. They are a way to share timely opportunities, for example, upcoming rallies, volunteer needs, or urgent legislative actions. To keep email volume down, only I, or someone I specify, will be posting to this list.
“Sharing lists” are an additional option for LWVOC members. Within guidelines that will be posted, anyone who joins one of these lists will be able to post. Guidelines will focus on posting actionable information, avoiding debate, and maintaining a respectful tone.
Current topics are Immigration, Housing & Poverty, Women’s Issues & Health Care, and Defending Democracy
To sign up for any of the lists, fill out this simple form HERE.
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