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League Lecture Series:
How to Navigate Information in a World of Fake News and
Alternative Facts
Wednesday, March 15,
7 pm
Our panel of experts to discuss this timely topic will
include:
Stanford Economist Matthew Gentzkow, co-author, "Social Media
and Fake News in the 2016 Election" Sarah McGrew, researcher at the
Stanford Graduate School of Education and one of the co-authors of
the recent report "EVALUATING INFORMATION: THE CORNERSTONE OF CIVIC
ONLINE REASONING," which found that college students have trouble
judging the credibility of online information Tech Reporter Daisuke
Wakabayashi for the New York Times, formerly with the Wall Street
Journal
The moderator will be Dan Russell, search expert at Google
Venue to be determined. Mark your calendar and
watch your email for further information.
The League is a broadly based organization that encourages
informed and involved participation in government through voter
service and influences public policy through education and
advocacy.
The League does not support or oppose political candidates or
parties.
President’s Letter p. 2
Board Meeting Highlights p. 3
Leadership Academy p.3
Advocacy Report p. 4
New Voices for Youth p. 5
Call to CA Convention p. 5
Lunch with League p. 6
Program Planning p. 6
Membership Update p. 6
Legislative Interview p. 6
Announcements p. 7
Calendar p. 8
The Palo Alto VOTER Vol. XXXII No. VII
March, 2017The League of Women Voters of Palo Alto
www.lwvpaloalto.org
Inside this issue:
The 2017 LWVPA Annual Meeting
will be on Saturday, May 13th
9 am - 12 noon All members are encouraged to
participate in our grass-roots decision making. Mark your
calendar and
watch for Program Recommendations and other
meeting information in the April VOTER.
http://www.lwvpaloalto.orghttp://www.lwvpaloalto.org
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LWVPA !2 March, 2017
Our League is becoming a truly relevant vehicle for action and
civic involvement.
With the League’s education mission foremost in our minds, we
are busy arranging speakers and panels on topics that are of deep
concern to many of us in these uncertain times. For this we thank
our Speaker Series board member, Maureen O’Kicki.
Maureen’s efforts have brought us Stanford Professor Jack Rakove
who spoke about the Electoral College to a standing-room-only
audience at Beth Am; and ACLU attorney, Nayna Gupta, who addressed
a very large group at the First Congregational Church about ACLU’s
lawsuits against the immigration ban executive order. Ms. Gupta
also opened our eyes to the difficult issues regarding the police
presence at public school campuses in cities such as Oakland,
Stockton and Los Angeles. We are looking forward to the next event
on “fake news” on March 15. See front page.
On February 4, many of you gathered in Sandra Slater’s wonderful
home for our quintessential annual grassroots League event known as
Program Planning. Here we brainstormed and prioritized those issues
and action items that we felt were important to pursue at the
various League levels in the next year or two.
Dominant themes voiced at Program Planning included civic
involvement, civic savvy and civil discourse; understanding
first-amendment rights and due process for all; distinguishing fact
from fiction in the “news”; bringing these issues to our local
schools; understanding the importance of a regional focus on
matters such as climate change, housing, transportation and
transit, water quality and usage, sea-level rise and more. We
talked about actively collaborating with neighboring Leagues and
with other non-partisan organizations; holding an Activist
Workshop; establishing an “observer corps” to monitor our City
Council, City boards and commissions and the Palo Alto Unified
School District; expanding our outreach to other groups for voter
registration and education on civic involvement, particularly for
new citizens. We noted that the LWVPA position on Education needs
to be updated.
The input from the Program Planning event will be the basis for
the recommended Program and Issues for Emphasis that you will vote
on at our Annual Meeting on May 13. (Save the date!) Look for more
specifics in the next VOTER. Program Planning ideas will also be
reported to the County Leagues and to the State League to help LWVC
develop the recommended Program for 2017-19 to be voted on at the
LWVC State Convention in early June (see page 5).
A highlight for many of us in January was Bay Area League Day:
Focus on Housing. Please go to
http://www.lwvbayarea.org/2017_League_Day.html to read about what
we learned!
Thank you for being so involved and helping the League pursue
its mission.
Bonnie Packer
Bonnie Packer President [email protected]
Mary Alice Thornton 1st Vice Pres., Fundraising
Ellen Forbes 2nd Vice Pres., Communications, Webmaster
Karen Kalinsky Secretary
Steve Levy Treasurer
Nancy Olson Action Tree Diane Rolfe Community Relations Sigrid
Pinsky & Diane Rolfe PreK-12 Education Karen Pauls LAT support
Veronica Tincher New Voices for Youth Valerie Stinger Budget
Committee Paige Costello Facebook Administrator
Mary Jo Levy Speakers Bureau Steve Levy Housing and
Transportation Julie Cardillo Voter’s Edge Dave Thornton Board
Development Committee Nominating Committee Mila Zelkha, Chair Lynn
Drake Ellen Springer Lynne Russell Ellen Forbes
LWV of Palo Alto: Officers, Directors, Off-Board
Roster (650) 903-0600, www.lwvpaloalto.org
OFF-BOARD
Jeannie Lythcott Voter Services
Megan Swezey Fogarty & Lynne Russell Membership
Lisa Ratner Advocacy
Maureen O’Kicki Program/Events Organizer
Liza Taft Voter Registration, VOTER Distribution, Health
Care
Sue Hermsen VOTER Editor
Tory Bers Publicity
DIRECTORS
Message from our President
OFFICERS
http://www.lwvbayarea.org/2017_League_Day.htmlhttp://www.lwvbayarea.org/2017_League_Day.htmlhttp://www.lwvpaloalto.orgmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.lwvpaloalto.orghttp://www.lwvbayarea.org/2017_League_Day.htmlhttp://www.lwvbayarea.org/2017_League_Day.html
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LWVPA !3 March, 2017
Board Meeting Highlights - January, 2017
Your Board: • Ratified EAC decisions to
- Send letters to the Palo Alto City Council on the housing
impact fee ordinance, in support of the inclusiveness resolution,
and regarding the VTA Next Network Initiative;
- Create Sanctuary Cities and Gun Safety Committees; -
Co-sponsor “Immigrants and Allies” event, and the Pro Choice LWV
Los Altos-Mountain View event; and to publicize the Palo Alto Human
Rights Commission ‘Being Different Together’ event.
• Voted to endorse the Palo Alto ballot measure for a stormwater
fee increase.
• Voted to send a letter to the Palo Alto City Council on the
Land Use and Transportation Elements of the Comprehensive Plan.
• Voted to co-sponsor a Leadership Academy on Communications
being hosted by the Cupertino/Sunnyvale League.
• Decided to keep printing “Facts for Voters” as well as a
bookmark about LWVPA.
Discussed: • Next steps to follow up on the
fantastic Action Brunch – we want to keep the momentum of the
Action Brunch going with regular meetings about the action
topics.
• Proposed charter for the Communications Committee. • Plans for
the upcoming Program Planning Meeting. • Plans for the upcoming
Annual Meeting, set for
Saturday, May 13.
Learned about: • The event co-sponsored by Congregation Beth
Am,
with Jack Rakove speaking on “Can We Ever Get Rid of the
Electoral College?” There were over 400 people in attendance!
• Board members attending legislative interviews with State
Assemblymember Marc Berman and State Senator Jerry Hill.
• A panel discussion coming up in March on “How to Tell Fake
News from Real News.”
Karen Kalinsky Secretary
League Leadership Academy: Strengthening & Building Leaders
& Community Partnerships:
Next Level Communications Saturday, March 11, 2017, 9:30am –
4:00pm
SEIU Local 521, 2302 Zanker Road, San Jose, CA 95131
Learn to tell powerful stories and deliver persuasive messages
to move your audiences to action. You will practice new techniques
and approaches to presentations and outreach to:
This workshop includes continental breakfast, lunch and
networking time. Our Co-Sponsors: The Leagues of Women Voters of:
Cupertino/Sunnyvale, Los Altos/Mountain View, Palo Alto, San
Jose/Santa Clara, South West Santa Clara Valley Our Partners at
Press Time: Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI),
American Association of University Women (AAUW), Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Cupertino Chamber of Commerce,
SEIU, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
For more information: http://sclaraco.ca.lwvnet.org/ If you are
interested in attending please contact [email protected]
BLUE HIGHLIGHTS in the VOTER are linked to pertinent websites.
To access the VOTER in PDF format, go to our website at
www.lwvpaloalto.org/VOTER.html or email [email protected] to
start
receiving the VOTER as a PDF via email.
• Identify & understand your audience • Use imagery &
videos
• Learn the elements of appealing stories • Frame messages to
motivate your community
http://sclaraco.ca.lwvnet.org/mailto:[email protected]://sclaraco.ca.lwvnet.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.lwvpaloalto.org/VOTER.htmlmailto:[email protected]?subject=http://www.lwvpaloalto.org/VOTER.htmlmailto:[email protected]?subject=
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LWVPA !4 March, 2017
National LWV President Chris Carson issued a statement against
President Trump’s policies on immigrants: “The League is opposed to
deportation of non-criminal undocumented immigrants. The LWV
supports cities, towns, counties and states that make a decision
not to cooperate with federal deportation and enforcement actions
that include non-criminal undocumented immigrants. Moreover, the
Trump Administration’s orders are of dubious legality. It is simply
wrong, and a perversion of the American system of justice, for the
Executive Branch to refuse to obey federal court orders. The LWV is
opposed to discrimination, including discrimination in immigration,
based on religion. The Trump Administration’s orders appear to be
targeted at Muslims and immigrants from majority-Muslims nations.
We would like to remind all our members that we are faced with many
challenges to our positions and the League is involved in serious
efforts to address them. Among these, we spent last weekend
anticipating the issuance of an Executive Order investigating
‘voter fraud’. We continue to monitor this situation and are ready
to issue a statement if that occurs. We also continue our efforts
to lobby on ACA in Congress. Everybody in the country is scrambling
to keep up.” LWV issued calls to action: 1) to force President
Trump
to disclose his taxes; and 2) to stop the repeal of the
Affordable Care Act. LWV also opposed the passage of the REINS Act
(which passed the House in January 2017), which would
require Congressional approval for all major regulations,
virtually shutting
down the entire regulatory process. Finally, LWV continues to
remind us that voter suppression played a part in national election
results. See the article posted at LWV.org: “Voter Suppression
Works Too Well” at
www.prospect.org/article/voter-suppression-works-too-well. A
national non-partisan voter registration effort in time for 2018
elections is being organized by local non-profits in our area. Stay
tuned for more information, or email me directly. LWV became an
official sponsor of the January 21 Women’s March on Washington,
clearing the way for local and state Leagues to join the marches
under the LWV banner. Leagues across the country traveled to DC and
participated in local marches. LWVPA members attended Women’s
Marches in D.C., San Jose, San Francisco, and Redwood City.
Local Bus Services: LWVPA sent a letter to the Valley
Transportation Authority (VTA) and the Palo Alto City Council
commenting on the VTA’s proposed cuts to bus service in Palo Alto.
LWVPA opposed the cuts to service which would impact seniors, the
disabled, and high school students who depend on VTA bus services.
The letter voiced support for the positions of other organizations,
including Palo Alto Housing, Gunn PTA, and Stevenson House. LWVPA
urged alternatives be put in place before any cuts are made.
Comprehensive Plan: LWVPA presented a letter before the Palo Alto
City Council at their meeting of January 30, commenting on Palo
Alto’s draft comprehensive plan’s land use and transportation
elements. Among other stances, we supported comprehensive plan
policies which encourage affordable housing and reduction of
single-occupancy vehicles. Stormwater: The board endorsed the
upcoming Stormwater Management Fee mail-in ballot of February 24.
An LWVPA Stormwater Committee (Mary O’Kicki and Lisa Ratner)
submitted a report to the Board, recommending endorsing the
extension of the monthly parcel fee which would bring Palo Alto’s
storm drain system into conformance with current design standards,
make stormwater run-off from streets meet water quality protection
requirements, and provide funds for green and sustainable
stormwater management sites. Review of our Natural Resources
positions continues under Phyllis Cassel in the next two months.
Anyone who wants to help should contact Phyllis. LWVPA’s Action
Brunch on January 7 attracted over 80 people to discuss local
issues and generate ideas for further action. LWVPA co-sponsored a
meeting “Immigrants and Allies.” Speakers (mostly in Spanish)
talked about mental health, legal, and education services available
to immigrants should the immigration policy change under the new
administration. Affordable Housing was the subject of Bay Area
League Day in San Jose on January 28, sponsored by LWVBay Area.
Many of our members attended. LWVPA sponsored a talk: “Can We Ever
Get Rid of the Electoral College?” by Jack Rakove, Professor of
History at Stanford, on January 11. About 400 people attended this
event, more than any other LWV talk in recent history. ACLU lawyer
Nayna Gupta spoke on Civil Rights on February 7 at Lunch with
League.
Advocacy Report by Lisa Ratner
http://www.prospect.org/article/voter-suppression-works-too-wellhttp://www.prospect.org/article/voter-suppression-works-too-wellhttp://www.prospect.org/article/voter-suppression-works-too-wellhttp://www.prospect.org/article/voter-suppression-works-too-wellhttp://www.prospect.org/article/voter-suppression-works-too-wellhttp://www.prospect.org/article/voter-suppression-works-too-well
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LWVPA !5 March, 2017
New Voices (NV4Y) Update
New Voices for Youth (NV4Y) is beginning 2017 with programs at
Siena Youth Center in North Fair Oaks and a new location, the Boys
and Girls Club in East Palo Alto. Our Siena Youth Center group,
located in the North Fair
Oaks area of unincorporated Redwood City, is involved in their
neighborhood issues: gentrification and the associated pressure on
affordable housing. The NV4Y kids, all Latino, feel the effect of
economic pressure around them. In addition, they are aware of the
possible effect of changes in federal immigration policies. The
Boys and Girls Club has not had a video program for several years,
so they were enthusiastic about sponsoring one twice a week. Jose
Saavedra (aka “Lalo”), who teaches in both East Palo Alto and North
Fair Oaks, says the Boys & Girls Club kids are enthusiastic and
engaged. The program is modeled on our Siena Youth Center group’s
activities which have been going for more than five years. Kids
will learn to video interviews of each other and their friends and
family and then work on short topics that affect their lives. We
are also looking for venues to screen last year’s video from
Menlo-Atherton (M-A) about college prep titled “M-A Students Speak
Out: The Truth about College”. Next month, we have been invited to
attend two evening meetings of the Foundation for a College
Education in East Palo Alto.
The important job of keeping NV4Y funded continues. In early
January, we submitted our first-round proposal for funding from the
Palo Alto Weekly’s Holiday Fund. The Holiday Fund has been a
generous supporter of New Voices for three years and we hope will
continue their support. Finally, we have received LWV Palo Alto’s
$1000 contribution to New Voices. We greatly appreciate the
endorsement and support of LWVPA and we would certainly welcome
additional participation from LWVPA on our Steering Committee.
Finally, in the background, the Steering Committee is getting ready
for a Spring fundraising mailer. Thanks in advance for your
support!
Veronica Tincher Co-Chair, New Voices for Youth Steering
Committee
First Call to LWVC Convention What: The 66th State Convention of
the League of Women Voters of California When: 10 am, Friday, June
2, through 3 pm, Sunday, June 4, 2017, with a special
pre-Convention event on Thursday, June 1, 2017. Where: The Sheraton
Grand Sacramento Hotel,Sacramento, CA Who: Attendance at Convention
is open to everyone; we encourage all members to attend and are
eager for the public to come learn about the League. We ask that
you extend invitations to your friends and contacts. LWVPA can send
seven voting delegates, but others can attend as nonvoting members.
A Capitol ConnectionThe purpose of Convention is to inspire and
empower Californians to increase their active and informed
participation in civic life. Come meet passionate people from
across the state who are making democracy work! Our theme is A
Capitol Connection. Read more about speakers, workshops, special
activities, and more on our blog: http://lwvc.wordpress.com
New Voices For Youth (NV4Y) is an after-school program for youth
in Redwood City, Belle Haven and East Palo Alto designed to
encourage civic engagement through video production. It was founded
by the Leagues of Palo Alto and South San Mateo in 2004. For more
information see: http://www.newvoicesforyouth.org.
Luis, a long-time NV4Y participant, films the fourth march since
October to originate at Siena
http://lwvc.wordpress.com/http://lwvc.wordpress.com/http://www.newvoicesforyouth.orghttp://www.newvoicesforyouth.org
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LWVPA !6 March, 2017
Membership Update We are now 319 strong and growing! Please come
to our
New Member Orientation and Action Evenings.
Join us for dessert and postcard writing and learn how you can
get involved!
Thursday, February 16 at 7:30 pm, or Wednesday, March 29 at 7:30
pm
Location: 2421 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301 RSVP to
[email protected]
Thank you again for being part of this work —because Democracy
is not a spectator sport.
Lynne Russell and Megan Swezey Fogarty, Membership Chairs
Nayna Gupta Speaks to Full Room at February Lunch with
League
The speaker for our February Lunch with League was Nayna Gupta,
Attorney for the ACLU of Northern California. Ms. Gupta spoke about
the ACLU’s lawsuits against the travel ban executive order, and how
the presence of dedicated police units in several California school
districts exacerbates the problem of a 'school to prison pipeline’.
Thank you to Maureen O’Kicki for organizing this popular event, and
thank you to the First Congregational Church for use of the meeting
room.
Sue Hermsen
ACLU attorney Nayna Gupta speaks at LWVPA’s February Lunch with
League at the First Congregational Church.
Local League Members Interview Our New CA Assemblymember
Our own Lisa Ratner and Bonnie Packer joined Ellen Wheeler of
the Los Altos/Mountain View League; Jackie Jacobberger of the North
& Central San Mateo League; and Linda Davis of the
Cupertino/Sunnyvale League to interview Assemblymember Marc Berman
at his office in January.
Program Planning
Thanks to the following for all their help at Program Planning
on Feb. 4: logistics team, Mary Alice Thornton, Ellen Forbes and
Phyllis Cassel; our wonderful facilitator, Ellen Smith; excellent
scribes, Karen Kalinsky and Ellen Forbes; Sigrid Pinsky, who helped
transcribe and tabulate the notes; those board members who brought
food and drinks; and, of course, Sandra Slater for the use of her
home.
Bonnie Packer
for Palo Alto’s Stormwater
Maintenance Fee. Watch for your
Mail-in-Ballot on February 24!
From Left to Right:: Lisa Ratner, Ellen Wheeler, Jackie
Jacobberger, Marc Berman, Bonnie Packer, Linda Davis.
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LWVPA !7 March, 2017
Like Us on Facebook League-of-Women-Voters-of-Palo-Alto
Follow Us on Twitter
lwvpaloalto
It’s easy to join the LWVPA —Do it now! You will be glad you
did. Joining at the local level makes you a member at all levels:
National, State, Bay Area and Palo Alto. Voting membership is now
open to non-citizens and to individuals 16 years of age or older.
Men are encouraged to join. Dues grants are available.
For more information, call the League office (650) 903-0600.
Name________________________________________________________________________
Address______________________________________________________________________
City_________________________________________________
Zip_____________________
Phone
(day)____________(evening)______________email_____________________________
Annual membership: $70. Additional membership, same address: $35.
Student membership: $35.
Mail check with this form to LWVPA, 3921 E. Bayshore Road, Suite
209, Palo Alto, CA 94303. You can also join or renew online via
PayPal at
http://www.lwvpaloalto.org/join.html Membership dues to the
LWVPA are not tax deductible.
The LWVPA Book Group will meet
Friday, March 31, at 10 am to discuss:
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and
Mourning on the American Right
by Arlie Russell Hochschild
The meeting will be at the home of Betty Gerard. Visitors are
welcome.
Welcome, New Members ! Sarah Bagwell, Katherine Bass,
Nina Friend, Hamilton Hitchings,
Carol Hsu, Michele Kasper, Jane Moss,
Lisa Peschcke-Koedt, Jennifer Sampson,
Maggi Smeal, Nancy Smith
We are so glad you have joined the League.
Donate Online
Thank you to all the board and off-board members who reviewed
this VOTER, and for the invaluable proofreading of Ellen Forbes,
Betty Gerard, Bonnie Packer, Lynne Russell, and Karen Kalinsky.
Sue Hermsen, VOTER Editor
Ruth Lacey We sadly note that Ruth Lacey, former LWVPA
co-president (1997-99), passed away last month. Ruth loved the
League deeply and served it in many ways. She was very well
organized and responsible. She did research, wrote, and even took
training at the Midpen Media Center so that she could record and
edit our events, quite a gift. She also left LWVPA a beautiful
framed poster celebrating the national League's 75th anniversary.
This poster hung proudly in Ruth’s living room and is now in our
office. We miss her talents, dedication and ready wit.
Ellen Forbes
http://www.lwvpaloalto.org/join.htmlhttps://twitter.com/lwvpaloaltohttps://www.facebook.com/pages/League-of-Women-Voters-of-Palo-Alto/256504167760182?ref=bookmarkshttps://www.facebook.com/pages/League-of-Women-Voters-of-Palo-Alto/256504167760182?ref=bookmarkshttps://www.facebook.com/pages/League-of-Women-Voters-of-Palo-Alto/256504167760182?ref=bookmarkshttp://www.lwvpaloalto.org/donation.htmlhttps://twitter.com/lwvpaloaltohttps://www.facebook.com/pages/League-of-Women-Voters-of-Palo-Alto/256504167760182?ref=bookmarkshttps://www.facebook.com/pages/League-of-Women-Voters-of-Palo-Alto/256504167760182?ref=bookmarkshttps://www.facebook.com/pages/League-of-Women-Voters-of-Palo-Alto/256504167760182?ref=bookmarkshttp://www.lwvpaloalto.org/join.htmlhttp://www.lwvpaloalto.org/donation.html
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LWVPA !8 March, 2017
CALENDAR http://www.lwvpaloalto.org/Calendar.html
League of Women Voters of Palo Alto 3921 E. Bayshore Road, Suite
209 Palo Alto, CA 94303 (650) 903-0600
Address Services Requested
Dated Material Please Expedite
How to contact your elected officials:UNITED STATES President
Donald Trump (202) 456-1414 http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
Senator Dianne Feinstein (415) 393-0707 http://feinstein.senate.gov
- click “email me” Senator Kamala Harris (415) 403-0100
http://www.harris.senate.gov/ Rep. Anna Eshoo (650) 323-2984
http://eshoo.house.gov/
CALIFORNIA Governor Jerry Brown (916) 445-2841
http://gov.ca.gov/home.php Senator Jerry Hill (650) 212-3313
http://sd13.senate.ca.gov/contact-usAssemblymember Marc Berman
(650) 691-2121 http://asmdc.org/members/a24/
SANTA CLARA COUNTY Supervisor Joe Simitian (650) 965-8737
[email protected]
OTHER AREAS in CALIFORNIA Locate your elected officials with
your street address http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov
Thu, Feb 16, 7:30 pm New Member Mtg. Fogarty
Tue, Mar 8 VOTER Deadline
Sat, Mar 11, 9:30 am-4 pm League Leadership Academy 2303 Zanker
Rd, San Jose
Wed, Mar 15, 7:00 pm How to Navigate Information in a World of
Fake News and Alternative Facts TBA
Tue, Mar 28, 7-9:30 pm Board Mtg PCC, Raptor Room
Thu, Mar 29, 7:30 pm New Member Mtg. Fogarty
Fri, Mar 31, 10 am Book Group Gerard
Sat, May 13 Annual Meeting TBA
Fri, Jun 2 - Sun, Jun 4 LWVC Convention Sheraton Grand
Sacramento Hotel, Sacramento
http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/http://feinstein.senate.gov/http://www.harris.senate.govhttp://eshoo.house.gov/http://gov.ca.gov/home.phphttp://sd13.senate.ca.gov/contact-ushttp://asmdc.org/members/a24/mailto:[email protected]://findyourrep.legislature.ca.govhttp://www.lwvpaloalto.org/Calendar.htmlhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/http://feinstein.senate.gov/http://www.harris.senate.govhttp://eshoo.house.gov/http://gov.ca.gov/home.phphttp://sd13.senate.ca.gov/contact-ushttp://asmdc.org/members/a24/mailto:[email protected]://findyourrep.legislature.ca.govhttp://www.lwvpaloalto.org/Calendar.html
