February 4, 2007 Newsletter

News from the front lines of the grassroots!

February 4, 2007

Dear Friend,

Greetings! We hope this message finds you and your family well. After a brief post-November rest, UAPA is gearing-up again to improve upon the accomplishments of this past election season. Lots of things have been happening in the political world and in the local UAPA community and we hope that you are ready to get re-engaged. The winter is an important time of year for groups like ours - while there are no elections right around the corner, it is a critical time for laying groundwork and building an infrastructure that can be put in motion when the time comes. We need your help to do it. Your participation and input is critically important to the success of UAPA.

Education Committee

The education committee will focus on promoting and participating in non-partisan events this spring. Upcoming events:

February 5: UA City Council - Special Council Meeting Lower Meeting Room at the Municipal Center, 7:30 p.m

February 12: Monthly Education Committee meeting will be at the UA Municipal Center. We will meet in front of the City Council Chambers at 7:00 and attend the City Council Meeting at 7:30 p.m.

February 13: Library Board meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the main library on Tremont Road.

February 26: UAPA Book Club meeting, 7 p.m at Liberty Books at Lane Ave. Meet at the coffee bar. We plan to discuss Joe Klein's book, POLITICS LOST:HOW AMERICAN DEMOCRACY WAS TRIVIALIZED BY PEOPLE WHO THINK YOU ARE STUPID. Other titles we are considering are: George Lakoff's MORAL POLITICS: HOW LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES THINK and Fareed Zakariah's book, THE FUTURE OF FREEDOM

March 1: Town meeting sponsored by Representative Ted Celeste in the City Council Chambers at the Municipal Center 7:30 p.m.

Environmental

The following event is being put on by a coalition of groups including Sierra Club, Simply Living, Columbus Green Drinks, Buckeye Forest Council, RUMPKE, Students for a Sustainable Campus. If you are interested in participating, please send an email to volunteer@uaprogressiveaction.com to let us know.

“Earth Day 2007: A Year In a Day” will involve over 500 volunteers in community service “for the Earth” on the morning of April 21st, followed by a large event at Goodale Park in the afternoon, complete with live music, food, organizational booths and speakers (possibly including Governor Ted Strickland and Mayor Michael Coleman.)

The cornerstone of the event will be the volunteer “worksites” in the morning, where individuals will give 4 hours or more of their time in a variety of ways. We are asking individual organizations to lead a “worksite” of their choosing and be a part of this effort. If we reach our goal of involving 500 volunteers in work that makes a difference, think of the message that will send about Central Ohio and how much we care about the environment.

Housekeeping

We are making an effort to keep our emails short, but that means that we may email you more frequently than our usual "once-a-month" schedule. Please bear with us as we try to get the mix right.
Keeping membership information updated is a major task for this group - with people moving, phone numbers and emails changing and shifting interest areas, it is difficult to keep track. To solve this problem, we are going to be sending out a "membership information reminder" to everyone on our list every 6 months or so - this email will contain a link that will allow you to update your own information so that we don't have to bother you with a phone call. More details to follow

Thanks for everything that you do for UA Progressive Action.

Tags:

UA City Council