CENSUS 2010: Questionnaires Are Arriving!

March is here, which means Census questionnaires are being mailed out as we speak! Census takers have begun hand-delivering questionnaires to over 12 million U.S. addresses, with most of the nation receiving the forms in two weeks. Ensure your community is fully counted by locating and volunteering at questionnaire assistance centers in your area.

Women's Leadership Advocate Speaks at League Meeting

Barbara Anne Ferris, President and Founder of the International Women’s Democracy Center (IWDC), is the featured speaker at the League of Women Voters’ “First Thursdays” meeting series now in its seventh season. The event is set for Thursday, March 4, 2010, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, at Trinity Commons at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. Ferris’s presentation is titled, “Altering the Political Landscape.” The public is invited to attend free of charge, with free parking behind the Cathedral off Prospect Avenue. click here to read more

League Offers Historical Look at Suffragist Josephine Irwin

Commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the League of Women Voters, the Fairview Park Chapter of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area invites the community to a special meeting celebrating the legacy of Fairview Park native and suffragist Josephine Irwin. It is set for Saturday, February 27, 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., at the Fairview Park Library, 21255 Lorain Road.

League's Youth-in-Govern't Project Set for Fairview Park

The Fairview Park Chapter of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area begins its annual Youth in Government Project starting Tuesday, February 16 through Friday, February 19, 2010. Initiated in the year 2000, it is a four-day program for high school government students to learn about local government and the election process.

New County Government

"Thanks to the wisdom of 234,349 voters last November, Cuyahoga County has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebuild its government virtually from scratch. The challenge is huge: Create a new structure that will deliver services efficiently and humanely, foster desperately needed economic growth and be a model of civic cooperation." Cleveland Plain Dealer Editorial 1/31/10

"A dozen committees will rethink the work of Cuyahoga County governance... More than 1,000 community volunteers have signed up to work on the transition -- a testament to the importance that ordinary citizens attach to this task."

"The transition group needs to produce a proposal for reorganization by fall, in time to present it to the newly elected leaders and to make sure outgoing officials can approve measures to assure needed continuity. It also should generate ideas not just on short-term operations, but on long-term ways to rethink independent agencies, intergovernmental relations and even state or federal mandates. If that interests you, there's still time to volunteer at":
cuyahogacounty.us

Another Plain Dealer article from January 29, 2010, outlines, in detail, the structure of the effort

Sec of State Jennifer Brunner Headlines LWV Event

Jennifer Brunner, Ohio’s Secretary of State, is the featured speaker at the League of Women Voters’ First Thursdays, the League’s meeting series open to the public free of charge. Titled “A View From the Top,” Brunner’s talk is set for February 4, 2010, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, at Trinity Commons at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. There is free parking for attendees behind the Cathedral off Prospect Avenue. MORE

Susan Jankite Named G.A.L. of the Year

Lakewood resident and Attorney at Law Susan Jankite has been named “2009 G.A.L. of the Year” by the G.A.L. (Guardian ad Litem) Project of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. Guardian ad Litem literally means “guardian at law.” A G.A.L. is an attorney appointed by the Juvenile Court to advocate for the best interests of a child (or, in some instances, an adult) in a juvenile court proceeding. Currently there are approximately 100 qualified G.A.L.’s who have received special training from the G.A.L. Project. MORE