Gloria Roman introduced the speakers: Beatriz Garcia, a long-time organizer in Southern California and presently a staff person of CAUSE, discussed the comprehensive Immigration Reform bill under discussion by the Obama administration and the reasons why its passage is urgent: The main principles of the Obama Administration’s proposal are: security – development of a strategic border policy; a comprehensive bill which will help keep families together as opposed to present deportation policies by which U.S. born children may be assigned into the foster care system when their parents are deported; and the creation of a pathway to legalization & citizenship.

Ventura County will benefit from three aspects of the proposed bill: economically – the agricultural and service sectors will be more secure; socially – will provide a pathway to citizenship and help get the immigrant community out of the shadows; and politically – will help develop the immigrant vote.
The campaign in support of the proposed legislation is structured on several levels: 1. Lobbying groups that work nationally and regionally to impact policy development and legislation. 2. Field organizing reaching out to community based groups. 3. Push for civic engagement, such as voter registration programs. 4. Communication efforts such as text messaging. 5. Political action campaigns like e-mails to legislators. Beatriz provided three important web sites for current information and the opportunity to participate in the campaign of immigration reform: www.reformimmigrationforamerica.org/  www.immigrationforum.org/ www.justiceforimmigrants.org/

The second speaker of the evening was Steve Crandall, a Vietnam veteran and member of the California Central Coast chapter of Veterans Against the War, who explained how the VA is allowing a wealthy home owners’ association to grab 16 acres of Veteran’s land (valued at as much as $4 billion) at the corner of San Vicente and Wilshire Blvd in Westwood without paying for it. This land is part of a grant of 388 acres made to the Veterans Administration in 1888, specifically designated for the enjoyment of veterans.
Ruth Capelle

Gloria Roman introduced the speakers: Beatriz Garcia, a long-time organizer in Southern California and presently a staff person of CAUSE, discussed the comprehensive Immigration Reform bill under discussion by the Obama administration and the reasons why its passage is urgent: The main principles of the Obama Administration’s proposal are: security – development of a strategic border policy; a comprehensive bill which will help keep families together as opposed to present deportation policies by which U.S. born children may be assigned into the foster care system when their parents are deported; and the creation of a pathway to legalization & citizenship.

Ventura County will benefit from three aspects of the proposed bill: economically – the agricultural and service sectors will be more secure; socially – will provide a pathway to citizenship and help get the immigrant community out of the shadows; and politically – will help develop the immigrant vote.
The campaign in support of the proposed legislation is structured on several levels: 1. Lobbying groups that work nationally and regionally to impact policy development and legislation. 2. Field organizing reaching out to community based groups. 3. Push for civic engagement, such as voter registration programs. 4. Communication efforts such as text messaging. 5. Political action campaigns like e-mails to legislators. Beatriz provided three important web sites for current information and the opportunity to participate in the campaign of immigration reform: www.reformimmigrationforamerica.org/  www.immigrationforum.org/ www.justiceforimmigrants.org/

The second speaker of the evening was Steve Crandall, a Vietnam veteran and member of the California Central Coast chapter of Veterans Against the War, who explained how the VA is allowing a wealthy home owners’ association to grab 16 acres of Veteran’s land (valued at as much as $4 billion) at the corner of San Vicente and Wilshire Blvd in Westwood without paying for it. This land is part of a grant of 388 acres made to the Veterans Administration in 1888, specifically designated for the enjoyment of veterans.
Ruth Capelle

Land Grab of Veteran’s Administration Property in Brentwood?
from Carmen Ramirez
Steve and Carolyn Crandall will give us information about their efforts to organize a protest planned on August 16, 2009 at the VA site in Brentwood. They’ll tell us about the Vet’s Administration allowing a nearby homeowner’s association to pick up 16 acres of VA land without paying for it! Can this be true? Please come with your questions; let’s find out what is going on.

Immigration Reform and Your Community
from Gloria Romero
Beatriz Garcia, organizer with CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for A Sustainable Economy) in Oxnard will make a presentation at the July Good Club meeting about why our country needs Immigration Reform. Beatriz is an experienced organizer, raised in Oxnard, schooled at Stanford University, she has done organizing work in San Diego and now Oxnard and Ventura County; she was trained by the same community organization which trained Barack Obama in Chicago.
She’ll explain why it is economically and morally essential that Immigration Reform be enacted by the federal government soon, so that the workers and their families in our community can come out of the shadows into sunlight. Come with your questions and concerns.

Land Grab of Veteran’s Administration Property in Brentwood?
from Carmen Ramirez
Steve and Carolyn Crandall will give us information about their efforts to organize a protest planned on August 16, 2009 at the VA site in Brentwood. They’ll tell us about the Vet’s Administration allowing a nearby homeowner’s association to pick up 16 acres of VA land without paying for it! Can this be true? Please come with your questions; let’s find out what is going on.

Immigration Reform and Your Community
from Gloria Romero
Beatriz Garcia, organizer with CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for A Sustainable Economy) in Oxnard will make a presentation at the July Good Club meeting about why our country needs Immigration Reform. Beatriz is an experienced organizer, raised in Oxnard, schooled at Stanford University, she has done organizing work in San Diego and now Oxnard and Ventura County; she was trained by the same community organization which trained Barack Obama in Chicago.
She’ll explain why it is economically and morally essential that Immigration Reform be enacted by the federal government soon, so that the workers and their families in our community can come out of the shadows into sunlight. Come with your questions and concerns.

The Progressive Democrats of America have a new chapter, Progressive Democrats of the Central Coast, which meets on the first Wednesday of each month. National PDA, selected as the most important political group of 2008 by The Nation, began in 2004 after the Democratic National Convention. A group of convention delegates formulated the intention of working both inside and outside of the Democratic Party to further progressive policies. Their five core issues were ending the occupation of Iraq, promoting social justice, reforming health care, promoting election reform, and combating global warming.

The new PDCC chapter had their organizational meeting in January, at which time the consensus was to focus on local issues by working with local activist groups advocating environmental issues, attempting to defeat Wal-Mart’s efforts to open a mega store on Victoria, lobbying for single-payer health care, and reversing the disastrous Proposition 8 passage. While local, practical action takes priority, some members of the chapter also opted to participate in the conference calls scheduled by PDA National each month in order to profit from the experiences of activists all over the country.

At the February meeting on Wednesday the 4th, both national and local issues were discussed. Gail Hodgson reported on the PDA conference call on global warming that had contrasted the cap and trade policy with a carbon tax and concluded that energy consumers would actually pay less in the long run with a carbon tax. Kendra Gonzales, an active member of the Green Party, then gave a presentation about the activities of the Green Coalition, a newly formed environmental group focusing on alternative energy.

The Green Coalition, which meets on the 4th Thursday of each month at City Corps in Ventura, has as their first project the passage and implementation of Assembly Bill 811. This legislation would provide financing for homeowners to install solar panels, and the loans would be repaid through property taxes spread over several years. Members of the Green Coalition represent green businesses, city officials and employees, and other activist groups such as CAUSE and VCCool. Kendra emphasized the practical experience the members have in alternative energy technologies and in community organizing.

Cindy Peister, who had just finished a PDA conference call on impeachment efforts, distributed material detailing the combined efforts of NIN, the National Impeachment Network, and PDA to have a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the apparent criminal actions of the Bush Administration in matters of torture, wire tapping of U.S. citizens, falsifying intelligence reports, and other illegal strategies. After Cindy’s presentation, members of PDCC wrote letters to newly-appointed Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that he appoint a special prosecutor immediately. In addition calls, e-mails, and faxes to the Department of Justice would be undertaken daily during these crucial first weeks of the new administration..

The PDCC meetings on the first Wednesday of the month are held at 6:30 p.m. at 295 Arcade Drive in Ventura. All who wish to attend are welcome. If directions are needed, call Gail Hodgson at 794-0125 or Susan Jones at 824-5588.