Has Your e-Mail Address Changed?

If you had been receiving Chittenden County Democrats e-mail notices and no longer are receiving them but would like to continue, please send Mike Yantachka an e-mail. It may be that we no longer have a valid address for you. Prior Verizon and Comcast customers are particularly affected, but anyone who has recently changed service providers needs to send us an updated address. Thanks for your assistance and continued involvement.

--

Chittenden County Democrats Will Meet on Tuesday, June 9th

The next meeting of Chittenden County Democrats will be on Tuesday, June 9th, at the IBEW Union Training Hall at 3 Gregory Drive, South Burlington, at 7:00 PM. House Majority Leader Floyd Nease will be our featured guest. I hope you will take the time to come to the meeting to meet Floyd and hear his take on what worked and what didn't during this session and where we need to go from here.

We will also be looking forward to 4th of July events, a possible fund raising social event, and the reorganization caucuses that will be held this year.

Check the calendar on the right for other important events.

-30-

Chittenden County Democrats Show with Rep. Terry Macaig

The Chittenden County Democrats Show featuring Rep. Terry Macaig and Mike Yantachka was recorded on 2009-03-02. The topic was how freshman legislators adapt to their work in the legislature.

You can watch this program on Channel 17/ Town Meeting Television, on Comcast Cable and Burlington Telecom systems at the following times:
Saturday March 21, 6:10 PM
Monday March 23, 3:30 PM

You may also watch the program on-line by clicking here: http://www.cctv.org/node/71238.

Essex Junction and Town Elect New Chair

The Essex Junction and Town Democratic Committee elected Paul Craven to replace outgoing Chair Chris Loso, who resigned due to the demands of his job. Paul is president of Paul Craven & Associates, a program development firm in Essex Junction.

House Speaker Shap Smith to Speak at County Dems Meeting‏

With the passage of the Obama Stimulus Package, a.k.a. the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Vermont legislature is in the process of integrating its financial provisions into our state budget. Not surprisingly, the goals of Gov. Douglas differ fundamentally from the goals of Democrats and Progressives. Many of us will have a chance to hear from our local legislators this week at Town Meeting. On Monday, March 16th, we will have the opportunity to hear from Speaker of the Vermont House, Shap Smith, at our Chittenden County Democrats meeting. This meeting will take place at 7:30 PM at the IBEW Union Training Hall, 5 Gregory Drive, South Burlington.

Also, the Chittenden County Democrats Show on CCTV Channel 17 in Burlington and surrounding towns taped on Monday, March 2nd, features freshman representative Terry Macaig of Williston. We talked about his experiences adapting to his responsibilities as a legislator. You can look for rebroadcasts of the program on CCTV, LCATV and VCAM later in the month, or you can stream it online at http://www.cctv.org/node/71238.

Sen. Ginny Lyons Discusses Budget Implications

State Senator Ginny Lyons joined Chairman Mike Yantachka on the Chittenden County Democrats Show last week to discuss the effects that the tight budget will have on Vermnters and the alternatives that can be considered. The program will be rebroadcast on CCTV Channel 17 on Monday February 9, 3:00 PM and on Friday February 13, 2:00 PM.

Viewers served by LCATV can watch it on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays on Channel 16. Check the schedule here: http://www.lcatv.org/Channel%2016/page1.html.

Viewers served by VCAM can look for program times here: http://www.vermontcam.org/vcam%20schedule.htm.

You may also watch the program on-line by clicking here: http://www.cctv.org/node/70024.

Petition & Demonstrate Against Budget Cuts

The State of Vermont has a budget shortfall and Governor Douglas says it should be done without raising new revenue but through program cuts that will primarily affect children, the elderly, and low income Vermonters. Join the Vermont Workers' Center (VWC) and other organizations across the state opposing proposed state budget cuts which will be devastating to thousands of Vermont families.

1. The Burlington Livable City Coalition will hold a Candlelight Vigil to Stop State Budget Cuts on Monday, February 2nd, 5 PM, at 108 Cherry St (near Church St), Burlington. Similar vigils will be held throughout the state. For a listing see http://www.workerscenter.org/calendar/.
2. On Tuesday, February 3rd, 7 PM, there will be a Community Forum w/Chicago Republic Sit-in Strikers at the Billings North Lounge, 48 University Place, UVM, Burlington. In December, 260 workers at Chicago's Republic Windows occupied their plant for six days, a sit-in strike launched in response to the closing of their plant with only 3 days notice. The Vermont Workers' Center and other Jobs with Justice coalitions along with other community, faith and labor activists from across the country mobilized in support of these workers, helping them win a settlement from Bank of America and Republic owners including severance pay and compensation for unpaid earnings.
3. Liz Schlegel, Waterbury Town Chair, has started a news site with a petition to mobilize support for using taxes as one mechanism to address our budget problems. It will be great if we can generate a lot of signatures for this. Here's the link to the web site: http://countmeinvt.wordpress.com/.