Candidate Day of Training

It is more important now than ever before to make sure we have great Democratic candidates running for office. Here are some important dates for you if you are considering running for local office.

JUNETEENTH-A Black Woman’s Perspective

By Allyson Tabor — Hallelujah! In 2021 the U.S. officially recognized Juneteenth as a Federal holiday, signed into law by President Joe Biden, with no opposing vote in the Senate and only 14 Republicans, including Rep. Tom McClintock, voting against creating the new Federal holiday named Juneteenth “National Independence Day.”

Gay Marriage Is Next Up on the SCOTUS Chopping Block

By Jay Michaelson, The Daily Beast — I am approximately zero percent surprised by the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, authored by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, that was leaked to Politico. Not only am I unsurprised—I predicted it, several times, in this publication. And not just me, of course, but everyone in my profession.

Pride Month — History and Promise

By Susan Gamache, El Dorado Hills — “Gay Pride Day” initially began as a day of commemoration, but soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events, and to be celebrated as LGBTQ Pride Month. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is celebrated in June to honor the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, and the greater issue of human rights.

Homeless shelter crisis declared in county

El Dorado County has declared a shelter crisis as a new strategy to address homelessness on the West Slope.

Health and Human Services Agency staff last week presented to the Board of Supervisors a way to quickly provide beds for unsheltered residents and potential locations for short-term congregate and non-congregate shelters and a navigation center.

Fred Winn Democratic Party Essay Contest, first place: A contaminated experiment

By KIÊN VU, Oak Ridge High School Student — The Union is in peril — it always has been and must always be. The volatile nature that constitutes the foundation of the United States is what strengthens it. The unending struggles between the states and the federal government, among the states themselves and between sectional and national identity provide the catalyst with which America has been able to achieve global prominence. The democratic experiment proved to be, by most measures, a runaway success. The Revolutionary War gave birth to a country sturdy enough to grant its citizens significant liberties, with ample ability, though not necessarily abundant will, to facilitate social change — all inside a federal framework that has effective, though not dictatorial, power. However, that struggle has evolved beyond a healthy test of character and threatens to tear the country into two. The Union is in serious jeopardy, threatening democracy in America, and by extension, the very idea of democracy.

Fred Winn Democratic Party Essay Contest, third place: Exploring equality in our elections

By MADISEN BERRY, Ponderosa High School Student — Voting has always been an integral aspect of the United States; it represents our democracy and freedom from the previous tyranny of past monarchies. Throughout the country’s brief history, one can see the ups and downs of voting rights, from the highs of women’s suffrage to the lows of the Three-Fifths Compromise. With all that has gone on surrounding voting rights in the United States, it remains a controversial topic. I whole-heartedly believe in equal voting rights. The ability for someone to vote should not be hindered by their ethnicity, social status, or race. That being said, some people still struggle to vote because of the systems put into place by the government. State governments have recently been changing their laws to make it easier, or harder, for some people to vote.

Living Green in El Dorado County

In 2021, one of our members, Susan Chandler, worked closely with an intern to develop this comprehensive guide to living green, with ideas and resources to help you take the next steps. Take a look and take some action.

History of Earth Day

Before the EPA, the Clean Air Act or Clean Water Act, there were no legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment. Rachael Carson’s profound book, “Silent Spring” opened many people’s eyes regarding the incredibly damaging effects of pesticides and the complacency of our goverment in blindly accepting industry talking points about their safety. In spring 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to force this and other environmental issues onto the national agenda.

2022 South Lake Tahoe Earth Day Festival planned for April 24

This year, an outdoor festival is planned in SLT to celebrate earth day. It is scheduled for Sunday, April 24 from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at Bijou Community Park. If you live in the Tahoe area or plan to visit, please stop by and visit a booth or two. There will be food, arts and crafts and more to celebrate this historic day.

In a World On Fire, Stop Burning Things

By BILL McKIBBEN, The New Yorker – Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, had, he said, “seen many scientific reports in my time, but nothing like this.” Setting aside diplomatic language, he described the document as “an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership,” and added that “the world’s biggest polluters are guilty of arson of our only home.”

Humanity has a brief and rapidly closing window

by SARAH KAPLAN and BRADY DENNIS, The Washington Post – To avoid a hotter, deadly future, U.N. climate report says. Latest IPCC report details escalating toll — but top scientists say the world still can choose a less catastrophic path

Against Despair

by GERMAN LOPEZ, The New York Times – Among the headline-grabbing wildfires, droughts and floods, it is easy to feel disheartened about climate change. So I called experts to find out whether my sense of doom was warranted. We have reason for hope on climate change.

Republican Hypocrisy in Overdrive

by JOHN GARON, Placerville – Republican alarms about deficit spending and inflation reflect the party’s limitless capacity for hypocrisy. The GOP opposes the Build Back Better Act because it would cost $3.5 trillion and will “bankrupt the country” — conveniently forgetting the important qualifier: “$3.5 trillion spread over 10 years.” Mind you, it’s the same GOP that voted for $9.1 trillion Trump and Bush II tax cuts, spread over one year.

Human Rights and Homelessness

by LARA GULARTE, Diamond Springs – In a recent letter to the editor, “Housing first disaster,” I had much to disagree with. The words I found especially offensive — “Do you want to live next to a group of homeless people who have no accountability of not doing drugs or gaining meaningful employment?”