SPACE COAST PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE NEWS

Space Coast Progressive Alliance eNews for March 30, 2014.Click the links below to access recent articles of interest to Space Coast progressives. SCPA 1st Thursday Event ...  6:30pm April 3, 2014 Front Street Civic Center, Historic Downtown Melbourne (Map) 2205 S. Front Street, Melbourne, FL 32901 Free and open to the public Documentary film: "Last Call at the Oasis" is a documentary film that focuses on world crisis in water supply, which is looming in Florida, too. Establishes urgency of the global water crisis as the central issue facing our world this century. Open Mike opportunity: Got something to say about water crisis in Florida? Three slots open, speak for 3 minutes followed by Q+A. Info and submit proposal, click here. MORE INFO, plus links to film review by SCPA's Bob Serody, film trailer, and more about global water crisis, click here. Action! Brevard County Commission Public Hearing: Brevard County Commissioners consider stormwater drainage fee 5pm Thurs. April 3, at Brevard County Commission, Viera Govt. Center Jim Waymer in Florida Today: "Would you be willing to pay an extra $2.35 a month to cleanse the runoff that's ruining the Indian River Lagoon?" It seems Commissioner Trudi Infantini is not so sure. A strong show of citizen support is needed to get votes for drainage fee increase -- which is currently low compared to other counties. ACTION: Attend the hearing, or, if you cannot attend, call or send supportive email. Complete contact info, we make it easy, click here. Civil Rights U.N. Human Rights Committee Calls on Florida ... to Restore Voting Rights to Former Felons WGCU News, by John Davis The United Nations Committee on Human Rights is calling on states like Florida to change policies that restrict former felons’ voting rights. In a statement issued March 27, the committee said Florida policy, as well as policy in other U.S. states, is a violation of human rights. Economy America’s Taxation Tradition New York Times, by Paul Krugman, op-ed columnist In short, the demonization of anyone who talks about the dangers of concentrated wealth is based on a misreading of both the past and the present. Such talk isn’t un-American; it’s very much in the American tradition. And it’s not at all irrelevant to the modern world. So who will be this generation’s Teddy Roosevelt? Education House pushes school voucher bill The Ledger, by Gary Fineout, the Associated Press Backers of a Florida program that helps low-income children attend private schools, many of them religious, are trying a second time to move ahead a bill that would authorize a major expansion of the program. Taxpayer dollars teach that evolution is 'wicked and vain' Daily Kos, by Laura Clawson Laws that govern how evolution is and is not taught in public schools draw public debate, but privatization is the main way creationism is making inroads in publicly funded schools. That's because many states have voucher programs that include religious schools with an extreme anti-science curriculum, as Politico's Stephanie Simon found ... College financial aid needs a rethink Tampa Bay Times Editorial …Florida's financial aid policy should have a coherent, two-fold purpose: making college affordable for promising poor students who couldn't otherwise pay, and offering the best and the brightest an incentive to stay in state to avoid a brain drain of top talent…. Florida Politics Florida Legislators with ALEC Ties The Center for Media and Democracy publishes this wiki, SourceWatch. [Ed. note: ALEC -- American Legislative Exchange Council -- now infamous for ties to Koch brothers, is a 'corporate bill mill' through which corporations deliver ready-to-go legislative bills to state and federal legislators.] This is a partial list of Florida politicians that are known to be involved in, or previously involved in, ALEC. Healthcare "Staunch" Republican: ObamaCare Works! Daily Kos, by JoanMar This is precisely what Ted Cruz feared; this is what he warned about: Once people knew what it meant to have health insurance, and what ObamaCare can do for them, they will not allow the GOP to take it from them. A Fox-loving, "staunch" Republican gives his testimony ... Hospitals chart ways to boost care, funding... USA Today, by Alicia McElhaney Hospitals are getting creative when it comes to meeting tough new mandates in the Affordable Care Act to improve care and increase patient satisfaction — and they're getting paid more as a result… the federal government gives money to hospitals that deliver better care, rather than just paying them for procedures covered by Medicare and Medicaid. In Tallahassee, Miami Nurses Confront Medicaid Expansion Reality WGCU News, by Rick Stone The campaign - and some would call it a doomed campaign - to expand Medicaid for Florida's uninsured poor continued in Tallahassee on Thursday with a mass lobby conducted by doctors and nurses from Miami's Jackson Hospital. They went from office to office in the state capitol seeking legislative support, but got basically nowhere. Media Public Radio WGCU News [Ed. note: Wow! Here's a public radio/tv station in Florida -- a 'member-supported service of Florida Gulf Coast University' in Fort Myers -- that actually provides news coverage with their own staff reporters, proving it can happen even in Florida, INDEPENDENTLY of any corporate media! WGCU is Southwest Florida's source for PBS and NPR. In this issue of SCPA's eNews, we have two news items that come from WGCU reporters.] Women's Issues Brevard NOW round table discussion: Women, Feminism and Our Future 5:30pm Tues. April 8, 2014 The Blue Cellar, 924 E. New Haven Ave. downtown Melbourne. …to assess and shape future strategies for the advancement of women's rights and opportunities in Brevard County. Individuals and organizations interested in collaborating new strategy to bring our feminist movement to its full potential strength are invited to join discussion. Free & open to public. Call 321-720-3520. More info, click here. Like SCPA on Facebook ... http://www.facebook.com/SCPAFlorida Follow SCPA on Twitter ... https://twitter.com/SCPAFlorida Submit an item for eNews: To submit an item for publication in the next eNews issue, visit the scpaflorida.com and click on the eNews menu button. Select Submit News Item and fill out the form. Please note that we can only include your item if you provide a URL (internet link) to the source article. Visit the SCPA Progressive Communicty Calendar on our web site: http://www.scpaflorida.com/calendar/month.calendar/ Progress Florida Daily Clips - (Excellent resource for Florida progressives) Subscribe here to receive a daily mail with links to progressive news items from around Florida. http://www.progressfloridainstitute.org/dailyclips/ Join or Renew SCPA membership or make a donation 10th Anniversary in 2014, if you haven't joined SCPA or renewed, now's the time to do so. Donations graciously accepted! Membership $20 a year for individuals, $30 for family. Join up at any 1st Thursday program, or send check payable to Space Coast Progressive Alliance, mail to: SCPA, PO Box 412, Melbourne FL 32902-0412. TO CONTACT SCPA, click here. **SCPA WANT ADS** Lots of ways to be part of Team SCPA! Help plan a fun(d) raiser? Contact us, put 'fund raiser' in subject line: Click here. Video: Can you create YouTube videos? If yes, put 'video' in subject: Click here. Good Writer? Exceptional blog opportunity. Put 'blog' in subject: Click here. Good Greeter? Report to membership table, 6pm (early) on 1st Thursday!   We look forward to your progressive participation!