by Carla Hansen
September’s meeting will be packed with items after our hiatus (or should I say BBQ-ing) in August. We’ll have two elected officials joining us. Contra Costa Supervisor John Gioia will discuss the up-coming and on-going issues before the California Air Resources Board. (See the article about his recent appointment on page 2.) He will also
address land use regulations to improve air quality, Contra Costa County outreach for the Covered California Healthcare exchange, and a potential Bay Area parcel tax for wildlife restoration. BART Board Director Zakhary Mallett will give a brief presentation on BART extension in West County.
The rest of the meeting will be dedicated to important Club business. Club President Scott Lyons will make an important announcement, and the Executive Board has presented the following two action items for possible club action:
1. Consider an endorsement of the All-Care Alliance, a new organization of single-payer healthcare advocates:
“We believe that healthcare is a basic human right, and everyone is entitled to high-quality, affordable, comprehensive care. We support the establishment of a fully publicly financed, single-payer healthcare system in California and the nation.
2. The structure of the ECDC membership dues is complicated and currently includes nine different categories. The E-Board has proposed simplifying the payment structure for voting members while retaining the extra payment required to finance the printing and mailing of the newsletter.
Consider revisions to the club/membership dues payments as of the 2014 membership year:
(Full) Voting membership
- Single: $20
- Two-at one address: $30
- Low-income memberships available
Newsletter (membership not required)
- Electronic delivery: free with membership, and on www.ecdclub.org
- USPS delivery: $10