PCCI Update

by PCCI
Dear friends and colleagues,

It is with regret that I write to you today to let you know that I will be leaving my position with ICAN at the end of July. My wife Julia, son Brodie, and I will be moving to Berkeley, where my wife and I will both be pursuing graduate study.

Though I am leaving Iowa, ICANÂ’s commitment to the Our Common Values program is firm. In preparation for the transition, over the last several weeks Amy Logsdon – ICANÂ’s Political Director – and I have been working on all aspects of the Our Common Values program together, and we will continue to do so through the month of July. Amy, our Executive Director Betty Ahrens, and other ICAN staff – including a new staff member, who we are looking for right now (see below) – will continue to make Our Common Values one of ICANÂ’s top priorities, through the caucuses and well beyond. 

For those interested in the personal aspects of this: I will be studying Public Policy at Berkeley, and my wife will be studying Science and Environmental Reporting in their Journalism program. The opportunity for her is simply too good to pass up, as she’ll get to learn from a writer who is basically her hero, Michael Pollan. This will be a return to Berkeley for me – I was an undergraduate there – and so there are many things about the move that I am excited about.

However, four weeks before our move, I am honestly far more disappointed and regretful about leaving ICAN than I am excited about moving back to Berkeley. ICAN is doing fantastic work, on many fronts at once, and I absolutely love the pieces of it that fall to me. In particular, the work leading Our Common Values has been a simply incredible opportunity – I still find it a bit hard to believe that I found an organization looking to hire someone to do this kind of work. I fe el extremely fortunate to have found this great position and organization, and to have had the opportunity to work with all of you. I will miss our collective work on the Our Common Values program very much.
 
A job announcement has been posted on the ICAN web site: http://www.iowacan.org/about/jobs.html. Please spread the word far and wide about this opportunity to work with ICAN! If you have questions about the staff transition, or about the positions open at ICAN, please feel free to contact me or other ICAN staff.
 
In solidarity,
Program Director
Iowa Citizen Action Network (ICAN)
3520 Beaver Avenue
Des Moines, IA  50310
Mobile: 515.708.2364
(***Please note: if you are calling from
Des Moines, you need to dial the full 10-digit
number to get through to my cell phone.***)
 
______________
 
Volunteers needed for incoming refugees
Iowa is anticipating approximately 100 Burmese and 120 Iraqi refugees by the end of this year.
 
Volunteers needed: meeting them at the airport, moving into their new homes, finding jobs, learning American culture, etc.
 
Contact:
• Iowa Bureau of Refugee Services, 515-283-7999, refugee@dhs.state.ia.us
• Lutheran Services in Iowa, Des Moines contact: Jill Stuecker, 515-271-7418, jill.stuecker@lsiowa.org
______________________
 
Listen to the author of
“CRAZY IN AMERICA: THE HIDDEN TRAGEDY OF OUR CRIMINALIZED MENTALLY ILL”
 
MARY BETH PFEIFFER ON IOWA PUBLIC RADIO “THE EXCHANGE”
JULY 10, 2007 10-11 AM

ON KSUI (or on 90.1 or 640 am)
 
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
 
Author Mary Beth Pfeiffer will be holding a discussion and book signing November 30, 2007 from 3-6 PM at Urbandale Library.jlonning@dwx.com or Bethany Hempel at bghempel@mchsi.com Copies of books will not be sold at this event; you may purchase a book before the event by contacting Judy Lonning at
 
More information to follow.

This event is sponsored by Iowa CURE, Iowa Reform Consortium, and WomenÂ’s International League for Peace and Freedom
For information please contact Bethany Hempel at 515-537-4211 or bghempel@mchsi.com.
 
_________________________________________
 
Five Activists on Trial in Des Moines and Eleven Sentenced in Cedar Rapids
For Opposing the War!
 
Jury trial begins July 9 in Polk County Courthouse
 
Since the Occupation Project began its campaign of nonviolent civil
disobedience to end the Iraq War in February, more than 320 citizens
have been arrested in communities around the country for occupying the
offices of their representatives in congress, calling them to pledge
not to pay for requests from the White House for funding the war.
On February 26, in a coordinated action, 11 activists were arrested
occupying Senator Charles Grassley's office in Cedar Rapids while
seven were arrested occupying the senator's office in Des Moines. On
Friday, July 6, the Cedar Rapids 11 will be sentenced for criminal
trespass in a Linn County courtroom and on the next Monday, July 9,
five of those arrested in Des Moines will begin a trial before a Polk
County Jury.
 
The trial in Des Moines is expected to last for 3 days with the
defense presenting its case on Tuesday, July 10. Join Occupation
Project defendants Kathleen McQuillen, Chet Guinn, Dixie Webb, Brian
Terrell and Elton Davis in the courtroom and at a solidarity rally at
Chet's firehouse on Monday evening.
 
Solidarity Rally
Monday, July 9 at 7 PM
Chet Guinn's Firehouse
1041 8th Street, Des Moines
(one block west of Downtown Holiday Inn)
Featuring defendants of Cedar Rapids and Des Moines occupations and
co-coordinator of Voices for Nonviolent Action and the Occupation
Project Jeff Leys speaking on: "Never Ending Funding  for Never Ending War"
As the White House is preparing to ask congress to approve even more
billions of dollars to fund this illegal, immoral and unjust war, the
Occupation Project in Iowa and around the nation will be planning more
nonviolent direct actions.
Contact: Brian Terrell  (515) 255-8114     <terrellcpm@yahoo.com>
 
_____________________________________
 
YOU ARE INVITED TO MAKE THE CONNECTIONS
THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2007
6:30 – 8:30pm
State Historical Museum
Atrium
(600 East Locust – street parking & garage at E. Grand and Penn.)
 
Policies defined this summer in the 2007 Farm Bill create the food and agriculture landscape of Iowa and the entire country.  All VOICES need to be heard & represented.
 
Denise OÂ’Brien, farm organizer and 2006 candidate for IowaÂ’s Secretary of Agriculture, talks about the road map for agriculture.  WhatÂ’s in the Farm Bill?  What makes effective food policy?  How do we insure the Farm Bill meets our food and agricultural needs?
 
Every year our elected officials create, evaluate and pass laws that impact every aspect of all our lives.  All VOICES need to be heard & represented.
Pam Jochum, State Representative from District 27 in Dubuque, talks about VOICE (Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections) legislation, HR 805.  How do we take big money out of politics?  Can publicly financed campaigns work?  How do we insure that legislation is evaluated according to the best interest of all IowanÂ’s? 
 
SPONSORS INCLUDE – Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom (WILPF), The League of Women Voters, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Progressive Coalition of Central Iowa (PCCI), Oxfam, Iowa Farmers Union, Iowa Citizen Action Network (ICAN) & Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI).