January is National Blood Donor Month
Each January, we come together to raise awareness and to thank blood donors across the nation for selflessly saving lives.
Thank you for for being a part of our team!
To make an appointment, please:
Call: (949) 452-3158
Email: Christie at CDraper@memorialcare.org
Schedule online: https://www.memorialcareblooddonor.org/
Same day/walk-in: Please call ahead at (949) 452-3158
Henry Weinstein is an attorney who pursued a career in journalism after law school. He worked for the LA Times for 30 years covering numerous important stories. He is the recipient of the prestigious Columbia University’s John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism, an award given to a journalist “whose reporting over time shows courage, integrity, curiosity and intelligence, and epitomizes the role of journalism in a free society.”
Mr. Weinstein is a founding faculty member of UC Irvine’s School of Law where he taught a number of courses such as Media Law and Law and Popular Culture. He retired in 2022 but occasionally continues to teach as an Emeritus Professor.
This month we are supporting Families Forward Adopt-a-Child for the Holidays program.
Families Forward is a local organization whose mission is to prevent and end family homelessness by providing access to housing and resources that create lasting stability.
If you would like to participate, please email Ann Owens at annowens@cox.net
This month we are supporting South County Outreach. South County Outreach’s mission is to prevent hunger and homelessness by helping people help themselves.
They are seeking the following items:
pasta (spaghetti, elbow, rotini)
pasta sauces (tomato, alfredo, pesto)
sides (mashed potatoes, stuffing, rice-a-roni
grocery store gift cards
Please bring donations to our meeting. We will have someone in front of The Murray Center to collect your donations.
Our own club chair is a long-time Democratic Leader in Orange County. She has an incredible knowledge of local politics and is also a co-founder of Women in Leadership.
Michael is the DPOC Director of Democratic Clubs and an attorney at Sall Spencer Callas & Krueger in Laguna Beach, California, with a practice in legal ethics and business litigation. He is also a member of the Aliso Niguel Democratic Club and their former Chair.
This month we are supporting the Friendship Shelter in Laguna Beach. Friendship Shelter operates a full spectrum of services to end homelessness, including outreach, shelter, housing navigation, financial assistance, and permanent housing with supportive services.
They are seeking the following items listed by most needed to least:
(Only the underwear must be new)
Wallets
Android phone chargers
Headphones
Underwear (men, women – assorted sizes)
Towels/washcloths
Blankets
Please bring donations to our meeting. We will have someone in front of The Murray Center to collect your donations.
Deborah will be joined by fellow Canyon Dem DNC Delegates:
Linda May, Retired NGO/GO Manager & co-founder of the Lavender Dems Club
Perry Meade
and Florice Hoffman, former CA Dem Party Regional Director
California Delegate, CADEM Regional Director, Region 21 & Canyon Democrats Club Member
Deborah will be reporting live from the convention along with Linda May, Perry Meade & Florice Hoffman. Deborah is a long-time leading Democrat in Orange County, she will provide insight and boots on the ground reporting directly to our club.
This month we are supporting the Ronald McDonald House. They provide the comforts of home to the families of children in the hospital.
We are collecting :
Protein bars
Single Serving containers of cereal, oatmeal, nuts & chips
Paper products: single-use silverware, paper plates, napkins, paper towels
Gallon size Ziploc freezer bags
Gifts cards: Smart ‘N Final, Costco
Please bring donations to our meeting. We will have someone in front of The Murray Center to collect your donations.
Public Affairs Advocacy Manager, Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernadino Counties
In her current role, Emily oversees the day-to-day operations of the Community Action Fund’s advocacy work. Emily is a Guatemalan immigrant woman who is passionate about advancing reproductive healthcare for communities who need it most.
We are collecting school supplies for FAMILIES FORWARD
We will be collecting:
– new backpacks
– colored pencils
– college ruled paper
– colored markers
– pens & pencils
– scientific calculators
– pencil pouches
– notebooks
Please bring donations to our meeting. We will have someone in front of The Murray Center to collect your donations.
Dr. Nadine Koch Steinberg will describe the National Popular Vote bill that would grant the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes nationwide. This bill is an attempt to bypass the Electoral College which has elected presidents who have lost the popular vote but ascended to the presidency, such as George Bush and Donald Trump. The National Popular Vote initiative aims to correct the weaknesses of the Electoral College and allow for the direct election of U.S. presidents. Dr. Steinberg will discuss the Constitutional arguments for and against the NPV bill and will give a very brief refresher on the Electoral College.
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Professor Emeritus at California State University, Los Angeles
Dr. Steinberg has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in American politics for 30 years. Her teaching and research interests are in the areas of campaigns and elections, politics and the media, political behavior, and public opinion.
This month we are supporting Second Impressions, a boutique style resale store to raise money for bread ovens in Haiti and the Homeless Ministry of South Orange County.
We will be collecting:
– jewelry
– clean women’s & men’s clothing
– small household items & decor
Please bring donations to our meeting. We will have someone in front of The Murray Center to collect your donations.
Starting as a bright red jurisdiction several decades ago, Orange County has transitioned to become one of only three truly “purple” counties among the nation’s 25 most populous areas. Further, with four competitive congressional districts within its borders, Orange County may help shape control of the U.S. House.
UC Irvine has recently launched its UCI OC Poll, surveying county residents on their political preferences, attitudes, and concerns. The latest results help explain what is driving various races and how things look just a few months out from November.
The director of the poll, Jon Gould, Dean of UCI’s School of Social Ecology, will join us to discuss the poll’s findings and offer his own analysis and predictions. For anyone who wonders or worries about November’s coming elections, the event should be illuminating.
Dean of the School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine
Jon Gould is a distinguished scholar in policy and government reform who has held key positions in the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Science Foundation.
Gould leads the nation’s first school of social ecology, established in 1970 in response to high demand for more socially relevant research. For more than 50 years, the school has been an internationally recognized pioneer in developing interdisciplinary approaches to social problems.
Gould’s expertise covers a variety of subjects. He is the author of five books and more than 100 articles and reports on such diverse subjects as political advertising, human rights, hate speech, sexual harassment and indigent defense.
Gould has filled a range of government leadership roles, including senior policy adviser in the U.S. Department of Justice and director of the Law & Social Sciences Program at the National Science Foundation. In 2015, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts appointed him as reporter for a committee of the federal courts evaluating the operation of the Criminal Justice Act. Gould is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a former U.S. Supreme Court Fellow and a former trustee of the Law & Society Association.
This month we are supporting Orangewood Foundation, one of the leading providers of services to youth in Orange County. They help almost 2,000 youth annually prepare for independent adulthood.
They are in need of:
canned goods (soups, beans, chili, vegetables, tuna, chicken)
pasta, rice, cereal, mac-n-cheese, instant oatmeal
peanut or almond butter, jelly, jam
nut or trail mixes, protein bars, jerky
Please bring donations to our meeting. We will have someone in front of The Murray Center to collect your donations.
Learning and trusting how and where to get accurate and ethical information in a biased and misleading news landscape, is more essential than ever. Where is our information coming from?
This presentation will address these queries and help you navigate and know your news sources, plus a lot more.
Come at 5:45pm to enjoy dinner with your Canyon Dems friends! For just $10 you’ll get pizza, salad & soft drink.
Trudy, a 50+ year resident of Laguna Beach, has been active in her community for many of those years. Prior to her retirement, Trudy was a motivational humorist educating & speaking to groups around the country about cancer.
Firearms are the leading cause of death for American children and teens. Moms Demand Action is a grassroots movement fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence in America. We will learn tonight about their past accomplishments and what efforts are currently underway locally and at the state level to stem the tide of gun violence. You’ll leave with specific actions you can take to advocate for change.
Patricia has been an active volunteer with Moms Demand Action since 2018, having decided to get off the sidelines after 17 people were shot and killed at a high school in Parkland, Florida. She is the former Orange County lead with Moms Demand Action and is now part of the California state leadership team. A former marketing executive and now a stay at home mom, she lives in Santa Ana with her husband and two children ages 10 and 8.
Joe Kerr will also be speaking to our club to discuss his strategy to defeat Young Kim for the CA-40 US Congressional seat in November.
Mr. Gordon’s presentation will focus on legislative advocacy in the context of the state’s current fiscal and political backdrop. This year will be filled with all kinds of political dimensions that will impact the agenda for education and children. Kevin’s nearly 30-year career as a legislative advocate will bring to the audience his perceptions and predictions for the coming year.
Widely viewed among the top education advocates in California, Kevin is the President and a founding Partner of Capitol Advisors Group. Kevin was the longtime Executive Director of the California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO), and previously served as the Chief Lobbyist and Assistant Executive Director of the California School Boards Association (CSBA). He also served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Robert T. Matsui and as a legislative advocate for the California Building Industry Association (CBIA). He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco. Prior to that, while completing his undergraduate degree in communication studies at University of California, Davis, he was recruited by the IBM Corporation and served three years in its national marketing division for large systems.
We are having a Toiletry Drive for Saddleback Valley Unified School District’s Student Marketplace. The Student Marketplace was established to provide food and personal supplies to McKinney Vento families in the Saddleback Valley School District. These are families who may be homeless or are struggling financially to keep a roof over their heads. Families are vetted as to their economic status and must register to receive goods each Friday afternoon while school is in session. Fresh milk, eggs , vegetables, and a protein are given to each family as well as canned goods and personal hygiene products.
Top Needed Items are: deodorant, sanitary pads, shampoo & disposable razors
Please bring donations to our meeting. We will have someone in front of The Murray Center to collect your donations.
Thanks for your support!
The Democratic Party of California did not make an endorsement recommendation for Congressional District 40, which is the district that most of our members reside in. We are delighted that both Democratic candidates, Allyson Muniz Damikolas and Joe Kerr, will be coming to speak to our members. Following their presentations of why they are the best choice to defeat Rep. Young Kim in November, we will allow all members to vote to support one of these candidates via secret ballot.
Be sure you have renewed your annual membership or joined so that you can vote. Click on this link to renew your membership for 2024 or to join the club as a new member. https://canyondems.org/membership/
You are encouraged to review the candidates’ websites prior to the meeting and learn more about them. If you have specific questions you need to ask the candidates, please contact them directly prior to the meeting as there will not be time for questions or comments from the audience after they speak.
Learn more:
Allyson Muniz Damikolas https://allysonforcongress.com/ 949 385-1290
Joe Kerr https://www.joekerrforcongress.com/ 949 374-7718
Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit educational and advocacy organization that brings together people of all religions and none to protect the right of everyone to believe as they want — and stop anyone from using their beliefs to harm others. They fight in the courts, legislatures, and the public square for freedom without favor and equality without exception.
In highly politicized school districts and school boards, educators, policymakers, and the community are confronted with “educational doubletalk” that shapes perception, policies, practices, and outcomes in education. This presentation decodes the meaning behind words and phrases like “Back to Basics,” “Classical Education,” “Parental Rights,” and “School Choice” by highlighting real-world examples of their use (and misuse) in education politics today. This presentation empowers participants to identify and dissect instances of doubletalk to advocate for just, equitable, and inclusive education for all students.
Dr. Nancy Watkins was a K-12 educator for over 30 years, working and teaching in public schools in California. Dr. Watkins is an associate professor at Cal State Fullerton, teaching educational leadership in the College of Education, and is the Director of the Doctoral Program. Dr. Watkins specializes in leadership, educational policy, and educational access and opportunities. Dr. Watkins is a candidate for the Orange County Board of Education, Area 3, in March 2024.
We are supporting Families Forward’s Holiday Wish & Gift Drive. Families First is a local non-profit based in Irvine whose mission is to prevent and end family homelessness by providing access to housing and resources that create lasting stability.
If you would like to participate, please contact Ann Owens at annowens@cox.net. She will match you with someone from one of our assigned families & let you know what is on their wish list.
Please bring donations to our meeting. We will have someone in front of The Murray Center to collect your donations.
Thanks for your support!
Our precious Medicare program has attracted Wall Street, and they’re pillaging our public dollars as they delay and deny our access to healthcare. We’ll talk about why Medicare is so important to us all, who’s attacking it, and some decisions you might not realize you’re making!
Medicare Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage or MA, is a privately administered program in which the federal government gives a regular lump sum of money to a third party (generally a commercial insurer) to “manage” patient care. This is radically different from the way Traditional Medicare (TM) pays providers and gives the insurers running MA an irresistible financial incentive to delay, deny, and otherwise skimp on care. MA is growing, to the detriment of patients everywhere. Although the program has existed since 2003, it has expanded enrollment significantly in the past decade. This year, Medicare reached an alarming milestone, as data confirmed that more than 50% of all Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in an MA plan.
Ed Weisbart MD is a nationally recognized physician/activist working to save Medicare. He currently serves as the board secretary and MO chapter chair of Physicians for a National Health Program, a non-profit non-partisan organization of more than 25,000 physicians and other healthcare advocates in support of a publicly financed, non-profit single-payer national health insurance program that would fully cover medical care for all Americans.
Join us in supporting Families Forward, a local non-profit based in Irvine whose mission is to prevent and end family homelessness by providing access to housing and resources that create lasting stability.
We will be collecting the items in the flyer below along with grocery gift cards for their annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. The preferred grocery stores accessed by a majority of clients are: Ralphs, Albertsons & Stater Brothers.
Please bring donations to our meeting. We will have someone in front of The Murray Center to collect your donations.
Thanks for your support!
Join us in supporting the Laguna Beach Friendship Shelter–the only shelter for the homeless in our area. We will be collecting the following items at our September meeting:
Pillows
Blankets
Ground coffee
Canned fruits and veggies
Pasta
Rice
Please bring donations to our September meeting. We will have someone in front of The Murray Center to collect your donations.
Thanks for your support!
Where does our water come from? Are we going to run out? What is being done to ensure our supply? How safe is it to drink? How are our rates established? Who controls our supply?
We have the perfect speaker to address these questions. Megan Yoo Schneider, Board President of the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC).
Megan is a chemical, civil and environmental engineer with a life-long passion for water and public health. She also is an adjunct faculty member teaching environmental policy at Chapman University. As a dedicated member and leader of a number of water related environmental organizations, she currently serves as Co-Chair of the Water Environment Federation Board of Trustees on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, and is a voting member of the National Science Foundation Drinking Water Advisory Joint Committee. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her public outreach efforts and water-related research and is devoted to ensuring the future of local, reliable, sustainable and safe water supplies for Orange County.
Megan is the Director of Division 7 of the MWDOC and represents Aliso Viejo, Coto de Caza, Dana Point, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Las Flores, Mission Viejo, Rancho Mission
Viejo, RSM, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Trabuco Canyon.
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The recent shift to a majority conservative Supreme Court and the overturning of Roe v. Wade has opened our eyes to the impact that courts can have on our daily lives and the lives of our families. The recent exposure of the right-wing influence on the Supreme Court exposed how important it is to have transparency and accountability from the courts. What other threats are there by the far right to our democracy? How can these threats be exposed and what can be done about them? Join us to hear Russ Feingold address these issues.
Russ Feingold is the former US Senator from Wisconsin (1993-2011) famously known for a major piece of bipartisan campaign finance reform known as the McCain-Feingold Act. for which he and Sen. John McCain received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. He is currently President of the American Constitution Society whose mission is to preserve the rule of law and the legitimacy of our democracy, and to ensure that our Constitution and laws protect the lives of all people. He also recently co-authored “The Constitution in Jeopardy: An Unprecedented Effort to Rewrite Our Fundamental Law and What We Can do About It”.
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Ayn Craciun is the Orange County Policy Manager with Climate Action Campaign, a leading nonprofit climate policy watchdog in the region. Ayn’s work focuses on advancing equity, facilitating adoption of zero carbon Climate Action & Adaptation Plans, Building Electrification policies, and Community Choice Energy.
Before embarking on her path as an environmental advocate, Ayn had a successful career in corporate communications and PR. In 2016, Ayn worked as a volunteer to help advocate for the City of Irvine’s historic organic landscaping policy.
In 2018, she turned her focus to the climate crisis and helped build a coalition of support to create the Irvine-led Orange County Power Authority, which launched in December 2020. In Feb. 2021, she joined Climate Action Campaign, helping draft and build support for the City of Irvine’s ACHIEVES climate resolution, which made Irvine the first city in Southern California and the third in the state to commit to 2030 zero carbon goals in line with the most recent climate science.
Ada Briceno will also be speaking at our meeting. Ada is the chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC). She will be talking about candidate recruitment & training, activities in preparation for the upcoming elections next year and how we can all get involved. Organizing starts now!
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Dr. Louis DeSipio is a Political Science and Chicano/Latino Studies Professor in the School of Social Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. His areas of focus include ethnic politics, Latino politics, immigration, naturalization, US electoral politics.
He is the co-author of “Uneven Roads: An Introduction to U.S. Racial and Ethnic Politics” and the author of “Making Americans, Remaking America: Immigration and Immigration Policy”.
Sudi Farokhnia is a member of the Orange County Democratic Party, an elected delegate to the state Democratic Party, former National Democratic party delegate, co-founder and treasurer of the Iranian American Democrats of California, and treasurer of the Feel the Bern OC Democratic Club.
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