| What will you ask the judicial candidates at next week's Hot Topics? County judges face caseload pressures, budget constraints, and political scrutiny. Judicial backlogs can delay trials, affecting defendants’ rights and public confidence. They must also navigate ethical dilemmas, maintain impartiality, and keep up with evolving laws and technology. It's a demanding role and you have the opportunity to gauge who can stand up to the demands of being an Orange County judge. |  | |
Next week's panel includes:
- MODERATOR: Roger J. McDonald, former Circuit Court Judge and Current Senior Court Judge
- Cherish Adams, Orange County Judge, Group 17
- Asima Azam, attorney and candidate for Orange County Judge, Group 5
- Joy Goodyear, Public Defender and Candidate for Orange County Judge, Group 17
- Kafi Kennedy, attorney and candidate for Orange County Judge, Group 5
- Judi Garabo Hayes, Orlando attorney and candidate for Orange County Judge, Group 21
The League of Women Voters of Orange County hosts a forum for contested Orange County judge races. “Bench Press: Candidates for Orange County Judge” will be held at the Winter Park Events Center on June 10. A forum for contested judge races for Ninth Judicial Circuit Court will take place on July 8. |  |  | | Immigration. The Math is Clear. The Politics are Not. by Kam Shenai
Every election cycle, immigration tops the list of issues Americans say they care about. And every cycle, the debate produces more heat than light. Neither party is honest about what is actually at stake. And neither starts where the conversation should start—with the facts. Cont. reading HERE
|  | | On Sunday, 31 people (including our Immigration Comm. chairs and other Leaguers) rode a bus to Alligator Alcatraz to participate in the Vigil there at the entrance to Alligator Alcatraz. As they traveled down, the woman who had organized the trip read important facts about immigrants to the riders. She read the information about the importance of the immigrant community to the economy, a fact which not everyone knew until then. View these FACTS Here and get involved with the committee. | | |
Congress is back in session this week with its focus set on ways to pass the reconciliation bill.
The bill would provide BILLIONS of additional dollars to the ICE and CBP -- the very agencies terrorizing our communities.
| | Lightning Risk in Florida by Ann Patton
Working together, we can reduce the damage, disruption, and death from disasters. But we have to be smart. That job is getting harder now as FEMA, once a stellar agency, is being systematically dismembered.
Cont. reading HERE
"The Atlantic Hurricane Season begins June 1 and ends November 30. Orange County Government is here to ensure you have the information you need before, during and after any severe tropical system affects our community with a variety of tools available online, on the phone or on your mobile device."
| | | Slowly but surely, we're getting closer to our matching goal of $25,000! Help us fuel up for Election 2026 (note those are EV batteries shown ;-) ) | DID YOU KNOW that only 20% of membership dues go directly to LWVOC? Yes, our state and national Leagues receive the bulk of your dues, and we understand that they have a lot of legal/organizational fees to pay for in efforts to defend our democracy...but that means we have to make up a large difference locally!
Our generous Visionary Sponsors (Jennifer and Phil Anderson) have offered a $25,000 Match, doubling every contribution this summer!
Every dollar you give DOUBLES the power to support our efforts to empower voters. Wonder what we spend our money on? View our year's Budget Assumptions Here.
|  |  | | Sherika Dacres
Zane Menendez
John Cromwell
Jennifer Campbell
Jennifer Morando
Barrett Walsh
|  | Lee Rambeau Kemp "in memory of her late husband Wildred D. Kemp"
Robert Lemon
Linda Wells
Kay Hudson
Therese D. Osborne
Mitchell L. Sullen
Susan Spradley
Luisa Rodrigues-Scott
Kathy Schmitz & Charlie Behrens, Giving Society
Jean Yglesias and Tony Macchia, Giving Society
Lelia W. Allen
Leonard and Val Mobley, Giving Society
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| |  |  | | Central Florida struggles with rising homelessness with little agreement on solutions. Why do some places have much higher rates than others? Let's explore the answers together. Join the DEIA Committee and Social Justice Book Club on June 17 at 7p in a virtual community discussion about the book, "Homelessness Is a Housing Problem" by Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page. Please refer to the League calendar for the Zoom link.
|  | JUNE 6, 1-4pm
All Saints Episcopal Church/ Wear Orange -Special screening "All the Empty Rooms"
Panel discussion following the documentary including:
Abraham Morris- Children, Youth and Families Manager City of Orlando
Jasmine Lee- Mental Health Counselor Peace Orlando
Angel Grantly -Director YaYa Dream Foundation
Raysean Brown- Strategy Director of Community Violence Intervention & Prevention Orlando at Advance Peace
Dr. Myron Rolle is a well-known pediatric neurosurgeon in Orlando, Florida. A former NFL safety and Rhodes Scholar, he practices at Nemours Children's Health
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| JUNE 10 & JUNE 13~Our oft time partner, Equal Ground is busy building durable community networks across Florida. They're touring central Florida to foster trust in communities that are often overlooked by traditional political institutions, and create sustainable pathways for civic engagement that extend beyond any single election cycle. They have two Orange County dates in June! https://www.mobilize.us/equalground/ |
What’s Next for Education Advocacy? You Decide.
As the Education Committee plans its strategy for the upcoming school year and the next legislative session, we want to hear from you. Whether you are looking to actively join our efforts or just want to receive education alerts, please take a moment to complete our brief survey.
| | | Sponsors are vital to our work to empower voters by providing timely information for the benefit of non-partisan civic engagement in our community and we have a range of sponsorship levels available. To further explore how to become a sponsor, please contact LWVOC Vice President and Fund Development Chair Lee Rambeau Kemp HERE
|  |  |  |  | LWVOC is a 501(c)(3 )tax-exempt organization and your gift is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. To claim a gift as a deduction on your taxes, please keep your email gift receipt as your official record. The receipt is sent to you upon successful completion of your donation.
A copy of the official registration and financial information for LWVOC, a Florida based nonprofit organization (Registration No. CH26900) may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling toll free 1-800-435-7352 within the state or visiting their website at fdacs.gov/CONSUMERSERVCES. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the state. | |