As we write this it is hard to believe that Spring is close but the daffodils breaking ground can’t be wrong, can they? We have missed much of the extraordinary weather that has been hammering a great deal of the U.S., and that is one reason to love living in Idaho. We can’t say the same for what is happening this year in our legislature and our Lobby Corps and many members have been at the Capitol throughout this session.

Meanwhile, our board and Boise Area Branch members have been busy either disbursing funds for scholarships (STEM) or lining up the recipients for Service Recognition awards and the annual Inez Robb Scholarship, all in support of our mission of advancing equity for women and girls. We are grateful for our members who continue to support the branch through donations of time, talent, and financial philanthropy. We hope to have some of our scholarship recipients at our April Spring Fling.

Libraries are certainly in the news lately. Let's hear from someone with extensive experience in regulating books and libraries. Stephanie Bailey-White has been with the Idaho Commission for Libraries for 31 years, starting in 1991 as the Commission’s Public Information Officer. In 1997 she helped get the Read to Me early literacy program up and running and in 2016 she moved into the Deputy State Librarian position, followed by the State Librarian role in 2019. She has degrees from the University of Idaho, Boise State University, and Emporia State University.  Q&A will be part of this important program.

Branch Officer Nominees for FY2023-24

The nominating committee of Norma Lloyd, Kathy Scott, and Tracy Bicknell-Holmes recommends the following slate of candidates for the AAUW Boise Area Branch for the 2023-2024 Board.  Branch members will be voting on these candidates at the March 15 branch meeting.
 

We, the committee, also wish to recognize and thank outgoing board members for their contributions to the AAUW Boise Area Branch’s success. We cannot have sustainability without the many contributions of those willing to serve in the various leadership positions.

Hopefully you are a member of AAUW because you believe in our Mission Statement of “advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research.” There are so many ways to get involved in AAUW and make it your own. Special interest groups such as Lobby Corps, Newcomers, Movie Group, Bridge Group, multiple book groups, Daytimers and many more, provide an opportunity to meet other members in smaller settings and to experience what it means to be an active AAUW member.

If you have been a member for a while, we encourage you to do two things. First, seek out new members (red star on name tag) and make them feel welcome. You may meet your new best friend, or enjoy an interesting discussion, or learn more about them and their background and discover common interests. Second, it is easy to recruit new members! Invite co-workers or neighbors or new acquaintances to join our group. Invite them to our Spring Fling! We really do make a difference in our community and state for women and girls. Share our great organization with others!

Spring Fling 2023 is coming soon!

April 12th is the date, 6:00 p.m. is the time. Riverside Hotel is the place. Invitations will be issued on March 3rd. Be sure to respond to the invitation as soon as possible. Use the invitation to register yourself and your guest(s), or forward the invitation directly to your guests for their direct registration and payment.

It’s time to turn in your contributions, items, services, events, whatever you can donate to make the silent auction and the live auction a success. These are needed as soon as possible. Contact Ardele Hanson, 208 308 0062, or ardele54@gmail.com to register or deliver your contribution – the sooner the better, but the deadline to contribute is March 29th.

If you haven’t contributed a $20+ bottle of wine and wish to do so, please contact Linda Packer, 208 30 6078, or lindap46@gmail.com.

The House has passed and sent to the Senate these bills, which we oppose, to

• ban gender-affirming medical treatment for trans young people (HB 71)
• ban student ID’s for voting (HB 124)

• make it a crime to take a minor across the state line to have an abortion without a parent’s consent (HB 98)
• repeal Medicaid Expansion (HB 123)
• ban affidavits that voters can sign if they do not have identification at the polls on election day (HB 137)
• allow librarians to be sued if kids check out books the parents find obscene (HB 139)
• require work for SNAP benefits (HB161)
• allow absentee voting for the following reasons only: illness, hospitalization, disability, a religious mission, working or at university, or serving in the armed forces. (HB 205)

• Education Savings Accounts (SB 1038)
• Constitutional amendment to require signatures from 6% of voters from every legislative district to put an initiative on the ballot (SJR 101)

• SB1078 will provide voter guides

• require that rental fees be transparent and fair (SB 1039)
• provide unemployment benefits for domestic violence victims (SB 1019)

“She Works Hard for the Money” Event Invitation

Southwest Idaho chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) is inviting AAUW members to participate in their Equal Pay Day event. In Idaho, women on average earn only 75 cents for every dollar a man earns. Thus, women have to work a year plus two and a half months to earn as much as the average man earns in 12 months. Below are the details of the event.
 
On Monday, March 13th, at 1:00 p.m. in the second-floor rotunda of the Capitol building, SW Idaho NOW will host “SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY.” The event will raise awareness that Idaho’s 25% wage gap between women and men is one of the largest in the country. It will also recognize Idaho Women’s Day and Equal Pay Day, which fall on the following day. The Boise Women’s Chorus will provide music.
 
NOW will be pursuing updates to the 1969 Idaho Equal Pay Act which may include:

• Requiring employers to provide the pay range for a job
• Protecting employees to freely discuss their pay without fear of retaliation from their employer
• Paid family and medical leave for when a serious health condition prevents employees from working or when they need time to care for a family member, bond with a new child, or spend time with a family member preparing for military service overseas 

Is everyone hanging onto their hats?  The 2023 legislative session is roughly midway through depending on when they decide to go sine die.  There are so many issues that have arisen through proposed legislation about which AAUW has opinions.  By the time you read this newsletter, several pieces of legislation will have worked through both houses and might even be on the governor’s desk for signature.  The issues include public school funding, trans individuals’ rights relating to access to school lavatories, independence of our public libraries, freedom to access women’s health care including abortion, and voter suppression.

Testifying about the issues we as an organization and perhaps YOU as an individual care about remains an important exercise of your rights and responsibilities as a citizen.  I have testified via zoom twice and in person once, have had bills preemptively removed from the docket a couple of times, and have experienced technical difficulties twice that disallowed my testimony from being heard.

I share this to say to all of you reading this update, “Testifying is not that hard. You have opinions that are worthy of testimony AND important for our legislators to hear and for our fellow Idahoans to hear.

Please call me if you would like to work up a brief testimony about the important issues of our days and I would happily accompany you to a hearing room for support.  I can tell you, 1 or 2 minutes pass quickly when you are trying to make your point!  Call me, 262.212.882.

Two free coding camps are available for high school girls this summer! Girls choose their own adventure through two free virtual programs and get the skills, network, and lifelong college and career support they need.  In the two-week Summer Immersion Program for current 9th-11th graders, or in the 6-week Self-Paced Program for current 9th-12th graders, they'll learn to code through independent study and real-world projects. Go to girlswhocode.com/summerapply. Apply by March 24^th!

When you join AAUW, you are joining AAUW national as well as the local and state branches. AAUW national maintains its own membership database called “Community Hub”. Once you have established an account, you can update your profile, check your membership expiration date, renew your membership, and more. (Note: we will let you know when it is time to renew your membership for FY23-24. Please do not renew early this year as national is increasing dues by $5 and making system changes).

To set up your account, click the “Log In” at the top right corner of the website aauw.org or visit my.aauw.org. The first time you log in, you’ll need to reset your password by clicking the “Forgot Password” link. A video tutorial is available with a step-by-step guide. If you have any questions or need assistance, you can email connect@aauw.org.

The Boise Area Branch maintains its own member database through Directory Spot, managed by Julie Custer. You can update your Directory Spot profile by logging into your account or by contacting Julie.

The Mystery Book Group will meet a 6:00 p.m. on Monday, March 13th, via Zoom. The book is Bloodline and Wine by Kelley Jones. Laura Simic will lead the discussion. 

If you would like to be added to the list, please email Linda Anderson at s.linda.anderson@gmail.com.

The AAUW Sunday afternoon in-person book group will meet at 2:00 p.m. on 

Sunday afternoon, March 19th, at the Pioneer Federal Credit Union Building at

2350 S. Broadway Avenue, Boise.  We will discuss "Horse--a novel" by

Geraldine Brooks.

Book Group (Thursday)
by Linda Simmons

The AAUW Thursday Evening Book Group will meet on March 9th at 6:30 p.m. at the Ada County Library (corner of Victory and Five Mile Roads). The book we are reviewing is THE LAST FLIGHT by Julie Clark. Kris Hooker is the discussion facilitator.

Bridge Group
by Dena Duncan

The bridge group will meet on Thursday, March 16th at 12:30 p.m. The host/hostess is TBD. Please note the change of the day of the week we will be playing. If you plan to play, please contact Dena Duncan, denad@mindspring.com (preferred) or call (208)345-4771 to secure your spot. A reminder e-mail will be sent to current members of the group once the calendar and newsletter are e-mailed.

March 5, 2023

Tour of the Train Depot
Noon

FREE ADMISSION

Lunch at Wyld Child (13 S. Latah St.)

Thank you, Marsha Bravo, for setting up the tour.

See the attached document for details about these upcoming events:

• April 19, 2023: Miniature Golf at Topgolf
• May 20, 2023: Tour of the Erma Hayman House
• June 14, 2023: Botanical Garden Walking Tour

Daytimers members enjoying a tour of the Warhawk Air Museum in February 2023.

This month, the AAUW Movie Group will view NO BEARS on Saturday, March 11th, at The Flicks. This film by Jafar Panahi, who is currently imprisoned in Iran for his work, explores media’s power and ethical limitations through two parallel love stories. An engaging discussion should follow! And, if you would like to join us later for dinner at the Cottonwood, please let Roberta Olson know by Wednesday the 8th. Gerrie Oehlschlager will keep us updated with times and any changes.

We will actually be introduced to the mattress stitch at this meeting, which unfortunately, did not occur at the last meeting.  I plan on seeing you at Alchemist for our gathering!

Newcomers Group meets the first Thursday of the month, 5-7 pm, at various members' homes. All AAUW members are welcome - not just newbies! Next meeting is March 2, 5-7 pm. Please contact Stacy Urban 360-914-8866 for more information.