Left of Center

Tuesday, June 2, 7:00pm at Rapture (Facebook RSVP)

Is the local food movement a passing fad for the wealthy, or is it possible that it can permanently alter how we all eat, work, and live? How do we expand it beyond weekly sales in parking lots to something accessible to—and affordable by—everybody? Kate Collier, an owner of Feast! and Founding Director of the Local Food Hub, and Melissa Wiley, Director of the Piedmont Environmental Council’s Buy Fresh Buy Local program, will speak about the direction that the movement needs to take in order to overcome these hurdles. They’ll address how local food initiatives can succeed in having a lasting impact on preserving open farmland, supporting endangered small family farm businesses, and promoting agricultural diversity and sustainable environmental practices.

Come on out, join some friends for a beer and join the discussion.

Many thanks to C’ville Market / Cavalier Produce, Horse & Buggy Produce and Integral Yoga Natural Foods for co-sponsoring this event.

Tuesday, April 7, 7:00pm at Rapture

The federal government’s definition of poverty for a household of one adult with one child was income below $14,291 in 2007. Yet, according to one estimate, a single mother or father with one child in Charlottesville would need $34,000 a year to be self-sufficient. What can our community do to help all its members become self-sufficient? What can we learn from what other cities have done to address this problem?

Speakers: Buzz Cox, director of Charlottesville’s Department of Social Services; Holly Edwards of Charlottesville City Council; Overton McGehee, executive director of Habitat for Humanity in Virginia; and Ed Olsen, a professor of economics at the University of Virginia.

Come on out, join some friends for a beer or two, and get involved in your community.

Tuesday, March 3rd, 7:00pm at Rapture

Once a year, thousands of uninsured people from all over Appalachia gather at the Wise County, VA fairgrounds for three days to have rotten teeth pulled, cysts carved out, and mysterious lumps x-rayed. It’s a stunning, moving event, revealing the second-world conditions under which many people are living right here in Virginia.

Speakers: Aryana Khalid, deputy Secretary for Health & Human Services for Virginia, & Terry Dickinson, Executive Director of the Virginia Dental Association (and the big thinker behind Mission of Mercy and the Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps). (You can read a recent article about RAM in the Washington Post.)

Not convinced? Watch this 60 Minutes segment about RAM:

You won’t want to miss this one.

Tuesday, February 3rd, 7:00pm at Rapture

After last year’s historic voter participation, what is being done to ensure that every vote is counted and make voting more accessible to everyone, particularly students and people convicted of felonies? Amongst the many pieces of legislation that are being considered during the 2009 session of the Virginia General Assembly are several aimed at electoral reform, including a bill to make the redistricting process bipartisan. But now that Democrats control the state senate and the upcoming redistricting process, are they still in support of this reform? With only 46 days in the legislative session, we need to make our voices heard now in support of these critical electoral reforms.

The featured speaker will be Joe Szakos, Executive Director of the Virginia Organizing Project, a member of the Verifiable Voting Coalition of Virginia.

Note our new time! Due to popular demand, we’re moving our regular meeting time from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. Come on out, join friends for a beer, and get involved in democracy.

Have you ever spent time in a wheelchair, or used crutches? Do you have an elderly family member? Do you have a young child in a stroller? Join Left of Center to discuss accessibility and related challenges with two disability rights advocates: Nate Brown, a peer advocate and a representative for Charlottesville’s Independence Resource Center and Jim Herndon, a professional neighborhood planner for the City of Charlottesville. City Council just announced their plans to make the city’s infrastructure more accessible to pedestrians and folks with more limited mobility—find out what they’re doing and why.

Join us on Tuesday, Sept, 9, 5:30pm at Rapture for this talk.