Below:

• Focus the Nation Kicks Off Tonight; Events Next Several Days

• The WV Public Campaign Financing Act Introduced

• Clean Elections: You Are Invited to a Special Event

• More Events

 Focus the Nation Kicks Off Tonight; Events Next Several Days
Focus the Nation -- If we try, we can solve climate change. Tune in tonight, 8 p.m. Eastern, to "The 2% Solution."  You'll hear from Van Jones, Edward Norton, Stephen Schneider and Hunter Lovins special guest, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC.  You'll need a computer and a high speed internet connection to tune in.

Click here to see a list of Focus the Nation teach-in events in West Virginia. Click here to find events nationwide. Friday, Feb. 1 OVEC will have speakers and an information table at Marshall University's Focus the Nation Teach-In. We'll note that mountaintop removal coal mining is a devastating form of strip mining, with some mines as big as Manhattan.  Mountaintop removal is a national disgrace and it’s disastrous in terms of global warming, because it keeps us dependant on coal instead of moving to cleaner energy.  At the same time, it tears apart communities, poisons water supplies, pollutes the air and destroys our nation’s natural heritage. And worst of all, it’s completely unnecessary.  The bottom line is our elected officials aren’t serious about stopping global warming unless they get behind a real ban on mountaintop removal coal mining. 

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 The WV Public Campaign Financing Act Introduced
We are happy to note that the Public Campaign Financing Act was introduced last week as HB 4050 and SB 240. The Act would establish a Clean Elections system for candidates for the State Senate and House of Delegates.

If you been following the news about Massey Energy and the Supreme Court, you know West Virginia politicians are now thinking about Clean Elections for judges, too.  Stay tuned for more developments.

Please thank the sponsors of the Public Campaign Financing Act: Delegates Doyle (lead), Brown, Hatfield, Marshall, Browning, Ellem, Lane, Moore, Fleischauer, Perdue, and Klempa. Delegates Caputo, DeLong, and Campbell were also willing to sign on, and are very supportive, but do not appear as sponsors because of the number limit. Our Senate sponsors are Kessler (lead), Edgell, Foster, Guills, Hunter, Jenkins, Love, McCabe, Plymale, Sprouse, Unger, Wells, and White. Click here for their contact information.

Stay up to date on Clean Elections by checking the Citizens for Clean Elections website.

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 Clean Elections: You Are Invited to a Special Event
Please join us February 28 for a very special event to honor Senator Jon Hunter. From Morgantown, Sen. Hunter is a dedicated Clean Elections supporter who unfortunately has decided not to run again this year. He has agreed to join us for a reception honoring him and his work. Senator Hunter will receive OVEC’s Bill Moyers “Defender of Democracy” Award in recognition of his tireless work for accountable government and citizen participation. He has been a great friend to many West Virginians working on progressive issues throughout his legislative career.  

Join us from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Charleston Woman’s Club, on the corner of Virginia and Elizabeth Streets. This event is a fundraiser in support of our new Clean Elections Challenge Grant. We have been given the opportunity to receive a one-to-one match -- if we can raise $15,000 by April 1, the Piper Fund will give us another $15,000.  These challenge grants are the main source of funding for our clean elections work, so meeting the goal is extremely important. Your help would be greatly appreciated! If you're unable to attend this exciting event, contributions may be sent to OVEC (P.O. Box 6753, Huntington, WV 25773) or WV Citizen Action (1500 Dixie St., Charleston, WV 25311). Please mark your check “Clean Elections challenge.”

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 More Events
Feb. 7: 6:00 p.m. Thursday Feb. 7 at Taylor Books, 226 Capitol St, Charleston, WV. Book signing--really a celebration of the work all of us do to end mountaintop removal--with Michael Shnayerson, author of "Coal River: How a few brave Americans took on a powerful company-- and the federal government-- to save the land they love." Meet some of the folks featured in the book.

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