Dear Members,
Hello to all of you. I hope that you enjoy reading The Voter newsletter. Have you ever wondered who gets a copy of The Voter? Current league members, alliances, and league friends do. This is an effective method for sharing local, state, and national issues. Let us know if there is something else that would be of interestto you.
What has changed in the league since January 1, 2026? The League gained six new members: Neil McClure, 1-1-26; Judy Backer, 1-14-26; Natalia Farber, 1-24-26; Judith Strosahl, 1-29-26; Lisbeth Kaplan, 1-30-26; and Peggy Peterson, 2-2-26. The League welcomes all of you. Thank you for choosing to be a part of the League of Women Voters of Yakima County. I enjoyed meeting those of you who were available to attend the new members’ orientation this past February. Thank you to the members that are already involved.
For the last two months, The Leadership Team and I have been organizing our committees and tasks. The Leadership Team added three new committees: Membership Committee, Finance Committee, and the Nominating Committee. For the last 4 years, the only working committee has been Voter Services. I will be speaking more about this at the Annual Meeting.
Janis Luvaas’s term as Treasurer is ending on June 30, 2026. She would like to step down and continue with other endeavors as she has been doing this for many years. If you are skilled with numbers and have budget experience, please contact me. Firsthand training would be beneficial. If you are interested and wish to be considered, your name can be submitted to the Nominating Committee. The full membership will vote on approval at the Annual Meeting scheduled for June 16th.
I survived my first round of legislative issues and actions by sending pros and cons to legislators for the past six weeks. I learned more about how bills move in the House and Senate. Hopefully, next year, I can visit the State Capitol during one of the legislative sessions in the House and Senate. This is on my bucket list. I have always wanted to see the inside of the chambers and rooms.
Then in February, with the organizational skills from Coleen Anderson and Dori Peralta Baker’s knowledge of legislation, this League was able to speak with Senator Curtis King, District 14, about SB5400: Supporting Local Journalists. The bill calls for a small surcharge of 1.22 percent on search engines and social media platforms that gross more than $5 million annually. It would raise an estimated $20 million annually to help both nonprofit and for-profit publications and broadcasters, all which are under duress as internet giants scrape their content and dominate advertising. Janis, Coleen, and Dori were able to speak with Senator Curtis King. This bill now sits in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The next public hearing will be on March 18, at 4:00 p.m. I was able to gather information from KDNA Cadena Radio in Granger and the Sunnyside Sun. Without our local news networks, our rural and underserved areas, non-English or limited English-speaking residences would not receive essential local news affecting their communities. I sent messages to District 15 Senator Nikki Torres, Representatives Chris Corry, and Jeremie Dufault through the Legislature Website for their support of SB5400.
Last, please remember to come to the Spring Quarterly Meeting on Monday, March 16, 2026. I would like the opportunity to meet you all. See the flyer in this issue of The Voter.
Respectfully,
Cindy Olivas, President
