We Need You....To Come to Charleston. By Chuck Wyrostok, WV Environmental Council Outreach Crew, www.wvecouncil.org Our full-time staff lobbyists, Don Garvin, Vickie Wolfe and John Christensen, are currently putting in some long days pounding the marble hallways at the Capitol in Charleston, in our annual attempt to get the Legislature to protect the environment for all the citizens of West Virginia. And they sure would love some help from you, because there is nothing quite like a constituent from a legislator’s home district showing up at the capitol to “cheer” them on in the right direction. They listen to voters from home. An army of citizen lobbyists descending on the Capitol would delight our lobby team and lend a lot of clout to their efforts. Showing up to speak directly to your Senators or Delegate is grassroots lobbying at its best. They might appreciate hearing that you’ll be taking their views on the planet’s health back home to your neighbors, and they may like to hear that you might be writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. It will be important for you to emphasize that you sacrificed your day to come to Charleston to express your views and that you want action and results and that people in their home district will hear about it. The Session is more than halfway through its two-month run. The battle of clean streams vs. dirty streams (Tier 2.5) is revving up. The Bottle Bill got a big boost last week when the CEO of a California company met with Gov. Manchin and legislators to propose a facility here employing over two hundred people (Flash, Joe! Recycling pays). There are stellar Delegates and Senators to congratulate and encourage, like Sen. Jon Blair Hunter, who delivered an impassioned speech to a hushed Senate Chamber deploring mountaintop removal mining. Del. Barbara Fleischauer and House Judiciary Chairwoman Carrie Webster are championing a series of solid ‘green’ energy bills. There’s even a bill that would require retail establishments to phase out the use of plastic bags by 2011! Please check _http://www.wvecouncil.org/legisupdate/2008/02_08.html_ (http://www.wvecouncil.org/legisupdate/2008/02_08.html) for a compilation of the bills WVEC is tracking. We’ll send you an email “packet” with helpful tips and on your arrival Don, Vickie or John will brief you on the status of specific bills being considered and guide you to your legislators’ offices. Tuesday is the optimum day for your visit, but Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays work as well (Fridays, legislators are leaving for the weekend). If you live far from Charleston, try to recruit some local fellow greens and carpool. We’ll try to arrange overnight lodging if you need it (Charleston area folks, please let me know if out-of-town travelers can stay overnight at your home). Or you could save gas by getting a small group together and inviting your legislator to breakfast or lunch right in your home district over a weekend. Oh, one last thing. Friday, February 22nd is E-Day at the Capitol, an excellent day for citizen lobbying, as well as networking in person with WVEC’s member groups and having fun together that evening at our benefit reception. We ’ll present our 2008 Environmental Awards, listen to cool, live music by the Blue Notes and enjoy a buffet dinner. I’ll hook you up with the Green Team under the Gold Dome.

_wyro@appalight.com_ (mailto:wyro@appalight.com) or 304 927-2978.

**************The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards. Go to AOL Music. (http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565)