Worried about national and state events? Concerned about the chaos of executive actions and a silent legislature? Want to do something but can’t figure out how?
The League of Women Voters of Alachua County is preparing a series of action plans. They are intended to encourage you to respond to the daily breach of the rule of law and the separation of powers. That separation has nourished and guarded this nation since its inception. We are calling this the What You Can Do (WYCD) campaign.
These WYCD Action Items will appear regularly. They will be designed to provide concrete actions to give you a mechanism for doing something. Daily assaults on personal freedoms and institutions meant to serve American citizens can be
overwhelming. Ignoring the worst and retreating inward can seem like the only response. Fear is
understandable. But fear contributes to the dismantling. Action, because it is the right thing to do, helps us sleep at night. Action, regardless of outcome, makes a pillow softer.
The League suggests that you post each message in your kitchen. Grab your morning beverage, grab your phone, and take action.
To receive the What You Can Do actions directly, please email info [at] lwv-alachua.org (subject: What%20You%20Can%20Do) with "What You Can Do" in the subject line. Request to be added to the email list. Messages come out about once a week.
CURRENT ACTION TOPICS: 1) Lakeshore Drive 2) Guardian op ed 3) Epstein files
Action Items:
LOCAL
1) John Moran has requested our help. If you don’t know John, search his name online. Here is a copy of what he sent:
Friends and Neighbors,
With the county’s recent approval of a land-use change, major development is coming to Newnans Lake. A 149-home subdivision called Eastwood Preserve is on track for construction at the intersection of Hawthorne Road at Lakeshore Drive, which many of you know as the picturesque road along the western shore of Newnans Lake .
I’m writing to ask your support of our petition to the County Commission to accord official Scenic Road status for Lakeshore Drive, which could bring a modest level of enhanced protection by way of road weight limits and increased setbacks for construction.
Newnans Lake has been my home since 1977. We value that it has remained largely natural, and quiet, and dark. To borrow from the great Florida naturalist and writer Archie Carr, Newnans Lake is something real to hold onto in a world all broken out with man. I’ve sent an email to the commission, making the case in photographs why I believe designating Lakeshore Drive as a scenic road is warranted. That message is copied below.
Public input and neighborhood support are valued by the Board of County Commissioners. If this is an issue you can get behind, please send an email indicating your support to bocc [at] alachuacounty.us () . Please cc the county planning department at planning [at] alachuacounty.us ().
Thank you for your time and interest.
John Moran
Learn more about the proposed Eastwood Preserve in this news story in the Independent Florida Alligator.
Learn more about the Alachua County Scenic Road program here.
John did what he does best – he sent an email to the county commissioners with a series of gorgeous photos of the beauty of Lakeshore Drive and the many creatures, including humans, who thrive there. I don’t have John’s talents. So I just sent a message to the commissioners. I’ll copy it for you. Please use, edit, whatever suits you, but please write to the county commissioners at bocc [at] alachuacounty.us.
Subject Line: Support Scenic Road designation of Lakeshore Drive
Dear Commissioners
One of the wonderful things about living in Alachua County is that we have leadership and staff who appreciate the natural beauty of our little Florida sanctuary. Towards that end, I hope you will support giving Lakeshore Drive the designation of a Scenic Road.
Small adjustments can have a large impact. The protections of a Scenic Road are not unreasonable, but they would help to preserve the beauty and wildlife habitat of Lakeshore Drive. And we humans would continue to breathe more deeply and rest our minds while we are in that space.
Thank you for your consideration. I know that each of you cares about our natural environment, which is, after all, our home.
In community,
Your name
2) Glenn Terry, creator of the Flying Pig parade, artist and community-maker, is working on a non-compliance idea called “The Cage”. If you don’t know Glenn, search his name online. The Cage would be built on a trailer, would have real people inside and would represent people who have been put in internment camps (with or without legal justification; without due process). The Cage would travel around Gainesville in various sites to protest against the treatment of immigrants. If you would like to be on Glenn’s email list, contact him at mangoglenn [at] yahoo.com. If you would like to help with The Cage, send him a message. Suggested subject lines: “Please add me to your email list” and/or “I want to help with The Cage”.
NATIONAL
Action Items: Call your legislators and ask for answers. Some suggestions follow. We want our messages to be laser focused, please feel free to use some or all these questions or any others of your own choosing. Choose a couple questions for today, use others in the next couple days. Or, call them about a topic of your choosing and interest. Just call!
National Legislators:
Senator Rick Scott: (202) 224-5274
Senator Ashley Moody: (202) 224-3041
Representative Kat Cammack: (202) 225-5744
1) The Guardian Live Journal had an op ed today (7/27/25) by V (formerly Eve Ensler) that is especially pertinent and poignant, “We do not comply. How do we disrupt the momentum …? It gives a framework of how we can act in small and large ways. It gives examples of quick-thinking people who resist in specific, unjust situations. Here’s the link. If it doesn’t work, just search the title.
a. Take 10 minutes to read it.
2) Continue asking for the release of all Epstein files and information. Todd Blanch, Deputy Attorney General, who was the executive branch’s personal attorney and is friends with David Markus, the attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell, did the interview with her. The format was highly irregular.
a. Call your legislators. Suggested verbiage
i. The Epstein files and all information about men preying on minor girls should be released promptly. The interview of Ghislaine Maxwell by Todd Blanche was highly irregular and was not a genuine attempt to find the truth of who was involved. Do you agree that Mr. Blanche, who is friends with Ms. Maxwell’s attorney, was not the right person for the interview? Do you agree that an FBI agent should have been present, per normal process, to take notes on the interview?
b. The attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell said "We haven't spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet," adding, "We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way." Do you agree that a pardon for Ms. Maxwell would be completely outside the boundaries of justice, morality and acceptable use of pardons? Do you agree that all information about the sexual assault on minor girls should be released?
References: CBS News, 7/27/25 “To former prosecutors, everything about the Justice Department Interview…” ; The Lincoln Project, 7/25/25, “The Rank Stench of Todd (Carte) Blanche”
