May 17, 2004

Gaining Local Control of Things that Matter
Re-learning How to Exercise Democracy to Maintain the Local Voice in Community Concerns

Currently state regulations that were intended to protect the public health are being used to prevent responsible people from buying raw milk to promote their personal health. This is just one of many examples of where regulations that should be for the people are working against the people. Regulations that restrict what we can by and who we can buy it from are destroying local farms. Tom Linzey is an attorney who has had experience putting regulatory laws back on track. Come to Shepherdstown on Wednesday,May 19 to hear Tom talk about how we can use existing laws to get government out of our private lives and how we can put the regulators back to work for US!

NOTE: Tom will also be addressing reclaiming our right to buy what we want from whom we want by redrawing the laws governing the on-farm purchase of raw milk and other farm products.

Gaining Local Control of Things that Matter Re-learning How to Exercise Democracy to Maintain the Local Voice in Community Concerns

Wednesday, May 19 * 7PM * War Memorial Building * Shepherdstown, WV

Tom Linzey is a founding member of The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF). He is an honors graduate of Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg, and is a three time recipient of the Schools' Public Interest Law Award and a 2003 recipient of the Law School's Young Alumni Award. He has served as an independent candidate for Attorney General, receiving over 65,000 votes statewide, and is the co-founder of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit law firm that provides free and affordable legal services to community groups and local governments. Much of the work of the Legal Defense Fund is focused on the issue of the "corporatization" of agriculture and legal issues surrounding attempts to directly market farm products to consumers.

He is admitted to practice in federal and state courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and serves as coordinator of the Franklin County Coalition - a Franklin County association of eighteen community groups and over thirty locally owned businesses. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of several nonprofit organizations in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) was launched in 1995 to provide free and affordable legal services to grassroots, community-based environmental groups, and rural municipal governments. The Legal Defense Fund currently hosts four Program Areas:

* The Grassroots Litigation Support Program - Through this Program, the Legal Defense Fund assists groups and individuals to litigate without a lawyer in County, State, and Federal Courts on selected issues. In addition, the Legal Defense Fund agrees to represent groups and individuals directly on issues of public importance, and maintains a legal referral directory of low cost legal assistance.

* The Grassroots Administrative and Technical Support Program: Through this Program, the Legal Defense Fund provides incorporation and IRS 501(c)(3) processing services for groups, provides general legal research, responds to general legal inquiries, and assists organizations with fundraising.

* The Corporations and Democracy Program: Through this Program, the Legal Defense Fund drafts Ordinances for local governments and assists organizations to assert direct, local, and democratic control over corporations.

* The Sustainable Communities Program: Through this Program, the Legal Defense Fund has created the Franklin County Coalition - an association of diverse community-based organizations in Franklin County, Pennsylvania seeking to build a sustainable County in South-Central Pennsylvania.

The Legal Defense Fund is working to replicate that County-based model in other areas of Pennsylvania.

Since 1995, the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) has provided legal assistance to over three hundred organizations in seventeen states, and has assisted over seventy rural, local governments in four states. More information at www.celdf.org

For reservation for this event, contact Allan Balliett at (304) 876-3382 or . For more information, see www.GardeningForTheFuture.com.

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This page was posted on 05/17/04