Valentine’s Day reminds us not only of romantic love but also of our love for peace, justice and our beautiful earth. This is an abiding love we know you share.
Here at Tri-Valley CAREs, we want to offer you our deepest appreciation for all you do – and to extend that love to all of our members and supporters.
You are our valentine every day. Please accept this virtual, heartfelt, and calorie-free Valentine’s hug from us.
We also have news to share about our collective work toward a nuclear weapons free world:
Recently, we brought our “Nuclear Weapons are Illegal” and “U.S. Sign the Treaty” banners to the gates of the Livermore Lab in celebration of the third anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
It poured rain all that morning – up until the very moment we assembled at the Lab’s West Gate – and then blue skies opened up and the sun shone on us as we held the banners, read the Treaty and honored the 70 countries that have ratified to date. The symbolism was not lost on us; the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is truly a bright mark of international progress toward disarmament in an otherwise bleak landscape these days.
We are also celebrating a milestone in our Freedom of Information Act litigation charging Livermore Lab and its parent agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration, with illegally withholding information about Livermore Lab contamination incidents and other mishaps. The government has been forced to respond with documents showing a major explosion, rupture and airborne release at a weapons development facility at the Lab’s Site 300, called the Contained Firing Facility.
Further, due to our litigation, we have begun receiving documents we requested about issues with air monitors and ventilation systems at the Lab’s Main Site as well as other environmental problems.
As we write this, our “right-to-know” lawsuit continues because some of the documents we received are improperly blacked out to hide what the Lab does not want to share – while other documents, including those regarding setbacks with new warheads Livermore Lab is developing, are still being withheld completely. Stay tuned!
And, now, perhaps the most enjoyable Valentine’s Day treat of all: We are putting together our Tri-Valley CAREs team to attend the annual “DC Days” in our nation’s capital this spring. This is democracy in action!
Your team will bring its on-the-ground knowledge of nuclear weapons and pollution directly to lawmakers during 80-90 planned meetings. We will speak truth to power about the ways that funding Congress lavishes on nukes harms us in the present and threatens the very future of our planet.
We will lay out a very different vision for legislators, one we know you also hold dear, wherein peace is nurtured, justice is achieved, environmental wisdom reigns and human needs are met. It’s a tall order, but we are making progress. We will keep you updated.
In closing, we want to ask you to also send Tri-Valley CAREs some extra love in the form of a tax-deductible gift on this Valentine’s Day. We will put your gift, in any amount, to immediate good use.
Send your valentine gift by check to: Tri-Valley CAREs, 4049 1st Street, Suite 243, Livermore, CA 94551.
Or go to www.trivalleycares.org/donate to use your credit card. You may choose to offer a one-time donation or become a monthly sustainer in any amount. And, if you want help making a credit card donation, you can call Scott at 925.443.7148 or Marylia at 925.255.3589.
And, in all ways great and small, we invite you to continue working with us to grow more peace, justice and environmental sanity as we make progress toward a nuclear weapons free world.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Take good care,
Scott Yundt, Executive Director;
Marylia Kelley, Senior Advisor;
Raiza Marciscano-Bettis, Bilingual Community Organizer; and
Sophia Stroud, Webmaster
