Thursday, March 1: On Ash Wednesday, February 21, 2007, fifteen-plus activists visited Congressman Virgil Goode's office in Charlottesville opposing the continued funding of the war with Iraq. Three were arrested for failing to vacate Virgil Goode's office and the court date is set for March 1st at 10 a.m. in the Charlottesville General District Court.

Saturday, March 3: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm Paint the state blue: Democratic politics, leadership development and YOU!

Have you ever thought about volunteering on a campaign, joining a local board, or running for office yourself? Road Back PAC and Left of Center are sponsoring an intensive training for you, and anyone interested in just learning more about local and statewide politics. This is a free event and breakfast and training materials will be provided.

Featuring Del. Jennifer McClellan (D- 71), Steve Jarding (Jim Webb's Campaign Manager), Sen. Criegh Deeds, and City Councilor Dave Norris. Albemarle County Office Building on 1600 5th St Ext. Please direct questions or RSVPs to democraticbiz@cstone.net or (434) 806-5210.

Saturday, March 3: 6:17 p.m. The Full Worm Moon. In this month the ground softens and the earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signals the end of winter, or the Full Crust Moon because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. A total lunar eclipse will take place on this night; the Moon will appear to rise totally immersed (or nearly so) in the Earth’s shadow over the eastern United States. The rising Moon will be emerging from the shadow over the central United States, while over the Western U.S. the eclipse will be all but over by the time the Moon rises.

Tuesday, March 6: 7:00 - 10:00 pm Left of Center Anniversary Bash! at Starr Hill Music Hall "Left of Center – the group of mostly twenty and thirty-something local Democrats or dem-curious people – is marking its one year anniversary! We’ve had a fantastic year and we want you to help us celebrate.

Free food. Free beer. Door prizes. And lots of Liberals. Join Us."

Wedneday, March 7: The Interfaith Litany will be outside Congressman Virgil Goode's office in Charlottesville.

Thursday, March 8: 7:30 pm. Monticello Bird Club meeting in the Education Building, Ivy Creek Natural Area, Earlysville Road, Charlottesville. The Program topic is “Bird Banding at Blandy” The banding program at a unique grassland habitat at UVA’s Blandy Experimental Farm where experts keep track of migration and survival rates. Come learn how and why they attach mini-markers to tiny legs. See their tools and view some of the brightly colored species you might see up close and personal as a volunteer.

Also at this meeting, information about unusual area bird sightings, upcoming local early spring bird walks, and trips led by MBC experts. Further information: Ellen Dudley: 244-2688, Pat Wilczek: 985-4444, Jenny Gaden: 293-6275.

Sunday, March 11: 2:00 am. Note new day for the start of Daylight Saving Time.

Monday, March 12: 11:00 am. Miller Center Forum: Raffi Khatchadourian. Azzam the American: The Making of an Al Qaeda Homegrown. Raffi Khatchadourian has reported on the troubling and strange history of Adam Gadahn, the first American to be charged with treason in more than fifty years. His article appeared in the January 22, 2007 issue of The New Yorker, and can be downloaded at http://www.newyorker.com.

Further information, directions, (434) 924 0921 or http://www.millercenter.org/

Monday, March 12: 6:30 pm at the Downtown Library (3rd floor - McIntire Room) in Charlottesville. Planned Parenthood Movie Night presents "The Education of Shelby Knox" A self-described "good Southern Baptist girl," 15-year-old Shelby Knox of Lubbock, Texas has pledged abstinence until marriage. But she becomes an unlikely advocate for comprehensive sex ed when she finds that Lubbock, where high schools teach abstinence as the only safe sex, has some of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and STDs in the state.

After the screening, please join local parents, students, and health educators for an informative and timely discussion on the content of family life education in Charlottesville and Albemarle county schools.

This event is free. You can sign up here. Questions? Contact becky.reid@ppfa.org or (434) 296-1000 ext. 209.

Tuesday, March 13: 10:00 am. Ann Mallek announces her intention to run for the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, on the steps of the Albemarle County Office Building, 400 McIntire Rd. For Further Information: Paul (Kip) Newland (434) 962-5321.

5:30 pm District announcement, Mountainside Senior Living Center (front steps) Crozet Plaza, on Crozet Avenue, Crozet, Virginia.

Wednesday, March 14: Food Not Bombs will hold a rally outside Congressman Virgil Goode's Office.

Thursday, March 15: 4:00 pm Panel discussion of Loving v. Virginia, the case that overturned the Virginia "Racial Integrity" act which prohibited interracial marriage. The case was decided forty years ago this spring. Discussants will include Phil Hirschkop, the attorney who argued the case before the Supreme Court; Earl Dudley, UVa Professor of Law, who was a clerk at the Supreme Court at the time; and Robert A. Pratt, UVA Ph.D. and chairman of the University of Georgia History Department, who knew the Lovings when he was a boy and has also written about the case. Sponsored by the Woodson Institute for Afro-American and African Studies and the Race and Law Institute of the School of Law.

In the Kaleidoscope Lounge, Newcomb Hall, University of Virginia. (Note this is a change from the originally-announced location.) Further inforation abd5e@virginia.edu

Thursday, March 15: 6:30 pm IMPACT (Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together) Rally for Housing and Transportation, to focus on and encourage local governments to improve the lot of low income people. At the MLK Performing Arts Center (at CHS), Charlottesville.

Thursday, March 15: 7:30 pm The next open ASAP meeting in the library of Westminster Presbyterian Church, 190 Rugby Rd. The topic: ASAPs next five years: Strategic goals and tactical priorities. Is ASAP using its resources in the most effective manner? Are we addressing the appropriate local growth-related issues? What are we doing right and wrong? What changes should ASAP consider in strategy, tactics, organization, funding, etc.?

Members are urged to bring non-member guests to participate in the discussion. Light refreshments will be served.

Friday, March 16: 11:00 am. Miller Center Forum. Mark Bowden is the author of Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam. His 1999 book, Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list and was made into a movie in 2001. A book signing will follow his Forum. Further information, directions, (434) 924 0921 or http://www.millercenter.org/

Friday, March 16: Noon - 2:00 pm. Celebrating Women in the Arts FOCUS Women's History Month Luncheon at the Omni Hotel, Charlottesville. Keynote speaker Dr. Judy L. Larson, Director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. Further information (434) 293-2222 ext 30.

Friday, March 16: 5:00 p.m. ABC News Supreme Court Correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg Speaking on her recently published book "Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court" at the University of Virginia School of Law Caplin Auditorium. Sponsored by the TJ Center for Freedom of Expression. Admission is free. To RSVP, simply call 434-295-4784. We look forward to seeing you there!

Saturday, March 17: March on the Pentagon on the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Additional information about the March Buses from Charlottesville to D.C. will leave at 8 AM and return by 8 PM. Cost is $25 for adults and $15 for students. Donations to subsidize riders are welcome. For additional details, or to reserve seats and ride up and back in good company and comfort, please call
(434)296-2494 or Elena Day at charlottesvillebus@answercoalition.org.

Saturday, March 17 and Sunday, March 18: 9:00 am - 8:00 pm. Friends of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library Year 2007 Book Sale Gordon Avenue Library 1500 Gordon Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22903. Continues next weekend. Further information on the website.

Saturday, March 17: 9:30 am. Regular monthly Charlottesville Albemarle Democratic Breakfast. This month's topic is Haiti and the Grison-Garde Community, with a presentation by Mike Ford who will explain and discuss, show some photos and answer questions from the audience. He'll be joined by Mike Dickens, who has provided medical care to the community for 30 years.

At JABA, 674 Hillsdale Drive, Charlottesville (Behind Fashion Square and adjacent to the Marriott Suites Hotel) A light breakfast is offered, the event is free and the public is warmly invited.

Saturday, March 17: 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm You are cordially invited to an evening of Dancing with Deeds To support the reelection campaign of Senator Creigh Deeds. With special guest Governor Tim Kaine. Featuring ballroom dance instruction from Rita Dove and Fred Viebahn. At Carver Recreation Center 324 4th St. NW, Charlottesville $50 per person. Attire: Creative Spiffy. For More Information call (434) 296-5491.

RSVP to P.O. Box 5462, Charlottesville, VA 22905 by March 12 (be sure to include the names of your dance partners).

Reception at 6:30 PM with Governor Kaine as a Dancing Machine ($2,500 for Six Tickets) Master of the Two Step ($1,000 for Two Tickets) Dancing Fool ($500 for One Ticket).

Sunday, March 18: 3:00 pm. Dr. John H. Bryant will speak about "The UN Millenium Development Goals and the Children of Africa" at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 717 Rugby Rd, Charlottesville. Open to the public. Dr. Bryant, an expert on international health, is currently working with orphans in the urban slums of Africa.

Monday, March 19: 4:00 pm. Gather in front of the Rotunda (University Avenue side) for a March and Rally to End the War Now! March down Main Street to the Downtown Mall ,culminating with a rally at the Freedom of Expression Wall. Cindy Sheehan will join the March and speak, as well as the Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr.

The rally also includes the national tour "Make Hip Hop Not War" by The Hip Hop Caucus, as well as a puppet show & music. Drums, instruments welcome. Register your dissent. For more info go to www.charlottesvillepeace.org or phone 434 961-6278.

Wednesday, March 21: Sorensen Institute Gala Honoring Governor A. Linwood Holton at the Jefferson Hotel Richmond. Information (434) 982-5234

Thursday, March 22:10:00 am. Miller Center Forum Dwight Young, John Sayle Watterson Presidents at Work and at Play

Dwight Young, author of Dear Mr. President, has been involved in the preservation of America's history for thirty years as a staff member of the National Trust. He is also the author of Alternatives to Sprawl and Saving America's Treasures.

John Sayle Watterson, an adjunct assistant professor of history at James Madison University, has written frequently about the history of American sports. His latest book, The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency, looks at presidents in a new way: through their sporting endeavors.

This Forum celebrates the Virginia Festival of the Book; book signings will follow the event. Further information, directions, (434) 924 0921 or http://www.millercenter.org/

Thursday, March 22: 6:00 pm at Community Design Center, 101 East Main (on the Downtown Mall) Charlottesville. VA Book Panel - Reproductive Justice: A New Vision for Reproductive Rights. (NOTE: This is a change of venue, from originally scheduled Gravity Lounge).

Christina Page (How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America: Freedom, Politics and the War on Sex) and Loretta Ross (Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice) discuss how the pro-choice movement changed America and how, in order to succeed, the pro-choice movement needs to change.

Cristina Page's book is the first to address the positive transformation our society has undergone because of our ability to plan when and if to have children. It also exposes the pro-life movement's far-reaching--and dangerous--agenda. In it you'll find frightening truths about the pro-life movement's war against contraception, their goals to change the culture of sex across America, and what's at stake for all of us if it succeeds. The pro-choice vs. pro-life battle is no longer simply over abortion, it is far more encompassing. Today, the pro-choice movement is also fighting to protect our right to use contraception and enjoy sex without facing life-altering consequences. Cristina Page is also a prominent reproductive rights activist and a consultant to several national pro-choice groups. More at www.prochoicemovement.com.

Loretta J. Ross is the National Coordinator of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective, a network of women of color and allied organizations that work on reproductive justice issues. Reproductive Justice offers a new perspective on reproductive issue advocacy by shifting the definition of the problem to one of reproductive oppression (the control and exploitation of women, girls, and individuals through our bodies, sexuality, labor, and reproduction) rather than a narrow focus on protecting the legal right to abortion. One of the key problems addressed by Reproductive Justice is the isolation of abortion from other social justice issues that concern communities of color. SisterSong promotes Reproductive Justice as a guiding principle to develop a more inclusive vision of how to move forward in building a new movement. In 2004, Loretta was National Co-Director of the April 25, 2004 March for Women's Lives in Washington D.C., the largest protest march in U.S. history with more than one million participants. She is presently writing a book entitled Black Abortion. More at www.sistersong.net.

Moderated by Holly Hatcher and sponsored by Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge. Register at http://www.ppaction.org/ppav/events/vabookpanel/details.tcl

Thursday, March 22: Virginia Festival of the Book: 7:00 pm. Our Enviroment: Green Grass, Pesticides and Public Policy, featuring authors Ted Steinberg, Ed Russell, and Steve Nash. Moderated by Frank Dukes. UVA Clark Hall, Room 108, UVA Central Grounds. Free. For more info. see: http://www.vabook.org/

Friday, March 23: Virginia Festival of the Book: 12:00 pm. Changing the Constitution: The 14th Amendment and Judicial Activism, featuring authors Kermit Roosevelt III, Garrett Epps, and Daholia Lithwick. Moderated by Dahlia Lithwick. UVA Bookstore, 400 Emmet Street. Free. For more info. see: http://www.vabook.org/

Saturday, March 24: Virginia Festival of the Book: 10:00 am. All Governments Lie--and Journalists Who Told the Truth. Myra MacPherson and Dorothy Fall discuss two journalists unafraid to tell the truth. Moderated by Tico Braun. UVA Bookstore, 400 Emmet St. Free. For more info. see: http://www.vabook.org/

Saturday, March 24: Virginia Festival of the Book: 4:00 pm. Immigration: Where Are We Going?, featuring authors Luis Alberto Urrea, Hiroshi Motomura, and Charles Bowden. Moderated by David Martin. City Council Chambers, 605 E. Main St. Free. For more info. see: http://www.vabook.org/

Saturday, March 24 through Sunday, April 1: 9:00 am - 8:00 pm. Friends of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library Year 2007 Book Sale Gordon Avenue Library 1500 Gordon Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22903. 1/2 price day Saturday March 31. 1/4 price day Sunday, April 1. Giveaway day Monday, April 2. Further information on the website.

Sunday, March 25: Virginia Festival of the Book: 1:30 pm. Virginia Politics: Where Have We Been, Where Are We Going, featuring authors Frank Atkinson and Garrett Epps. Moderated by Daily Progress' Bob Gibson. 1:30 pm in Charlottesville City Council Chambers. Free. For more info. see: http://www.vabook.org/

Sunday, March 25: 2:00 pm The Funeral Information Society of the Piedmont invites the public to its annual meeting at JABA, 674 Hillsdale Drive (behind the Fashion Square Mall). Isabel Berney is this year’s speaker. Her talk, “Six Feet Under? Burial Options Inside and Outside the Box” draws on her experiences as a citizen member of the Virginia State Cemetery Board and her involvement with the Funeral Consumer Alliance of the Virginia Blue Ridge. Helpful consumer guides will be provided for anyone considering aditional local options, veteran’s cemeteries, and environmentally friendly options such as green burial or simple pine box construction.For more information call (434) 923-7679.

The Funeral Information Society of the Piedmont, established in 1973, is a non-profit organization of volunteers that helps people plan in advance for simple, dignified and economical funeral arrangements.

Sunday, March 25: Virginia Festival of the Book: 3:00 pm. Press Pass: From the White House to the World, featuring journalists Helen Thomas, Margaret Kilgore, Betty DeRamus, and Alicia Shepard. Moderated by Maurice Jones. Albemarle County Office Building, 401 McIntire Rd. Free. For more info. see: http://www.vabook.org/

Monday, March 26, 2007: 7:00 pm UNICEF-UVA presents Carol Bellamy on "The State of the World's Children" in the Auditorium of the Harrison Institute/Small Library. Coffee and dessert will be served.
This event is sponsored in part by the Cultural Programming Board and the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs.

Ms. Bellamy is President & CEO of World Learning and the School for International Training (SIT) and former Executive Director of UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund. She is a respected and powerful voice in the international community.

For information on the event, please contact Catherine Bauman ncb8v@virginia.edu. More information on Carol Bellamy is available at http://www.worldlearning.org/bio_president.html

Tuesday, March 27: 12:00 noon League of Women Voters luncheon at the Monticello Event and Conference Center, 201 Monticello Ave. Video of "Garrison Keillor at the LWV U.S. Convention 2006" Email lwv@avenue.org or call 970 to reserve your lunch $8 (or bring your own).

Thursday, March 29: 7:00 p.m. The Church Exposed: The Character of Christian Social and Political Engagement in the United States. At St. Paul's Memorial Church, Charlottesville

Erasing Hate is a nationwide lecture-discussion series during February- March 2007 about what divides us - race, religion, ethnicity and even morality. It aims to provide space in which a different sort of listening can occur, one that fosters active participation in the public square and inspires education, dialogue, and understanding.

In the Chrlottesville edition, Jenny McBride, a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Virginia's Religious Studies Department, will speak about the church's complicity in social, political, economic and evnironmental injury; but will also offer a hopeful, constructive picture of the church as a vehicle of resistance and reconciliation - a source of healing and renewal - when it exposes itself as a sinful body called to accept responsibility for injury through confession and repentance.

Discussion to follow. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by Erasing Hate in tandem with Splintered Light Bookstore and C'ville Left of Center. More info at www.ErasingHate.com . Jenny McBride 434 296-3977 (Splintered Light) jmm2dr@virginia.edu