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Sonoma County. The chosen spot of all the earth as far as nature is concerned, according to the famed plant wizard Luther Burbank Diverse County, with 1,010,000 acres of land on 1574 miles of scenic roadways, Cinema County is rightfully famed for its agriculture, viticulture, industry and recreation,

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as well as for the amazingly successful ethnic and economic mixture of its more than 340,000 residents on for the forward looking philosophy of its local governing bodies. Now we invite you to take a closer look at Sonoma County in the eighties with your host, Rich McGlinchy.

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Welcome to another edition of Sonoma County in the eighties. We're talking about a subject that's a great important our county, and I think nationwide will be talking about the Commission on the Status of Women. We're talking to two people who are very familiar with this operation.

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Here in Sonoma County. The director of the program is on the right of your screen, Carol, to make us, and on the left of your screen is Colleen O Neill, and she's chair of CEO SW, and it's nice to have you both here But before we

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go into the questioning about your organization's, I'll start with you. Carol, how about a little background about Carol? Make us OK, but basically I've been involved with the commission since 1977. I started out as, ah volunteer while I was working on my masters and counseling and

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got involved on on a task force. And from there I did get appointed as a 53 commissioner. And so for two years on the commission and for the last eight years, I've served him as the manager of commissions faster. So I've had a long history, that

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sort of his story. And I think after a while with the commission, a lot of growth, I suffer staff. But yes, please. I'm a question from the Fifth District. Um, I've been on the commission since 1984. I'm also attorney in private practice in Roseland at the

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Rose on Community Law office. Um, my community involvement has been a little varied. Ah, former chair of the Sonoma County American Civil Liberties Union, founding member for People for Reproductive Options and, um, a former teacher from New College of California School of Law in San Francisco.

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both have been taking backgrounds, especially the last few years. Uh, let's start with you. We always start with you. Um, what is basically the commission on the status of women, And how does it benefit the residents of cinema? Carrie? Good question. Um, the commission is actually

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one of the oldest advisory bodies in the county. Was established in 1975 by a county ordinance. So we are a county department. And what part of county government? Um, the commission was set up and was in our ordinance, and it gives us high powers and duties,

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but basically, we were set up to take affirmative action to eliminate the discrimination on the basis of Sex and Sonoma County. No small job, to say the least. But how? The commission works, and we'll talk a little bit about it later. We do where gets And

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it was the advisory body. The commission really benefits of residents of Sanoma County, the women and Children, especially by giving women and Children information about their rights, letting them know whether legal rights are what their options are. Our office, anything we'll talk a little bit later

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about that received numerous phone calls was women having basic questions about what their rights are. So I would say that is one of the biggest benefits for the residents of some memo county. We also have a tremendous library that is made up of materials from that

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we received from other governmental bodies as well as now. We have a combined effort with the community affirmative action form, which is made up of all the affirmative action officers in the county. So we do have a lot of information to share around. Um, labor law

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around family law were not attorneys at the office, but we do stay with their VIPs are on. And basically we're the only organization in town when we can get that kind of information making a side here from a question to jot it down to ask you,

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How did we in your opinion? And I don't Mr Facetious remark, I mean, how did we get in the position we're in Oh, or have been in the past few decades, or maybe forever. I don't know where Women, uh, tremendous people have not been equal to

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the male. Is it going? Are we going back to the the prehistoric days? of physical time somewhere. Why do you feel we? We still have this bugaboo facing us. Well, I always say that as soon as we eliminate discrimination Cinema County, I will be the 1st

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1 to go to the boy supervisors and tell them to close down my office because I have nothing to do. And we have solved all the problems that women phase because they're women. Considering that we only got the vote in 1920 took 20 years of working

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on that and we still don't have an Equal rights amendment in the United States, it does show that through some ignorance around the whole area of one's value in society. Um, if it wasn't for us, you wouldn't be sitting here today. You know, um so basically,

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somehow the value of women throughout the decades have not had the same value. An album must say that Children in society an American general did not have the same value. Neither do seniors that in other in other countries, the support they're young and they're old isn't

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and much better fashion. But I say, you know, you know, the little commercial we've come a long way, baby um is not true. We have wait a very long way to go, and I think a lot of it is now based on the economy. I've a

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great post in my office that says, um, it's actually from World War Two and shows a woman industrial worker and says We can do it and I got it from the Library of Congress. And in those days, when memoir At War and Women were in the

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factories talk here Sunday, his words hatch to the factories. Healthcare benefits were available and there was no question that are women were important part of the labor force. Here we are in 1988 where women are continuing to in in higher and higher percentages entering the labor

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force, that yet there is not that recognition that any child care they need support from the business is to understand that women not only reproduce Children, they also are in the labor force. And we need support that much. I think it does way be a long

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time before we answer the other questions there, but but certainly that's a start. I go, let me go back to you calling as remember the commission you. You work as an advisory body to the Board of Supervisors. Let's say how effectively do you work? Do you

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feel with them? And then how do you feel? It's a zoo. A member of the commission dealing with him? Well, two Questions Commission really sort of functions on a couple of different levels. Um, one function on one level that we function on is as a whole

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commission. Um, and the full commission is really the policy setting group and has that function basically deciding what we're going to work on. The commission meets once a month and at those meetings, basically we have reports from the various committees in liaison positions as in the

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way that functions. Basically that the liaisons we have different commissioners work as a liaison to various other groups in the community. So, for instance, we have, uh, liaison that works with the AIDS project. We have, um, liaison that works with people for reproductive options. We have

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ah, liaison that works with the teen pregnancy group. So various other community organizations, we also have someone that represents the commission on the status of women. Uh, we also have the task forces which are basically groups that are made up of some commissioners and some community

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members. Um, and the role there is basically to work on specific issues. Um, I think through the task forces is one way that, um, we work as an advisory body. We gather information. We then try to disseminate that information to the Board of Supervisors. Um, we

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also represent or in some way advocate for other women's groups in the county to the Board of Supervisors, for instance, around can't around funding at budget time. Eso There may be various groups that we will, um, you know, go to the Board of Supervisors during those

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budget hearings or during hearings where the community resource money is being distributed and basically support those groups talk about what they have done and do what we can to help those organizations get more funding. The, uh, and the other level, I think that that the commission

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functions on which is not so much a reflective of the advisory capacity, but the other level is the way the office itself functions and the services that are provided directly out of the office. All right. Um, good point. Good. Clear description. Carol, your office receives a

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lot of requests for information and assistance for women. Uh, I know Carol was in charge of an office with full staff, A secretariat full time. And she, like, we got caught in the budget crew in check up three years ago and shortsighted. The in my opinion,

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reduced, but nonetheless. How do you How do you assist when you get these requests for information? How do you do? What do you do so money? Cause then they gonna probably want information. They want assistance. What do you do? Okay, just to preface that a little

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bit and to get the point cost of the commission does have an office, and it's located at 370 a administration drive in the Redwood Credit Union building. And we're open Monday through Thursdays. Um, a 3 to 4 30 We also have evening meetings that, based on

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the task voices that Colleen has spoke about, um, we have closed on Fridays, and that's because of the budget cuts. There are only 2 3/4 time staff persons. We do have an intern that assists us in helping with those requests, um, to get specifically to question.

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I'll just give you an example. Ah, woman will call and say that she is very concerned. She doesn't really have a divorce order yet, but her husband speaking up her child on Friday. And does she need a child custody order because she's afraid that he's gonna

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take the child to a Y and not bring the child back? No, I'm not an attorney, but what I can do is date what the law is, and I can tell her what the process is and what the needs are based on the long if you

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do not have a custody order. From that point, I can refer her to an attorney that we have, ah, list of rotating attorneys that I willing to. Basically, there is no Holocaust. I think Hollywood get into that later. Since she's returned yourself on, there is no

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low cost legal assistance for women's rights around family law. I'm going to go through legal aid, but you know they can't help them immediately. Eso what our office tries to do is to educate the woman of what her rights are, and what we rely on is

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that a few years ago, is that we did write a legal vice Hamburg in cooperation with the bar association. We also have pamphlets from all other governmental agencies that give us the latest statutes and court decisions on issues relating to women and Children so we can

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give him that information. A lot of times they also have been directed to seven other agencies. And they finally got us because if we don't know so like Freeman brothers or whatever, you know you don't need it. And basically it. If the commission has women, doesn't

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know that means the agency doesn't exist for the service doesn't exist. We're a pretty well rounded, knowledgeable group because of the resource is that are in our office. The difficult part in dealing with it is some of the questions that have no answers. And and that's,

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well, basically that a woman ah, woman has been laid off. Quote fired, and she's in her eighth month of pregnancy. He does have a discrimination complaint, weaken a sister and filing the forms. There is a government official from, um, the fair employment practices that comes to

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Cinema County once a month. She could file that, but in the interim, she's left with no income and no medical car grit, especially if Lifetime she's married to a man who is a carpenter, whatever and doesn't have any. He's looking, doesn't have any insurance. So meanwhile,

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I can give her all this information, but she still basically put in a very bad situation. So those are the calls that I really hate. Taking, I can tell is you could do all this. You'd apply from medical, but basically, um, the employer did not follow

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the law. But the remedy will take a year and 1/2 before it ever goes through the system for her to get any assistance. So those are the sad ones. And just to make the point, we I'm just compiling statistics for this year for the fiscal year,

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and we received over 2200 calls. Now we're only open four days a week, and these are mostly and I tried to add up and give percentages. Are unemployment discrimination around sexual harassment around vice of pregnant workers, child custody issues, child support issues, legal referrals, Um, and

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also women who are trying to re enter the workforce but basically don't qualify for welfare because they may have partial ownership in a house or something like that. Uh, first of all, let's restate the address in the phone number right now. I would do that a

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few times. I don't think I gave the phone number now that I don't want more phone calls, but the number is 5 to 7 to 161 and we have an answering machine that runs 24 hours a day. And we do make pickups on emergency calls on

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over the weekend on Fridays. Um, my office is really not geared to be a direct service agency. It's really geared to give information. But since there is no other agency with the only game in town, we do end up trying to buy to provide as much

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tax service. The address is 370 a administration drive is directly across from social services. Building in the bed with credit union building were between the two banks that have a lot of money that we don't. All right, we will be back in just a moment. We're

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gonna talk more Carol to make us in. Colleen O Neal about the very important organization called the Commission of Status of Women first these important messages. Happy birthday care. You've been working hard for 40 years. You deserve a wish. Wish for food for hungry people in

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Africa, Asia and Latin America Wish for clean water, health care, new forests, improved roads and farm lines and wish for 40 more years of support from generous, caring Americans. Happy birthday care And may all your wishes come true when you bend a helping hand, you give

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yourself way. Becoming something so much more than words could ever say John Denver Asking you to make your united way pledge now thanks to you, it works for all of us. United Way Won't you give today the United Way? Bring happiness again through this important addition

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of cinema cannonade We're talking about the Commission on the Status of Women on organization that's been in existence here in Sonoma County for what 12 years were organized in 1975. Think about 13 years, OK? And we've been talking to, you know, to make us. And she

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is the director of the coordinator of the Commission of status Women and Colleen O Neill, who is the chair of CEO S W. And we got quite a few questions. Not enough time. But I want to throw a mature now, uh, perhaps it to silly question

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to start with. But what is the status of women in 1988 in Sonoma County? And I'd like you both to come in. Okay, Um, Zazzle Imminence, Sonoma County. Is that a great? Um, I have to admit that is not that Cinema County is is unique in

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that factor. That it is Onley cinema, County women that are facing the problems basically mostly that our economic problems. There was a study just released that IBC from the Economic Development Board locally, which is another county agency. And within the report, it stated that incident a

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county 40% of the women who are over 50 we live below the poverty level is just, You know, I don't give a bunch of statistics, but I mean, that's one factor for us to look at 40% of women over 50. That's an important factor. Um, the

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other part of the status of women is that there is a a large percent of the women who are single parents were not receiving their child support. And we're working in low paying jobs. Um, so that's where the status of women is on that level to

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two different age groups. The age group of a woman returning to the workforce and her thirties or late thirties and women over 50. And both of them are living under the poverty level or just the poverty level in Cinema County. I think a good example of

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looking at the status of women and cinema County is taking a look at, for instance, light industry and food processing. In this in this county, those industries are really predominantly ah, women and in particular brown women in this county. And we really have a situation where

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these people, these women, are horribly underpaid. They don't have a seniority system. They have really bad conditions there. Bad health conditions, no benefits, um, basically suffer from sexual harassment and sex discrimination, race discrimination, the naughty and management positions in these industries. And it's it's a real

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problem. And the commission has specifically been, um, addressed and approached by some of these workers, for instance, the point saying George workers, uh with regard to the kinds of discrimination and problems that they're facing in this county, and I think that's I think that's representative of

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some of the problems of women in this county. Okay, I think this question may be foolish, but at least you could give us degrees. Uh, has the commission reached? Well, has the commission accomplished in reaching this goal of eliminating discrimination in Sonoma County? When have you

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What? How far are you? When will you will you ever uh, hopefully in my lifetime? I don't know. I e no, but his it's too is It is a difficult battle. What I can say as far as the commission trying to work toward the elimination of

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discrimination, I think the best thing that we can do is is when the issues come to our attention and a lot of times blatantly and a lot of times, because up through our own research, when a statute a lot has passed or when, um, in an

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implementation of, say, like, the gain program comes about, um, the commission is crucial and being able to represent women so that they get their fair share and that the legislative intent of the statute really will benefit. Ultimately, the women and Children. Sonoma County. I mean, what

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we've accomplished is that we've put together pamphlets. We have one on housing discrimination. We have one on the vice of pregnant workers. We have one sexual discrimination. We do a child support enforcement workshop. All these services are available free, thanks to your county text for your

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dollars. We do accept donations, though That's true. So I think that our accomplishment is we were trying to get the education material out there, not just to the women but also to the businesses and other governmental bodies who are really the decision makers. I think it's

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very important for business to look at the fact of of how their productivity and things could change. Um, if women were given their fierce sheer and war assistance and talking to the economic development border, other areas of looking at Japan and other in other countries of

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why they're mawr financially successful instead of in America How right now, very few people have savings accounts, except I think because business is really not looking at the fact and taking it seriously, that women are important asset to the workforce instagram account. You do it well,

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I think probably our greatest achievement, Uh, at this point is the fact that we've managed to survive at all as a commission, given the cutbacks on the federal level, the state level and the county level, I think it's miraculous that we're still here. Our budget was

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cut just about in half. We have a lot less staff, which means that we're depending war on volunteer help and we're still here and we're still kicking, and I think that's an accomplishment in itself. Well, I said earlier, and I say it again on but not

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being facetious, I think is a shortsighted attitude to reduce the the staff, if you will, of the people that did, if you will, of a commission on the status of women because you're in the midst of a battle that has taken a long time to make

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the changes you've made. You have a long way to go. You need help. You need the understanding of the physical bodies in the county state federal government that would allow you at least an adequate amount of money to to accomplish your goal. You know what type

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of resource is air available through your officers, and how can they get in touch with you? were going to give him the, um, phone number and the address. But what are the resources available? How can the sure and how can they get involved? For one thing,

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as Collins flow to earlier, she is an appointed commissioner. She serves without pay. We do have mileage reimbursement. Our goal is is having the 15 members that are appointed by the supervisors to represent basically all five district so that we can get a diverse group of

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women who see problems in their area. So one way of getting involved is that we do have openings on the commission. You could be important. Appointed by the Board of Supervisors to serve capacity as a commissioner. We also have task voices, and you can get involved

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by being a community volunteer in that way. Another way is if you do have a problem or you see a discriminatory practice happening is to call the office at five. To seven, 2161 and we'll see what we can do for you. All right, Uh, let's get

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to the type that we've got about three minutes left. I gotta go. What type of needs of women here are not being met. What type of services air a vital turned concern to you. Commissioners in the county. I think the terms of a general need, I

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mean, as always, in order for women to achieve equality in this county. That's got to be a change in the economic situation is always that underlying factor. Um, we have, you know, if you have a situation where you have a woman who in fact has a

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job and we're talking about, women in general are raising Children on their own. Um, if you have a job you have, you need more money. You need better wages in order to pay for child care. For instance, if you don't have a job and you're on

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welfare, you need a meaningful opportunity to obtain training so that you can improve your situation and you need tohave. Excuse me, continued childcare and financial support. I think one of the real underlying needs in the county one that services it's really lacking is the need for

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legal services for women in this county, particularly with regard Teoh Family Law Services, women are not. They did not have attorneys to represent them. Therefore, they're getting ah, child support orders that are too low if they're getting them at all. Um, and those things created. Problem

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it. It impacts on your financial ability A. To the county that the Board of Supervisors basically have abdicated their responsibility altogether. A so far as I can see with regard to legal services in this county. And I think it's an underlying issue for really dealing with

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the financial equality for women in this county. Um, I think another area that there's a real need here and that we get a lot of calls about has to do with the criminal justice system in this county. Um, the women are definitely, uh, not having adequate

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programs. They don't have adequate facilities. And we're not really getting the kind of response that we want so far from the sheriff or the sheriff's Department. So that's an issue that we're working on now, trying to get some communication going in that area. We're just about

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out of time, and we could have used to programs to discuss the subject. So I would like you, you and you both, if you will in a few months, would you come back and join us again? and and talk about much of what we did not

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talk about. Today we're down Teoh, about 1/2 a minute. Kaleena, take time to come over. Ladies and gentlemen, we've been talking to Carol to make us who is the coordinator for the Commission on the Status of Women. Sonoma County. And also Carlene O Neill, who is

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the chair of the Commission of Status of Women, about very important agency called Commission on the Status of Women when it was long overdue on its formation is struggling to bring about equality of the sexes. And since none of us actually had anything to say about

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our sex when they came out of the womb, I don't see how we could be prejudice. Get what? What we wind up being. So I think we should be fair to everybody. My name is Richman when she'll be back next week with another member of the

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kind of government family. Until then, so long. Good luck tonight. Good health, everyone, No