In a boat piloted by volunteer Robert Leavitt, the OneCareNow Campaign made an appearance on the lake in Westlake Village, circumnavigating the community’s residential island, festooned with OneCareNow.org banners. Full of Health Care for All volunteers, the boat made stops at the Westlake Village shopping area, and made a spectacle for village residents on Thursday, September 7, 2006.

Instigated by HCA-San Fernando Valley Co-Director Sharon Stevens, the event was organized by Community Action Team leader Penny Strowger of Westlake. Doug Bungert, Co-Director of HCA Ventura County, also participated, as did volunteers from the San Fernando Valley and Ventura HCA chapters.

“I just thought that a boat featuring the OneCareNow signs would be something different and attract a lot of attention,” said Sharon Stevens. Proof of her theory was the front page coverage the event received in The Acorn, Westlake Village’s community newspaper, attached.

September 14, 2006

Local residents hope bill floats into law

CAMPAIGN TRAIL-A boat owned and piloted by Westlake Lake resident Roberta Leavitt tours the lake on behalf of "One Care Now," a campaign supporting the universal health care bill that recently passed in Sacramento. The Health Insurance Reliability Act, authored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl of the local 23rd District, creates a universal health insurance system for all Californians. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has until Oct. 1 to sign the bill into law, but promised he would veto it.