=20<br>AANR Weekly Report for December 22, 2006<br>________________________________=20<br>Erich Schuttauf, Executive Director<br>Wishing You a Very Special Holiday Please accept our very best wishes for a special holiday weekend and for a prosperous New Year in 2007. In observance of Christmas, the AANR office will close today at 12:00 noon. We will also be closed on Monday, December 25, but will reopen on Tuesday. =20<br>Cindy Horton Recovering Well=20 Cindy Horton, our Financial Supervisor, appreciates your many prayers and good wishes for her recovery from surgery last week. On Wednesday Cindy came home from the hospital and is =93getting her spirits back.=94 =20<br>In the News<br>Nude recreation made news in a couple of places this week. First, the Florida Times Union picked up on the Forbes story about AANR=92s outreach efforts to the college market with this piece: <a href=http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/121606/bus_6810806.shtml>http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/121606/bus_6810806.shtml</a><br> Later this week, Under theone of AANR=92s participating businesses, received some great press from a major newspaper in their area. See: <a href=http://www.sptimes.com/2006/12/21/State/Her_shirts_100_off.shtml>http://www.sptimes.com/2006/12/21/State/Her_shirts_100_off.shtml</a><br>They invite you to visit their Web site at: <a href=http://www.underthesunnude.com/>http://www.underthesunnude.com/</a> and are open to explore cross linking with your club.=20<br>A story about Under the Sun=92s upcoming anniversary will appear in the Mar= ch 2007 issue of The Bulletin. Congratulations to Renee and Tom on their success. ________________________________=20<br>Patricia Orner, Government Affairs Coordinator<br>I will be on vacation until January 2, 2007 and will not have access to my phone or e-mail messages. Should you need assistance before I return, pleas= e contact your Regional Chair or Alonzo Stevens.<br>REGIONAL REPORTS=20<br>AANR DC =96 Thanks to John Hunter for his diligent feedback on the Youth an= d the Outdoors Summit recently held in Washington, DC =96 =93Perhaps the most profound concept presented was: We need a societal structure where kids ar= e brought into the outdoors by a loved and trusted adult. That, of course, i= s one hook which AANR can use to tie into the overall program.=94=20<br>AANR SW – All is quiet this week in this region.=20<br>FANR =96 Staff and FANR GAT Chair, Debra Kay Hedding, are working with a Daytona Beach reporter on an article about the progress made at Apollo Beach. While on another assignment the reporter has taken the time to meet with Richard and Shirley Mason and visit Haulover. She told me that she can see the success of Haulover reflected at Apollo but for a severe lack of parking. As with many projects, this crosses between the GAT and PR departments. Carolyn and I feel that this will be a positive venture.<br>WCANR – All is quiet this week in this region.<br>AANR EAST =96 State Net reports:=20 LEGISLATIVE DOWNSIZING FINALLY COMING TO PA? Just about every year, one Pennsylvania lawmaker or another introduces a bill aimed at reducing the size of the state Legislature =96 legislation that inevitably goes nowhere. But next year 05 be a little different. Some believe last session's pay-raise scandal and an incoming group of reform-minded lawmakers make 200= 7 ripe for downsizing. &quot;It's more doable now than ever,&quot; says Sen. John Pippy (R), who sponsored legislation last session to cut both houses by more than a third. &quot;Before, it was difficult to even get people to talk about it. Now the question should be, 'Why not?' &quot; =20 With 253 members, a staff of 3,000 and an annual operating budget of $348 million, the Pennsylvania legislature is one of the nation's largest and most expensive to operate. New Hampshire=92s legislature, at 424 seats, is bigger, but it's a citizen legislature in the classic sense, with members paid only $100 a year. =20 Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) supports the idea of downsizing. And the state's top legislative leaders are at least willing to consider it. Sen. Joseph Scarnati (R), who will be president pro tempore of the chamber next year, said, &quot;I think we need to have the public debate,&quot; although he added, &quot;If it's just about saving money, there are a lot of other ways to save money.&quot; =20 And the man who's promoted the cause longer than anyone thinks it's still a long shot. &quot; Pennsylvania is still the baby-step state, even though circumstances have changed,&quot; said former House and Senate member Allen Kukovich, who introduced downsizing measures from 1978 to 2004. =20 The process definitely involves more than baby steps. Reducing the size of the legislature requires a change to the state constitution, which means that a measure would have to be passed in two separate legislative sessions and then be approved by the state's voters. (Philadelphia Inquirer) =20<br>AANR WEST =96 All is quiet this week in this region.=20<br>AANR NW =96 Thanks to Steve Hubbard for his work with AANR staff in getti= ng a nomination to hold a session at the 2007 NRPA in Indianapolis, Indiana next Sept. The AANR proposal will seek to educate in a panel setting on the positive economic impact of clothing-optional recreation. We will know in March if our proposal is selected.=20<br>AANR MIDWEST =96 All is quiet this week in this region. SB 245 passed both houses and heads now to the Governors desk. His approval is expected as the main thrust of the bill is focused on sexual predators. AANR will stand ready should members in the future report prosecution resulting from this flawed law.<br> –=20 No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.15.26/598 – Release Date: 12.22.2006 15:22 =20<br><br> </td>