Full Steam Ahead: What’s hot on the redistricting litigation front
Train Conductor: Bob Stern.  Engineers: Ryan Haygood  & Laughlin McDonald bios
Join us as our redistricting experts talk about the latest on the litigation front. What are the challenges to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act as extended by Congress in 2006? What is the status of claims of partisan gerrymandering in redistricting? How are Florida’s voter-approved redistricting constitutional amendments being challenged?   What impact will the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bartlett v. Strickland influence the next round of redistricting? What are the implications of the recent suit against the City of Compton?

Spikes and Bolts: What criteria will be used to draw maps?
Train Conductors: Deanna Kitamura & Eugene Lee bios
Proposition 11 set out rules the commission must follow when it draws new electoral district lines.  This session will cover the rules the commission will be using.  It should be particularly useful to individuals and groups planning to submit mapping proposals.

Ticket to the Data Train: Find the data and technical assistance centers
Train Conductors: Karin Mac Donald & Bonnie Glaser bios
This session will cover all you need to know about data in order to develop and present submissions to the Citizens Redistricting Commission. We will provide an overview of the quantitative datasets used in redistricting and explain how to collect additional qualitative data about communities. We will also introduce the resources available at Redistricting Technical Assistance Sites that will be operating around the state in March.

E-Ticket to Ride: Don’t waste time; get access to maps now!
Train Conductor: John Kim bios
Given the long-standing gap in technology and data access for many community groups, the Advancement Project is launching a one-of-a-kind online mapping website specifically built for community engagement in the redistricting process. The online mapping website will allow users to analyze key redistricting data, draw/articulate communities of interest, and prepare data and maps to present in front of the commission.

Train Crossing Ahead: How to navigate multi-racial districts
Train Conductor: Donita Judge.  Engineers: Eugene Lee, Nancy Ramirez & Tunua Thrash bios
California’s racial and ethnic diversity can present challenges in redistricting when different minority groups reside in the same district. What does the Voting Rights Act require? How should the district be drawn when there is more than one minority group? This panel will explore strategies for collaboration and how to respond to regions with more than one protected group.

Laying Tracks: Teaching your community to testify – training the trainers 
Train Conductors: Rosalind Gold & Erica Teasley Linnick bios
Efforts to reach and engage community leaders will be critical to ensuring full public participation in the 2011 redistricting process. Thinking about organizing your community to present to the commission? Come to this workshop to learn how to talk about redistricting to stakeholders in your community.

Taking the Express: Testifying about your community
Train Conductors: Chris Lanier & Michelle Romero bios
Join us for an interactive discussion on “communities of interest” and prepare to tell the story of YOUR community. Presenters will unpack what tools and resources are available to you and what you can expect during public hearings. Hands-on activities will focus on helping community members prepare their case for a community of interest, including suggestions for locating data to support their case.

Shoveling the Coal: A hands-on redistricting exercise
Train Conductor: Steven Ochoa bios
Come get a small sample of what redistricting really means by going through an exercise and putting your “training” to the test! You will have an opportunity to draw maps using the criteria that the Commissioners will be looking at.

I Think I Can: Using Data & Tech Tools
Train Conductor: Doug Johnson bios
Once you have learned about redistricting and figured out your “community of interest,” how do you effectively share your views with the Commission? If you use email and can get driving directions online, you can draw and track your community’s fate in redistricting. At this session you will learn how, using everything from simple online maps to full-powered online redistricting programs, to clearly share your maps with the Commission, and how to track whether the Commission implements your requests throughout its process.

Surveying the Land: Analyzing and evaluating maps
Train Conductor: Michael McDonald bios
Academics and advocates have teamed together to develop free software to be able to draw, analyze and evaluate redistricting maps. Find out how to get access and use these tools.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovUsxDTHTo8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSHsHJje3DU&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GBN2AuQl6E&feature=channel