NEBRASKA GREEN PARTY CANDIDATES . . . Green Party candidates filing with the Secretary of State for 2008 elections in Partisan elections are Steven R. Larrick, U.S. Senate; and for Douglas County Board, District 1: Scott Hoffman; District 3: Tom Foster, and Derek Glaser; District 5: Susan Koneck. Laverne N. Thraen, Jr. has filed for the Non-Partisan OPPD Board of Directors Metro District, and Doug Paterson is a write-in candidate for Public Service Commission District 2 in Omaha.

PRIMARY ELECTION . . . Vote Tuesday, May 13, 2008. Sample Lancaster County Ballot here. (link will open as a pdf file). Omaha voters: If you write-in Doug Paterson for Public Service Commission District 2, please remember his name is spelled with one “t.”

NEBRASKANS UNITED DECLINE TO SIGN . . . A deceptive California based “Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative” petition seeks to undercut Nebraska’s ability to develop a diverse workforce and change the Nebraska Constitution. The measure will eliminate scholarships and diminish the University’s ability to attract a diverse student body and faculty. It threatens women-owned businesses and funding for women’s health and domestic violence programs, and hinders Nebraskans’ ability to create public policies aimed at fostering fairness, opportunity and inclusion for all citizens. It will create barriers for people working hard to achieve a better life for themselves and their families. Nebraskans United is taking a stand against amending the Nebraska Constitution. For background information, see http://www.nebraskansunited.org/about.htm. Just say no to local signature gatherers when “Civil Rights” means ending Affirmative Action.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR CONVENTION . . . The Nebraska Green Party Convention will be Saturday, June 7, 2008 at the PS Collective, 6056 Maple Street, in the Benson community of Omaha, 9:30am to 3:00pm. National Green Party Steering Committee member Marc Sanson from Illinois will keynote. Delegates to the National Convention, July 10-13, 2008 at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago, and new NGP Executive Commitee members will be elected at the Omaha Convention. Registration form here. E-mail negreenparty at gmail dot com to register.

EAT AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT . . . On Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 7:00-8:30pm, Open Harvest is sponsoring a free community conversation about food–what to eat and what not to eat–with Dr. Kevin Coughlin, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 16th & A Streets, in Lincoln. Dr. Coughlin’s Heart and Health Solutions, is an acupuncture only practice based on principles of Integrative nutrition, herbal supplementation and lifestyle management incorporation. Open Harvest will provide samples of recommended nutritious foods.

PRO-CHOICE COALITION OF NEBRASKA MEETING . . . The next Coalition meeting is Thursday, May 15, 2008, 6:30pm at the Planned Parenthood Office, 4610 Dodge Street in Omaha. If you can’t attend, but want to participate in the Pride Weekend or any committee work, please contact Keri Rhienfrank, krheinfrank at gmail dot com.

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP . . . Chris Helzer of The Nature Conservancy is giving a nature photography workshop on Saturday, May 17, 2008, 10:00am to 4:00pm, at Lincoln’s Pioneers Park Nature Center, Malinovskis Auditorium, 3201 South Coddington Avenue. The free event is designed for serious amateur photographers, but all are welcome. Bring a camera, and examples of your photographs. Contact Jill Wells in Omaha, 402.342.0282 or jwells at tnc dot org, to register or for more information.

BODY OF WAR . . . A new Phil Donahue/Ellen Spiro documentary, Body of War, opens at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 313 North 13th Street, Lincoln, on Friday, May 16, 2008. Showing through Thursday, May 22, the film takes a microcosmic look at the war and its devastation by focusing on a single casualty, Thomas Young, 25, paralyzed by a bullet to his spine after serving in Iraq for less than a week. Check www.TheRoss.org, your newspaper, or call the MRRMAC film information line, 402.472.5353, for time schedules.

TALK & TOUR at UNMC in OMAHA . . . Waste reduction makes good business sense. It can save organizations money through reduced purchasing and waste disposal costs. WasteWise and WasteCap Nebraska provide free technical assistance to help develop, implement, and measure business waste reduction activities. Wednesday, May 21, 2008, at 9:30am, they will sponsor at tour of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. UNMC has a strong reduce, reuse and recycle program, recycling over 16.5 million pounds of fiber, since April of 1993. To attend the free event, RSVP WasteCap Nebraska at 402.434.7376 by Friday, May 16th.