Congratulations to Ruth Thone, Lincoln writer and Neighborhood Extra columnist, for three Nebraska Press Women Communications Awards recognizing work published in 2009. Read Thone’s current “At My Age” column here.
TAR SANDS COMMENTS DEADLINE EXTENDED . . . The National Sierra Club is calling the proposed Keystone pipeline project “An Oil Disaster We Can Still Stop.” Click here for a 1:33 minute video and action alert to Stop the Tar Sands. As oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico destroys habitat and livelihoods, the extraction of oil from Canadian tar sands is having a similar impact on fragile ecosystems and communities deep in the North American interior, but another environmental disaster can still be averted if enough people speak up. The deadline for comments of concern about the threat to our Ogallala Aquifer, has been extended to July 2, 2010. Learn about “the most destructive project on Earth,” here. “This proposed route through Nebraska is guaranteed to decimate and destroy a huge amount of fragile rare habitat that is vulnerable,” says Buffalo Bruce, Platte Valley Group Conservation Chair. Click here for the pipeline map through Nebraska, and Sierra’s statement in opposition to the proposed plan. A June 12th Omaha World Herald Public Pulse letter, “Aim pipeline away from aquifer,” is here. Also on June 12th, a leaked pipeline sent oil spilling into a Salt Lake City creek, coating geese and ducks and closing a park. Officials said Saturday a cleanup effort is expected to last weeks.
A June 7, 2010 Lincoln Journal-Star editorial, “Impact of oil spill will be profound,” ends with a warning that after the Gulf coast disaster, official assurances of safety are not very convincing. A Sunday, June 13th front page LJS feature story, “A Line in the Sand,” is accompanied by “Pipeline runs through layers of bureaucracy,” and a letter to the editor, “Don’t risk water supply.” Make online comments to the Department of State here. E-mail comments to xlpipelineproject@state.gov
Meanwhile, every man-made by-product of the petroleum industry could be replaced by hemp. Read “Help Save the Earth, Time to Subsitute Hemp for Oil” here.
Lincoln area: Congressional District 1
VIGIL AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY . . . Every Monday, from noon to 1:00pm, Nebraskans for abolition of the death penalty meet in front of the governor’s mansion, 1425 H Street, Lincoln. The lunch-hour presence reminds the governor of a constituency that does not want state killings. Weekly vigils have taken place year-round since July, 1991. All abolitionists are welcome to participate for a few minutes, or the hour. For information about Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty, click here.
LINCOLN PEACE VIGILS . . . Lincoln peace vigils continue at the Federal Building, 15th and O streets, every Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00pm. Contact Mark at 402.499.6672 or e-mail mark [at] weddleton [dot] com for more information.
JUNETEENTH IN LINCOLN . . . Juneteenth, celebrating the Emancipation Proclamation that ended slavery in the United States, will be observed in Lincoln on Saturday, June 19, 2010, 11:00am to 5:00pm, at Pentzer Park, 27th & Potter Streets. Hosted by the Clyde Malone Community Center, all of Lincoln is invited to celebrate African-American contributions to the community. Local bands Bossphilly, Cool Poppas, and Darryl White’s group will perform; local physicians and the Lincoln/Lancaster County Health Department will provide free screenings and health information; area universities and youth-serving organizations will have information and takeaways from 11:00am to 1:00pm; the Kids Corner will include a water slide and bouncy house running from 1:00 to 5:00pm; and free food will be served beginning at noon. An events schedule is here. For more information, call 402.474.1110 or click here.
BACKYARD WILDLIFE TOURS . . . The 21st annual Wachiska Audubon Society Backyard Wildlife Habitat Tour will be Sunday, June 20, 2010. Concentrating on north Lincoln this year, yards will be open from 11:00am until 4:00pm. Visit all or any of the gardens in any order. Descriptive brochures and maps will be available at all sites. Featured yards are: Jean Starita – 5609 Knox Street; Rich & Pam Brunke – 850 Irving Street; John & Marty Eischeid – 6420 Walker Avenue; Cindy & Steve Harris – 1141 North 81st Street; Pam & Kent Swanson – 2209 Vale Street; Nancy & Curt Youngman – 8940 Holdrege Street; Lincoln Water System – 2021 North 27th Street; Emily & Gregg Lanik – 610 South 30th Street; T. Marni Vos – 700 South 30th Street. Call Anne or Lynn at 423.6524 with any questions.
LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . Locally grown produce and baked goods are now available at Lincoln Farmers Markets five of the seven week days.
Saturdays through October 9th, the Haymarket Farmers Market will be open from 8:00am to noon. The Old Cheney Road Garden Market at 55th Street and Old Cheney Road (behind the Lincoln Racquet Club) is open from 10:00am to 2:00pm every Sunday through November 7th. Other Lincoln Markets include
— Havelock Farmers Market, behind the businesses at 62nd and 63rd Streets and Havelock Avenue, Wednesdays 3:00 to 6:30pm, May 5 to October 27th.
— Piedmont Farmers Market, 1265 South Cotner Blvd. Saturdays 8:00am to noon, May 15 to September 18. Vendor spots available. Call Randy Nelsen at 467-2777.
— The Mid-Week Haymarket Farmers Market, 12th and R streets. Tuesdays in June from 5:00 to 7:00pm, in conjunction with Jazz in June.
— Centennial Mall Garden Market, 14th and M streets, east side of the Nebraska State Office building. Wednesdays noon to 4:00pm, July 7 to August 25th.
— Community Crops Farmers Market, Pentzer Park, 27th and Potter (2 blocks north of 27th and Holdrege), Thursdays, 4:30-7:30pm, June 3 through September 30, 2010.
— Backyard Farmer’s Market and Exchange, Tuesdays, 4:30 to 7:30pm, in the St. Paul United Church of Christ parking lot at 1302 “F” Street, June 1st through September 28, 2010.
Omaha area: Congressional District 2
COMMUNITY CONVERSATION . . . “Brown person, show me your papers,” a discussion of the resurgent face of racism and the new civil rights struggles, will be Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 7:30 to 9:00pm, at Grace United Methodist Church, 2418 E Street, Omaha. Panelists at the community conversation sponsored by Nebraskans for Peace will be Latina civil rights attorney S.A. Mora James; staff attorney for the Nebraska Appleseed Center, Norman Pflanz; and Paul Olson, UN-L professor emeritus and President of NFP. NFP’s Statement on Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in Nebraska is here.
OMAHA PEACE VIGILS . . . Omaha peacemakers vigil every Wednesday, 4:30-5:30pm, at StratCom/UN-O, 6801 Pine Street, east of the Scott Technology Center on the Un-O campus. Free parking is available at the NE Corner of 67th Street and Pine in a student lot. For more information, phone Jerry Ebner, 402.502.5887. Every Saturday, 1:00-2:00pm, there is an Anti-War and Peace Vigil at 72nd and Dodge Streets. Contact Steve Horn at 402.426.9068.
OMAHA PEOPLE’S FILM FESTIVAL . . . There is a People’s Film Festival every Wednesday evening, 7:00pm, at McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe, 38th and Harney in Omaha. The event is always free and open to the public. This week’s film is Ridley Scott’s “The Kingdom of Heaven,” Food and drink is available. A lively discussion follows each showing. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.
OMAHA COAL PROTEST . . . Thursday, June 17, 2010, 11:00am, Nebraska Green Party will join Nebraskans for Peace, Physicians for Social Responsibility and 350.org for an hour-long Clean Energy Rally and Peaceful Demonstration at the Union Pacific corporate headquarters, 14th and Douglas, Omaha, to focus local attention on the dangers of coal and Nebraska’s leading role in the transport of this dirty, deadly energy. Environmental activist, author and 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben will be the featured speaker. Author of the first book to address the global warming threat, The End of Nature, McKibben has been sounding the alarm about fossil fuels and carbon emissions for over two decades. 350.org is the worldwide movement to cap carbon dioxide particles in the atmosphere at 350 parts per million. Learn more here.
JUNETEENTH IN OMAHA . . . Saturday, June 19, 2010, 10:00am to noon, Omaha NAACP will sponsor the 2010 Juneteenth Celebration Parade. Line-up starts at 8:00am. The parade route begins at 30th & Parker, proceeding northbound to 30th & Sprague. For more information, click here or call 345.6227.
OMAHA FARMERS MARKETS . . .Global research confirms food choices contribute the highest percentage to our carbon footprint; even more than transportation. The advantages of shopping locally go far beyond environmental impact. Farmers markets are the best way to choose local. Click here for a list of Omaha area Farmers Markets including Benson, Bellevue, Papillion, Auburn, Beemer, Bennington, Falls City, Plattsmouth, and Wayne, Nebraska; Glenwood, Council Bluffs, and Griswold, Iowa.
Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3
NATURAL LEGACY PROJECT . . . The Scottsbluff public input meeting for the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project is Tuesday, June 15, 2010, at the North Platte Natural Resources District office, 100547 Airport Road. The Chadron public meeting will be Wednesday, June 16th, at the Upper Niobrara White NRD office, 430 East Second Street. Both public meetings will be from 6:00 to 8:00pm. Click here to learn about Nebraska’s blueprint for conserving wildlife and their habitats.
BUY FRESH. BUY LOCAL . . . . Until local markets begin again, farmers, gardeners, and craftspeople meet through The Nebraska Food Cooperative, an on-line, year-round farmers’ market and local food distribution service offering the best in local freshness. For ordering and pickup schedules, refer to the calendar here. Click here, for products and prices from North Star Neighbors, a Cooperative member that doesn’t therapeutically medicate or unduly confine animals. Click here for Tomato Tomäto, Omaha’s year-round indoor Farmer’s Market at 156th & West Center. Shop for fresh foods grown in or very near your own community at Open Harvest, Lincoln’s member-owned natural foods retail cooperative in expanded space at 1618 South Street. Buying local grows family farming, grows the local economy, and is thousands of miles fresher.
HELP NEBRASKA GREENS WITH GOODSEARCH . . . Each time you search the Internet (or shop online at a participating store), a donation can be made to Nebraska Green Party at no cost to you! To help NGP in this way, enter Nebraska Green Party where it says WHO DO YOU GOODSEARCH FOR? here. Every time you use the GoodSearch toolbar, one penny will be donated to Nebraska Greens. Download the GoodSearch Toolbar here. THANK YOU for supporting Nebraska Greens.
We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente