Category Archives: News

Bill to repeal death penalty headed to full Unicameral

News,

From the Omaha World-Herald:

LINCOLN — For likely the first time ever, a Nebraska legislative committee has given unanimous support to repealing the death penalty. On an 8-0 vote Monday, March 9, the Judiciary Committee advanced a bill to repeal capital punishment for debate by the full Legislature.

State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, who has made ending the death penalty his top priority during four decades in office, said that 2015 presents as good a chance as ever to “get this state out of the killing business.”

Eleven other senators, including three or four who could be described as conservative Republicans, have signed on as co-sponsors to the repeal proposal, Legislative Bill 268.

Read the full story.

Also read The Case for Repeal from Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

Crane Caravan Field Trip in Kearney, March 19-22

News

From the Wachiska Audubon Society in southeast Nebraska:

Nebraska has become internationally known for sandhill cranes; in March, tourists come  from many states and countries to view the largest sandhill crane party in the world. Don’t miss these iconic migrants as they pause at their ancestral Platte River during a sort of annual spring break for cranes. A full weekend of fun is available during Audubon’s Nebraska Crane Festival in Kearney March 19 – 22, or if you prefer an afternoon expedition, join Wachiska Audubon’s crane caravan to the Grand Island area. We’ll use our cars as blinds as we view flocks of cranes feeding, stick-tossing, and dancing in the fields. A late afternoon stop at the visitor center will give us an opportunity for a little break. We’ll then head to the Platte River at sunset to watch their epic arrival as throngs of cranes stream through the sky and amass on the river to roost for the night.

Read more in the Society’s March 2015 newsletter, The Babbling Brook.

Families of murder victims call for death penalty repeal

News,

From the Associated Press:

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Family members of murder victims called on Nebraska lawmakers Wednesday, March 4, to abolish the death penalty in the state, saying it prolongs the suffering of the relatives of those who died and wastes tax dollars on endless appeals.

Several dozen people rallied at the Capitol in advance of a legislative hearing on a bill that would end capital punishment. Death-penalty opponents circulated a letter signed by 25 relatives of murder victims.

Read coverage of the hearing in:

Judge strikes down Nebraska’s same-sex marriage ban

News,

From the Lincoln Journal Star:

A U.S. district judge Monday struck down Nebraska’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, setting the stage for county clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses next week.

The state quickly scrambled to request a stay that would delay the March 9 date Judge Joseph Bataillon set for his order to go into effect.

In the order posted early Monday, Bataillon called section 29 of the state Constitution — Nebraska’s Defense of Marriage act — an “unabashedly gender-specific infringement of the equal rights of its citizens.”

Approved by 70 percent of voters in 2000, the ban defines a valid marriage as one between a man and a woman.

The state has the right to encourage couples to marry and provide support for one another, the judge wrote.

“However, those laws must be enforced equally and without respect to gender. It is time to bring this unequal provision to an end.”

Read the full story.

Steve Larrick: My motivation for seeking leave

News

From Steve Larrick, board member for the Lower Platte South Natural Resource District, writing in the Lincoln Journal Star:

The Lincoln Journal Star editorial titled “Larrick Should Step Down” (2/23) makes some good points, but is also disappointing. Its theme is doing the “honorable” thing, but the editors never contacted me for my perspective before questioning my honor in a story line replicated by newspapers across the state. Is that honorable journalism?

Thankfully, it notes that “in the grand scheme of things,” a large board of 21 members (and an excellent staff, I might add), assures that the Lower Platte South Natural Resource District is not endangered by a few temporary absences. But by not asking me questions, the editors fail to identify my motivations for seeking a leave and simply suggest that my only “honorable choice” was to abandon the seat to which I was elected.

Read the full op-ed at JournalStar.com.

 

Landowners in KXL Path Win Injunction

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From BOLD Nebraska:

On Feb. 12, landowners won a huge victory when a Holt County, Nebraska, District Court judge halted TransCanada’s attempt to use eminent domain to take their land for the Keystone XL export pipeline. Many thanks go out to landowners’ attorneys Dave Domina and Brian Jorde for their excellent work fighting against eminent domain for private gain.

What the ruling means: All of the eminent domain claims that TransCanada has filed against landowners over the past month are now put on hold, until this case is eventually heard by the Nebraska Supreme Court — in a timeline that could take another 12 months, or longer.

Read the full story.

Jill Stein Takes Steps Toward 2016 Presidential Run

News

From jill2016.com:

It’s Time For A New Society, A New Economy, A New Way Forward.

Dr. Jill Stein is “testing the waters” and forming an exploratory committee to seek the Green Party nomination for President of the United States.

This is the time to come together. Solutions are in our hands. Justice is in our hands. Democracy is in our hands. Together we can create a world that works for all of us, and ensure that People, Planet and Peace will prevail. It’s in our hands.

Read the press release.

Watch Dr. Stein’s announcement speech on CSPAN.

Death penalty repeal: 2015 could be the year!

News,

From Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty:

Last week, Senator Ernie Chambers introduced his bill to repeal the death penalty. This will be Senator Chambers’ 38th go at abolishing the death penalty. Let’s make it his last one! After a near win in 2013 and two years of organizing to make sure our new legislators understand why our death penalty fails us, we have great reason for optimism!

Read more and learn how you can help.

Harrington Sisters Defend Tradition in Keystone Pipeline Fight

News,

From The New York Times:

BRADSHAW, Neb. — An unpainted wooden barn sits in a snow-dusted cornfield along a gravel road, one of many that dot the rural horizon here.

This barn, however, contains no horses, tractors or farming tools. Its roof is covered with solar panels, there is a windmill out front, and the interior is plastered with signs with slogans like “Build Our Energy” and “#NOKXL,” in protest of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which could run under the property if President Obama approves the project.

The 1,179-mile pipeline, first proposed in 2008, would carry oil from Canada into the United States, connecting with existing pipelines in southern Nebraska. In Congress, the Senate continues to debate a bill to approve the pipeline, and the House has already passed a bill to approve its construction.

Four Harrington sisters — Abbi, Terri, Jenni and Heidi — grew up in the 1960s and ’70s tending livestock and crops here, and three of them have remained in Nebraska and continue to farm the land. They fear that construction of the pipeline could threaten their livelihood and a family farming tradition that dates back about 150 years, to when their great-great-grandfather settled on the plot.

Their wind- and solar-powered barn, constructed in 2013 after activists raised thousands of dollars online, was built as an unsubtle protest against the pipeline, a physical barrier along the proposed path.

Read the full story.

Uncertainty following Nebraska court ruling on KXL

News

From Domina Law Group:

David Domina: “Since last Friday, I’ve seen hundreds, maybe thousands, of news stories saying that a hurdle to TransCanada’s construction was removed. Any thoughtful reading of the Supreme Court’s opinion clearly discloses that’s not the case. Nebraska landowners have not had a fifth judge, as is required by our state constitution, vote on the validity of Nebraska’s statute. What we do know is that every Nebraska judge who has cast a vote on that question has been with the property owners.”

Watch the full video explainer on YouTube.