I am disappointed and saddened to announce that the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department has decided not to sign a contract with Project Lifesaver.  This is a huge blow to not only the Autism community, but also the entire disabled population.

On October 20 of this year, my Autism Advocate friends, Renee Kiernan, Shawn Neff, Carol Salber and I met with Sheriff Tim Dunning, Captain Tom Wheeler, Chief Deputy Marty Bilek and other staff members at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department to discuss the use of a tracking device known as Project Lifesaver. (Click here for details on the device and how it works.)

We know folks have been concerned about ongoing construction at the Ericson pump station site, especially after TransCanada agree to reroute the pipeline. We called NPPD and got you answers.

Jedd Fischer, project manager for the NPPD Ericson pump station site, said that NPPD began the grading of the pump power station site prior to TransCanada's announcement to reroute. Because NPPD had already begun the land-leveling process, they are going to finish with the grading work,"then take whatever action necessary to restore the area to acceptable condition for the long term." Fischer also said that "all other activities (regarding pipeline infrastructure) have been placed on hold."

Neal re-envisions the first Thanksgiving:

Editor's Note: We sent out the following email to our supporters today. You can sign up here to receive email updates from Bold Nebraska.

Yesterday, Nebraska put in place an official process for siting oil pipelines. No longer can an oil pipeline come into our state without a public and transparent review.

If you went to the mall at midnight, we hoped you tackled those deals. We have some online ideas for shopping local and supporting Nebraska family owned businesses. Grow Nebraska, UNL Dairy Store, Nebraska Food Co-Op are some of our favs. Here is your Roundup:

The simplest way to keep our elected officials accountable is with our votes. Voting is a fundamental right, and Nebraska's always protected and respected it. Unfortunately, State Senator Charlie Janssen thinks it's better to block the vote than rock the vote.

There has been much ado about green jobs lately, and it's not about nothing. The Brookings Institute reported that there are currently 2.7 million jobs in the clean economy, already more than what is in the fossil fuel industry, and there's enormous potential for growth. "Clean-tech" jobs that have to do with renewable energy are a fairly small proportion of these jobs, but they have made the most gains in recent years—and our nation isn't even close to utilizing our full potential!

Update on Time: We are hearing the Governor might sign the bills as early as 9:30am. We would like to see as many of us as possible fill the Governor's hearing room, which is where he will sign the bills.  That room is right in his same office in the capitol. We will hold our press event right after he is done, so about 9:45am or 10am. We will be at the capitol by 9am as well for any questions.

++++

Below is today's editorial from the Lincoln Journal Star. Everyone who wrote letters, called your senators, attended rallies, shined lights, carved pumpkins, and put up yard signs should take a bow, as should the Journal Star editorial board who has provided outstanding coverage and asked the hard questions from day one.

Take a Bow on Pipeline

We fought long and hard leading up to and during the Pipeline Special Session. Every single citizen who wrote, called, emailed, attended, and brought friends to all the different events should look in the mirror tonight and remind yourself...you are a pipeline fighter, you are a Sandhills lover, you protected our land and water. 

It is only because of our rebel alliance of ranchers, farmers, environmentalists, conservationists, young people, grandmas, professors, artists, entrepreneurs--Nebraskans--that we accomplished the impossible. We beat Big Oil.