Etc., etc., etc. …...

Coming in future issues…..

Progress Report on Fontenelle Trees

Nebraska Byways:
Stories about
Nebraskans

WESTERN ARCTIC
GETS REPRIEVE

NRDC and our partners have scored a major courtroom victory for Arctic wildlife. In late September, a federal judge blocked the Bush administration from proceeding with oil and gas development in more than 1 million acres in the Western Arctic Reserve, including a pristine nesting area for migratory birds and the calving grounds for the Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd.

The court ruled that the Interior Department failed to consider the cumulative environmental impacts of oil and gas drilling on this sensitive ecosystem. In tandem with our courtroom campaign, BioGems Defenders have sent more than 100,000 messages urging the Bush administration and Congress to uphold protections for important habitat areas within the reserve.

COURT UPHOLDS STRICT LIMITS ON DEADLY SONAR

A federal appeals court has rejected the Bush administration's attempt to turn back a landmark NRDC courtroom win that limits the peacetime deployment of a powerful low-frequency active sonar system. According to the Navy's own studies, the LFA sonar system generates noise so intense that dangerous levels of sound travel more than 300 miles -- posing a deadly threat to whole populations of whales and other marine mammals that depend on their hearing to survive.

Three years ago, a lower federal court sided with NRDC and our partners and ruled that the Navy's plan to deploy this powerful new sonar system across 75 percent of the world's oceans violated a host of federal laws. In the wake of the appeal court's decision, the Navy must continue to adhere to an agreement with NRDC, which limits LFA testing and training to an area in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

More WPA stories about Nebraska by Nebraskans

WEST VIRGINIA: The primary filing deadline closed on Saturday evening with a major surprise. State Senator John Unger (D) -- the DCCC's recruited candidate in the CD-2 race against Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R) -- quit just hours before the filing deadline without giving any explanation. Anne Barth (D), who was US Senator Robert Byrd's State Director for the past two decades, jumped into the void at the last minute at the urging of state party leaders and the DCCC. Barth is seen as well politically well-connected, as she also served as Byrd's campaign manager for his last three re-election runs. Former South Charleston Mayor Richie Robb and attorney Thornton Cooper are also seeking the CD-2 Dem nomination. US Senator Jay Rockefeller (D) faces two minor Dems in the primary, and former State Senator Jay Wolfe (R) in the general election. Wolfe previously lost US Senate races in 1988 and 2002. Governor Joe Manchin (D) faces nominal opposition from State Delegate Mel Kessler (D) and former State Senator Russ Weeks (R). CD-1 Congressman Alan Mollohan (D) is unopposed. CD-3 Congressman Nick Rahall (D) may have an opponent, as salesman Marty Gearheart (R) told newspaper reporters his filing package was postmarked and mailed to state officials before the filing deadline. The Secretary of State's office had not received Gearheart's package as of Saturday evening. Governor & US Senate race ratings: Safe DEM. CD-2 race rating: GOP Favored...Congressman Dave Weldon (R-FL) announced Friday he will not seek re-election to a seventh time…..Americans United for Change -- a 527-group run by Democratic political operative Brad Woodhouse -- has a cute stunt to tie the current Congressional Republicans to President Bush. This week the group distributed large pro-Bush campaign buttons to all of the GOP legislators on Capitol Hill. In

a tongue-in-cheek letter accompanying the pins, Woodhouse wrote: "It is with great pleasure that I am able to present you with this limited edition 'I am a Bush Republican' commemorative button on the occasion of President Bush's final State of the Union Address. It would be a shame to let this event pass without a show of solidarity among those who have stood by him and enabled his legacy to be established on so many issues. Without your steadfast support of President Bush's domestic, foreign and economic policies, there is no doubt America would not be in the position it is in today. Please wear this button on Monday evening to show your constituents that you support President Bush, his policies and how proud you are of your contribution to his legacy."…
Congressman Jim Walsh (R-NY) announced Thursday he will not seek re-election to an eleventh term…..

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U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson: Phone: (202) 224-6551  Fax: (202) 228-001240, Suite 5 Dirksen Basement (Temp)
Washington, DC 20510
senator@bennelson.senate.gov
U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel: Phone: (202) 224-4224  Fax: (202) 224-5213
346 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
chuck_hagel@hagel.senate.gov
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry: Phone: (202) 225-4806, Fax (202) 225-5686   1517 Longworth House Office Bldg. Washington,DC 20515
Rep. Lee Terry:Phone: (202) 225-4155  Fax: (202) 226-5452  1513 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
talk2lee@mail.house.gov
Rep. Adrian Smith 503 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
Phone:(202) 225-6435
Fax:(202) 225-0207

SEC. B, p2
Senate Moments

SEC. B, p3
HISTORY
SCRAMBLE