Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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MARK MAHONEY Hazel has a secret to share – she's going to be a big sister! My wife, Christina, and I are expecting our second child later this year. Her due date is Oct. 29. It seems so surreal. It's difficult to believe Hazel's almost 18 months old and we now have another kid on the way. I'm thrilled at the thought of raising two children, but I'm also terrified. I've gotten used to being the father of one kid, but two? Another child marks another major life milestone. It will be a huge a...
NATHAN BEACOM Senior policy associate Center for Rural Affairs Legislative Bill 108, a bill to fix a flaw known as the "cliff effect" in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, received first round approval in the Nebraska Legislature last week. Right now, if a family makes more than 130% of the federal poverty level, they lose their assistance. Most households, however, won't make enough at that level to replace the benefits they lose, which can lead people to turn down career advances in order to keep their benefits. This is...
BEV WIELER It’s April and I’ve walked through my garden checking if bushes are leafing out and watching as each day more color appears on tulips buds. Tiny grape hyacinth flowers seem a much darker purple this year and I’ve clipped a huge bunch of them to place in little glasses placed around the house. My yard isn’t the only place spring is appearing. Garden centers are bulging with plants and the color is eye boggling. The best laid flower garden plans are trashed the minute you step into th...
Willpower, by Merriam-Webster’s definition, is the ability to control oneself, a strong determination that allows you to do something difficult. It’s a word I hear tossed about often, dripping with saccharine sweetness, like the dark chocolate or scrumptious Twin Bing bars I know I should avoid. “I’d like to stop ...,” fill in the blank with whatever vice ails you ... “but I just don’t have the willpower.” I get it. I really do. I’d like to reduce my craving for sweets, quit wasting time watc...
Last week, we began debate on the budget, after receiving a briefing from the Appropriations Committee chairman, Senator Stinner. The budget for the next year calls for an increase in the general fund expenditures of roughly $9.7 billion, growing by around 1.7% per year from previous budgets. Key provisions of the budget include substantial increases to several funds. The most important of these increases are the two funds relating to property tax relief. The proposed budget increases the Proper...
The Appropriations Committee advanced their finalized recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2021-22 and 2022-23 biennial budget to the full Legislature. First-round debate took place this past week and all bills were advanced unanimously except LB383, dealing with capital construction. Under the $9.7 billion biennial budget proposal, the two-year average estimated revenue growth is 3.0%, whereas the two-year average growth in spending is just 1.6%. The committee was able to control the growth of spending due to a higher federal match for...
A couple topics are brewing in my mind and, since it’s Tuesday, and I’ve been attempting to construct on outline for this week’s column, I’ll probably split it into two sections. See, this is what happens when I procrastinate, -er, utilize my collegiate debate skills to fine-tune a creative argument. *** A recent National Public Radio segment got me thinking. I want to break up with Facebook, personally and professionally. The segment talked about tensions between the social network and Austral...
The question of whether Nebraska should legalize medical marijuana will be debated by the Legislature this year. LB 474, the Medicinal Cannabis Act, was advanced this past week from the Judiciary Committee on a 5-2-1 vote. It has been prioritized by Senator Anna Wishart, the primary sponsor of LB 474. The bill, 62 pages in length, provides the regulatory framework to establish access to cannabis for medical purposes. It limits the allowable amount of cannabis, requires a patient to have a bona...
TAMMY DAY Civic Nebraska As winter turns to spring and dreams of summertime travel and adventure appear to be real possibilities, I find myself trying to dust off the cobwebs of the past year and figuring out how to transition to the post-pandemic world. There is an opportunity in this in-between space to pause and consider what’s next. Instead of falling back into the way things “have always been done,” there is value in taking a moment to consider how to do things differently and what new possibilities may be available as a result. In refle...
I was eight years old when I fell in love with a movie genre, er - maybe it was a crush on Paul Newman. The cause of puppy love: the bicycle scene in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” where Paul Newman pedals across the farm yard, performing acrobatic tricks, while Kathryn Ross’s character sits in the haymow, watching his antics until he crashes a fence, lands on his backside and stares down a bull. Then, he had to pedal like heck to get out of Dodge...or Wyoming. Movies like “The Outlaw...
JOHNATHAN HLADIK Policy director Center for Rural Affairs The past 12 months have not been easy for small businesses. Communities have lost longtime staples, as well as opportunities for future growth, as entrepreneurs were forced to delay planned investments. As business and community leaders work to recover, it is important that every tool, including the Microenterprise Tax Credit, remains available. From hair salons and restaurants to grocery and hardware stores, more than 80% of the state’s businesses fall into the microenterprise category....
The Legislature has completed Day 50 of this 90-day legislative session and is in the middle of debate on bills that have been designated as a priority by senators, committees and the speaker. As a general rule, only bills that have been designated as a priority are placed on the agenda at this point in the session. There is an exception to this rule for a procedure called consent calendar. This process allows non-controversial, non-prioritized bills to be considered in an efficient manner....
I'm feeling a bit blue this week about the state of NCAA Division I men's college basketball in Nebraska. The fifth-seeded Creighton Bluejays lost, 83-65, to the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs on Sunday in the sweet 16 of the 2021 NCAA tournament. That means the Bulldogs march on in the national championship competition while the Bluejays fly home, disappointed, from Indiana. Creighton was the only team from the state of Nebraska in the men's NCAA tournament this year – as the Bluejays usually a...
How do you measure a year? According to “Seasons of Love,” from the Broadway hit “Rent,” in 525,600 minutes, you measure life “in daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee, in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. You measure life, “In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried. In bridges he burned, or the way that she died.” In the past year, many of us have, undoubtedly, measured life in a few of these ways. One day, life is smooth (or perhaps a little bumpy) sailin...
The Legislature gave first-round approval to a bill that attempts to make it easier for the consumer to purchase individual packages of meat directly from the producer or processor. LB 324 authorizes herd-share agreements with a producer prior to slaughter, thereby giving the consumer an ownership interest in the animal. The farmer and consumer will develop a bill of sale that decides where the animal will be processed, which cuts of meat will be available and at what price. Then the farmer...
The work of the Legislature is now about getting bills to the floor for debate by the entire body. And that generally means a priority designation. Priority bills, one per senator, two per committee and twenty-five for the speaker, have now been designated. Senator Geist prioritized my LB 408, which provides for a 3 percent limit on annual increases in property tax askings. It may be debated on the floor of the legislature next week. Senator Slama prioritized my LB 139, which provides a measure...
I’ve got a spring in my step because the time of year has arrived for college basketball’s big dance. There was plenty of March mayhem during the early rounds of the 2021 NCAA Division I men’s tournament. Many teams were upset by other squads they were favored to beat, which I’m sure upset the fans of the losing programs. The Creighton Bluejays, however, defeated their first two opponents to make the sweet 16 for the first time since 1974. I’m a fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers first, especiall...
A day off. What’s that? Since starting this business venture, we haven’t been “out of the office” very often. Even when we aren’t there, it seems like one or both of us is constantly working on some project involving the paper, the print shop or the Sidebar. I don’t think either one of us will complain though. Our business continues to grow and we’re excited to see where we’re headed. Yet, it’s a balancing (and sometimes, juggling) act. A smart living piece in the New York Times recently caught...
I heard it, then what followed was the rain. We are in the first part of March and I feel it was a spring thunderstorm as I was hearing thunder. Before I woke for the day, I just knew I would be able to look out my kitchen window and see green grass and robins. Spring isn’t quite here yet, but as I stepped outside that morning, I could smell the damp earth calling to me. Despite the thunder and rain, it’s early enough in March that there are still memories looming in my mind of a ground hog pre...
Ken Paulson Director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University When government fails, it’s the rare public official who says, “Oops. My fault.” That’s human nature, particularly for officials in the public eye who may have to run for office again. No one wants to be held directly responsible for letting the public down. Case in point is the recent catastrophe in Texas, when unexpected winter storms left 4 million homes without power, ruptured pipes and tainted the water supply for many. Texas’ energy grid essential...
Author John Di Lemme wrote, “Your results are the product of either personal focus or personal distractions. The choice is yours.” I would argue, if you took a look at our living room, which a friend told me has the “you’re living life” look (what the heck does that mean?), it’s a result of focus and distraction. She also told me if the house was too clean, to the point of appearing picture perfect, it wouldn’t be a true representation of our reality. OK, I’ll buy that. I think she meant it in a...
DAVID CHAVERN President & CEO News Media Alliance Over the past year, local journalism has been more important – and more needed – than ever. From the COVID- 19 pandemic to the reignited social justice movement to the explosive 2020 U.S. presidential election and its aftermath, people have been turning to news publishers, day in and day out, to keep them up to date on how the changes happening around the world affect their daily lives. However, while news has been more in-demand than at any tim...
The legislature has wrapped up most committee hearings, and began half-day floor debate this week. Full-day floor debate will begin next week. In the meantime, committees are voting on which bills will be moved on to general file. By the time you read this, most priority designations will have been announced. The determination by individual senators, committees and the speaker as to which bills get a priority designation is extremely important, as bills without a priority designation will...
The Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board met last week and revised the current forecast upwards. The board projected an increase of $204 million for fiscal year 2020-21, $165 million for fiscal year 2021-22 and $93 million for fiscal year 2022-23, for a total increase of $462 million. The three-year average growth rate increased from 2.9% to 3.4%. Under LB 1107, the property tax relief bill passed last year, property taxpayers are eligible for a refundable income tax credit based on the...
My favorite sport is thrifting. To borrow from a popular meme: Yes, I shop at thrift stores. No, I am not poor. Would you pass up a $178 Anthropologie dress, new with tags, for $4.25? What about a box filled with a complete set of fine china for $2.50? There’s something about finding a diamond in the rough and giving it new life. I’m not a trash stalker - or stooper, as they’re called on the east coast - but if I saw a perfect good dresser along the side of the road that the hubs could refurbish...
