FORMER GERING STATE SENATOR JOYCE HILLMAN-KORTUM PASSES

SCOTTSBLUFF - A former state senator, Gering council member and community leader has passed at the age of 83.

Joyce Hillman-Kortum died Wednesday according to an online posting by the Dugan-Kramer Funeral Home in Scottsbluff.

She spent eight years in the Nebraska Legislature starting with her election to the District 48 seat in 1990 and re-election in 1994, followed by nearly eight years on the Gering City Council following election in 2004, having to step down in 2012 after moving to Scottsbluff.

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FORMER UNMC CHANCELLOR DR. CHARLES ADREWS, WHO BUILT TRANSPLANT PROGRAMS, DIES AT 94

OMAHA - Known to friends and colleagues as quiet yet capable of making tough decisions, Dr. Charles Andrews also is recognized for his key role in setting the University of Nebraska Medical Center on many of the pathways it continues to follow today.

Andrews, UNMC’s fifth chancellor, was instrumental in establishing UNMC as a leader in solid organ and bone marrow transplantation. He also targeted cancer, rural health, geriatrics and biotechnology as areas of excellence.

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BACON, FORTENBERRY PUSH BILL TO PROTECT OPEN SKIES TREATY AND OFFUTT PLANES

OMAHA - The House of Representatives is pushing back this week against the Trump administration’s under-the-radar efforts to pull the United States out of the Open Skies Treaty. The withdrawal would permanently ground two Offutt-based jets associated with the pact.

Republican Reps. Don Bacon and Jeff Fortenberry, whose districts include the greater Omaha area and Offutt Air Force Base, are co-sponsoring a bill proposed by a California Democrat that would require the White House to give Congress 180 days’ notice before suspending, terminating or withdrawing from the treaty.

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D.C. JUDGE HALTS ALL SCHEDULED FEDERAL EXECUTIONS, INCLUDING THAT OF FORMER IOWA METH KINGPIN

WASHINGTON — A federal judge late Wednesday halted all four scheduled federal executions, finding that Attorney General William Barr's July proposal that sought to resume the death penalty after a 16-year moratorium appears to be at odds with federal law.

The four men were scheduled to be executed in December and January 2020. But U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan of the District of Columbia ruled Wednesday that the inmates were likely to succeed in their argument that Barr's proposal to execute all four using one type of lethal injection contradicts the Federal Death Penalty Act.

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NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE PANEL AGREES ON GENERAL APPROACH TO PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

LINCOLN — A legislative committee struggling to craft a property tax relief plan hasn’t agreed on an exact proposal yet, but it has at least agreed on an approach to the problem.

The Legislature’s Revenue Committee voiced agreement on Friday that a multi-year plan to address high property taxes should first target help for farmers and ranchers, with a particular emphasis on relief in school districts with high property tax levies, such as in bedroom communities like Seward, York and Blair.

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MEDICAID PAYMENT RATES BLAMED AS RURAL NURSING HOME CLOSURES PICK UP PACE IN NEBRASKA

LINCOLN — The September announcement of the Blue Hill Care Center’s planned closing hit Brenda Trumble hard. The home’s closure would have forced her 90-year-old mother, Lois Mohlman, to leave the south-central Nebraska town where she had lived for more than 30 years.

A total of 34 Nebraska nursing homes have closed during the past eight years. All but two were in rural counties. The trend worries nursing home associations and advocacy groups alike, especially as they look ahead to the baby boom generation reaching advanced age. And some state senators say Nebraska needs to be looking at ways to keep rural homes open.

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NEBRASKA STATE TAX COLLECTIONS EXCEED PROJECTIONS IN OCTOBER

LINCOLN - Overall state tax collections were up in October, when compared with Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board predictions, although net sales tax receipts were down slightly.

The Nebraska Department of Revenue reported that while net tax collections overall of $290 million for the month were 8.8% above the forecast of $266 million, sales and use taxes were down 2.4%.

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DON WALTON: PROPERTY TAXES, ERNIE AND LEMON PASTRIES

LINCOLN - It's not easy for urban and rural senators to reach consensus on broad tax reform.

So the members of the Legislature's Revenue Committee — four rural senators and four senators who represent metropolitan Omaha — have settled for unanimous agreement on the need for additional property tax relief now and established relief for agriculture as the initial priority.

A plan endorsed by the committee would reduce the value of ag land for tax purposes from 75 percent to 55 percent of market value and provide $100 million in additional state school aid to replace local tax revenue.

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ALMOST HALF OF OMAHA-AREA CEOs EXPECT TO ADD JOBS IN 2020, SURVEY FINDS

OMAHA — Omaha-area CEOs are generally optimistic about sales and growth in the coming year, with almost half expecting to add employees and most others expecting stable employment, according to a recent survey.

The results of the annual economic outlook survey of the Greater Omaha Chamber generally seemed to reflect the positive view for the U.S. economy as a whole. But there were also concerns expressed that could limit growth locally, including labor shortages, state taxes and incentives, and the possibility of a recession in the coming year.

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CHARLES SCHWAB IS BUYING OMAHA-BASED TD AMERITRADE FOR $26 BILLION, FOX BUSINESS REPORTS

OMAHA - Charles Schwab is buying Omaha-based TD Ameritrade for $26 billion, Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo reported Thursday. Other national news media outlets have been reporting that the two were discussing a deal.

The move, which Fox Business said is expected to be announced Thursday morning, will allow Charles Schwab to better compete with the likes of BlackRock. The combined firm will be run by Schwab CEO Walter Bettinger, and TD Ameritrade's chief financial officer, Steve Boyle, will lead the target company until the deal is completed, Fox Business reported.

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HOLT COUNTY SUPERVISOR OFFERED $49,000 'COOPERATION BONUS' TOLD NOT TO VOTE OR LOBBY ON PIPELINE

LINCOLN — A Holt County supervisor is being advised not only to abstain from voting on issues related to the Keystone XL pipeline but also not to lobby or advise fellow board members about the controversial project.

Holt County Board member Bill Tielke of Atkinson declared a conflict of interest this summer after signing a right-of-way agreement with TC Energy for the pipeline to cross his farmland, and stating that he’ll receive a $49,000 “cooperation bonus” from the company if the crude oil pipeline is built.

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CREIGHTON PRESIDENT SAYS NO AFTER 2,093 CU STUDENTS VOTE IN FAVOR OF FOSSIL FUEL DIVESTMENT

OMAHA - The president of Creighton University disagreed Wednesday with 2,093 students who voted last week to ask Creighton to divest from fossil fuels. The students requested through a formal referendum that Creighton’s administration stop new investments in the fossil fuel industry.

The Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, Creighton’s president, sent a letter to the university community Wednesday saying that he supports those who are passionate about sustainability efforts. But he said the aim of the nonbinding student referendum “does not align with our goal of a properly diversified endowment, and could negatively impact Creighton and our students.”

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Read President Hendrickson’s letter HERE

MAN STEALS DESK FROM LINCOLN CHURCH, TRIES TO DRAG IT UP STEPS OF THE CAPITOL BUILDING

LINCOLN - A Lincoln man was arrested for burglary after police said he broke into a church, stole a desk and tried to drag it up the stairs of the State Capitol building. Lincoln police were called to 14th and K Streets around 6 a.m. Wednesday. They found a 36-year-old man, seemingly under the influence of alcohol or drugs, pulling the desk. The church, located directly across from the Capitol was found in disarray.

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FRACKERS ARE PREPARING TO PUMP LESS, CURBING U.S. OIL GROWTH

After pushing U.S. oil and natural-gas production to record levels, some shale companies plan to pump less.

The pullback is sharpest among the country’s largest natural-gas drillers. Several producers, including EQT Corp. EQT and Chesapeake Energy Corp. have said during third-quarter earnings that they may shrink output next year.

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RICKETTS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT PROPERTY TAX RELIEF AGREEMENT

LINCOLN - Gov. Pete Ricketts said Wednesday that he and leaders of the Legislature's Revenue Committee have not yet settled on a plan for additional property tax relief, but he believes that "we're going to get something done" during the 2020 legislative session.

"I'm confident we'll get a solution we can get agreement on," the governor said during a telephone conference call from Germany, where he's leading a Nebraska trade mission this week.

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STATE SEN. TONY VARGAS OF OMAHA WILL RUN FOR REELECTION TO NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN — State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha has announced that he will seek reelection to his District 7 seat in the Nebraska Legislature. Vargas, a 35-year-old consultant for nonprofit groups, was first elected to the Legislature in 2016. District 7 covers downtown and South Omaha east of the Kennedy Freeway.

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JUDGE HEARS ARGUMENTS IN CITIZEN'S LAWSUIT BLOCKING DOUGLAS COUNTY JUSTICE CENTER PROJECT

OMAHA - The lawsuit holding up the controversial proposed Douglas County courthouse annex and juvenile detention center could come down to the definition of a two-word phrase: “used jointly.”

State statutes require that facilities created or renovated by public building commissions in Nebraska’s largest cities be used jointly by those cities and their respective counties. But the law doesn’t define what “joint use” is.

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NEBRASKA IS ON TRACK FOR NEW VOTE-COUNTING MACHINES FOR 2020 PRIMARY

LINCOLN — If all goes well during the next six months, Nebraska counties will be tallying up the 2020 election results with new equipment. State election officials are in the process of acquiring new ballot-counting machines for all 93 Nebraska counties. They also are getting new devices for every polling place that voters with disabilities can use to mark ballots.

Secretary of State Bob Evnen called the purchases a step toward ensuring that Nebraska elections remain “secure, reliable and accurate.”

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DON WALTON: TAX REFORM, THE NATS AND WHAT WOULD LINCOLN THINK?

LINCOLN - The Legislature's Revenue Committee is attempting to forge a property tax relief plan centered on state school aid that is acceptable to Gov. Pete Ricketts and one that can command the 33 votes required to overcome a filibuster by its legislative opponents.

A proposal discussed by the committee during an executive session last week would be a smaller-ball alternative to a more ambitious plan that had been tentatively formulated around substantial tax reform.

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HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SHORTAGE A BIG CONCERN IN RURAL NEBRASKA

LINCOLN - Nebraska's rural areas are struggling with a major shortage of high-speed internet, and people who live there are likely paying more for service than their urban counterparts, according to a new report commissioned by state lawmakers.

The report by the Rural Broadband Task Force says just 63% of rural Nebraskans have access to fixed, high-speed broadband service capable of handling downloads at 25 megabytes per second or faster. That's the speed typically recommended to watch high-definition movies, use video-chatting services and download large data files.

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