RICKETTS CONFRONTS CORONAVIRUS WITH NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER AT HIS SIDE

LINCOLN - Gov. Pete Ricketts has had to rearrange his time, attention and priorities to tackle the coronavirus challenge that has crept into his state, but he says he feels "very, very blessed" to have the acquired knowledge, talent and resources of the University of Nebraska Medical Center at his side.

A governor who has been a manager in the private sector and is generally viewed as a quick learner has moved coronavirus to the top of his to-do list, with a growing understanding of how to measure its threat in Nebraska and how he should respond.

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NEW LEADER CHOSEN FOR NEBRASKA'S FOSTER CARE REVIEW OFFICE

LINCOLN — Monika Gross, an attorney with more than 15 years of experience in Nebraska’s child welfare system, has been named the new executive director for the state’s Foster Care Review Office.

Gross spent nine years working for PromiseShip, an Omaha-based nonprofit that contracted with the state to manage Omaha-area child welfare cases. She was interim president and CEO of the agency for the past six months. Previously, she worked eight years as an attorney with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

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NEBRASKA'S DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES DIRECTOR LEAVING FOR FEDERAL JOB

LINCOLN — Courtney Miller is stepping down as Nebraska’s developmental disabilities director to take a job with the federal government.

Miller will become the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program operations group director within the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a newly created position, according to a Wednesday announcement. She will leave her Nebraska job on April 4.

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CORRECTIONS PROCEEDING WITH INFORMATION REQUEST FOR NEW PRISON

LINCOLN - The Department of Correctional Services has posted on the state purchasing website a request for information to build a new prison.

Prisons Director Scott Frakes said in a news release that responses are due May 27 and that the sealed requests will be opened that day.

It is the first step, he said, in identifying what is required, given current and projected prison populations. In calendar year 2019, the average daily number of prisoners was 5,661, 92% of whom were males.

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SCHEER DOES NOT RULE OUT LEGISLATIVE SESSION OUTSIDE OF LINCOLN

LINCOLN - The Legislature will reconvene at some yet-to-be-determined date, perhaps as early as Monday, to appropriate the state funding that may be required to help aggressively battle the coronavirus in Nebraska, Speaker Jim Scheer of Norfolk said Thursday.

While Scheer anticipates senators will meet in the legislative chamber at the Capitol in Lincoln, he does not rule out the possibility of "going off campus" at some point and convening in another city in the state if that emerges as the safest and most prudent way to complete its 2020 session, the Speaker said in a telephone interview.

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BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY SHAREHOLDERS WON'T BE ABLE TO ATTEND ANNUAL MEETING, BUFFET SAYS

Berkshire Hathaway shareholders won't be able to attend the May 2 annual meeting this year because of the coronavirus threat, founder Warren Buffett said in a letter Friday.

"The annual meeting will be held at 3:45 p.m. on May 2nd as scheduled," Buffett wrote. "However, we will not be able to allow shareholders to physically attend the meeting, and all special events are canceled."

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NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE MOVES TO SEPARATE YRTCs BY GENDER AND ADVANCES RELATED BILLS

LINCOLN - The Legislature forwarded a package of bills Tuesday aimed at addressing long-running problems at the state's Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers.

Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth managed to attach his bill that would separate male and female youths, keeping only boys at Kearney and girls at Geneva. That measure was attached to a bill (LB1188) that would mandate the Office of Juvenile Services to establish a superintendent of schools to administer education programs at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers by Aug. 1.

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TC ENERGY TO BEGIN FELLING TREES ALONG KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE ROUTE

BILLINGS, Mont. — A Canadian company said Wednesday it has started preliminary work along the route of the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline through the U.S. in anticipation of starting construction next month, as opponents await a judge's ruling on their request to block any work.

TC Energy spokeswoman Sara Rabern said the Calgary-based company was moving equipment this week and will begin mowing and felling trees in areas along the pipeline's 1,200-mile route within the next week or so.

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NEBRASKA STATE SENATOR CREATES WEBSITE URGING GOP TO RESTORE ITS VALUES

LINCOLN - Sen. John McCollister of Omaha has launched a website urging the Republican Party to recover and restore its past values and apply them to the issues of today such as climate change, immigration reform, criminal justice reform and "reasonable gun legislation."

The new website presence was heralded by a series of tweets from McCollister, a Republican member of the nonpartisan Legislature, who said he is seeking a return to "a more rational and responsive Republican Party" rather than the GOP of today.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS SHOOT DOWN PROPOSED $52 MILLION WORK-RELEASE FACILITY IN OMAHA

LINCOLN — A proposal to build a $52 million work-release facility in Omaha was shot down Wednesday by state lawmakers amid questions about whether Corrections Department officials would actually use the money and build a prison.

State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha said the Legislature needs to address the state’s prison overcrowding “crisis” because it’s not being seriously addressed right now.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS REVIVE PROPERTY TAX RELIEF EFFORT WITH REVISED MEASURE ADDRESSING SCHOOL CONCERNS

LINCOLN — Thanks to some legislative gymnastics, state lawmakers will get another chance to debate a much-amended property tax relief proposal.

Further debate on an initial tax relief proposal, Legislative Bill 974, had been blocked since Feb. 20 because backers couldn’t show they had 33 votes to overcome an expected filibuster.

But on Tuesday, a legislative committee found a way around that blockade, pushing a 75-page amendment into a noncontroversial cleanup bill, LB 1106.

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STATE LEADERS BRACING FOR SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS

LINCOLN - State lawmakers and top government officials are preparing for the possibility the novel coronavirus could reach the state Capitol.

In a tweet Monday afternoon, Gov. Pete Ricketts said he had convened his cabinet last week "to review continuity of operations plans" and prepare state workers to work from home if necessary.

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DON WALTON: REDISTRICTING BATTLE UNDERWAY AHEAD OF 2021

LINCOLN - What already has the look of a gangbuster 2020 general election in Nebraska may be about to add another featured attraction.

Last week's announcement that a petition drive will be launched later this month to place an initiative proposal to create an independent citizens' redistricting commission on the November ballot is the latest biggie.

Already in the works are proposals to sharply reduce property taxes, authorize casino gambling at horse race tracks and legalize medical marijuana in the state.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS ADVANCE BILL TARGETING SEXUAL MISCONDUCT BY TEACHERS

OMAHA - Nebraska lawmakers voted Monday to advance the first part of a package of measures targeting sexual misconduct by teachers and other educators.

Legislative Bill 1080, introduced by State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha, cleared first-round consideration on a 39-0 vote. The bill would require Nebraska schools to adopt policies prohibiting sexual contact between educators and students or former students for up to a year after they leave school.

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GOV. RICKETTS: NEBRASKA SCHOOLS COULD CLOSE FOR 6-8 WEEKS IF VIRUS SPREADS INTO COMMUNITY

LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said Friday that if coronavirus spreads to the community at large, he could order schools closed in the region affected for six to eight weeks.

Ricketts said that for now the disease has not reached that threshold in Nebraska.

“We do not have community spread right now,” he said.

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IN MOVE AGAINST GERRYMANDERING, A COALITION PLANS PETITION DRIVE FOR INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING BOARD

LINCOLN — A new coalition seeking to eliminate political gerrymandering in Nebraska announced plans Thursday to take the issue directly to voters.

The coalition, called Nebraskans for Independent Redistricting, will pursue a petition drive to put an independent citizens commission in charge of redrawing political district boundaries. The job currently is done by the Nebraska Legislature.

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FORMER STATE SENATOR, A FOE OF MEDICAL MARIJUNANA, CONFIRMED TO NEBRASKA BOARD OF HEALTH

LINCOLN - A leading foe of medical marijuana was confirmed Thursday as a member of the State Board of Health, but not before some legislators questioned whether he could be impartial in dealing with medical cannabis, if it is legalized by voters.

Former State Sen. John Kuehn, a veterinarian, is a co-chair of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana Nebraska, which is running an informational campaign against legalizing medical marijuana. Gov. Pete Ricketts, who also opposes medical cannabis, nominated Kuehn, a close ally, to the 17-member health board, which advises the State Department of Health and Human Services.

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SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT RIGHT UNDER BILL ADVANCED BY NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN - Nebraska lawmakers took a step Tuesday toward making sure sexual assault survivors know about their rights and the help available to them.

Legislative Bill 43 cleared the first of three rounds of debate on a 41-0 vote.

State Sen. Kate Bolz of Lincoln, who introduced the bill, said it does not create new rights for people who have been sexually assaulted. Rather, it requires law enforcement or medical providers to give people information right away that clearly spells out those rights.

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LGBT DISCRIMINATION BAN TO GET BIG PUSH IN NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN — With the endorsement of business groups beginning to move the needle within the Nebraska Legislature, backers of a law banning job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity have made plans for a push in the final days of this year’s session.

Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln recently made Legislative Bill 627 her priority bill, assuring it the chance to be debated, and says the measure has garnered verbal endorsements from a majority of the 49 state lawmakers.

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SENATORS DEBATE ADDING HOLOCAUST, SLAVERY TO NEBRASKA EDUCATION STANDARDS

LINCOLN - A bill requiring the Nebraska Department of Education to incorporate the Holocaust and other genocides into the state's multicultural education standards gained first-round approval by the Legislature on Tuesday.

Introduced last year, Omaha Sen. Sara Howard's bill (LB640) was amended to remove reference to specific genocides other than the Holocaust before it was packaged into an omnibus bill (LB1131) prioritized by the Education Committee.

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