U.S. WEIGHS PAYING DRILLERS TO LEAVE OIL IN GROUND AMID GLUT

The Trump administration is considering paying U.S. oil producers to leave crude in the ground to help alleviate a glut that has caused prices to plummet and pushed some drillers into bankruptcy.

The Energy Department has drafted a plan to compensate companies for sitting on as much as 365 million barrels worth of oil reserves by effectively making that untapped crude part of the U.S. government’s emergency stockpile, said senior administration officials, who asked not to be identified describing deliberations prior to a decision and announcement.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May rose about 20 cents to $20.42 a barrel on the news. Earlier Wednesday, crude futures settled below $20 a barrel for the first time in 18 years.

View the article HERE

THREE SCENARIOS FOR THE NOVEMBER ELECTION

The coronavirus is paralyzing — from the fear of the physical toll, to the economy, to the end (at least for now) of normal everyday life. There’s also a temptation to put a pause on political analysis. If the country is in the middle, or even beginning, of a once-in-a-generation (or two) event, how can we even think about elections or know what the political fallout might be?
That’s not an unreasonable approach. But the fall elections are going to happen whether the country is ready or not, and the results are arguably more important than ever as voters choose politicians to lead the country into an unprecedented chapter.

And even though there is significant uncertainty, particularly in the physical and economic impact, it’s possible to identify some potential scenarios that could play out.

View the article HERE

MIDLANDS VOICES: FEDERAL AID CAN HELP WITH LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS

OMAHA - The latest federal efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic are focusing on how to best help states and municipalities. I would urge consideration for a path that could have a dramatic impact on every community in the nation while driving economic growth and rebuilding our country’s infrastructure.

If proposed stimulus legislation or other programs included help for municipalities financing or refinancing bonds, we could substantially impact the fiscal condition of American communities while stimulating the economy. It is a great solution for all municipalities.

View the article HERE

CITIES, COUNTIES FEAR LOSING OUT ON U.S. VIRUS RESCUE FUNDING

WASHINGTON (AP) — The $2.2 trillion federal rescue package could fail to deliver badly needed financial aid to thousands of smaller cities and counties where a majority of Americans live, according to documents and interviews with local officials.

The coronavirus outbreak has blown holes in the budgets of communities as the costs of battling it skyrocket and critical sources of revenue like sales and income taxes plummet.

The Coronavirus Relief Fund uses a formula based on population to parcel out tens of billions of dollars to the states while allowing cities and counties with more than 500,000 residents to apply directly to the Treasury Department for cash infusions. But localities below that population threshold are in limbo.

View the article HERE

THE STRUGGLE TO COPE WITH DEPRESSION AMID CORONAVIRUS

WASHINGTON - During the two weeks after Minnesota issued its stay-at-home order in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Jane Egerdal cried every day.

Ms. Egerdal, 62, has a history of depression. Almost overnight, the things she had been doing to successfully cope with her condition—going to the gym, meeting friends at coffee shops, her job as a school nurse—disappeared.

“I lost that network of people and sense of job and purpose,” says Ms. Egerdal, who lives alone in Faribault, Minn. “The loneliness is unbearable.”

The pandemic is upending everyone’s lives. But it has been particularly destabilizing for the millions of people who deal with depression and anxiety.

View the article HERE

THEY CAN'T MEET AT THE CAPITOL, BUT TECHNOLOGY IS KEEPING STATE SENATORS TOGETHER

LINCOLN - While Nebraska state senators wait to find out when and if they will reconvene this year to finish up the final 17 days of the 2020 session, some have been communicating via Zoom and other technology.

One Omaha political observer, Ricky Fulton, noticed the Zoom activity among senators and was prompted to send a letter to Speaker Jim Scheer asking if meeting on Zoom was any kind of open-meetings violation.

He also wanted to know how many senators could legally meet on a Zoom chat. And whether those who don't use Zoom or other type of video conferencing would be left out of such meetings.

View the article HERE

HOW WILL NEBRASKA SCHOOLS SPEND $128 MILLION AID PACKAGE? COLLEGE STUDENTS TO GET HELP

LINCOLN - Nebraska K-12 school districts, colleges and universities will split a $128 million federal care package to deal with the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, with a good chunk of the money aimed at helping college students.

How the money for students will be allocated is uncertain.

The law gives local and state education leaders latitude on allocating and spending the aid.

One Nebraska state official has cautioned school district leaders against using the extra money for pay raises during the crisis.

View the article HERE

GOV. RICKETTS, ELECTION CHIEF CONFIDENT NEBRASKA PRIMARY WON'T BE REPEAT OF WISCONSIN

LINCOLN - This week, the world watched as Wisconsin voters stood for hours in long lines to cast ballots during a pandemic.

Nebraska is next in line May 12, when polling places open for the state’s primary election. Officials are pressing Nebraskans to vote early by mail, but they still expect thousands to head to the polls on Election Day.

The Cornhusker State remains an outlier by proceeding as scheduled with in-person voting. At last count, 16 states had postponed primaries due to COVID-19.

View the article HERE

HAMMEL: NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOL IS STILL OPEN FOR TOURS, BUT THERE AREN'T MANY TAKERS

LINCOLN — Kirk Woita is a lot like a Maytag repairman these days.

Woita, a tour guide at the Nebraska State Capitol, is still on duty, willing to lead anyone on an educational trek through the unique and historic building. But he’s had no takers for at least the last week and only a few before that.

The U.S. Capitol quit public tours a month ago because of the coronavirus. And the Iowa State Capitol, like many state capitols, is closed, so no tours.

View the article HERE

OPINION: STATE SENATORS HALLORAN AND ERDMAN OFFER ANALYSIS ON COVID-19 PANDEMIC

HASTINGS: Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard (Legislative District 47) and I have received numerous emails, phone calls and text messages concerning the coronavirus. They are all very similar in nature. The details may change a little, but the message is usually the same: “If these restrictions continue, my business will close and never reopen.”

The coronavirus will continue to spread across the country, despite our feeble attempts to try to contain it. Herd immunity is the only way to defeat COVID-19 once and for all.Moreover, the current mitigation policies have led to 13 percent unemployment, a 5,000 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a potential 40 percent drop in the GDP, and a two trillion dollar bailout package from the Federal Reserve.

If Nebraska continues to operate within its current mitigation policy, civil unrest will eventually ensue. All life is sacred and valuable, but Nebraskans also need to re-open their businesses, go back to work, go back to school, and get the elective surgeries they need. What better time to get elective surgery and recuperate than while businesses are shut down?

But, we cannot afford to go another day with this current failed policy.Historically, civilized societies have crumbled from failed economies, leaving them vulnerable to attack from enemies, but they did not dissipate from diseases.

View the article HERE

LONGER-TERM PROSPECTS OF CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE: BIGGER STATE, HIGHER TAXES

World leaders from President Trump to President Emmanuel Macron of France and Queen Elizabeth II of Britain have invoked the wartime spirit as they rally citizens to defeat the new coronavirus.

Like the great wars of the 20th century, some analysts and historians think the current crisis could fuel a new era of big government in which public officials control more of the levers of the economy, for better or for worse.

“National institutions tend to get significantly better funding during wartime, and it’s very difficult to reverse that when people are used to it,” said Tony Travers, a professor of government at the London School of Economics who advises the U.K. government.

View the article HERE

NO STAY-AT-HOME ORDER? NEBRASKA STILL RATES WELL IN CORONAVIRUS CASES AND DEATHS

LINCOLN - Critics see Nebraska’s lack of a stay-at-home order as a sign that it isn’t doing enough to combat coronavirus, but a World-Herald analysis finds that its results stack up well against other states.

The comparison of all 50 states shows that only two have fewer confirmed cases per capita of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

While Nebraska ranks quite low in testing for the disease, it also has a low per-capita death rate from coronavirus — 40th in the nation. And Nebraska is doing better than nearly all of its neighbors in deaths and cases.

View the article HERE

MEATPACKING WORKERS ARE CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY GET COVID-19?

OMAHA - Shoppers are filling their carts and freezers with meat as the coronavirus crisis forces Americans to stay home and cook more meals there.

But what happens when the workers who slice, process and package those chicken breasts, pot roasts and sausage links start to get sick?

As of Thursday, 28 workers at the massive JBS USA beef plant in Grand Island had tested positive for the coronavirus, representing a quarter of the 105 confirmed cases in the Grand Island area. The meatpacking plant is Grand Island’s largest employer, with 3,600 workers clocking in for different shifts.

View the article HERE

CDC 'REALLY MISSING THE MARK': EMAILS SHOW UNMC DOC CONCERNED BY FEDERAL VIRUS RESPONSE

OMAHA - Weeks before the novel coronavirus hit Nebraska, medical experts from around the nation communicated regularly by email, pondering the severity of the outbreak, sharing frustrations and planning for the worst.

The chain of emails includes several messages from Dr. James Lawler, a director in the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Global Center for Health Security, who worked with Gov. Pete Ricketts to develop Nebraska’s pandemic plan.

The group of experts nicknamed the email chain “Red Dawn,” a nod to the 1984 film starring Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen about an invasion of the United States. The emails were obtained by the New York Times.

View the article HERE

SMALLER CITIES CRY FOUL ON CORONAVIRUS AID

Mayors of small cities facing big budget shortfalls say they were unfairly cut out of the $2.2 trillion stimulus law, and they are drawing support in Congress to make them eligible for direct aid in future rounds of coronavirus legislation.

Localities are seeing increased strain on first responders and police departments, in addition to bearing the cost of purchasing personal protective equipment. Meanwhile, revenue streams from sales taxes and income taxes have slowed and unemployment claims are surging. But the rescue law stipulates that only counties and cities with populations over 500,000 residents can apply directly for the $150 billion in emergency funding for state, local and tribal governments.

View the article HERE

CORONAVIRUS IMPACT WILL GUIDE NEW LEADERS OF KEY OMAHA PHILANTHROPIC GROUPS

OMAHA - Rachel Jacobson sat in the sun-drenched picture window of Lola’s just as the coffee-drinking crowd was switching to wine and matinee-goers were lining up at the nearby concessions counter. Outside, Dodge Street traffic zipped by.

On both sides of the glass was a city full of life and possibility, a scene set for a rising star like Jacobson. The 41-year-old is tapped to cross a bigger stage this summer, leaving the independent art-house theater she started, Film Streams, for the big-money, big-projects nonprofit Heritage Services. Film Streams is a local amenity. Heritage builds local amenities.

View the article HERE

UNL PARTNERING WITH ETHANOL ORGANIZATIONS TO MAKE THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF HAND SANITIZER

LINCOLN - The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and some partners have started producing ethanol-based hand sanitizer to distribute at no cost to hospitals.

UNL said Tuesday that Hunter Flodman, an assistant professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering at the university, worked with the Food and Drug Administration, the Nebraska Ethanol Board and others to enable ethanol producers to supply their product for hand sanitizer. Hospitals, doctors, nursing homes, ambulance crews and others are struggling to find hand sanitizer, which is in short supply because so much is being used to combat COVID-19.

View the article HERE

CORONAVIRUS WILL FORCE CHANGES AT POLLING PLACES THIS YEAR

LINCOLN - Election Day in the time of the coronavirus will be different. All registered voters in Nebraska will receive an invitation to vote by mail, if they wish, in order to avoid crowd contact at polling places.

But polling places will be carefully sanitized for the May 12 election and social distancing standards — at least 6 feet of separation — will be applied.

Lancaster County Election Commissioner David Shively is sending out 140,000 invitations to registered voters to apply for mail ballots this year, in addition to the 31,000 mailed to voters whose names are on the permanent early vote list.

View the article HERE

CORONAVIRUS LIKELY TO FORCE SOME SMALL CHURCHES TO PERMANENTLY CLOSE

LINCOLN - The coronavirus is likely to force hundreds of small churches across the country — and as many as 50 in Lincoln — to close as the pandemic endures and donations dwindle. That is the view of the Rev. Jim Keck of First-Plymouth Congregational Church.

“Small churches are going to be in real peril,” Keck said. “It can be an existential threat like a restaurant. A typical small American church is just making its bills every week. If donations fall off, a church can close, like a restaurant.”

 The average Protestant church in the U.S. has an attendance of 73 people, Keck said. With, say, an annual budget of $120,000, the church can pay for its minister, a secretary and cover its operational bills. If the money collected drops to $70,000, the church would have funds for a part-time minister and to pay its bills.Falling below that amount, it would likely have to consider closing its doors, Keck said.

Those numbers are estimates and would vary from church to church and state to state. But the principle of dwindling donations against unchanging expenses will apply to all, including many Lincoln churches.

View the article HERE

SEN. VARGAS LEADS EFFORT TO PROTECT MEATPACKING WORKERS

In an effort to protect Nebraska workers who labor shoulder-to-shoulder on meatpacking production lines from the coronavirus, Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha has reached out to his colleagues in the Legislature to engage their support. Vargas sent fellow senators a copy of a letter to meatpacking companies prepared by the Heartland Workers Center in Omaha that attempts to help "identify best practices" that can assist in shielding the largely immigrant workforce.

"I don't think we can tell yet" whether workers are being adequately protected," Vargas said Wednesday during a telephone interview. "What we know is it's not business as usual."

The goal is to protect workers while keeping them employed and maintaining operation of the essential service of helping provide the nation's food supply, the senator said.

View the article HERE