NEW NEBRASKA JOBLESS CLAIMS CONTINUE ROLLING IN, SWAMPING UNEMPLOYMENT SYSTEM

LINCOLN — The wave of new jobless claims continued in Nebraska last week, as coronavirus-related layoffs and furloughs swamped the state’s unemployment system.

The Nebraska Department of Labor reported Thursday that 12,340 workers had filed first-time unemployment claims during the week just ended. That was down from 16,391 the previous week, but several times the pre-pandemic levels.

The five-week total of new claims exceeded 96,000 workers. The crush of claims has slowed processing and left unemployed workers waiting weeks to get their first payments. It also is taking a toll on the state’s economy. One new study used those jobless claims to estimate the economic impact on Nebraska at $835 million between March 14 and April 4.

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SENATOR LOU ANN LINEHAN: TAX REFORM CRUCIAL RIGHT NOW

LINCOLN- In a 'local view' opinion piece, Senator Lou Ann Linehan responded to a recent editorial board release by the Lincoln Journal Star stating that the board was correct in stating  “property tax relief for Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers remains sorely needed.” However that is a major divination from the editorial board's opinion: 

"That, put simply, means that the state will not have sufficient income to fund the property tax relief proposal without decimating the remainder of the discretionary budget -- the part that funds the University of Nebraska and state agencies, whose services will be needed in the upcoming recovery." ('Virus should lead senators to take new look at taxes' April 17, 2020)

Senator Linehan's response, while offering no new statistics or developed plans for relief, continued to argue that property tax relief is possible, and necessary, even during the projected continued economic downturn. Relying on grossly simplified and context-less statistics, Senator Linehan paints an incomplete picture of current Nebraska spending and tax structure while continuing to hold firmly to her position of no compromise with parties opposed to her current proposal. 

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'UNPRECEDENTED DROP IN VOLUME' AT U.P. LEADS TO 4 MONTHS OF STEEP PAY CUTS

OMAHA - Fifteen percent of Union Pacific Railroad’s 37,500 employees will take steep pay cuts through August, the Omaha-based railroad told its employees Tuesday.

Executives will take a 25% cut from May through August, and employees not covered by union contracts, such as managers, must take unpaid leave for one week each month through August, U.P. said. The unpaid leave will result in a pay cut of close to 25% for those employees.

U.P. spokeswoman Kristen South said the 12-member board of directors, which includes CEO Lance Fritz, will absorb the cut as well. Eleven of those directors received compensation ranging from $46,667 to $356,411 in fiscal year 2019, according to a financial statement. Most board members received in the vicinity of $300,000, the statement said.

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'IT'S ALARMING' HOW HARD NEBRASKA'S RURAL AREAS ARE HIT BY CORONAVIRUS, UNMC EXPERT SAYS

GRAND ISLAND- The vast swaths of open space beyond the Omaha and Lincoln metros in Nebraska would seem an unlikely place for a coronavirus epidemic. People spread out over rural towns, small cities and farmland. The large majority living in single-family homes. No mass transit systems. Social distancing? It’s part of the natural landscape.

But the reality in this pandemic is proving radically different than that expectation in some areas outside Nebraska’s biggest cities, said Dr. Angela Hewlett, an infectious disease expert at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Many in rural Nebraska work side by side in large food processing and meatpacking centers. Their work is seen as part of an essential industry, and it’s not a job that lends itself to telecommuting.

And it only takes one infection in a small, close-knit community to send COVID-19 cases spiking through the roof.

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REVISED DIRECTED HEALTH MEASURES FOR NEBRASKA TO BE RELEASED

LINCOLN- Gov. Pete Ricketts said Thursday during a live town hall on NET that state and local health officials are hammering out conditions that might allow a loosening of some restrictions on religious services and commercial interactions that require close contact.

Many of the directed health measures that prohibited certain business activity, such as dining in at restaurants or getting a haircut, have expiration dates at the end of April and in early May. Revised directed health measures will be coming out for May, he said 

The state is working with public health officials on a locally based approach to easing restrictions. “We know the end of the month is coming up,” he said. “We want to check this all out with public health people. Be patient here for a few more days and you’ll have some information on it.”

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AS 4TH VIRUS RELIEF BILL NEARS PASSAGE, FIGHT LOOMS OVER 5TH

WASHINGTON-  Congress is on the verge of passing an almost $500 billion coronavirus relief bill, but battle lines already are forming over the next measure amid growing demands to approve additional billions for state and local governments, the Postal Service and even infrastructure.

The talk of a fifth measure is running into early opposition from conservatives, chiefly Senate Republicans, who warn the spending spree cannot go on indefinitely. The GOP senators saw their request to replenish a Paycheck Protection Program nearly double in size, as Democrats persuaded President Donald Trump to support additional funding for underbanked communities, health providers and a national testing initiative.

So far, big spending is carrying the day, pushing the projected deficit for the current year past $3 trillion — more than double the previous record from the Great Recession.

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RICKETTS ANNOUNCES INITIATIVE TO INCREASE TESTING, HELP GET STATE BACK TO WORK

LINCOLN — Gov. Pete Ricketts unveiled a program called TestNebraska on Tuesday that aims to dramatically increase coronavirus testing in the state as part of a push to get Nebraskans back to work.

The effort mirrors testing and tracking programs already underway in Utah and announced earlier Tuesday in Iowa. A consortium of private companies developed the programs.

Ricketts said the initiative seeks to “crush the curve” and will be key in being able to lift restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the potentially deadly virus.

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OFFICIALS WITH NEBRASKA CROSSING OUTLETS APPEAR TO WALK BACK OPENING PLAN

GRETNA- Nebraska Crossing Outlets' planned "soft opening" Friday now won't be open to the public, mall officials wrote on their Facebook page Tuesday, walking back on their original plan they hailed as a "test case" for how retailers could open to the public. 

"You've heard the news. We are 'soft opening' Nebraska Crossing on 4/24. What does this mean?" the post said. "A 'soft opening' is for store employees only — to begin the process of getting their stores ready for business ... This process can take 1, 2, 3 weeks or more. A store can't just turn on the lights & resume business." said Rod Yates, owner and developer of Nebraska Crossing Outlets'. 

Yates had said that Nebraska Crossing was going to be "the first shopping center that opens in North America." He did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request seeking more information on when stores would be open to the public. 

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RICKETTS ENDS RESTRICTION ON ELECTIVE SURGERIES BEGINNING MAY 4TH

LINCOLN- In his first move to loosen restrictions that have been in place to battle and control the spread of the coronavirus in the state, Gov. Pete Ricketts said Monday he is lifting the order blocking elective surgeries beginning May 4.

The green light for elective surgeries will be flashed only if 30% of a hospital's beds remain open, 30% of intensive-care beds are open, 30% of hospital ventilators remain available and there is at least two weeks' supply of personal protective equipment available at the hospital site. The new order also lifts the ban on surgical procedures at dental offices, vision clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and veterinary practices. 

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NEBRASKA SEES CORONAVIRUS DEATH TOLL RISE TO 34, FOLLOWING 6 DEATHS ANNOUNCED MONDAY

LINCOLN- COVID-19 has claimed the lives of six more Nebraskans, bringing the state's total to 34.

Seward County reported its first death Monday evening, that of a woman in her 50s who suffered from other health conditions. She was pronounced dead at a hospital after being brought from her home by a rescue squad.

Both men who died in Douglas County had preexisting health conditions, according to the county's public health department. Those deaths were the ninth and 10th in the county related to coronavirus. The Central District Health Department, which monitors three counties in the hard-hit Grand Island area, reported three new deaths Monday. 

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LOST YOUR JOB OR HOURS CUT BACK? LONG WAIT FOR MANY NEBRASKANS FOR GOVERNMENT HELP

LINCOLN- Getting unemployment benefits in Nebraska already was a slow process, with it taking up to three weeks or more to be paid after filing a claim. But with the unprecedented economic shock over the past month, the system has been overloaded.

About 83,000 people in the state have filed unemployment claims in the past four weeks — the equivalent of two years' worth of claims in Nebraska. Nearly 15,000 of those claims have come from Lancaster County residents.

State Labor Commissioner John Albin said last week that his staff of adjudicators — the people who process unemployment claims — has grown from about 30 to 200 in the past few weeks.Still, he said his office's goal now is to get 75% of claims processed within four weeks. That's down from a standard goal of 90% in three weeks.

Even though the state has waived the normal one-week waiting period to file a claim, it still means at least one out of every four unemployed people may be waiting a month or more to get a check.

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'OUR NORMAL ACTIVITIES HAVE CHANGED': GRAND ISLAND COMMUNITY IS TESTED AS CORONAVIRUS CASES SURGE

GRAND ISLAND-  The coronavirus surge has challenged standard practices in Grand Island and Hall County. Seven have now died of COVID-19 in the county. And this part of Nebraska has a virus rate per capita that’s much higher than any other Nebraska county and is similar to that of some of the most intensely hit states in the nation.

The contagious disease has created dread among many in Grand Island. To be cautious, some say, treat everyone as though they carry the virus. Others believe the problem has been exaggerated. The disease also has tested the strings that hold Grand Island together as a community. About one-third of the city’s 51,500 residents are Latino.

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WHITE HOUSE AND DEMOCRATS NEAR DEAL ON AID FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, HOSPITALS

WASHINGTON — The White House and congressional Democrats on Sunday closed in on an agreement for a $450 billion economic relief package to replenish a depleted emergency fund for small businesses and to expand coronavirus testing around the country, with votes on the measure possible early this week. 

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin described the broad outlines of the package in an appearance on CNN on Sunday. The agreement would include $300 billion to replenish the emergency fund, called the Paycheck Protection Program; $50 billion for the Small Business Administration’s disaster relief fund; $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for testing.

The money for hospitals and testing in the package Mr. Mnuchin outlined was a significant concession to Democrats, who were standing in the way of a quick and stand-alone infusion of cash to the Paycheck Protection Program, which offers forgivable loans to small businesses to create incentives for them to keep employees on their payroll.

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THE CORONAVIRUS IN AMERICA: THE YEAR AHEAD

NEW YORK-  Most experts believed that once the crisis was over, the nation and its economy would revive quickly. But there would be no escaping a period of intense pain.The tighter the restrictions, experts say, the fewer the deaths and the longer the periods between lockdowns. Most models assume states will eventually do widespread temperature checks, rapid testing and contact tracing, as is routine in Asia.

Even the “Opening Up America Again” guidelines Mr. Trump issued on Thursday have three levels of social distancing, and recommend that vulnerable Americans stay hidden. The plan endorses testing, isolation and contact tracing — but does not specify how these measures will be paid for, or how long it will take to put them in place.

On Friday, none of that stopped the president from contradicting his own message by sending out tweets encouraging protesters in Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia to fight their states’ shutdowns. China did not allow Wuhan, Nanjing or other cities to reopen until intensive surveillance found zero new cases for 14 straight days, the virus’s incubation period. Compared with China or Italy, the United States is still a playground.

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CORONAVIRUS CASES IN LEXINGTON AREA HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED IN A WEEK

LEXINGTON- The western Nebraska county that is home to Lexington has seen a surge in coronavirus cases in the past week and now ranks third-highest in the state.

Nebraska had recorded 1,474 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, as of Sunday evening. That’s an increase of 187 from the day before. So far, 28 deaths have been reported in Nebraska, with no new deaths reported Sunday.

As of Sunday evening, Dawson County had reported 124 cases, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, placing it third behind Hall and Douglas Counties. That is more than double the cases reported a week earlier. Hall County, where Grand Island is located, still has the state’s highest number of coronavirus cases, with 468 cases as of Saturday. 

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ABORTION SURVEY SHOWS SOME NEBRASKA CANDIDATES WOULD NOT MAKE EXCEPTION TO SAVE MOTHER'S LIFE

LINCOLN- A Right to Life survey of candidates for Nebraska offices shows that some state senators facing reelection would not support abortion to save the life of a mother. The question asked: Under what circumstances, if any, do you believe that abortion should be legal? 

Five incumbent senators either answered no to the exception of preventing the mother's death, or left the answer blank after saying they would permit abortion in no cases. Those senators were Julie Slama of Peru, Joni Albrecht of Thurston, Bruce Bostelman of Brainard, Mike Hilgers of Lincoln and Steve Halloran of Hastings. 

Hilgers and Halloran both left the box blank, but Halloran did so after answering that he favored no circumstances that abortion should be legal. Hilgers commented on the survey: "Abortion is never necessary to protect the life of the mother." 

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WE DON'T WANT TO GO RISK OUR LIVES': MANAGERS CONCERNED ABOUT NEBRASKA CROSSING OPENING

GRETNA, Neb. — Some general and store managers who work at Nebraska Crossing said they are concerned for their health and yours when the mall opens April 24.

We are keeping their identities anonymous because they fear they'll lose their jobs for good.

"These people who think that it's okay to go shopping, have they been living under a rock?" said one general manager.

The managers said they found out last week through a text alert from the owner of Nebraska Crossing Rod Yates that he had plans to originally open on April 18 and then changed it to April 24.

"I don't know why we need to jump the gun and go a week early. It doesn't seem right," one store manager said.

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HOW THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS' SUPER BOWL WIN SLOWED THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS

It’s been a little more than two months since the Kansas City Chiefs came back from a 10-point deficit in Super Bowl LIV to defeat the San Francisco 49ers. It was a huge win for Kansas City. Now, according to one Coronavirus expert, it may have been a victory for the whole country. 

Dr. Niraj Sehgal, a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco and co-leader of UCSF’s COVID-19 command center, said that the novel Coronavirus would have likely experienced a widespread transmission if San Francisco had held a Super Bowl parade.

He explained his reasoning in more detail in a Zoom call the school shared on YouTube.

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KEYSTONE XL RULING HAS 'SWEEPING' IMPACTS FOR OTHER PROJECTS (2)

A federal court’s decision striking down a critical Keystone XL permit has broad implications beyond the embattled oil pipeline.

The Wednesday ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana tossed a nationwide permit the Army Corps of Engineers uses to approve water crossings for projects all over the country, concluding the agency hadn’t properly considered impacts on endangered species.

“This is a sweeping ruling,” said Larry Liebesman, a former Justice Department environmental lawyer now at the water resources consulting firm Dawson & Associates. “This judge used his authority to enjoin it nationwide.”

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ANOTHER SETBACK FOR THE KEYSTONE XL OIL PIPELINE

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A U.S. judge canceled a key permit Wednesday for the Keystone XL oil pipeline that’s expected to stretch from Canada to Nebraska, another setback for the disputed project that got underway less than two weeks ago following years of delays.

Judge Brian Morris said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to adequately consider effects on endangered species such as pallid sturgeon, a massive, dinosaur-like fish that lives in rivers the pipeline would cross.

The ruling, however, does not shut down work that has begun at the U.S.-Canada border crossing in Montana, according to attorneys in the case. Pipeline sponsor TC Energy will need the permit for future construction across hundreds of rivers and streams along Keystone’s 1,200-mile route.

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