NEBRASKA MEDICAL MARIJUANA MEASURE LIKELY TO MAKE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER

LINCOLN — Nebraska voters will likely get the chance to vote on a measure to legalize medical marijuana, based on the number of petition signatures that campaign organizers will submit to state officials on Thursday.

Organizers of the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign said they’ve gathered 182,000 signatures from all 93 counties to allow the drug for medicinal use.To qualify for the ballot, the campaign needed to turn in more than 121,000 valid signatures, representing more than 10% of the voters in the state. Campaign officials also needed to collect signatures from at least 5% of voters in at least 38 Nebraska counties.

“Today represents a huge step forward for thousands of Nebraskans who deserve compassion,” said state Sen. Anna Wishart, of Lincoln, who co-chaired the campaign committee. “We are confident that we’ve met the requirements for ballot qualification, and after seeing the outpouring of support for our petition, we’re even more confident that Nebraska’s voters will approve this initiative in November.

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NEBRASKA GOP CHAIRMAN: PARTY FLYER TARGETING LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATE ‘CROSSED THE LINE’

LINCOLN – Nebraska Republican Party Chairman, Dan Welch, stated that a campaign flyer targeting Janet Palmtag of Syracuse crossed the line. Chairman Welch stated that he hopes the campaigns stick to relevant issues moving forward. The flyer in question criticized Palmtag for opposing Gov. Ricketts’s plan to raise the salary of the director of Nebraska’s prison system. The flyer compared Palmtag to “radical,” Sen. Ernie Chambers, according to the flyer's own language.

The GOP in Nebraska is divided on the legislative race with Gov. Pete Ricketts backing incumbent Sen. Julie Slama and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry supporting Palmtag.

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DEMOCRATS FIGHT FOR RELEVANCE IN RED-STATE NEBRASKA

OMAHA – Only 29% of voters in the state of Nebraska are registered Democrats. That is the lowest that rate has been in 50 years. Additionally, the party urged its U.S. Senate candidate to resign after sexually offensive texts surfaced. Moreover, a recent Democratic nominee for governor endorsed the Republican running in the state’s sole competitive race for the House of Representatives.

Former Nebraska Democratic Party executive director, Paul Landow, stated that something “really crazy” would need to occur for a Democratic candidate to win statewide office.

Although a Democrat hasn’t won all of the electoral votes in a presidential contest since 1964, some Democrats have been competitive in other races. However, they have not remained as competitive in recent years.

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ELWORTH LEAVING DEMOCRATS FOR LEGAL MARIJUANA NOW PARTY

LINCOLN – Mark Elworth Jr., a candidate for Congressional District 3, is leaving the Nebraska Democratic Party. He will be running as the Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate. This comes after a dispute between Elworth and the Nebraska Democratic Party Chair, Jane Kleeb. Elworth stated that the NDP Chair and the NDP at-large refused to support his candidacy.

Kleeb and the NDP are actively seeking a candidate to run in the 3rd Congressional District race.

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PAYCHECK PROGRAM ENDS WITH $130 BILLION UNSPENT, AND UNCERTAINTY AHEAD

WASHINGTON- After a stumbling start three months ago, the government’s centerpiece relief program for small businesses is ending with money left over.

The Paycheck Protection Program is scheduled to wrap up on Tuesday after handing out $520 billion in loans meant to preserve workers’ jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. But as new outbreaks spike across the country and force many states to rethink their plans to reopen businesses, the program is closing down with more than $130 billion still in its coffers.

“The fact that it was able to reach so far into the small-business sector is a major achievement, and those things are worth acknowledging, and celebrating,” said John Lettieri, the chief executive of the Economic Innovation Group, a think tank focused on entrepreneurship. “But we’re still in a public health crisis, and we’re facing a long, slow, uneven return. Millions of businesses still have their survival at risk.”

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TELEHEALTH VISITS DIP AMID UNCERTAINTY

WASHINGTON - Virtual visits have begun to decline after an initial peak in mid-April, according to a new analysis from Harvard and health tech company Phreesia analyzing more than 50,000 clinicians.

Telehealth visits made up about 14 percent of visits during the week of April 19, but that number had fallen to 7 percent in mid-June. Researchers emphasized that despite the decline, telehealth use is still substantially higher than it was pre-pandemic.

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IT IS NOT JUST THE SUNBELT

WASHINGTON - Arizona, Florida, and Texas are states that have hit the brakes on reopening their economies COVID-19 surges once more.

According to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, California may follow. Gov. Newsom warned this week that the state is “prepared” to issue another stay-at-home order if necessary, though adding that “We don’t intend to do that. We don’t want to do that.”

Newsom announced that his administration had advised Imperial County, on the state’s southern border with Mexico, “to pull back and once again reinstitute their stay-at-home orders.” While he emphasized the county would be in control of the process the governor wouldn’t rule out intervening.

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NONPROFITS GET CARES ACT GRANTS

LINCOLN — Humanities Nebraska has awarded $429,217 in CARES Act dollars to 73 Nebraska nonprofit organizations that focus on the humanities as of late June.

Funding has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act economic stabilization plan. The funds were intended to help Nebraska museums, historic sites, and other cultural nonprofit organizations that are in need of general operating support in order to continue humanities activities during the COVID-19 crisis.

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UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT KEARNEY CUTS 15 POSITIONS IN FIRST STEP TO OFFSET DEFICIT OF $2.8 MILLION

KEARNEY — The University of Nebraska at Kearney announced more than a dozen staff positions had been cut. This is the first step in overcoming a $2.8 million budget deficit outlined and affirmed by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

A total of 15 state-funded salary positions were eliminated Wednesday. Those positions added up to $800,000 in state-funded salary and benefit savings.

UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen said in a press release, “There are few things that are more difficult than sharing the news with colleagues that we can no longer afford their position.”

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BRYAN HEALTH DOWN TO JUST FOUR COVID-19 PATIENTS

LINCOLN - Bryan Health continues to see a steady decline in the number of patients in its hospitals with COVID-19. The health system said Monday that only four people with COVID-19 were hospitalized, and only one patient was on a ventilator. That's the lowest number of ventilated patients since April 13 and the lowest number of overall patients since April 19.

Additionally, Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department Director Pat Lopez said that the decline in hospitalizations is due to an increase in infections of people under 40.

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EDITORIAL: OPS STRIKES A DIFFICULT BALANCE FOR ITS FALL REOPENING. FLEXIBILITY WILL BE KEY

OMAHA – Omaha Public Schools is busy working in an effort to resume classes this fall. OPS has a strategy that “aims to address student and staff health needs, bolster academic instruction from the spring and pay heed to students’ emotional health.

Superintendent Cheryl Logan said, “It is really important for us to be back in school.” However, OPS won’t be able to bring all students back to class on the same days, given the coronavirus threat, crowded buildings and the district’s large population of 54,000 students. Instead, the district will reduce the number of students in the classroom by half by using a combination of in-class instruction on certain days and remote learning on others.

Such accommodations show the need for flexibility — and for further adjustments to meet ever-changing conditions.

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COLUMBUS STATE SENATOR TALKS ABOUT FIVE WEEKS IN HOSPITAL BATTLING COVID-19

LINCOLN – State Sen. Mike Moser represents District 22 that encompasses Platte and parts of Colfax and Stanton counties. Sen. Moser was doing fine until he tested positive for COVID-19. Sen. Moser was admitted to the emergency room at Columbus Community Hospital.

Sen. Moser stated, “At first the symptoms weren’t all that severe, but I suddenly got really winded and couldn’t get my breath back.” On Mother’s Day, Moser was taken to Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, where he spent five weeks under medical care until getting released on June 13. Since then, he’s been back at his Columbus home doing his best to rebound as quickly as possible. But, as he said, it’s a process.

Moser praised the medical teams in Columbus and Omaha for their top-notch service, noting they were all “on the ball” and provided “first-class care."

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‘NEXT FEW WEEKS WILL BE TELLING’ WITH HIGH SCHOOL CONTACT SPORTS ALLOWED TO RESUME WORKOUTS JULY 1

LINCOLN – On Wednesday, high school contact sports will have the ok to resume workouts. Nebraska School Activities Association assistant director, Nate Neuhaus, said that these next few weeks will be especially telling.

NSAA executive director Jay Bellar said the board may have to add a meeting before the next scheduled one in August to address the reopening of NSAA activities. Spring sports were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

As for fan attendance this fall, no plans have been made.

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FLUSHING OUT CORONAVIRUS: WASTEWATER TESTING COULD HELP PREDICT SURGES

OMAHA – Researchers have been collecting rainwater since April with the intention of developing a method to detect signs of the novel coronavirus. This may give public health officials a leg up on responding to the coronavirus if the research is successful.

Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, professor and chair of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, stated that “This might be able to help predict what’s coming and direct where to put testing centers or where to put (other) resources.”

Wastewater monitoring already is catching on in other countries and in parts of the United States. Researchers in the Netherlands, Australia, and now the United States have demonstrated that testing can pick up on the virus about a week before the first clinical case.

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BIOFUELS ENTER IOWA SENATE RACE:

WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. Joni Ernst's Democratic challenger is hammering her in tweets and a new radio spot for her votes to confirm EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, who she says has undermined the federal biofuels program by issuing dozens of exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard, Pro's Eric Wolff reports.

Businesswoman Theresa Greenfield, the Democrat trying to unseat Ernst, launched the radio ad Wednesday as part of a statewide buy slamming Ernst for backing Wheeler, who she referred to as a "fossil fuel lobbyist" because of his past work. The attacks followed tweets in which she called for Wheeler to resign and asked Ernst to join her demand.

While Ernst did vote to confirm Wheeler twice, she has a long record of vocally advocating for the RFS, including holding up the confirmation of former EPA assistant administrator Bill Wehrum over what she viewed as the agency's weak support for biofuels.

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NEBRASKA ATTORNEY GENERAL, 10 OTHERS: DON’T DEFUND THE POLICE

LINCOLN - Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson and the others sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to ensure police officer safety as Democrats demand changes in police tactics and accountability.

The lawyers say a few bad officers don't warrant calls to “defund the police.” The attorneys general also pointed to the 2016 attacks that left officers dead in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as evidence of the dangers that police face.

Peterson joined attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina and Texas.

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THERE’S STILL TIME TO PASS PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

GRAND ISLAND - The momentum for property tax relief still has a chance at funding, despite estimates announced last week that Nebraska will see a quarter-billion-dollar loss in state tax revenue from federal tax changes enacted because of the coronavirus.

The state can avert this loss of revenue by “decoupling.” Decoupling means protecting the relevant parts of Nebraska’s tax code from the changes in the federal tax code, in most cases by remaining linked to federal law as it existed prior to the change. The Nebraska Legislature has in the past voted to decouple, or not follow, federal tax changes. Most recently, that happened following the last recession, when lawmakers moved to decouple to avoid state tax increases on Nebraskans.

When the Nebraska legislative session was suspended in March, a property tax relief proposal still lacked the 33 votes needed for passage. Despite the estimated loss of state revenue, a property tax relief measure can still be passed. With roughly $10 billion in federal stimulus spending coming into the state, there is some money left for property tax relief. The problem is the unknown speed of how the recovery will take place and how quickly unemployment claims will get back to pre-COVID levels and we open up for business.

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CORRECTIONS DEPARTMENT WILL CERTIFY OVERCROWDING EMERGENCY JULY 1

LINCOLN - The state needs a new prison to help remedy inmate overcrowding, Department of Corrections Director Scott Frakes said Thursday. A state law that requires the governor to declare an overcrowding emergency if the population exceeds 140% goes into effect July 1 and continues until the prisons are at 125% capacity. Frakes and Gov. Pete Ricketts interpret that law to mean they are allowed to work on it in earnest, but not required to do a mass release of prisoners.

The prisons have been over the 140% capacity since 2009, and in any of those years, the governor could have declared an emergency but hasn't. The law was changed in recent years to require the emergency declaration by July 1, 2020, if it existed.

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GAME AND PARKS COMMISSION ONBOARD WITH EFFORT TO PREVENT DRUNKEN BOATING

OMAHA - Law enforcement officers from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will spread out across the state over the Fourth of July holiday to try to curb drinking and boating.

The national initiative, dubbed Operation Dry Water, operates year-round. There is an increased emphasis during the summer, especially July 3-5. “The commission encourages boaters to enjoy the boating season with friends and family, and we also encourage them to do it in a safe and responsible way,” said Craig Stover, the administrator for the law enforcement division.

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NEBRASKA GROUP BEHIND PETITION DRIVE TO CAP INTEREST RATES ON PAYDAY LOANS TURNS IN SIGNATURES

LINCOLN - A petition drive targeting exorbitant payday loan rates turned in more than 120,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office Thursday.

That’s well above the number of signatures required to qualify for the November ballot. Nebraskans for Responsible Lending need about 85,200 valid signatures to get their proposal before voters.

Aubrey Mancuso, one of the group’s leaders, said petition circulators found Nebraskans eager to sign in support of a 36% annual interest rate cap on payday loans.

Backers of the Nebraska petition drive spent nearly $1.5 million on the effort through late May, according to reports filed with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. The bulk of the money came from the American Civil Liberties Union, $712, 317, and the Sixteen Thirty Fund, $355,000.

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