DHHS IMPLEMENTS MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCE ACCESS PILOT

OMAHA- The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has implemented a new pilot program designed to improve access to mental health resources throughout the state. OpenBeds is a cloud-based platform that connects the region's hospitals and mental health treatment facilities with immediate updates on bed availability so patients are able to receive assistance more quickly. Co-founder of OpenBeds says the goal is to break down silos that exist in all aspects of mental health treatment. 

The platform goes further to match a patient with what exact treatment they need such as inpatient or outpatient, mental health or substance abuse, etc and even will track what treatments are working for who and more. 

The pilot program is available only in Region 6 which consists of Cass, Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy and Washington counties and only for inpatient psychiatric care. 

“We’re hoping that, if it goes well, we can implement it across the state and really serve Nebraskans in real time and make sure that they get the services they need when they need it and they don’t have to wait for treatment,” Mikayla Johnson said.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

CITY OF OMAHA PLEDGES $93 MILLION OVER 10 YEARS TO SUPPORT UNMC'S PROJECT NEXT

OMAHA- The City of Omaha plans to contribute $93 million over the next decade to support an all-hazards response center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and a planned expansion of the medical campus. There is a $2.6 billion proposal by UNMC and its clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine. 

The project will include a state-of-the-art teaching hospital and federally funded wings to enhance the nation's ability to respond to emergencies such as natural disasters, environmental accidents and highly contagious diseases. The NExT project will create 8,700 high-paying, permanent jobs and 41,000 temporary construction jobs on top of $38 million in annual state tax revenue. It is also projected to have an annual economic impact of $1.3 billion after it opens. 

Mayor Jean Stothert says this project will be transformational for Omaha. The project will use money from the city's occupation tax on tobacco and vaping products, designating $4.5 million annually over a decade. The tobacco tax has already helped to pay for Nebraska Medicine's Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. The Nebraska Legislature pledged to devote $300 million in state money toward the project if the federal government and private donors contributed $1.3 billion.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

GOV. RICKETTS: NEBRASKA WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY VACCINE PASSPORT PROGRAM

LINCOLN- Gov. Pete Ricketts said Wednesday that the state will not participate in any “vaccine passport program.” The Governor stated “This concept violates two central tenets of the American system: freedom of movement and health care privacy... Nebraska will take any necessary action to protect the private health information of our citizens and the freedoms we cherish.”

Vaccine passports that provide proof of immunity to the coronavirus are supported by the travel industry and other businesses that have suffered from concerns about the risk of contagion in public places. At least two other Republican governors have objected to the vaccine passports.

The news came after a Washington Post report last week said President Joe Biden was pushing for development of a vaccine passport that would provide proof that people were vaccinated against COVID-19.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

SEN. WISHART SAYS PUSH FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL IS PROMPTED BY SCIENCE, EMPATHY

LINCOLN- This year, Lincoln Senator Anna Wishart introduced Legislative Bill 474, which provides a regulatory framework to establish access to cannabis for medical purposes, and she has designated it as her priority bill.  While Wishart says she's "a little shy of the spotlight," it has spun her way, with the light shining even brighter after Gov. Pete Ricketts unloaded on any efforts to legalize marijuana.

"If you legalize marijuana, you're gonna kill your kids," the governor stated in a flash-bang moment that attracted national attention.

Wishart, who is married to a former Lincoln police officer, said she wants Nebraska to have "a safe, regulated system that incentivizes people to work with their health care provider to determine when cannabis may be the right decision" for medical purposes.

When she traveled the state seeking signatures for the 2020 petition drive to place that issue on the ballot, Wishart said, "I never heard a negative word."

Rather, she said, "I was hard-pressed not to find some person who hadn't benefited from it. So many stories."

Last year, nearly 200,000 Nebraskans signed petitions to place the issue on the 2020 general election ballot for a decision by the people, but it was bumped off the ballot by a Nebraska Supreme Court decision on technical grounds.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

SENATORS CRITICIZE HEALTH BOARD APPOINTEE FOR OPPOSITION TO COVID RESTRICTIONS

LINCOLN-  A group of state senators criticized the appointment of Bud Synhorst, who heads a conservative business group in Lincoln and is a former executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party, because they said he opposed Lincoln’s mask mandate, and because the Health Board lacked racial and gender diversity.

Omaha State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh led the opposition, saying that Synhorst’s “outspoken” criticism of the director of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, Pat Lopez, helped inspire death threats against her, and the need for Lopez to hire security protection. Megan Hunt of Omaha and Matt Hansen of Lincoln, also said they could not support confirming Synhorst’s placement on the 17-member board, which helps set state health policies, because he didn’t support public health initiatives like wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

Synhorst, when reached later, said he was disappointed by the accusations. He said that neither he nor LIBA opposed the mask mandate, and that he had only spoken in support of letting businesses “get back to normal”.

Opponents of the appointment also argued the Health Board does not reflect the people it is supposed to represent, because it has only one female member, no members of color and no members who live east of 72nd Street in Omaha. On Thursday Senator Hunt requested clarification from the Attorney General's Office on if Synhorst is barred from serving due to his appointment to the committee responsible for nominating judges.

Read the full article by clicking HERE and HERE

FISCHER SAYS SHE WILL NOT RUN FOR GOVERNOR IN 2022

OMAHA- Sen. Deb Fischer said Thursday she will not seek the governorship in 2022, removing her name from consideration and clearing the way for a potentially crowded Republican primary race.

"I believe I have a really good track record of good wins for Nebraska from my time in the Legislature to the Senate, and the Senate is where I want to continue to serve," Fischer said during a morning interview on KFAB radio. "So, no, I'm not running for governor," the two-term senator said. "I love the work I do," Fischer said.  "I am a legislator; I am a policymaker."

Fischer's declaration came a week after she had said in an interview that she was considering a bid for the governorship and was "in no hurry" to make a decision. Rep. Don Bacon, who was also considering a run for the seat, recently also withdrew from consideration. 

A long list of potential prospects includes Bryan Slone of Omaha, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce; University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen of Columbus, Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha, and  Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, chairwoman of the Legislature's Revenue Committee. 

Read the full article by clicking HERE

SENATORS SEEK ANSWERES ABOUT POTENTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT FRAUD

LINCOLN — Two Sarpy County lawmakers are seeking answers about how much Nebraska has paid out in fraudulent unemployment claims since the COVID pandemic hit last year. Senators Carol Blood of Bellevue and Jen Day of Gretna sent a letter to State Labor Commissioner John Albin on Wednesday asking for information about what they called an “apparent wave of fraudulent claims.”

The two said they decided to act after Blood’s office heard from hundreds of people across the state who had encountered problems with the unemployment system and after seeing reports about cybercrime gangs sharing “cheat sheets” about vulnerable states, including Nebraska. They noted that, with tax time approaching, people have been receiving letters from the Internal Revenue Service and state agencies about benefits they allegedly received but never sought.

Nebraska saw a sharp increase in unemployment claims starting in early March 2020 because of pandemic-related shutdowns. Workers filed more than 129,309 new claims over seven weeks — more than the number filed during the whole of the previous three years.

New claims have declined, but remain higher than in the pre-pandemic times.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

NERASKA OPENS VACCINE TO PEOPLE 16 AND OVER AS EXPERTS WARN OF RISING COVID CASES

LINCOLN- In the vaccination race against the persistent coronavirus, Nebraska will shift Monday to open up shots to anyone 16 and older.

Nebraska’s recent moves to open eligibility come at a critical time in the pandemic as new COVID-19 cases rise again and hospitalizations turn higher — portending a potential surge facing the state. Caveats and scheduling challenges remain for people eager to get their shots. But as the vaccine dynamics quickly shift, the bottom line is this: Everyone 16 and older in Nebraska has options right now for scheduling a COVID-19 shot.

Nebraska continues to show steady progress in vaccinating the state: 334,750 Nebraskans are fully vaccinated, according to Wednesday’s count from the State of Nebraska. That’s nearly 23% of the state’s total population 16 and older. On March 22, Nebraska’s seven-day daily average of new cases fell to 241, but by Wednesday, the daily average was up to 296 Nebraska’s drop in hospitalizations hit its end, as well. On Tuesday, the statewide count of hospitalized COVID-19 patients increased from 102 to 116 — a turn that Gov. Pete Ricketts said Wednesday was a cause for concern. 

Dr. James Lawler, an executive director at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Global Center for Health Security, said the increase facing Nebraska has the potential to be significant, citing the experiences of Michigan and the northeastern United Sates.

“We’re still at a dangerous time,” he said, “and people need to really buckle down and keep doing the things that we know got us to lower levels of cases.”

Read the full article by clicking HERE

BIDEN TEAM PREPARES $3 TRILLION IN NEW SPENDING; INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE, EDUCATION, WORKFORCE DEVEOPMENT, AND ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

WASHINGTON- President Biden’s economic advisers are pulling together a sweeping $3 trillion package to boost the economy, reduce carbon emissions and narrow economic inequality, beginning with a giant infrastructure plan that may be financed in part through tax increases on corporations and the rich. 

Mr. Biden’s advisers plan to recommend that the effort be broken into pieces, with Congress tackling infrastructure before turning to a second package that would include more people-focused proposals, like free community college, universal prekindergarten and a national paid leave program. Some White House officials believe the focus of the first package may be more appealing to Republicans, business leaders and many moderate Senate Democrats, given the longstanding bipartisan push in Washington for an infrastructure bill.

That plan would spend heavily on clean energy deployment and the development of other “high-growth industries of the future” like 5G telecommunications. It includes money for rural broadband, advanced training for millions of workers, and one million affordable and energy-efficient housing units. Documents suggest it will include nearly $1 trillion in spending on the construction of roads, bridges, rail lines, ports, electric vehicle charging stations, and improvements to the electric grid and other parts of the power sector. 

The overall price tag of the package could approach $4 trillion since it includes several tax incentives, like credits to help families afford child care and to encourage energy efficiency in existing buildings. It could also extend temporary tax cuts meant to fight poverty, which could increase the size of the proposal by hundreds of billions of dollars, according to estimates prepared by administration officials. 

Read the full article by clicking HERE

GOVERNOR RICKETTS SAYS BIDEN’S GUN CONTROL PROPOSALS WON’T SOLVE ‘UNDERLYING PROBLEMS’

LINCOLN — Gov. Pete Ricketts, an avid advocate for gun rights, fired back Thursday over renewed calls by President Joe Biden to close loopholes in background checks on gun purchases and ban assault-style rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Biden issued the calls after mass shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta during the past week.

Ricketts, who was a featured speaker at a National Rifle Association convention in 2018, said that banning guns will not solve “the underlying problems that have resulted in these tragedies.”

“The president should work to address underlying issues in the community rather than limit our right to bear arms, which is protected in the U.S. Constitution,” Ricketts said in a press release on Thursday. “Nebraska is a pro-Second Amendment state,” the Republican governor added, “and we will stand up against any attempt by the federal government to expand gun laws and impede our freedoms.”

Bills to ban state or local officials from enforcing any new federal firearm restrictions, and to let counties allow concealed carry of firearms without a permit are pending in the Nebraska Legislature this year.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS ADVANCE BILL TO CUT RURAL NEBRASKANS' PROPERTY TAXES

LINCOLN- Residents of rural school districts would see an additional property tax cut under LB454, a proposal advanced to the full Legislature on Wednesday. Another bill that pairs a long-sought-after tax credit for donations to private school scholarships with a proposal that would grant similar tax credits for contributions to early childhood education programs. After approval by the state lawmakers, the bills will be sent to Gov. Ricketts who is a supporter of tax cuts and has room in his budget for tax credits for donations to private and parochial school scholarships. 

LB454 would provide $65 million in extra state 'stabilization' aid to 170 mostly rural school districts that do not currently receive aid. The amount would grow to $167 million after four years. The goal of Sen. Curt Friesen, the introducer of the bill, said his goal is to reduce property taxes in rural districts where property taxes almost exclusively fund education. 

"If we properly funded K-12 education, we wouldn't need this bill," he said.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE TO INVESTIGATE SPACECOM BASING DECISION

OMAHA- Congress' Government Accountability Office said it will be investigating whether the Air Force followed their own regulations when it decided to locate the U.S. Space Command's permanent headquarters at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama over Offutt Air Force Base and four other possible sites. 

Colorado's political and business leadership were the first to allege President Donald Trump chose Huntsville over Colorado Springs and other sites in order to reward political allies. Space Command is in charge of all military operations in space and is completely separate from the Space Force which was created by President Trump in 2019. 

The Pentagon tasked the Air Force with choosing the permanent site. The selection committee heard presentations and conducted inspections of each site before recommending a site to then-Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett. She announced the decision after consulting with President Trump about the decision. 

Representative Don Bacon said Offutt lost out because Omaha lacks the space-related businesses that Huntsville or Colorado Springs could offer.

“We were competitive in every area, except we didn’t have a space mission at Offutt,” Bacon said. “We have a great workforce. It just isn’t a space workforce.”

Read the full article by clicking HERE

NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS BLOCK DOUGLAS COUNTY PHONE FEE HIKE FOR 911 SERVICES

LINCOLN- Nebraska lawmakers shut sown a measure that could have doubled the emergency 911 fees charged for landline telephone service. LB215, introduced by Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango, died in the first round of debate after garnering only 20 votes needed to advance. The measure would have allowed Douglas County to increase its 911 surcharge to $1 a month, up from the current $.50 cap. 

Sen. Hughes argued the bill would keep Douglas County in line with other counties in the state and would keep up with the improvements made to the 911 system. 

Other Omaha-area senators argued this surcharge should not be implemented in the midst of a pandemic and the city could offset the cost of the proposal by reducing other taxes on phone services. Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha said the local government should invest in emergency services instead of increasing the police budget or building a new youth detention center.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

BILL BANNING ETHANOL COMPANIES FROM USING TREATED SEED ADVANCES

LINCOLN- Lawmakers gave first-round approval to a bill prohibiting the use of pesticide-treated seeds in ethanol production on Thursday.

The bill (LB507) from Sen. Bruce Bostelman of Brainard was introduced in response to the environmental contamination stemming from AltEn near Mead in Saunders County.

Unlike most ethanol plants which use field corn as a feedstock, AltEn solicited for and used discard treated seed to produce ethanol, at one point receiving nearly all of the leftover treated seeds in North America. The wet distiller's grains byproduct of the ethanol manufacturing process, normally sold as a feed for cattle, was heavily contaminated with pesticides, as was the wastewater stored in lagoons on the site.

AltEn stopped its operations in February, and a short time later experienced a burst pipe that spilled 4 million gallons of contaminated waste into ditches and waterways of the surrounding area.

The Nebraska Attorney General's office sued AltEn on March 1 for numerous violations of state environmental regulations.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

AG’S OFFICE REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH OMAHA COMPANIES OVER COVID-19 ANTIBODY TESTING

LINCOLN- The Nebraska Attorney General's Office has reached a settlement with two Omaha companies accused of deceptive trade practices for their advertising and administration of COVID-19 antibody tests to consumers through the end of April 2020 at a drive-thru there.

Attorney General Doug Peterson said Pivot Concierge Health LLC and Banyan Medical Systems LLC failed to make necessary disclosures required by test manufacturers and recommended by the FDA.

He said they also made deceptive and misleading statements to consumers regarding the ability of their antibody tests to identify the presence of a current or prior COVID-19 infection.

"In combination, this conduct created a significant likelihood of consumer confusion and endangered the public health," Peterson said in a press release.

Under the terms of the settlement, the companies are prohibited from misrepresenting the characteristics of any COVID-19 testing product or service they offer, and they are required to disclose to consumers all known risks and limitations. Pivot Concierge Health LLC also agreed to pay $25,000 to the Attorney General’s Office.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

LAWMAKERS ADVANCE BILL PROMOTING INDUSTRIAL RAIL ACCESS

BEATRICE – Nebraska lawmakers have advanced a bill and amendment that would offer state matching support for developing industrial rail access business parks.

LB 40 was introduced by Senator Mike Groene of North Platte, over the potential of such a plan near Hershey in Lincoln County. The bill and amendment would create the Nebraska Rural Projects Act. Groene said it is an infrastructure improvement bill in an area that includes perhaps the largest rail yard in the world.

A qualified rail access business park would have to be in a county of under 100,000 population. Applications through non-profit economic development entities would be filed on or before June 23rd, 2023. The project would have to occur within ten years. One of those in support of Groene’s measure was Senator Mike Flood, who said the Bailey Yard is the “Chicago O’Hare of Railroad classification yards”.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

SENATORS OK RENTAL PROTECTIONS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS

LINCOLN- Domestic violence victims who are living with their abuser in a rental property could break their lease and leave without penalties under a bill that Nebraska lawmakers advanced Thursday. 

Senators advanced the measure through the first of three required votes, 42-3. The bill by Sen. John Cavanaugh, of Omaha, includes other tenant protections, such as requiring landlords to give at least 24 hours of notice before entering a tenant’s apartment.

It also would require the Nebraska Supreme Court to submit a report to lawmakers every six months spelling out the number of eviction proceedings initiated, the number of landlords and tenants represented by attorneys and the number of evictions granted. The data would be broken down by county, giving lawmakers a better sense of eviction trends outside of the Omaha and Lincoln areas.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

NEBRASKA VIRUS HOSPITALIZATIONS AT LOWEST LEVEL SINCE JULY

LINCOLN- The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus continues to decline in Nebraska, and more than 19% of the state’s population has now been vaccinated against the virus.

The state said Thursday that the number of people hospitalized with the virus was at its lowest level since last July with 107 people being treated in hospitals statewide. That number has fallen steadily since peaking at 987 in November.

Health officials said nearly 107,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the state last week, and 19.1% of the state’s population has been vaccinated. The state said more than 308,000 Nebraskans have now registered to receive the vaccine.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska decreased over the past two weeks, going from 282.71 new cases per day on March 9 to 246.43 new cases per day on Tuesday. The state said Thursday that 207,227 cases of the virus and 2,159 deaths have been reported since the pandemic began.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS ADVANCE BILL GRANTING IN-STATE TUITION FOR HOME-SCHOOL STUDENTS

LINCOLN- On Tuesday, lawmakers advanced two bills ensuring Nebraska students who attend home school and AmeriCorps volunteers qualify for in-state tuition at the state's public colleges and universities. As of now, students who graduate from home school are not considered resident students, although they can apply to receive in-state tuition rates. LB92 adds home-school students who complete a program of instruction to the list of residency qualifications for the purpose of tuition cost.

However, Sen. Carol Blood said the computer glitch which caused a notification to be sent to home school students saying they could not receive in-state tuition has been fixed. Sen. Megan Hunt believes the bill is too broad and could cause problems for universities. 

Sen. Tony Vargas introduced LB197, which is a bill to allow AmeriCorps volunteers eligible for in-state tuition in Nebraska. Sen. Kolterman says this bill is a 'no-brainer'. 

“These are the kind of people we’re trying to attract to grow our state,” Kolterman said.

Read the full article by clicking HERE

FACEBOOK DATA CENTER TO EXPAND IN PAPILLION

LINCOLN- The social media giant announced Wednesday the second expansion of the project that is still under construction. The campus will grow by about 1 million square feet and will cost approximately $400 million. The site will add around 100 permanent jobs, making the total employment sit at 300 people. Nearly 2,000 construction workers will also be employed at the peak of construction. 

“This is an exciting development in Facebook’s continued growth, and we are pleased to join them in celebrating their ongoing presence in Sarpy County,” said Andrew Rainbolt, executive director, Sarpy County Economic Development Corporation.

This announcement comes just days after an announcement by Google that is also constructing a new data center in Papillion.

Read the full article by clicking HERE