NEBRASKA'S COVID CASES UP FOR 9TH STRAIGHT WEEK; RICKETTS' FOCUS REMAINS ON HOSPITAL CAPACITY

NEBRASKA- Nebraska’s tally of new COVID-19 cases rose last week for the ninth straight week, fueled by the continued rise of the delta variant.

The state tallied 3,755 new cases during the week ending Friday, up from 2,668 the previous week. That 41% increase was the ninth-highest week-over-week increase in the nation, according to a World-Herald analysis of data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nebraska still ranks only 33rd in the nation in per-capita case counts, having started its summer surge well behind many other states. The state’s per-capita case tally remains about one-third below the national rate.

But weekly case counts now are at their highest sustained level since February and have topped counts during the original surge in spring 2020.

Nebraska Medicine announced Monday that it would no longer allow visitors into the emergency room at the Nebraska Medical Center because of increasing cases in the community and the delta variant’s higher transmission rates. ER patients who are minors can be accompanied by one visitor at all times. No changes were made to visitor guidelines for the Bellevue Medical Center’s ER or to inpatient and outpatient visitor policies.

Asked Monday whether the governor had any plans to limit gatherings or relaunch the TestNebraska testing program, Taylor Gage, a Ricketts spokesman, wrote in an email: “The State of Nebraska’s goal has always been to protect hospital capacity, and we remain focused on that measure. Working together, Nebraskans have successfully protected hospital capacity over the last year and a half.”

Gage also wrote that he had no announcement about the state’s data dashboard, which went dark at the end of June with the expiration of the state’s COVID-19 state of emergency.

For the full article click HERE

DOUGLAS COUNTY LOOKS FOR WAYS TO SPEND $111 MILLION IN FEDERAL COVID AID

OMAHA- The deliberations are just beginning over how Douglas County will spend its allocation of $111 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Douglas County Board is considering how to spend the first half of the federal funds, which are already in hand. The board voted to prioritize mental health initiatives and to address county government needs before considering external requests.

It’s a large amount of money for a county with a general fund budget of $230 million for 2021-22 and a total budget of $460 million without the federal relief money.

No specific large spending proposals have emerged, although it appears likely that the county will direct a substantial portion of the money to mental health services.

Currently, the county is routing requests through its finance director, Joe Lorenz, and an American Rescue Plan Act Strategy Committee led by County Board Chairwoman Mary Ann Borgeson. The committee, which includes County Board members Mike Friend and Chris Rodgers and three administrative staffers, will vet requests and make recommendations to the full board.

Board votes are expected by this fall for significant portions of the $55.5 million that Douglas County has already received. The other half of the federal money is expected in May.

For the full article click HERE

BACKERS, OPPONENTS OF NEBRASKA VOTER ID PETITION AREN'T AWARE OF ANY IMPERSONATION CASES

NEBRASKA- Supporters of an effort that would require Nebraska voters to show photo ID at the polls say it’s necessary to ensure elections here “stay free and fair.”

Opponents frame it as an unnecessary requirement that would serve as a barrier to the ballot box, especially for people already at the margins of access.

Underlying opponents’ argument is that there doesn’t seem to be a single documented case of the presumed problem voter ID laws aim to address — Nebraska voters trying to impersonate other voters.

“The thing I can say about widespread voter fraud is: Both proponents and opponents of voter ID laws have looked really hard for evidence of widespread voter fraud, and neither side has found it,” said University of Nebraska-Lincoln political scientist Kevin Smith.

That’s not to say nothing illegal ever happens.

The one example most people point to occurred in 2017, when court records and news reports show that two Dawson County men were accused of voting twice and pleaded no contest. Neal Erickson, who was elections director in Nebraska for two decades and is now legal counsel for the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, recalled a case where someone voted in Kansas then came to Nebraska and voted here, too, and a couple when a man signed a ballot for his wife.

But, in his 20 years, he doesn’t recall a case of false impersonation and there was never an indication of any systemic fraud operations.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen supports requiring photo ID to cast a ballot — the issue was key to his successful statewide election bid in 2018. He uses an analogy of bank vaults: Robberies are rare, but all banks have vaults.

For the full article click HERE

NEBRASKA SUPREME COURT RULES THAT ELECTION COMMISSIONERS MUST BE APPOINTED, NOT ELECTED

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court upheld on Friday a more than century-old state law that requires the appointment — rather than the election — of election commissioners in the state’s three most populous counties.

The ruling resolves a dispute that had drawn in the state’s top elected officials, and stemmed from a Nebraska attorney general legal opinion in 2019 that questioned the constitutionality of appointing election commissioners and their deputies in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties.

The AG’s opinion spawned a lawsuit to clarify the issue, and prompted Gov. Pete Ricketts to hold off on appointing a replacement for Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse, whose four-year term was about to expire.

The Supreme Court, in a 17-page decision written by Justice Jeffrey Funke, sided with a Lancaster County judge who ruled that the Attorney General’s Office had “swept too broadly” in interpreting who qualified as a county officer — an elected position.

“We hold that the Legislature possesses the discretionary authority to create and define county offices, a power which includes the ability to define or identify who is a county officer,” Funke wrote.

The AG’s opinion was requested by State Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln. He made the request after Civic Nebraska, a Lincoln-based group working to promote civic involvement, raised the issue.

For the full article click HERE

NEBRASKA READY TO AID AFGHAN REFUGEES, BUT IT COULD BE A LENGTHY PROCESS

NEBRASKA- Abdullah Lami lost nights of sleep as he watched the news coming out of Afghanistan. Thinking of his family and friends who are still there was “like a nightmare.”

Afghans are scrambling to find ways to escape after the Taliban overran their country.

Lami, a caseworker with the Omaha-based Refugee Empowerment Center, is eagerly waiting to help Afghan refugees who may enter the state. And he can relate — he came to Omaha as a refugee five years ago.

Many area refugee resettlement agencies are staffed and ready to accept Afghans who are fleeing the country. But local officials and federal leaders caution that it could be a lengthy process before any fleeing Afghans arrive in Nebraska.

“Our team is ready and we’re excited to start welcoming people,” said Amanda Kohler, Refugee Empowerment Center’s executive director. The organization doesn’t yet know how many Afghans it will be able to help resettle in Nebraska.

The number of refugees allowed to enter the United States each year is set at the federal level by the president. Under Barack Obama, the cap was 110,000. Donald Trump dropped the cap to 50,000 through an executive order when he took office in 2017. Under the Trump administration, the number continued to drop until hitting an all-time low of 15,000.

“The hard part right now, there is a will from the federal government to resettle, but the systems have been dismantled,” she said. “It’s going to take a lot of effort across the country and the world really to get that machine back in order.”

Thousands of Afghan nationals also are attempting to leave the country. Many of those individuals hold special immigrant visas, which show that they worked for the U.S. government. They, along with their relatives, are considered at risk of reprisal from Taliban soldiers.

For the full article click HERE

RICKETTS DELCARES HOSPITAL STAFFING EMERGENCY, ANNOUNCES TWO NEW MEASURES

LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts on Thursday announced emergency measures intended to relieve pressures on hospital staffing in the state.

Nebraska faces rising hospitalizations due to both COVID-19 and other conditions, Ricketts said, as well as a shortage of nurses and other health care workers. To address those issues, he declared a hospital staffing emergency and announced two actions. The first is an executive order restoring some steps taken during the previous peak in COVID-19 cases, namely, waiving some licensing requirements for hospitals. Those include authorizing the credentialing of retired or inactive nurses, deferring some continuing education requirements for health professionals and suspending state statutes for new health care workers seeking a license to practice. 

In addition, he is issuing a directed health measure, effective Monday, that will limit elective surgeries that can be delayed four or more weeks. 

Ricketts said his new emergency declaration is specific to hospital staffing, not the coronavirus, and was prompted by conversations with hospital administrators. He said his administration would continue to focus on hospital capacity, as it has throughout the pandemic. The goal, he said, is to make sure that anyone who needs a hospital bed, intensive care bed or ventilator in the state can get one

“This was a challenge we had before the pandemic,” he said.

On Nov. 20, 2020, a total of 987 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, making up 32% of hospitalizations. According to state statistics, 337 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Wednesday, comprising 11% of all hospitalizations. But cases in the state continue to rise and are on their way to a 10th straight week of increases. In addition, the number of people hospitalized with the virus is the highest since January. 

Read the full article HERE

PLATTSMOUTH CITY ADMINISTRATOR GOING TO NEBRASKA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

NEBRASKA- It’s a behind-the-scenes job but one that has immense impact on Nebraskans when they are at their most vulnerable.

The position of assistant director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency is changing hands.

Bryan Tuma, who oversaw the agency during Nebraska’s costliest natural disaster, the 2019 flood, will retire in September.

In his place will be someone who already knows a thing or two about disasters: Erv Portis, the Plattsmouth city administrator who shepherded that city through its recovery from the 2019 flood. Plattsmouth was severely affected by the flood, which disabled its water treatment and sewage plants.

Portis was named to the job by Maj. Gen. Daryl Bohac, who serves as director of the agency as the state’s adjutant general.

Portis has served as Plattsmouth city administrator since 2007. Tuma has been assistant director of NEMA since 2014.

Bohac cited Portis’ experience working in disaster recovery, both at the local and federal level, in his selection.

Portis said he is looking forward to joining the state office.

“Having worked through multiple disasters here in Plattsmouth, I have come to appreciate the NEMA team and the important role it plays in recovery,” he said in a statement.

For the full article click HERE

ONE-THIRD OF NEBRASKA NURSING HOME STAFF NOT VACCINATED

LINCOLN- As large portions of Nebraska’s long-term care staff remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, nursing facilities will have to require their workers to get vaccinated if they want federal Medicare and Medicaid funding.

Federal data show that one-third of all Nebraska nursing home staff — some 5,400 workers — are not vaccinated against COVID-19.

At least 33 of the state’s nearly 200 federally licensed nursing homes have staff vaccination rates under 50%, federal figures show.

In announcing the federal requirement Wednesday, President Joe Biden said the pace of vaccinations needs to go faster. “These steps are all about keeping people safe and out of harm’s way,” Biden said.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, at least 850 nursing home residents in Nebraska and eight workers have died of COVID-19.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts’ office issued a statement saying that the governor “slams President Biden’s nursing home vaccine mandate.” In his statement, Ricketts said that “the heavy hand of government should not force vaccinations” and that the requirement will “make it more difficult to take care of our elderly and most vulnerable.”

In the last six weeks, six Nebraska nursing home residents have died from COVID-19.

For the full article click HERE

BRYAN HEALTH, WITH LINCOLN HOSPITALS FULL, DELAYS ELECTIVE SURGERIES AGAIN

LINCOLN- Bryan Health officials made a grim announcement Thursday regarding the health system's capacity.

"Bryan Medical Center is full," said Bob Ravenscroft, vice president of advancement for the Lincoln health-care system.

Because of its high patient numbers and trouble finding enough staff, Bryan this week decided to postpone certain elective surgeries.

Essentially, any elective surgery that requires an overnight stay, has not already been scheduled and can safely be postponed for 30 days will not be scheduled until further notice. Outpatient surgeries are not affected, and any surgeries that were already scheduled will go forward, officials said.

Bryan implemented the change Tuesday and already has seen results, said John Woodrich, president and CEO of Bryan Medical Center.

On that day, Bryan had 578 patients in its two hospitals and another 30 in the emergency rooms waiting for a bed. By Wednesday, that number dropped to 565, and Thursday, it was at 541.

The restrictions on elective surgeries, while providing temporary relief, are not a long-term solution to what Bryan officials said is likely to be the worst surge of patients of the whole pandemic. Bryan on Thursday had 66 total COVID-19 patients, 61 of whom, or 91%, were not fully vaccinated against the disease. There were 17 patients in intensive care, 16 of them unvaccinated, and 15 on ventilators, 14 of whom were not vaccinated

"I truly believe these numbers are going to exceed what we saw last November," Woodrich said, noting he bases that on what has happened in other, mostly Southern states, that saw their current surges start several weeks earlier.

For the full article click HERE

BLUEPRINT NEBRASKA SEEKS INCOME TAX CUTS, OTHER TAX REFORMS, TO BOOST ECONOMY

NEBRASKA- A statewide economic-development initiative, launched by Nebraska business and higher education leaders, is calling for cuts in state individual income taxes and corporate income taxes among several steps to help boost the state’s population and economy.

Blueprint Nebraska, at a press conference Tuesday, projected that 66,000 new jobs and 73,000 additional residents would be added over a decade by cutting income taxes, increasing investment in research and development of businesses, and helping high-skilled and highly sought new employees pay off student loan debt.

Its plan would offset the income tax cuts by eliminating sales tax exemptions on several services. New taxes would be imposed on auto repairs, plumbing and roofing services, legal and accounting bills, as well as haircuts and tickets to sporting events and concerts.

“The Blueprint Nebraska plan will give communities in Greater Nebraska a distinct advantage for retaining and attracting workforce talent, by providing the region’s best balance of economic opportunity and quality of life,” said Owen Palm, co-chair of Blueprint Nebraska and CEO of 21st Century Holdings in Scottsbluff.

Ricketts, a conservative Republican, helped found Blueprint Nebraska as a way to boost the state’s economy and modernize its tax system. But he also has opposed “tax shifts” like the one proposed in the Blueprint plan — reducing income taxes while increasing sales taxes by expanding the number of things taxed.

Blueprint Nebraska was launched in 2018 by Hank Bounds, then the president of the University of Nebraska system, as well as Ricketts and state business leaders. Palm and Lance Fritz, CEO of Union Pacific Corp., are the co-chairs.

For the full article click HERE

NEBRASKA STATE SENATORS REQUEST GOV. RICKETTS REINSTATE COVID DASHBOARD

NEBRASKA- In a letter sent to Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts on Wednesday, 11 state senators requested the reinstatement of the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.

The state stopped publishing COVID-19 data to the online dashboard at the end of June.

The recent expiration of an executive order also prevents Nebraska’s health districts from publicly reporting COVID-19 statistics, such as case numbers and vaccinations, for counties with fewer than 20,000 people, according to a federal “safe harbor” standard, which the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services is following now that the executive order has expired.

In their letter, Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh, Jen Day, Megan Hunt, John McCollister, Terrell McKinney, Carol Blood, Matt Hansen, John Cavanaugh, Patty Pansing Brooks, Tony Vargas and Adam Morfeld noted a rise in infections and hospitalizations.

“Businesses, organizations, and school districts are struggling to make informed decisions about how best to run their day-to-day activities, as well as make long-term plans based on existing incomplete data,” the letter states.

The Department of Health and Human Services does produce a weekly report that provides some information about cases, deaths, hospitalizations and vaccines.

The senators contend that the current weekly report shared by the state lacks “crucial detailed information” such as county-by-county infection rates, COVID-19-related deaths, daily available hospital beds, respirators and overall staffed beds, according to the letter.

For the full article click HERE

FORMER GOV. DAVE HEINEMAN SPEAKS AT TAKE AMERICA BACK BOOT CAMP

AURORA- A Group of people got together in Aurora on Saturday to find out, in their own words, how to take America back from the far left. There were several speakers at the event including Former Gov. Dave Heineman.

Heineman discussed issues he believes Nebraskans are facing today including Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the State Board of Education’s proposed health standards, in his opinion, having no place in Nebraska’s schools.

“I wanted them to take away they needed to be politically involved, also to stand up for the values and beliefs we believe in as a state,” Heineman explained.

He believes when people get involved on the issues, they can truly make a difference.

“I served everything from Fremont City Council, to governor of this state, you can make a real difference if you’re willing to get involved.”

Dan Daly from Aurora was in the audience with his wife and really enjoyed Heineman’s speech. He came very concerned about CRT and the health standards and wanted to know what he could do as a concerned parent and grandfather.

“I thought he had some very good points on how to interface or approach our elected officials,” Daly said.

Heineman also believes politics has changed from when he was governor.

“It used to be that we could disagree in an agreeable way, in a respectful way and so I’m disappointed with that,” Heineman said.

He believes people need to open their minds and listen.

“To often we already have our minds made up but I will say this about our state, our people are good, they’re respectful and generally speaking they listen,” Heineman said.

Heineman loved being governor and told Local4 News he’s thinking about running again. He plans to reassess in the fall on whether or not to get back on the campaign trail.

For the full article click HERE

NEW OMAHA MASK MANDATE NOT BEING CONSIDERED, OFFICIALS SAY

OMAHA- Omaha officials say no plans are being considered to reinstitute a citywide indoor mask mandate, despite a virus surge that has brought COVID-19 cases in Douglas County to levels not seen since April.

Omaha City Council members have been receiving weekly reports on the pandemic and have met with the director of the Douglas County Health Department. But council members said there’s no consensus around instituting another mask mandate.

“We’ll continue to evaluate and discuss with council members and the public health director,” council President Pete Festersen said.

Festersen and other City Council members said finding ways to get more people vaccinated against the virus will be the best way to bring the pandemic to a close. About 63% of adults in Nebraska are fully vaccinated, and some 50.4% of the state’s total population is fully vaccinated.

In recent weeks, mask mandates have been renewed in several Midwestern cities and across the nation. People in Kansas City, Missouri, must wear masks in most indoor spaces where 6 feet of distance cannot be maintained. That mandate took effect Aug. 2 and, as of Tuesday, was set to expire Aug. 28.

In Des Moines, masking is once again required in city buildings, the Des Moines Register reported earlier this month. In May, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill that has prevented school districts, cities and counties from imposing mask mandates, though it did not apply to public property.

Council members Brinker Harding and Aimee Melton, Republicans who voted against multiple extensions of Omaha’s previous mask mandate, said in separate interviews that they would oppose any effort to impose another mask mandate. Melton and Harding both said they have been vaccinated.

For the full article click HERE

IN TUG-OF-WAR OVER OMAHA CITY BUDGET, SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM BEATS OUT EVICTION ASSISTANCE

OMAHA- In a political tug-of-war over how to allocate $200,000 in city money, a program to help small businesses beat out an effort to provide legal assistance to those facing eviction.

The City Council was deciding how to spend the money Mayor Jean Stothert earmarks in the budget each year for council members to direct to their preferred community programs. This year, council members submitted about $250,000 in proposals, which meant that some ideas wouldn’t be able to advance to keep the budget balanced. Stothert has proposed a $456.1 million general fund budget and an annual update to the city’s capital improvement program.

The council’s four Democrats — Danny Begley, Pete Festersen, Juanita Johnson and Vinny Palermo — voted for a proposal by Johnson to direct $40,000 to the Reach program, an effort by the city and the Greater Omaha Chamber to provide education and assistance to small and emerging businesses.

Johnson argued that an expanded Reach program will lead to higher wages for families in underserved areas of Omaha, including the northeast Omaha district she represents.

But Councilwoman Aimee Melton noted that Reach already receives $150,000 from the city each year, in addition to money from local businesses and the chamber.

Melton instead advocated that the money be used for one of her amendments, which called for $50,000 to hire someone to coordinate the Douglas County Tenant Assistance Project. It has been sending volunteer lawyers to represent people facing eviction for nonpayment during the current moratorium on evictions.

Melton and Councilman Don Rowe, a fellow Republican, voted against Johnson’s amendment. Councilman Brinker Harding was absent.

In a statement Tuesday, Stothert said she was “disappointed” that the council did not adopt Melton’s amendment.

For the full article click HERE

SOME NEBRASKANS BEING ASKED TO REPAY AS MUCH AS $20,000 IN UNEMPLOYMENT OVERPAYMENTS

NEBRASKA- Since March 2020, Legal Aid of Nebraska has received more than 560 requests for people asking for representation in unemployment cases.

Ann Mangiameli, an attorney with the nonprofit that offers civil legal services for people with limited resources, provided that statistic in a hearing at the State Capitol on Wednesday. Some of those clients had been denied unemployment benefits, she said. Some had received benefits, then were later notified they shouldn’t have been paid — the state had overpaid and wanted its money back.

For her clients who live paycheck to paycheck and work blue-collar jobs, Mangiameli said, a demand to pay back $15,000-$20,000, in some cases, can be devastating. And her clients, she said, hadn’t been adequately notified so they could take advantage of appeals processes.

“Our clients relied on the Department of Labor, when they filed their applications, to properly process their application,” she said. “They waited that five to six months with no income, finally got approved for benefits and finally got paid. The Department of Labor then came back, in many instances, and said, ‘We’ve redetermined, and determined that you should not have been paid that money, please pay us back.’ ”

Members of the Nebraska Legislature’s Business and Labor Committee listened to Mangiameli’s testimony Wednesday, after a briefing from Labor Commissioner John Albin and testimony from a representative of the nonprofit Nebraska Appleseed.

State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue pressed Albin for answers regarding overpayments that were discovered amid a tidal wave of people filing for unemployment during the pandemic. Her focus was on instances when people were overpaid because of an agency error, not because of fraud or something they did wrong.

For the full article click HERE

PROUD BOYS ARE TEAMING UP WITH ANTI-MASKERS TO THREATEN SCHOOL BOARDS OVER COVID MANDATES

TENNESSEE- Outside a school board meeting in Franklin, Tennessee on Tuesday night, a crowd gathered around masked meeting-goers as they exited the building. “You are child abusers!” one member of the crowd shouted. “There’s a bad place in hell and everybody’s taking notes, buddy!”

“We will find you and we know who you are!” another shouted through a mask-wearing man’s car window.

An hour away, in Nashville, similar tensions were simmering at another school board meeting, where a conservative commentator—who does not have children enrolled in that school district—criticized masks as “child abuse.” Days earlier, in North Carolina, a school board meeting over masking devolved into chaos after attendees attempted to “overthrow” the officials and install themselves as a new board. And members of the far-right paramilitary group the Proud Boys have attended contentious school board meetings about masking in Florida and New Hampshire.

In Buncombe County, North Carolina last week, a rowdy anti-mask group caused school board members to end a meeting early. The group reportedly booed a lone parent who spoke up in favor of masks, with one member stating that she looked forward to seeing a school board member behind bars. After the school board members ended the meeting early, some 30 anti-mask participants attempted to “overthrow” the board, the Asheville Citizen Times reported. The group signed a loose-leaf sheet of paper declaring themselves witnesses to the formation of a new, anti-mask school board.

Multiple Florida schools have also seen an influx in outsiders crashing their meetings on masking. Last month, a group of men with Proud Boy uniforms and anti-masking signs attended a Palm Beach County, Florida school board meeting, CBS12 reported. Members of the group sat inside the meeting, and stood on a street corner with a banner bedecked in the Proud Boys logo and the slogan “unmask the children.”

That same month, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio attended a school board meeting in Florida’s Miami-Dade County. Tarrio told WPLG Local 10 News that members of his group were there to speak against masks, vaccine requirements, and “critical race theory.”

For the full article click HERE

US HEALTH OFFICIALS CALL FOR BOOSTER SHOTS AGAINST COVID-19

NEW YORK- U.S. health officials Wednesday announced plans to offer COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and evidence that the vaccines' effectiveness is falling.

The plan, as outlined by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top authorities, calls for an extra dose eight months after people get their second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The doses could begin the week of Sept. 20.

"Our plan is to protect the American people, to stay ahead of this virus," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.

Health officials said people who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also probably need extra shots. But they said they are waiting for more data.

The overall plan is subject to a Food and Drug Administration evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of a third dose, the officials said.

In a statement, officials said it is "very clear" that the vaccines' protection against infection wanes over time, and now, with the highly contagious delta variant spreading rapidly, "we are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease."

"Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death could diminish in the months ahead," they said.

For the full article click HERE

LABOR SHORTAGE FORCES NEBRASKA STATE PARKS TO MAKE UNUSUAL SERVICE CUTS

NEBRASKA- The state’s parks and recreation areas are used to feeling labor pains this time of year, when its seasonal workers are getting ready to return to school.

But the squeeze is sharper this year, and it’s forcing the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to make unprecedented cuts in hours and services across the state.

The commission’s parks were already short-staffed this summer, operating with only an estimated 70% of their normal workforce, said Jim Swenson, the state’s parks administrator.

Like private businesses, the state struggled to find enough workers this year. “It’s a statewide situation,” he said. “We’re caught in the same situation.”

But unlike private businesses, the Game and Parks Commission was limited in the incentives it could offer to attract applicants, such as hiring bonuses and higher wages. In the past, it’s banked on what he called its aces in the hole, he said — that it’s enjoyable to work at a park, mostly outside, and that it looks good on a resume. Those weren’t enough this year.

“As a state agency, we don’t have a lot of flexibility. We try to do what we can do within the parameters we have. The private sector, they can offer more than we can.”

And the shortage came during a parks boom. Swenson didn’t yet have numbers available, but almost all measurements — day use, hiking, biking, picnicking, disc golfing — were up this year, he said. And most of the commission’s campgrounds have been fully booked every weekend.

But with the loss of seasonal staff, something needed to give. So the commission released a list of service reductions at many of its properties.

For the full article click HERE

WITH COVID CASES RISING, NO PLANS TO RESTART TESTNEBRASKA

NEBRASKA- With the delta variant fueling a rise in COVID-19 cases in Nebraska, the state continues to fall short in testing for the virus, according to an infectious diseases expert.

The testing troubles are not necessarily new, nor are they unique to Nebraska. But the latest shortcoming is occurring at a time when case numbers are rising, schools are returning to in-person learning and some employers are weighing whether to bring employees back to the office.

The combination of factors has some officials worried that Nebraska could in a matter of weeks be facing a crisis similar to that in Southern states, where hospitals are overwhelmed.

“We’re definitely not testing enough ... that part is clear,” said Dr. James Lawler, co-executive director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Global Center for Health Security.

Despite the concerns, state and local officials say there are sufficient testing options available. And there are no plans to restart the statewide testing program, TestNebraska, which ceased operating nearly a month ago.

Testing remains a vital tool in slowing the spread of COVID-19. Federal officials have repeated that point in recent weeks amid a national surge in cases.

“Testing and building testing capacity is a key part of our surge response because we know quickly detecting cases allows us to help prevent outbreaks and contain the virus,” Jeff Zients, White House COVID-?19 response coordinator, said during a July 22 press briefing.

For the full article click HERE

'A STRATEGIC BLUNDER': NEBRASKA, IOWA DELEGATIONS ANGERED BY TALIBAN TAKEOVER OF AFGHANISTAN

KABUL- Reports from Afghanistan of Taliban forces entering the capital city of Kabul on Sunday drew harsh responses from the Nebraska and Iowa congressional delegations.

Several news organizations, including the New York Times and the Associated Press, reported that Afghanistan’s government collapsed on Sunday with the flight from the country of President Ashraf Ghani and the entry into the capital of the Taliban, effectively sealing the insurgents’ control of the country. The fall of Kabul came swiftly after dozens of cities rapidly fell to the Taliban following U.S. troop withdrawals begun by former President Donald Trump and continued by President Joe Biden.

Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a retired brigadier general who was deployed four times to the Middle East, said that the unfolding disaster was avoidable and that senior officials in the Department of Defense and possibly the Department of State should offer their resignations to Biden.

Yes, the buck stops with Biden, but “the president either got terrible advice or he ignored advice,” said Bacon, a Republican. “This was a strategic blunder.”

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, released a statement critical of Trump and Biden, saying that the U.S. would “regret” its moves and that foreign relations would suffer as a consequence.

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., also issued a statement after receiving a briefing Sunday morning.

“The Senate was briefed this morning amid the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan,” Fischer said. “Thousands of lives are in imminent danger and our service men and women in Kabul are working hard under extremely dangerous conditions to evacuate U.S. citizens and our partners. Given that the Commander-in-chief chose not to act to slow the Taliban’s advances this past week, it is disgraceful that the administration was not better prepared for this eventuality.”

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, issued a lengthy statement condemning the Taliban and the U.S. withdrawal.

For the full article click HERE