Social Services
Fans turn out for proposal supporting Ernie Chambers museum
A proposed law seeking the State of Nebraska’s support for an Ernie Chambers museum brought forth fans of the Unicameral’s longest-serving senator — and fond gushings from those who served with him. During a public hearing Wednesday on Legislative Bill 1205, Sen. John Lowe of Kearney lauded Gayla Lee-Chambers’ impassioned talk about her dad’s contributions. […]
Bill to cut state income taxes, corporate taxes runs into immediate filibuster
LINCOLN — State lawmakers traded one filibuster for another Wednesday as debate began on a major proposal to reduce state income taxes. State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn said that Legislative Bill 939 would make Nebraska more competitive when it comes to individual and corporate income taxes and that the state’s surplus of tax […]
South Omaha leaders tell lawmakers they’re fed up with being left out
South Omaha advocates converge at the Nebraska State Capitol to ask the government to invest in their community
State aims to avoid repeating mistakes made in ‘bad bid’ from St. Francis Ministries
LINCOLN — In 2019, the state made what would later amount to a $158 million mistake in awarding a state contract to St. Francis Ministries. It’s widely acknowledged that the $197 million bid by the Kansas-based nonprofit organization to oversee the state’s child welfare system was horribly low. A year ago, the Nebraska Department of […]
$120 million in second round of federal rental aid could be back in play
LINCOLN — State Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln has launched an effort to put extended federal assistance into the hands of Nebraska renters — challenging an earlier stance taken by Gov. Pete Ricketts. Earlier this week, Ricketts told the Nebraska Examiner the state would not apply for a second round of federal emergency rental aid, […]
State plans to distribute free, at-home COVID-19 tests, open up hospital beds
LINCOLN — The state plans to distribute 200,000 free, at-home tests for COVID-19 and is working to open up more acute hospital beds in the state as a surge in coronavirus cases continues. The so-called “Hospital Decompression Program” would allow the move of up to 98 patients out of hospitals when they no longer require acute […]
Nursing homes, care centers say they face staffing crisis without higher pay
LINCOLN — Words like “crisis,” “dire” and “desperate” were used Monday to describe the shortage of workers in the state’s nursing homes, as well as in programs serving the developmentally disabled. An advocate for senior care facilities said that their workforce is down 10% and that hiring replacements is getting harder because other entities, including […]