Tuesday, May 19
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TestNebraska Shows Progress in Grand Island, but Frustrations Persist
While the rate of confirmed cases in Hall County, once Nebraska’s hardest-hit COVID-19 hot spot, has decreased following increased testing, many are still unsatisfied with the state’s testing program.
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Good morning,
Today we have stories about Trump taking an anti-malaria drug he’s controversially touted as COVID-19 treatment, metro-area bike sales increasing as people search for socially distant activities and the Nebraska Legislature reconvening in July with a full plate of controversial bills.
Your Top Local Stories
Check out an interactive version of this map on our website.
In Omaha
- With more Village Inns closing, Omahans share what makes the Midwest staple so special to them.
- OPS has selected T-Mobile as its data provider for the 56,400 iPads it will send home with students this summer and fall.
- Bike sales and trail usage have gone way up during the pandemic as people try to find activities that get them out of the house without interacting with others.
- Businesses that planned to open before the pandemic are now weighing their options as the state starts to resume business.
- A fourth inmate at the Community Corrections Center-Omaha has tested positive for COVID-19.
- Two residents of an Elkhorn senior care facility have died following an outbreak there.
- Firefighters battled a blaze in a vehicle salvage yard near 14th and Grace streets, putting it out after more than an hour.
- Billboards asking for information of cold case murders will go up in Omaha soon.
- Horse-drawn carriage rides are resuming in the Old Market.
- Some summer camps are moving online to adapt to the pandemic.
- Memorial Park will not hold its annual concert and fireworks show.
- Long-time Omaha World Herald columnist Erin Grace is leaving the newspaper, ending 22 years of telling narrative features that provided a splash of color to the daily print edition.
Around the State
- The Nebraska Legislature will reconvene July 20, giving senators a handful of workdays to pass an ambitious lineup of bills, including the perennial issue of property taxes. However, sharp downturns in tax revenue pose serious roadblocks to passing bills that already had low support before the pandemic.
- Cases in hard-hit Dakota County are starting to slow, data shows.
- CARES Act funds can help cities avoid layoffs of police officers and firefighters, said Rep. Don Bacon.
- Gov. Pete Ricketts said he would ease more restrictions in June if hospital capacities and ventilator supplies stay constant.
- Gov. Ricketts to hold daily press briefing today
What to do during quarantine?
From our list of things to do during quarantine:
Stay Tuned For Classic Movie Reviews
Until theaters reopen, we’ll be posting new reviews of classic movies online each week on Friday. Send suggestions for classics we should cover to film@thereader.com.
What’s Happening In The United States?
- President Donald Trump has started taking the anti-malaria medication that he’s touted as a treatment for COVID-19. Health care officials criticized him immediately, saying his choice poses risks to his health and sets a bad example for others.
Millions of Animals to Die as Plants Close and Slow Production
- As supply chains continue to see disruptions, industry reports estimate millions of chickens and pigs will probably have to die in the next few months as supply chains continue to see disruption.
National Guard Faces Hard Stop Before Most Would Earn Benefits
- About 40,000 members of the National Guard are helping states track and test for the coronavirus but their current deployment ends June 24, one day before they would earn benefits promised in the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
- Dissatisfied with the World Health Organization’s response to the pandemic, Trump said he would consider cutting ties with the group if it did not agree to major changes in the next 30 days.
What’s Happening Across The World?
Rio’s Record Year of Police Killings
- In a city already defined in some ways by police brutality, violence has worsened as officials have vowed to “dig graves” to stop crime, resulting in the death of 1,814 people in 2019.
Omaha, NE 68107