A Tight Labor Market and a Critical Question for Nebraska’s Future
With the upper hand, Nebraska’s workers are demanding change.
Will the state hear them out?
Story by Chris Bowling. Published in The Reader.
Reed Moore’s Daily Rundown
National Influenza Vaccination Week
Today’s news reminds us that those at higher risk are anyone 65 and older, children, pregnant people, and individuals with chronic illnesses: Lee Enterprises pushes back against the Alden Global Capital takeover, public-school students’ test scores drop, and famed Huskers player Johnny Rodgers, 70, is in Nebraska Medical Center’s internal care unit with COVID-19.
Harper’s Index Facts of the Day:
Move-It-Back Monday
Reed Moore continues the throwback series with previous Harper’s facts.
- Percentage of regular video conference attendees who report experiencing Zoom fatigue: 53
- Percentage of women with Zoom fatigue who ascribe it partly to an increased focus on their own image: 57
- Of men with Zoom fatigue who do so: 35
Source: Jeff Hancock, Stanford University (Calif.)
For nationwide COVID-19 case and vaccination trends, click here.
Around Omaha
- Lee Enterprises pushes back against the Alden Global Capital takeover that threatens multiple Nebraska newspapers, including the Omaha World-Herald.
- Get an inside look at an omicron sequencing lab in Omaha with this New York Times article.
- Greater Omaha Packing will provide employees tuition assistance to attend local community colleges, universities and technical schools. Reed Moore in Spanish on Telemundo Nebraska.
- The developer of the Maverick Landing campus wants $2 million in tax-increment financing.
- “We went from being the New York Yankees of junior hockey to a AA team that makes their players pay for their own gear”: Take a deep dive into the controversy surrounding the Omaha Lancers hockey team.
Around Nebraska
- Taylor Gage, spokesperson and advisor for Gov. Pete Ricketts, leaves his job for a new position as the Nebraska Republican Party’s executive director.
- Famed Huskers player Johnny Rodgers, 70, is in Nebraska Medical Center’s internal care unit with COVID-19. Forty-nine years ago, Rodgers became the first Nebraska player to win the Heisman Trophy.
- NOISE Omaha digs into the debate over how the state should allocate billions of American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
- Nebraska public-school students’ test scores drop during the coronavirus crisis.
- As conversations about abortion rights continue nationwide, here’s what abortion legislation looks like in Nebraska — where the city of Blue Hill and village of Hayes Center have passed ordinances to outlaw abortion.
- “There’s enough labor for four people but not enough income for one”: The New York Times takes a deep dive into the challenges facing a century-and-a-half-old family farm in northeast Nebraska.
In Your Local Government:
Legislative Packages and
County ARPA Spending
Presented by Reader government reporter Anton Johnson.
- Legislative package: The Omaha City Council will vote on a resolution to request the state Legislature to change liquor license laws. The City Council approved the remaining legislative package at the Nov. 23 meeting, including a request to amend the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. District 2 residents raised concerns that the potential bill would target private clubs in North Omaha, so Councilmember Juanita Johnson moved for it to be delayed and discussed further.
- TIF: The City Council will hold public hearings on two tax-increment financing loans during Tuesday’s meeting, including $515,000 for a commercial building in Blackstone and $1 million to Habitat for Humanity for a redevelopment project in Northeast Omaha.
- County Board: The Douglas County Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday to prepare a set of legislative priorities ahead of the state Legislature’s upcoming session. The American Rescue Plan Act Strategy Committee will also meet at 3 p.m. today, Dec. 6, to discuss possible spending of the federal COVID-19 relief money.
Every week, The Reader‘s Anton Johnson picks noteworthy agenda items from the Omaha City Council and Douglas County Board of Commissioners. See the full City Council and Board of Commissioners agendas for Tuesday, Dec. 7, and tune in here to the Douglas County Board at 9 a.m. and the
Omaha City Council at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Reed Moore’s Thing To Do:
Upcoming Blues Shows
Reed Moore presents events from Reader Hoodoo Blues
columnist B.J. Huchtemann’s latest roundup, “Time to Shine.”
- Sunday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m., sensational roots musician JD McPherson brings “SOCKS: A Rock N’ Roll Christmas Tour” to The Waiting Room.
- Consider donating to the Toy Drive for Pine Ridge, founded in 2003 by local musician Larry (Lash LaRue) Dunn, which provides toys to children from South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation.
- Note that the Rocky Athas show at Stocks n Bonds, scheduled for Dec. 9, is canceled.
As COVID-19 variants spread through the community, remember to get fully vaccinated and mask up — even if you’re fully vaxxed — before checking out shows.
Find more music content here, and check out local guides here.
The Daily Funny
Comic by Koterba. Support him on Patreon.
To see more daily funnies, click the image.
