(Originally published March 9, 2022)
Omaha’s Zero-Waste Market
Adds Options for Eco-Friendly Lifestyles
How one woman’s dream of a greener future became her business.
Story by Regan Thomas. Published in The Reader.
Reed Moore’s Daily Rundown
National No Smoking Day
Today’s news reminds us that the CDC says smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes and COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis: Two sentences removed from a budget plan would have prevented the state Department of Education from using any of its resulting money to “research, adopt or implement state sex education standards for Nebraska schools,” Makayla Townsell is settling her lawsuit against Omaha for $22,500 after the Department of Health and Human Services deems unfounded a neglect allegation against her that, according to the lawsuit, sparked a “violent” arrest, and Kansas lawyer Kris Kobach is filing a lawsuit for 36 Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard members who, he says, have been denied religious exemptions to the coronavirus vaccine mandated by the military. The lawsuit is filed in Nebraska because “about half” of Air Force members in the lawsuit are based at Offutt.
Harper’s Index Fact of the Day
Average number of mistreatment and neglect reports filed with New York City child-welfare caseworkers per week: 1,054
Source: NYC Administration for Children’s Services
Reed Moore’s COVID-19 Roundup
- The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department’s COVID-19 Risk Dial is now low yellow.
- Kansas lawyer Kris Kobach announces he’s filing a federal lawsuit for 36 Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard members who, according to Kobach, have been denied religious exemptions to the coronavirus vaccine mandated by the military, according to the Nebraska Examiner. The lawsuit — announced at Offutt Air Force Base — is filed in Nebraska because “about half” of Air Force members in the lawsuit are based at Offutt.
5.9% of Douglas County residents are partially vaccinated.
For nationwide COVID-19 case
and vaccination trends, click here.
Around Omaha
- On Thanksgiving 2019, two police officers showed up at Makayla Townsell’s Omaha home during her family’s holiday gathering, according to Townsell’s lawsuit. They were there to investigate a report of neglect that involved her teenage son, whose room they searched before arresting Townsell, throwing her to the ground and handcuffing her, the lawsuit said — but all charges against Townsell were eventually dismissed, and the Department of Health and Human Services deemed the neglect allegation unfounded, according to the Associated Press. Now Townsell is settling her lawsuit against Omaha for $22,500.
- Part of a Sarpy County street will bear the name of Cpl. Daegan Page, who died in the Kabul airport attack.
- The unions representing around half of BNSF Railway workers keep battling the railroad’s new attendance rules.
- Omaha Makes (Inter)national Waves: Dominique Morgan, executive director of Black and Pink, is one of 25 women to be spotlighted by Spotify in New York’s Times Square, the Mary Our Queen Catholic School robotics program is headed to the world championships, an OPS kindergarten teacher wins an award from the White House, and Central High alum Natalie E. Brown is the U.S. ambassador to Uganda.
Around Nebraska
- In case you missed it, check out this Flatwater Free Press piece on how UV light could save the lives of cranes.
- Latest in the Legislature: A bill would allow Nebraskans to carry concealed handguns without permits, senators seek to compromise on casinos, Sen. Steve Lathrop says people struggling with their mental health need recovery resources as opposed to incarceration, a bill that would make sure Nebraska students are educated in computer science and technology moves forward, and a bill passes that makes becoming a funeral director easier. Also, two sentences removed from a budget plan would have prevented the state Department of Education from using any of its resulting money to “research, adopt or implement state sex education standards for Nebraska schools,” according to the Omaha World-Herald.
- Lincoln Public Schools wants to boost teachers’ pay.
- NeighborWorks Lincoln, a nonprofit supporting homeownership and community revitalization, supports Lincoln’s fairness ordinance, which is being threatened by the conservative nonprofit Nebraska Family Alliance.
This Week in Your Local Government
Douglas County Corrections is COVID-free, the County Board approves an agreement between the corrections department and the Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School to provide data for a large-scale research study, and the Omaha City Council delays a catalytic converter theft ordinance.
Read local government reporter Anton Johnson’s full article for The Reader here.
The Daily Funny
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