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HERE’S YOUR RUNDOWN
Happy National Walking Day
Reed Moore says it’s easy peasy — just put one foot in front of the other and go.
Today’s news: A tax-relief bill won’t include breaks for middle-class people, former President Barack Obama pens a letter to former Congressman Brad Ashford, who’s battling brain cancer, and following a long-fought battle, state senators wind up one vote short of overriding Gov. Pete Ricketts’ veto on applying for $120 million in federal rental assistance.
REED MOORE’S FEATURED STORY
‘Godfather of Glass’
Some 40 years ago, glass master Ed Fennell created his iconic Crystal Forge. A tribute exhibit, “Omaha’s Godfather of Glass: Ed Fennell,” unites the titular artist with more than 15 fellow colleagues and peers who benefitted from time spent in the glass studio.
By Michael Krainak. Published in The Reader.
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COVID-19 UPDATE
‘Rona roundup:
Check out the latest research on the fourth COVID-19 vaccine. If you still don’t have your first three doses, click here to find a vaccination appointment in Douglas County. And a new Omicron subvariant is found in the United Kingdom: XE.
By the numbers:
AROUND OMAHA
- The City Council gives the go-ahead to $3.7 million in tax-increment financing for a 136-unit apartment complex, according to the Omaha World-Herald. For more on city government, scroll down to “Reed Moore on Local Government.”
- Here’s need-to-know info about the Douglas County and Sarpy County primary elections.
- To quell its affordable housing crisis, Omaha needs $200 million each year, KETV reports.
- “Michelle and I send all our love to you”: Former President Barack Obama pens a letter to former Congressman Brad Ashford, who’s battling brain cancer. Click here to read Obama’s letter.
- The decades-old Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in North O needs repairs, according to WOWT.
AROUND NEBRASKA
- Latest in the Legislature I: Following a long-fought battle, state senators wind up one vote short of overriding Gov. Pete Ricketts’ veto on applying for $120 million in federal rental assistance. According to Erin Feichtinger from Together Omaha, an organization committed to stopping hunger and homelessness in the community, “It’s incredibly disappointing that some of our elected representatives would disregard the voices of their communities asking for help in favor of a purely political argument that helps precisely no one.” As Reed Moore reported on April 4, Nebraska is the sole state to blatantly refuse federal rental aid, according to the Associated Press.
- Latest in the Legislature II: In a loss for progressive state senators, a tax-relief bill won’t include breaks for middle-class people. Criminal justice reform seems to reach a stalemate. And behavioral health and disability providers are not happy with Gov. Pete Ricketts’ $52M veto, on which Reed Moore reported April 5.
- On the Campaign Trail: Gubernatorial candidate Jim Pillen selects prosecutor Joe Kelly as his running mate. Democrats select state Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks to run in the special election to fill the seat of resigned U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. And state Sen. Mike Flood snags the Nebraska Farm Bureau’s endorsement in the same race.
REED MOORE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The Omaha City Council approves an ordinance to give the mayor and Council veto power over the health director’s decisions during an epidemic — and avoid a lawsuit from the state. The Douglas County Board of Commissioners allocates ARPA funding.
Read local government reporter Anton Johnson’s full article for The Reader here.
FACTS OF THE DAY
From Harper’s Index
- Amount spent, per year, to incarcerate someone in a New York City jail: $556,539
- Amount spent last November on a private island in the metaverse: $398,685
Sources: 1. Office of the New York City Comptroller; 2. Republic Realm (NYC)
DAILY FUNNY
Comic by Koterba. Support him on Patreon.