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HERE’S YOUR RUNDOWN
Happy National Love a Tree Day
Reed Moore thinks Joyce Kilmer said it best: I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree.
Today’s news: Mutual of Omaha’s new downtown headquarters is ballooning in cost. It’s unclear when, and to whom, the state and federal funds set aside for shovel-ready construction projects will be distributed. After years of reluctance, former Husker football coach Tom Osborne agrees to participate in a documentary of the team’s ’90s glory.
REED MOORE’S FEATURED STORY
‘No Longer One Way In, One Way Out’
Hope. The word Habitat for Humanity Omaha wants its new neighborhood of Bluestem Prairie to evoke in North O.
By Isa Luzarraga. Published in The Reader.
REED MOORE >>
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COVID-19 UPDATE
‘Rona roundup:
If you thought the pandemic was over, think again — it’s so bad that it’s hit the one country that’s been on lockdown since the 1950s. North Korean state media says over a million people have been infected with a “fever” widely suspected to be COVID-19. The country rejected offers of AstraZeneca vaccines from the international community last year, instead claiming it had sealed its borders in January 2020 and had no need for treating a disease that couldn’t make its way there. The country’s refusal to vaccinate its population, combined with a poor health care system, leaves 25 million North Koreans vulnerable to a serious outbreak.
By the numbers:
AROUND OMAHA
- The price tag for Mutual of Omaha’s relocation to downtown has ballooned from $443 million to an estimated $600 million. The insurance company cites the “current economic climate” as a factor in the cost hike, but says it will not make the city take on the additional cost. Mutual also says Lanoha Real Estate Co. will get first dibs on redeveloping the property it currently owns or operates.
- Hundreds rally again in downtown Omaha in support of protecting abortion rights. A Twitter post from one attendee says the Sheriff’s Office blocked off the plaza near where the rally was slated to take place, apparently calling it private property. You probably know that government buildings are not private property.
- The Omaha Streetcar Authority will hold its first public meeting today, May 16, at 1:30 p.m. The authority was formed in April as a joint operation between the City of Omaha and Metro Transit.
- Lincoln-based nonprofit Rabble Mill offers youth skateboarding lessons as a way to build valuable life lessons. 3 News Now reports the program made its way to Omaha last month.
AROUND NEBRASKA
- Over the last two years, the Legislature has set aside $115 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds and state money for “shovel-ready” construction projects that were delayed by the pandemic. Recent changes to the program have made some applicants wonder when, if ever, they’ll get their money.
- The Omaha World-Herald’s Tom Shatel reviews the first episode of “Day by Day: The Rise,” a two-part documentary covering the Husker football glory of the 1990s. The producers of the documentary managed to get former coach Tom Osborne to participate after years of reluctance.
- In Case You Missed It: Nebraska native and author Ted Genoways pens an op-ed in the New York Times about Donald Trump’s effect on Nebraska politics. While the op-ed was written before the gubernatorial primary, Genoways makes the case that Trump’s impact on Nebraska politics goes far beyond one election.
REED MOORE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
This week:
- Mutual of Omaha: The Omaha City Council will vote Tuesday, May 17, on the redevelopment plan for Mutual of Omaha’s new downtown headquarters. Public hearing was held last week.
- Community Kitchen TIF: The City Council will vote on a $385,000 TIF loan to rehabilitate a building at 1127 N 20th St. The building will be used as a community kitchen to provide food for CHI’s facilities.
- City Charter Meeting: The first meeting of the Omaha City Charter Conventionwill be held today, May 16, at 5 p.m. Members will receive a presentation on the charter process, and discuss the election of a chair and vice-chair and sub-committee assignments.
- County Board: The Douglas County Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, May 17, to receive an update from Douglas County Corrections.
Every week, Anton Johnson picks noteworthy agenda items from the Omaha City Council and Douglas County Board of Commissioners. See the full Omaha City Counciland Board of Commissioners agendas for Tuesday, May 17, and tune in here to the Douglas County Board at 9 a.m. and the Omaha City Council at 2 p.m.
FACTS OF THE DAY
From Harper’s Index
Minimum number of dogs in the United States
on anti-anxiety medication: 10,350,000
Of cats: 1,800,000
Source: American Pet Products Association (Stamford, Conn.)
DAILY FUNNY
Comic by Koterba. Support him on Patreon.