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HERE’S YOUR RUNDOWN
Happy National Kitchen Klutzes of America Day
Keep this to yourself, but Reed Moore uses the cookbook only to balance the short leg of the kitchen table.
Today’s news:
- Douglas County faces a $5.5 million budget shortfall, thanks in small part to a revenue distribution mistake that went uncovered for sixty years.
- The Nebraska Democratic Party’s application to become an early state in the party’s presidential primary has been rejected.
- For the first time since 2015, new school standards are being drafted by the Nebraska State Board of Education.
REED MOORE’S FEATURED STORY
‘I’m Gasping for Air:’ Chemical List Released after South Omaha Fire — Residents Still Concerned
After more than a week, Nox-Crete discloses what chemicals were in its warehouse that burned down, but local investigations are ongoing.
By Isa Luzarraga. Published in The Reader.
REED MOORE >>
The Reed Moore newsletter is supported by:
COVID-19 UPDATE
‘Rona roundup:
The U.S. has dropped its requirement that international visitors test negative for COVID-19 before flying in. The rule was imposed in the final days of the Trump administration, before being tightened by the Biden administration. The CDC plans to reassess its decision in 90 days.
If you’re not yet up to date on COVID vaccines, visit vaccines.gov to make your appointment today. To order more at-home COVID tests, visit CovidTests.gov.
By the numbers:
AROUND OMAHA
- Douglas County faces a budget shortfall of about $5.5 million, according to two county commissioners. They both attribute the shortfall to, among other factors, a mistake in the formula for distributing “in-lieu-of-taxes” payments. The mistake went uncovered for six decades until an audit last month.
- In 2020, Don Bacon and Kara Eastman spent $8 million combined on the race to represent the 2nd Congressional District. This year, despite redistricting making the district redder, Bacon faces an equally established opponent in Tony Vargas, and things could get more costly. The Nebraska Examiner profiles the two candidatesand where they stand.
- The Omaha National Cemetery will add more than 6,000 gravesites next year. It’s the first major expansion since the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs opened the site in 2016. The cemetery has been filling up faster than expected, with more than 700 burials per year.
- Omaha’s Juneteenth celebrations are well underway, with cakewalks returning in a slightly different manner. The Juneteenth parade takes place on Saturday, June 18, on North 24th Street. There will also be a Freedom Festival on the same day, at the Malcolm X Memorial.
AROUND NEBRASKA
- In 2019, Nebraska business leaders set a goal of adding 10,000 employees to the state’s tech workforce, and 300 tech companies, by 2025. Three years in, they’re about only 13% of the way there with employees, but have added 147 companies, with more on the way.
- For the first time since 2015, new school standards are being drafted by the Nebraska State Board of Education. The practice is pursuant to state law, which requires new standards be adopted every seven years. This year’s standards don’t change much, but there is a greater emphasis on number sense, data, and statistics.
- Nebraska’s record heat could produce flash droughts through the summer. The state is engulfed in temperatures between the upper 90s and 105, with only a few intermittent days in the 80s expected. UNL Applied Climatologist Ken Dewey says the weather could prove devastating for crops.
- The Nebraska Democratic Party’s application to become an early state in the party’s presidential primary has been rejected by the Democratic National Committee. The DNC says it rejected Nebraska’s application because the NDP wanted a party-run primary instead of the current state-run primary.
REED MOORE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
This week:
- Annexation Package: On Tuesday, June 14, the Omaha City Council will hold public hearings on this year’s annexation package, which would expand city limits in three areas totaling 177 acres.
- Streetcar: The City Council will also hold a public hearing on a redevelopment agreement for the design and construction of the proposed streetcar system. The agreement would authorize a request up to $356 million in tax increment financing.
- Board of Corrections: The Douglas County Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, June 14, to receive a monthly update from Douglas County Corrections Director Mike Myers.
Every week, Anton Johnson picks noteworthy agenda items from the Omaha City Council and Douglas County Board of Commissioners. See the full Omaha City Council and Board of Commissioners agendas for Tuesday, June 14, and tune in here to the Douglas County Board at 9 a.m. and the Omaha City Council at 2 p.m.
FACT OF THE DAY
From Harper’s Index
Percentage increase in the number of doomsday
bunkers purchased in Texas since Russia invaded Ukraine: 1,100
Source: Rising S Company (Murchison, Texas)
DAILY FUNNY
Comic by Koterba. Support him on Patreon.