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TODAY’S TOP STORIES:

  • The Reader’s Matt Casas offers suggestions for last-minute Valentine’s plans.
  • MUD customers could pay an extra $40 a year if the utility pays for streetcar work.
  • Hearings are held on the proposed budget and more transphobic legislation.

Things To Do in Omaha for Valentine’s Day

Whether you want to surprise your significant other or show your friend a heck of a “Palentine’s,” there are plenty of ways to celebrate this romantic holiday.

Guide by Matt Casas. Published in The Reader.

REED MOORE >>

AROUND OMAHA

MUD customers could pay an additional $40 a year if the utility pays for work on the streets where the streetcar line is planned. Mayor Jean Stothert says there will not need to be a rate hike; she didn’t specify how that would be possible. Meanwhile, the Streetcar Authority will hold an open house on March 7.

Bellevue state Sen. Carol Blood says the recent shooting at a West Omaha Target and a November 2020 shooting at a Bellevue Sonic prompt a change to the state’s workers compensation laws. She’s introduced legislation to allow workers comp benefits for those suffering from PTSD or other mental illness resulting from workplace violence.

Twelve residents are displaced by a fire at a West Omaha apartment complex. The two-alarm fire happened at 163rd and Bedford Plaza. The Fire Department says damage was done to all three floors of the building, with estimates of $37,500 in damages to the structure and $22,500 to its contents. The cause remains unknown.

Beginning Feb. 20, 14th Street will be closed between Douglas and Farnam streets. The east parking lane on 15th Street between Douglas and Farnam will also be closed. The closures are due to the construction of the Mutual of Omaha headquarters and are expected to be in effect for three years.

Omaha Performing Arts announces the first concert at Steelhouse Omaha. The Killers will play on May 12, with tickets going on sale Friday, Feb. 17, on Ticketmaster. All tickets are $75 for general admission. (We’re praying Ticketmaster doesn’t crash again.)

UPCOMING EVENTS

Be sure to get the updated booster shot before heading to any of these events.

AROUND NEBRASKA

Legislature: The Appropriations Committee holds its first public hearing on Gov. Jim Pillen’s proposed budget. Critics say Pillen’s proposal to divert $14 million over the next two years from the state’s Environmental Trust is misguided, as is the funding for two new state prisons. Meanwhile, the Education Committee hears testimony on a bill that would discriminate against trans student athletes.

Civic Nebraska releases its report on the 2022 general election. The voting rights group says two issues were identified that needed to be addressed, but that both were handled appropriately. Secretary of State Bob Evnen agrees with the group’s conclusion that elections were safe and secure.

Nebraska Public Media has a guide on how you can contribute to local relief efforts at the Syria-Turkey border, where the death toll has climbed to 33,000 after the earthquake on Feb. 6.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The City Council is meeting today, Feb. 14, and local government reporter Anton Johnson is sitting in. Follow Anton on Twitter at @AntonIsWriting for live tweets from the City Council, and read his preview of what’s on tap this week. Tune in here to the Omaha City Council beginning at 2 p.m.

(The Douglas County Board of Commissioners is not meeting this week.)

FACT OF THE DAY

From Harper’s Index

Percentage by which Republicans are more likely to feel
unfavorably toward the media than the tobacco industry: 20

Source: YouGov (NYC)

DAILY FUNNY

To see the full comic by Jen Sorensen,
plus more daily funnies, click the image or the link below.

FULL FUNNY >>

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