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TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
- How do we prevent more Legacy Crossings and hold landlords accountable?
- The winter storm warning prompts closures of schools across the area.
- Nebraska lawmakers have not debated any bills on the floor.
Preventing the Next Legacy Crossing
A lack of affordable housing pushes Omaha’s poorest to accept unsafe living conditions. But when it comes to holding landlords accountable, the city often has too few tools until problems escalate and condemning buildings becomes the only option.
By Elle Love. Published in The Reader.
AROUND OMAHA
Omaha-area schools are closed today, Feb. 16, due to the winter storm warning. OPS, Bellevue, Westside, Papillion La Vista, Ralston and Council Bluffs are closed, although OPS is having a remote learning day. Catholic schools in Omaha are closed as well.
UNMC says improvements are coming to Saddle Creek Road and its intersecting streets. A parking garage, road repairs, sidewalks and streetlights are planned, along with a bike lane on 46th Street that runs from Leavenworth to Farnam Street. The projects are being done in connection with UNMC’s expansion plans.
Steelhouse Omaha is nearing completion, ahead of its scheduled May 12 opening. The downtown concert venue will be able to house 1,500 to 3,000 people. Omaha Performing Arts says there are no similar-capacity venues in the city.
The Bennington school district is inviting public input as it searches for its next superintendent. The Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB) is conducting the search to replace Terry Haack, who has led the district for 19 years. He is resigning at the end of the school year. NASB says it can find his replacement by the end of March.
Caesars Entertainment, which owns Harrah’s and Horseshoe casinos, is pumping $22 million into its Council Bluffs casino. A senior vice president for the company says the opening of casinos in Nebraska has caused a midweek drop-off for Harrah’s. In order to build a footprint in Nebraska, the company is planning a casino in Columbus.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Feb. 17: Modern Quilting on the Prairie
- Feb. 19: STRFKR with Das Kope
- Feb. 21-25: Omaha Fashion Week Spring 2023 Season
- Feb. 23: Live @ LOW END | C. Spencer Yeh
- Feb. 23: Unsane with Violenteer and Big Water
- Feb. 24: The Simon & Garfunkel Story
- Feb. 24-25: NETWAR 41.0
- Feb. 27: Trixie and Katya Live
Be sure to get the updated booster shot before heading to any of these events.
AROUND NEBRASKA
Legislature: The Health and Human Services Committee hears testimony on restricting the authority of local health directors to establish and enforce public health directives such as mask mandates. Meanwhile, Sen. Rob Clements, the Appropriations Committee chair, says he wants to wait and listen before deciding how much funding the state university system should get. The Legislature hasn’t debated any bills on the floor.
The Nebraska Power Review Board is hearing arguments for and against the merger of two power districts. The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District is looking to merge with the Dawson Public Power District, saying hydropower generated would be used more locally. A group of irrigators opposes the merger, calling it a lopsided deal with little benefit for Central.
FACT OF THE DAY
From Harper’s Index
Percentage of U.S. daters who say they have fallen
in love with someone they weren’t initially attracted to: 49
Source: Kinsey Institute, Indiana University (Bloomington)
DAILY FUNNY
To view the full Doonesbury comic by G.B. Trudeau,
plus more daily funnies, click the image or the link below.
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