Prison Report, Lincoln Mayor Wins, Palermo Loses VP Title

Today’s Highlights:

Vinny Palermo is voted out as vice president of Omaha’s City Council.
Lincoln’s Democratic mayor will serve another term — overcoming a race that topped records for campaign spending.
UNO students are using public art to protest a Nebraska bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors.

Nebraska Prison Staff Used Excessive Force Subduing Inmate Suffering Mental Health Crisis, Report Says

Staff at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution fire projectiles at an inmate in June 2021. Photo provided by the Nebraska Office of the Inspector General.

The watchdog report says prison staff fired about 200 projectiles at an inmate — and this wasn’t the first time that happened.

By Chris Bowling. Published in The Reader.

REED MOORE >>

Around Omaha

University of Nebraska at Omaha students are using public art to raise awareness about the potential effects of banning gender-affirming care for minors.

Applications for the Omaha Public Schools-run Omaha Virtual School close this week. The alternative to traditional school works like homeschooling with students attending weekly, in-person classes and completing work independently with the help of 15 OPS teachers.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center, Children’s Hospital and Medical Center are working together on a national study to better care for infants suffering from opioid withdrawal.

Omahans are struggling to find type 2 diabetes medication as people take diabetes drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro to lose weight.

Upcoming Events

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Around Nebraska

Legislature:

An education bill would provide Nebraska teachers bonuses in an effort to keep them from leaving the profession. The bill would also ban suspensions from pre-kindergarten to second grade to combat the “school-to-prison pipeline.”
A bill allowing cities to remove an area’s “blighted” label, and exclude it from eligibility for a popular tax break, heads to the Legislature’s floor.

Democrat Leiron Gaylor Baird fends off a well-funded, record-setting Republican attack to win another term as Lincoln’s mayor. Democrats also retained a 6-1 majority on the Lincoln City Council.

A new project at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will document close to 2,000 letters from African American writer Charles W. Chesnutt. Chesnutt, who corresponded with such prominent figures as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, could be the key to creating a comprehensive collection of primary material detailing African American experiences during the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras.

The New York Times travel section highlights Lincoln as Nebraska native Carson Vaughan tries to see the city through the eyes of writer Mari Sandoz, a native daughter who found herself in, and saw her way out of, the capitol city.

Local Government

The Omaha City Council votes to permanently remove Councilmember Vinny Palermo as vice president. During the Douglas County Board of Commissioners meeting, members of the sheriff’s office raise concerns about parking at county buildings.

Read Anton Johnson’s article for The Reader. Follow Anton and Omaha Documenters on Twitter for more local government coverage.