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Today’s Highlights:
- Curtis Salgado will play the Waiting Room on Thursday, May 25, at 6 p.m.
- Advocates and providers help people who need abortions seek care outside Nebraska after Gov. Jim Pillen signs a 12-week abortion ban into law.
- A new book dives deep into the 2020 case in which downtown business owner James Gardner shot and killed 22-year-old James Scurlock during a protest in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
Curtis Salgado at the Waiting Room
The nine-time Blues Music Award winner will play the Waiting Room on May 25.
By Matt Casas.
Around Omaha
The diversity of Central High School’s student body is not reflected in its advanced classes, an analysis by the Omaha Central Register finds. Affluent and white students are overrepresented in the honors classes, while students of color and economically disadvantaged students are consistently underrepresented.
A new book dives into the complex case of the 2020 killing of 22-year-old James Scurlock during a protest in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. In “The Lost Sons of Omaha,” former ProPublica and New York Times reporter Joe Sexton pushes readers to look beyond the “grotesque caricatures” of Scurlock and James Gardner, the business owner who shot and killed Scurlock.
Access Period works to make period products more widely available for Nebraskans who struggle to purchase tampons and pads. “We have a waitlist about a mile long of organizations that could use these products that we just aren’t able to reach yet,” founder Kristin Lowrey says.
Upcoming Events
- May 20 – Sept. 17: Jennifer Ling Datchuk: Eat Bitterness
- May 24: Wednesday Night Workout at Turner Park
- May 24: Wine Tasting Fundraiser for Grace
- May 27: Art Battle at Culxr House
Be sure to get the updated booster shot before heading to any of these events.
Around Nebraska
Gov. Jim Pillen signs LB 574 into law banning 12-week abortions and gender-affirming care, effective immediately.
- Abortion providers and advocates transfer clients to out-of-state clinics as Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban takes effect. “Regardless of our abortion fund being here or not, there is still going to be a whole host of people who won’t be able to access care,” said Chelsea Souder, an advocate with Nebraska Abortion Resources.
- Nebraska Sen. Christy Armendariz, who voted for the abortion and gender-care bans, admits she knew little about the national push for anti-trans legislation and wishes the bill had never been introduced. “I knocked doors for a year, and nobody brought this up,” Armendariz told reporter Lila Shapiro of New York Magazine.
Senators move forward on a criminal justice bill in its first round of debate and will likely work out differences in the bill later this week. The bill would provide incarcerated people incentives for rehabilitation programming and open up possibilities for earlier release on parole with the larger aim of reducing the need for constructing a second new prison.
Senators advance a committee amendment on voter ID in Nebraska despite State Sen. Julie Slama’s failed filibuster against it. The proposal would let Nebraskans write down their own ID numbers from state-approved photo IDs when they request early voting ballots.
Millets, ancient drought-resistant grains, could help the Midwest survive climate change. But even as the United Nations declares 2023 the International Year of the Millets, the grains haven’t gotten nearly the same level of national policy and research attention as corn and soybeans have.
Local Government
Follow Anton Johnson and Omaha Documenters on Twitter today, May 23, for coverage of the Omaha City Council and Douglas County Board of Commissioners meetings. Tune in live on YouTube for the City Council meeting at 2 p.m.
Fact of the Day
From Harper’s Index
Percentage decrease in total U.S. home sales: 18
Source: National Association of Realtors (Washington)
DAILY FUNNY
See the full comic by Jen Sorensen on TheReader.com
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