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HERE’S YOUR RUNDOWN
Happy National Fruitcake Day
Reed Moore thinks author/filmmaker Jon Ronson said it best: “Friends are the fruitcake of life — some nutty, some soaked in alcohol, some sweet.”
- El Perico wins awards for its reporting on Omaha’s language barriers.
- Residents of the condemned Legacy Crossing Apartments deal with break-ins.
- Patrick O’Donnell, the retiring clerk of the Legislature, reflects on his 45-year tenure.
El Perico Reporting on Omaha’s Language Barriers Wins Awards
The National Association of Hispanic Publications’ José Martí Awards are the longest-running honor recognizing the best of Spanish-language media and publishing nationally.
Published in El Perico.
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COVID-19 UPDATE
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By the numbers:
AROUND OMAHA
- Residents of Legacy Crossing Apartments are dealing with break-ins following the city’s decision to condemn all 17 buildings on the property. The city contracted the property’s security to Access Commercial, saying new locks would be installed and 24/7 security would be on site. That hasn’t prevented thieves from breaking in and stealing belongings that are waiting to be relocated.
- The Missouri River has a rare ice jam, but the concern isn’t flooding. A National Weather Service meteorologist says the main concern is how utilities will be affected by low water levels, which caused the jam in the first place.
- Duchesne Academy is the first school in the Omaha metro area to achieve a zero-waste target eight years ahead of schedule. The school’s sustainability coordinator says a statement from Pope Francis in 2015 inspired the changes. The next sustainability goal for the school is to hit net-zero energy by 2030.
- Hundreds of people are stuck at Eppley Airfield after approximately 27% of flights scheduled for Monday, Dec. 26, were canceled. A spokesman for the Omaha Airport Authority says 15 arriving and 20 departing flights, the vast majority of those being Southwest Airlines, were canceled. It’s not a problem unique to Omaha — Southwest had about 10 times more cancellations than any other major U.S. carrier.
AROUND NEBRASKA
- Tammy Ward won’t run for a second term on the Lincoln City Council. Ward, 64, says a serious car accident in June wasn’t a factor in her decision, explaining that she had thought about it before then. Ward was a longtime aide to other politicians before being elected, but says she’s looking at working in advocacy after her term ends.
- Outgoing Gov. Pete Ricketts was the first modern-era governor to not move into the mansion, and Gov.-elect Jim Pillen had indicated he wouldn’t spend much time there either. Now, Pillen is clarifying that he’ll stay overnight in Lincoln for most of the work week while the Legislature is in session.
- After 45 years as the clerk of the Legislature, Patrick O’Donnell is retiring on Friday, Dec. 30. He has been clerk through 14 speakers, eight governors and hundreds of state senators. In an exit interview with the World-Herald’s Martha Stoddard, O’Donnell, 73, recounts memories from his tenure and his hopes for the future of the Legislature.
- The extreme weather breaks sprinkler lines in Sidney and Hastings, among other towns across Nebraska. In the case of Hastings, the broken sprinkler line forced the relocation of 80 people at a homeless shelter. (If you’re interested in providing assistance, call (307) 921-8657.)
REED MOORE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The Omaha City Council and Douglas County Board of Commissioners are not meeting this week. Check back here next week to see what your local government is (or isn’t) up to.
Follow local government reporter Anton Johnson on Twitter to keep up with anything else that may be in the works.
FACT OF THE DAY
From Harper’s Index
Percentage of retailers that have invested in
additional security equipment this year: 52
Source: National Retail Federation (Washington)
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