Political News

California And Nevada May Ban Forced Prison Labor, Servitude

Published by jason@omahadail... on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 1:14pm

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Lawmakers in Nevada and California are advancing legislation to remove "involuntary servitude" from their states' constitutions, a move that follows four states' bans on forced labor that passed in ballot measures last fall.

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Civic Nebraska Says State’s 2022 General Election Was ‘Safe’ And ‘Secure’

Published by jason@omahadail... on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 1:12pm

OMAHA — A voting rights group that monitors Nebraska’s elections identified a handful of issues during the state’s 2022 general election but deemed the election “safe and secure.”

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Is It Time For Teachers To Get A Raise?

Published by jason@omahadail... on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 1:09pm

In his 2023 State of the Union address, President Joe Biden called for public school teachers to get a raise but offered no specifics on how that could be done. Here, Michael Addonizio, an education policy expert at Wayne State University, provides insight on the current state of teacher salaries, whether a collective raise is in order and how one might be achieved.

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Nebraska 6-Week Abortion Ban On Doorstep Of Becoming Law, Tally Shows

Published by jason@omahadail... on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 1:04pm

Based on interviews, public comments, endorsements and previous votes, at least 31 Nebraska state senators are likely to support a proposal to ban abortions after cardiac activity is detected (roughly six weeks). It would need 33 votes to overcome a filibuster, clearing the way for its passage.
(Justin Wan / Lincoln Journal Star via AP Photo)

The Nebraska Legislature stands at the precipice of passing a six-week abortion ban.

Based on interviews and a tally by the Flatwater Free Press, the bill appears to need just two Republican votes to have enough support to become law.

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The Pandemic Missing: The Kids Who Didn’t Go Back To School

Published by Nikki Palmer on Mon, 02/13/2023 - 5:00am

She’d be a senior right now, preparing for graduation in a few months, probably leading her school’s modern dance troupe and taking art classes.

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Proposed Gender-Alteration Ban For Minors Draws Hundreds To Nebraska Capitol

Published by Nikki Palmer on Mon, 02/13/2023 - 3:00am

State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha introduces her bill to restrict gender-altering care to those older than 19. She appeared at a hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb.
(Zach Wendling / Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN — Supporters and opponents testified for about seven hours Wednesday on State Sen. Kathleen Kauth’s proposal to ban gender-altering care for minors in Nebraska.

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New Legislation Takes Aim At Hidden Foster Care

Published by jason@omahadail... on Fri, 02/10/2023 - 5:00am

A ProPublica-New York Times Magazine story exposed a system with few legal protections for families. A first-of-its-kind bill aims to provide parents with free counsel when child protection workers try to move their kids without going to court.
(Shutterstock)

Last month, Washington state Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, a Democrat, introduced a first-of-its-kind bill aimed at providing attorneys for parents who are facing hidden foster care, the subject of a ProPublica-New York Times Magazine investigation in December 2021. The story documented how, across the country, caseworkers who have not petitioned a court persuade parents to send their children to live in another home, often by threatening a foster placement if they refuse.

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A 1993 Family And Medical Leave Law Was Supposed To Be Just The Start. Thirty Years Later, Not Much Has Changed.

Published by jason@omahadail... on Fri, 02/10/2023 - 3:00am

Sunday marked 30 years since Congress passed the United States’ first comprehensive federal family and sick leave program. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was intended to pave the way for more expansive paid leave laws — but the law’s core promises, and the hopes of the advocates who fought for it, remain unfulfilled.

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Year-Round Daylight Saving Time Has A Chance This Year In Nebraska

Published by jason@omahadail... on Fri, 02/10/2023 - 1:00am

LINCOLN — After years of trying, the Nebraska Legislature appears poised to pass a first step toward ending the twice-a-year tyranny of changing the clock.

State Sen. Tom Briese of Albion again proposed keeping Nebraska on daylight saving time, if Congress and a third neighboring state join Nebraska in passing such a law.

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Omaha Streetcar Plan In Jeopardy Under Proposed Legislation, Omaha Mayoral Aide Says

Published by Nikki Palmer on Mon, 02/06/2023 - 5:00am

The Nebraska State Capitol is photographed by a drone on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, in downtown Lincoln, Neb. A tax-increment financing bill spurred lively discussion in the legislature. (Kenneth Ferriera / Lincoln Journal Star via AP)

LINCOLN — A bill before the Nebraska Legislature could kill Omaha’s modern-day streetcar, as it would curb future tax-increment financing revenue that city leaders are counting on to pay off the project.

That’s according to Steve Jensen, a City of Omaha economic development aide, who spoke Tuesday at a legislative committee hearing on the TIF-related bill introduced by State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn.