SENATOR LOU ANN LINEHAN: TAX REFORM CRUCIAL RIGHT NOW

LINCOLN- In a 'local view' opinion piece, Senator Lou Ann Linehan responded to a recent editorial board release by the Lincoln Journal Star stating that the board was correct in stating  “property tax relief for Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers remains sorely needed.” However that is a major divination from the editorial board's opinion: 

"That, put simply, means that the state will not have sufficient income to fund the property tax relief proposal without decimating the remainder of the discretionary budget -- the part that funds the University of Nebraska and state agencies, whose services will be needed in the upcoming recovery." ('Virus should lead senators to take new look at taxes' April 17, 2020)

Senator Linehan's response, while offering no new statistics or developed plans for relief, continued to argue that property tax relief is possible, and necessary, even during the projected continued economic downturn.  We would note that during a Platte Institute zoom meeting on Thursday, Dr. Ernie Goss estimated losses during a 3 week period at the start of the pandemic at $46.16 Million.   Our opinion is that it much to early in the process to determine whether or not it is realistic to proceed with property tax relief.  

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OPENING OF NEBRASKA SWIMMING POOLS IN QUESTION AMID CORONAVIRUS

LINCOLN- Some poolgoers, including those in Omaha and Lincoln, should get answers soon about whether their pools will open this summer. This week, Gov. Pete Ricketts reiterated that pools have to abide by the 10-person limit and 6-foot physical distancing as long as directed health measures are in effect.

The terms of those measures vary by county, extending to at least April 30 in Douglas and Sarpy Counties and to May 11 in others. Ricketts has said the state is examining how and when it might go about reopening parts of Nebraska life. However, he also has said people should expect some restrictions to remain in place indefinitely, given that a vaccine is a long way off.

In an April 15 memorandum, the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy encouraged pool operators to delay openings until after restrictions are lifted.

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OFFICIALS SAY FEDERAL MONEY HELPING FIX CANAL THAT SUPPLIES NEBRASKA PANHANDLE FARMERS IS NOT ENOUGH

LINCOLN - Farmers in the Nebraska Panhandle are getting additional assistance in the repair of a crucial irrigation canal, but officials with the irrigation district say more help will be needed.

At the request of Sens. Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse and Rep. Adrian Smith, the Bureau of Reclamation has agreed to reclassify 35% of a $2.3 million loan as a grant. That will spare farmers $800,000 in loan repayments. Gov. Pete Ricketts is also proposing a $3.8 million grant to help toward repairs, and his proposal is working its way through the Legislature.

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LEGISLATIVE CHALLENGER PALMTAG ANSWERS ATTACKS BY HER OWN PARTY

LINCOLN - Legislative candidate Janet Palmtag of Syracuse responded Tuesday to a series of attacks leveled at her by the Nebraska Republican Party despite her own GOP affiliation while pledging to be "a conservative, independent voice" in the Legislature.  Palmtag has been the target of direct mail and radio ads by the Republican Party that have accused her of "siding with Lincoln liberals" and having "gone Lincoln" in her approach to some issues.

"Some people in the GOP are angry with me for questioning a 30% raise for the director of corrections," Palmtag said. Ryan Hamilton, executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party, said the criticism directed at Palmtag by the party is "not personal; it's all issue-based."

Palmtag is seeking southeastern Nebraska's District 1 seat, which is now held by Sen. Julie Slama of Peru, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts to fill a vacancy in 2019. Palmtag has been endorsed by former Governor Dave Heineman and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.

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TRUMP ADMINSTRATION TO ALLOW SMALL CASINOS TO APPLY FOR CORONAVIRUS LOANS

WASHINGTON- The Trump administration revised guidelines on Friday to allow small casinos impacted by the coronavirus pandemic to receive small business loans. The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that size-eligible legal, small gaming entities can participate in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 

In the initial package, businesses that received more than one-third of their gross annual revenue from legal gambling activities were ineligible for loans. PPP is now poised to receive an injection of $310 billion after the initial $349 billion was disbursed in less than two weeks.

The American Gaming Association (AGA) celebrated the revised guidelines, noting the industry group has been working “tirelessly” to change the policy.

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MCCONNELL SPARKS BIPARTISAN BACKLASH WITH STATE BANKRUPTCY REMARKS

WASHINGTON-  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is facing blowback from across the political spectrum after he suggested states should be able to declare bankruptcy as they face severe budget holes sparked by the coronavirus outbreak. 

"I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route. It saves some cities. And there’s no good reason for it not to be available. My guess is their first choice would be for the federal government to borrow money from future generations to send it down to them now so they don’t have to do that. That’s not something I’m going to be in favor of," McConnell said. 

The remarks were met with quick and fierce backlash by lawmakers and local officials from states hit hard by the spread of the coronavirus, including members of McConnell’s own party. Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), who is retiring, called McConnell the “Marie Antoinette of the Senate.”

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WARREN BUFFETT'S 'FORTRESS' IS BREACHED BY CORONAVIRUS-RELATED SHUTDOWNS

OMAHA- Even as market watchers await Warren Buffett's splashy move to seize on fallout from the current crisis, his Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway hasn't been spared by the pandemic.

Coronavirus-related shutdowns across the U.S. have hit Berkshire units including See's Candies, a shoemaker and industrial behemoth Precision Castparts. That could leave a few scars on the conglomerate that gives the billionaire investor his ammo and has been pumping out more than $20 billion in annual profit in recent years.

Buffett's business partner, Charlie Munger, put it bluntly. "We've got a few businesses, small ones, we won't reopen when this is over," he told the Wall Street Journal, without naming the units.

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NEW NEBRASKA JOBLESS CLAIMS CONTINUE ROLLING IN, SWAMPING UNEMPLOYMENT SYSTEM

LINCOLN — The wave of new jobless claims continued in Nebraska last week, as coronavirus-related layoffs and furloughs swamped the state’s unemployment system.

The Nebraska Department of Labor reported Thursday that 12,340 workers had filed first-time unemployment claims during the week just ended. That was down from 16,391 the previous week, but several times the pre-pandemic levels.

The five-week total of new claims exceeded 96,000 workers. The crush of claims has slowed processing and left unemployed workers waiting weeks to get their first payments. It also is taking a toll on the state’s economy. One new study used those jobless claims to estimate the economic impact on Nebraska at $835 million between March 14 and April 4.

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SENATOR LOU ANN LINEHAN: TAX REFORM CRUCIAL RIGHT NOW

LINCOLN- In a 'local view' opinion piece, Senator Lou Ann Linehan responded to a recent editorial board release by the Lincoln Journal Star stating that the board was correct in stating  “property tax relief for Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers remains sorely needed.” However that is a major divination from the editorial board's opinion: 

"That, put simply, means that the state will not have sufficient income to fund the property tax relief proposal without decimating the remainder of the discretionary budget -- the part that funds the University of Nebraska and state agencies, whose services will be needed in the upcoming recovery." ('Virus should lead senators to take new look at taxes' April 17, 2020)

Senator Linehan's response, while offering no new statistics or developed plans for relief, continued to argue that property tax relief is possible, and necessary, even during the projected continued economic downturn. Relying on grossly simplified and context-less statistics, Senator Linehan paints an incomplete picture of current Nebraska spending and tax structure while continuing to hold firmly to her position of no compromise with parties opposed to her current proposal. 

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'UNPRECEDENTED DROP IN VOLUME' AT U.P. LEADS TO 4 MONTHS OF STEEP PAY CUTS

OMAHA - Fifteen percent of Union Pacific Railroad’s 37,500 employees will take steep pay cuts through August, the Omaha-based railroad told its employees Tuesday.

Executives will take a 25% cut from May through August, and employees not covered by union contracts, such as managers, must take unpaid leave for one week each month through August, U.P. said. The unpaid leave will result in a pay cut of close to 25% for those employees.

U.P. spokeswoman Kristen South said the 12-member board of directors, which includes CEO Lance Fritz, will absorb the cut as well. Eleven of those directors received compensation ranging from $46,667 to $356,411 in fiscal year 2019, according to a financial statement. Most board members received in the vicinity of $300,000, the statement said.

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'IT'S ALARMING' HOW HARD NEBRASKA'S RURAL AREAS ARE HIT BY CORONAVIRUS, UNMC EXPERT SAYS

GRAND ISLAND- The vast swaths of open space beyond the Omaha and Lincoln metros in Nebraska would seem an unlikely place for a coronavirus epidemic. People spread out over rural towns, small cities and farmland. The large majority living in single-family homes. No mass transit systems. Social distancing? It’s part of the natural landscape.

But the reality in this pandemic is proving radically different than that expectation in some areas outside Nebraska’s biggest cities, said Dr. Angela Hewlett, an infectious disease expert at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Many in rural Nebraska work side by side in large food processing and meatpacking centers. Their work is seen as part of an essential industry, and it’s not a job that lends itself to telecommuting.

And it only takes one infection in a small, close-knit community to send COVID-19 cases spiking through the roof.

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REVISED DIRECTED HEALTH MEASURES FOR NEBRASKA TO BE RELEASED

LINCOLN- Gov. Pete Ricketts said Thursday during a live town hall on NET that state and local health officials are hammering out conditions that might allow a loosening of some restrictions on religious services and commercial interactions that require close contact.

Many of the directed health measures that prohibited certain business activity, such as dining in at restaurants or getting a haircut, have expiration dates at the end of April and in early May. Revised directed health measures will be coming out for May, he said 

The state is working with public health officials on a locally based approach to easing restrictions. “We know the end of the month is coming up,” he said. “We want to check this all out with public health people. Be patient here for a few more days and you’ll have some information on it.”

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AS 4TH VIRUS RELIEF BILL NEARS PASSAGE, FIGHT LOOMS OVER 5TH

WASHINGTON-  Congress is on the verge of passing an almost $500 billion coronavirus relief bill, but battle lines already are forming over the next measure amid growing demands to approve additional billions for state and local governments, the Postal Service and even infrastructure.

The talk of a fifth measure is running into early opposition from conservatives, chiefly Senate Republicans, who warn the spending spree cannot go on indefinitely. The GOP senators saw their request to replenish a Paycheck Protection Program nearly double in size, as Democrats persuaded President Donald Trump to support additional funding for underbanked communities, health providers and a national testing initiative.

So far, big spending is carrying the day, pushing the projected deficit for the current year past $3 trillion — more than double the previous record from the Great Recession.

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RICKETTS ANNOUNCES INITIATIVE TO INCREASE TESTING, HELP GET STATE BACK TO WORK

LINCOLN — Gov. Pete Ricketts unveiled a program called TestNebraska on Tuesday that aims to dramatically increase coronavirus testing in the state as part of a push to get Nebraskans back to work.

The effort mirrors testing and tracking programs already underway in Utah and announced earlier Tuesday in Iowa. A consortium of private companies developed the programs.

Ricketts said the initiative seeks to “crush the curve” and will be key in being able to lift restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the potentially deadly virus.

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OFFICIALS WITH NEBRASKA CROSSING OUTLETS APPEAR TO WALK BACK OPENING PLAN

GRETNA- Nebraska Crossing Outlets' planned "soft opening" Friday now won't be open to the public, mall officials wrote on their Facebook page Tuesday, walking back on their original plan they hailed as a "test case" for how retailers could open to the public. 

"You've heard the news. We are 'soft opening' Nebraska Crossing on 4/24. What does this mean?" the post said. "A 'soft opening' is for store employees only — to begin the process of getting their stores ready for business ... This process can take 1, 2, 3 weeks or more. A store can't just turn on the lights & resume business." said Rod Yates, owner and developer of Nebraska Crossing Outlets'. 

Yates had said that Nebraska Crossing was going to be "the first shopping center that opens in North America." He did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request seeking more information on when stores would be open to the public. 

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RICKETTS ENDS RESTRICTION ON ELECTIVE SURGERIES BEGINNING MAY 4TH

LINCOLN- In his first move to loosen restrictions that have been in place to battle and control the spread of the coronavirus in the state, Gov. Pete Ricketts said Monday he is lifting the order blocking elective surgeries beginning May 4.

The green light for elective surgeries will be flashed only if 30% of a hospital's beds remain open, 30% of intensive-care beds are open, 30% of hospital ventilators remain available and there is at least two weeks' supply of personal protective equipment available at the hospital site. The new order also lifts the ban on surgical procedures at dental offices, vision clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and veterinary practices. 

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NEBRASKA SEES CORONAVIRUS DEATH TOLL RISE TO 34, FOLLOWING 6 DEATHS ANNOUNCED MONDAY

LINCOLN- COVID-19 has claimed the lives of six more Nebraskans, bringing the state's total to 34.

Seward County reported its first death Monday evening, that of a woman in her 50s who suffered from other health conditions. She was pronounced dead at a hospital after being brought from her home by a rescue squad.

Both men who died in Douglas County had preexisting health conditions, according to the county's public health department. Those deaths were the ninth and 10th in the county related to coronavirus. The Central District Health Department, which monitors three counties in the hard-hit Grand Island area, reported three new deaths Monday. 

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LOST YOUR JOB OR HOURS CUT BACK? LONG WAIT FOR MANY NEBRASKANS FOR GOVERNMENT HELP

LINCOLN- Getting unemployment benefits in Nebraska already was a slow process, with it taking up to three weeks or more to be paid after filing a claim. But with the unprecedented economic shock over the past month, the system has been overloaded.

About 83,000 people in the state have filed unemployment claims in the past four weeks — the equivalent of two years' worth of claims in Nebraska. Nearly 15,000 of those claims have come from Lancaster County residents.

State Labor Commissioner John Albin said last week that his staff of adjudicators — the people who process unemployment claims — has grown from about 30 to 200 in the past few weeks.Still, he said his office's goal now is to get 75% of claims processed within four weeks. That's down from a standard goal of 90% in three weeks.

Even though the state has waived the normal one-week waiting period to file a claim, it still means at least one out of every four unemployed people may be waiting a month or more to get a check.

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'OUR NORMAL ACTIVITIES HAVE CHANGED': GRAND ISLAND COMMUNITY IS TESTED AS CORONAVIRUS CASES SURGE

GRAND ISLAND-  The coronavirus surge has challenged standard practices in Grand Island and Hall County. Seven have now died of COVID-19 in the county. And this part of Nebraska has a virus rate per capita that’s much higher than any other Nebraska county and is similar to that of some of the most intensely hit states in the nation.

The contagious disease has created dread among many in Grand Island. To be cautious, some say, treat everyone as though they carry the virus. Others believe the problem has been exaggerated. The disease also has tested the strings that hold Grand Island together as a community. About one-third of the city’s 51,500 residents are Latino.

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WHITE HOUSE AND DEMOCRATS NEAR DEAL ON AID FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, HOSPITALS

WASHINGTON — The White House and congressional Democrats on Sunday closed in on an agreement for a $450 billion economic relief package to replenish a depleted emergency fund for small businesses and to expand coronavirus testing around the country, with votes on the measure possible early this week. 

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin described the broad outlines of the package in an appearance on CNN on Sunday. The agreement would include $300 billion to replenish the emergency fund, called the Paycheck Protection Program; $50 billion for the Small Business Administration’s disaster relief fund; $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for testing.

The money for hospitals and testing in the package Mr. Mnuchin outlined was a significant concession to Democrats, who were standing in the way of a quick and stand-alone infusion of cash to the Paycheck Protection Program, which offers forgivable loans to small businesses to create incentives for them to keep employees on their payroll.

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