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Proposal would let bicyclists use downtown Lincoln sidewalks

en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — City officials are considering letting bicyclists back on the sidewalks in downtown Lincoln.

The idea is part of a review of city bike ordinances.

City Attorney Jeff Kirkpatrick says pedestrians still would have the right of way and the bicyclists wouldn’t be allowed to ride recklessly. If they did, they would be ticketed. The proposal also would allow skateboarders and scooters on the downtown sidewalks.

The proposal is being shared with bike groups and with people who live and work downtown. It’s expected to later be presented to the City Council for a public hearing and vote.

Another assault on prison staff by Nebraska inmate reported

tecumseh-correctionalTECUMSEH, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska prisons officials are reporting another attack on prison staff by an inmate.

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services says an inmate hit three staff members at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution on Friday as they tried to restrain him.

Officials say all three staff members were treated for minor injuries and released from the Johnson County Hospital.

A week earlier, on Sept. 2, the prison was placed on lockdown after officials received information that violent attacks on staff members had been planned.

There has been a rash of attacks on corrections officers and staff at various Nebraska prisons over several months, including one last month in Lincoln that officials say was carried about by a dozen inmates and left nine officers injured.

OSHA investigating worker’s death at Omaha meatpacking plant

OSHAOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal authorities are launching an investigation into the death of a truck driver at an Omaha meatpacking facility.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the man was working at a loading dock Thursday at Greater Omaha Packing when he was pinned between two trailers. OSHA spokesman Scott Allen says a preliminary investigation indicates that the brakes were not set on a semitrailer, causing it to move and pin the man. The agency has up to six months to complete its investigation.

Greater Omaha Packing attorney Mark Theisen identified the man as 29-year-old Robert Williams II, of Aurora, Colorado.

The company declined to comment on the OSHA investigation.

Prosecutor: Shooting by deputies of suspect justified

officer-involved-shootingOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County’s top prosecutor says the fatal shooting of a suspect by two deputies was justified.

County Attorney Don Kleine made the determination Friday in the shooting death of 25-year-old David Anderson.

Police investigators say Anderson twice rammed a sheriff’s vehicle as he was approached Tuesday by several deputies trying to arrest him on a warrant, and two deputies fired at least nine shots. A 19-year-old woman with Anderson also was treated for minor injuries, but was not shot.

Police say the deputies, 37-year-old Michael Jones and 33-year-old Scott Kuzminski, feared for their lives and the lives of their colleagues when they shot Anderson.

Under state law, Anderson’s death will also be reviewed by a grand jury.

NU Regents consider 6.3 percent salary increase for Bounds

Hank Bounds (Couresy UNL)
Hank Bounds (Couresy UNL)

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will consider a salary increase for the university system’s president to $510,400 this school year.

6.3 percent salary increase for Hank Bounds is recommended by the Board of Regents’ executive committee. The full board meets Sept. 16 on the UNL campus.

Bounds was hired early last year as president of the University of Nebraska — which oversees campuses in Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney, as well as the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. In December, the regents extended his contract through 2020.

Bounds also receives $20,000 a year in private funds from the University of Nebraska Foundation, along with perks that include a home, the use of a vehicle and a country club membership.

Omaha woman pleads guilty to wire fraud in airline voucher scam

dept.-of-justiceOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha woman who sold thousands of worthless airline vouchers has pleaded guilty to 16 counts of wire fraud in federal court.

In exchange for her pleas Friday, federal prosecutors dropped nine counts of money laundering against 31-year-old Patricia Urbanovsky.

Urbanovsky now faces more than six years in federal prison under the agreement.

Urbanovsky was the owner of Creative Creations in Omaha. Authorities say she ran a scheme through her business to sell discounted airline travel vouchers, which turned out to be worthless.

Authorities say her company sold about 36,000 vouchers for airline flights at a reduced rate, but had purchased only about 7,000 of the discounted vouchers from airlines. Most customers had their travel plans ruined when the vouchers weren’t honored.

EPA proposes adding Valley intersection to Superfund list

epaVALLEY, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to add a Valley intersection to its list of Superfund national priorities.

The intersection announced Wednesday is located at Old Highway 275 and 288th Street. The designation notifies the public that the EPA believes a site requires further study and cleanup.

The EPA says the site consists of contaminated groundwater which has affected one Pines Public Water Supply well and four private wells.

Adding the intersection to the agency’s national priority list makes it eligible for federal money to investigate and address site contamination. It also guarantees the public an opportunity to participate in the cleanup decisions.

Landowners can apply for money to help conserve habitat

USDALINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska landowners can apply now for money to help improve grasslands for wildlife habitat and grazing.

Money is available to cover up to 75 percent of the cost of qualifying conservation projects, but landowners must apply by Oct. 21.

Some of the practices that qualify include grazing management, resting rangeland, prescribed burns and brush management.

The money is available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

More information is available online at www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/ne.

Ground to be broken on Omaha lodge for cancer patients

American_Cancer_SoOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The American Cancer Society has announced it will break ground later this month on an $11.5 million housing facility for people and their families traveling to Omaha for cancer treatment.

The Hope Lodge Nebraska will be located just off of Dodge Street near the Nebraska Methodist Hospital System. Lodging there will be free of charge for patients and their families traveling more than 40 miles for treatment.

Plans for the three-story, 34,543 square-foot lodge includes 32 private rooms with baths. Sitting/television areas and laundry facilities are located on each floor. Common areas include kitchen, dining room, library, conference, exercise, game and meditation rooms. Free transportation will be available to local treatment centers for patients staying at the Hope Lodge.

Officials are set to break ground on the lodge on Sept. 29.

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