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Denver starts work on allowing pot in public, a first in US

Colorado-MarijuanaDENVER (AP) — Denver is starting work on becoming the first city in the nation to allow marijuana clubs and public pot use in places such as coffee shops, yoga studios and art galleries.

Voters narrowly approved the “social use” measure last November. But the ballot proposal didn’t spell out many rules for how the marijuana could be consumed, beyond saying that the drug can’t be smoked inside and that patrons must be over 21.

A workgroup made up of Denver business owners, city pot regulators and marijuana opponents starts work Wednesday on suggesting regulations.

The state Liquor Control Board already has decreed that no businesses with a liquor license can allow marijuana use. That leaves it to restaurants that don’t serve alcohol and other event spaces.

There’s no deadline for Denver to finalize rules.

North Platte Forecast-January 18

forecast-graphic-january-18-2017Today
Sunny, with a high near 51. Southwest wind 3 to 7 mph.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. South wind 3 to 5 mph.
Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 45. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 5 mph.
Thursday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 25. South wind 3 to 5 mph.
Friday
Partly sunny, with a high near 42. Southeast wind 3 to 6 mph.
Friday Night
A chance of rain and snow before 9pm, then a chance of snow between 9pm and midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 43.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 25.
Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 43.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 20.
Monday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.
Monday Night
A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24.
Tuesday
Rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 35.

Nebraska targets ban on religious garb worn by teachers

schoolLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A law that bars Nebraska public school teachers from wearing habits, yarmulkes, burqas and other religious clothing could soon get overturned under a bill pending in the Legislature.

The bill presented at a hearing Tuesday would end Nebraska’s ban on religious garb in classrooms, which was passed in 1919 under pressure from the Ku Klux Klan amid a national a wave of anti-Catholic sentiment.

The law is rarely enforced but came to a senator’s attention after a Catholic nun applied for a substitute teaching job at a public high school in his district. Sister Madeleine Miller says a school administrator told her the law would not allow her to wear a habit while teaching, even though she had done so while teaching at a local state college.

Nebraska committee advances ‘Choose Life’ license plate bill

NE-State-CapitolLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska motorists could show opposition to abortion on their license plates under a bill headed to debate in the full Legislature.

The Transportation and Telecommunications Committee voted 8-0 Tuesday to advance the proposal.

The measure would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to design “Choose Life” license plates that “reflect support for the protection of Nebraska’s children.” It’s backed by several groups that oppose abortion, but faces criticism from groups that support abortion rights.

Motorists would have to pay an additional fee for the plate, which would go into a state fund aimed at preventing child abuse.

Man gets life for Omaha shootings that killed 2, injured 1

Michael A. Nolt
Michael A. Nolt

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 54-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison — plus 126 years — for a 2015 shooting that left two people dead and another injured.

Michael Nolt was sentenced Thursday in Douglas County District Court. He was found guilty last October of first-degree murder and manslaughter for the Oct. 10, 2015, deaths of Malquan King and Arelius Hassell.

Prosecutors say the shootings were part of a botched robbery. They say Nolt shot Hassell in the face after a brief argument, and then shot two other people hiding in a closet, killing King.

Six children in the house at the time were not hurt.

Nebraska bill would swap Columbus Day for Standing Bear Day

ne-legislature-13LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska would no longer recognize Columbus Day as an official state holiday but would instead honor the legacy of Native Americans if a new proposal becomes law.

The bill introduced Tuesday would create “Standing Bear and Indigenous Leaders’ Day” in honor of the legendary Ponca Chief. The new state holiday would be recognized on the second Monday in October each year, on what is now Columbus Day.

Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln says she introduced the bill because Columbus Day is a divisive holiday for many people, particularly Native Americans.

Standing Bear became the first Native American to be recognized as a person in a landmark 1879 court case.

2 BNSF Railway workers killed on tracks in SW South Dakota

bnsf-railwayEDGEMONT, S.D. (AP) — Two BNSF Railway employees have been struck and killed by a train near Edgemont in southwestern South Dakota.

A company statement says the accident happened around 10:15 a.m. Tuesday.

The scene is just north of where the tracks cross under U.S. Highway 18 near Edgemont. BNSF operates a rail yard on the east side of Edgemont.

The railroad’s statement says company officers are responding to the incident and will release more details when they are able.

Edgemont is about 60 miles southwest of Rapid City.

Chambers submits new bill to repeal Nebraska’s death penalty

senator-ernie-chambers
Sen. Ernie Chambers

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska senator who opposes the death penalty is once again trying to abolish the punishment even though voters reinstated it last year.

Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha introduced the repeal bill on Tuesday. Chambers has tried to outlaw the punishment for roughly four decades.

Lawmakers voted to abolish the punishment in 2015 over Gov. Pete Ricketts’ veto, but the law never went into effect. A group partially financed by Ricketts responded with a petition drive that suspended the law until voters decided whether to keep it.

In November, 61 percent of voters who cast a ballot on the issue chose to overturn the Legislature’s decision.

Nebraska woman gets probation, jail for memory care patient’s death

Anne Pavlik
Anne Pavlik

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — An Arlington woman has been given 90 days in jail for the death of a memory care patient who was burned after falling asleep near a fireplace.

Court records say Anne Pavlik was sentenced Tuesday in Dodge County Court. The judge also gave Pavlik two years’ probation. She’d pleaded no contest to attempted abuse of a vulnerable adult in the death of 82-year-old Bernard Batten at a Fremont memory care center.

Investigators determined Batten awoke early on Feb. 12 and eventually sat in a chair. Pavlik, who was the only staffer on duty, didn’t notice Batten then pulled his chair near a fireplace fire and fell asleep.

Pavlik later found Batten was badly burned. An autopsy showed he died of natural causes and burns.

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