Buy anything on the Internet lately without paying sales tax? In all but a few states, you’re probably a tax cheat.

That’s right, even if Internet retailers don’t collect sales tax at the time of purchase, you’re required by law to pay it in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Here’s the problem for states: hardly anyone pays the tax and there isn’t much states can do about it.

The Senate is expected to pass a bill Monday making it easier for states to collect sales taxes for online purchases.

Some of the nation’s largest retailers are rejoicing. But small-business owners who make their living selling products on the Internet worry they will be swamped by new requirements from faraway states.

High school students with an interest in law, government, or public speaking are invited to register for Nebraska’s 2013 Unicameral Youth Legislature.

The four-day legislative simulation will run from June 9-12 at the Capitol. Student senators will have the chance to sponsor bills, conduct committee hearings, debate legislation and learn about the inner workings of the nation’s only one-house Legislature.

Students will hear directly from state senators, staff members and lobbyists.

Registration forms are available on the Legislature’s Unicameral Youth Legislature page and the University of Nebraska Lincoln’s “Big Red Summer Academic Camps” website.

The registration deadline is May 15. Scholarships may be available.

The event is coordinated by the clerk’s office of the Nebraska Legislature.

 

 

• Allen Wayne Johnston, 34, North Platte and Desiree Marie Cheever, 29, North Platte

 

• Chad Allen Coker, 22, North Platte and Angie Sue Thompson, 20, North Platte

 

• Dean LeRoy Lewis, 86, Callaway NE  and Shirley Louise Geiger, 64, Callaway NE

 

• Buck Glen Boje , 44, North Platte and Rebecca Rose Harling, 46, North Platte

 

• Kristian Douglas Woodhouse, 21 North Platte and Brooke Elaine Volcek, 22, North Platte

 

• Julious Lee Goodridge, 51. North Platte and Eugenia Marie Clark, 40, North Platte

Nebraska officials are warning people to be vigilant about using correct state government websites before providing sensitive information.

The state Department of Health and Human Services says an unauthorized website with a similar web address as one that provides an application for economic assistance could be a trick. Officials say it could be a way to get people to type in confidential information. The bogus site also could deliver a computer virus or malware.

The proper state website ends in “.gov” and the fake website ends in “.com.”

Officials say all DHHS websites end in “.gov” and include the words “Official Nebraska Government Website” at the top of website pages.

Exercise has another benefit: A new study finds that being active may help prevent kidney stones in women.

They don’t have to break a sweat. Even mild activity such as walking two to three hours a week cut the risk of kidney stones by about one-third.

Kidney stones are on the increase, partly because of rising obesity. About 9 percent of people will get one sometime in their life.

The study involved 85,000 women 50 and older. Those who got the equivalent of four hours of light gardening or an hour of jogging each week had lower chances of kidney stones than women who got no regular exercise.

Results were to be discussed Friday at an American Urological Association conference in San Diego.

A domestic disturbance landed a North Platte man behind bars.

At around 11:45 PM on May 1st, Officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to the Motel 6 at 1520 South Jeffers, on the report of a domestic disturbance.  Staff on duty at the motel reported that Zachariah Tinajera, 22, and his 23-year-old domestic partner were causing a disturbance in their room.

Upon arrival, Officers found their motel room in disarray with damage to the walls.

Following an investigation, Officers learned that Tinajera and the female had argued and it turned physical when he attacked the victim by choking her and banging her head on the floor.

As a result, Tinajera was arrested and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.  He was charged with Strangulation, a Class IV Felony, Disturbing the Peace and Criminal Mischief.

While Officers were attempting to incarcerate Tinajera, he became non-compliant and would not follow the Officer’s orders, answer questions by the jail staff and continued to argue and be belligerent.  Because of this, he picked up an additional charge of Obstructing a Police Officer

Congregations across eastern New Mexico and West Texas are planning a special day Sunday to pray for rain.

It’s a reaction to a relentless drought that afflicts much of the western U.S.

From the heart of New Mexico to West Texas and Oklahoma, the pressures of drought have resulted in a resurgence of faith — from Christian preachers to American Indian tribes using their traditions in an effort to coax Mother Nature to deliver some much needed rain.

The faithful gathered Wednesday night in Oklahoma City to recite a collection of Christian, Muslim and Jewish prayers for the year’s first worship service dedicated to rain.

The drought has left farmland idle, herds of cattle have been decimated, the threat of wildfire has intensified and cities are thinking twice about the sustainability of their water supplies.

It looks like North Platte has a new Fire Chief, pending the approval of the City Council.

Mayor Dwight Livingston announced Thursday that he will be recommending Dennis Thompson to the North Platte City Council at their May 7th meeting.

Thompson has been with Fire Department for over twenty years, and served as a volunteer firefighter for five years prior to that.

Thompson has served as the Interim Fire Chief since the retirement of Chief Paul Pederson in March.

The hiring process was extended when too few candidates met the testing requirements of position.  Livingston said that the candidates were narrowed down to Thompson and one other.

When asked about his thoughts on Mayor Livingston’s choice, Thompson said simply, “I’m elated!”

Thompson said he told Chief Paul Pederson over 20 years ago at his job interview that he wanted his job, and now his dream is coming true.

He also wanted to encourage the community to communicate with the Department.

 

Health officials say suicides among middle-aged Americans climbed at a startling rate over the past decade, a period that included the recession. Overall, the suicide rate for the age group jumped 28 percent from 1999 to 2010. And among whites, it shot up 40 percent.

One theory is that the recession caused more emotional trauma for this group, those ages 35 to 64. Experts also note that white baby boomers have always had a higher suicide rate.

The suicide rates for younger and older people did not change. And there was little change among middle-aged blacks and Hispanics. The numbers are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(AP) — A beetle that’s partial to grapes has surfaced in western Nebraska and poses a threat to grape growers.

Green June beetles were found in Lincoln County.

Dave Boxler is an entomologist for the West Central Research and Extension Center, and he says the bugs like sugars such as those in tree sap and overripe fruit — especially grapes.

Boxler says the beetles can ruin a crop because they eat and defecate on the fruit.

The bugs are native to the eastern and southern parts of the U.S. and common in Oklahoma and Kansas.

Boxler says experts think the bugs are moving north and west because of warmer conditions and milder winters over the past 10 years.