Local – Page 125 – North Platte Post Archive

CHI Health criticized for $23.6M naming rights deal

Posted on June 25, 2018June 25, 2018

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A nonprofit health system is facing criticism over its $23.6 million deal to put its name on an Omaha convention center and arena.

Some industry experts say CHI Health’s plans to pay for the rights to rename the CenturyLink Center is part of the advertising necessary to stay in health care conversations. But others disapprove of the Omaha-based provider’s decision to allocate millions to marketing.

Retired accountant Dan Pleiss says the deal is wasteful and that the money should go toward lowering the cost of patient care.

Edmund Leslie is St. Joseph Hospital’s former public relations director. He says the move doesn’t educate the public on health issues.

CHI Health CEO Dr. Cliff Robertson says the deal is a community benefit and an investment in the city.

Nebraska mountain lion hunting season for 2019 approved

Posted on June 24, 2018

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has approved a mountain lion hunting season for next year.

The commission voted Friday to resume the cougar-hunting season. Under the measure, eight mountain lions — including four females — may be killed within two areas of the Pine Ridge in northwestern Nebraska. That includes four cougars in an area north of U.S. Highway 20 and four in an area south of the highway. Only two females per area may be killed.

The commission will issue 320 permits for each area through a lottery drawing. The season will run from Jan. 1 through Feb. 28, and the use of dogs, baiting or trapping is banned.

If the limits have not been reached by Feb. 28, a limited number of permit holders will be allowed to hunt with dogs in an auxiliary season to run from March 15-31.

The commission’s move has faced some opposition, particularly from Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, who has fought to eliminate mountain lion hunting in Nebraska.

Governor: Online tax revenue must go to property tax relief.

Posted on June 24, 2018June 24, 2018

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to let states collect sales tax from online purchases could lead to Nebraska putting the money toward property tax relief.

The high court ruled Thursday that states can force companies operating online to collect taxes, reversing decades-old decisions that had stymied efforts to collect sales taxes on many online transactions.

Gov. Pete Ricketts indicated that he’s determined to convert the potential revenue into local property tax relief, not state programming.

“Any increased revenue attributable to total enforcement of our sales tax laws must be steered toward property tax relief,” Ricketts said.

Sen. Tom Briese of Albion said he’ll introduce an internet sales tax bill next year to direct the additional revenue toward property tax relief.

Legislation to begin collecting online sales tax beginning July 1 was blocked by a filibuster earlier this year. The measure would have required online retailers to send customers a notice of their total taxable purchases unless the businesses collected the sales tax themselves.

Ricketts had recommended that the state wait for the Supreme Court decision as a compromise. Now state officials will have to wait until next year to begin collections.

State Sen. Dan Watermeier, a sponsor of the legislation, said he’s frustrated by the delay. The state could bring in up to $40 million more per year from taxing online sales, he estimated.

Nebraska Retail Federation President Jim Otto applauded the ruling as a move that levels the playing field between brick-and-mortar stores, which collect sales taxes, and online retailers, which often don’t.

“The Supreme Court has acted correctly in recognizing that it’s time for outdated sales tax policies to change with the times,” Otto said.

Otto said that Congress or state legislatures now need to set the threshold at which online retailers must collect taxes.

6 Nebraska recreation areas to allow fireworks on July 4

Posted on June 24, 2018

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Visitors to six state recreation areas will be allowed to light off fireworks on July 4.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says those recreation areas include Branched Oak near Malcolm, Fort Kearny near Kearney, Pawnee near Emerald, Wagon Train near Hickman and those near Memphis and Fremont. Those parks will permit fireworks from 8 a.m. until midnight on July 4 only.

Signs at recreation areas will point the way to designated fireworks sites, and their boundaries will be clearly marked. Use of fireworks elsewhere in state areas or at other times is prohibited.

Only fireworks approved for sale in Nebraska are permitted, and visitors must pick up expended fireworks and deposit them in appropriate containers.

Drivers should watch for card skimming devices on gas pumps

Posted on June 24, 2018

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Drivers are being urged to watch out for skimming devices on gas pumps that could be used to steal credit card information.

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture says drivers should watch for signs that gas pumps might have been tampered with before deciding which one to use.

Ken Tichota oversees the inspection of gas pumps across the state of Nebraska. He says it helps to choose pumps closer to an attendant.

Also, drivers can check to make sure the tamper-proof tape over the pump access panel is intact.

Skimming devices are attached to ATMs and gas pump credit card readers so criminals can steal card numbers and password information, create new cards and make cash withdrawals or purchases with the bogus cards.

Nebraska prisons big part of mental health care

Posted on June 24, 2018

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska corrections official says prisons effectively have become mental health facilities because so many inmates need treatment.

About 56 percent of people in Nebraska prisons had at least one mental health diagnosis at the end of last year. Inmates with serious mental illness are estimated to make up 16 percent of the prison population.

“We probably have more people who are mentally ill in the prison system than anywhere else,'” said Dr. Harbans Deol, the deputy director of health services for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

Deol said prisons have more mental health beds than psychiatric hospitals do.

Nebraska’s prisons have a secure mental health housing unit with 30 beds for severely mentally ill patients. The mental health unit at the Lincoln Correctional Center has nearly 75 beds for less-serious patients. Other prisons also have mental health beds, including 15 at the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center, 12 at the Tecumseh

State Correctional Institution, and 12 beds at the York women’s prison.

Each inmate gets mental health assessments and physical exams within 14 days of arrival, then is assigned to a level of care, Deol said. People with a history of mental illness, hospitalization or self-injury are referred to a psychiatrist for further evaluation.

Nebraska prisons have struggled in the past to have enough mental health providers, but now have three full-time psychiatrists, two full-time nurse practitioners and two part-time psychiatrists. The prisons also have 19 psychologists, 23 licensed mental health practitioners and six supervisors.

The corrections agency is now training inmates at the Nebraska State Penitentiary to participate in peer support programs. The department is also teaching custody staff to look for mental health symptoms in inmates so assessments can be completed.

Governor: Online tax revenue must go to property tax relief

Posted on June 22, 2018

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s governor says that if the Legislature takes advantage of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to let states collect sales tax from online purchases, the new Nebraska revenue should go toward property tax relief.

The court ruled Thursday that states can force companies operating online to collect taxes, reversing decades-old decisions that had stymied efforts to collect sales taxes on many online transactions.

Nebraska legislation to begin collection of the online sales tax was blocked by a filibuster earlier this year, and Gov. Pete Ricketts said the state should wait for the Supreme Court decision.

The Nebraska measure would have required online retailers to send customers a notice of their total taxable purchases unless the businesses collected the sales tax themselves.

NPPD Crime Log (6.21.18-6.22.18

Posted on June 22, 2018

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06/21/2018