CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of gasoline rose a penny over the past two weeks, to $2.25 a gallon.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg reports Sunday that the slight increase comes after prices previously fell 63 cents over 19 weeks.

Lundberg says the end of the price decline comes as crude costs jumped a bit.

The current price is 70 cents per gallon under its year-ago point.

In the Lower 48 states, the highest average price of regular gasoline was $2.88 per gallon in Los Angeles. The lowest was $1.90 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The U.S. average diesel price is $2.55 per gallon, down about two cents from two weeks ago.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers who investigated the state prison system last week say they saw so many problems that they may have to continue direct oversight of the department for years.

Members of an oversight committee spent three days looking into financial problems, overcrowding, mental health services and staffing shortages within the Department of Correctional Services.

Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha says solving the problems will likely require funding for various rehabilitation programs and staffing, as well as continued reviews by lawmakers. Mello says the oversight committee may have to become a permanent fixture of the Legislature to address all the issues.

Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes says he’s working to address the problems with a new leadership team.

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) — A Gering woman has died in a crash near the entrance of Chadron State Park in western Nebraska.

The Dawes County Attorney’s said on Friday that 55-year-old Karis Amateis died in the noon Thursday crash on Highway 385 near the park entrance.

A preliminary investigation indicates that Amateis crossed the center line and hit a northbound semi-truck driven by a 60-year-old Missouri man.

Investigators say Amateis was killed instantly. The truck driver was not injured.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The price of Girl Scout cookies is going up in Nebraska next year, but will still be cheaper than the $5 that will be charged in some other places.

The Girl Scouts of Nebraska said in a news release that cookies will cost $4 a box when they go on sale in the state on Feb. 5. That’s an increase of 50 cents per box. The organization says it’s the first time in more than 12 years that the price of the iconic cookies has increased in Nebraska.

The price is determined individually by each of 112 local Girl Scout councils. While some areas will see prices as high as $5 per box, others will see no change in price.

 

BOYS TOWN, Neb. (AP) — Parenting experts say it’s important to monitor the video games kids play.

Boys Town reminds parents to check out the content of any video games their kids play and make sure they don’t spend too much time playing.

Psychologist Greg Snyder says playing video games in moderation has even been shown to have some benefits, but parents need to remain diligent.

Boys Town also recommends keeping video game systems in public areas of the house and having regular conversations about the games.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is criticizing President Barack Obama’s decision to reject a permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Ricketts said in a statement Friday that the project would have created jobs and generated tax revenue for counties. The governor has said he supports the pipeline.

Ricketts says the decision was politically motivated, and contradicts the findings of earlier U.S. State Department research which concluded that pipeline wouldn’t have a major impact on greenhouse gases.

Nebraska has played a key role in the debate over the project because of strong opposition from landowners and activists who tried to block the pipeline.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska landowners and activists who fought for years to stop the Keystone XL pipeline say they aren’t done advocating on issues related to the project.

Omaha attorney Dave Domina said Friday that landowners will continue their court challenge of a law that allowed former Gov. Dave Heineman to approve a pipeline route in 2013.

Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska says her group will pressure pipeline developer TransCanada to return the land easements from property owners along the route. The group also plans to push for new protections against eminent domain, and to advocate for a state Clean Power Plan that emphasizes renewable energy.

Susan Dunavan, a landowner from York, says she’s relieved by the decision but still concerned that TransCanada might try to reapply under a supportive Republican president.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The founder and former chief executive officer of TierOne Bank has been found guilty of 12 counts related to the bank’s failure in 2010.

A federal jury found Gil Lundstrom guilty Friday of fraud and conspiracy counts. Prosecutors say Lundstrom orchestrated a scheme to hide the bank’s losses from regulators and investors.

Regulators took over Lincoln-based TierOne in 2010, saying the bank had too many bad loans on its books and lacked sufficient capital to cushion losses. Lundstrom testified at his trial that he never knowingly provided false information to investors or federal regulators.

Lundstrom will remain free until he’s sentenced on Feb. 24, possibly to decades in federal prison.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s education commissioner has advised the state to hold off on further action on its application for a waiver of some requirements of No Child Left Behind.

Seven months after applying for the waiver, the Nebraska Department of Education received a letter from the U.S. Department of Education, noting significant steps that have been made toward meeting the waiver’s requirements. The letter praised the state’s school accountability system and work to prepare students for college and careers.

Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt told the state’s education department Thursday that the best strategy is to wait for at least a couple of months.

Blomstedt says Nebraska needs to see whether Congress will reauthorize No Child Left Behind before putting any more work into the waiver application.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Renewable energy advocates say they are encouraged by a recent push to expand wind energy in Nebraska.

Advocates gathered at the eighth annual Nebraska Wind and Solar Conference in Omaha on Thursday.

According to John Hansen of the Nebraska Farmers Union, the state is on track for more than 1,300 megawatts of wind energy capacity by 2017. Hansen, whose organization co-sponsored the conference, said that is nearly triple what the state had two years ago, but it isn’t enough.

Hansen says the recent progress is the biggest wind energy development that Nebraska has had but the state still lags far behind other states like Iowa.

The attendees of the conference discussed other opportunities for renewable energy growth amid new federal regulations to reduce greenhouse gases.