OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Public Schools board is considering a resolution to show support for the concept of charter schools operated under strict guidelines.

Nebraska is one of eight states that don’t allow charter schools, which are independent, taxpayer-funded schools usually operated by private groups. Several bills to OK them have failed in the Legislature, including one last year that would have established five charter schools in Omaha.

Newly elected Gov. Pete Ricketts supports the idea of charter schools. With another charter school bill likely, several OPS board members said they needed to be proactive in helping steer what a school choice system in Nebraska could look like.

Board member Marian Fey said the resolution was a way for the board to have a discussion about charter schools.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln woman has been given probation for stealing money from employees at her family restoration business.

A federal judge sentenced Karen L. Gagner on Tuesday to five years’ probation on charges of embezzlement and theft. She was ordered to pay more than $36,000 in restitution.

Gagner was accused of transferring nearly $100,000 from employee 401(k) accounts between 2008 and 2011. She later admitted to using the money to help sustain Gagner Restoration.

The restitution will be paid to two employees.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man has been sentenced up to 18 months in prison on a firearm charge after taking a deal with prosecutors.

A Douglas County district judge rendered the punishment to 20-year-old Malik Watson on Wednesday. Watson pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and false impersonation.

He was originally charged in the March 30 shooting of 18-year-old Bobby Jones but those charges were dropped in the deal. Omaha police say Jones was shot in the right forearm and that Watson gave officers false information about his identity.

Jones survived the shooting.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 21-year-old Nebraska man faces a felony drunken driving charge in a crash that killed his passenger.

Omaha police say 21-year-old passenger Jacob Blum of Gretna died Wednesday after being injured in the Sunday crash. They have arrested the driver on suspicion of DUI causing serious injury.

Police say the driver lost control of his Chevy Camaro early Sunday while turning. The car struck a wooden power pole before rolling over.

The driver was treated for minor injuries.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska business leaders plan to push for a highway expansion project between Norfolk and Fremont.

The group “4 Lanes 4 Nebraska” was formed to promote state infrastructure projects. Members will focus on expanding part of U.S. Highway 275 from two lanes to four. Highway 275 was constructed as a two-lane highway in northeast Nebraska in 1939.

In 1988, Nebraska enacted a transportation policy intended to connect every major community to an interstate system via a four-lane highway. The 45-mile stretch of two-lane road between Norfolk and Fremont is one of the few unfinished segments in the expressway system.

The coalition includes leaders from manufacturing, banking and agriculture. Josh Moenning, a former district director for U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry and campaign adviser for Gov.-elect Pete Ricketts, will serve as executive director.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Officials in Hastings are pushing for a proposed Behavioral Health Treatment Center — intended to transition prison inmates back into society — to be built in their central Nebraska city.

State Sen. Les Seiler, of Hastings, and Hastings Mayor Vern Powers held a news conference Wednesday to lobby for the center’s placement in Hastings.

Architects, engineers and others visited the Hastings Regional Center in October to examine the property and see if some of its existing buildings could be renovated to house the center. A study released Tuesday said the buildings would likely not be suitable for the 200-bed facility that would treat male inmates for behavioral health and substance abuse issues. The study instead recommends building a new facility.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 56-year-old Omaha man has been charged with sexually assaulting and molesting a 7-year-old girl in Lincoln over the past two years.

Antonio Haskell was charged Wednesday by Lancaster County prosecutors of first-degree and third-degree sexual assault of a child. He also faces a third related charge.

Police say the girl reported to authorities in October that Haskell had assaulted her several times in a Lincoln apartment.

Haskell remained in the Lancaster County jail on Thursday morning and could not be reached for comment.