YORK, Neb. (AP) — A York woman has told a judge that she spent all $1,400 she found in a wallet that had been left on a convenience store counter by another woman.

Marie Collins, of York, pleaded no contest to a felony theft charge earlier this week. Her sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 20.

Prosecutors say a woman told police she’d left her wallet at a local convenience store in May but learned that it was gone when she went to retrieve it.

Police watched security system recordings and saw the woman leave her wallet on the store counter. The recordings later showed Collins at the counter, standing in a way that blocked the security camera. Police say that when Collins left the store, the wallet was gone.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A lawsuit filed by an Omaha-based company says Gage County still owes more than $59,000 for the new slate roof on the courthouse.

That Scott Enterprises Inc. says in its lawsuit that original contract was for more than $392,000. But the lawsuit says that over the 20-month work period in 2009 and 2010, the county initiated 12 change orders that the company says raised the project cost to nearly $520,000.

The county has paid nearly $460,700.

Gage County Chief Deputy Attorney Rick Schreiner says the county disagreed with the way some of the work was performed and adjusted its payments accordingly.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Two lawyers who helped a Nebraska woman injured in a car accident win a $22.5 million settlement from General Motors in 2006 are fighting over how to divide the fees.

The dispute between former Lincoln lawyer Dan McCord and Los Angeles attorney Michael J. Piuze is back in court this week.

Lancaster County jury is listening to the dispute over $11.25 million in legal fees.

McCord says he should have been paid $562,500 more than the $2.25 million he was paid for his work on the case because he was supposed to receive 25 percent of the fee.

The two men represented Penny Shipler who was paralyzed from the mid-chest down after an accident when she was riding in a Chevrolet Blazer.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha utility officials say increased water usage is putting a strain on the system, and voluntary restrictions could be down the road as the worst drought in 25 years continues.

Mark Doyle of the Metropolitan Utilities District says the city is using about 184 million gallons of water a day. He says the water supply is not in danger, but voluntary water restrictions would ease the stress on the system.

He says there are no plans currently for voluntary restrictions, but his team is analyzing the situation daily.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska will loosen its sales tax limit on cities, allow counties to fight black-tailed prairie dogs, and restore prenatal care coverage to illegal immigrants with a series of new measures that are about to become law.

More than 160 new laws approved during this year’s legislative session are set to take effect Thursday, including Gov. Dave Heineman’s tax cut plan and measures designed to help local governments.

New laws generally take effect three months after the Legislature adjourns for the year, unless lawmakers specify a different date. State senators approved 246 new pieces of legislation during this year’s 60-day session. In 2011, they approved 269 bills.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Supporters and opponents of the federal health care law are squaring off in Nebraska in advance of a legislative briefing on the state’s efforts to comply.

The executive director of Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska cheered Republican Gov. Dave Heineman Wednesday for his promise to fight any effort to expand Medicaid coverage. Meanwhile, Democratic U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson accused Heineman of stalling to delay implementation of the law.

The Legislature’s Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday for an update on the state’s progress in following the law’s requirements. Committee members are not expected to consider any bills, but Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad sent a letter to the panel’s two top lawmakers urging them to open the briefing for public testimony.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler has ordered an audit into the finances of the city’s golf program after two employees were suspended following an investigation.

The mayor says the investigation showed an employee might have benefited from a contract that was not approved by a city director with the authority to authorize such a contract. Beutler says employee’s supervisor might also have known of the arrangement.

The mayor says the amount in question is around $3,000.

Both employees, who were not identified, were suspended without pay for up to 30 days.

Beutler announced the audit during a news conference on Wednesday on his proposed budget.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 27-year-old man has died after striking his head when diving into an Omaha apartment pool.

Police say officers were in the area around 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, helping a person who had fallen on a sidewalk, when people approached them to report the accident at a nearby apartment complex.

When officers got to the pool, they saw that someone was trying to revive the man. Police say the man was taken to Creighton University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Witnesses told police the man had struck his head when he dove into the pool’s shallow end.

The man was identified as Kye Mickens, of Omaha.

The accident is being investigated.

WAVERLY, Neb. (AP) — A 14-year-old Nebraska girl has told authorities that her dad sexually assaulted her.

Lancaster County deputies found the runaway girl in Lincoln on Monday, and she reported that she left her Waverly home because of the assaults.

Sheriff Terry Wagner says the 39-year-old father has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, incest and generating child pornography.

The girl’s mother has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect. Wagner says investigators think she knew about the abuse but didn’t stop it.

The girl and two boys who lived in the home have been put in the care of state authorities.

The Associated Press is not using the names of those involved, to protect the privacy of the girl.

YORK, Neb. (AP) — A former Nebraska prison guard finally admitted in court what he announced in a newspaper: he had sex and later a daughter with a parolee.

33-year-old Michael Huston pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor as part of a deal with prosecutors who dropped the more serious felony charge of sexual abuse of a parolee.

Huston initially denied having sex with the parolee, but admitted it after publishing a birth announcement in April.

State law bars corrections officers from having sex with parolees, because the parolees remain under the control of the prison system until they have completed parole.

Huston worked as a guard from 2006 until his arrest in 2011. He was ordered to pay a $250 fine and court costs.