LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska cities that want to upgrade roads, build swimming pools and pay their rising employee costs are preparing for a legislative fight this session with state lawmakers who want to restrict their power to tax.
Leaders in many cities, including Lincoln, Kearney and Omaha, want the Legislature to give them authority to raise the sales tax with voter approval, but Gov. Dave Heineman and many lawmakers remain opposed.
Supporters say cities should have the power to seek voter approval of tax increases, but opponents say the need to restrain government spending take precedence over calls for local control.
Don Wesely, a former state lawmaker who now lobbies for Lincoln and Omaha, says the effort to impose state authority over cities marks a change in Nebraska’s historic support for local control.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – Police in Scottsbluff say they have identified a man who may have been shot in an apparent robbery but that the man remains missing.
Officers responded to a report of gunshots at a Scottsbluff home early Friday morning.
Police Capt. Brian Wasson says the victim has been identified as 26-year-old Francisco Camacho, who Wasson says fled on foot after the disturbance.
Wasson says it’s unknown if Camacho was shot. His condition and whereabouts also are unknown but police say they believe he is still in Scottsbluff.
Wasson says four people were in a garage at the home when a witness said two armed men wearing masks entered the garage but there was no evidence of gunshots in the garage.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska’s nonpartisan, one-house Legislature has turned 75.
Lawmakers honored the anniversary Friday as a hallmark achievement of the late U.S. Sen. George W. Norris, who campaigned for an end to the state’s traditional two-house, partisan Legislature.
Voters approved a constitutional amendment to adopt a Unicameral system in 1934. Its first members convened on Jan. 5, 1937.
Supporters of the system argued that a one-house Legislature would be cheaper, more efficient, and make it impossible for lawmakers to hide their actions in conference committees. Critics worried that the system would concentrate too much power in the hands of too few lawmakers.
Nebraska is the only U.S. state with a one-house Legislature, although Guam and the Virgin Islands also use the governing system.

SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) – A former assistant football coach at Sidney High School has pleaded not guilty to drug charges.
41-year-old Robert Lewis entered a written plea on Wednesday in Cheyenne County District Court.
Lewis was charged with three drug charges after a traffic stop in Sidney in November. Court documents show Nebraska State Patrol troopers found marijuana and hashish in his car.
Lewis had been on the coaching staff for ten years. He no longer works for the school district.
Court records show Judge Derek Weimer has recused himself from the case, which has been assigned to Judge Travis P. O’Gorman. A hearing is set for Feb. 1.

GERING, Neb. (AP) – A Gering man accused of having thousands of images of child pornography on his home computer now faces federal charges in the case.
Twenty-nine-year-old Thomas Schildt is charged with possessing and distributing child pornography. He was arrested on a federal warrant on Tuesday, and is scheduled to be in federal court in Lincoln on Friday.
Gering was arrested on state charges in November in what Attorney General Jon Bruning called the largest child pornography case his office has investigated. The state charges were dismissed last month in anticipation of the federal charges.
Bruning says a search of seven hard drives turned up more than 200,000 images and videos. Burning says at least 15,000 have been identified by law enforcement as known images of child pornography.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicle’s drive-thru station in Lincoln has resumed operation, its power restored after a car crashed into the building.
The building lost power Tuesday when the car rammed it. Power was restored Tuesday night, and the office opened for business as usual on Wednesday.
Lincoln fire officials say an elderly man and woman drove close to the building, and then the driver mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.
The pair were taken to a Lincoln hospital but were expected to survive their injuries.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Lincoln authorities say a 1-year-old boy has died after being found unresponsive at his day care.
Police say Zachary Taylor was found about 3:30 p.m. by his day care provider, who told police she thought Zachary had been sleeping. Police spokeswoman Katie Flood says the woman called 911 and started CPR but could not revive the boy. He was  pronounced dead at a Lincoln hospital. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.
Police have not released the name of the child care provider.
According to Flood, the boy’s parents say he wasn’t suffering from any major medical issues that they knew about.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman is seeking qualified applicants for the state senate seat held by Hastings Sen. Dennis Utter, who died last week.
The governor’s office will accept applications through the close of business on Jan. 13. Applicants must live within the boundaries of Legislative District 33, which includes all of Adams County and part of Hall County. They must have resided within the district for at least one year.
The appointee would serve until Jan. 8, 2013, and would have to win re-election in November 2012 to serve another four-year term.
Applicants can apply online at www.governor.nebraska.gov , and should email a cover letter, resume and other materials to peggy.king(at)nebraska.gov.
A map of the legislative districts is available online.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) – A Nebraska state senator wants longer term limits for lawmakers.
Sen. Tom Carlson, of Holdrege, says he’ll propose changing state law to allow senators to serve three, four-year terms instead of the current limit of two, four-year terms.
Carlson says he’ll introduce a bill during the legislative session that begins Wednesday.
Carlson represents District 38 in south central Nebraska. He has served five  ears in office and has three years left.
Carlson says term limits bring new ideas and new energy. But he also says by the time a lawmaker learns the process and understands the issues, it’s time to leave.
Carlson says the change means there are still term limits, and those who don’t serve well won’t be re-elected.

BRIDGEPORT, Neb. (AP) – A western Nebraska rancher convicted of letting wild horses and burros starve has been released on parole.
Eagle radio station KCOW reports Jason Meduna was released last month.
Meduna was convicted in January 2010 of 145 counts of animal cruelty and was given two consecutive terms of 20-months-to-five years, for a total of 40 months-to-10 years.
As part of his sentence, Meduna was barred from owning, possessing or living with livestock for 30 years. But the Nebraska Appeals Court struck down that provision last year.
Meduna owned the 3-Strikes mustang ranch south of Alliance, where many of the horses and burros were found emaciated and suffering from a variety of ailments in 2009. Dozens of animals were found dead. The surviving horses and burros were given new homes.