NEWS Control Your Rainwater
A Windstar tour bus sat at the Douglas/Sarpy County Extension Office waiting for the 55 people attending the 2012 Omaha Green Infrastructure Tour. It was going to be a long day.
As the city moves forward with a $2 billion Clean Solutions Omaha (CSO) plan to comply with environmental regulations and reduce sewage overflows from 52 times per year to four, controlling stormwater is estimated to...
entered on 06/20/12 at 09:59 AM | read more »
Schoolyard Fight
Half of the non-partisan Omaha Public School Board’s twelve seats are up for election this year. Of the six expiring terms, two subdistricts have uncontested candidates and three subdistricts have two candidates, leaving only one subdistrict with a competitive primary – subdistrict 12.
West Omaha’s Omaha Public School subdistrict 12 has five candidates, three Republicans and two Democrats,...
entered on 05/08/12 at 02:29 PM | read more »
Turning Over Rocks
Elisha Yellow Thunder has a very personal reason for her research into mining contamination impacting some of the poorest counties in the country, better known as the Pine Ridge Indian reservation.
Her daughter Laila Pettigrew seems like any other nine-year-old. She smiles a lot, her favorite color is green, she loves to draw and sketch, her favorite food is potatoes, and she wants to be a...
entered on 04/23/12 at 05:21 PM | read more »
Legislator Versus Executive
Geography quite naturally plays a vital role in politics. When it came time for the respective campaigns to suggest site selections for The Reader to interview Nebraska State Senator Gwen Howard and Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing as they prepare to face off in a May 15 primary for the nod to challenge 13-year incumbent Republican Lee Terry in the 2nd Congressional District House race,...
entered on 04/20/12 at 12:40 PM | read more »
The High Cost of Transportation
Just twenty years ago, getting from the outer suburban edge of Omaha to downtown only took ten minutes. Now, in the time it takes a travel mug of coffee to get cold, an Omaha commuter will still be battling traffic on a typical workday. Coined by the Omaha Chamber of Commerce as the “Twenty Minute City,” most commute times in Omaha range between 24-25 minutes one way, with higher numbers during...
entered on 04/05/12 at 01:13 PM | read more »
Still Ban HAM from Sex Education
One sign-carrying protester proclaimed, “Sex Education isn’t necessary.” The next one added, “Sex isn’t necessary.”
They demonstrated in a cartoon that came with an in-depth look at sex education in Omaha 37 years ago. They caricatured groups opposing sex ed in schools.
Even at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1975, human sexuality course for doctors-to-be was only three years...
entered on 03/15/12 at 05:26 PM | read more »
Every Child Has A Gift
The economic forecast for the Midwest, and Nebraska in particular, is sunny with a chance of profits. For many metro area teachers, this means more choices for a second job. For others it may provide an impetus to exit education altogether.
The money rebound hasn’t made its way into the pockets of local teachers. Last year, Nebraska’s Governor, Dave Heineman, signed a rob Peter to pay Pal law...
entered on 02/27/12 at 10:34 AM | read more »
Building Community Through History
If you have ever participated in a neighborhood cleanup, donated to save a historic building in your area, or traveled to a city just to enjoy its history, you are a member of a specific group. You may not even know it.
These are the acts of Local Preservationists.
According to research from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, there are now 15 million Local Preservationists in the...
entered on 02/21/12 at 12:57 PM | read more »
Public Hearing this Thursday on Election Commissioner Changes
Senator Sara Howard's LB 235 will have its public hearing this Thursday, February 14th at 1:30 in the Government, Military, ... more »
Calculations for the cost of extending Medicaid in Nebraska as a critical piece of the Affordable Care Act have been ... more »
As federal deficits were the rage in the recent presidential election and both major political parties jockey for ... more »
With 1,457 members according to its website, Voice Omaha is blazing a path for civic participation outside the normal ... more »
First, a primer on how to pronounce “Schmaderer,” the new police chief’s last name: “SHMA’ der.” Rhymes with water. “Some ... more »
As winter takes hold the number of homeless moving into shelters is on the rise. Winter is the toughest time of the year ... more »
Alberto Gonzales didn’t enter the meeting room at the South Omaha Library on March 15 so much as the room opened up and ... more »
Police reviewing gun policy following school shooting
The Omaha Police Department is reviewing its gun policy for off-duty officers after Robert Butler Jr. used his father's ... more »
