One Does Not Bear Arms Against A Rabbit

by John Heaston

Gun violence and the wide availability of assault rifles are rightfully in the center of debate following last week’s massacre. We are an unusually armed country, with almost enough guns for every single person.

An important overview is offered by the nonprofit investigative news outfit Propublica and their “The Best Reporting on Guns in America.” Their summary introduces Jill Lepore’s New...

The Project, Pt. 1: Love It or List It?

by Tim McMahan

I suppose it’s time to talk about the house.

In the background during all the misadventures noted in this column over the past year was (and is) the ongoing drama of our remodeling job. We’d been saving our money literally for years to remodel our current home. It’s a great house, don’t get me wrong -- a fantastic house located on one of the best streets in Omaha, the undecipherable J.E....

A Second Opinion

by Kandra Hahn

Calculations for the cost of extending Medicaid in Nebraska as a critical piece of the Affordable Care Act have been incomplete and probably overstated, said experts at committee hearings of the Nebraska Legislature last week.

No voice in Nebraska has spoken louder against the Medicaid extension than Governor Dave Heineman’s, saying it would cost “hundreds of millions of dollars” and “lead...

The Club Is Open: Cursive Takes Over O’Leaver’s

by Tim McMahan

Sunday as I was leaving Lowe’s on Dodge Street with Matt Maginn I ran into my brother-in-law Steve headed on his way in. In years past I would have introduced Matt to Steve as “the bass player of Cursive, one of the most important rock bands that Omaha and/or Nebraska has ever produced.” But instead I said, “Steve, this is Matt, the new co-owner of O’Leaver’s.”

Yes, you read that right....

A Million Reasons Why

by Tim McMahan

Marty Amsler, like some of us, lives two lives.

Most know him as the mild-mannered “creative” at Nebraska advertising agency Bailey Lauerman. He’s a Mad Man ad guy who heads a team of Mad Men ad people that do some of the best creative work in the country. I know because I’ve seen it first hand in my “other life” at Union Pacific.

(To this day, I still meet people who think I make a living...

Heineman Gives Health Care to Feds

by Kandra Hahn

When Governor Dave Heineman told the federal government on Nov. 15 that Nebraska would pass on running its own health insurance exchange, he pointed to cost and lack of control. It was a very different Governor from the one who had presided over a public meeting featuring invited panels of health insurance executives and agent/brokers just 10 weeks earlier.

Industry was ready, but the...

From Industrial Revolution to Digital Evolution

by Carol Wang

As this story hits the streets, tensions are very high with teachers and educators across the state. Nebraska’s annual “State of the Schools” report is about to be released.

Headlines will scream ‘What’s Wrong With Education’ and ‘Failing Schools,’ causing politicians to debate the fix for the American public education system and school administrators to carefully word their...

Random Notes: Armstrong, Kerrey and the Ralston Arena

by Tim McMahan

For reasons I don’t completely understand, this column is being written a full week in advance of its street date. As such, there cannot be anything timely or topical about its content. At a time when I can literally write a column and have it in front of your eyes on the 'net in a matter of seconds, writing a column a week before you can read it is about as modern as outdoor plumbing or Mitt...