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Home - News
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THE NEWS HOUND
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POLITICO
Stem cell opponents may launch new fight
After the Nebraska Board of Regents decided to allow research on human embryonic stem cells, some opponents of the policy began planning to take their fight to the state legislature. Chip Maxwell, executive director of the Nebraska Coalition for Ethical Research, told the Omaha World-Herald he wants to find like-minded lawmakers to raise the issue in the 2010 session. The 4-4 regents vote means university researchers can continue to work on any embryonic stem cell lines, not just those that were approved by President George W. Bush.
MUD proposes rate hike amid
questionable spending report
The Metropolitan Utilities District is proposing a 2010 rate hike on water and gas. MUD is planning to raise water rates by 2.3 percent and increase gas rates by 3.3 percent, raising the average homeowners yearly expenses to $193.34 for water and $694.84 for gas.
The announcement came one day after nebraskawatchdog.org uncovered several questionable MUD purchases, including golf and bowling league memberships and a $32,000 company picnic.
GOP strategist to head Sarpy elections
Nebraska Democrats are warning the newly appointed Sarpy County Elections Commissioner to check his partisanship at the door. On Dec. 1 Gov. Dave Heineman appointed Republican strategist Wayne Bena to oversee elections in Sarpy County. The 32-year-old lawyer will replace Kay Forslund, who plans to retire on Dec. 31.
Bena was a paid staffer on Heineman’s successful campaign for governor. Democrats are also concerned about public comments Bena has made during elections. The World-Herald reports Bena once posted on his Twitter account: “Walked in the Elkhorn Parade today for (U.S. Rep.) Lee Terry — the crowd was filled with Terry stickers and candy bags — Why would someone run against him?”
Director under fire
The U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel wants Carol Stitt removed as director of the state Foster Care Review Board. A complaint filed with the federal Merit Systems Protection Board alleges Stitt used her office to support former U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne in his unsuccessful 2006 Republican primary campaign against Gov. Dave Hieneman. The alleged action would violate provisions of the Hatch Act, which bans government officials from partisan political activity while on the job.
The charges stem from an incident in 2006, when Stitt urged her employees and foster care families to attend an Osborne campaign event. The special counsel said those who received the invitation may have felt pressured to support Osborne or donate to the campaign. Stitt’s attorney told the Omaha World-Herald that Osborne had worked to improve the foster care system for years and was proposing changes in the campaign; Stitt called the meeting to get her employees and foster care families informed.
GOP files election fund compliant
against White
The Nebraska Republican Party filed a complaint against State Sen. Tom White, a Democrat, for transferring funds from his state campaign fund to his federal campaign fund. Such a transfer is illegal according to the Federal Election Commission. White admitted the error and said he refunded the $1,000 to the state campaign fund before Republicans filed the complaint. White is challenging U.S. Rep. Lee Terry in the 2010 election.
Iowa union saves jobs over furloughs
Iowa’s largest union agreed to $26 million in concessions in order to save hundreds of jobs. The members of Council 61 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees voted 59 percent to 41 percent to take five day furloughs to avoid 479 layoffs. The Associated Press reported layoffs would have meant job losses at the Department of Corrections, including at the Pottawattamie Jail.
LAW & ORDER
MySpace predator gets 18 years
without parole
Spencer Osler-White, 21, found guilty of sexually assaulting two minors, was sentenced to 36 to 66 years in prison. White will serve at least 18 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. Prosecutors said it was because of White’s psychological evaluation that the judge also ordered a lifetime of supervision. More than a dozen girls, ranging from 13 to 17 years old, came forward during the investigation. Three of them said they met White on MySpace.
Officers fire shots on Thanksgiving
Two off-duty officers fired shots at suspects within a 48-hour period. Witnesses told the Omaha World-Herald the first officer, who was working security at Cheaters bar on 40th and Farnam, yelled for an SUV driver to stop after someone had thrown a glass bottle into the crowd outside the bar. As the vehicle drove away the officer, Calvin Harper, fired four to five shots and injured one of the passengers.
On Nov. 27 officer Josiah Warren returned fire after a 15-year-old boy shot at him and ran from a traffic stop near 84th and G. Harper and Warren have been put on paid administrative leave. Internal affairs must conduct an investigation each time an officer discharges his weapon. Protocol states that an officer should fire his gun only as a last resort to protect himself.
Thieves break into disabled
man’s home
Roger Winters noticed that food was missing from his refrigerator and that pocket change and prescription medicine had been taken from his home. Winters, an amputee confined to a wheelchair, says that his home at 60th and Hartman St. has been broken into and burglarized several times in the last year. Winters did not think much of thefts until the thieves took a Roho, a wheelchair seat cushion valued at $800. Winters’ apartment has only one entrance and said that more than one person has a key to get in. He told KETV he’s no optimistic police will catch the perpetrators.
Ex-Husker faces sentencing
A former Husker football player pleaded guilty to stealing a big-screen television from the house he was living in. Andre Jones, 26, is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 14. Jones played cornerback for the Huskers during the 2006-2007 season.
Thieves boost more
than 100 bras
Employees at the Victoria’s Secret in Westroads Mall told police that more than 100 bras were shoplifted Nov. 27. Investigators suspect two couples walked into the store Wednesday, grabbed bags and filled them with lingerie valued at over $5,000. Police are still investigating.
AC units stolen in weekend spree
Omaha Police said nine air conditioning and heating systems were stripped or stolen over the Thanksgiving weekend. Thieves ripped apart the units from a business near 138th and C late Thanksgiving night. The copper coils and pipes connected to the units were removed. Two more AC units were stolen near 20th and Locust a day earlier. Copper piping and wiring are tempting targets for thieves due to their high recycle value.
Family considers federal suit
against Papillion cops
Dane Nodskov, 20, appeared in Sarpy County Court Nov. 26 and pleaded not guilty to burglary and criminal mischief charges. Nodskov’s father, Scott, said he is considering a federal lawsuit against the police who shot the family dog while serving a search warrant two months ago. Diana Curry, Nodskov’s landlord, had offered the police a key to get inside the home but they declined, using a battering ram instead. Curry says one of the officers then saw Nodskov’s pit bull and yellow lab mix, Cisco, and shot it. The officers then high-fived each other and laughed. Papillion Police Chief Leonard Houloose said the shooting was justified for officer safety and that officers did not celebrate slaying the dog. The Nodskovs recently brought home a new pit bull puppy named Scooter.
Former Sarpy deputy charged
Timothy L. Otte, 39, was a Sarpy County sheriff’s deputy when he went to a Ralston apartment last year and collected $1,200 for a friend. Authorities believe the money was connected to a drug deal gone bad after Otte’s friend tried collecting the cash himself by kicking in the apartment door. Otte drove to the apartment, set up a meeting time and later collected the money while on duty. Otte said that the money was for a car; but his supervisor said Otte knew it was a drug deal. He was charged Nov. 26 and is due to appear in court in January for oppression under color of office and obstructing police.
Home invaders
demand money
and video games
Residents at a house near 42nd and Curtis told police their home was broken into just before midnight Nov. 29. Three men kicked in the door, held the victims at gunpoint and stole cash and video games. The two male residents, who were hit in the head, received medical treatment at the scene. No arrests have been made.
BUSINESS &
DEVELOPMENT
CB red light rate nearly triples
After Council Bluffs installed new traffic cameras at three intersections last September, the rate of citations jumped from around 1,000 per month to 2,800, according to Bluffs police. The new cameras were added to five others previously installed along West Broadway and Willow Ave. A red light violation carries a $107.25 fine. The fine was $65 four years ago but the state has increased the penalty twice since then.
Omaha libraries get new director
The Omaha Public Library Board of Trustees appointed a new executive director of the city’s library system. Gary Wasdin will assume his duties Jan. 4. Wasdin is currently assistant dean of the University of Alabama libraries. He previously held leadership posts at the New York Public Library and the New School Library in New York. Omaha’s former library director, Rivkah Sass, left in October to head the Sacramento Public Libraries.
Small business nearly loses 50k due to criminal software
Joe Smith of Omaha nearly lost $50,000 in late October after someone hacked into his company’s bank account and tried to transfer the money to a Russian bank account through “malware,” malicious software programmed to break accounts and steal private information. Smith’s bank, First Bank of Baldwin, in Wisconsin was able to stop the transaction before it was completed. Jim Hegarty, president and CEO of the Omaha Better Business Bureau office, said there has been a large increase in the number of electronic fraud cases similar to Smith’s. Before his bank contacted him to confirm his approval on the transfer of $50,000 from his account, Smith had no idea he was being robbed. Smith said had the transaction cleared, it would have ruined his company, LeafGuard Gutters.
— Mike Bell contributed to these reports.
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