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Home - News
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The News Hound
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POLITICO
Fake weed sticks around
The marijuana-like substance K2 will remain on the shelves of some Nebraska stores until at least next year. Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, chairman of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, said a bill to ban the substance will take a back seat to more important issues now, but will be brought up next year.
K2 contains herbs and spices that look similar to potpourri, but is sprayed with the chemical JWH-018 which produces similar effects to marijuana when smoked. Users can experience even more intense effects smoking K2 than smoking marijuana, including hallucinations. Kansas outlawed the substance last year.
A 3-gram package costs around $65 — roughly the same street-price of marijuana.
Texting while driving ban advances
Texting while driving in Nebraska may be illegal by next year. State lawmakers gave first-round approval to a bill that would ban it. Penalties would include a $200 fine for the first offense, $300 for the second, and $500 for all subsequent offenses. Legislative Bill 945 would also tack on three points to a person’s license for each offense. A person loses their license after accumulating 12 points.
Opposition to the bill centered on how officers would be able to tell if a driver was texting, or just talking on the phone or checking the time. Sen. Tom White of Omaha argued the bill’s penalties should be reduced to reckless driving or another lesser charge
Police and fire contract woes
Wrangling to fix the estimated $500 million shortfall in Omaha’s police and fire pension system has delayed a city council vote on Mayor Jim Suttle’s proposed solution.
Council members received a glut of calls opposing the mayor’s contract in the days leading to the March 9 council meeting. The outpouring of opposition caused council members to propose several changes to the contract, including shortening it from five to three years and requiring officers to contribute more of their pay to their pension. The mayor and council members have been hesitant to discuss details of the proposal in public.
The mayor and council have prioritized ending pension spiking, a process where officers work more overtime in their final years to boost their pension payouts. Retired officer Gerald Baggett became the spiking poster-cop when he retired in 2008 at 45 with an $84,000 annual pension — almost $20,000 more than his base pay while on the force.
Suttle asked the council to join him in negotiations with the police union. In a letter to the mayor, Councilmen Garry Gernandt and Franklin Thompson declined to enter direct negotiations with the union, saying it would compromise their vote to approve the final contract. Council members usually do not get involved in negotiations.
Hanson said he was frustrated that council members refused to join the negotiations.
“It is easy to point out problems and much harder to actually be a part of finding a workable solution,” he said. “It appears to me that some members of the City Council are focusing more on politics than problem solving.”
The council’s final vote on the contract has been postponed to April 13 at the earliest.
Prenatal bill advances
Despite strong opposition from Gov. Dave Heineman, lawmakers advanced a bill that would extend prenatal care to undocumented immigrants. The Health and Human Services committee voted 7-1 to advance LB 1110 for debate.
Heineman has received some criticism for being a pro-life advocate, yet opposing public health care coverage for the unborn who will be U.S. citizens. Every major anti-abortion group in the state supports the bill.
Earlier this year, federal officials said Nebraska had to stop using Medicaid funds to cover low-income, expectant mothers who were in the country illegally. Introduced by Sen. Cathy Campbell of Waverly, LB 1110 would finance prenatal coverage to mothers not eligible under Medicaid by using funds from CHIP, under the direction of the Department of Health and Human Services. Only medical issues related to pregnancy would be covered under the bill.
Heineman: Back off EPA
Gov. Dave Heineman joined 19 other governors signing a letter asking congress to stop proposed green house gas emission regulations from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
“This regulation would potentially harm the competitiveness of the nation’s economy and raise energy costs for Americans,” Heineman said. EPA spokesman Brendan Gillifan said the emission regulations are reasonable and could help spur economic development.
“EPA has announced common sense measures to protect Americans from this threat (greenhouse gases) while moving America into a leadership position in the 21st century green economy,” Gilfillan said.
The governors argued environmental policies are “best developed by elected representatives at the state and national level, not by a single federal agency.”
LAW & ORDER
10-year-old brings pot to school
A 10-year-old boy was caught with a bag of marijuana at Howard Kennedy Elementary School. Police said he was showing it to other kids. The boy told police he found the bag near his home. He was cited for possession of marijuana and released to his mother.
Lincoln grow houses raided
Lincoln police removed more than 4,500 pot plants from six Lincoln grow houses between March 5-13. Police Chief Tom Cassady said it was the biggest grow operation he has ever seen.
The raid began March 5, when members of the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force served a warrant at 5210 N. 11th St. Officers seized 685 plants. Two additional warrants were served at 3260 Dudley St. and 2620 Norman Circle. The 1,300 plants had an estimated street value of $1.9 million. On March 13 police raided another house with more than 150 plants and 103 grams of street ready buds.
“On the outside looking in, it would look like a normal residential home,” said Capt. Brian Jackson with the Lincoln Police Department. He said two of the homes were completely vacant.
Kevin M. Belton, 31, Aaron W. Polk, 31, and Chien H. Nguyen,31, of Lincoln were arrested. Two other men from Ontario, Canada were also arrested.
You might have a drinking problem if …
Jason Batos, 30, got to the court parking lot for his drunken driving sentencing, but he couldn’t make it inside the building — he was too drunk. Sarpy County deputies said Botos was driven to the Sarpy County Courthouse by his father, who asked officials to help carry his son out of the car. Deputies arrested Botos in the parking lot for failing to appear for the hearing. Botos faces more charges and additional jail time. Botos was scheduled for sentencing in a 2009 drunken driving incident, where he swerved off the road near Highway 75 and Cornhusker, critically injuring three people.
Alleged officer assault
Two Omaha police officers were hospitalized after their cruiser was rammed by another vehicle. Police said Morgan Johnson, 51, drove his car into the cruiser when officers tried to stop him near 42nd and Erskine. According to police, Johnson’s vehicle matched the description of a car used in a series of robberies. The officers were treated for minor injuries resulting from airbag deployment. Johnson was arrested on two counts of assault on an officer, and possession of a controlled substance.
2 boating accidents, 2 manslaughters
A man whose wife died while he was drunk driving a motorboat was convicted of manslaughter. Todd Spangler, 36, faces up to 20 years in prison or five years of probation for the June 21 death of his wife, Jennifer Finke-Dwyer. Spangler was driving the boat and made a sharp turn close to the docks while Dwyer was riding on an innertube being pulled by the boat. Dwyer was sent flying into the docks and died from massive injuries to her liver. Spangler’s sister was seriously injured. Spangler’s sentencing is set for June 23.
Ken Graeber was sentenced to six months in prison for the death of Ed Mahoney. On Sept. 5 Graeber was drunk driving his boat and crashed the 21-foot Ranger at Newport Landing Lake while celebrating the Husker football team’s victory. Graeber’s blood-alcohol level was 0.135, almost two times the legal limit. After his prison sentence Graeber must serve three years of probation, perform community service and participate in Alcoholics Anonymous for one year. He must also write apology letters to the other five survivors.
Lawyer impersonation leads to arrest
A man was taken into custody March 11 on six counts of unauthorized practice of law and three counts of criminal impersonation. The man is the owner of Parent Rights, a company that focuses in custody, divorce, child support and visitation matters. The suspect allegedly submitted court filings on the behalf of others even though he is not licensed to practice law in Nebraska. The Nebraska Bar Association tipped off police, and he will appear in court March 19.
BUSINESS & DEVELOPMENT
Mayors apply for super-speed internet
Internet speeds around the metro area would increase around 100 times the current average if Omaha and Council Bluffs are selected to become test sites for Google’s high speed network. Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle and Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan have teamed to bid for a new broadband fiber network offered by Google. Suttle said the partnership should make the application stand out since most cities are applying individually.
— Mike Bell contributed to these reports |
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