Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #LNK

Most recents (22)

It's Day 78 of your #neleg and we're nearing debate over a proposal to combine two of the most controversial bills introduced this session:

--A ban on gender-affirming care for Nebraskans under 19
--A ban on abortion after 12 weeks gestation.

Updates will follow in this thread:
Several senators have mentioned they are trying to kill time -- apparently not all of the supporters of the transgender care/abortion ban are here right now.

The trio of senators who introduced a bunch of filibuster motions have pulled them all.
If there are only 32 senators for a cloture vote on LB574, the measure would fail today. The abortion ban amendment would not get attached.

There are a lot of conversations going on underneath the balconies and the breakroom.
Read 66 tweets
The first person who waved LJS photographer Kenny F. and I through at the Trump/Herbster rally was Fanchon Blythe from #LNK, who told us we are from the “Urinal Star.” #original
Talked with Thomas Sullivan from Plattsmouth who said he came to see Trump, who he believes could “say something historic.”

Sullivan said he was a Herbster voter until the allegations made against him. Now he’s “50-50.”
This gentleman literally has tin foil on his MAGA cap. Image
Read 4 tweets
1/6
The dangerous & unhinged extremists in the Protect Nebraska Children group are back on their bullshit -- this time accusing State Board of Education member @Educ8Nebraska Deb Neary of being a "pedophile" and a "groomer."
2/6
Completely baseless lies like this have already led to violence across the nation, and contributed to the death of Nebraska's own Milo Winslow this year.
salon.com/2022/04/11/the…
3/6
And yet nobody is speaking out about it -- not the Democrats, not the Republicans, not the local press.
independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…
Read 6 tweets
Asked if #LNK and Omaha, with mask mandates, are doing better than the rest of the state when it comes to COVID-19 cases, Ricketts said he didn't have that data.
However, the data available shows that Lincoln and Omaha both have per-capita case rates lower than those in almost all the state's larger counties.
According to data compiled by the New York Times, here are the COVID-19 rates per 100,000 people in the state's large counties:
Scotts Bluff: 273
Lincoln: 161
Platte: 140
Madison: 116
Dodge: 107
Buffalo: 106
Hall: 84
Douglas: 81
Adams: 67
Lancaster: 60
Read 3 tweets
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, enrollment ~51k, has done 294,000+ tests since school started through its on campus, saliva-based rapid testing.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, enrollment ~25k, has done 3,671 through the nasalpharyngeal swab-based Test Nebraska. ImageImage
UNL researchers made the pitch to do saliva-based COVID testing (less invasive, easier to get supplies), estimating with existing lab capacity on campus they could do 1,000 tests/day, but were told NU had already signed on with Test Nebraska: journalstar.com/news/local/edu…
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird just said a short time ago during the #LNK city council meeting that Test Nebraska experienced another glitch over the weekend that delayed test results from being reported.
Read 4 tweets
Lincoln remains in the "low orange" section of its COVID-19 risk dial, which indicates a low risk of transmission of the virus.
There are 15 new lab-confirmed cases in #LNK; the total number of cases since the pandemic began is is 3,501. To date, 1,628 people have recovered.
Health Director Pat Lopez says the city-county is working with downtown restaurants/bars to provide guidance as they expect more students to frequent those establishments. She calls out Sandy's for doing a good job.
Read 6 tweets
At the City-County Common meeting today, elected officials from the city council and county board are set to question law enforcement regarding their response to the protests and riots in #LNK on May 29-31.
Chief Jeff Bliemeister said he'll discuss what he can, but adds there are ongoing tort claims and criminal investigations going on related to those events that may curtail what he can divulge publicly.
At least one of the tort claims was filed on behalf of Elise Poole, who was hit in the face by a projectile near 12th and H streets on May 31.

Elise told me doctors said the bones in her face resembled "eggshells" when they treated her that night. journalstar.com/news/local/cri…
Read 12 tweets
I'm late to this, because I've been out at a campground all week, but: big shout-out to @YohanceChristie for a much deserved new post as the city attorney of #LNK. I grew up watching him rock the red and black at Lincoln High and idolized him on the turf and on the track.
I have no doubt he'll bring that same fearlessness and Lincoln High spirit to his new gig. I'm proud of my city, always. But especially so, the past few weeks as we strive to better our community.
There is much work to be done, and one of the first steps is making sure we pick the right team to lead us.
Read 3 tweets
Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird now at the podium: "To say that we are living in unprecedented and challenging times is an understatement."

In addition to COVID-19, Americans are now being called to address "the pandemic of racism."
"I am struck by the courage displayed by many of our residents and public servants to be vulnerable in the face of those with whom they disagree," she says.
Approaching the moment "with humility" and an open ear, Gaylor Baird says she does not have all of the answers, but has a part to play in finding solutions to address the issues raised by BLM.
Read 25 tweets
Coming up here shortly, @MayorLeirion will hold a press conference regarding Lincoln Police's use of force. It will air live on LNKTV, and here: youtube.com/user/5citytv Image
Meanwhile, I'm told the public records request I submitted to #LNK for communications about the use of force against protesters May 29-31 as well as number of rubber bullets/tear gas canisters used is still being processed.
Here's my Sunday story about the effects of those so-called non-lethal rounds and devices did to several protesters who took part in #blacklivesmatter activities.
journalstar.com/news/local/cri…
Read 5 tweets
This is inside baseball, but I requested a bunch of comms from the city of #LNK regarding the use of force last week, and was told to do so would involve:

--$95,000 in computer run time
--$91/hr for an attorney to review any responsive records
--A total of 9-10 MONTHS of review
And even then, the city may withhold documents because "strategic or tactical information used in law enforcement" is exempt from the Nebraska Public Records Act (84-712.05).
Anyway, the state's open government laws get eroded a little bit more each year, and any state senator who sponsors bills to add exemptions to information citizens could other wise request is my sworn and mortal enemy.
Read 5 tweets
In the midst of the chaos in downtown #LNK early Sunday morning, I found this on the ground outside the City-County Building on 10 Street. By this point, photographer @justin_wan and I, who were documenting the protest-turned-riot, had been tear gassed at least twice. Image
Here's a link to the website of the maker of the product, Defense Technologies, which describes it as being ideal for "crowd control as well as tactical deployment situations...but was designed with the barricade situation in mind."
defense-technology.com/products/chemi…
From @propublica:

"CS activates a specific pain receptor, one that’s also triggered by eating wasabi...But CS is much more powerful, up to 100,000 times stronger than the sting from wasabi." propublica.org/article/tear-g…
Read 10 tweets
Hey #LNK and #BlackLivesMatter: Can anyone tell me the name of the young woman who was kneeling alongside Dupree Prentice and Maj. Jahnke at the state Capitol last night?
She had the State Patrol refer to her as "TT" if that's a clue for anyone.
I've got it, folks. Thanks for your help!
Read 3 tweets
Bryan Health still seeing a 13.5% positive rate from the tests it has administered, CEO John Woodrich said.

A total of 8,208 have been tested; 1,102 have come back positive.

There are 28 COVID patients in house, incl 17 from #LNK. 10 are in ICU, 6 in progressive care.
Bryan has adequate PPE on hand to open up to more elective surgeries, possibly by June 1. To date, only outpatient surgeries have been allowed. More protocols are being developed to keep patients safe.
Hospital will continue requiring masks from patients, staff. It's a universal precaution, Dr. Kate Rosenberg says. She's an ear, nose and throat specialist.
Read 7 tweets
A thread:
4 years ago yesterday, @Yo_Muchacho had our very first public test event. We invited close friends, family, other people who I knew would give me honest feedback. We asked for no money, only their honest opinion. I served what my grandparents grew up making.
Delicious red chile enchilidas. Pork green chile enchilidas. Tostadas with ground beef and refried beans. It was all really good, but it wasn't me. And the reviews reflected that. One reviewer even called my enchilada a "mexican runza."
Read 17 tweets
It's been something of a week. Or two. Or three. Frankly, I've lost track. Time has certainly dilated since #COVID19 arrived in Nebraska. I want to remind everyone they can view the Journal Star's #coronavirus coverage for free.
The first time coronavirus was mentioned in our pages was Jan. 27 when @editorontherun wrote: "The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said it was monitoring 110 people in 26 states on Monday for the coronavirus. None of those cases are in Nebraska."
journalstar.com/news/state-and…
A few days later, on Feb. 3, the University of Nebraska announced it was suspending all university-sponsored travel to China, where the coronavirus outbreak began last year. There were 11 cases in the U.S. at the time:
journalstar.com/news/local/edu…
Read 110 tweets
The @JournalStarNews is trying to be as flexible as possible to we have reporters available to cover the local effects of the #COVID19 pandemic around the clock.

As such, @LJSRileyJohnson is out today & working Sunday, so I'll be covering the @CityOfLincoln's 11:30 a.m. presser.
From the announcement: "Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and community partners will announce a new fund to support those impacted by the coronavirus."
"We're here today to announce some good news," Baird says. But first, she wants to acknowledge the effects of the #coronavirus have also had an impact on the local economy, everything from waiters and bartenders, day care providers, etc.
Read 11 tweets
The @CityOfLincoln says there are still *NO* confirmed cases of #coronavirus or #COVID19 in Lincoln/Lancaster County. But Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird declares a local emergency in order to stem the spread.
As part of the emergency, there is revised guidance for public events, Baird says. Following the CDC's guidelines, including no events with more than 50 people.
If you have an overdue library book, Lincoln Libraries has extended your due date to May 1, Director Pat Leach says.
Read 11 tweets
Maybe it's just me, but there seems to be more efforts to end run representative gov't through small-d democratic ballot initiatives lately, both in #LNK and #Nebraska. journalstar.com/news/local/gov…
There was the death penalty referendum in 2016, Medicaid expansion in 2018, and next year, as many as 5 petitions could be on the November ballot.

In Lincoln, there was mayoral term limits and now this potential stop work order on the Gargantua Roundabout.
Is it a trend, or do I just have recency bias (more like attention bias) on this whole thing?
Read 3 tweets
Trish Wonch Hill, a political activist & UNL employee, was found not guilty of vandalizing Sen. Deb Fischer’s #LNK office in 2018. In a bench trial, Judge Joseph E. Dalton said he believed Wonch Hill did it, but that the state failed to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
Wonch Hill said afterwards the Lancaster Co Attny was pressured into prosecuting the political speech of a private citizen by Republican politicians, wasting taxpayer time and resources in the process.
The prosecution relied upon statements from an employee in Fischer’s office and a fingerprint analyst with LPD. The analyst said 5 latent prints pulled from Betsy Riot stickers and a sign taped to the office door matched samples provided by Wonch Hill.
Read 7 tweets
Since I can't get that cringeworthy interaction between Nadia Murad and Trump out of my head, here's a smattering of stories @JournalStarNews has done about the growing Yazidi community here in #LNK.
.@LJSreist wrote about Sulaiman Murad, who wrote about his experiences as an interpreter for the U.S. Army (many of Lincoln's Yazidis did), even before the genocide took place in Aug. 2014: journalstar.com/news/local/ira…
The Yazidi community took to the Capitol and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry's office in the days after ISIS swept through Northern Iraq. I covered one of the first calls to action they made in Lincoln: journalstar.com/news/local/yaz…
Read 10 tweets
Going through the list of the DOT's Small Community Air Service Development (SCASD) winners for 2018. Begin thread :)
Farmington, NM, #FMN won a grant to support new service to either DEN, LAX, PHX or SLC opb SkyWest Airlines.

The market was historically connected to both #DEN and #PHX into the 2000s. AWA service in 2002: airlinemaps.tumblr.com/post/142685242…
La Crosse, WI, #LSE received a grant to add service to an "eastern hub" with backing by SkyWest. Primary target is restoring Delta service to #DTW.
Read 8 tweets

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