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DEVELOPING:
ADDS: RAILROAD STUDY, BEATRICE PROBLEMS, STIMULUS PRESSURES
BEATRICE PROBLEMS
LINCOLN—Abuse and neglect continued to be reported at the Beatrice State Developmental Center last year even after the state promised to do more to protect residents, according to a new report released Tuesday. The state’s promise to improve the center was part of a settlement the state reached with the U.S. Department of Justice in June after federal investigators found hundreds of cases of abuse. By Nate Jenkins.
TAX TAKE TANKING
LINCOLN—Nebraska’s economy may not be in a free-fall like some states’, but there is new evidence it is taking something of a dive. On Tuesday, state officials said total tax revenue in January was $29 million—nearly 8 percent—below projections made early last year. All categories of taxes were down. By Nate Jenkins.
STIMULUS PRESSURES
WASHINGTON—Vote for the $800 billion-plus economic stimulus bill and you might buy yourself a nasty re-election contest against a conservative opponent next year. Say no and risk the wrath of powerful interest groups across the political spectrum that help voters decide who to support, from the business lobby to big labor. By Julie Hirschfeld Davis.
AP Photos DCSA214, DCSA207, FLCD130, FLCD129. AP Graphic ACCOUNTABILITY LOGO.
BIOFUELS STUDY
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—The U.S. could produce enough ethanol to displace nearly a third of all gasoline use by 2030, but gas would have to cost more than it does today for the plan to work, according to a study released Tuesday by Sandia National Laboratories and General Motors Corp. The researchers found that annual ethanol production from plant waste and energy crops could reach 90 billion gallons by that date, with 75 billion gallons coming from cellulosic feedstocks such as switchgrass, corn stover, wheat straw and woody crops. By Energy Writer Dirk Lammers. Eds: Note Nebraska mention. Also moving on national lines.
BUSINESS:
RAILROAD STUDY
DENVER—A Colorado Department of Transportation study says moving freight trains away from the Front Range and onto the eastern plains could have up to $1.5 billion in benefits over 19 years. The Colorado Rail Relocation Implementation Study released Tuesday examined moving Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF Railway and Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific Railroad trains to new or upgraded tracks east of Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The study examined two routes roughly between Brush and Wiggins to the north and Las Animas to the south. By P. Solomon Banda.
— NEBRASKA LAYOFFS A Hastings plant has announced another round of layoffs and a Fremont plant is cutting 10 percent of its work force.
— CONDUCTOR KILLED—A 26-year-old Union Pacific Railroad employee is dead after being run over by a train in a Herington railyard. Eds: Note Nebraska mention. Moved on state news and financial lines.
SPORTS:
IMPROVING NEBRASKA
LINCOLN—Nebraska coach Doc Sadler has folks believing it’s possible for a program with scant basketball tradition to succeed. With less than a month left in the regular season, Nebraska (15-7, 5-4) is fourth in the Big 12 and making a run at its first NCAA tournament bid since 1998. By Sports Writer Eric Olson. Eds: Also moving on national lines.
AP Photos.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION:
— ROCK FRAUD—Omaha police are now looking into reports of someone putting rocks in iPod packages and returning them to stores for fraudulent refunds.
— XGR–COLLEGE ENTRY—Nebraska students would have another pathway to state-funded universities under a proposal that won first-round approval from lawmakers.
— XGR–LICENSED ATTORNEY CANDIDATES—Nebraska lawmakers are moving to close a loophole that allows people who aren’t licensed to practice law run for county attorney.
— XGR–CLOSING TIME—Nebraskans will continue to be pushed off their bar stools at 1 a.m.
— PROSTITUTION STING—Preliminary hearings are set for March 13 for six men cited in a prostitution sting in Council Bluffs. Eds: Note Nebraska mention.
— ICE FLOODING—The Sarpy County Sheriff’s officials are asking residents to evacuate their homes near the Platte River as experts warn of flooding. AP Photos NENH101-102
— EX-FIREFIGHTER PLEADS—A former Lincoln firefighter faces sentencing in April for stealing morphine from an ambulance.
— PREGNANT GIRL-CHARGE—A Columbus man has been ordered to serve 10-15 years in prison after pleading guilty in a child sex-assault case.
— DOG ATTACK—The mother of a 3-month-old Bellevue boy says he suffered broken ribs after being attacked by the family’s new dog last week.
— MACARONI ATTACK—A North Platte man who was placed on probation for assaulting his girlfriend over a macaroni dinner has pleaded not guilty to a charge that he assaulted her again.
— SHERIFF INJURED—The Nebraska State Patrol is investigating a one-car accident that injured Johnson County’s sheriff.
— FIRETRUCK GRANT—North Platte will have to come up with almost $76,000 to meet terms of a federal grant for a new aerial firetruck.
— BANK FRAUD—A Hastings woman accused of stealing nearly $52,000 while working as a bank teller may stand trial on the federal charges next month.
The AP, Omaha.
