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DEVELOPING: BEATRICE PROBLEMS, NEW AREA CODE, DRUG WAR-UNION PACIFIC
ADDS: FARMERS MARKET
BEATRICE PROBLEMS
LINCOLN—Nebraska’s chief medical officer is standing behind her decision to move 47 people out of the troubled Beatrice State Developmental Center, even after guardians allege it contributed to the deaths of residents by making them despondent. The legal guardian of a woman who died on Sunday says she is sure the move contributed to the woman’s death. By Nate Jenkins
NEW AREA CODE
OMAHA—It’s not clear exactly when eastern Nebraska will run out of phone numbers in its 402 area code, but state officials now have a plan to deal with the problem when it happens. Nebraska’s Public Service Commission has approved a plan to add the new 531 code to the same area currently covered by the 402 code. That way, current customers won’t have to change their numbers. By Business Writer Josh Funk.
FARMERS MARKET
BEATRICE—Take your pick. There is an abundance of beets, turnips, onions, tomatoes; giant stalks of celery, piles of sweet peas, an army of honey bears, minipies and bread, and more peaches and nectarines than one person could eat in a lifetime. A Nebraskaland Feature by Chris Dunker of the Beatrice Daily Sun.
BUSINESS:
DRUG WAR-UNION PACIFIC
McALLEN, Texas—Union Pacific railroad will donate an $800,000 rail inspection building in Eagle Pass, Texas, so Customs and Border Protection officers can inspect trains arriving from Mexico. The Omaha-based company has been in settlement negotiations with the government for months as the Justice Department tries to collect $38 million in fines imposed because Union Pacific trains crossed the border carrying drugs. By Christopher Sherman.
SPORTS:
— NEBRASKA-PAUL—A Nebraska football player arrested on suspicion of drunken driving has been fined $150 and ordered to enter pretrial diversion.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION:
— BOATING FATALITY—Douglas County prosecutors have filed a manslaughter charge against the driver of a boat involved in a fatal accident on a lake west of Omaha.
— DOG FIGHTING—A federal grand jury has indicted seven people—including a Nebraskan—for running a pit bull dogfighting ring in northwest Missouri.
— CORNFIELD PURSUIT—A Delaware man who evaded Nebraska troopers the night before was captured while trying to hitch a ride.
— LONG-DISTANCE DADDY—Marine Corps Sgt. Alex Wilterdink got to experience his daughter’s birth in Omaha even though he is in Iraq.
— NEB STUDENT MOURNED—A memorial service has been scheduled for a 19-year-old college student who hasn’t been seen since he jumped into the Missouri River on June 27.
— NEB AIRPORT UPGRADES—A federal grant of more than $489,000 will help Auburn authorities replace an aging airport office building at Farington Field. Eds: Moved on state news and financial lines.
— EX-OFFICER SENTENCED—A police officer who fired two shots at her home during a fight with her boyfriend has been given probation and at least 24 days in jail.
— NEB CRASH DEATH—A 20-year-old Ogallala man has pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge stemming from a fatal November crash.
— NEB PANDERING CHARGES—A 50-year-old man faces pandering and child-abuse charges, accused of operating a prostitution ring in Grand Island.
— AIRPORT BOARDINGS—Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson says he still hasn’t heard whether federal officials will acknowledge the tough economy and give small airports a break on boardings.
— GREAT LAKES AVIATION—Great Lakes Aviation carried 17.5 percent fewer passengers this June than it did in June 2008. Eds: Moved on state news and financial lines.
— VIOLENCE PREVENTION—The deadline is this week for groups across Nebraska to apply for money to fight gang and gun violence.
— RECORD GRANT—York College says its new $2 million federal grant is the biggest ever for the school.
— STATE FAIR—Nebraska’s governor is among the officials scheduled to be on hand for groundbreaking ceremonies at the Nebraska State Fair’s new home in Grand Island.
The AP, Omaha.
