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DEVELOPING: MONEY MATTERS
ADDS: NIOBRARA IRRIGATORS, SICK-LEAVE PAY, BANKERS SURVEY, NEBRASKA UNEMPLOYMENT, STATE UNEMPLOYMENT
MONEY MATTERS
LINCOLN—Key state lawmakers and tax officials were scheduled to meet at the Capitol on Friday to discuss the state revenue picture at a time when receipts are declining. Unlike other states, Nebraska isn’t in crisis mode when it comes to the budget, but officials are concerned that declining revenue could mean trouble in months to come. By Nate Jenkins
NIOBRARA IRRIGATORS
LINCOLN—A dispute between irrigators and the Nebraska Public Power District over use of the scenic Niobrara River is headed back to a water umpire following a ruling issued on Friday by the state Supreme Court. The case is one of several attempts to thwart the district’s efforts to exercise water rights that went unused for decades, allowing farmers and ranchers to use the water without paying the power district for it. By Nate Jenkins
SICK-LEAVE PAY
OMAHA—The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the practice of not paying state workers for accrued sick leave over multiple years when they quit or retire, dealing a blow to a former state worker who sought to get paid for his unused sick time. The ruling, which was released Friday, stems from a lawsuit filed by James Sack, who worked as a revenue audit manager for the state from 1974 until he retired in December 2006. At the time he retired, his sick-leave balance was more than 1,500 hours, and he was paid for a quarter of those hours, as required by state law. By Margery A. Gibbs.
BUSINESS:
NEBRASKA UNEMPLOYMENT
LINCOLN—Nebraska’s unemployment rate has risen 1.7 percentage points in a year, to 5 percent in June compared with 3.7 percent in 2008. A news release from the state Department of Labor on Friday says the June rate is two-tenths of a point higher than the revised May figure of 4.8 percent. The state’s earlier estimate for May was 4.4 percent, which tied the state with North Dakota for the lowest rate in the country.
STATE UNEMPLOYMENT
WASHINGTON—Unemployment topped 10 percent in 15 states and the District of Columbia last month, according to federal data released Friday. The rate in Michigan surpassed 15 percent, the first time any state hit that mark since 1984. The Federal Reserve this week projected that the national unemployment rate, currently at a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, will pass 10 percent by the end of the year. By Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa. Eds: Note Nebraska mention. Also moving on national lines.
BANKERS SURVEY
OMAHA—A monthly survey of rural bankers suggests that, thanks to the weaker market for farm products, the economy was still ailing in a region of 11 Midwest and Plains states. The Rural Mainstreet Index dropped to 32.6 in July, down from 34.0 in June and 36.2 in May.
ALSO:
— NEBRASKA FORECLOSURES—Nebraska’s foreclosure rate remained relatively low in June. Eds: Moved on state news and financial lines.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION:
— MCCONAUGHY WATER FIGHT—If the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District continues its legal fight against upstream groundwater users, it will have to ask the state Supreme Court to intervene.
— GRAIN ELEVATOR FIRE—No injuries are reported as more than five dozen firefighters battle a blaze at a grain elevator in southeast Nebraska.
— SANDHILLS TWISTER—An assessment team says the tornado that ripped through a ranch in the Sandhills of north-central Nebraska was an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with winds ranging from 111 to 135 mph.
— NEB MURDER INVESTIGATION—An Omaha woman charged in the homicide of her 12-year-old son had called a child-abuse hotline in March to ask about placing the boy in foster care.
— FIGHTING BACK—Lincoln police are looking for a man who attacked a woman on a bike path and got poked at and kneed in return.
— OMAHA SHOOTING—A wounded Omaha man tells police he was heading down the interstate when someone in a nearby vehicle opened fire.
— RACIAL JUSTICE—Community groups and experts are coming together to examine the issue of racial equality in the justice system.
— ED BOARD SEAT—Gov. Dave Heineman is seeking candidates to fill the Nebraska State Board of Education’s vacant seat.
— GUARD OF HONOR—An Army National Guard contingent is in France this week for ceremonies honoring World War II sacrifices by Nebraska Guardsmen.
— RURAL-EDUCATION CENTER—A new rural-education research center will be established at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, thanks to a nearly $10 million grant.
The AP, Omaha.
