Editorial: Seek opportunities for public input as
Plans announced last week for Mutual of Omaha’s new headquarters tower and a streetcar between the Nebraska Medicine campus and the
That doesn’t mean we are without concerns, but:
— The plan promises to attract further investment and amp up the city’s vitality, from
— The present Mutual headquarters campus will be remade to boost housing availability.
— A free streetcar — plans smartly call for no fare — will encourage some people to avoid driving downtown or, say, to
— The city’s facelift — the renovated
In the end, it has great potential to be a lovely omelet.
Eggs are being broken now.
Sen.
These eggs are all but cracked and in the mixing bowl at this point. Wayne may do well to refine the TIF statutes for the future and should be able to find some rural allies. The schools should benefit in the long term from development in the city core that likely would not happen without use of TIF.
We dislike that some residents feel steamrolled, including those upset about downtown library changes, with the outdated
It’s easy to understand how critics of different aspects of the plan see it as the same old
Going forward, we strongly urge the Library Board and city leaders to be sure the civic passion generated by the library plan is heard and taken seriously in finding a permanent location for a new downtown branch. We all should want residents to be engaged, and the city must work hard to capture and sustain that energy.
Perhaps, once renovated, the 1912
Outside the downtown core, a new central library built with private money at 72nd and Dodge, blending traditional services with DoSpace’s technology library concept, can serve a range of Omahans and be a terrific modern asset for the city.
Regarding the streetcar,
On balance, the Mutual tower, midtown housing, streetcar and library plans, combined with the
We can cheer that as we implore leaders not to steamroll over public input as details of the plan play out.
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Editorial: Nebraskans need access in medical cannabis bill
Familiar faces opposing past bills to legalize medical cannabis in
One major problem exists in the bill, however: It wouldn’t allow any legal means for Nebraskans to acquire medical cannabis. LB1275, introduced by Sen.
A medical cannabis law that doesn’t allow Nebraskans suffering from serious illness to obtain medical cannabis is functionally useless.
Accordingly, without significant revisions, the Legislature must either adopt the thoughtful and strictly regulated program that allows for growing, offered once again by Sen.
Groene’s bill also limits the number of conditions where medical marijuana is a possible prescription. Only Nebraskans suffering from stage 4 cancer, uncontrollable seizures, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy or a condition where the life expectancy is less than a year are eligible.
Limiting access to a potential treatment is a serious problem for Nebraskans suffering from serious conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder and others not covered under LB1275.
And that’s before considering these individuals would be committing a felony if they obtained medical cannabis, should this bill become law.
The heart-rending stories of Nebraskans pleading for senators to end Nebraska’s position as one of three states with no access to medical cannabis may be swaying more senators, as evidenced by Groene’s recent about-face on the matter. But this testimony indicates a desperation to ease the symptoms of debilitating conditions without resorting to prescription painkillers.
Ardent foes of medical cannabis – such as Gov.
Their change of heart, which follows right on the heels of a series of TV ads across
Nebraska’s long, slow walk toward medical cannabis legalization has let us see the pitfalls made elsewhere. It’s on lawmakers not to repeat them and ensure this form of treatment becomes available as soon as possible.
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