Tagged: omaha

Expanding Omaha’s bicycle and pedestrian transit system is a key component of the city’s new transportation master plan.

The plan, unveiled Monday, looks at Omaha’s transportation needs over the next 25 years. City officials say there are four goals for the plan, including sustainability, connecting neighborhoods, and providing more options.

Alegent Health expects its two new agreements with Creighton University to become official July first.

The Douglas County Election Commission will reopen some of the 179 polling places closed prior to this year’s primary election.

Election Commissioner Dave Phipps says the polling places will reopen before the November general election. How many polling places will reopen has yet to be determined. Primary election turnout, along with general election results from the past two presidential elections, will determine which polling places reopen.

A half-cent increase in Omaha’s sales tax could generate $45 million for the city.

Nebraska lawmakers last week overrode Governor Dave Heineman’s veto of legislation allowing cities to raise their sales tax rate. Doing so would require supermajority approval from both the city council and voters.

Omaha’s current sales tax rate is 7 percent, with 1.5 percent of it local. Mayor Jim Suttle says there are no plans to put the sales tax initiative on the November general election ballot.

A new report on county health rankings in Nebraska shows Douglas County’s STD rate and percent of children living in poverty are on the rise.

The County Health Rankings report was discussed at this week’s Board of Health Meeting.  Douglas County had 540 reported STD cases per 100,000 population, according to the 2012 rankings. The percent of children living in poverty climbed from 15 percent to 21 percent.