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March 16, 1933
Vol. 82, No. 125
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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By Pat O'Leary
Sen. David Landis of Lincoln, wearing a bow tie,
offered his views on several legislative bills at the Govern
Government Liaison Committee breakfast Tuesday.
A good bill, Landis said, is LB1 35, which would allow
cities to negotiate the zoning of particular developments.
If passed, the bill would give builders the discretion to
combine housing, light-commercial and open spaces
into a flexible plan that would suit the community and
meet the approval of local officials if the bill passes.
Judges' salaries will increase if Landis' LB269 is
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Staff photo by Craig Andresen
Sen. David Landis
approved. Landis said that judges' salaries have not been
raised for four years, and that the neglect has "had an
effect on the quality of who is selected."
One of the unpredictable moves during this legislative
session, Landis said, is that LB372 - called the
Community Assistance Act - passed out of committee.
"It was a freak," Landis said. "The only reason it
got out is because a bad jobs bill got out before it, and I
think the senators felt guilty."
The bill would establish a 40 percent tax credit to
companies for charitable contributions. It is an incentive
for companies to contribute to community organizations,
Landis said. Hie tax credit would generate more state
funds that would compensate for Reagan's federal
program cuts, he said.
Two other bills, LB455 and LB489, deal with
developing statewide sentencing guidelines. The first bill
would set the guidelines, and LB489 would establish a
commission to oversee the rules. Landis said that because
sentencings now are based on broad laws and the judge's
discretion, offenders within the state are treated quite
differently.
"The state Supreme Court has agreed to study the
issue, and so I promised not to press the issue this year,"
Landis said.
In other states that have set similar guidelines, the
senator said the support of the judges was crucial, so
the study should prove productive.
Landis' LB1 01, which already has become law, changes
the time period for allowing claims by the tax
commissioner. More importantly, Landis said, it denies
the state Board of Equalization the power to hear second
claims in tax-due discrepancies. The board was supposed
to act as a mediary step, but instead was simply "ignoring
the law", particuarly the statute of limitations, Landis
said.
The senator also introduced LB370, which would
reorganize the provisions under which companies would
be rewarded contracts with cities, counties and villages.
Landis said the bill would replace an old law.
"Sometimes you have to rip out a law that doesn't
work and try something new," he said. "That's what
this bill will do."
Instead of using an arbitrary contract derived from
some contracting record, the local officials could reward
the contract based purely on price and quality, Landis
said. The business still would be done in private, but
the terms of the contract would be printed in a public
notice, he said. What would result, Landis said, is a
fair and open exchange and contract.
Continued on Page 7
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Staff photo by Joel Sartore
Jack Shively of the Lincoln Telephone Co. watches
while co-worker Scott Sneller splices cables behind
the protection of a giant umbrella Tuesday.
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By Dan Shattil
They can be heard from two miles
away. Standing in the midst of them,
you would have to shout to be heard.
From Grand Island to Kearney along
the Platte River, between 200,000 and
500,000 Sandhill cranes are congregating
like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's
"The Birds." Taking a break from their
migration from Texas, New Mexico and
northern Mexico, they are on their way to
Canada, Alaska and eastern Siberia.
About 30 percent to 40 percent of the
cranes have arrived, according to Paul
BUSKS una
Johnsgard, foundation professor of life
science at UNL. He said he expects that
most of the Sandhill cranes will be at
the Platte River by Sunday.
The cranes fly to the river non-stop
in a one-day trip from their winter homes.
Weather permitting, they stay in the
Grand Island area for five weeks before
leaving by the beginning of April.
The birds arrive at their summer
breeding grounds in mid- to late May.
The Platte River is the only place they
all congregate during their migration
north.
The Sandhill cranes can be spotted
standing on the sandy islands around the
Platte River at night. During the day,
they spread out to search for food. They
usually stay within three miles of the
river and can be seen feeding in cornfields.
The cranes go back and forth from the
river to the cornfields about three times
a day. At dusk, they patrol up and down
the river in flocks ranging from 10 to
hundreds of birds looking for a place to
spend the night.
After an estimated 40,000 years of
this annual migration, the sandhill cranes
may be losing their Nebraska rest stop
because of the decreasing flow of water
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in the river.
"If much more water is diverted from
the Platte River, it may not remain a
suitable area for the Sandhill cranes,"
Johnsgard said.
In the last few years, the cranes have
become more concentrated around Grand
Island because of the smaller size of the
river.
The cranes will return to the river in
the fall during their migration south,
but not in such great numbers. Many of
them will congregate in Alberta, Canada,
before heading further south.
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