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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 1995)
Resent won’t back down Allen ignores controversies to reach goals By Rainbow Rowell Senior Editor HASTINGS— Maverick.In 1971, Robert Allen infuriated the Hastings school board with his demands to change the district’s scheduling policy. Troublemaker. In 1976, Allen, then the mayor, waged war with the Hastings City Council trying to real ize his vision of a better, more mod em Hastings. t ------: „ . Loose cannon. As a regent, Allen has harshly criticized three univer sity presidents, his fellow regents and the UNL football coach. He’s said the current UNL chancellor should be fired. He’s made some of the most powerful people in Nebraska very, very angry. Regent Robert Allen of Hastings has been called many things since he’s entered the political world. But those who know him say those labels are just too simple. Robert Allen is a complicated man, they say, a man who knows what he wants and is determined to get it. Robert Allen is an intelligent, intimi dating, tenacious man of the people, some say. And though they may criti cize his style, few fault his vision. It is this complex man who con ducts both his university and retail business from an office above his Hastings shopping center. Files line the room and fill his desk in thoughtful, if not neat, stacks. Throughout the interview, he wheels his chair around the room, searching for one document or another to prove his point. Usually, he finds them. Sometimes the conversation changes too soon, and he’s wheeling in the opposite direction seeking a second copy before he’s found the first. He seems to have collected every newspaper story written about him, every political cartoon and editorial. He also saves articles about subjects that interest him. There are files for his business, files for education and a See ALLEN on 8 JeffHaller/DN Regent Robert Allen, right, has an impromptu chat about university issues with his attorney, Douglas Pauley, Saturday in Allen’s Hastings shopping center. Travis Heying/DN class^vas^lfroadMst viaV^ell!te acrossiNebraska.ernment class "°"da» ava"'"S Walter Scott Engineering Building. The ‘Professor’ Governor lectures on technology, communication By Julie Sobczyk Staff Reporter For an hour and a half Monday night, Gov. Ben Nelson moved from the head of the Nebraska government to the head of the class. Nelson was the guest professor ol Journalism 954, Mass Media and the Government. The class, which is nor mally taught by broadcasting Profes sor Larry Walklin, features guest pro fessors regularly. Walklin said he invited the gover nor to speak because of the influence he had on public policy. “The class deals with public policy Nelson moves into new forum issues and government policies,” he said. “I invited Nelson to speak about state issues that deal with-the mass media.” Nelson said he not only wanted to teach the class, but wanted to learn, too. “When professor Walklin asked me to do this we talked about what it would involve,” Nelson said. “I said ‘yes’ because I wanted to tell folks about mass media and politics. I jumped at the chance.” In his lecture, Nelson talked about the importance of communication and technology for the future. “One thing we’ve accomplished in this administration is to tie our selves closer to communication,” Nelson said. The key to effective communica tion in Nebraska was realizing die geographic distances across the state, he said. “We need to see the state come together in telecommunications,” Nelson said. “Telecommunication bridges the gap because of geogra phy.” One way the gap has been bridged is through public television and the Internet, he said. “TTiere are 122 schools connected to the Internet and it will be over 200 by September,” Nelson said. Although communication is needed, Nelson said he wanted to keep costs at a minimum. “We stress low cost,” he said. ‘Technology does cost a lot, but we’ve felt it was worth it.” Nelson said Nebraskans needed to keep looking to the future, in terms of communication. “We are at the beginning,” he said. “The faster we go, the more there will be around us. We all want to get on the bandwagon.” For communication and technol ogy to be efficient in the future, Ne braskans needed to prepare for change. “We need to catch up where we need to,” he said. “We need to posi tion ourselves for changes ” After Nelson lectured, the class, which is broadcast via satellite to sev eral cities throughout Nebraska, had an opportunity to ask him questions. Nelson said lecturing was not as difficult as answering questions. The most challenging question came from a student who asked him how the electronic and technological changes of today would affect his position as governor, Nelson said. “That question made me go back and think about of all the change and growth in technology,” he said. expanded gambling debated By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter In the middle oftalking about slot machines and video lottery termi nals, the Legislature’s General Af fairs Committee took on a more Ve gas-like atmosphere than most ex pected. I The hearing, which lasted more than 5 1/2 hours, took on the trappings of a prize fight, and more than 140 1 people from across me state LEGISLATURE out for *e brawl. In one comer was Tim Hall, a senator from Omaha whose district is bordered by Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is set to open four casinos next month. In the other, the mayors of Nebraska’s two largest cities. The fight was over LB765 and LB851, two bills that would expand gambling in Nebraska. LB765, proposed by* committee chairman Stan Schellpeper, would allow gambling in the form of slot machines at horse racing tracks and video lottery machines in bars and restaurants. LB851, proposed by Hall, would give cities the option to vote whether to allow gambling. Round One. Mayor Hal Daub of Omaha begins testimony against the bills, saying that adding slot ma chines and video lottery games to Omaha would put an added burden of social services, police and crime on the city’s budget. With casinos, Daub said, crime went up while high school gradua tion rates went down. He said drop outs then took the only jobs casinos provided: minimum wage jobs. During questioning, Hall chal lenged Daub on several points. He said that with casinos in Iowa, Omaha would still see increases in crime, social services and high school drop out rates. Hall also questioned why a high school dropout would take a mini mum wage job in a casino. Daub insisted it was the glamour of the See GAMBLING on 3
