The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, February 28, 1995, Image 1

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    inside JT\
I uesday
Sports
Big 12 athletic directors to
meet today, page 12
Arts & Entertainment
Bluesman Matt “Guitar”
Murphy spends week at the
Zoo Bar, page 15
• February 28, 1995
Baiting the hook
'f- Scott Bruhn/DN
Senators Don Wesley of Lincoln and Bob Wickersham of Harrison discuss details about Micron with Maxine Moul,
director of Nebraska Department of Economic Development, before voting on LB829 Monday morning at the
| Legislature. LB829 passed with a 31-12 vote.
Incentive bills pass;
Nebraska waits for
Micron’s decision
1
\ By J. Christopher Hain
Senior Reporter
- ■if'
Nebraska has laid all its cards on the
table in the big Micron gamble.
Monday morning, LB828 and LB829,
the last two of the three Micron incentive
bills, passed on final reading in the Legisla
ture. Gov. Ben Nelson followed by signing
the bills in the afternoon.
Nelson said that with LB830, the bills
provided the legislation necessary to entice
Micron to Nebraska.
Micron is an Idaho-based computer-chip
company that is proposing to build a $1.3
billion, 3,500-employee plant in either
1- . .
Omaha, Oklahoma City or Utah County,
Utah.
Micron will decide Wednesday where it
will build its plant, and state senators have
been rushing to get the bills passed before
the deadline.
Sen. Ron Withem of Papillion, sponsor
of the three bills, said the members of the
Legislature stood up well under pressure to
get the bills passed.
“Our Legislature isn’t used to this kind
of pressure this early in session,” Withem
said.
LB828 allows public power districts to
negotiate rates with companies that use a
large amount of energy. It was passed on a
39-7 vote with an emergency clause that
allows the bill to take effect on May 1.
LB829 allows companies to retain new
employees’ income-tax withholding to pay
for job training. To qualify, a company
must invest $50 million and create 500 new
See SIGNED on 7
.Five cards Nebraska is holding
to its effort to win at the game of
r faring Micron's $1.3 billion,
,3,500-employee plant.
■ LB828. Allows public power
districts to negotiate rates with
/ companies that use a large
amount of energy.
- ■ LB829. Allows companies to
retain new employees' income
tax witholding to pay for job
training, fc; Jjj§
■ LB830. Allows cities to declare
land up to 10 miles outside its
boundary as substandard.
■ CorpNet. NU would provide
master's degree classes in the
plant. 1WP
■ Engineering education. NU ajsg
would speed up its improvement
of UNO's engineering program!
Modifications
to welfare
get approved
By Charles Isom
Staff Reporter
Nebraska has received approval from the
Clinton Administration to advance with its
welfare reforms, Gov. Ben Nelson announced
Monday.
Nelson said the state’s welfare reforms
would be the most extensive of any of the 23
other states given a go-ahead.
The reforms are meant to reduce the num
ber of Nebraskans on welfare. Nebraska’s pack
age, now before the Legislature in LB455,
contains 29 waivers designed to give welfare
recipients incentives to get off the system.
Under Nebraska’s plan, the state would be
given the authority to require welfare recipi
ents to sign a self-sufficiency contract that
defines the relationship between the Nebraska
government and the recipient.
Also, families using the Aid to Families
with Dependent Children program would have
benefits cut off after two years. After that time,
adults who are able would be required to work.
The state could stop automatic cash pay
ments to women who have been on welfare for
10 months and give birth to more children.
“We’re not trying to punish those in need of
our help,” Nelson said. “Our hope is that many
families will be able to be on their own in a
shorter time period. The safety net will still be
in place.”
The Department of Social Services places
the number of Nebraska families on welfare at
around 16,000, of which 12,000 have an em
ployable adult who would qualify for the pro
gram.
The other 4,000 are families or individuals
who are not employable because of physical,
mental or emotional reasons. These people
would be given the opportunity to reach their
own levels of independence, Nelson said.
The programs would impact the Omaha and
Lincoln areas first. Forty percent of the state’s
ADC population live in the Omaha metropoli
tan area. The program, which could start as
early as July 1, will continue for a year and be
evaluated.
The state could expand the plans statewide
after one year.
Nelson said the waivers included provi
sions that were beneficial to those on welfare.
Child-care subsidies are provided for 12 to
24 months to help after a person leaves wel
fare. Transitional health care benefits would
be provided for the same time.
One waiver also encourages, but does not
require, minor parents to live with their par
ents. The system now encourages minor par
ents to move out of their parents’ home.
“For Nebraskans,” Nelson said, “it means
we can begin to transform the complex spider
web welfare system we now have into the'
simplified safety net it was intended to be.”
Kansas students injured
in brawl outside SigmaNu
By Chad Lorenz
Staff Reporter
A Kansas college student will
undergo reconstructive surgery to
his face Thursday after being in
jured in a fight outside UNL’s Sigma
Nu Fraternity last weekend.
Darin Williams, a senior at Baker
University in Baldwin, Kan., sus
tained three fractures on the right
side of his face after being hit with
what doctors identified as a foreign
object, said Jeff Gossard, president
of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity at
Baker.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Police Sgt. Bill Manning said two
members of the Baker fraternity were
hospitalized after a fight with mem
bers of Sigma Nu.
Gossard said Williams, along
with fraternity brother Rob Winfrey,
were beaten by at least five mem
bers of Sigma Nu in front of that
house. The two were visiting the
UNL Delta Tau Delta chapter for
the weekend.
Marty Martin, president of Sigma
Nu, declined comment.
Gossard gave the following ac
count of the incident:
After an exchange of words in
front of the Sigma Nu house, at least
five Sigma Nu members attacked
two Baker Delts standing on the
See FIGHT on 7
HUSKERnet system congested
By Brian Jensen
Staff Reporter
The University ofNebraska-Lin
coln is expanding the technology
for the HUSKERnet system—again.
The Computer Resource Center
is planning to upgrade its system to
meet the rising demands of UNL
students. UNL has more than 6,000
students with accounts, causing con
gestion on the current system.
“Hie current system is very busy
during mid-morning and late at night,
causing it to work very slowly,” said
Guy Jones, director of technical ser
vices for CRC.
“Students are increasingly be
coming more familiar with the sys
tem and are doing more compli
cated work,” he said. “We hope to
keep ahead of the growing demand
by upgrading it to the next level.”
One of the biggest plans for the
system is to upgrade the backbone
of the system, which is responsible
for connecting all the computers.
Jones said a new system called
the ATM (asynchronous transfer
mode) would increase the speed of
the network. It also will add voice,
video and data to the system.
“We will gradually transfer this
throughout the year, and hopefully
it will be complete by next year,”
Jones said.
Jones said the CRC also would
use a fund provided by the academic
affairs office. The fund will provide
all students with e-mail accounts so
they have more access to the Internet.
The new system will replace the
current herbie system sometime this
summer. A name for the new e-mail
system has not been determined.
“We still don’t have a name for
the new system, so we may let the
campus decide,” Jones said.
Most students seem to be pleased
with the expansion plans. Vas Bishu,
a sophomore at UNL, said the up
grade was needed.
“I have always thought they
needed ar way to allow more stu
dents the opportunity to use the
Internet,” he said. “I think the plans
for the system are a good idea.”
Jones said similar upgrades were
occurring around the country.
“There are thousands of univer
sities doing similar things to meet
the demands of their students. Hie
more people use computers, the more
we will continue to expand,” Jones
said.