' ' ■<*WS' > FRIDAY * € >M<>< }><><«><><(><>»<>< :><><«> <><{><><6> 0<00X00XX00<»«*Amkm: ><><«> <»< cxuIhJ COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SINCE 1901 VOL. 95 NO. 82 ^°W ^ to 30. =====^_ January 12, 1996 ----- iaaswwwWP—MWBWHIBHWBIBPWreBWglEWaHWBMBWWWWEWBB—IPUMDll Jay Calderon/DN Governor Ben Nelson takes time during the State of the State address Thursday to applaud Jimmy Wilson Sr., father of the Omaha officer who was shot in the line of duty last year. Nelson delivers State address oy iea layior Senior Reporter Gov. Ben Nelson urged Nebras kans to turn challenges into oppor tunities during his annual State of the State address Thursday morn ing at the State Capitol. “We are still one Nebraska,” Nelson told more than 120 people in the Legislature’s West Chamber. “And we must strive to do what is in the best interest of all.” In the address, Nelson intro duced his 1996-97 budget proposal and touted crime measures and his property tax relief plan. He praised Nebraskans and what he called the “tremendous amount of positive change” that had oc curred in the state. “We have delivered on prom ises,” the governor said. “We have made a difference.” But he asked that citizens not stand still. “Now we can build on our achievements,” Nelson said. “The new challenges we face present even more opportunities for positive change.” Nelson asked lawmakers to re member that the state’s successes have come from the fiscal integrity of the state. He called his role as “steward of the budget” his top pri ority. Nelson’s proposed budget bill "We must establish that our priority is saving, rather than spending, our general fund dollars. ” BEN NELSON Nebraska governor See related story on page 3. would transfer $21.5 million to the cash reserve fund in the current fiscal year, and $17.3 million next year. “Action to strengthen our cash reserve is necessary and critical,” he said. “We must establish that our priority is saving, rather than spend ing, our general fund dollars.” Nelson called budgeting the state government a balancing act where he was “avoiding uncontrolled growth while still meeting the im portant needs of Nebraskans.” And with property tax issues on the front burner, Nelson asked sena tors to consider his proposed prop erty tax relief effort. Nelson called his Local Control Property Taxpayer Relief Act a common-sense solution to the prob lem. “Others want to spell relief s-h i-f-t,” he said. “I spell it c-u-t. It is only with spendingcuts that we can achieve true property tax relief.” Nelson also urged senators to look at the broader picture and how property tax relief would affect not only themselves, but their families, neighbors, communities and the state. Another challenge Nebraska faces — crime and the increase of violent crime — is one of the most difficult, Nelson said. He pointed to retired Omaha po lice officer Jimmy Wilson Sr., whose son was gunned down in the line of duty Aug. 20, 1995, as an example ofthe challenges Nebraska faced. “As we mourned the loss of this young Nebraskan,” he said, “we also continue to be outraged by the increasing level of violence in our state.” This level of violence, Nelson said, brings up another taxing prob lem. “Overcrowding in the state ’ s cor rectional system has reached the crisis point,” he said. “If we fail to deal with this overcrowding prob lem today, the courts will intervene and tell us what we have to do.” See NELSON on 3 Blank top choice for chairmanship By Julie Sobczyk and Matthew Waite Senior Reporter and Senior Editor Regent Don Blank of McCook will be the next chairperson of the NU Board of Regents, according to an informal poll of regents. “If my name is pul up, I’ 11 probably be chair,” Blank said Thursday. “Let’s just wait and see what happens on Saturday. If the majority of the re gents want me to be chair, then I’ll be chair. “Let’sjustwaitandseewho’snomi nated.” The regents will elect a new chair person and vice-chairperson at Saturday’s monthly meeting. In a phone poll of the regents, four said they supported Blank: Regents John Payne of Kearney, Nancy O’Brien of Waterloo, Chuck Hassebrook of Walthill and Charles Wilson of Lincoln. Regent Robert Allen of Hastings said he would not support Blank, Re gent Rosemary Skrupa said she would not support anyone until Saturday and Regent Drew Miller is out of the coun try. Hassebrook will be elected vice chairman, according to the poll. “I think I’ve got a good grasp of what the university does,” he said. “1 have a grasp of the issue of how to keep the university affordable to people of modest means. I have a good grasp for representing the needs of ordinary folks out there.” Hassebrook said he and Blank have a good chance of being appointed, but added, “nothing’s certain.” O’Brien, who is the current regents chairperson, said she didn’t want to run again. . Skrupa and Allen agreed it would See REGENTS on 6 Chewing tobacco law has ambiguous meaning By Chad Lorenz Senior Reporter The difference between a $500 fine for promotional distribution of smoke less tobacco and a legal tobacco dis count all depend on the interpretation of Nebraska’s law. Theambiguouswordingofthe stat ute has led a deputy attorney general and one of the law’s writers to dis agree on whether tobacco sellers should be allowed to honor coupons discounting smokeless tobacco. The law states that manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers are prohib ited from distributing smokeless to bacco for promotional purposes. The discussion follows a Daily Nebraskan investigation in which Lin coln retailers honored a coupon for a $ 1.50 discount on Skoal tobacco. The coupon was void in Nebraska because ofthe laws against discounting smoke less tobacco. Laurie Camp, deputy attorney gen eral, said retailers who honored the coupon did not violate the law be cause they didn’t necessarily distrib ute for promotional purposes and they did not give the coupon out. “I couldn’t conclude there was a violation, only a mistake,” Camp said. The mistake made by store cash iers in honoring the void coupon would not bring a fine, but only a loss of profit, she said. The manufacturer will not reim burse Nebraska retailers $1.50 per Law prohibiting promotional distribution of smokeless tobacco • Distributeshall mean to give smokeless tobacco products to the general public at no cost or at nominal cost or to give coupons or rebate offers with the products. • Manufacturers, whole salers, or retailers, or their representatives, of smokeless tobacco prod ucts shall not distribute for promotional pur poses. — taken from sections 69-1902 and 69-1903 coupon because they should not have given the discount for a void coupon, Camp said. Camp said Nebraska retailers would be violating the law only under one of the three conditions: • If retailers issued their own store coupon. •If retailers gave away free See TOBACCO on 6 -4 . New residence hall could ease overcrowding By Julie Sobczyk Senior Reporter Plans for a new residence hall to house 400 honors program students is intheworks,aUNLofflcial said Thurs day. James Griesen, vice chancellor for student affairs, brought the proposal before the Academic Planning Com mittee on Wednesday. Griesen tentatively set the project’s cost at $ 12 million and said the money would be well-spent ifit helped allevi ate overcrowding in the residence halls. “For the past two fall semesters, students have been living in lounges and in three-person triple rooms,” Griesen said. “We’re not meeting the demand for students, especially tnose who want single rooms.” Last year, about 200 requests for single rooms from upperclassmen could not be granted, he said. That number does not include any fresh men who may have wanted their own room. A new hall also would help create a sense of community among honors program students, Griesen said. A special community for students can help them feel more at home at UNL and can build a stable environ ment, he said. Other community environments, such as engineering student floors and floors for health and wellness, have been attractive to students, he said. The Freshman Learning Community, a pilot program this year, also has been successful. 4 “We want to be flexible with stu dents and accommodate their special interests,” Griesen said. And the best way to alleviate the housing crunch, yet remain flexible to students, would be to create an honors program residence hall, he said. The honors program has grown each year, and the floors set aside for honors students in the Neihardt Resi dence Complex are reaching capac ity. “They need more computer space, more space for honors seminars and more space for the director’s office,” Griesen said. t The new building would be more modern than the other residence halls, he said, and have suites consisting of two rooms and an adjoining bathroom. So far, two possible sites have been pinpointed. They are: north of Cather Residence Hall and south of Bancroft Hall. The parking lot south of Bancroft wouldhavetobe removed,but Griesen said he did not want the issue to spark a new parking debate. “Whenever you build something, you have to disrupt something else,” he said. “You have to look at parking as a big picture.” Griesen said removingthe lot would not add to the parking problem be cause a proposed plan to build a park ing garage west of Memorial Stadium would increase the amount of avail able parking on campus. Griesen said the proposed sites are near cafeterias, and a new dining hall would not have to be built. The proposal is still in its early stages, but Griesen said he already had heard opposition to the plan. “We’re not trying to set the honors kids apart as elites,” he said. “There have always been talented and gifted students in all of the halls.”