I Supporters hold rally
I for increased tobacco tax
By Veronica Daehn
Staff writer
Citizens for a Healthy Nebraska
held a press conference Wednesday
to let people know that the fight to
raise the tobacco tax is not dead.
Dave Holmquist, coordinator of
Citizens for a Healthy Nebraska,
said his group continues to support
LB505, a bill that would increase the
tax on tobacco by 66 cents.
The current tax is 34 cents.
. Sen. David Landis of Lincoln
introduced the bill in the 1999 leg
islative session, and it advanced out
of committee and into general file
last year.
An amendment was proposed
this session that would have
increased the tax by 30 cents instead
of 66 cents. The total tax on tobacco
then would be 64 cents instead of $ 1.
The amendment failed, and in
order to gain more support for the
bill, Landis pulled it from the floor.
The fight to increase tobacco
taxes is still alive, though, Holmquist
said.
“We won’t let it go away,”
Holmquist said. “We had the press
conference this morning to let peo
ple know that LB505 is not dead.”
The press conference served
another purpose as well, Holmquist
said.
Three new organizations joined
the team in support of the bill.
Representatives from the
Nebraska Coaches Association, the
Nebraska State PTA and the
Nebraska Association of School
Nurses officially signed on in sup
port.
They join 13 other state organi
zations already fighting for the high
er tobacco tax.
Other supporters include the
Nebraska Medical Association, the
American.Cancer Society, the
Nebraska Dental Association and
the Nebraska State Education
Association.
Laurel Marsh, a legislative aide
for Landis, said support has grown
for the bill.
“They’re feeling good about the
additional support,” Marsh said. “If
they continue to feel good, they will
ask to have it back on the calendar.”
Marsh said the point of the rally
Thursday was to show how much
support has increased.
If the tax increase were placed
back on the calendar for the
Legislature to debate, Marsh said
there would probably be another
amendment to the bill, but she was
unsure what it would be.
There is not support for the 66
cent tax increase, Marsh said,
because raising the tax to a dollar is
too high. A positive point, though, is
that the bill still retains its priority
status.
Landis made the bill his priority
bill last session. Because it wasn’t
killed, the priority carried over to this
term.
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■ Campus Recreation u We are the largest on-campus
Centerasksformore money employer of students, and we are
to cover salary increases. 7 . , rr
BySaraSalkeld_ losing Student Staff.
Staff ivnter
The Campus Recreation Center
submitted its budget request for
$2,936,226, an increase of $249,537
from last year, to the Committee for
Fees Allocation on Thursday.
University-wide mandates on salary
and wage increases have accounted for
many of the budget increases for the
Campus Recreation Center as well as
increases in other fee users’ budgets.
The budget for the Campus
Recreation Center was divided into two
parts: the operating budget, and the
repair and improvement of facilities
Stan Campbell
director of the Campus Recreation Center
budget.
The increase for the operating bud
get is 9.1 percent, making the request
for this part of the budget $2,463,390.
According to the budget request,
most of this increase is because of
mandatory salary and wage increases.
According to information provided
by Stan Campbell,who presented the
budget, the Campus Recreation Center
is currently paying below the wages of
other comparable on-campus employ
ers.
Campbell said that, along with the
mandatory salary increases, the center
would also like to raise all of their stu
dent employees’ wages 1.75 percent.
“We are the largest on-campus
employer of students, and we are losing
student staff,” Campbell said.
The center asked for a 10.5 percent
increase in its repair and improvement
of facilities budget. This is about $ 1
more per student.
The budget will be voted on by the
CFA on Thursday.
— LEGISLATURE —
Bill makes attorney general office non-partisan
By Veronica Daehn
Staff writer
The Legislature advanced a bill
Thursday that would make the attorney
general’s office non-partisan.
The attorney general is now elected
on a partisan ballot, but if LB510 pass
es, the state office would be placed on
a non-partisan ballot in elections.
The bill was introduced in the 1999
session by Omaha Sen. Ernie
Chambers.
- It was held over to this session and
was placed on select file Thursday.
i
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i Shootings damage property
A tire, leather jacket, screen win
dow, drain pipe and garage door were all
f victims of shootings on Wednesday.
No one was injured when a man was
seen running with a gun, firing shots
| around the area of Super C at 21st and G
streets, Lincoln Police Ofc. Katherine
Finnell said.
The man, described as a 6-foot-tall
black teenager, fired five shots at about
1 p.m., Finnell said.
The five shots caused a reported
$420 in damages.
One bullet was found in a tire of a
car parked in a lot at 645 Capitol Ave.
Another bullet was found in a garage
door at the same address.
A third went through a window at
620 S. 20th St. and into a closet where it
was stopped by a leather jacket.
The fourth went through a screen
window at apartment #7 at the same
address, and the fifth struck a drain pipe
at the building’s apartment D12.
Some Lincoln High students report
ed to police that the man had braided
hair with blue rubber bands holding the
braids, Finnell said. They also said the
-■
If the bill passes out of select file, it
has only one round to go, a final read
ing, before it goes to the governor for
final approval.
Gov. Mike Johanns said he was not
happy that the bill advanced.
“I was surprised,” Johanns said in a
press release. “It is unclear to me what
problem this would solve. I do not
sense any interest or support for such a
proposal.”
Johanns said state constitutional
offices have been elected under party
names since 1867.
It stayed that way even when the
state’s bicameral changed to a
Unicameral in 1934.
When the Unicameral system
began, state representatives were elect
ed in a non-partisan fashion, but state
officeholders ran under party names.
“From my observation, this has
been the right balance,” Johanns said.
“This system has worked well for our
state.
“For nearly 131 years including
several constitutional conventions and
revisions, our system of electing con
stitutional officers on a party basis has
stood.”
man was wearing a micL-thigh-length
dark coat.
Truck drags bicycle
A University of Nebraska student
avoided injury by jumping off his bicy
cle when it was hit by a pick-up truck on
Tuesday.
Benjamin Hoy, a sophomore adver
tising major from Omaha, was riding
his bike by the driveway of the parking
lot by the Alexander building when a
pickup struck him, University Police
Sgt. Mylo Bushing said.
The red pick-up, driven by John
Stevens, a senior history major from
Omaha, drug the bicycle 10 feet before
stopping, Bushing said.
Hoy did not suffer any injuries, but
his bicycle cannot be repaired.
The bicycle will need to be replaced
at a cost of $596, Bushing said.
Student arrested for possession
of marijuana
The smell of marijuana drifting
through the 10th floor of Harper
Residence Hall led to the arrest of a
University of Nebraska freshman on
Thursday morning.
Residents of the floor alerted offi
cers to the smell on the floor and deter
mined it was coming from the room of
Michael Waller, 19, of Hildreth.
Waller allowed officers into his
room and disclosed a bag of what
appeared to be marijuana and rolling
papers from his bottom desk drawer,
Bushing said.
Waller was arrested at 12:38 a.m.
for possession of less than an ounce of
marijuana.
Waller will appear in court on Feb.
18.
; ; . i . - • \ *
Flames damage Duncan
Aviation
Strong winds were thought to have
contributed to a roof fire at Duncan
Aviation on Thursday.
Bruce Sellon, Lincoln Fire
Department captain, said the flames
from a laige furnace on top of paint bay
No. 2 - a hanger where air crafts are
painted - were sucked by the wind into
9 furnace filter.
“It’s extremely windy, especially out
there,” Sellon said. “I was afraid it was
going to blow me off the roof.”
Mark Matthes, vice president of
operations at Duncan Aviation, said the
filter caught fire and caused about $ 100
in damages.
The call came in at 1:49 p.m., and
the fire was contained shortly, Sellon
said.
No air crafts were damaged as a
result of the fire. An aircraft worth more
than $2 million was inside the hanger
when the filter caught fire but was
quickly removed, Matthes said.
Fire damages Lincoln home
Firefighters emerged from a house
fire at about 8 p.m. carrying a cage
housing the home’s only occupant - a
guinea pig.
Kurt and Kris Kontor and their two
children were not at their home at 1907
Independence Court when a fire began
from an entertainment system in the
basement, said Larry Edwards, Lincoln
Firefighter deputy chief.
Edwards estimated the damage to
the house at more than $20,000.
He said the fire was electrical and
originated in the VCR or power supply
fof the satellite television, but further
heat tests will determine the exact ori
gin.
There was heavy fire damage to the
basement along with a small fire in one, -
bedroom on the first floor. The remain- r
der of fhe first floor suffered moderate
heat and smoke damage, Edwards said.
Harold Parker, of Lincoln, said he j
and his two sons saw smoke coming
from the roof of the house as they were ,
driving on Superior Street.
Edwards said a neighbor who had a
cell phone drove by and called police.
Paricer then entered the front door to,
see if anyone was inside. He said he let
the dog out of the house and then
sprayed the east side of the house with a ,
hose. Another dog was in the backyard. ,
The Kontors were at a local school \
at the time of the fire and had only been ,
gone for about 40 minutes, Edwards
said.
Compiled by staff writer Michelle
Starr