Hey Omaha, Chris here.
The Maple Street traffic roared as the nurse counted heartbeats. Wayne Birkholtz breathed slowly. In. Out. In. Out.
Wayne is one of many Omahans living unsheltered and homeless — a population that’s grown faster than nearly any other American city’s recently. I wrote about that earlier this year by telling the story of Roland Busby. It’s a complicated, costly problem that’s straining resources and caused some political tension. But it’s also driving solutions like HEAL Omaha.
The new volunteer group is bringing medicine to the streets, treating wounds, managing medication and doing simple vital checks. As you can imagine, living homeless and unsheltered is not good for your health. HEAL’s doing what it can with little funding. They hope that can help people focus more on getting housed and less on getting to the emergency room or avoiding run-ins with the cops.
Hope you check out my latest dispatch on this issue. Read the story here (or click the photo above).
— Chris Bowling, Flatwater Free Press
The MUD board approved $1.5 million for safety and security upgrades, including a $1.1 million environmental system at the Platte West Water Facility and enhanced security at water labs. Infrastructure updates included cost adjustments on key water main projects and tree removal at Platte West. Plans for a renewable gas facility at Pheasant Point Landfill were introduced, potentially heating 15,000 homes if approved. Read the full summary here, and the full meeting notes on the Documenters website.
Want to help inform your community and create better journalism while getting paid? Become a Documenter today.
— Leah Wambui Keinama, Nebraska Journalism Trust
The smell of cigar smoke hung in the covered parking spot. Two guys up front sat gnawing on their stogies.
On the folding tables I examined dusty Christmas ornaments and worn brass bookends. Then I saw it. A stained glass lamp in the shape of a cat, curled in repose. Was $20 too much? Probably. But come on. I had to have it.
My girlfriend and I have made good use of this fall’s garage sales. So far we’ve acquired that lamp as well as picture frames, kitchen utensils, sawhorses, a stained glass pendant and an I-beam level.
There are a lot of things I love about shopping this way. The thrill of a good deal. Giving new life to a cherished piece. I also love the window it offers into other people’s lives — the stories about why someone’s mom collected bird feeders or kept her dishrags in pristine condition.
So get out there this fall, learn a little more about your neighbors and find your version of my cat lamp.
— Chris Bowling, Flatwater Free Press
Each year, Omaha Public Library encourages the community to vote for and read one book as a way to promote literacy and inspire discussion. Join OPL in reading the 2024 selection, “The War Begins in Paris” by local author Theodore Wheeler, and engage further by participating in a program and discussing the book with friends, family and neighbors.
https://omahalibrary.org/omaha-reads
The Omaha police officer who shot a fleeing, armed man in North Omaha eight times and killed him will not face criminal charges, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine announced Monday. A grand jury will take another look as it does with all law enforcement-related deaths, KETV reported. The families of Steven Phipps and Cameron Ford, another man Omaha police shot and killed last month who Kleine also declined to charge, held a town hall to grieve and call for police accountability. WOWT captured the emotional night.
Douglas County residents lined up at the election commission’s west Omaha office in unprecedented numbers for the first day of early voting on Monday, The World-Herald’s Chris Burbach reported. Those who want to vote in person before Election Day should get to the office early in the day, election officials said.
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The Omaha police union accused Los Diablos Motorcycle Club of being “a magnet for violence” after a deadly shooting took place outside of the North Omaha club in the early hours of Sunday, WOWT’s John Chapman reported. A motorcycle club leader said the organization does not condone violence and is cooperating with investigators.
In a letter to Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and the City Council president, Sen. Mike McDonnell raised concerns with the city’s use of TIF for the streetcar project. McDonnell, an expected candidate for mayor next year, urged the city to pause new TIF projects until his concerns are addressed, reports Cindy Gonzalez at the Nebraska Examiner.
John Foley, a longtime staple of Omaha’s music scene and husband to Susie Buffett, died Friday of lung cancer, writes the Omaha World-Herald’s Henry Cordes.
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Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer has written a book on policing and leadership that he hopes will be the basis of a new criminal justice course at UNO, WOWT reported.
If you’re having a hard time finding a place to rent, you’re not alone. Omaha is one of the most competitive markets in America — more so than New York freaking City, according to data from RentCafe.
The Flatwater Free Press is published by the Nebraska Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) public charity