The news is a little bit shocking. By one count, the Omaha area’s unsheltered homeless population — people who are homeless and not staying at a shelter — has risen eight-fold in the past decade. It’s one of the biggest increases in the country.
That spike also immediately needs to be put into context: Omaha’s overall homeless population is still really low for an American city.
FFP reporter Chris Bowling set out to tell the story of the increasing number of Omahans living in tents, cars and in makeshift homeless encampments like the one Roland Busby and his beloved dog Capone live in on Decatur Street.
It’s the sort of story FFP exists to write.
Don’t have time for that story right now? Good news: We did a “Quick Hit” on this one, which gives you the basics in a couple short paragraphs.
Talk vs Action: Many state leaders, including Gov. Jim Pillen, have extolled the importance of child care to our state’s present and future. Which is why it was interesting to see state lawmakers pass two ambitious proposals to aid the state’s reeling child care system — and then steer exactly $0 to fund those efforts.
State watchdog reporter Sara Gentzler’s story goes into the budgetary, property tax and political realities that caused the child care funding to be gutted.
But it’s also worth noting: $0 is still $0.
Branding Day: Ever wonder what it’s really like to round up the cattle herd for a branding? Our incomparable central Nebraska correspondent Lori Potter has you covered, as she tells the story of the Treffer family’s annual tradition of doing just that at their ranch near Broken Bow.
Lori hooked me with this paragraph: “But the branding on this Saturday was nothing like a rodeo or a scene in an old western. A real branding day is more like an understanding — a slow dance between humans, horses and cattle.”
Making (and eating) pizza pie: For many years I have been the plus-one for Sarah Baker Hansen, her dining partner as she writes Omaha’s and Nebraska’s best restaurant reviews. But this will be the first and only time I get to introduce an SBH review this way: Here is Sarah Baker Hansen’s first review for the Flatwater Free Press.
It’s a look at a new north downtown pizza spot called Dolomiti, which quietly opened a few months ago and is now, she says, pushing its way into the top-tier of high-end Omaha pizza.
If you’re an Omahan who wants to see all of Sarah’s reviews, news on local art openings, calendar events, things to do and all our FFP Omaha coverage, you should sign up for our brand-spankin’ new Omaha-specific newsletter. Subscribe here by clicking the Omaha option.
It comes out on Thursdays and is, of course, 100% free. Pizza content not guaranteed.
Final countdown: OK, listen up quick. We started our annual spring campaign with an aggressive goal: Sign up 200 new recurring donors. We have three days left in that campaign. We have signed up 180 new recurring donors.
Are you enjoying what you see from FFP? Do you believe, as I do, that it has real value for the present and future of Nebraska journalism as we dig deep into this state’s most pressing issues and also write stories that connect Omaha and Lincoln to Ogallala and Lewellen?
If you sign up by weekend’s end, you get your choice of a number of cool gifts. I’m a monthly donor, and chose the Bart Vargas print, which edged out that cool new FFP baseball cap.
For the several thousand of you who have donated since we started publishing on Labor Day weekend 2021, your gift is deeply appreciated. We’re doing what we do because of you. Thank you.
We’re coming, Lincoln: On Wednesday, May 15, you have a chance to join me, several Flatwater Free Press reporters and Lincoln-based managing editor Ryan Hoffman as we talk, and listen, about the stories that need covered in the Star City. Our Pop-Up Newsroom event is from 2-4 p.m. at the Bennett Martin Public Library Auditorium. Give us your ideas, ask questions and meet our friends, too … We’re doing this Lincoln event alongside journalists from the Journal Star, 10/11 News and Nebraska Public Media. How cool is that?
Questions wanted: Some of our best story ideas come from readers, and they typically start with a burning question that just cries out for an answer. Have a question that our reporters need to look into? Complete this form or reach our newsroom at [email protected].
Sincerely,
—Matthew Hansen, Executive Editor
Here’s what we’re into this week: News from around Nebraska
Every week we like to share great Nebraska journalism, no matter who made it. Here’s what caught our eye this week:
- New research done in Nebraska and neighboring states suggests that there’s a link between certain herbicides and pesticides used on crops and a higher rate of Parkinson’s disease. Story by Nebraska Public Media.
- As lawmakers gutted funding for two proposals to prop up Nebraska’s child care system, Nebraska child cares continue to close. Licensed child care slots are down 17% in Nebraska, according to this story by KETV’s Quanecia Fraser.
- A Lincoln company took a direct hit from the April 26 tornado. Ten days later, it laid off nearly half of its employees. Here’s the story from the Lincoln Journal Star’s Pat Sangimino (may require subscription to read) and from KETV’s Jake Anderson.
- You may have wondered, about that Arbor Day tornado: How did no Nebraskan die? The OWH’s Henry Cordes and Julie Anderson trace the wildly destructive path of that tornado, and also talk about the mix of skill and luck that saved Nebraska lives. (May require subscription to read.)
- A new Nebraska Supreme Court decision underlines the idea that public bodies like state agencies — or public schools — can’t be sued for damages in situations where a child is abused or sexually assaulted. Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, whose bill to change that law was recently vetoed by Gov. Jim Pillen, called for a special session to address the issue. Story by the Nebraska Examiner’s Zach Wendling.
- I tried and failed to find a Nebraska connection to this story, because I wanted to share it with you. And then I remembered, “Hey, this is my newsletter, I can do what I want.” So here’s the story: Scientists have designed a paint that is so white it may help us fight global warming.
